article thumbnail

VCs at Freestyle, Plexo Capital and Sequoia join Startup Battlefield judges

TechCrunch

An experienced executive, serial entrepreneur and internet pioneer in software and media, Dave Samuel is co-founder of Freestyle.vc. The seed-stage venture capital firm holds more than $565 million assets under management and investments in over 150 startups.

capital 92
article thumbnail

Investors are missing out on Black founders

TechCrunch

As the recipients of less than 1% of venture capital raise, institutionalized systems are visibly at play. When you think about the intersection of venture capital and technology, and specifically how it works — it is being led from an engineering perspective. Admittedly, there were no entrepreneurs in my family.

founder 105
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Vinod Khosla’s advice for top VCs? Don’t sit on your founders’ boards

TechCrunch

Serial entrepreneur and seasoned investor Vinod Khosla has some strong, contrarian advice for the venture capital industry: don’t sit on your founders’ boards. Khosla, who spoke onstage at the Upfront Summit in Los Angeles this week, spoke about the culture of capital. The outfit plans to raise $1.5

board 100
article thumbnail

Congrats to Backupify! A Great Exit Story for the First Company I Ever Backed

This is going to be BIG.

I started reading a great blog called Business Pundit in 2004. I''m proud of the whole team at Backupify and have been really impressed with Rob''s ability to grow and learn as an entrepreneur over time. Venture Capital & Technology' It was written by a guy about my age down in Louisville, Kentucky.

board 257
article thumbnail

Joseph Lee, CEO of Kairous Capital, Shares His Cross-Border Investment Philosophy for the Asia Pacific Region

AsiaTechDaily

In addition to his rich experiences working in the venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) sectors, Joseph has also sharpened his investment acumen through his multiple years in the audit and stock-broking industry before deciding to finally launch his cross-border investment firm, Kairous Capital , in 2015.

capital 71
article thumbnail

The Myth of the Young Startup Founder

Ian Hathaway

In February 2004, Mark Zuckerberg famously launched Facebook from his Harvard dorm room at the age of 19. Over the next eight years, Facebook would attract half a billion users and nearly $7 billion in venture capital investment, on its way to a May 2012 IPO that valued the company at more than $81 billion.

article thumbnail

Why the NYC startup scene needs Sean Parker

This is going to be BIG.

He spotted Facebook in 2004 and Spotify in 2009. Seems to me that New York could use a guy who goes around broadening the visions of New York entrepreneurs. Parker made a huge dent in the web as co-founder of Napster, then built Plaxo up to 20 million users. or would he have been convinced to take a financing round?

startup 278