This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 28, 2013

YCombinator had a great run from 2007 through early 2009 investing at a time when there weren''t nearly as many seed funds and accelerators as there are now. My own track record as a VC across First Round Capital and Brooklyn Bridge Ventures actually starts in January of 2010, *after* the Airbnb class of Winter 2009.

venture capital 410

venture capital VC ventures capital 410

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2010

Closing a VC fund in 2009/10 is a major achievement in and of itself. Another topic we debated early in the program was “lean startup” vs. “ fat startup ” where we both took the obvious hedge and said “it depends.” Total raised: $83mm; Series B round (July 2009 for $43mm) valued company at $400mm. OTHER DEALS: 1.

VC 240

VC peer-to-peer advice ventures 240

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. Startups should know how VCs work. startup) per month. Do startups need to conduct due diligence on a venture fund’s LPs?

ventures 334

ventures startup capital board 334

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

” “Mark has a vested interest in talking down valuations of startups.” Most prefer not to say this publicly for two reasons: 1) they have an entire portfolio of startups, many of whom are raising capital and 2) they prefer not to be attacked publicly or seem “anti entrepreneur.” goes into a startup.

startup 285

startup VC entrepreneurs investing 285

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 9, 2011

Come 2009 we felt really bullish about the future for startups because the froth was gone and so, too, were wantrapreneurs. The people left standing had a compelling vision to build companies and we backed many in 2009. I need leaders who manage in good times and bad.To tl;dr summary. August 2011. What’s happening?

VC 305

VC disruption entrepreneurs venture capital 305

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 finance financing venture capital 278

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2015

As an active investor in the Los Angeles technology market we’re always seeking to better understand the data and trends of why our market has grown so rapidly since 2009. If you’re a tech or media startup considering whether LA is now a mature market I think the data will assuage any concerns.

VC 307

VC opportunity media innovation 307

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2010

It costs less money to start companies so the world should have way more startups.&# I’ve heard the “world is different&# argument in every bubble I’ve ever seen. That would mean that the increased number of new business startups will lead to a “funding gap&# of deals that can’t get financed.

angel investing 299

angel investing investing investment real estate 299

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 15, 2010

Nevertheless, if you share too much in your funding process or meet too many VCs expect a certain amount of your ideas to spread around the startup community. The following was available: “I kept hearing about startups that raised VC funding, but which hadn’t filed Form Ds (nor issued a press release). Paperless billing for consumers.

VC 285

VC finance financing capital 285

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 15, 2012

From 2005 to 2009, I was fortunate enough to be part of a small group of New York City innovation community leaders that sowed some of the seeds of the thriving tech hub we have today. Honestly, it was a fair bit of hand waving and maybe a little smoke and mirrors--saying in 2005 that we had a ton of startup-ready tech talent.

communities 253

communities innovation real estate creativity 253

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

How would they know unless they surveyed a critical mass of startups all at the same stage now and then three years ago or so to compare? David's firm most recently participated in the $77 million second round financing of SoFi, a one year old startup focusing on student loans. The tablet market has absolutely exploded.

ventures 325

ventures venture capital disruption pitching 325

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2021

But markets have changed and I think investors, founders and experienced executives who want to join later-stage startups can all benefit from playing the long game. Imagine if, say, Autodesk had purchased it in 2009 for $100 million? It literally drove FOMO. This “overnight success” was first financed in 2004. Maker Studios?—?sold

venture capital 363

venture capital capital ventures VC 363

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2011

That’s awesome for users of Salesforce.com or companies that want to cater to them but less awesome for pure startups that want independence and are really just looking for cloud infrastructure. That makes both of these amazing companies great channels for startups. Facebook is a “platform cloud&# provider, too.

venture capital 334

venture capital capital ventures VC 334

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 7, 2020

We see that in the startup world, too. Startups spend many months and lots of money prepping for a big-time launch, only to have very little planned around the follow-up. Very rarely does a launch itself propel a startup to success—and many companies fail to see past that moment in the timeline. But what’s next?

energy 316

energy accelerator media communities 316

This is going to be BIG.

JULY 14, 2013

You can ask a bunch of startup companies to move to a place, but it''s harder to bring together inspiring people who will build the companies of tomorrow in that place. There was no strategic goal to build venture backed startup companies, but yet at least three companies in her community got VC investment last year.

communities 340

communities coworking spaces economic development funders 340

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 3, 2010

I don’t do advertising on my blog, but I thought it was worth mentioning Ryan in particular because he has an alternate model for doing a startup. Founded in 2009 in Los Angeles by Michelle Crames. Founded in 2009 in San Francisco by David Soloff (ex-Lead Architect of Rapt, which was sold to MSFT in 2008). MetaMarkets.

VC 214

VC founder advice ventures 214

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 7, 2012

If you're looking to create a new startup hub, you can't look at the West Coast to figure out how to do it. I've spent the last few days touring the city and researching the startup culture here and I'm impressed on both fronts. It felt a bit like the knock on the German startup scene that I hear. It makes sense.

creativity 281

creativity opportunity culture communities 281

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 15, 2020

Take the story of luggage startup Away’s CEO Steph Korey. Don’t get me wrong--the mental and emotional well-being of startup employees is a serious issue. An examination of several high profile stories this past year about female CEO issues lays bare the other reason: It’s not “founder friendly.” It’s male founder friendly.

coworking spaces 545

coworking spaces hospitality culture coworking 545

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

When convertible debt first started being introduced as a “faster, cheaper way to get startups funded” they didn’t have pricing built into them. In fact, most early investor work hard to help their startups get to the next level so it makes no sense for the angel investor and founders to be at odds.

startup 354

startup VC entrepreneurs finance 354

TechCrunch

DECEMBER 21, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic might have upended the global economy, but according to Meagan Crawford at Spacefund and Chris Moran with Lockheed Martin Ventures, it didn’t dampen investment in space startups. Crawford and Moran both agreed that interest and investment in space will increase as more startups have successful exits.

incubation 129

incubation startup VC sustainability 129

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 5, 2010

That is the reason I am so supportive of the Startup Visa movement that has been so successfully championed by Brad Feld, Dave McClure, Eric Ries, Shervin Pishevar and many others. I wanted several of the software engineers to join me at our next startup but their employment was tied to BuildOnline. Irony, hey?). Crazy, huh?

education 282

education creativity innovation entrepreneurs 282

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. I was out trying to save my startup by talking to as many investors as I could. It's the black box of the startup world. In a way, startup companies have it easier because VCs and many angels make themselves known.

ventures 280

ventures pitching VC startup ecosystem 280

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 board 221

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 2, 2014

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. I started a company, failed at it, and joined First Round in 2009 to help them open up their NYC office. So thanks for playing Inception, Henry.

venture capital 293

venture capital VC ventures technology 293

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

In my previous post, The VC Ice Age is Thawing (for now) I wrote about the reasons why the VC market came to a screeching halt in September 2008 and remained largely shut until at least April 2009. As of near the end of September 2009, we’re up 46% since the March 9th nadir (yes, I need to find a way to use one of my SAT words ; – ).

VC 255

VC venture capital networking innovation 255

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. The best way to know what managers to pick is to be in the startup business in some way.

VC 279

VC board investing investment 279

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 7, 2014

If you want a great primer on how the VC and startup funding scene changed here’s a great primer. If you have raised $6 million from non-startup-type investors they will probably see you as an entrepreneur who prefers easy, dumb money over putting in the effort to find the right long-term investors. Startup Lessons'

VC 399

VC advice finance financing 399

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.

finance 344

finance financing ventures real estate 344

Gust

DECEMBER 13, 2011

I note a couple of trends: (1) Seed stage venture capital financing have been pretty stable over the past five years and (2) while the number of deals funded was a bit lower in 2009 and 2010 for most regions, the NYC Metro area had a significant increase in the number of seed stage deals funded. US Angel Investment – All Regions.

entrepreneurs 162

entrepreneurs angel investing VC venture capital 162

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 1, 2011

If you’re a tech startup person I know you know what I mean. But they weren’t there in 2009 when you were up late nights shitting yourself whether you really were smart for pursuing this idea. And so it goes with startups. Building a blog & name recognition is only one small, small part of my job.

advice 391

advice VC finance financing 391

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 12, 2013

He first came to see me in 2008 when we was raising money for his 1st startup – NextMedium. 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. Startup DNA. The idea immediately resonated.

ventures 340

ventures investing investment board 340

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

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. That's how you win out in the venture and startup world. How did this startup come to be? My first article for the monthly edition was on AOL.

data analysis 298

data analysis venture capital communities entrepreneurs 298

StartupNation

DECEMBER 6, 2020

We live in a world with a stereotypical representation of what a startup founder looks like, so it’s no wonder that a large portion of the population feels underrepresented. A Gender Gap Grader study shows that women represent 9 percent of developers in the startup ecosystem. Here are four startup myths that hold innovation back.

innovation 126

innovation startup creativity startup founder 126

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 15, 2014

Much has been written about when it is time to hire a “professional CEO” to run a startup company and of course that has long been a norm in Silicon Valley when founders find that their inexperience may be a limiting factor in company growth ( know as the Peter Principle ). Startup Lessons' Onward & upward DataSift.

founder 309

founder leadership board innovation 309

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2010

Paul Kedrosky made the case for “naive optimism&# being an important part of startup success. I know that in late 2010 it’s not as popular to say this because we’re in the era of “super angels&# and feel-good startups. Tags: Startup Advice Tech Market Analysis VC Industry.

angel investing 284

angel investing investing investment VC 284

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

At our mid-year offsite our partnership at Upfront Ventures was discussing what the future of venture capital and the startup ecosystem looked like. Pitchbook estimates that there is about $290 billion of VC “overhang” (money waiting to be deployed into tech startups) in the US alone and that’s up more than 4x in just the past decade.

VC 416

VC strategy investing investment 416