Dream It

APRIL 12, 2020

Martino founded Bullpen in 2010 with a focus on post-seed, pre-Series A startups, and he led the fund’s investments in companies like FanDuel, Namely, Ipsy, SpotHero, Classy, and Airmap. This geographic distinction is now less about actual geography and more about mentality and style of investing of these types of firms.

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ventures startup capital board 334

StartupNation

JANUARY 20, 2022

As the e-commerce industry continues to boom and work from home remains a trend amongst the corporate sector, more entrepreneurs are using their funds to create new digital startups in a number of niches. In fact, VC-based funding has boomed within the last decade, reaching a whopping $753B worth of investments since 2009.

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venture capital capital ventures startup 89

TechCrunch

MAY 17, 2022

Yoon founded a seed fund, Forest Ventures focusing in automotive sector and was an investment director at SAIC capital, one of the leaders in China’s automotive industry. Before SAIC, she led the Corporate Venture Group at Maxim Integrated, where she led multiple strategic technology acquisitions and venture investments.

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pitching energy startup consulting 76

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. At the time I pointed out: “If I had realized exits almost certainly it would be because I invested in a company that failed. “I think the best VCs help drive exits alongside their entrepreneurs. Since then?

VC 387

VC venture capital financing finance 387

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 22, 2016

Now, that number will grow to $350k and the firm will be able to do a small amount of follow on investment. Truth be told, I still believe the best ROI to be had is in the very first round, but now even a small follow on will help an entrepreneur answer whether all their existing investors are participating. 3) Have a consistent focus.

strategy 283

strategy venture capital investing investment 283

Startup Grind

AUGUST 13, 2018

Some of Ann’s investments include Lyft, Ayasdi, Xamarin, Refinery29, JoyRun, TaskRabbit, and Modcloth. Given the success of her investments she was on the 2017 Midas List of top 100 venture capitalists. What and when was your very first investment? I really admire David Swensen, Chief Investment Officer at Yale.

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VC entrepreneurship pitching strategy 111

StartupNation

DECEMBER 30, 2020

In fact, according to a 2009 study by Dane Stangler for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation , more than half of Fortune 500 companies were started during a recession. Good entrepreneurs use the hidden opportunity of recession times to supplement their income or launch a new venture for a variety of reasons. Since 1900, the U.S.

innovation 124

innovation creativity opportunity economic growth 124

Entrepreneurs' Organization

DECEMBER 5, 2018

Mitch Allen, an Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) member in Fort Worth, is founder and Head Elf of Hire Santa , a service that brings the season to life with thousands of professionally trained Santas worldwide. As an entrepreneur, I’m drawn to the concept of Shark Tank. It’s like the Super Bowl for entrepreneurs!

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pitching support entrepreneurs strategy 130

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 25, 2013

After all, I am no stranger to the publicly expressing the frustrations of dealing with the downside of this industry as I wrote about in 2006 when I was an entrepreneur. Most top tier VCs return about 3x invested capital and outlier funds (the best of a vintage) might return 6-8x. The best VCs don’t try to help entrepreneurs.

VC 374

VC peer-to-peer entrepreneurs board 374

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 also helped build up the ecosystem that I get to invest in through her work with hackNY and participation in NYC Resistor. Are there examples of that?

data analysis 298

data analysis venture capital communities strategy 298

David Teten VC

JANUARY 12, 2022

Your own investment’s value may change because of a change in the value of the underlying asset and/or market preferences. However, few investors can directly impact the value of the underlying asset, except for private equity and venture capital investors with portfolio acceleration strategies. The HFRI Index returned 18.3%

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Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010

The VC industry has different segments in it that have different fund sizes, different investment amounts and different risk / return expectations. These days that’s not the case and it’s a great outcome for entrepreneurs and for innovation. If you invest it in startups you’re a VC professional money manager.

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disruption VC entrepreneurs financing 308

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

When venture capitalists scale back investing activities it can be very swift and leave many companies that are in the process of fund raising hung out to dry. 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. Why did the VC markets freeze so quickly?

VC 263

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Gust

OCTOBER 8, 2014

This is something I think entrepreneurs don’t totally understand and it’s worthwhile they do. Entrepreneurs started demanding that VCs call their first-round financings “seed” rounds even if they were $3 million. I haven’t obsessed about what definitions people choose for precisely the reason I would advise entrepreneurs not to.

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VC advice financing finance 136

TechCrunch

APRIL 13, 2022

TechCrunch is bringing together three venture capitalists — Yoon Choi from Muirwoods Ventures, Mar Hershenson from Pear VC and Gabriel Scheer from Elemental — to talk about their investment strategies, what’s hot and what’s not. Turning an AV Innovation into a Product. TechCrunch Mobility Pitch-off. Founders – apply here.

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micromobility transportation pitching collaboration 82

TechCrunch

APRIL 12, 2022

TechCrunch is bringing together three venture capitalists — Yoon Choi from Muirwoods Ventures, Mar Hershenson from Pear VC and Gabriel Scheer from Elemental — to talk about their investment strategies, what’s hot and what’s not. Turning an AV Innovation into a Product. TechCrunch Mobility Pitch-off. Founders – apply here.

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micromobility transportation pitching collaboration 78

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2010

The strategy of GigaOm and where they differentiate in the market. Venture Capital funds: the different between “closed funds&# (which typically have a 10-year time horizon) and “evergreen funds&# which re-invest profits back into the fund. industry investors rather than VCs) a good idea for entrepreneurs.

VC 225

VC social gaming venture capital networking 225

TechCrunch

APRIL 15, 2022

TechCrunch is bringing together three venture capitalists — Yoon Choi from Muirwoods Ventures, Mar Hershenson from Pear VC and Gabriel Scheer from Elemental — to talk about their investment strategies, what’s hot and what’s not. Turning an AV Innovation into a Product. TechCrunch Mobility Pitch-off. Founders – apply here.

micromobility 71

micromobility transportation pitching collaboration 71

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2010

It was especially fun for me because we got the chance to talk about the VC industry and how entrepreneurs should think about the VC industry in addition to discussing deals. Clearstone currently invests out of a $200 million fund based in LA with offices in Menlo Park and in India. Segment Two: “Deal of the Week”. Terms not disclosed.

VC 236

VC venture capital ventures support 236

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 17, 2010

First, I’d like to quote (paraphrase) Brad Feld speaking at Twiistup in LA in 2009, “I keep hearing people in LA talking with a chip on their shoulders about building a tech business here relative to Silicon Valley. LA generally doesn’t have an appetite for this kind of investment at early stages. Come join us.

technology 290

technology advice innovation entrepreneurs 290

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

otherwise I prefer to invest less and risk less). In a world where the economy only heads in one direction (read: 2009-2014) most investors & entrepreneurs forget to pay attention to gross burn. But this strategy great depends on point 3. We want a strong balance sheet (um, ok. Availability of Capital.

startup 383

startup VC frameworks capital 383

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 21, 2011

When I first got into VC I decided I better have some investment themes. My macro theme was “great entrepreneurs&# who mapped to my belief system about the kind of entrepreneurs I wanted to work with. 2) Harris Interactive IMShopping Poll (August 2009). (3) “People still want calls …&#. 1) eMarketer. (2)

media 329

media disruption VC construction 329

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2013

My mom was an entrepreneur – she was kind of my inspiration for entrepreneurship. And then I got into strategy consulting, and I wanted to go into strategy consulting, and they said, “Yeah, but you’re a tech guy. We don’t take tech guys in the strategy consulting group.”

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startup entrepreneurs consulting board 337

Founders Coop

FEBRUARY 21, 2024

Just two years later, in 2009, we worked out a deal to create the Techstars Seattle program, with our first program running in 2010. From the beginning, we were deeply committed to Techstars’ “give first” ethos and mentorship-driven approach to startup investing. Bottom line, Techstars needed cash.

startup ecosystem 195

startup ecosystem accelerator communities support 195

Andreessen Horowitz

APRIL 16, 2024

for the following venture strategies: American Dynamism ($600M), Apps ($1B), Games ($600M), Infrastructure ($1.25B), and Growth ($3.75B). We did this because we believe as former entrepreneurs that your investors really matter. I am pleased to announce that we have just raised $7.2B This marks an important milestone for us.

venture capital 144

venture capital networking health VC 144

TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

Clearly, Alexandria, Virginia-based QED was investing in fintech before fintech was “cool.” As evidence of that, the firm led Credit Karma’s Series A in 2009; led Remitly’s Series A in 2014 and participated in Nubank’s Series A in 2014. That’s especially true as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to (sadly) rage on.

investing 91

investing investment capital advice 91

Entrepreneurs' Organization

AUGUST 29, 2016

This intensity is what makes us successful entrepreneurs. In 2009, he gave an interview with Francesco Guerrera of the Financial Times and said, “On the face of it, shareholder value is the dumbest idea in the world. A Letter to Fellow Entrepreneurs appeared first on THE BLOG. That’s because I’m just like you.

entrepreneurs 130

entrepreneurs communities health strategy 130

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 15, 2010

It’s always fun chatting with Jason because he’s knowledgeable about the market, quick on topics and pushes me to talk more about VC / entrepreneur issues. We’re staring to get the hang of how to divide the show up into talking about deals but also talking about issues for entrepreneurs during funding. Short answer: no.

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VC financing finance advice 285

abovethecrowd.com

APRIL 17, 2013

The most dangerous strategy for any platform company is to price too high – to charge a greedy and overzealous rake that could serve to undermine the whole point of having a platform in the first place. It may seem tautological that a higher rake is always better – that charging more would be better than charging less. The rest is history.

strategy 101

strategy networking disruption sustainability 101

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 3, 2012

Venture capital is just equity--and it's equity that isn't widely available to everyone and it gets invested in by a wide variety of investor types with different strategies. Do you think there are some overriding market characteristics that are weighing in equally in the performance of both those investments?

real estate 299

real estate venture capital entrepreneurship creativity 299

TechCrunch

AUGUST 10, 2021

Companies that have reached $5 million to $10 million in annual revenue are more likely to assemble growth teams; it’s a smart investment for any startup that’s achieved product-market fit. Nof said entrepreneurs should candidly explain to potential investors what they’ll need to believe to back their startup.

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pitching disruption mix-use leadership 96

StartupNation

NOVEMBER 21, 2021

Angel investors and venture capitalists have also learned to expect a standard pitch deck as the first filter when evaluating a company to invest in. We are presented with a universe that we can believe in and invest in, as long as it’s realistic and consistent with our own experience. This is our redesign of that slide.

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pitching SaaS mix-use media 110

Entrepreneur's Handbook

JULY 22, 2022

( Any views expressed in the below are the personal views of the author and should not form the basis for making investment decisions, nor be construed as a recommendation or advice to engage in investment transactions. ) ( Note to reader: this week’s essay is a continuation of my piece from last week, “A Samurai, a Knight, and a Yankee”.

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energy support real estate investing 133

Andreessen Horowitz

NOVEMBER 28, 2023

We sold that at the end of 2007 and I stayed on with MoneyGram International who acquired the company until the end of 2009. And I think when you’re as an entrepreneur, like you want to go solve a problem and it’s a lot of fun using technology to go and do that. It was a strategy of hope.

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technology advice support founder 76

Unvalidated Learnings

JUNE 8, 2017

This was the typical chicken and egg problem that any new format faces: it cannot grow unless consumers are equipped to use it, but consumers don’t want to invest in expensive equipment until they know there is enough available content to justify it. Some new VCs have attacked the market by offering more services to entrepreneurs (eg.

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incumbents disruption frameworks innovation 40

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2017

Every year Upfront Ventures surveys Limited Partners (LPs) who are the main source of capital that invests in VC funds and thus the main source of capital that goes to startups to get an early-warning sense of the year ahead, leaving aside any Black Swans. Note that all of these names were not started in Silicon Valley. Will it last?

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ventures startup venture capital VC 286

StartupNation

DECEMBER 1, 2021

Michigan is now the state with the highest growth in VC investment. InvestNext is a Detroit fintech startup that has created a platform to streamline how real estate investment firms raise and manage capital. They are committed to diversity and invest in the education of their employees. Next year is looking even better.

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startup real estate health energy 108