ForEntrepreneurs listed as Number 2 in Forbes list of 100 Best Web Sites for Entrepreneurs.
For Entrepreneurs is a blog for startups and entrepreneurs, written by David Skok, a five time serial entrepreneur turned VC (now at Matrix Partners). It aims to address the key issues they will face in getting started, getting funded, and building a successful company. Although applicable to most startups, there is strong focus on SaaS businesses, and building a sales and marketing machine.
New to this site?
You might find the following blog posts and articles a good place to start:
- Recruiting – The 3rd Crucial Startup Skill
- Bridge Group 2015 SaaS Inside Sales Survey Report
- SaaS Metrics 2.0 – A Guide to Measuring and Improving What Matters
- 2014 Pacific Crest SaaS Survey – Part 1
- 2014 Pacific Crest SaaS Survey- Part 2
- Startup Killer: the Cost of Customer Acquisition
- Lessons Learned – Viral Marketing
- How sales complexity impacts your startup’s viability
- Designing startup metrics to drive successful behavior
- Lessons from Leaders: How JBoss did it
- SaaS Economics: The SaaS Cash Flow Trough
- Optimizing your Customer Acquisition Funnel
- Setting the Startup Accelerator Pedal
- Recent Blog Posts
Hi, my name is David Skok. I am a serial entrepreneur turned VC. I have a great passion for helping entrepreneurs and startups. I started my first company a few months after leaving university at the age of 21, and over the next 25 years, founded a total of four companies (Skok Systems, Corporate Software Europe, Watermark Software, and SilverStream Software) and did one turnaround (Xionics). I have had my share of ups and downs. I was lucky enough to have three of these companies go public, one was acquired, and one initially succeeded, but then failed when I moved the company to the US. I often remark that I learned more from that one failure than I have from all of my successes.
After 25 years as an entrepreneur, I became a venture capital partner at Matrix Partners, the firm that had backed my last two companies. I had worked with 15 different VC firms, and Matrix had clearly been my best partner, earning my strong loyalty with their support through some very tough times. It was fun to move to the “dark side” and be in a position to help other entrepreneurs. As a VC, I have had the very good fortune to invest alongside some spectacular management teams, including JBoss, AppIQ, Tabblo, Netezza, Diligent, CloudSwitch, TribeHR and GrabCAD which have all had successful exits. I currently serve on the boards of HubSpot, Digium, CloudBees, Enservio, Namely, OpenSpan, Storiant, Salsify and Zaius.
I am very passionate about helping other entrepreneurs, having seen how important it is to get that help, encouragement, and support in the early days of creating my own ventures. If you are interested in learning more about what experiences have shaped my thinking, you may enjoy reading the following blog post: What drives great entrepreneurs.
If you would like to receive an email when new articles are published, please leave enter your email address in the form on the right hand side. To contact me, please email me at: dskok (at) matrixpartners.com. I would enjoy hearing from you.