Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2016

At the Upfront Summit in early February, we had a chance to have many off-the-record conversations with Limited Partners (LPs) who fund Venture Capital (VC) funds about their views of the market. In fact, if you add the capital flows of the past ten years, there have been just shy of $50 billion in net cash outlays.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Capital Marketing Seed Funding 150

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

Seed investments are down by any measure (funds, deals, dollars) over the past 3 years in deals < $1 million AND in deals between $1–5 million. Over the past month a colleague ( Chang Xu ) and I sifted through data on the venture capital industry (as we do every year) and made a bunch of calls to VCs and LPs to confirm our hypotheses.

Venture Capital 328

Venture Capital Invest Seed Funding Startup 328

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Venture Capital is a tricky industry. If you’re funding the same stuff as everybody else and if you started your activities when the clues were obvious you’re much less likely to drive enormous returns. When Fred Wilson funded Twitter I guarantee you it wasn’t obvious that it was a billion dollar idea.

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 23, 2011

I took the opportunity this past week to publish summary notes of some of the VCs and entrepreneurs I had interviewed on This Week in VC. TWIVC Summary – Richard de Silva. He was introduced through mutual friends to Highland Capital. The fund is organized into sectors and each VC forms forward looking themes within sub sectors.

Capital 265

Capital Venture Capital Veoh Startup 265

socalTECH

DECEMBER 30, 2015

Today, we have the thoughts of Jeb Spencer of TVC Capital (www.tvccapital.com), a software focused growth equity fund which just raised a new fund, and has had some great success in the market. TVC Capital has also been a big supporter of socaltech over the years. What was the biggest news for you or your firm this year?

Capital 100

Capital Beverly Hills Artificial Inteligence Equity 100

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

Today the company officially announced its most recent round of capital ?—?having Capital of course drives scale advantages and when you have “winner take most” markets it also has a way of scaring away some investors from investing in the 3–5th “me too” competitors. having raised $300 million?—?less There is nothing viral!

Santa Monica 256

Santa Monica Funding Startup Course 256

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

The most important advice I could give you before you set out in fund raising mode is to understand that fund-raising a sales & marketing process and needs to be managed. I always tell founders … “An investors job is to deploy capital and make a return. You can short-hand this as “engagement.” Why 8–10 and not just 3–4?

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Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 22, 2015

announced they raised $9 million from Sequoia , arguably the best venture capital firm that exists. We will have two well-funded companies educating the market on why this market opportunity for the $24 billion US storage market is ripe for disruption. When we funded Sam , Rahul and team at MakeSpace > 2.5 Congratulations.

Funding 150

Funding Competition Marketing Summary 150

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 11, 2010

Modern investors love to first read a two-page summary of your business plan, formatted like a glossy marketing collateral sheet, with text well laid out in columns and sidebars, and a couple of relevant graphics. You may have already found several articles, web pages, or books about writing the perfect executive summary.

Summary 55

Summary Writing Competition Metrics 55

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 15, 2010

I was on This Week in Venture Capital (TWiVC) again this week with Jason Calacanis. You can watch this week’s TWiVC episode by clicking on the link and my summary notes are below. {if Especially when he’s surrounded by Danny Rimer (who funded Skype, MySQL, Last.FM PLUS RELATED FUNDING …. M&A Discussion.

Venture Capital 271

Venture Capital Capital Google Platform 271

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

We received so much positive feedback from our This Week in Venture Capital show walking through valuation calculations & term sheets that we decided to do a Q&A show this week to address topics that entrepreneurs want to learn about. In fact, far better if you haven’t raised venture capital. A: It’s not best.

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Capital Startup Pricing 282

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 5, 2023

They don’t realize that according to statistics from Startup.co , almost 60 percent are funded with personal savings and credit, and another 25 percent get their money from friends and family. That leaves only about fifteen percent that actually get their funding from investors, through crowdfunding, banks, angels, and venture capitalists.

Statistics 98

Statistics Entrepreneur Funding Social Media 98

Berkonomics

JUNE 19, 2014

If you seek funds from an organized investment group such as an angel fund, venture capital entity, or even an investment club, the first thing you want to do is to find one person to buy into your vision, become excited by your enthusiasm and be willing to become the internal champion for your fund-raising effort.

Technical Review 207

Technical Review Tech Coast Angels Summary Email 207

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Most sophisticated investors ignore them, focusing their attention on an entrepreneur's pitch and presentation materials, financial forecast and executive summary. As such, the primary goal of your executive summary is to open the door to an in-person meeting. Entrepreneurs routinely seek my advice regarding their executive summaries.

Venture Capital 211

Venture Capital Summary Technical Review Template 211

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 28, 2018

He or she wants to know how long the money you will raise will last and whether this is long enough to warrant taking a risk on funding you. Are you raising an appropriate amount of capital relative to your progress, relative to your team size and relative to your needs? Yes, I see plans this pedestrian.

Venture Capital 247

Venture Capital Capital Funding Demand 247

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 29, 2016

GOAT just announced it raised $5 million in venture capital led by our friends at Matrix Partners. On the surface that sounds unremarkable — fundings happen daily. But this isn’t just any funding. That’s why this funding story is different. And here is Jason Del Rey’s announcement of the funding.

Venture Capital 199

Venture Capital Summary Writing Funding 199

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2010

While the amounts were down, the number of startups that took slices of the pie went up by 9 percent (780 total), perhaps signaling that investors are trying to be more economical with their funds. Despite the third-quarter funding drop, though, funding for the full year still looks to be higher than it was in 2009.

Venture Capital 90

Venture Capital Capital Startup Summary 90

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 1, 2010

There has been much discussion about VCs doing seed funding in the past year. I’ve written about it myself (Is VC Seed Funding Dead?) and (Is There Really a Signaling Problem with VC Seed Funding?). Short summary of my posts: 1. Knowing What the Seed Funding Policy of your VC is. More on this later.

Seed Funding 298

Seed Funding Funding Venture Capital GRP Partners 298

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

There has been much discussion in the past few years of the changing structure of the venture capital industry. The rise of “micro VCs” or seed-stage funds. The rise of alternative sources of capital (crowd funding and the like). ” Stated simply – if you seed funded Uber at $4.5m

Venture Capital 398

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Seed Funding 398

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2020

I support their summary of the seven capital assets that are the core required to create a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem, and produce real economic value for your startup and the rest of us: Intellectual capital – ideas, information, technologies. A commitment to constant learning will raise your intellectual capital.

Resource 131

Resource Startup Capital Mentor 131

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

With the current volatile economy, as an active startup mentor, I’m seeing a new surge of entrepreneurs and startups, with the commensurate scramble for funding. Thus I’m getting more questions on new mechanisms, like crowd funding, or going public through the side door as a reverse merger. Marty Zwilling.

Funding 104

Funding Summary Entrepreneur Acquisition 104

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2009

Very few people fund individuals. Professional angels / former entrepreneurs / seed funds – In Silicon Valley there are people like Ron Conway, Jeff Clavier, Mike Maples and many more. And whenever I needed to round up signatures for future fund raisings it was difficult to track him down / get him to care.

Angel 291

Angel Funding Venture Capital Startup 291

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2016

Some investors seem to focus wholly on the strengths of the management team, or a sustainable competitive advantage, and in reality these are the core attributes for every funding equation. While these may be necessary for funding, they may not be sufficient to make your startup the great success embodied in your vision.

Capital 58

Capital Startup Education Customer 58

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2013

Based on the final report for 2012 from Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), it may appear that IPOs are back as a viable startup exit strategy. The dot.com heydays of free flowing venture capital and supercharged IPOs are not back. Line up a winning team.

Venture Capital 101

Venture Capital Startup Capital Seed Funding 101

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 3, 2014

With the uptick in the economy, as an active startup mentor, I’m seeing a new surge of entrepreneurs and startups, with the commensurate scramble for funding. Thus I’m getting more questions on new mechanisms, like crowd funding, and an old one long out of favor, the so-called “reverse merger.” Marty Zwilling.

Funding 98

Funding Startup Entrepreneur Summary 98

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 23, 2021

Some investors seem to focus wholly on the strengths of the management team, or a sustainable competitive advantage, and in reality these are the core attributes for every funding equation. While these may be necessary for funding, they may not be sufficient to make your startup the great success embodied in your vision.

Education 151

Education Customer Custom Sales 151

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

Just as I was getting the swing of things the world shifted beneath my feet and the stock market went into a free fall and venture capital all but shut down for nearly a year. We not only have our Series A funds that can write $500k?—?$15 15 million first checks but we also have three growth funds.

Venture Capital 223

Venture Capital IP Startup Google 223

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2011

I just read the Q1 2011 report from CB Insights , which shows venture capital is back. billion jump in funding over the same quarter of 2010 with a similar number of deals, so it clearly shows a trend to larger deal sizes for fewer startups. Back to VCs, Silicon Valley venture capital firms are still the most active.

Venture Capital 93

Venture Capital Startup Capital Seed Funding 93

SoCal Tech Calendar

JUNE 5, 2019

At this San Diego Event, we will be showcasing some of the newest early-stage venture funds and angel groups in the San Diego area! As an additional benefit, entrepreneur 1/4 page summaries will be given to the investor speakers and attendees. All of the Investors will get your company description and contact info! See [link] (more)

San Diego 100

San Diego Venture Capital Angel Summary 100

socalTECH

DECEMBER 1, 2008

In what looks to be a challenging funding climate for entrepreneurs, we thought it would be interesting to talk to one fund which is still making investments--Saban Ventures (www.saban.com)--a new, digital media focused venture capital fund located in Los Angeles. How big of a fund is this? where he is Chairman.

Capital 100

Capital Southern California Media Venture Capital 100

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 30, 2016

I understand this instinct for more capital and I have two very different personal experiences: In my first company we raised an A-round of $16.5 I was always fond of saying about fund raising, “When the hor d’oeuvres tray is passed take two and put one in your pocket for later. I have this “How much should I raise?”

Startup 292

Startup Software Review Pricing Entrepreneur 292

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Rolf Winkler wrote a piece in the WSJ about A16Z’s returns in which he says they “lag behind Sequoia, Benchmark and Founders Fund.” Scott Kupor of A16Z responded with a comprehensive overview of valuation methodology in a post that while accurate feels more targeted at sophisticated Limited Partners (LPs) who invest in funds.

Venture Capital 264

Venture Capital Invest Funding Competition 264

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2010

By Adam Hoeksema According to a report distributed by the Angel Capital Education Foundation , total startup funding from venture capital funds, state funds, and angel investors totals approximately $20.8 Don’t view this capital as a gift, instead follow through with what you promised. billion annually.

Funding 90

Funding Startup Blogging Invest 90

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2010

By Akira Hirai Startup funding is a binary event. When I say that funding is a binary event, I mean that there are only two possible outcomes: either you succeed in getting funding, or you don’t. Chances are, acquiring capital is an important part of your growth strategy. You win or you lose – there is no second place.

Funding 90

Funding Startup Entrepreneur Capital 90

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2014

I had witnessed a number of early-stage tech startups in LA raise seed capital from the Bay Area and relocate. and I thought if we brought the community together for common purpose we could create more of a sense of community to help new entrepreneurs get funded, assemble teams, raise profiles and help with biz dev, product, etc.

Venture Capital 290

Venture Capital Startup Idealab Funding 290

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 6, 2023

If ten percent of these numbers, multiplied by your average product price, will get you the revenue you need to scale your business, you will get the love you need from angel and venture capital investors. On the other hand, spending your entire startup budget on market research won’t improve your odds of success or funding.

Statistics 120

Statistics Research Report Newsletter 120

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2017

One of the most common complaints I hear from new business owners and startups is about the pain and difficulty raising capital. The “venture capital” model is the only option they know, where they feel they get no mercy, giving up equity and control. Complete and heed fund-raising legal compliance requirements.

Technical Review 88

Technical Review Equity Capital Entrepreneur 88