Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2016

I’m a stickler for focus, being efficient with capital and building out operational excellence, so our strategy initially was very constrained. Frankly, if there weren’t strong entrants it only means this isn’t an attractive market opportunity and our view that more people want to take us on only validates the market.

strategy 282

strategy peer-to-peer incumbents real estate 282

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 13, 2018

As a VC and former entrepreneur let me offer you some advice. Remember that the goal of an email to a VC or an introduction from a trusted mutual connection is simply to get you the meeting. Remember that the goal of an email to a VC or an introduction from a trusted mutual connection is simply to get you the meeting.

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VC pitching advice entrepreneurs 261

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

I became a VC 12 years ago in 2007 when the pace of deals was much slower. As I was trying to figure out the role I wanted to play in the VC world I decided I wanted to focus on businesses that were building deeply technical products to solve problems for business users. VCs have different views and strategies on this.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 14, 2015

I spoke at Michael Kim’s excellent annual Cendana VC/LP conference today. You can read it in VCs discussions about hedge fund managers, activist investors or the need to have dual-share voting structures. The truth is that Twitter is an amazing company and still has an amazing opportunity in front of it.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 11, 2016

Gregg Johnson, CEO of Invoca For the first 5 years or so after I became a VC I didn’t talk much about what I thought a VC should be excellent at since frankly I wasn’t sure. It’s easy to think the role of a VC is to have strong opinions about markets, trends, tech dynamics and so forth. The role of VC is sparring partner.

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venture capital capital ventures VC 363

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

They imagine it to look something like this: They think that there are some deals that are automatic yeses and some that are just bad, but there’s a whole lot that are kind of in the middle—deals that can be nudged over to one side or the other based on things like clever fundraising strategy or the presence of bias. This isn’t surprising.

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Haystack

DECEMBER 29, 2018

It’s that time of year, time to look back and reflect on the most significant storylines in the tech, startup, and VC world. And as more economies worldwide seek to shift their investment strategies offshore and seek out technology, hubs like Silicon Valley and Shanghai, among others, have reaped the benefits.

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Revolution

MAY 11, 2023

Our findings confirmed a significant shift away from the traditional tech hubs of the Bay Area, New York City, and Boston, with the proportion of seed- and early-stage VC dollars funneling into the Bay Area falling below 30% for the first time in more than a decade. There are untold impacts of climate change many of us don’t see.

real estate 296

real estate energy innovation VC 296

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2014

Their strategy might be to have 25 companies of $3-7 million total invested and thus $10 million might be more risk in one deal than they typically like to have. Neither case is better or worse – they more depend on investor strategy and their outlook on the potential of the company.

VC 336

VC investing investment entrepreneurs 336

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 29, 2012

With a little patience, forethought, and strategy, you can avoid angel burnout. Being a good angel or VC has a lot to do with pattern matching. Early stage finds give you the opportunity to get exposure to the asset class without putting all your eggs in one basket. Here are just a few suggestions: 1) Advise first, invest later.

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peer-to-peer angel investing advice entrepreneurs 301

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 5, 2014

What is the right organizational strategy for a large UK conglomerate to operate more effectively? What would the right technology strategy for Telecom Italia be in 5 years. In my experience many VC’s fall into this “I’m expected to know all the answers” trap. But much of the work was unknowable.

peer-to-peer 337

peer-to-peer entrepreneurs consulting VC 337

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

MARCH 28, 2022

So I saw this tweet by Semil Shah yesterday: A friend who works in an industry far from tech startups & VC asked what would be the single article I’d share to read on each topic. It is about how a VC can compete and win a deal that many others want. Talk about the strategy issues facing the company.

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VC entrepreneurs venture capital strategy 261

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2019

Yes, VC / Startup Funding is up Massively If you look at how much VC firms have raised from Limited Partners (LPs) over the past 2 decades you’ll see that we’ve returned to a level that we haven’t seen since 1999. If you want the whole deck you can find it on SlideShare but I’ve written up a short summary with commentary below.

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venture capital capital ventures peer-to-peer 292

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.

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VC venture capital accelerator ventures 128

TechCrunch

MARCH 3, 2021

“Investors see a lot of pitches,” VC and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman noted. “In We used what we know about language and healthy communication from the millions of documents we’ve processed at Writer to come up with 11 words and phrases to remove from your VC pitch deck: Negative associations. exit strategy”.

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pitching VC strategy leadership 113

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2014

We are often asked how companies get funded, why VCs make the decisions we make and what we’re looking for in entrepreneurs. I think this is a Seriously great example of how this process works for at least one VC – Upfront Ventures. So I hope that offers you insights into how companies move through the VC system.

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media education VC financing 373

500

JUNE 9, 2020

As a VC firm, we’ve had to adapt many aspects of our business as well. From taking all aspects of our accelerators digital (including our Demo Day) to rethinking the opportunities of the future, we’ve taken this moment to analyze what innovations can come from this time and new opportunities that arise from our changing environment.

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frameworks investing investment disruption 202

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 12, 2013

Now that he’s become a VC he’s promising me he’ll provide way more public information and discourse so please welcome him by following him on Twitter and better yet welcoming him with a Tweet of your own linking to his Twitter handle or this post. Hamet is an extension of this strategy. And he followed through.

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TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 3, 2022

Any change is an opportunity to create leverage, and a downturn is no exception,” writes Masha Bucher, founder and general partner of early-stage VC firm, Day One Ventures. 9 strategies that will help you overcome your fear of fundraising. Crafting an XaaS customer success strategy that drives growth. Walter Thompson.

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strategy VC economic environments ventures 92

TechCrunch

MARCH 29, 2023

If you think embedded insurance is the only hot thing in insurtech these days, we’ve got a surprise in store for you: While it’s true that startups that help sell insurance together with other products and services are enjoying tailwinds, there are plenty of other opportunities in the space, several investors told TechCrunch+.

opportunity 107

opportunity venture capital mix-use incumbents 107

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 17, 2014

One of the big opportunities for them is audience development--driving event attendees to the content, events to the readers, and doing some low-hanging fruit upgrades to their social strategy. They find a kick ass, experienced content person to advise them for six months and help them build out a team around this.

pitching 336

pitching consulting VC venture capital 336

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

JULY 27, 2021

Our first Opportunity Fund, raised two years later in 2010, has generated only 3.9x And our second Opportunity Fund, raised in 2014, has generated 7.3x Our Opportunity Funds invest in the later stage rounds of our top-performing portfolio companies plus a few later-stage investments in companies that are new to USV.

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opportunity venture capital strategy investing 279

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 23, 2016

For the VC that means if you're returning money to your institutional investors, that's about all you need to worry about. if we're being honest with ourselves, you're not that important to most VCs. Either way, VC funds aren't really built around creating much of an experience for their Limited Partners.

venture capital 283

venture capital capital ventures VC 283

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

She worked for 5 years as a VC at Battery Ventures and co-headed M&A at IAC working with Barry Diller. In any job you either find leadership opportunities for your best people BEFORE they ask or other people start asking them to become leaders somewhere else. I promise you, he really said this out loud.) So why now?

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ventures leadership mentorship venture capital 361

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2017

Every new opportunity and every door opened is at the “top end of your funnel” meaning that may or may not come to fruition: A business development conversation, a first customer meeting, the first candidate in a recruiting process, the first time you talk with a journalist or the first meeting to consider your business strategy.

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board VC opportunity strategy 297

TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 23, 2022

To examine the market forces and psychology driving climate tech, we surveyed an international group of investors to learn about how they evaluate new opportunities and what they’re looking for from the entrepreneurs who approach them. David Frykman , general partner, Norrsken VC. Carolin Funk , partner, Blue Bear Capital.

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strategy health energy opportunity 98

TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

With new funding, Brightly is seeking to take a Glossier-style approach to become the next big brand in commerce: gather a community by recommending great products, then turn the strategy on its head and make your superfans buy in-house products under the same brand. “We The billion-dollar opportunity is not with that,” Wittig said.

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sustainability founder VC communities 115

TechCrunch

MARCH 22, 2023

“While this is a tough environment for companies, we see it as an opportunity to pause, take stock and consolidate,” said GV Ravishankar, managing director of Sequoia India. How has your investment strategy changed? Other upcoming sectors are EVs, climate tech, space tech and opportunities from supply chain shifts to India.

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strategy investing investment sustainability 91

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 21, 2016

It means having a strategy that leverages advantages and resources you have, and doing your homework. If you're a VC, you should do whatever you can to make your limited partners feel like investors. Being in the business means building long term relationships. It means establishing a track record of not only success, but of trust.

real estate 225

real estate angel investing networking VC 225

Entrepreneurs' Organization

JULY 16, 2021

Never share your exit strategy with venture capitalists. VCs want to learn the total available market and see evidence that you can grow your startup into a US$1-10 million (or more) revenue business. Use these resources to understand how your company will look when you pitch a VC or angel. Here are 11 tips EO members shared: 1.

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SaaS leadership accelerator entrepreneurs 294

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 26, 2022

2021 saw phenomenal returns for our industry and it topped off more than a decade of unprecedented VC growth. As money poured into our industry, it encouraged many VCs to write $20–30 million checks at increasingly higher and higher valuations where it is unlikely that they had substantively more proof of company traction or success.

ventures 408

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TechCrunch

OCTOBER 9, 2023

Several Indian startups, along with venture capital funds and private equity investors, are scrambling to build investment strategies as they race to tap into a rare available opportunity in the nation: banks.

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VC startup venture capital strategy 117

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2016

Non VC Growth Rounds. The other major trend of 2012–2015 was the entrance of “non VCs” into late-stages of venture capital , which mostly consisted of hedge funds, mutual funds, corporate investors, sovereign wealth funds and even LPs doing direct deals. VC Infighting. Some called this “buying logos.” Expect more of this.

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venture capital capital ventures VC 271

TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 9, 2022

Heavily VC-backed salad chain Sweetgreen heads toward public markets. In addition to focusing on its team, next up for the company is to look at its strategy development and go-to-market strategy for trial opportunities for supplements, other foods and different channels beyond direct-to-consumer. “We

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strategy health culture ventures 95

TechCrunch

OCTOBER 4, 2022

Ridgeline is a new VC firm that invests in B2B companies with a specific goal in mind: helping its portfolio companies sell to complex organizations that are hard to crack, but can be great customers if you break into them. Instead, it’s looking to back companies that could help any complex legacy entity, from the feds to FedEx.

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VC startup pitching strategy 90

Entrepreneurs' Organization

MARCH 3, 2021

Seeing the dramatic needs of students but not being able to provide services in-person, I realized a unique opportunity. While seeking funding and information on how the venture capitalism (VC) world works, I stumbled upon the MyEO Angels group, 400 members strong, founded by Daniel Dubois of EO Toronto. It’s that easy.

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education VC pitching support 236

TechCrunch

MARCH 21, 2023

Portal Innovations , a biotech VC firm based in Chicago, is trying to broaden everyone’s horizons and give opportunities to biotech startups growing out of labs in Chicago, Atlanta, and hopefully beyond. The Portal model is essentially a part of its investment strategy. where do you travel to in your mind? The Bay Area?

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VC startup innovation support 81