A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

JULY 27, 2020

My friend Brad Feld has updated his excellent book on startup ecosystems called Startup Communities. The updated and expanded book is called The Startup Community Way and it is available for pre-order on Amazon. The book comes out tomorrow so you won’t have to wait long for it. The timing of this book is excellent.

communities 195

communities startup startup ecosystem entrepreneurship 195

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

I believe that the next generation of top companies are far more likely to be founded by people not on VC radars today. So come participate in the community we’re creating around Brooklyn Bridge Ventures. For the last decade, I’ve been sharing open events, opportunities and info in my weekly tech newsletter.

venture capital 252

venture capital communities ventures capital 252

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 3, 2020

The partner at the fund, the VC, gets to do the fun part—the meeting with founders, vetting deals, negotiating, helping, etc. This is above and beyond whatever events and educational opportunities the fund provides for its community, which could also be very useful. Fund investing, like adulting, is boring. So what’s the point?

VC 258

VC angel investing mix-use opportunity 258

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 24, 2015

By now most of you know that Chris Sacca invested in what is now thought to be one of the best performing VC funds of all time having invested an $8.4 In many ways I wanted to focus on Matt because to those of us in the LA Venture community Matt really has become the public face of Lowercase Capital over the past several years.

VC 334

VC venture capital energy culture 334

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 13, 2014

Investment experience (5 years a VC at Battery Ventures). We believe it’s important to have our partners all based in one location so our starting point is wanting our partners to be based in LA and be committed to making this city a vibrant startup community that is now the third largest in the country.

VC 408

VC networking ventures board 408

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 11, 2016

Over that time, I watched him foster thriving online communities, creating engaging events, and making them better. You don't need to start out with money, get a Harvard or Stanford MBA, or sell a company to become a VC. For everyone who has aspirations to venture capital, it's a lesson well earned by Brett's hard work.

VC 276

VC angel investing startup venture capital 276

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 16, 2020

To that end, my goal was to make the firm the most accessible VC fund in New York—showing up across diverse communities, getting rid of barriers to access like requirements for warm intros, and being conscious of which patterns of success I believe in and which only serve to reinforce certain power dynamics.

communities 186

communities networking founder disruption 186

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 12, 2013

He had joined a young startup in LA called HauteLook and was interested in getting to know the local tech community. Because my role as a VC requires me to take and endless stream of meetings I long ago decided I need to learn as much as I can from the meetings I attend so I often just ask tons of questions and assimilate knowledge.

VC 360

VC communities investment investing 360

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2021

Of the first four investments I made as a VC in 2009, two have exited and two (Invoca & GumGum) still are independent and likely to produce $billion++ outcomes . All four companies were in Los Angeles (or adjacent … Santa Barbara) and our community has now matured and regularly produces billion dollar+ outcomes. Maker Studios?—?sold

venture capital 363

venture capital capital ventures VC 363

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 8, 2018

If you’re an entrepreneur who would like to see this clause in more startups please ask your VC to include it in future term sheets and link to it from their home page. “We Thank you to Kara Nortman for your leadership on the gender equality topic and your activism with your fellow VCs at Female Office Hours.

VC 284

VC leadership mentorship entrepreneurs 284

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2014

I have never been more optimistic about the impact that the tech startup community is having on cities in America or about the role that cities outside of San Francisco / Silicon Valley can play in our future. It really only needs a few community leaders to kick things off and land a community on a map. Co-Working Space.

startup 390

startup communities venture capital angel capital 390

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 5, 2015

You could literally get to know everyone in the local tech community at the time. Now, the community is orders of magnitude larger and the number of investors who invest here has grown significantly. Who''s the VC that everyone *isn''t* trying to network with. I had something VC firms were interested in.

VC 342

VC startup ecosystem networking venture capital 342

Revolution

NOVEMBER 18, 2021

At the time, restaurants and food tech were on the margins of most investors’ minds and there was skepticism around VC-backed food concepts. Specifically, here’s what the founders brought to the table: Passion and Purpose: Fundamental to Sweetgreen’s reimagination of the fast-food system was a vision to build healthier communities?—?a

investment 363

investment investing transportation disruption 363

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 8, 2014

What is a principal at a VC firm and how does it work at Upfront Ventures? ” Associates have different functions at different VCs. Portfolio community building. VC firm admin. VC firm policy or fund analysis. Helping be the VC “presence” at key events. Industry reviews. Alumni activities.

investment 365

investment investing VC board 365

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2015

I’m often asked about the differences between being at a VC and being an entrepreneur and whether I prefer one or the other. We also believe it’s important to be strong pillars of our community. In short: We want to be pillars of our community. So we put in place a brand that we hope represents this. Authenticity.

culture 339

culture VC communities venture capital 339

David Teten VC

MARCH 1, 2022

The easiest way to work with and for VC funds is to become a part-time scout, getting paid for sourcing investments. How to find a job as a VC scout. VC recruiters list and compensation data. How to negotiate a partner role at a VC or private equity firm. Syllabus for how to launch, manage, and invest a VC fund.

VC 128

VC venture capital accelerator ventures 128

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2013

If you’ve been following the press about VC funds you’ll know this is no small feat. It is 12,000 sq ft of indoor /outdoor space and we’re building into a community work environment. Like many modern VCs, we’re committed to investing in the community and in our portfolio companies.

ventures 343

ventures venture capital advice VC 343

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 16, 2024

Then, they need to figure out a way to project that brand up above the venture community, like a Bat signal calling for the best founders to come and pitch them. This is something I talk about a lot with my VC coaching clients. The question is what to focus on.

VC 243

VC angel investing networking pitching 243

David Teten VC

JANUARY 22, 2023

We particularly have developed many Fundraising hacks for VC and private equity funds , including our master databases of LPs interested in emerging VC managers. Fund portfolio companies recruiting new leaders may want to leverage members of FoundersNextMove.com , our community for tech founders in transition. (No

VC 98

VC collaboration incubation communities 98

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 15, 2020

The tech community has been having a long-overdue conversation about mental health and work/life balance and it’s something I’ve been talking up as far back as 2006 , 2009 , and 2014 on my blog and in public. In late 2018, the company raised $75 million Series C from Sequoia, arguably the top VC firm in the world.

coworking spaces 545

coworking spaces hospitality culture coworking 545

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 28, 2013

The biggest question I think VC''s face right now is whether or not, in the future, the best founders will look and act like the best founders of the past. 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

Revolution

AUGUST 2, 2022

miles to visit founders, college campuses, co-investors, ecosystem builders, and communities in rising cities. The panel took place at The Ion, a 266K-sqft space designed to bring together Houston’s entrepreneurial, corporate, and academic communities. While we may not show up on a big red bus every time, showing up?—?figuratively

economic growth 344

economic growth innovation communities startup ecosystem 344

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

MARCH 20, 2020

So for today’s funding friday, I am encouraging everyone to do what I did this morning – make a donation to the Restaurant Workers Community Foundation Relief Fund. While many industries are facing difficult times in this crisis, the restaurant and hospitality industry is particularly hard hit. I hope they can raise a lot more.

communities 195

communities hospitality innovation ventures 195

Revolution

MAY 23, 2023

Unpacking Proptech: A data-driven series on advancing built world innovation As mentioned in Part 1 , an outsized portion of the proptech investor base comes from the real estate community — a reality I would argue is complicating the industry’s growth. VC firms are not blameless — over 1.8K

real estate 278

real estate venture capital VC innovation 278

TechCrunch

JUNE 2, 2021

David Teten is founder of Versatile VC and writes periodically at teten.com and @dteten. 5 innovative fundraising methods for emerging VCs and PEs. Paulina Symala is a consultant at Oliver Wyman and a past intern of Versatile VC. At Versatile VC , we’ve used all these models. More posts by this contributor. Contributor.

consulting 128

consulting VC board venture capital 128

Hunter Walk

MARCH 3, 2025

. “ Different & Excellent ” equates to something that doesn’t exactly look like other VCs. Could be pinning their thesis on a category of technology or type of founder that isn’t yet understood by the investment community. I could even ask you directly which one of these you think you are and why.

peer-to-peer 88

peer-to-peer VC investment investing 88

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 23, 2012

There are several key problems to this knowledge sharing little community we've built: People make themselves look better in hindsight. Try and figure out exactly what a startup had to show at the moment a VC chose to invest in them. They don't look cautiously at the advice given to them by their favorite VC blogger.

advice 417

advice startup VC strategy 417

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

It got me thinking about the advice that I often give to new VCs. For years I saw myself as the new guy in VC but then you wake up one day and realize that 50% of your peers have been doing it for less time than you and time has moved on. Be the center of your knowledge space or geographic community. VC Industry'

peer-to-peer 317

peer-to-peer pitching VC accelerator 317

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 18, 2019

Brooklyn Bridge Ventures , the pre-seed and seed stage VC fund I run in NYC, has invested in 64 companies in the last six and a half years. Creating this community doesn’t only mean backing diverse founders, but also surrounding yourself with a community of other diverse professionals to help your portfolio.

venture capital 413

venture capital capital ventures peer-to-peer 413

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 11, 2021

Trust, which today has announced a $9 million financing (Upfront is an investor), is a platform designed to help make the most of marketing investment by providing both analytics and a community of likeminded executives to share what’s working, and what’s not, across platforms. Why Did I Invest in Trust?

founder 424

founder peer-to-peer sustainability VC 424

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 6, 2017

I can't tell you how many times I've heard an entrepreneur make a generalization about VCs based on a few meetings that was completely wrong--and they were usually basing their statement off what the VC told them. Getting the truth in venture capital is really, really hard, so just be careful when you're spreading fake VC news.

VC 281

VC education venture capital investment 281

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 15, 2020

There have been a lot of calls for VC firms to make more hires from the Black and Brown community, as well as to hire more women. What if institutional LPs—often representing the public pension money of diverse communities, or philanthropic foundations focused on improving the world, set targets for these economics.

venture capital 327

venture capital ventures capital mentorship 327

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2013

But … we had committed to setting up an EIR program where we would fund people to work on their ideas in our offices and also get the dual experience of working inside a VC. The choice of how much VC work and how much start-your-company work you want to do is up to you. I’m ecstatic to have in the LA community.

pitching 372

pitching advice VC entrepreneurs 372

TechCrunch

MARCH 24, 2023

Silicon Valley’s full of people from all walks of life, but very little of its wealth is distributed evenly, especially when we’re talking about the LGBTQ+ community. There are no numbers on how much of that capital goes specifically to trans founders or how many investors identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community. population.

VC 95

VC founder funders communities 95

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 3, 2014

The NYC startup community maintains a positive, supportive atmosphere. That VC speaking on the panel, are the deals you know about really doing that well? We celebrate a strong effort. However, that often makes it hard to tell who actually excels at their job and who just mails it in or got lucky. The same goes for investors.

venture capital 364

venture capital VC entrepreneurs media 364

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

APRIL 20, 2020

If you search for “vc open for business” on Twitter , you will see almost universal scorn for the idea that VCs are open for business right now. We have mostly seen VC firms live up to the commitments they made pre-pandemic and in the cases where terms changed, it has not been not gratuitous.

peer-to-peer 236

peer-to-peer VC finance financing 236

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

Any VC will tell you that the ones they said yes to, they mostly got there right away—and that there are very few “maybe” deals that get tipped over the fence. I’ve backed multiple Black founders and entrepreneurs from the LGBTQ community and so I’ve seen a very wide mix of founders pitch, get funded and get passed on.

advice 476

advice pitching venture capital VC 476