Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2013

Understanding “The Funding Angle” I sit at enough board meetings to hear conflicting advice given to entrepreneurs about how to handle PR and announcements at startups. I think many board members (including VCs) were trained 10+ years ago when life was very different and their advice often comes from an outdated lens.

Startup 355

Startup Funding News Press 355

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 3, 2016

In the VC insider baseball world a discussion has gone on about “VC platforms” over the past 5 or so years. While firms define platforms differently, let’s just say they are the services that a VC offers outside of investment capital and partner time on boards or providing intros.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Platform Startup Resource 150

socalTECH

APRIL 10, 2014

BitAngels , the angel investment group which invests in BitCoin related startups, has launched a new, 10,000 BTC structured fund--approximately $4.1 million US dollars at press time--the first, dedicated fund for its BitCoin investments. bitangels investment terpin bitcoin venture capital' READ MORE>>.

Invest 244

Invest Funding Press Venture Capital 244

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2013

I am super excited to announce that today is a day of lots of new things for my partners & me: A new fund, a new office and a new brand. Let’s start with the fund. We have previously raised funds in 1996 ($200 million), 2000 ($400 million) and 2008/9 ($200 million). This month we closed our 4th fund of $200 million.

Funding 343

Funding Santa Monica Venture Capital Startup 343

InfoChachkie

MAY 22, 2012

The steps outlined below represent an ideal approach to raising capital from sophisticated investors. You might be at Step 2 with one VC and Step 3 with another. VCs collude all the time, it is only fair that entrepreneurs compare notes every now and again as well.”. Even the most jaded VC cannot resist authentic flattery.

Venture Capital 236

Venture Capital Capital Research Customer 236

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2010

To see the video of This Week in VC click on this link. What a pleasure that I got to spend an hour talking with both Om Malik (whom I’ve always respected his views) and Paul Jozefak , a venture capital partner at Neuhaus Partners in Germany (and formerly the head of Europe for SAP Ventures). 406 Ventures.

Venture Capital 225

Venture Capital Google Web Sites 225

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2010

It was especially fun for me because we got the chance to talk about the VC industry and how entrepreneurs should think about the VC industry in addition to discussing deals. Clearstone currently invests out of a $200 million fund based in LA with offices in Menlo Park and in India. Segment Three: “VC Deals Funded this Week”.

Clearstone 236

Clearstone Venture Capital ReachLocal Google 236

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 12, 2010

I recently got an email from a friend who had been approached by a well known VC. I’m an investor at [Big Name, Large Fund VC] and recently came across [Your Company]. Often these businesses have little or no press so it’s hard to tell what they’re doing and how well they’re performing.

Venture Capital 294

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Email Equity 294

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2010

One of the questions I’m most often asked is, “what’s it like being a VC?&# I’ve been a VC for nearly 3 years now. I always start my answer to this question with, “you’d have to be a pretty big baby to complain about being a VC.&# And the VC job has plenty of admin and minutiae.

Venture Capital 312

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Entrepreneur 312

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 24, 2014

As a result I didn’t write my first venture capital check until March 2009 – exactly 5 years ago. That company was Invoca, which just announced a $20 million fund raise led by Accel. In 2010 somebody posed the question on Quora, “Is Mark Suster a Successful Venture Capitalist?” 5 years ago.

Venture Capital 387

Venture Capital Downey Writing Press 387

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2020

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels. A sample of three views is adequate.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Funding Innocal Offshore 124

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

NOVEMBER 9, 2014

We all know that funding markets have changed for startups. The trends are well understood: more angels, more seed funds, more crowdsourcing and so forth. They asked LPs to rush to get into their next side-car fund to have access to this great deal plus the LPs also get the “benefit” of investing in their next fund.

Venture Capital 352

Venture Capital Seed Funding Email Blogging 352

socalTECH

OCTOBER 25, 2018

Santa Monica-based Pathmatics is announcing today that it has raised $3M in a funding round, for its marketing intelligence software. The company said the strategic funding came from Mintel and SPH Ventures. Pathmatics' existing investors are Upfront Ventures, BDMI, Baroda Ventures, Daher Capital, and Karlin Ventures.

Santa Monica 113

Santa Monica Press Venture Capital Capital 113

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

When I was new at Venture Capital I was trying to figure out the business. As a VC you want to feel like you have “proprietary sources” of deal flow. And for the record, GRP has funded YC alum. I like to debate with them how they will land customers and how they deal with the press. What stage?

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Startup Pricing Invest 347

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. But I’m guessing the narrative is similar elsewhere. Domain Knowledge.

Funding 373

Funding Technical Review Startup Screening 373

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Most newspapers are written at a third-grade reading level, White House press releases average a fourth-grade reading level and the New York Times is easily digestible by the average fifth grader. No VC Fit - Match your venture with appropriate funding source. Capitalization. Management Team. Financials.

Venture Capital 211

Venture Capital Summary Technical Review Template 211

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2010

Our guest this week on #TWiVC was Dana Settle , partner at Greycroft Partners , a venture capital firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Greycroft is an early-stage VC. Their first fund was a $75 million fund raised in 2006 and they very recently announced a brand new $130 million fund.

Venture Capital 240

Venture Capital Startup Platform Technical Review 240

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 21, 2019

Hello and welcome back to Startups Weekly, a weekend newsletter that dives into the week’s noteworthy news pertaining to startups and venture capital. Landline , the operator of a bus network in the Midwest, is one of the latest companies to raise venture capital. Ginkgo Bioworks raises capital at a $4B valuation.

Services 207

Services Startup Venture Capital Redpoint 207

socalTECH

MAY 22, 2018

Santa Monica-based Halogen Ventures , the female-focused venture capital fund run by Jesse Draper, has made an investment in email newsletter and millennial women's news source TheSkimm. Halogen Ventures recently raised $10.4M as part of its first fund, Halogen Ventures LP. READ MORE>>.

Draper 100

Draper Newsletter Santa Monica USC 100

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2023

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels. A sample of three views is adequate.

Technical Review 138

Technical Review Startup Innocal Offshore 138

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 27, 2013

The start of this series was, Should Your Startup Announce Funding ? It’s also important for recruiting, fund raising, business development and even company morale. I mostly like to have coverage in the tech press where most of my customers (entrepreneurs) and business partners (other VCs) are. Kind of obvious.

Blogging 309

Blogging Journal Press Startup 309

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 1, 2010

In today’s post I want to talk about the concept of a VC flightpath. This is my description of a VC process, not one I’ve heard from other VCs so don’t expect it to be accepted nomenclature. Even when you’re getting the VC love this reality I imagined couldn’t be further from the truth.

Venture Capital 275

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Capital Ideas 275

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2014

These tensions seep out in some angels or seed funds publicly or semi-privately deriding later-stage VCs for their “bad” behavior. I have seen bad behavior from later-stage VCs, believe me. They often create the biggest tensions between investors who are investing at different stages in the business.

Guide 336

Guide Venture Capital Startup Writing 336

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

She hasn’t raised any venture capital. It represents the great majority of entrepreneurship and eschews the fairytale rags-to-VC-riches stories we so often read about in the press. I blog on entrepreneurship & VC precisely because entrepreneurs and other VCs are my customers. That may soon change.

Startup 363

Startup Entrepreneur SEO Venture Capital 363

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 25, 2013

But VC is like congress. “I don’t know the exact math, but I hear it again and again: the top 2% of firms generate 98% of the returns in venture capital.” As you can see from the chart their data suggests there are about $25 billion of VC distributions per year in the US. Their data looks at tech VCs.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Invest Funding 374

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 7, 2014

Contrast that with a VC conversation I had. In case you don’t know – as VCs we have have 2 sets of customers: LPs (limited partners) who invest money in our funds and entrepreneurs (who we in turn give money to and help support them in building businesses we hope will be valuable). If not, somebody else will.

Customer 341

Customer Custom Venture Capital Software Review 341

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

Funding 150

Funding Competition Marketing Summary 150

socalTECH

JULY 23, 2020

Venice, California-based Vive Organic , an organic "wellness" drink brand, said today that it has raised $13M in a Series B funding round. The funding was led by Monogram Capital, and also included Cambridge SPG and Powerplant Ventures.

Organization 113

Organization Venice Press Sales 113

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 17, 2012

But honestly there are times when being a VC can feel like that, too. She was lamenting that some startups simply see their PR company as merely somebody who corrals the press when you want to get some inches. She felt that her firm provides significantly more value as an advisor than simply a press shop. VENTURE CAPITAL.

Startup 363

Startup Venture Capital Coach Press 363

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

To grow faster businesses need resources in today to fund growth that may not come for 6 months to a year. Do you imagine eventually raising VC and trying to build a faster growing company?” They don’t want high burn rates but they will never fund slow growth. million to fund operations in their first year of operations.

Startup 227

Startup Venture Capital Sales Course 227

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 16, 2017

I had a narrative in my head that I didn’t want to fund apps that would help husbands cheat on their wives or help kids send naked photos. Another firm funded them. 6 months later the company was in the press because predators had used the app to rape and molest three children under the age of 15. Many seem plausible.

Snapchat 214

Snapchat Invest Technical Review Dollar Shave Club 214

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

According to the SEC we’re not allowed to market the fact that we’re fund raising, so I won’t. But for some strange reason they make you file your progress on fund raising, which is the widely picked up by the press. So it is now publicly known that we have closed $150 million in our 4th fund.

Blogging 420

Blogging Press Entrepreneur Venture Capital 420

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 10, 2013

I made many classic first-time mistakes which serves both as my warning signal of which teams to avoid funding (if I perceive they will make critical mistakes often led by hubris) and also as my source for coaching others. Stop reading their press releases or hearing their founder talk about he is crushing it. I prefer the opposite.

Startup 412

Startup Press Course Entrepreneur 412

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2013

It has even gone so far that we now have evocative headlines in the tech press such as “ Buy or Die ,” which is what got me thinking about this post. But the press (and I suspect many of the senior execs of these companies) don’t really explore the corrosive downside of these acquisition. Woo the press.

Press 357

Press Startup Yahoo Venture Capital 357

InfoChachkie

MAY 6, 2013

I was in a board meeting recently at Connexity when Dave Gross, the company''s Co-Founder and CEO, made an insightful observation regarding the shortage of Series A funds. There is a similar Darwinian aspect to venture capital investing. Turtle Eggs And Startups.

Entrepreneur 246

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Technical Review Capital 246

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

In that article I talked about how PR drives: recruiting, employee retention, biz dev deals, funding and even M&A and that often “attribution” to your PR activities is unknown. Contrary to popular opinion I actually believe crowd-funding is best used after seed capital or venture capital.

Press 319

Press Startup Writing Training 319