article thumbnail

The Coming Zombie Startup Apocalypse

This is going to be BIG.

Sam Altman of YC recently pointed out that pulling back during the downturn in 2008 would result in several big misses: In October of 2008, Sequoia Capital—arguably the best-ever in the business—gave the famous “RIP Good Times” presentation (I was there). A few months later, we funded Airbnb.

startup 419
article thumbnail

Instead of sticking a fork in the venture market, realize. there is no fork

This is going to be BIG.

The last closed market we had was from about September 2008 until June 2009--10 months. In 2008, people weren't sure if we were heading into a complete financial collapse. After that, we were pretty much back on track, growing every year. International and non-Valley startup communities are developing at a rapid pace.

ventures 299
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

"About Last Night." The note I just sent to my portfolio.

This is going to be BIG.

In 2008, I tried to fundraise for my startup the week that Lehman Brothers went under. Over the long term, innovation prevailed and 2008 turned out to be a great year to have a 1-3 year old company if you could make it through the next year. You can imagine how well that worked out.

VC 283
article thumbnail

Things Will Be Different

This is going to be BIG.

The Financial Crisis of 2008 sure seemed bad in the moment as well. As I write this, Congress is working hard to undo the mistakes of the 2008 bailout and the sense that corporations got off easy and the little guy was never made whole. Scrutiny is coming in a big way.

health 314
article thumbnail

Congrats to Backupify! A Great Exit Story for the First Company I Ever Backed

This is going to be BIG.

Rob messed around with some local video thing in 2008, which everyone but Rob thought was a pretty terrible idea. " — Charlie O'Donnell (@ceonyc) December 29, 2008. We stayed in touch and I got to know a bunch of the Louisville startup and creative crew, like Todd Earwood, Matt Winn, and Ashley Cecil.

board 261
article thumbnail

How Will a Venture Capital Recovery Feel? Observations from 2008

Tomasz Tunguz

In 2008, I had just become a venture capitalist. What will a venture capital turnaround feel like? Will it be gradual or sudden? What will change the sentiment in the market? Three months later, Lehman fell & the Global Financial Crisis started.

article thumbnail

Cash on Cash vs IRR

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

Our 2008 vintage early-stage fund has generated about 5x cash on cash but only generated a 22.5% That explains why our 2010 Opportunity Fund has a lower cash on cash return but a much higher IRR than our 2008 early-stage fund. Three of our most mature funds showcase how these numbers can behave differently.