Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2010

We haven’t hit that wall yet for three reasons: 1) not enough elapsed time, 2) the VC market is frenzied now, too and 3) we haven’t seen a market downturn since the volume picked up. I saw VCs doing crazy things in 2007-08 when I first entered the VC market – crazy prices, limited due diligence, large funding rounds.

angel investing 299

angel investing investing investment real estate 299

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

What is the True Sentiment of VCs? I recently survey more than 150 VC friends from all stages and geographies what they thought about the market by asking “Which of the following statements best describes your mood heading into 2016?” When I started blogging it was because I was inspired by Brad Feld.

startup 285

startup VC entrepreneurs investing 285

TechCrunch

DECEMBER 2, 2020

Nash said on Twitter that the two met at LinkedIn, where Nash was himself VP of product management for four years beginning in 2007. After moving on to a bubble-era company that no longer exists, Nash tried his hand at VC for the first time, joining Atlas Venture as an associate. Nash is also riding a very big wave.

startup 104

startup VC education pitching 104

OurCrowd

MAY 11, 2020

Historically, venture investing right after major market downturns – such as after the Internet bubble burst in 2000-2002, and after the financial crisis of 2007-2009 — has proved lucrative because you’re buying at a discount. That’s a very good entry point for new venture investors. Attacks are rising. Looking to connect.

venture capital 48

venture capital ventures capital health 48

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 20, 2015

VC funding. We love capital efficiency until we love land grabs until we abhor over funding until we get huge payouts and ring the bell for more funding until we attract every non-VC on the planet to invest in startups until it crashes and we start the cycle all over again none the wiser. blog here ). Same as I felt.

ventures 419

ventures VC capital SaaS 419

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

I was reading Danielle Morrill’s blog post today on whether one’s “ Startup Burn Rate is Normal. by Michael Woolf that is worth any startup founder reading to get a sense of perspective on the reality warp that is startup world during a frothy market such as 1997-1999, 2005-2007 or 2012-2014. Profitability.

startup 383

startup VC frameworks capital 383

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2013

I miss blogging because it serves as a great repository for me of my current thinking, as a way of organizing my thoughts and clarifying what I think and as a conversation started with so many of you (as Hunter Walk elegantly said, “Blog not to show how smart you are, but in the hope of soliciting feedback from smart people.

creativity 313

creativity VC board entrepreneurs 313

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2015

If you want to understand the software trend that drove the creation of the seed-stage VC phenomenon I wrote about it that linked blog post but in short: cloud computing drove down the cost to create startups enabling a new category of investor. Some quick highlights include: The Role of a Seed Stage VC. Startup Lessons'

VC 348

VC peer-to-peer frameworks board 348

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

MAY 5, 2021

There has been this narrative about investing in VC funds that you have to get into the top quartile (25%) or possibly the top decile (10%) in order to generate good returns. I have heard that for as long as I have been in VC and probably have written it here a few times. As you can see, investing in VC funds can be very profitable.

VC 280

VC board investing investment 280

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 12, 2013

Brunson’s short and to-the-point blog post, “ It’s Called Networking, Not Using.” It’s why I wrote the blog post on 50 Coffee Meetings. It’s why I talk about building VC relationships early – Lines, Not Dots. When I joined GRP Partners in 2007 I was offered a role as a General Partner.

advice 407

advice VC networking entrepreneurs 407

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 3, 2009

When Twitter first became popular with niche crowds in 2007 it seemed to take hold initially with bloggers. People had been steadily blogging for 2-3 years and this crowd seemed to bifurcate. On the one hand were the blogs that “blew up&# and became real businesses like TechCrunch, GigaOm or TalkingPointsMemo.

VC 219

VC creativity networking media 219

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 24, 2014

I become a venture capitalist in September 2007 – exactly 6.5 “Ok, so this guy can write a blog and source deals but can he make any money?” “I think the best VCs help drive exits alongside their entrepreneurs. I have done 6 VC investments – all within the past 20 months. years ago.

VC 387

VC venture capital financing ventures 387

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 2, 2014

What might be a more relevant date is May 22nd, 2007. Henry told me that I should start a fund--me, a 27 year old former VC analyst turned product manager with no MBA at a startup that wasn''t really headed in any particular direction. It''s kind of a funny answer to "When did you start Brooklyn Bridge Ventures?".

venture capital 293

venture capital VC ventures technology 293

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 17, 2014

In 2007, I met Rob May for the first time in person at the first SXSW I ever went to. We just hung out in a small group of nobodies, having chatted a bit through our respective blogs before. We just hung out in a small group of nobodies, having chatted a bit through our respective blogs before.

communities 339

communities VC accelerator startup 339

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2015

I rarely talk to any startup entrepreneur or VC who doesn’t feel it and somehow long for simpler times despite the benefits we all enjoy from increased enthusiasm for our sector. We are experiencing a frenetic time. For entrepreneurs there’s too much money sloshing around. Year in, year out.

advice 398

advice VC entrepreneurs transportation 398

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

AUGUST 14, 2019

USV seeded Tumblr along with our friends at Spark in the summer of 2007 and were actively involved in the development of the company until its sale to Yahoo! I maintained an active Tumblog from before we invested in 2007 until October 2016, when I stopped posting there. There was no moment when I decided to stop posting there.

media 201

media investing investment development 201

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2010

TechCrunch ran my article yesterday as a guest post but I wanted to have a copy here for anybody who missed it and for future readers of this blog. I had finally appeared on the front cover of a magazine (TornadoInsider – then the top European VC magazine) but I felt so fat in the picture I never sent it to anybody.

entrepreneurs 309

entrepreneurs advice venture capital real estate 309

TechCrunch

OCTOBER 20, 2021

million in outside equity since our founding in 2007. However, it turns out that online demand generation through native content is actually a huge lever for Backblaze, so, sure, the blog readers metric actually does matter. Prior to issuing $10.0 Here’s a reminder. What a silly non-GAAP metric!

VC 97

VC venture capital financing finance 97

Haystack

APRIL 10, 2018

As evidenced by today’s investor panel which included managers who focus on pre-seed, or traditional seed, or larger VC funds that can go from seed all the way to growth. As I argued at the start of the year, there are no longer any rules about what constitutes seed and who can play in the game.

investing 60

investing investment financing finance 60

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 25, 2013

But VC is like congress. As you can see from the chart their data suggests there are about $25 billion of VC distributions per year in the US. According to FLAG Capital there are 100 active VCs (as defined by making at least $1 million in VC per quarter for 4 consecutive quarters). Their data looks at tech VCs.

VC 374

VC peer-to-peer entrepreneurs investing 374

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2010

I had an offer to sell my company to Salesforce.com in 2007. Steven knew that from a fund perspective he wasn’t going to earn the amount of money that a typical VC might look for since we were selling early. I’m not trying to be nice to entrepreneurs so you’ll read my blog or take my money. photo taken from the Mint.com blog.

entrepreneurs 321

entrepreneurs VC capital investing 321

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 5, 2015

In 2007, I was at the SXSW where Twitter blew up. In 2010, Foursquare hit it big in Austin not long after their funding, which I accidently kicked off with a blog post. You know the only answer VC''s should feel qualified to give on this one? I might even say that the Meerkat funding is peak VC for this cycle.

VC 334

VC venture capital technology networking 334

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2016

Not since the initial popularity of Twitter in 2007 has a product so befuddled people. I remember the same disdain from people when I started blogging or using Twitter. Why would a VC do that? A bit like a blog that is put out regularly but not overly edited or self-conscious about word choices or typos. I do these, too.

advice 200

advice VC media entrepreneurs 200

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

JANUARY 2, 2020

I use @fredwilson for my personal tweets and I use @avc for this blog. I have done that since I joined Twitter in the spring of 2007. The idea is to keep AVC blog discussions on @avc and leave @fredwilson for other things. Like Mitt Romney and Kevin Durant, I manage multiple Twitter handles. Although neither is a secret handle.

media 107

media 107

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

MAY 6, 2020

and moved away from the Disqus comment system, I heard loudly and clearly that the folks who have left comments here at AVC, via Disqus, from 2007 to early 2020, would like to have their comments displayed at the bottom of all of those old blog posts. Back when we launched the new AVC (AVC 3.0)

development 148

development communities 148

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 30, 2013

. “You’d imagine your favorite founder, VC, blogger, political figure, billionaire, whatever has a stress free life pontificating about how to build the next really cool, society-altering product or changing a city, state or country. I cut-and-paste the text and saved it to my Trello board where I store blog ideas.

health 400

health board VC communities 400

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

MARCH 15, 2021

Carried interest means the share of the profits that the managers of VC funds get (and PE funds and Hedge funds too). For many years, there have been attempts to tax carried interest as ordinary income and those efforts have been fought tenaciously and successfully by the VC, PE, and Hedge Fund industries.

capital 260

capital VC 260

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2016

Your customers are all on this product so not trying to grok this platform gives you a few big handicaps: Some VCs on on Snapchat and interacting with them daily on Snapchat and you’re not. That’s like you saying you don’t want to go to cocktail parties and network anymore while every 25-35 year-old VC steals your customers.

peer-to-peer 279

peer-to-peer media VC networking 279