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This Week in Venture Capital – Episode 3

Both Sides of the Table

Peer-to-peer lending is back! I’m now the permanent host for TWiVC (until such time as they kick me off). Thank you to anybody who sent Jason a note on Twitter on my behalf. The episode isn’t yet live but it should be in the morning (probably when you’re reading this) – you can find it here. Really!).

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How the Seed-Stage VC Trend Began, The Downsides of Unicorns & Much More

Both Sides of the Table

“There was no real framework for a $15 million fund at the time so I had to make one up … it was really sort of an experiment … I invested across Funds I & II in 90 companies” Jeff then raised $55 million in 2010 and $85 million in 2014. . It is, of course, a very recent phenomenon. But not many others.

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Why Your Startup is More Likely to Succeed if You’re Authentic and Passionate

Both Sides of the Table

And if you’re going to wake up at 5am in the morning to catch a flight to attend a trade show or stay up late networking at a dinner with your industry peer group then it ought to be something that is your extreme passion. Great programmers are artists, for sure, but rock stars is about the last definition I’d choose.

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This Week in VC with Dana Settle of Greycroft Partners

Both Sides of the Table

Founded in November 2007 in New York City by Alexis Maybank and Kevin Ryan (co-founder of DoubleClick); CEO is Susan Lyne (ex-CEO Marta Stewart Living Omnimedia) Revenue estimates: $50mm in 2008; $170mm in 2009 (versus budget of $150mm); $450mm forecasted for 2010. To be fair to Ben Horowitz – I think he thinks this as well.

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Why Online Video Just Took One More Big Step to Legitimacy

Both Sides of the Table

Dana Settle (Greycroft) & I had led the first round of investment in the company in 2010 and we were looking for smart media investors to join us as investors in the company. Our industry just took one big step towards legitimacy with the hiring of renowned media exec Ynon Kreiz to run Maker Studios. hours of TV / day.

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The Changing Structure of the VC Industry

Both Sides of the Table

The VC market has right-sized (returned back to mid 90′s levels & less competition). Lower costs to start a business (95% reduction), many more companies created & funded by angels / seed. But it still takes VC to scale a business (thus large capital into industry winners like Uber, Airbnb, SnapChat, etc). Why is this?

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It’s Morning in Venture Capital

Both Sides of the Table

When I came out of college LA Law was one of the most popular shows on TV and made being a lawyer sexy, so most of my peers made that career choice. They are frustrated by the past decade of subpar returns for the sector. The most recent report to weigh in on the troubles of the industry was produced by the esteemed Kauffman Foundation.