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Some Reflections on VC Investment Decisions

Both Sides of the Table

I started in 2007 with a thesis that my primary investment decision would be about the team (70%) and only afterward about the market opportunity (30%). I know I can’t be in every deal and I know that the easy part of being a VC is writing the first check in a deal. They worry too much about missing out on a deal. I don’t.

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The Great VC Ice Age is Thawing (for now) – Part 1 of 3

Both Sides of the Table

I would argue that the shut-down of September 2009 was equally severe yet there are signs that this “VC Ice Age” has begun to thaw. The rest of this post series deals with the reasons why VC froze up in the first place, why investments have heated up recently and why the future of VC funding at the current pace is not certain.

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How to Avoid Being Disrupted as a VC

Both Sides of the Table

And Greg has had the most influence on Upfront Ventures’ strategy since he joined. I joined Upfront Ventures in 2007 and took over as co-Managing Partner in 2011 along with the founder, Yves Sisteron. I asked for the responsibility of setting out the firm’s future strategy and our daily operating tasks. I keynoted.

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This Week in VC with Om Malik & Paul Jozefak

Both Sides of the Table

To see the video of This Week in VC click on this link. We spent the first 45 minutes or so talking about industry trends (in this order): The history and background of True Ventures, one of my favorite early-stage VC’s (and the one with whom Om is a venture partner). This is astounding and myopic in my view.

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What is the Definition of a Seed Round or an A Round?

Both Sides of the Table

No VC will be so naive as not to see straight through it. When I first became a VC, seed rounds were typically $500k – $1.5 When I first became a VC, seed rounds were typically $500k – $1.5 5 million was always the classic definition of an A-round between the late nineties (crazy financings aside) and say 2007. . $5

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Praying to the God of Valuation

Both Sides of the Table

2001–2007: THE BUILDING YEARS The dot com bubble had burst. Between 2006–2008 I sold both companies that I had started and became a VC. SEEING THINGS FROM THE VC SIDE OF THE TABLE While I was a VC in 2007 & 2008 those were dead years because the market again evaporated due the the Global Financial Crisis (GFC).

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What Did I Learn From the First VC Check I Ever Wrote?

Both Sides of the Table

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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