Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

I was having dinner with a friend last night and we were chatting about venture capital and a bit about what I’ve learned. I started in 2007 with a thesis that my primary investment decision would be about the team (70%) and only afterward about the market opportunity (30%). They worry too much about missing out on a deal.

VC 374

VC investing investment entrepreneurs 374

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2010

Our guest this week on #TWiVC was Dana Settle , partner at Greycroft Partners , a venture capital firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Greycroft is an early-stage VC. Closing a VC fund in 2009/10 is a major achievement in and of itself. When the show has been processed it will be available here (estimated 8pm PDT).

VC 240

VC peer-to-peer advice collaboration 240

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

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. But any entrepreneurs raising capital should keep in mind that this opening of the markets could possibly be temporary. Why did the VC markets freeze so quickly? Short answer – yes.

VC 263

VC board investing investment 263

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 2, 2010

This is part of my series on Understanding Venture Capital. I’m writing this series because if you better understand how VC firms work you can better target which firms make sense for you to speak with. It in not uncommon to see a VC talk about “total assets under management&# as in “We have $1.5

VC 269

VC venture capital investing investment 269

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2010

One of things I’ve loved the most about doing now 11 weeks of This Week in VC is a chance to have an hour-long recorded conversation with investors. And in my interviews with many VCs I feel that people can watch these and get to know the VC’s as human beings a bit better. So how did Mike get into VC?

VC 230

VC ventures venture capital capital 230

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 7, 2014

No VC will be so naive as not to see straight through it. When I first became a VC, seed rounds were typically $500k – $1.5 When I first became a VC, seed rounds were typically $500k – $1.5 5 million was always the classic definition of an A-round between the late nineties (crazy financings aside) and say 2007. . $5

VC 399

VC advice financing finance 399

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2010

To see the video of This Week in VC click on this link. What a pleasure that I got to spend an hour talking with both Om Malik (whom I’ve always respected his views) and Paul Jozefak , a venture capital partner at Neuhaus Partners in Germany (and formerly the head of Europe for SAP Ventures). But it’s a real phenomenon.

VC 225

VC social gaming venture capital networking 225

TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 20, 2021

Matthew Mendelsohn’s accession to become Yale’s new chief investment officer marks a milestone for the rise of university endowments investing in venture capital. This perpetuates the remarkably closed ecosystem of hiring in VC, where jobs are seldom even posted and warm introductions are practically essential.

ventures 96

ventures education venture capital VC 96

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2010

If you want to raise venture capital more easily the advice could be quite practical and counter-intuitive. Many companies that are raising B or C venture capital rounds right now raised their initial money in 2005-2008. It’s a bit like if you bought a $1 million home in 2007 and want to sell it for $1 million today.

venture capital 289

venture capital capital ventures advice 289

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 21, 2009

On the third Wednesday of every month I co-chair a meeting called the SoCal VCA (venture capital alliance), which represents participants from all of the top venture capital firms in Southern California as well as prominent members of the Tech Coast Angels (TCA).

VC 241

VC venture capital ventures capital 241

Revolution

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

According to PitchBook , VC investments were down 30% in Q2 2022 compared with 2021, and IPOs hit a 50-year low. When deal-making slows, VC dollars typically favor the perceived market leader, starving other venture-backed businesses in the same space of capital.

startup 130

startup board VC venture capital 130

TechCrunch

MARCH 30, 2023

Pepea will target early-stage businesses that have been in existence for one to five years, and are generating revenues but yet to raise capital. MENA VC Flat6Labs’ new fund to back startups in East, West Africa The fund will finance startups in Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia, markets where Oxfam, and Goodwell have a presence.

startup 107

startup incubation financing finance 107

TechCrunch

OCTOBER 20, 2021

Backblaze, based in San Mateo, California, has a very limited venture capital history. million in outside equity since our founding in 2007. It turns out that there are a few twists to the company’s filing that make it really worth our time. So, we’re digging in. Prior to issuing $10.0 Here’s a reminder.

VC 97

VC venture capital financing finance 97

TechCrunch

OCTOBER 26, 2021

Because Sweetgreen raised hundreds of millions of dollars during its life as a private company, including myriad venture capital rounds — through a Series I in 2019 — along with capital from other investors. That is the point of raising private capital, to invest it at the cost of near-term profitability and cash flow.

VC 78

VC transportation disruption culture 78

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. The industry did that in 2007.

ventures 419

ventures VC capital SaaS 419

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 10, 2010

This episode of This Week in Venture Capital featured Michael Montgomery, president of Montgomery & Co. You have to be selected to present and it is typically reserved for companies that have already raised early-stage capital and are well into revenue growth. Should you use investment banks to raise venture capital?

VC 242

VC venture capital ventures capital 242

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 28, 2013

However, in this moment, I think one''s career in venture capital depends on changing your perspective. The biggest question I think VC''s face right now is whether or not, in the future, the best founders will look and act like the best founders of the past. YC''s best investing days may be behind it. That''s 25%.

venture capital 380

venture capital VC ventures capital 380

TechCrunch

APRIL 5, 2022

‘The tortoise and the hare’ story is playing out right now in VC. After the last few weeks of geopolitical volatility spilling over to the financial and crypto markets, it seems like all anyone can talk about is what startups and VCs can, should or will do in the anticipated downturn. More posts by this contributor.

SaaS 64

SaaS venture capital capital VC 64

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. Venture Capital & Technology' After my two year stint was up, I bought a domain name.

venture capital 276

venture capital VC ventures technology 276

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

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. There are many times when being overly capitalized before you’re ready is a negative. Availability of Capital.

startup 383

startup VC frameworks capital 383

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

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 24, 2014

I become a venture capitalist in September 2007 – exactly 6.5 As a result I didn’t write my first venture capital check until March 2009 – exactly 5 years ago. I divided success into the phases of venture capital and 18 months into writing my first check here was my view (details on each in the link above).

VC 387

VC venture capital financing finance 387

Gust

OCTOBER 8, 2014

Cautionary note: No competent VC is actually fooled when you show up after raising $6M in seed financing and say you’re now raising an A! No VC will be so naive as not to see straight through it. When I first became a VC, seed rounds were typically $500k – $1.5 If you''re newer to VC math here''s a great primer].

VC 136

VC advice financing finance 136

Gust

DECEMBER 13, 2011

I’ve recently taken a look at seed stage funding by venture capitalists (VCs) and angel investors over the past five years. For VCs, I chose to look at all seed stage VC deals (from MoneyTree©) as well as those in five of the most active regions in the country. All Seed-VC. VCs in NYC invested, on average, only $2.4

entrepreneurs 162

entrepreneurs angel investing VC venture capital 162

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 12, 2013

It’s why I talk about building VC relationships early – Lines, Not Dots. Fill your VC good will, build relationships, be helpful to them not just asking for things. Early in his days when he was raising capital for DocStoc he came to see me a lot. “I’ve never been a VC before. Be helpful.

advice 407

advice VC networking entrepreneurs 407

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 26, 2016

I recently sat down with Troy Carter to talk about what he does and why he believes it is applicable to venture capital. And more recently he has turned that into a fund called CrossCulture VC such that many in Silicon Valley and beyond now know Troy as well. I think the common denominator and the one word is ‘hustle’ .

venture capital 228

venture capital communities VC entrepreneurs 228

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. ” A startup company’s success that is funded by other VCs isn’t missing out. We are experiencing a frenetic time. Year in, year out.

advice 398

advice VC entrepreneurs transportation 398

TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 11, 2021

Since M-Pesa’s mobile money infrastructure came into play in 2007, there has been a proliferation of fintech services ranging from wallets to savings and loans. came to East Africa in 2007 to work on philanthropic biofield projects. Today, the Africa-focused but U.S.-based Playford, who grew up in the U.K.,

accelerator 93

accelerator financing finance capital 93

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 25, 2013

But VC is like congress. “I don’t know the exact math, but I hear it again and again: the top 2% of firms generate 98% of the returns in venture capital.” As you can see from the chart their data suggests there are about $25 billion of VC distributions per year in the US. Their data looks at tech VCs.

VC 374

VC peer-to-peer entrepreneurs board 374

TechCrunch

JULY 27, 2021

in 2004 before falling sharply due to the economic recession of 2007-2009. Sequoia Capital led the round and was joined by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation venture investment arm Arrive, Will Smith’s Dreamers VC and existing investor Signia Venture Partners. The rate reached its peak of 69.2% The rate reached 63.7%

real estate 98

real estate health VC advice 98

TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

It requires accelerators and incubators and coworking spaces to help nurture early ideas, and it needs VC firms investing across stages. 406 Ventures, a venture capital firm that focuses on Series A investing, says the schools are a huge advantage for Boston. Success begets success, and before you know it, a startup scene is born.

startup founder 95

startup founder founder startup coworking spaces 95

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 11, 2014

I''m super proud of Rob, Ben and the whole Backupify team--and this is particularly special for me because Backupify was the first investment I ever made as a VC, and the first board I ever sat on. I didn''t actually get to meet him in person until SXSW in 2007. Venture Capital & Technology' That was the year Twitter took off.

board 257

board venture capital entrepreneurship creativity 257

TechCrunch

OCTOBER 22, 2020

But in recent years, corporate docs are being drawn up in English to facilitate communication both inside Switzerland’s various language regions and foreign capital, and investment documentation is modeled after the U.S. Today, pitch competitions, incubators, accelerators, VCs and angel groups proliferate. Andreas Iten , partner, F10.

startup 144

startup ecology education incubation 144

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010

And that was evident on today’s Angel vs. VC panel. There are real changes in the venture capital industry and it would have been fun to talk about them. The VC industry is segmenting – I have spoken about this many times before. So in the past we needed VC to really get a startup going. Answer: Not much.

disruption 308

disruption VC entrepreneurs financing 308

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 12, 2020

When I started leading deals at First Round Capital, I sourced investments in 8 companies. My largest investor was a financial firm that invested in my prior funds to get into the VC business—and in the six years since they first invested, they had built out a team and a strategy that no longer involved doing much seed.

VC 340

VC hospitality investing investment 340

TechCrunch

MARCH 9, 2021

New York-based private investment firm Avenir Growth Capital and U.S. New and existing investors who participated include DST Global, Early Capital Berrywood, Green Visor Capital, Greycroft Capital, Insight Ventures, PayPal, Salesforce Ventures, Tiger Management, Worldpay FIS 9yards Capital. .

capital 145

capital frameworks investing investment 145

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

This is where VC comes in and why it’s needed in the industry no matter how much populist sentiment exists agains the industry. got picked up early without raising a lot of VC. Yes, the VC industry was over funded and too many non value-add people entered the industry. And the best early-stage investors know this.

angel investing 152

angel investing investing investment VC 152