Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

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. Venture Capital is a tricky industry. Far from it.

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 28, 2018

There’s a quick litmus-test conversation any early-stage VC will have with the founder and it’s one that you should be as prepared for as your elevator pitch. It goes something like this … VC: “How much money are you raising?” Founder: “$8–10 million” VC: “What’s your current burn rate?” Founder: “$250k / month.”

Venture Capital 247

Venture Capital Capital Funding Demand 247

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. I’ve become fond of saying “if I had a dollar for every person who told me just how much they loooooved Kara Nortman, I’d have a 10x fund.”

Venture Capital 361

Venture Capital Startup Invest CitySearch 361

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

There is all sorts of advice on the Internet about how to raise capital. I’ve raised in boom markets and when everybody thought the Internet was a fraud. I’ve raised in boom markets and when everybody thought the Internet was a fraud. And of course I’ve sat on the other side of the table: As a VC.

Develop 366

Develop Development Funding Venture Capital 366

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. ” Associates have different functions at different VCs. Industry reviews. VC firm admin. VC firm admin. VC firm policy or fund analysis.

Help 365

Help Invest Venture Capital Technical Review 365

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

In the first post in this three part series I described why I believe the VC market froze between September 2008 – April 2009. When the market run started in March people were relieved that “the world wasn’t ending” so they started spending again. It is also a result of pent-up demand. So why the ’09 bounce?

Venture Capital 269

Venture Capital Startup Funding Technical Review 269

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 15, 2010

Thus, it is very hard to make a commitment to fund you. You’ll be able to give them an update on key hires, pilot customers, key tech innovations – whatever. You’ll be able to give them an update on key hires, pilot customers, key tech innovations – whatever. We want to make sure we’re in love.

Invest 411

Invest Technical Review Venture Capital Startup 411

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 26, 2010

Many of you have read or at least know the primary thesis of “ Crossing the Chasm &# the seminal book on marketing your products to mainstream consumers by Geoffrey Moore. It influenced a generation of tech marketers. We all intuitively know this curve now but we don’t all market effectively to it.

Marketing 294

Marketing Customer Custom Technical Review 294

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2010

I know that sounds trite but that is exactly how my firm talks about things in partner meetings. It becomes a large part of the conversation in our partners’ meeting afterward. It becomes a large part of the conversation in our partners’ meeting afterward. This is the last post in that series.

Technical Review 284

Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup Funding 284

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 17, 2020

In most cases, these applicants for equity funding must be rooted in technology to apply to this limited discussion. Angel investment groups or funds. First, angel investment groups and organized angel funds come in all sizes from a few organized angels to large groups of four hundred or more.

Equity 156

Equity Technical Review Class Organization 156

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

There are obvious reasons the industry has had less-than-desirable returns, including: massive over-funding of the sector, huge increases in inexperienced venture capitalists that took a decade to peter out, and the massive correction in the value of the public stock markets that closed many exit opportunities for half a decade.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Capital Technical Review Startup 347

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2014

Prorata rights are one of the most important rights of a private market technology investors and yet are seldom fully understood. These tensions seep out in some angels or seed funds publicly or semi-privately deriding later-stage VCs for their “bad” behavior. As always a balanced perspective is in order.

Guide 336

Guide Venture Capital Startup Writing 336

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

I wrote this conundrum and the need to take charge of how the market define your skills in my much-read blog post on “ personal branding.” ” If you don’t create the message about yourself, the market will. ” If you don’t create the message about yourself, the market will.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital IP 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

I love how transparently Danielle lives her startup (& encourages other to join in) because it provides much needed transparency to other startups. . ” I highly recommend reading it. But what IS the right amount of burn for a company? Turns out like most things there are no simple answers. Let’s set up a framework.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

The frantic pace of technology cycles, the amount of tech news, the blogs, the conferences, the demo days, the announcements, the fundings, the IPOs. It got me thinking about the advice that I often give to new VCs. So this becomes your dealflow. It’s exhausting. Perhaps unsustainable. Lines, Not Dots.

Startup 317

Startup Technical Review Venture Capital Email 317

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

Lots of discussion these days about the changes in the VC industry. The VC industry grew dramatically as a result of the Internet bubble - Before the Internet bubble the people who invested in VC funds (called LPs or Limited Partners) put about $50 billion into the industry and by 2001 this had grown precipitously to around $250 billion.

Venture Capital 311

Venture Capital Startup Seed Funding Rustic Canyon 311

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2010

While many of my friends bragged about their 5 condos in Florida I kept talking about how the real estate market was in a bubble – their gains an illusion. I pointed to several Economist articles I had read that mapped historical prices of real estate for 400 years and how on average property values grow at no more 1.5%

Invest 299

Invest Angel Technical Review Venture Capital 299

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

As the startup figures out how to make something lots of people want and how to reach those people, there’s a period of rapid growth. Growth will slow, partly due to internal limits and partly because the company is starting to bump up against the limits of the markets it serves.” For example. Growth, again.

Startup 390

Startup Venture Capital Entrepreneur Technical Review 390

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 million fund in: Uber, Instagram, Docker and Twitter, amongst others. But did you ever wonder how Matt Mazzeo, who’s in his early 30s became Chris’s partner?

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Funding RSS Technical Review 150

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

When you first start your company and raise initial venture capital your board probably consists of 1-3 founders and 1-2 VCs. Most experienced VCs won’t push you to give up founder control at this stage of the business nor should they. Reviewing financial & operational performance. In the Early Days. Mentorship.

Startup 325

Startup Sales Technical Review Software Review 325

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2011

The part of the movement that resonates the most with me (in my words) is that entrepreneurs should keep their capital expenditures really low while they’re experimenting with their product and determining whether there is a large market for what they do. I believe that over capitalizing companies too early often favors the VC.

Development Team Review 374

Development Team Review Technical Review Startup Resource 374

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 4, 2013

Compelling in the sense that you solve a real problem a target group of potential customers has with a product that is significantly better than the alternatives on that market. In my opinion no amount of clever marketing or chest beating at conferences can create a market if you don’t have an amazing product to begin with.

Startup 401

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 401

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2017

He was running to be the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles and he outlined his vision to “open up the city government to technology and innovation” if he were elected. He wanted to bring the same level of technology focus and energy that Mayor Bloomberg had brought to New York City. But this post is about the broader context of LA.

Riot Games 191

Riot Games Los Angeles Technical Review Venture Capital 191

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2011

They have totally changed the way you run a VC firm, investing heavily in systems & events for their founders that are pushing the boundaries of the way our industry works. But now you can learn the origins first hand on this YouTube video as well as how to approach them, how they make decisions and what innovations they've introduced.

Capital 284

Capital Venture Capital Technical Review Startup 284

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 23, 2015

VC's love to talk about their successes. Exceptions exist, such as the highly self-aware Paige Craig, who recently described how he missed out becoming Airbnb's first investor. Exceptions exist, such as the highly self-aware Paige Craig, who recently described how he missed out becoming Airbnb's first investor.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review Southern California 100

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

So, where does this all come from and how can you apply it in practice? So, where does this all come from and how can you apply it in practice? We moved into the legal process and final due diligence in January and February of 2000. Morgan Stanley then funded one of our competitors. Let me start with a story.

Venture Capital 301

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Technical Advisors 301

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

Seattle should be the envy of any non Silicon Valley tech community in the country. awards dinner on Thursday night I started reflected on what it would take to “change the trajectory&# for Seattle or for any regional market, really. I need to take some VC meetings. I’m looking to turn dots into lines over time.

Venture Capital 317

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Press 317

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2011

I hope I straddled people’s points of view well enough not to have offended anybody while adding a framework for how I think about the service. I hope I straddled people’s points of view well enough not to have offended anybody while adding a framework for how I think about the service. So why I am writing it then?

Venture Capital 267

Venture Capital Writing Blogging Startup 267

socalTECH

DECEMBER 30, 2010

All this week, we are sharing the opinions of some of the top influencers in Southern California's high tech community. We asked the same five questions of a variety of top technology entrepreneurs, investors, and others, to hear what they're thinking about, and are sharing it here over the next two weeks. 2010 was very good to us.

Technical Review 160

Technical Review Southern California Cloud Computing Venture Capital 160

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

I just re-read it and on second reflection, I’m surprised just how much I found myself in near TOTAL agreement with Paul. I talked about this in my social proof post where I gave some suggestions about how to get the early guys off of the fence. I argued it in my post on how social proof helps fund raising with angel investors.

Venture Capital 286

Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review Startup 286

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2013

I have talked about this publicly a great deal – how I prefer “missionaries” over “mercenaries.” It becomes an extension of self rather than a job. How could these statements live in the same sentence? *. I know because I marked the occasion with a blog post on how to have a great VC meeting.

Startup 303

Startup Technical Review Product Blogging 303

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

He eventually founded and sold consumer health firm ViSalus to a public company and is now back making investments, in technology companies, as a venture capitalist here at Los Angeles-based HashtagOne (www.hashtagone.com). Tell us a bit of the story on how you started HashtagOne? I'm a bit of an anti-VC, as you know.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review 100

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

He said, “They need an unbiased view of the fund raising environment because there is too much misinformation and everything seems to be changing fast.&#. They have seen one side of a market where many of us have seen the ebb and flow multiple times. Still, market amnesia by ordinarily rational actors always surprises me.

Pricing 309

Pricing Marketing Startup Venture Capital 309

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2015

I rarely talk to any startup entrepreneur or VC who doesn’t feel it and somehow long for simpler times despite the benefits we all enjoy from increased enthusiasm for our sector. We are experiencing a frenetic time. For entrepreneurs there’s too much money sloshing around. For investors life is no different.

Software Review 150

Software Review Startup Venture Capital Invest 150

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 13, 2010

He taught me, amongst other things, the benefit of “ top down thinking &# that changed the way I analyzed markets, companies and people. We worked together at Andersen Consulting between 1996-99 when the markets were booming. See, Mark, in a booming market you can never tell the winners from the losers.

Technical Review 302

Technical Review Marketing IP Outsource Development 302

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2010

Greycroft is Alan’s venture capital firm that recently raised its second fund ($130 million) with offices in both New York and LA. We’re here for Greycroft’s CEO Summit – a gathering of the CEO’s of their portfolio companies with guest speakers covering topics including how to build your team, PR, customer development, etc.

Startup 279

Startup Venture Capital Tips Custom Development 279

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 5, 2010

I know of at least 2 deals from that cohort that are either funded ( Backupify ) or nearly funded (can’t really disclose, I’m not sure if it’s yet closed and/or announced. Jason & Tyler brought forward 5 high quality companies and super high quality ones rose to the top and quickly got funded. Team Pip.io

Angel 254

Angel Technical Review Software Review Platform 254