Trip.com founder knows both sides of the VC picture.

• Author: Taylor, Mike
• Position: Money Matters - Venture capital - Brief Article

AMID THE RUBBLE OF FAILED DOT-COMS, Antoine Toffa stands as one of the success stories. In 1996, with a $5 million stake from his employer, US West, he launched the online travel company Trip.com. Five years later the company sold for $326 million.

Now Toffa is at work on another startup.

In September 2000, he and Jon Fetzer founded tamtam.com, an online company that facilitates import and export transactions for customers.

"Starting a company is a very tough job," Toffa said. "It takes courageous and frankly crazy people. I just don't think a normal person takes that level of risk. That's what my wife tells me. You have to live a little on the edge. People gambling big sums in Vegas might be more on the edge. But next to that, you have the entrepreneur who plays on the edge and sometimes wins but more often loses."

Toffa recently shared his startup experiences with post-graduate students from six countries who were taking part in a program called the Global Electronic Commerce Master's Consortium, an international network of business schools sharing a common curriculum in e-commerce. As part of the program, the University of Denver hosted a weeklong seminar in December, and Toffa was one of a group of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists who wrapped up the week by offering their insights.

Toffa has been on both sides of the startup fence, having been a seeker of startup capital and now, at times, an angel investor. He offered up 15 points to students who might be seeking venture capital in the future:

1) Negotiate when you are strong -- ideally when you have a strong story and money in the bank. And frankly, money is just one catalyst. Very often the secrets of a successful entrepreneurial venture are rooted in something much bigger, such as the company's culture, team, values and integrity.

2) Don't be emotional about the financing process. It's purely business, albeit a very tough business. Keep your eye on the ball; and the ball in this case is money.

3) Never be arrogant. Remember, you're asking for someone else's money. You're not in a position to be arrogant.

4) Don't give too much information about other potential investors. They often will talk among themselves. If you convey too much too early, you can lose leverage. It's tricky, because at some point you...