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Why Venture Capital is So Much More Compelling Now

Both Sides of the Table

It’s not hard to find people willing to write the narrative that “venture capital is not an asset class” or “venture capital has performed terribly.” That’s a shame because many of these people missed out on what will be a few great VC vintages.

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The Changing Structure of the VC Industry

Both Sides of the Table

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). Always-on connectivity of mobile (164m US smartphone users).

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Venture Capital is About Human Capital

Both Sides of the Table

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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LA, and Southern California's Surge In Venture Capital Funds

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Managing Director: Kelly Perdew Investment interests: Direct to consumer and consumer focused Internet, Saas, video, mobile, mobility, transportation, and in particular founders with a military background. Watertower Ventures. Fund size: Not disclosed, but $7.2M so far in investments. www.watertowerventures.com) Fund size: $5M.

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Bonfire Ventures Launches New Venture Capital Firm

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A new, Los Angeles-based venture capital firm, Bonfire Ventures --founded by venture veterans Jim Andelman and Mark Mullen, and assisted by Leah Volger--has made its first public announcement of an investment, after stealthily making investments in the region over the last few months.

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What I Would Look for When Choosing a VC – Knowing What I Know Now?

Both Sides of the Table

Picking a VC is hard. So I thought I’d write about out with what I would look for in a VC knowing what I know now and why. Most VCs are book smart. VCs should be more of a coach than proscriptively telling you what to do. You want a VC who will spar with you but then STFU and let you get on with things.

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This Week in Venture Capital – Episode 4

Both Sides of the Table

This was the first episode where Jason wasn’t on the show, which gave me the chance to have another VC on the show to discuss deals. Rustic Canyon is an LA-based, but geography-agnostic VC that is currently investing from a $200 million fund. VC Financings: 1. 15mm in Series A.