A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

JUNE 14, 2021

It may be silly and crazy, but it has also been a good investment for my friend and anyone who bought it in the early years. The combination of memes and investing is a powerful cocktail that I have been ignoring for a long time, probably incorrectly. It is easy to dismiss meme investing.

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This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 10, 2014

I''m excited to see Christina and Logan''s vision come to life and I''m excited to be on board as an investor. They launched the pre-sale of their first set of rings today--their own design. You should check it out. Venture Capital & Technology'

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This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 4, 2018

When you get an investment from Brooklyn Bridge Ventures—you get me. My investment thesis is shaped by the sum of my personal experience and so are my values. Limited partners judge my investment acumen. A co-op board is going to judge me at my next apartment. We get judged all the time.

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American Entrepreneurship

MAY 7, 2025

Liftoff, an industry leader in AI-driven performance marketing, has secured a minority growth investment from General Atlantic, reinforcing its role as a vital platform for mobile businesses seeking to scale in the fast-evolving app economy. With its latest funding the company reaches a $4.3 Valued at $4.3

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Hunter Walk

NOVEMBER 11, 2024

For startups, a good Board is better than no Board, but a bad Board is worse than anything. One component of a good Board is a high value add Independent Board Member, which in my experience, often doesn’t get added early enough (for a variety of reasons). I knew I wanted to help build it from the ground up.

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The Seraf Compass

JUNE 9, 2021

When you combine great leadership with a strong board of directors, the likelihood of a successful outcome for a business increases by an order of magnitude. As members of the board, they occupy leadership positions. Legally, directors are required to provide governance and oversight.

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American Entrepreneurship

FEBRUARY 13, 2025

This critical investment will enable Apptronik to ramp up the production of its groundbreaking humanoid robot, Apollo, and accelerate the development of next-generation robots tailored for a wide range of industries. The investment also supports the companys commitment to creating human-centered robots.

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

Bolster came out of stealth and into a beta period today and is opening up its marketplace to companies that want to access fractional talent and to executives who want to work at high growth companies in interim, fractional, advisory, or board roles. The full marketplace will launch soon.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

I have been writing a series on how startup boards get selected, who sits on them and what to avoid. I started this series in part to help entrepreneurs but also to help newer investors because I’ve know with so many new companies you have so many new board members and many people are trying to figure out there respective roles.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

One of the things that founders have the most angst about is whom they should have on their board and at what stage of the business. This is smart because amazing board members can be transformative with important advice and access and can also help attract other great board members (and team members).

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Paul G. Silva

APRIL 1, 2025

As I shared in a previous post , when I was president of Click Workspace, a startup coworking space, our board chairman delivered feedback that hit me hard: I wasn’t paying enough attention to our financials. Many founders would leave board meetings with lengthy to-do lists. What are the biggest risks to the company?

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Tomasz Tunguz

OCTOBER 7, 2021

Passive venture capital investing is a relatively new idea. If the public equities market is any indication, passive investing is here to stay. In public equities, passive investment funds constitute 54% of total dollars in the market, according to Bloomberg Reseearch. The board is fully staffed, the executive team as well.

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This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 18, 2024

These are people that didn’t make their money through a tech startup or startup investing. Governance Moreso than a lot of actual VCs, a lot of high-net-worth folks tend to ask for board representation—even in the super early stages of a company where boards tend to be a little less formal. I’m not talking about active angels.

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Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 13, 2014

Investment experience (5 years a VC at Battery Ventures). Operating experience (Helped run parts of CitySearch & UrbanSpoon, tons of product management experience, Board of Hatch Labs which helped spawn Tinder). For starters we’re an LA-based venture fund who invests nationally (and sometimes internationally, but less so).

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

JULY 19, 2021

” Unlike public markets, private market investments are held for many years, often a decade or more. I also think startup boards need to evolve. There should be many more independent directors and many fewer investor directors on startup boards. There is no divorce court for startups.

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Paul G. Silva

MARCH 25, 2025

Facing Reality Just in Time: The River Valley Investors Story After running the River Valley Investors (RVI) angel group for 15 years, I watched as attendance dwindled and investment activity slowed to concerning levels. The organization was rapidly declining and close to not having enough members to run effective meetings.

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Paul G. Silva

FEBRUARY 11, 2025

Breaking the “Impossible” at VVM When I was at Valley Venture Mentors, we set this BHAG: “In ten years, catalyze entrepreneurs to change the economy of Western Massachusetts by generating $1 billion in cumulative revenue and investment.” ” At the time, we were running a startup accelerator for 6 companies.

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This is going to be BIG.

JULY 16, 2014

There''s been some writing about how VCs and founders interact with each other and it inspired me to take a step back and reflect on what my role is supposed to be with regards to the investments I make and the founders I deal with. Here''s what I came up with. Here''s what I am not: I am not necessarily an entrepreneur''s friend.

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This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 3, 2016

We're "kingmakers" whose investment has the "Midas Touch." Perhaps if we spend more time talking about board participation, counseling entrepreneurs on decisions, helping them solve problems and working hard to recruit people, the type of people who apply to the job might change. 2) Self selection for judgemental power seekers.

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American Entrepreneurship

SEPTEMBER 11, 2024

The firm’s latest investment into family-owned Mama Lycha, the leading provider of branded Latin American foods, was announced this week. In addition, Luis Marconi, a longtime executive partner of Rotunda, will become Executive Chairman of the board of Mama L ycha , bringing his insight into family-run companies.

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Berkonomics

AUGUST 17, 2023

Preparing for the game… If you have been following our recent insights, you’ll be up to speed knowing that professional investors negotiate tough terms, from provisions of control over asset acquisition, eventual sale of the company, future investments, forced co-sale when others attempt to sell their shares and more.

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Ben Franklin Technology Partners

DECEMBER 12, 2023

In a recent board meeting, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central and Northern PA (Ben Franklin CNP) proudly unveiled its latest investments in six exceptional tech enterprises situated in central and northern Pennsylvania, totaling $725,000. Revenue is generated through reimbursements from medical and life insurance companies.

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innovation technology investing investment 105

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2014

When I work with community leaders I often encourage them to “pool capital” together from many angels into a fund structure run by a small investment committee that can make more rapid funding decisions, take more risks (it is pooled capital so goes across more investments), and standardize investment terms.

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Both Sides of the Table

JULY 26, 2022

And while over the past few years we have been laser-focused on cash returns, we are equally planting seeds for our next 10–15 years of returns by actively investing in today’s market. We are excited to share the news that we have raised $650 million across three vehicles to allow us to continue making investments for many years ahead.

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The Seraf Compass

OCTOBER 26, 2022

Many years ago I joined the board of a company after my angel group became the lead investor in the company’s seed financing round. As part of my compensation for being a board member, the company issued me restricted stock.

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American Entrepreneurship

DECEMBER 4, 2024

Recognizing this, The Veteran Fund announced the winner of its $100,000 Veteran Pitch Competition and the recent closing of its inaugural oversubscribed investment Fund I. With one click of a smartphone’s camera, building owners and service providers gain much-needed insight in 50 to 80% less time and cash invested.

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Berkonomics

MARCH 28, 2024

All other board functions are secondary. Even venture capitalists who sit on boards where they have significant investments often forget this point. Actually, there are two legal duties of board members. Second is the duty of loyalty… …Loyalty to the corporate person, not to the shareholders who elected the board member.

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The Seraf Compass

AUGUST 23, 2023

Now let's take a closer look at the time commitment involved when you're ready to invest in a company, what's required when serving as a board director, and how GPs should handle communications with their LPs. In Part I of this article we talked about the challenges and responsibilities General Partners face managing a fund.

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The Seraf Compass

AUGUST 28, 2019

Over the past few years, there has been much talk about the importance of investing both financial and human capital into the rapidly expanding entrepreneurial ecosystem. From our perspective, human capital is as important as financial capital in driving the long term success of startup companies.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

The core of the investing job of course is investing dollars into startup companies and helping as a mentor, advisor and board member on the companies in which you’ve invested. Instead he championed our investment themes into sustainability and food technologies having invested in companies like Apeel Sciences and Ynsect.

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American Entrepreneurship

MARCH 19, 2025

Next NJ Program and AI Innovation Challenge Administration Grant Program will increase AI investment and catalyze groundbreaking research TRENTON, N.J. New Jerseys continued investment in the sectors of the future will pay dividends for generations to come, setting the Garden State on a path of economic strength and prosperity.

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Berkonomics

AUGUST 24, 2023

Often, that money is worth more than the cash invested, because the investors who often become members of the board bring a wealth of experience, insight, relationships and deeper pockets to the table. The VCs subsequently invested $18 million, well beyond what angel investors usually can project from their own resources.

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American Entrepreneurship

OCTOBER 20, 2023

Strategic investment fund BankTech Ventures invests in companies that are developing innovative technologies that enhance the ability of community banks to serve their customers. The Fund just announced their investment commitment of $13.5 as of December 31, 2022, according to the FDIC.

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Ben Franklin Technology Partners

MARCH 25, 2024

Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central and Northern PA (Ben Franklin CNP) continues its mission of catalyzing innovation and fostering growth in the technology sector with its recent investments in four dynamic companies.

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innovation technology investing investment 98

AsiaTechDaily

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

Register Soho.com.au , an AI-powered real estate discovery app, has secured a $750,000 equity investment from Singapore-based proptech venture capital firm Feedback Ventures. The funding round, led by Investible, adds to the $1.65 seed funding The post Feedback Ventures Invests, Elevates Soho.com.au to over $20 million.

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real estate ventures investing investment 97

Dream It

MAY 19, 2021

At Dreamit, we coach founders to use a snapshot slide at the beginning of the deck which covers this element and highlights why you’re an exciting investment. If there is sincere interest on the part of the investor, offer to review a smaller raise and revised plan with your board. The amount you're raising is your ask.

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This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 18, 2019

Accelerators can be great, but they’re not giving companies enough money to achieve the kind of escape velocity needed to get on the radar of national Series A firms that will invest anywhere. At some point, a real seed round needs to get raised—and it needs to get led by someone. Raising for a seed fund is exceptionally difficult.

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