Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 24, 2015

These are all normal things but in this big run since 2009 we’ve all gotten used to nearly 100% follow-on financing rates, valuations only moving up, deals clearly the convertible note caps and low mortality rates. But I can tell you from first-hand experience it was a real issue in 2008-2009 and the psychology persisted into 2010-11.

financing 344

financing finance ventures real estate 344

Dream It

APRIL 3, 2020

In addition to his books, Geoffrey Moore assisted in writing “In a Downturn, Provoke Your Customers” for the Harvard Business Review in 2009. His strategy for selling in 2009 is relevant to any economic downturn.

pitching 221

pitching strategy advice opportunity 221

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

SEPTEMBER 12, 2022

Our investment in Kickstarter back in 2009 is an excellent example of that. I’ve always been interested in tapping into the “crowd” to fund things that need to happen and that our current institutions can’t figure out how to support.

financing 226

financing finance creativity innovation 226

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 26, 2022

If I look back to the beginning of the current tech boom which started around 2009, we often wrote a $3–5 million check and this was called an “A round” and 12 years later in an over-capitalized market this became known as a “Seed Round” but in truth what we do hasn’t changed much at all.

ventures 408

ventures startup peer-to-peer venture capital 408

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 2, 2014

I started a company, failed at it, and joined First Round in 2009 to help them open up their NYC office. I tried to write a book for college kids in 2002-2003, couldn''t get it published, so I started blogging in February of 2004. I met Brad and Fred in the Summer of 2004, agreeing to join them later that year--my first job at a fund.

venture capital 286

venture capital ventures VC technology 286

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 21, 2012

It was even earlier when I talked to Jason at Shopkeep--December of 2009 by my records. It took almost two years for the company to raise their first outside capital from RTP and Greycroft--and honestly, my bad for not staying close to the company. Good for him--I'm happy to see him get resourced to built out his vision.

VC 257

VC education entrepreneurs development 257

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

The last closed market we had was from about September 2008 until June 2009--10 months. A small percentage of the time, there's a rush to fund things and about an equal amount of time, the market is closed while it figures out what a mess it made out of itself while it was rushing.

ventures 311

ventures venture capital disruption pitching 311

This is going to be BIG.

JULY 14, 2013

It was a happy accident when I got back into NYC VC in 2009 that I just happened to find the Ace Hotel--a space that was really conducive to meetings and founders working on projects. What conferences are going to be here that will attach outsiders and give us a national brand? How can they be helped?

communities 326

communities coworking spaces economic development funders 326

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 3, 2014

In 2009, I was introduced to Havi Hoffman. It''s super interesting to go back and trace connections and relationships that led to new opportunities. If nothing else, it serves as a good reminder that every thing you do now is an investment in the future. She was working as a developer evangelist at Yahoo!

disruption 279

disruption communities innovation enablement 279

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 7, 2020

That’s why Foursquare didn’t quite take off in the same way in 2009. For example, people think that it happened at SXSW with Twitter in 2007—but they forget that a small but dedicated mass of people were already on Twitter ahead of the conference. That conference accelerated adoption, but there was already some adoption in the community.

energy 311

energy accelerator media communities 311

A Smart Bear

JANUARY 4, 2018

The Silicon Valley-oriented technology press outlets don’t cover us because we’re not in San Francisco, even though we’re more successful than most of the startups they cover.

investing 175

investing investment leadership culture 175

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

MAY 5, 2021

This study was based on a large sample of VC fund level returns from 2009 to 2017 and does not include the last few years which have been particularly strong for the VC sector. Manager selection remains an important part of VC investing because the lower half of VC funds do not outperform the stock market.

VC 279

VC board investing investment 279

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 24, 2014

As a result I didn’t write my first venture capital check until March 2009 – exactly 5 years ago. I spent my first year developing proprietary deal flow and learning the business and then the Sept 2008 / Lehman Bros collapse / financial meltdown happened. 5 years ago.

VC 387

VC venture capital ventures financing 387

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 18, 2014

We first met five years ago through serendipity as I described in this 2009 blog post and elaborated on again in more detail 2010. This is how Upfront Ventures came to fund Tristan Walker – one of the most talented and passionate entrepreneurs with whom we work whose new company is called Bevel.

startup 419

startup peer-to-peer entrepreneurs education 419

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

It wasn’t until I helped Foursquare raise their seed round in 2009 that many outside VCs even took notice of NYC. They’re less impactful on a year to year basis. In 2005, it was a risky bet to join Union Square Ventures and plant my VC career here in NYC. The one thing that is true for any tech community—it takes a long time to build.

communities 434

communities startup real estate mentorship 434

Entrepreneurs' Organization

JUNE 19, 2024

Prior to founding Equifund, Jordan founded capital markets consulting and investor relations firm Novea Capital Inc in 2009. He is committed to fostering an informed, engaged investment community, aligning business growth with investor education. For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc.

financing 255

financing finance entrepreneurship mentorship 255

Entrepreneurs' Organization

JULY 30, 2021

In 2009, he co-founded DALS Lighting, an LED lighting business where he implemented the Scaling Up Growth System and led the company to 3X its revenues. Pimsleur is the author of Go Big Now: 8 Essential Mindset Practices to Overcome Any Obstacle and Reach Your Goals.

health 300

health entrepreneurs entrepreneurship leadership 300

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

FEBRUARY 21, 2023

I have not seen a better articulation of “native” than my partner Albert’s post from 2009 on native mobile applications. What is a “native” AI application? What is a “native” Web3 application? He started out by laying out the new primitives that mobile smartphones made available to developers.

technology 197

technology capital development VC 197

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

MAY 12, 2020

We kicked things off with an event we called Hacking Education back in March 2009. USV has invested in the education sector for a bit more than ten years. We have focused on “direct to learner” businesses and have mostly avoided investing in companies that sell to the established education system.

investing 177

investing investment education strategy 177

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 15, 2012

He spotted Facebook in 2004 and Spotify in 2009. Parker made a huge dent in the web as co-founder of Napster, then built Plaxo up to 20 million users. Say what you will about either company, they got up to huge userbases and had audaciously big aspirations.

startup 278

startup financing finance venture capital 278

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2011

The biggest media attention in our industry went to the so-called “super angels&# during the 2009/10 timeframe and while I don’t believe there is such thing as a super angel I believe that much media attention was deserved. Spawning of Micro VCs.

venture capital 334

venture capital capital ventures VC 334

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 7, 2012

I don't think the Valley really took New York seriously until Foursquare rose up in 2009. That's what will attract the best entrepreneurs here--an opportunity to push limits and explore the future of innovation. It can't and won't be market scale or, in the near term, investment capital.

creativity 274

creativity opportunity culture communities 274

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 19, 2012

4/19/2009 – Still an agency. 12/11/2009 – Slight tweak: Now you use our tools to control your social media. Our engaging social app-vertisements —games, quizzes and contests— create social brand loyalty. We help brands to engage their audiences by extending their advertising campaigns into the social world.

media 274

media networking social gaming SaaS 274

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

In the early spring of 2009, the fundraising nuclear winter of the previous year hadn't yet thawed. It would be months before Foursquare's first round touched off a NYC venture frenzy. I was out trying to save my startup by talking to as many investors as I could.

ventures 280

ventures pitching VC startup ecosystem 280

Entrepreneurs' Organization

JANUARY 25, 2021

Example: In 2009, Southwest Airlines decided to go against industry standards that were shifting toward fees for checked luggage. This includes customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders, society at large and the environment.

capital 278

capital culture sustainability leadership 278

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 7, 2014

I have come to realize that since the great tech boom started in 2009 and given the massive increase in first-time angels, first-time seed funds, first-time accelerators … there market is just filled with well-intentioned terrible advice.

VC 399

VC advice financing finance 399

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 15, 2014

I first met Nick Halstead in 2009 when he was running a company called Tweetmeme (the predecessor to DataSift) who had invented the Retweet button and actually helped Twitter develop its early API. I remain as childishly giddy at Nick’s vision as I did in our conference hangout we had in 2009.

founder 309

founder leadership board innovation 309

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 1, 2011

But they weren’t there in 2009 when you were up late nights shitting yourself whether you really were smart for pursuing this idea. If you’re a tech startup person I know you know what I mean. You just closed your last $5 million round and everybody around you is thinking they could have done what you did.

advice 391

advice VC financing finance 391

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

NOVEMBER 18, 2019

Back in March 2009, USV hosted an event called Hacking Education. It was the beginning of our effort to invest in the transformation of the education sector. A few weeks ago, USV held its annual meeting, roughly 15 years after we closed our first fund.

education 139

education accelerator enablement technology 139

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 12, 2013

As more consumers were skipping commercials the idea of authentically integrating brands into media seemed obvious to me and ended up informing a lot of my investments in 2009 and 2010. The idea immediately resonated.

ventures 340

ventures investing investment VC 340

Dream It

APRIL 12, 2020

In 2008-2009, the financial markets seized up, and there were quarters of complete uncertainty, but ultimately VCs started investing again and things normalized. The crisis began in August 2008, but by March 2009, deal activity in venture had picked up again and economic activity in the venture ecosystem normalized.

ventures 334

ventures startup capital board 334

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 14, 2019

Because I had previously met Jack Dorsey through the Union Square Ventures network, in 2009 I was able to grab coffee with him before he launched Square. This is actually easily referenced. For example, let’s say I had a more national fund.

ventures 267

ventures angel investing board advice 267

Entrepreneurs' Organization

MARCH 17, 2021

In 2009 he went to Silicon Valley to find seed investors. We maintain that there is every bit as much scope for originality at this stage as there is in trying to find a breakthrough idea in the first place. A fantastic example is Demis Hassabis, co-founder of the machine learning AI lab DeepMind. 2 for his age group at 12.

entrepreneurs 236

entrepreneurs frameworks innovation pitching 236

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 12, 2011

Ironically enough, the second nudge she gave my career also had to do with AOL--ten years later when in 2009, she introduced me to Jon Brod who was forming AOL Ventures. She helped inspire me to start writing about business and form a business newspaper on my college campus. My first article for the monthly edition was on AOL.

data analysis 291

data analysis venture capital communities ventures 291

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

In 2009 we could take a long time to review a deal. I have told this to people for years and some people can’t understand how we’ve been able to keep this strategy going through this bull market cycle and I tell people?—?discipline discipline & focus.

VC 416

VC strategy investing investment 416

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 16, 2016

The midway point of this dataset is 2009. The average company of a 2009 fund was funded in 2011, just five years ago, and half the companies in that fund are less than five years old. Companies take a long time to exit--often 5-9 years.

venture capital 196

venture capital ventures capital VC 196

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2015

This was until about 2009 because most the investments in companies came from one, maybe two, sources. If you add the pre-money valuation (let’s say $8 million) to the amount of money you’re raising (let’s say $2 million) you get the post-money valuation.

VC 364

VC financing finance board 364