Both Sides of the Table

MAY 28, 2018

There’s a quick litmus-test conversation any early-stage VC will have with the founder and it’s one that you should be as prepared for as your elevator pitch. It goes something like this … VC: “How much money are you raising?” Founder: “$8–10 million” VC: “What’s your current burn rate?” Founder: “$250k / month.”

VC 247

VC capital incumbents financing 247

TechCrunch

AUGUST 4, 2021

Kunal Lunawat is the co-founder and managing partner of Agya Ventures , a venture capital firm focused on proptech, travel, hospitality and the future of the built world. Though 2021 is far from over, it’s already witnessed a record level of venture capital activity in the technology sector. So far this year, we’ve seen $292.4

VC 100

VC founder venture capital hospitality 100

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 11, 2016

Gregg Johnson, CEO of Invoca For the first 5 years or so after I became a VC I didn’t talk much about what I thought a VC should be excellent at since frankly I wasn’t sure. It’s easy to think the role of a VC is to have strong opinions about markets, trends, tech dynamics and so forth. The role of VC is sparring partner.

venture capital 363

venture capital capital ventures VC 363

TechCrunch

AUGUST 17, 2022

At TechCrunch, it often seems as if every other startup story is about yet another fun company raising satchels full of venture capital. One truth is that successfully raising capital from a VC firm is a huge milestone in the life of a startup. Another truth is that VC isn’t right for all companies.

venture capital 102

venture capital startup founder capital ventures 102

TechCrunch

MARCH 5, 2021

The data and research organisation uses factors like performance, capital, market reach, connectedness, talent, and knowledge to produce its rankings. However, a Kenyan B2B management startup founded by Yacob Berhane and Wossen Ayele wants to close the gap on three of the six factors — access to capital, knowledge, and talent.

capital 100

capital founder startup ecosystem peer-to-peer 100

Dream It

DECEMBER 19, 2019

million Series A financing round led by San Francisco-based Builders VC. Chris Molaro, Founder of NeuroFlow. Partnering with Builders VC aligns us with a team of industry experts who understand both the challenges and opportunities in transforming the way behavioral health is addressed and treated.”

health 195

health financing finance collaboration 195

David Teten VC

MARCH 5, 2021

(co-written with Katherine Boe Heuck , a MBA candidate at MIT Sloan (class of 2022); past intern at Versatile VC ; and a current intern at Metaprop NYC.). What can we learn from the best 40 venture capital investments of all time? We reviewed CB Insights’ global list of “40 of the Best VC Bets of all Time.” Of the 43 U.S.

VC 82

VC investing investment founder 82

Jason Malki

MARCH 9, 2023

I had the pleasure of interviewing Karen Sheffield, the Founder & Managing Partner of Pachamama Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in US early-stage climate tech companies. She is also a Finance Director at Visa and has previously worked for PepsiCo and American Airlines. How did you break into tech investing?

VC 98

VC ventures angel investing innovation 98

David Teten VC

MARCH 1, 2022

The easiest way to work with and for VC funds is to become a part-time scout, getting paid for sourcing investments. How to win consulting, board, operating, and investment roles with private equity and venture capital funds (video). How to find a job as a VC scout. How to get a job in venture capital.

VC 128

VC venture capital accelerator ventures 128

TechCrunch

OCTOBER 4, 2022

So instead of going out and raising venture capital, we decided that we were going to bootstrap because we could convince some landlords to list their homes on this platform that we had built and derisk some of their problems.”. The founders bootstrapped Spleet for 18 months before conducting a family and friend round of $265,000.

VC 131

VC real estate venture capital financing 131

TechCrunch

JULY 12, 2022

As the market swoons, venture capital firms continue to announce new funds. As the global venture capital market slows, is the US dodging the downturn? Lorena Suarez, one of the managing partners of Argentina-based Alaya Capital , a 10-year-old early-stage VC firm, invests in impact-driven startups from Spanish-speaking Latin America.

venture capital 92

venture capital VC capital ventures 92

TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 10, 2020

Andy Areitio is a partner at the early-stage fund TheVentureCity , a new venture and acceleration model that helps diverse founders achieve global impact. When you’re running your own venture — especially if it’s your first — it’s unlikely you will find the time to deep dive into how venture capital firms work.

venture capital 107

venture capital capital ventures founder 107

David Teten VC

JULY 27, 2021

We have collected a wide range of freebies, contests, accelerators, online communities, and VCs designed for student tech founders. I have been researching this both to support Versatile VC ’s portfolio companies and also as part of research for my new book, To University and Beyond: Launch Your Career in High Gear. Right here.

founder 144

founder mentorship peer-to-peer pitching 144

Revolution

MARCH 1, 2023

VC dollars are at risk, we conducted a historical analysis of top quartile fund managers over the past quarter century (as far back as we could access reliable Cambridge Associates data). This post highlights what has happened and what might be coming for investors and founders. And what does this mean for founders?

advice 147

advice founder financing finance 147

TechCrunch

JULY 1, 2022

Venture capital investments may be slower, but that seems to be giving venture capital firms some time to go out and raise funds of their own. Sequoia Capital is the latest to reportedly be raising two new U.S.-focused The VC firm is not alone in raising new funds lately. Sequoia Capital plays Nostradamus (again).

VC 71

VC capital venture capital financing 71

TechCrunch

AUGUST 4, 2021

The world’s 10 leading venture capital firms have, together, invested over $150 billion in technology startups. There is a startling lack of diversity within the venture capital sector. We all live in a world shaped by venture capital. Unfortunately, this is true of the broader venture capital sector as well.

venture capital 104

venture capital capital ventures VC 104

TechCrunch

DECEMBER 23, 2021

He leads the group’s venture capital fund, Seedstars International, which invests in seed-stage startups across emerging markets. Even after the unprecedented year that we had in 2020, the VC markets picked up in 2021 and founders raised 157% more capital in the second quarter of 2021 compared to the previous year.

capital 115

capital entrepreneurship VC venture capital 115

TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 11, 2022

Miguel Fernandez is CEO and co-founder of Capchase , which provides non-dilutive financing to SaaS and comparable recurring-revenue companies. Use alternative financing to fuel VC-level growth without diluting ownership. But in recent years, more options have become available to founders.

financing 92

financing finance startup venture capital 92

TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

Twinco Capital , a Madrid and Amsterdam-based startup making it easier to access supply chain finance, has raised €3 million in funding. Leading the round is Spanish VC fund Mundi Ventures, with participation from previous backer Finch Capital and several unnamed angels.

financing 102

financing finance capital networking 102

David Teten VC

AUGUST 30, 2021

Our proposal: governments systematically support funding for their diaspora founders, not just the local founders. I co-wrote this essay with Prabhat Gusain , currently the Chief of Staff at Caffeinated Capital; formerly an intern with Versatile VC ; and a 2021 MBA from UVA Darden. VC firms looking for fundable founders.

investing 119

investing investment founder VC 119

StartupNation

JULY 28, 2021

In 2019, venture capital investment into U.S. So, while it comes as no surprise that 2019 was also a record year for female founders securing these dollars, many would be shocked to learn this funding amounted to a mere 3.4% Only about 12% of decision makers at VC firms are women, and of all the partners at these firms, only 2.4%

VC 111

VC founder venture capital leadership 111

AsiaTechDaily

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

Jeshua’s audacious adventure unfolded during the pandemic, where he traveled to over 55 countries, joining Accelerating Asia and Decacorn Capital to dive deeper into the world of disruptive technology-led innovations. In the early stages, it’s really all about the founder/founding team.”

venture capital 98

venture capital peer-to-peer capital ventures 98

TechCrunch

JANUARY 29, 2021

Edtech needs to reach beyond underfunded public school systems to become more sustainable, which is why more investors and founders are focusing on lifelong learning. John Danner , managing partner, Dunce Capital (an edtech and future of work fund with portfolio companies Lambda School and Outschool).

VC 107

VC founder media education 107

TechCrunch

MARCH 14, 2023

VCs are wringing their hands (or not) over how they can help their portfolio companies; startup founders and CEOs are running about trying their very best to plan for the foreseeable future; and vendors and partners are either helping those affected or asking for reassurances that they’ll be paid or serviced properly.

VC 96

VC startup financing finance 96

TechCrunch

JANUARY 27, 2023

Earlier this month, we reported that investors’ sentiments surrounding venture capital activity going into this were more reserved than upbeat. But before that, there was shared optimism that African startups would raise more VC funding last year than in 2021 when the continent, for the first time, passed the $4-5 billion threshold.

venture capital 99

venture capital capital ventures startup 99

Entrepreneur's Handbook

AUGUST 2, 2021

5 Ways to Encourage More Women Into Careers in Venture Capital It’s time to tear open the seemingly impenetrable ‘old boys’ network It’s no secret that founders seek out investors who value diversity and recognize the success that comes from having diverse teams. However, the question of how to make this a reality remains unanswered.

VC 111

VC venture capital mentorship leadership 111

TechCrunch

JANUARY 13, 2022

Coming out of stealth today with $150 million in debt financing and $11 million in seed funding, Arc is building what it describes as “a community of premium software companies” that gives SaaS startups a way to borrow, save and spend “all on a single tech platform.” We founded Arc to give founders an alternative to the status quo.

SaaS 99

SaaS financing finance startup 99

StartupNation

AUGUST 8, 2021

But financing isn’t always easy — especially if you’re the proud founder of a brand new business. You still have plenty of creative financing options to fund your business. You’ll need to think outside the box, but you’re bound to come across your “aha” financing moment in this article.

creativity 104

creativity financing finance startup 104

TechCrunch

JANUARY 11, 2022

“It is still small-scale, and the most important thing we are doing that other companies should do is focus on the design, engineering and full-scale installations of vessels and the supporting systems to make a lot of it,” said Josh Tetrick, co-founder and CEO of Eat Just, which sells lab-grown chicken meat in Singapore.

culture 87

culture financing finance VC 87

TechCrunch

MARCH 11, 2021

David Teten is founder of Versatile VC and writes periodically at teten.com and @dteten. 15 steps to fundraising a new VC or private equity fund. Stéphane Nasser is co-founder of OpenVC , an open-source initiative to collect and analyze all VC theses. VC theses are often so vague that they’re meaningless.

VC 136

VC investing investment venture capital 136

TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 25, 2022

The investors behind virtual hack.summit() , the world’s largest blockchain programmer event, have launched a $200 million crypto seed fund under the Hack VC umbrella, fund partner Alex Pack told TechCrunch in an interview. Hack VC partner Alex Pack. Image Credits: Courtesy of Hack VC. We have to be more than capital.

VC 112

VC startup financing finance 112

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

That’s what every VC is telling their portfolio companies these days. If you don’t realize that, just imagine you’re a VC fund with some dry powder in the second half of 2023. The one question every VC needs to be able to answer on the way to getting to a “yes” is, “Can this return a big chunk of my fund one day?”

VC 417

VC startup accelerator financing 417

TechCrunch

JUNE 3, 2021

Early-stage startups are increasingly looking for alternative ways to access capital, meaning not every company wants to raise money from VCs or take on debt. Specifically, the new firm aims to provide non-dilutive or less-dilutive financing options to asset-rich fintech, e-commerce and SaaS companies in the U.S.

capital 91

capital real estate financing finance 91

TechCrunch

AUGUST 17, 2021

Prabhat Gusain is currently the chief of staff at Caffeinated Capital and was previously an intern with Versatile VC. David Teten is founder of Versatile VC and writes periodically at teten.com and @dteten. 6 career options for ex-founders seeking their next adventure. Next are VC firms looking for founders.

investing 97

investing investment founder VC 97

TechCrunch

MARCH 4, 2023

One of the quieter conversations in venture capital has only grown louder, in my DMs and interviews, over the past few months: The known bias in venture capital has been a branding issue for some of the emerging, diverse fund managers just now splashing onto the scene. I interviewed the past and present guard over at Kapor Capital.

venture capital 99

venture capital capital ventures VC 99

Entrepreneur's Handbook

MARCH 30, 2023

Why You Can’t Raise VC Money Photo by Jp Valery on Unsplash Many entrepreneurs have experienced the keen sting of rejection when venture capital firms refuse to invest in or otherwise respond to their exciting new startups. It seemed as if we needed more sales in order to raise more capital. Something was clearly missing.

VC 59

VC venture capital pitching capital 59

David Teten VC

MARCH 5, 2021

(co-written with Katherine Boe Heuck , a MBA candidate at MIT Sloan (class of 2022); past intern at Versatile VC ; and a current intern at Metaprop NYC.). What can we learn from the best 40 venture capital investments of all time? We reviewed CB Insights’ global list of “40 of the Best VC Bets of all Time.” Of the 43 U.S.

VC 52

VC investing investment founder 52