A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

JUNE 1, 2021

When I look at all of the opportunities we are currently considering plus all of the investments we have made this year to date, what stands out most to me is the location of the founders and teams. And very little of it is in western Europe where most of our non-US investing has been for the last decade. The emergence of raising money and supporting investments on Zoom has made it possible to have a much broader reach than was possible a few years ago.

venture capital 159

venture capital capital ventures investing 159

500

JUNE 9, 2020

The post Our Investment Framework Post-COVID-19 appeared first on 500 Startups. All Venture Capital Investing covid19 Investing investing strategy seed investing venture capital investing

frameworks 192

frameworks investing investment disruption 192

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2021

 —  @jasonlk How the Long Game Has Benefitted Upfront I was thinking about it this morning in particular and thinking about my own personal investment history. My first ever investment as a VC was Invoca. Entrada Ventures? —?that

venture capital 298

venture capital capital ventures founder 298

Dream It

JANUARY 13, 2021

The venture capital screening call is an important step to get right in due diligence. Alana suggests that before speaking to an associate, you gain a basic understanding of the fund’s focus and stages they invest in.

venture capital 273

venture capital founder ventures startup 273

500

OCTOBER 25, 2019

How has corporate venture capital changed? Conventional wisdom dictated that incumbents should focus their innovation efforts on R&D and growing their cash cows while investing in a few startups. But the rate of change has accelerated and with it, the balance of internal versus external investment. The post The Future of Corporate Venture Capital appeared first on 500 Startups. All International Investor Education Venture Capital Investing

venture capital 186

venture capital capital ventures incumbents 186

500

APRIL 28, 2020

Long before diversity and inclusion became buzzwords, we decided to make venture capital inclusive from day one at 500 Startups. The post Why Investing in Female Founders Matters Now More Than Ever appeared first on 500 Startups.

founder 251

founder investing investment venture capital 251

TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

Alex Iskold is a co-founder and managing partner at 2048 Ventures , an early-stage lead investor in technology and data companies. After making pre-seed investments for seven years, I have observed how different the pre-seed stage is from Series A and later-stage investing.

ventures 89

ventures investing investment construction 89

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 10, 2015

So here's all the reasons I told him he shouldn't be in: 1) Fund investing is boring. More updates, more casual events, more exposure to portfolio companies, co-investing, etc., Being in a fund is not the same thing as angel investing. Of course, angel investing for most people isn't very fun past the first year. You could wind up getting distribution checks from a fund you invested in a dozen years ago.

venture capital 327

venture capital capital ventures investing 327

TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 10, 2020

Qualcomm Ventures , Qualcomm’s investment arm, today announced four new strategic investments in 5G-related startups. ” So far, Qualcomm Ventures has invested over $170 million in the 5G ecosystem, including this new batch.

ventures 101

ventures investing investment hospitality 101

Venture Hacks

APRIL 17, 2019

Spearhead asked me to write a post on angel investing when they first launched. Charlie Munger says investing requires a latticework of mental models. Here are 11 lessons for your angel investing lattice: If you can’t decide, the answer is no. Investing takes years to learn, but improves for a lifetime. Invest only in technology. Incentives make for bad investing advice. If you can’t decide on an investment, the answer is no.

angel investing 148

angel investing investing investment incubation 148

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

AUGUST 17, 2020

I woke up to a dream this morning where I was playing a game that was very similar to Turntable.fm , a failed effort to create a social music experience that had a moment back in 2011 and that I had invested in via USV. Then I found out that the creators of this new game had received venture capital funding and were going to turn it into a business. Investments that don’t work haunt me. And investments that don’t work are often failures of execution.

investing 204

investing investment venture capital ventures 204

Bryan Janeczko

NOVEMBER 4, 2020

angel investing 169

angel investing ventures investing investment 169

GAN

OCTOBER 9, 2019

You face a lot of challenges—anything from your commute time, to finding great talent, to landing big investments, to connecting with your target customers (fashion and beauty companies come to mind, for instance). Staying in business in a small city or an emerging market can be truly difficult, so what if you invest in a company that doesn’t make it? When a company raises another round of financing, it comes at a higher valuation than when we invested in it.

founder 195

founder investing investment communities 195

TechCrunch

JUNE 3, 2021

Toyota AI Ventures, Toyota’s standalone venture capital fund, has dropped the “AI” and is reborn as, simply, Toyota Ventures. So while Toyota Ventures’ investment approach isn’t changing, it’s broadening the scope of startups it will consider investing in. . “AI

ventures 83

ventures energy innovation investing 83

Revolution

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

Today, we’re announcing the launch of Revolution Ventures III (RV3)?—?an an over-subscribed $215 million fund to invest in transformative early stage companies with the same team and differentiated approach as the successful Revolution Ventures II (RV2). For over a decade, Revolution has invested time and capital to develop a proprietary network, ecosystem, and brand focused on sourcing deal flow from underserved markets around the country.

ventures 100

ventures disruption collaboration support 100

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 12, 2013

I am thrilled to announce that we have added Hamet Watt as a Partner at Upfront Ventures. This is a big news day at Upfront Ventures. But as sweet as that success has been (we invested pre-revenue in a small team) today my even more important news was the further expansion of our partner ranks. Hamet started his career in Venture Capital working for the first post-apartheid VC fund in South Africa. He will be a venture partner.

ventures 289

ventures investing investment media 289

GAN

MAY 22, 2019

When GAN Ventures considers whether to invest in a startup, we look for four primary things: Authentic founders: Founders that know their own strengths and weaknesses and aren’t afraid to ask for help. Startups that are positioned for venture scale: We focus on venture-scale opportunities that have a logical path to a 10x, and a plausible path to a 100x, return on our investment. The post Why We Invest in Authentic Founders appeared first on GAN.

founder 138

founder investing investment venture capital 138

500

APRIL 6, 2020

The challenge remains, however, of navigating the current investment climate, and we want to help our founders as much as possible in this unknown landscape. The post How Startups Can Navigate the Change in Investment Climate Due to COVID-19 appeared first on 500 Startups.

investing 232

investing investment founder startup 232

TechCrunch

APRIL 12, 2021

Ethical investing remains something of a confusing maze, with a great deal of “greenwashing” going on. Consumers will be able to invest in companies and supply chains that are focused on tackling climate change.

sustainability 85

sustainability ventures investing investment 85

TechCrunch

JANUARY 5, 2021

Over the next few weeks, the venture capital industry will compile and release data concerning its Q4 2020 performance, capping a year that saw the world of private capital freeze , thaw and burn. What happened to fintech venture capital investment in Q4 and 2020?

venture capital 113

venture capital capital ventures investing 113

TechCrunch

JANUARY 10, 2021

Ajaib Group , an online investment platform that says it now runs the fifth-largest stock brokerage in Indonesia by number of trades, announced it has raised a $25 million Series A led by Horizons Ventures, the venture capital firm founded by Li Ka-Shing, and Alpha JWC.

investing 105

investing investment ventures education 105

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 10, 2014

Venture Capital & Technology A year ago, I wrote a post about how I was trying to keep my phone away during meals-- No Phone with Food. These days, we''ve got so much that can distract us, being present has become a rare feat. I''ve tried to stick to it, but it''s hard. I run my own business and I try and make myself available whenever my entrepreneurs need me.

ventures 327

ventures investing investment enablement 327

StartupNation

MAY 26, 2021

On today’s Business Beat, Jeff talks about how Michigan leads the nation in the biggest increase in venture capital investing and how venture capital is furthering innovation in our state.

venture capital 52

venture capital capital ventures accelerator 52

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. The diversity is the direct result of our mission—to build the most accessible venture capital fund in NY. Twenty-five of them have at least one female co-founder. Fifteen had co-founders over 40. Five have LGBTQ+ founders. Three teams have African-American founders. Three of the founding teams are married couples.

venture capital 324

venture capital capital ventures communities 324

TechCrunch

JANUARY 18, 2021

Prosus Ventures, formerly known as Naspers Ventures, led Patna and Gurgaon-based startup’s Series C financing round. Asia Funding Recent Funding Startups AgriTech DeHaat india Prosus VenturesOnce overlooked, agritech startups are beginning to have a moment in India.

ventures 110

ventures investing investment financing 110

TechCrunch

APRIL 20, 2021

million investment, led by Fuel Ventures, with participation from TMT Investments, Sova VC, Richard Longhurst (founder of LoveHoney.com) and Igor Ryabenkiy (founder and GP of Altair Capital).

investing 92

investing investment health disruption 92

Entrepreneur's Handbook

APRIL 1, 2021

venture-capital startup how-to entrepreneurship foundersCalibrate’s Isabelle Kenyon raised $27 million via virtual meetings Here are her tips and tricks for rapid long-distance fundraising. Continue reading on Entrepreneur's Handbook ».

venture capital 70

venture capital founder capital ventures 70

GAN

SEPTEMBER 25, 2019

This past week, I took a look at the 25 investments that GAN Ventures has made so far. Meaning, I started to ask myself, “Is there any similar trait or feature that each of the companies in the GAN Ventures portfolio share?” Meaning, companies that are poised for returns you’d expect in a venture fund. I’m not saying all of this as shameless self-promotion of GAN Ventures or our portfolio companies themselves.

investing 149

investing investment transportation startup 149

Dream It

APRIL 21, 2020

Here are some common red flags for venture investors: Red Flag #1 : Ask isn’t tied to specific fundable milestones. On the other hand, if your ask offers investors too little equity, the investors won’t have enough skin-in-the-game to achieve meaningful or target returns on their investment.

ventures 299

ventures frameworks pitching founder 299

TechStars

SEPTEMBER 17, 2019

Kelly will help Techstars increase connectivity between startups and the global venture community to fuel innovation and growth. With 11 Techstars mentorship-driven accelerator programs in Europe and the Middle East, Techstars has a portfolio of close to 350 companies and invests in nearly 110 startups in EMEA annually. Declan has been a significant connective tissue between startup founders and the global venture community for years,” said Cody Simms, partner at Techstars.

investing 110

investing investment mentorship accelerator 110

Dream It

FEBRUARY 14, 2020

Via TechCrunch by Arman Tabatabai: Venture capital has been flooding the various subverticals under the robotics umbrella in recent years, and the construction space is one of the largest beneficiaries. We have recently made investments in firms like Cove Tool , One Concern and Firmus.

construction 238

construction investing investment energy 238

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

Today we’re announcing that my partner Kara Nortman is becoming Co-Managing Partner at Upfront Ventures and I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to welcome her to her new role. She worked for 5 years as a VC at Battery Ventures and co-headed M&A at IAC working with Barry Diller.

ventures 354

ventures leadership mentorship investing 354

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

On the phone … Me: So, you raised venture capital? Me: When an investor signs a note with a cap they must assume they are willing to pay the cap or why would they invest? Me: So, who was willing to invest in that? Doesn’t their investment determine the price of the next round? I have never come across a sophisticated A, B or C round venture capitalist who thinks convertible notes are a smart move for entrepreneur or investor. This week.

venture capital 329

venture capital capital ventures financing 329

Revolution

OCTOBER 6, 2020

By Revolution Ventures Partner Clara Sieg and Principal Graham Ober Although we briefly met Kristin Langenfeld, co-founder and CEO of Denver-based Good Buy Gear , last summer?—?in billion was invested across 347 deals in the state?—?and venture-capital marketplaces startup

investing 130

investing investment sustainability founder 130

Revolution

SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

Today we are thrilled to announce our investment in Orchard , a company dramatically simplifying the process of buying and selling a home with a modern, digital experience from search to close. real-estate startup venture-capital

investing 130

investing investment real estate advice 130

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2014

We’ve been dying to tell you all for a while that we had raised a new venture capital fund and of course given SEC filing requirements the story was somewhat already scooped by the always-in-the-know Dan Primack a few weeks ago. The speaks to the continued confidence in the venture capital markets and as I had predicted some time ago the VC markets right now are a great place to invest – especially relative to other places to put one’s money.

ventures 322

ventures real estate mentorship venture capital 322

TechCrunch

APRIL 21, 2021

based Susa Ventures led this latest tranche of investment. Other investors include TLcom Capital (the sole investor from its $1 million pre-seed round in 2020), newly joined Accenture Ventures and some angel investors.

ventures 114

ventures investing investment enablement 114