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Praying to the God of Valuation

Both Sides of the Table

Between 2006–2008 I sold both companies that I had started and became a VC. SEEING THINGS FROM THE VC SIDE OF THE TABLE While I was a VC in 2007 & 2008 those were dead years because the market again evaporated due the the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). We’re still trying to find our sober equilibrium.

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The Great VC Ice Age is Thawing (for now) – Part 1 of 3

Both Sides of the Table

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. The rest of this post series deals with the reasons why VC froze up in the first place, why investments have heated up recently and why the future of VC funding at the current pace is not certain.

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This Week in VC with Dana Settle of Greycroft Partners

Both Sides of the Table

Greycroft is an early-stage VC. Closing a VC fund in 2009/10 is a major achievement in and of itself. In the intro section of the show we talked a lot about why VC funds are becoming smaller again and where Greycroft fits. Founded in August 2008 in Palo Alto, CA, by Sam Christiansen and Keith Lee. Total raised: $29.5mm.

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How Venture Funding For Early-Stage Startups Will Change During the COVID-19 Crisis

Dream It

During our recent Dreamit Kickoff week, Bullpen Capital Founder and General Partner Paul Martino ( @ahpah ) spoke with our Spring 2020 cohort about the state of the VC ecosystem in the current economic crisis. VCs were basically ‘out to lunch’ and not making new investments during this time. This is not without precedent.

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15 Years of Founders’ Co-op

Founders Coop

We started the firm in 2008, on the cusp of the Global Financial Crisis, and it’s somehow fitting to be entering our 15th year as the laws of financial gravity reassert themselves once again. First, the increment of learning in VC is investment decisions managed to maturity. Founders’ Co-op turns fifteen this year.

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Upfront Ventures Adds Hamet Watt as New Investment Partner

Both Sides of the Table

Now that he’s become a VC he’s promising me he’ll provide way more public information and discourse so please welcome him by following him on Twitter and better yet welcoming him with a Tweet of your own linking to his Twitter handle or this post. I’ve known Hamet for 5 years. I stayed close. And he followed through.

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

This is going to be BIG.

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. Rob messed around with some local video thing in 2008, which everyone but Rob thought was a pretty terrible idea.

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