TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

Clearly, Alexandria, Virginia-based QED was investing in fintech before fintech was “cool.” As evidence of that, the firm led Credit Karma’s Series A in 2009; led Remitly’s Series A in 2014 and participated in Nubank’s Series A in 2014. That’s especially true as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to (sadly) rage on.

investing 91

investing investment capital advice 91

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2014

The speaks to the continued confidence in the venture capital markets and as I had predicted some time ago the VC markets right now are a great place to invest – especially relative to other places to put one’s money. Our last fund we raised was in 2012 and we began investing it in April of 2012. But that’s it.

ventures 396

ventures VC venture capital real estate 396

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

This is the third article in a series on what it takes to be a great angel investor (and why this should matter to entrepreneurs). I’d rather be Roger Ehrenberg with a thesis around data-centric companies and base my investment decisions on my background. Part 1 – Access to Great Deal Flow – is here.

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angel investing investing investment VC 152

StartupNation

JANUARY 20, 2022

As the e-commerce industry continues to boom and work from home remains a trend amongst the corporate sector, more entrepreneurs are using their funds to create new digital startups in a number of niches. In fact, VC-based funding has boomed within the last decade, reaching a whopping $753B worth of investments since 2009.

venture capital 89

venture capital capital ventures startup 89

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 24, 2015

So why invest in that period of uncertainty unless it’s early-stage and thus valuation matters less. If the next 30 days stays calm then investment will pick up. So, too, investments. It will also mean a certain amount of triage and also some mortality rates amongst investments. So plan your start date accordingly.

financing 344

financing finance ventures real estate 344

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

In the first post in this three part series I described why I believe the VC market froze between September 2008 – April 2009. Unemployment continues to rise – Unemployment as of September 2009 is 9.7% This has a tangible impact on the valuation of start-ups and the pace of investment.

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VC startup advice innovation 269

TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 9, 2020

Year-in, year-out, the gender gap in venture capital investment continues to be a problem women founders face. In fintech, the problem is especially prominent: Women-founded fintechs have raised a meager 1% of total fintech investment in the last 10 years. of the funding raised since 2009, while Latinx female founders saw only 0.4%

VC 123

VC startup leadership communities 123

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 3, 2010

This was really a fun week at TWiVC because we decided to have an entrepreneur come and talk about raising capital rather than having a VC come on. It’s always such a pleasure for me to spend time with Farb because he has all of the enthusiasm and energy you love to see in entrepreneurs. He’s also candid, humble and helpful.

VC 214

VC founder advice ventures 214

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2014

It was 2009 and it was terribly difficult to get any financing (if you can remember a time like that!) and I thought if we brought the community together for common purpose we could create more of a sense of community to help new entrepreneurs get funded, assemble teams, raise profiles and help with biz dev, product, etc.

accelerator 290

accelerator mentorship peer-to-peer VC 290

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 9, 2011

I thought about things I never had to as an entrepreneur: check size, ownership percentage, deal stage, portfolio construction and risk. By 2008 I had gotten more serious about championing companies through our investment process. Let’s review all of our existing investments. Eventually you have to invest.

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VC disruption entrepreneurs venture capital 305

Startup Grind

AUGUST 13, 2018

Some of Ann’s investments include Lyft, Ayasdi, Xamarin, Refinery29, JoyRun, TaskRabbit, and Modcloth. Given the success of her investments she was on the 2017 Midas List of top 100 venture capitalists. What and when was your very first investment? I really admire David Swensen, Chief Investment Officer at Yale.

VC 111

VC entrepreneurship pitching strategy 111

TechCrunch

APRIL 6, 2022

In Austin’s tech world, there’s an entrepreneur everyone knows by one name: Whurley. “Whurley” is the Unix username for serial tech entrepreneur Will Hurley, and it’s his brand. In addition, he created Ecliptic Capital, a $100 million evergreen investment fund that could grow to $150 million by the end of the year.

transportation 93

transportation entrepreneurship capital entrepreneurs 93

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

And so do entrepreneurs who are quick to pivot to new businesses or to sell in an acquihire. LPs (the people who invest in VC funds) want to know what “hot” deals you’re in. It’s been high tide since 2009 so an entire batch of entrepreneurs don’t know what low tide even looks like.

startup 390

startup VC venture capital culture 390

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 15, 2010

It’s always fun chatting with Jason because he’s knowledgeable about the market, quick on topics and pushes me to talk more about VC / entrepreneur issues. We’re staring to get the hang of how to divide the show up into talking about deals but also talking about issues for entrepreneurs during funding. Short answer: no.

VC 285

VC financing finance advice 285

Angel Capital Association

OCTOBER 17, 2023

Through ACA’s strong and experienced public policy leadership team, ACA has been able to gain more diverse voices as both investors and entrepreneurs. ACA and its members recognized the need for a strong advocacy arm and public policy agenda to educate Members of Congress on issues that affect angel investors and early-stage entrepreneurs.

entrepreneurial ecosystem 52

entrepreneurial ecosystem leadership entrepreneurship angel capital 52

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

In the early spring of 2009, the fundraising nuclear winter of the previous year hadn't yet thawed. Many of you entrepreneurs know that feeling. The funding was anchored by a major commitment from Two Sigma Ventures, the private venture investment affiliate of Two Sigma Investments.

ventures 280

ventures pitching VC startup ecosystem 280

Gust

OCTOBER 8, 2014

This is something I think entrepreneurs don’t totally understand and it’s worthwhile they do. Entrepreneurs started demanding that VCs call their first-round financings “seed” rounds even if they were $3 million. Whom you take advice from really matters. Whom you take advice from really matters. Why the latter?

VC 136

VC advice financing finance 136

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 17, 2010

First, I’d like to quote (paraphrase) Brad Feld speaking at Twiistup in LA in 2009, “I keep hearing people in LA talking with a chip on their shoulders about building a tech business here relative to Silicon Valley. LA generally doesn’t have an appetite for this kind of investment at early stages. Come join us.

technology 290

technology advice innovation entrepreneurs 290

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

In my previous post, The VC Ice Age is Thawing (for now) I wrote about the reasons why the VC market came to a screeching halt in September 2008 and remained largely shut until at least April 2009. This post highlights some of the reasons why the market is moving again and what entrepreneurs should do about this. billion.

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VC venture capital networking innovation 255

Entrepreneur's Handbook

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

(Any views expressed in the below are the personal views of the author and should not form the basis for making investment decisions, nor be construed as a recommendation or advice to engage in investment transactions.) He thought it was super dovish, and revealed that he is fully invested in the markets. Number go up!

hospitality 104

hospitality investing investment advice 104

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 14, 2014

It’s why the first company I ever invested in as a VC – Invoca – just announced a $20 million funding by Accel Partners. Only naive people believe that but for inexperienced entrepreneurs you can be fooled into the narrative by the press who sometimes write stories without the actual data. PHONE CALLS.

SaaS 339

SaaS VC real estate board 339

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

When venture capitalists scale back investing activities it can be very swift and leave many companies that are in the process of fund raising hung out to dry. I would argue that the shut-down of September 2009 was equally severe yet there are signs that this “VC Ice Age” has begun to thaw. Why did the VC markets freeze so quickly?

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VC board investing investment 263

Entrepreneurs' Organization

JANUARY 5, 2016

This article was originally posted on Inc.com, a partner of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization , the world’s most influential community of entrepreneurs. What’s the best advice on productivity you’ve ever received? I’ve received great advice from many people over the years. It’s the most adaptable.

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mix-use advice pitching opportunity 130

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2011

When I described to people why I initially invested my calls went something like this, “He’s taken kicks to the face for nearly 2 years and is still standing. Because my wife is a superstar she published them all on a blog here along with much other wonderful type-A mom advice. Through this process he raised $2 million.

VC 292

VC peer-to-peer investing investment 292

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2012

If you do a capped note it’s bad for the entrepreneur. Since 2009 I have been counseling people to offer discounts to the first angel investors. Here is what I recommend very often – privately – to startup entrepreneurs for angel funding. I recently wrote about my views that startups rounds should be priced.

financing 294

financing finance pitching VC 294

TechCrunch

AUGUST 10, 2021

Companies that have reached $5 million to $10 million in annual revenue are more likely to assemble growth teams; it’s a smart investment for any startup that’s achieved product-market fit. We frequently run articles with advice for founders who are working on pitch decks. Kickstarter’s CEO on the future of crowdfunding.

pitching 96

pitching disruption mix-use leadership 96

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

otherwise I prefer to invest less and risk less). In a world where the economy only heads in one direction (read: 2009-2014) most investors & entrepreneurs forget to pay attention to gross burn. They tend to have many more investments than a concentrated VC and thus can’t cover all their bets as easily.

startup 383

startup VC frameworks capital 383

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

My initial reaction to Adeo when we spoke was that while it may have solved some issues (debt versus equity) it didn’t solve the ones that I’ve been warning entrepreneurs about most loudly. A standard entrepreneur retort I heard back then (2008-09) was “I don’t know what my company is worth now.

startup 354

startup VC entrepreneurs financing 354

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2013

My mom was an entrepreneur – she was kind of my inspiration for entrepreneurship. And no one could see me as anything but a startup guy, so I started a second company and called myself a serial entrepreneur. Then everyone just started calling me a serial entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur you have to suspend disbelief.

startup 337

startup entrepreneurs consulting board 337

abovethecrowd.com

JUNE 17, 2014

Many entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley believe that the financial services industry in the United States is “ripe for disruption. ” Consumers want faster, simpler, and cheaper transactions, and entrepreneurs want to give it to them. Many blame Dodd-Frank and the consolidation post 2009 for the loss of free checking.

disruption 83

disruption financing finance incumbents 83

StartupNation

DECEMBER 1, 2021

Michigan is now the state with the highest growth in VC investment. InvestNext is a Detroit fintech startup that has created a platform to streamline how real estate investment firms raise and manage capital. They are committed to diversity and invest in the education of their employees. Next year is looking even better.

startup 108

startup real estate health energy 108

Andreessen Horowitz

NOVEMBER 28, 2023

We sold that at the end of 2007 and I stayed on with MoneyGram International who acquired the company until the end of 2009. And I think when you’re as an entrepreneur, like you want to go solve a problem and it’s a lot of fun using technology to go and do that. You’re going to get lots of different advice.

technology 75

technology advice support founder 75

Entrepreneur's Handbook

JULY 22, 2022

( Any views expressed in the below are the personal views of the author and should not form the basis for making investment decisions, nor be construed as a recommendation or advice to engage in investment transactions. ) ( Note to reader: this week’s essay is a continuation of my piece from last week, “A Samurai, a Knight, and a Yankee”.

energy 133

energy support real estate investing 133

Entrepreneur's Handbook

MARCH 11, 2023

(Any views expressed in the below are the personal views of the author and should not form the basis for making investment decisions, nor be construed as a recommendation or advice to engage in investment transactions.) But for all our effort, there is still a chance that we will never reach this ultimate state.

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capital networking support energy 127