Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 20, 2014

Yesterday MiTú Networks announced that Upfront Ventures led a $10 million financing in what is now the largest producer of Latino online videos – primarily driven through YouTube. And contrary to media reporting, YouTube has been incredibly supportive of networks like Maker & MiTú in building out our businesses.

investing 291

investing investment media networking 291

500

MARCH 26, 2020

No one would’ve envisioned me as a venture capitalist. When I moved to San Francisco in 2012, I was working on my fourth startup and looking to join an accelerator. I was raised in rural Wyoming, far from the high stakes and deep pockets of Wall Street and Silicon Valley. But from a young age, going against the grain was in my DNA.

accelerator 306

accelerator startup entrepreneurship ventures 306

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2014

Changes in the Software World & in Venture Capital. That didn’t make them bad – it just didn’t make them efficient at making rapid decisions of whether to fund a startup or not and the terms on which they would fund were typically not “market” for a startup company that would become venture backed one day.

startup 390

startup communities venture capital angel capital 390

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2016

I remember when seed funds first started (they were being incorrectly called “super angels” and then Micro VCs before Seed Funds stuck) and every LP (who invest in VCs) told me they weren’t convinced about Seed Funds (too small, too hard to pick winners, would they be able to follow on?). Now seed funding is conventional wisdom.

venture capital 271

venture capital capital ventures VC 271

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

MAY 5, 2021

There has been this narrative about investing in VC funds that you have to get into the top quartile (25%) or possibly the top decile (10%) in order to generate good returns. Half of all venture funds outperform the stock market which is the benchmark most institutions measure VC funds against. Well, it turns out that is not right.

VC 279

VC board investing investment 279

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 12, 2013

It was perfect timing since in 2012 GRP raised its fourth fund bringing our total assets managed to nearly $1 billion. We both wanted to build a practice that would make Los Angeles proud but where we would travel tirelessly to other locations to make investments in the best entrepreneurs wherever they were. They were effusive.

VC 360

VC communities investing investment 360

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 1, 2013

In 2012, I started my second company--a venture capital firm called B rooklyn Bridge Ventures. More sleep in 2013 will have mental health effects beyond the time investment. 3) Invest in your real friends. The quicker you can do so, the quicker you can move on to a better investment of your time.

sustainability 348

sustainability innovation entrepreneurs investing 348

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 21, 2012

I met him in April of 2010--almost two years before he got a venture round. It would be over two years until he took his first round of capital earlier in 2012. He just raised $7mm from Andreessen Horowitz, to tack onto their January 2012 party round of everyone and their mother. Devrim Yasar just raised an additional $7.25

VC 265

VC education entrepreneurs development 265

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

I’d rather be Roger Ehrenberg with a thesis around data-centric companies and base my investment decisions on my background. I should say that I agree that naive optimism in entrepreneurs can produce higher beta (upside or flops) and that’s good from an investment standpoint if you’re looking for big returns.

angel investing 152

angel investing investing investment VC 152

Gust

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

We are delighted to present a special rate to attend DEMO in Santa Clara, California on October 1-3, 2012. During the two-day conference, DEMO provides an environment for companies to secure venture funding, establish critical relationships, influence early adopters, and meet with top tier press.

ventures 107

ventures investing investment 107

TechCrunch

JULY 18, 2022

Investing in private markets has long been reserved for the ultra-rich. Ben Miller founded Fundrise in 2012 to give retail investors access to the private real estate market, and the company has since become one of the top 20 investors by size in that space, Miller, who serves as CEO, told TechCrunch in an interview.

real estate 91

real estate venture capital capital ventures 91

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 11, 2013

The venture capital game has become about branding yourself so you can get into a handful of hot deals." -- @Naval on stage with @Jason. And now that I''m an investor out on my own, one of my best performing companies is an investment that the founder could hardly give the equity away for in the beginning. In fact, several of them did.

venture capital 297

venture capital ventures education pitching 297

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 16, 2014

I went back across the 21 investments I''ve made both at First Round and at Brooklyn Bridge Ventures --a period that dates back to January 28, 2010, when I closed on Backupify. As for the two and a half year mark, it should say a lot to anyone looking to get into venture. Venture Capital & Technology'

VC 418

VC pitching networking venture capital 418

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

by Michael Woolf that is worth any startup founder reading to get a sense of perspective on the reality warp that is startup world during a frothy market such as 1997-1999, 2005-2007 or 2012-2014. otherwise I prefer to invest less and risk less). Understand how venture debt might shorten your projections. *

startup 383

startup VC frameworks capital 383

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 17, 2012

For me Silicon Beach doesn’t quite encapsulate the wonderful, dynamic, creative, large, thriving community that is the 13 million proud Angelinos any more than Silicon Alley captures the bustling 2012 community of New York City. Think about venture capital. So no prizes for guessing what IA Ventures stands for.

communities 304

communities startup creativity VC 304

Gust

JUNE 28, 2012

This was one of the primary subjects for discussion at Venture Forward 2012 ( ventureforwardconference.com ).

ventures 143

ventures capital VC investing 143

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2016

My partner Greg Bettinelli (worth following on Twitter) was recently named by The LA Business Journal as the “ Top deal maker in Los Angeles in Venture Capital.” And Greg has had the most influence on Upfront Ventures’ strategy since he joined. Invest more heavily in platform services. ” Numero uno.

disruption 226

disruption VC communities ventures 226

Gust

AUGUST 30, 2014

Unfortunately, a private company in the US may not take investment money from “anyone” The only people who are legally eligible to purchase an equity interest in a private company without a great deal of special paperwork are, as you noted, Accredited Investors. Invested Interests'

investing 149

investing investment ventures 149

AsiaTechDaily

AUGUST 17, 2023

Register Singapore-based venture capital firm Jungle Ventures has announced its merger with HealthXCapital , an early-stage VC firm specializing in healthcare investments. This move is expected to reinforce Jungle Ventures’ foothold in the healthcare sector across Southeast Asia and India.

ventures 98

ventures hospitality venture capital collaboration 98

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2016

Today is amongst the proudest days I’ve had at Upfront Ventures — getting the chance to announce that Kevin Zhang has been promoted to Partner. years at Upfront has been both a pleasure and also has taught me a lot about venture capital. Kevin joined Upfront in 2012 as an Associate. Watching him develop over the past 4.5

ventures 159

ventures peer-to-peer venture capital VC 159

TechCrunch

JULY 6, 2022

Raising venture capital is rarely an easy lift for startups, but 2022 is turning out to be a more challenging year than we’ve seen for some time. As venture capital continues its slowdown after an aggressive 2020 and record-breaking 2021 , it’s clear that early-stage founders looking for their first dollars will require a new approach.

ventures 95

ventures education venture capital disruption 95

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2017

Mayor Eric Garcetti at Upfront Summit, February 2017 I first sat down with then councilman Eric Garcetti on the Ides of March 2012 — almost 5 years ago exactly. They always ask whether I see this as threatening as Upfront Ventures. But this post is about the broader context of LA. Are you kidding me?

energy 191

energy innovation venture capital capital 191

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 25, 2013

Anyone who was doing something new and cutting edge should feel connected to each other--whether or not they are building a venture backed startup. It's even more relevant now that I've started the first venture capital fund in Brooklyn-- Brooklyn Bridge Ventures --and invested in four Brooklyn based companies.

communities 315

communities innovation creativity real estate 315

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2014

We formed a partnership with some of our favorite early stage investors and friends including Jim Andelman at Rincon Ventures and Peter Lee at Baroda. Throughout 2012 & 2013 we funded many companies and then pulled together a second fund. And Jim & I went on to raise several more venture capital funds in our day jobs.

accelerator 290

accelerator mentorship peer-to-peer VC 290

Tomasz Tunguz

JUNE 5, 2021

What does it mean for venture capital and Startupland? Let’s examine the relationship between total venture capital investment and the 10 year Treasury in some detail. The y-axis tracks enture capital investment by year and the year of the data point resides in the reddish circle. There are arguments on both hands.

venture capital 142

venture capital capital ventures VC 142

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

” I hear it when I visit LPs (the people who invest in VCs) all across the country, “Yeah, I haven’t been out there for a few years but I keep hearing that something is going on there.” billion in venture capital to LA’s technology startups and 2014 will shatter that figure. LA By The Numbers.

entrepreneurs 376

entrepreneurs creativity technology capital 376

Dream It

AUGUST 29, 2019

Investors are giving you capital to make 10x, 20x, or 100x their investment. For this reason, it would be ridiculous for a founder to ever tell a venture investor that they want to keep the company private. In other words, the exit strategy is a way of “cashing out” an investment.” To realize this, there must be an exit.

strategy 299

strategy VC energy disruption 299

Dream It

APRIL 26, 2019

In late-March, the United Kingdom's Huawei Cyber Security Centre Oversight Board reported that the company had not fixed critical security flaws in its products, even after promising to patch specific issues back in 2012. Qualcomm Ventures led an $18 million strategic round of funding in industrial IoT security platform CyberX.

consulting 250

consulting networking board VC 250

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

She hasn’t raised any venture capital. Sam is the managing director of Launchpad LA and we were about to pick our 2012 class of entrepreneurs. She did her first tech startup after the age of 30. And she didn’t start her company in Northern California. Tracy built her company, Recycled Media , out of necessity.

peer-to-peer 363

peer-to-peer entrepreneurs startup entrepreneurship 363

abovethecrowd.com

DECEMBER 26, 2012

If you want your venture to succeed, it must succeed as a business – eventually. Jeff Bezos on Charlie Rose, November 16, 2012. Everything You Need to Know About Finance and Investing in Under an Hour by William Ackman. You still need physics and economics on your side. Is Sugar Toxic, by Gary Taubes (New York Times Magazine).

financing 68

financing finance media innovation 68

StartupNation

OCTOBER 4, 2021

Despite the growth in awarded venture capital (VC) funds, a staggering disparity remains between the amount of total VC funds invested in entrepreneurs and the portion of those funds invested in ventures founded and/or led by women—particularly women of color. I am no stranger to this gender gap within the VC space.

venture capital 93

venture capital ventures capital VC 93

TechCrunch

DECEMBER 22, 2021

Serial fintech entrepreneur Walter Cruttenden founded Acorns with his son, Jeff, in 2012 with the goal of helping low- and middle-income households invest and save responsibly. The pair wanted to simplify investing for the millions that have trouble getting started or continuing to invest.

investing 112

investing investment founder mix-use 112

AsiaTechDaily

OCTOBER 11, 2023

Register Singapore’s Jungle Ventures has announced the launch of First Cheque@Jungle , a new program aimed at investing in startups during their pre-seed and seed stages. The First Cheque program plans to leverage the expertise of experienced founders from Jungle Ventures’ current and former portfolio startups.

investing 98

investing investment startup accelerator 98

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2015

They take fewer bets, they don’t mind being counter-conventional and investing in things that make others scratch their heads. And with the crash of Sept 2009 – March 2009 the market cleared out created an open field in which to invest, go slowly, learn and let companies mature before they felt the need to be “hyped.”

advice 398

advice VC entrepreneurs transportation 398

TechCrunch

APRIL 13, 2023

Amazon’s unending drive to outflank the rest of the world birthed an industry with its 2012 acquisition of Kiva. Investments began flooding into robotics around this time. Slowed investments have been compounded by continued economic woes and the recent bank collapses have further shaken confidence.

investing 112

investing investment construction ventures 112

Gust

MARCH 11, 2014

By Tomasz Tunguz , Partner at Redpoint Ventures. On one hand, the total dollars invested by VCs is relatively flat at just under $30B per year, according to the NVCA. I’ve divided the companies into cohorts by the year they raised their seed investment. Has it become harder to raise money?

startup 169

startup SaaS financing finance 169

TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 17, 2021

LiveOak Venture Partners raised its largest fund to date, $210 million for Fund III, which will enable the Austin-based, early-stage venture capital firm to double down on Texas founders. We finished with a diverse base of investors that included 90% from institutional investors and over 40% of investment from new investors.”.

ventures 85

ventures entrepreneurs venture capital investing 85