Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

Seed investments are down by any measure (funds, deals, dollars) over the past 3 years in deals < $1 million AND in deals between $1–5 million. thus the rise of “pre seed” investing). It’s very noticeable in terms of funds raised, dollars invested and deals completed. What gives?

investing 328

investing investment VC venture capital 328

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 2, 2023

The venture asset class seems to have already decided that AI is the next great investment opportunity, but I’m not so sure it’s going to disrupt business and create the across-the-board wealth that has been predicted. I got to see all of the top VCs pitching their funds. Technology has already made the world pretty efficient.

opportunity 269

opportunity investing investment disruption 269

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

One of the things that founders have the most angst about is whom they should have on their board and at what stage of the business. This is smart because amazing board members can be transformative with important advice and access and can also help attract other great board members (and team members).

board 236

board startup venture capital finance 236

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 4, 2018

When you get an investment from Brooklyn Bridge Ventures—you get me. My investment thesis is shaped by the sum of my personal experience and so are my values. Limited partners judge my investment acumen. A co-op board is going to judge me at my next apartment. We get judged all the time.

investing 294

investing investment communities founder 294

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 10, 2014

I''m excited to see Christina and Logan''s vision come to life and I''m excited to be on board as an investor. They launched the pre-sale of their first set of rings today--their own design. You should check it out. Venture Capital & Technology'

ventures 415

ventures investment investing venture capital 415

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

JUNE 14, 2021

It may be silly and crazy, but it has also been a good investment for my friend and anyone who bought it in the early years. The combination of memes and investing is a powerful cocktail that I have been ignoring for a long time, probably incorrectly. It is easy to dismiss meme investing.

investing 243

investing investment communities board 243

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

On the one hand, you’re over paying for every investment and valuations aren’t rational. Pre-seed is just a narrower segment where you might raise $1–3 million on a SAFE note and not give out any board seats. That used to be called A-round investing. A seed round these days is $3–5 million or more! of the fund.

ventures 471

ventures VC venture capital funders 471

The Seraf Compass

JUNE 9, 2021

When you combine great leadership with a strong board of directors, the likelihood of a successful outcome for a business increases by an order of magnitude. As members of the board, they occupy leadership positions. Legally, directors are required to provide governance and oversight.

capital 246

capital investment investing leadership 246

Berkonomics

MARCH 28, 2024

All other board functions are secondary. Even venture capitalists who sit on boards where they have significant investments often forget this point. Actually, there are two legal duties of board members. Second is the duty of loyalty… …Loyalty to the corporate person, not to the shareholders who elected the board member.

board 112

board advice education VC 112

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

JULY 19, 2021

” Unlike public markets, private market investments are held for many years, often a decade or more. I also think startup boards need to evolve. There should be many more independent directors and many fewer investor directors on startup boards. There is no divorce court for startups.

board 276

board finance financing sustainability 276

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 13, 2014

Investment experience (5 years a VC at Battery Ventures). Operating experience (Helped run parts of CitySearch & UrbanSpoon, tons of product management experience, Board of Hatch Labs which helped spawn Tinder). For starters we’re an LA-based venture fund who invests nationally (and sometimes internationally, but less so).

VC 408

VC networking board ventures 408

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2018

I left the meeting and had to attend a 3-hour board meeting where two founders have been fighting and each want the other one fired. After my board meeting I had to do an interview with a CFO candidate that one of my portfolio companies asked me to speak with. I think you’d really enjoy meeting her wether you decide to invest or not.

pitching 381

pitching board funders entrepreneurs 381

The Seraf Compass

AUGUST 28, 2019

Over the past few years, there has been much talk about the importance of investing both financial and human capital into the rapidly expanding entrepreneurial ecosystem. From our perspective, human capital is as important as financial capital in driving the long term success of startup companies.

entrepreneurial ecosystem 224

entrepreneurial ecosystem board capital investing 224

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 18, 2024

These are people that didn’t make their money through a tech startup or startup investing. Governance Moreso than a lot of actual VCs, a lot of high-net-worth folks tend to ask for board representation—even in the super early stages of a company where boards tend to be a little less formal. I’m not talking about active angels.

investment 221

investment investing startup real estate 221

This is going to be BIG.

JULY 16, 2014

There''s been some writing about how VCs and founders interact with each other and it inspired me to take a step back and reflect on what my role is supposed to be with regards to the investments I make and the founders I deal with. Here''s what I came up with. Here''s what I am not: I am not necessarily an entrepreneur''s friend.

VC 405

VC frameworks venture capital entrepreneurship 405

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

One area I’ve had much discussion with the companies in which I’ve invested in is bringing on board an operationally focused CFO. I think Ophir would agree that the business was transformed after we brought on board Phil Schraeder at the CFO (and later promoted to COO). Board Preparation. Board meetings.

board 338

board energy financing finance 338

The Seraf Compass

OCTOBER 26, 2022

Many years ago I joined the board of a company after my angel group became the lead investor in the company’s seed financing round. As part of my compensation for being a board member, the company issued me restricted stock.

board 347

board advice finance financing 347

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 3, 2016

We're "kingmakers" whose investment has the "Midas Touch." Perhaps if we spend more time talking about board participation, counseling entrepreneurs on decisions, helping them solve problems and working hard to recruit people, the type of people who apply to the job might change. 2) Self selection for judgemental power seekers.

VC 405

VC venture capital entrepreneurship advice 405

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 18, 2019

Accelerators can be great, but they’re not giving companies enough money to achieve the kind of escape velocity needed to get on the radar of national Series A firms that will invest anywhere. At some point, a real seed round needs to get raised—and it needs to get led by someone. Raising for a seed fund is exceptionally difficult.

startup ecosystem 364

startup ecosystem real estate startup economic development 364

Tomasz Tunguz

OCTOBER 7, 2021

Passive venture capital investing is a relatively new idea. If the public equities market is any indication, passive investing is here to stay. In public equities, passive investment funds constitute 54% of total dollars in the market, according to Bloomberg Reseearch. The board is fully staffed, the executive team as well.

venture capital 144

venture capital capital ventures investing 144

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 11, 2015

As a single GP (a firm with one investment decision making professional), I get asked a lot of questions about how I manage my time considering the number of investments I make. I think that's probably less than most early stage VCs take, but I think I've gotten pretty good at being decisive about what I'm *not* likely to invest in.

VC 419

VC pitching board construction 419

The Seraf Compass

AUGUST 23, 2023

Now let's take a closer look at the time commitment involved when you're ready to invest in a company, what's required when serving as a board director, and how GPs should handle communications with their LPs. In Part I of this article we talked about the challenges and responsibilities General Partners face managing a fund.

board 355

board investing investment 355

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 27, 2014

Last week, for just the second time ever, I passed on an investment opportunity because of the terms of the deal--both the price and the legal structure of the agreement. No wonder people are questioning where the boards of these companies were. No one from the firm leading the deal will join the board.

founder 400

founder board venture capital finance 400

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 26, 2022

And while over the past few years we have been laser-focused on cash returns, we are equally planting seeds for our next 10–15 years of returns by actively investing in today’s market. We are excited to share the news that we have raised $650 million across three vehicles to allow us to continue making investments for many years ahead.

ventures 408

ventures startup peer-to-peer venture capital 408

Dream It

MAY 19, 2021

At Dreamit, we coach founders to use a snapshot slide at the beginning of the deck which covers this element and highlights why you’re an exciting investment. If there is sincere interest on the part of the investor, offer to review a smaller raise and revised plan with your board. The amount you're raising is your ask.

pitching 393

pitching board health VC 393

This is going to be BIG.

JULY 15, 2015

They could have created a reasonable, nuanced set of rules that allows me to rent my place out when I'm not there, like the four times a year I'm out in San Francisco trying to convince valley VCs to invest here, to someone who needs it.

real estate 419

real estate coworking transportation innovation 419

The Seraf Compass

FEBRUARY 21, 2024

Early stage investors are often asked to sit on boards, and many sets of investment terms require that outside investors sit on the key board committees. But what’s involved in being on an Audit Committee, and how do you do it right?

entrepreneurs 261

entrepreneurs board investing investment 261

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2014

When I work with community leaders I often encourage them to “pool capital” together from many angels into a fund structure run by a small investment committee that can make more rapid funding decisions, take more risks (it is pooled capital so goes across more investments), and standardize investment terms.

startup 390

startup communities venture capital angel capital 390

Ben Franklin Technology Partners

MARCH 25, 2024

Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central and Northern PA (Ben Franklin CNP) continues its mission of catalyzing innovation and fostering growth in the technology sector with its recent investments in four dynamic companies.

innovation 98

innovation technology investing investment 98

This is going to be BIG.

JULY 8, 2013

That''s kind of like what it''s like being on board with these companies after you make an early stage investment. Even the best and most active board members can still feel pretty helpless. In VC, no one''s investment gets bought on the first day, or the second day, or the third day.

venture capital 419

venture capital VC advice capital 419

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 22, 2014

How many more investments could I do? One of the reasons why I''m announcing at all is because I realized that it had been a while since I said anything about the progress of the fund--and if you''re an industry person, you might have started wondering. Was the fund enough to keep me going? How where things going? So there ya go.

pitching 413

pitching board VC opportunity 413

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 10, 2014

Since January of 2010, when I led my first seed investment in Backupify , I have led or committed to 27 investments. Launching may or may not give you less dilution based on whether you''re looking at the median or the average, but across the board, having revenue changed how much dilution an entrepreneur had to take.

venture capital 403

venture capital ventures board accelerator 403

Entrepreneurs' Organization

JULY 23, 2024

As I grow into my new role as EO’s Global Board Chair , I begin by looking back on my entrepreneurial journey over the past decade and see now, with the benefit of hindsight, how my understanding and approach to leadership have drastically evolved. Or as one of my EO Board Chair predecessors, Marc Stockli, once wrote, as a Leader’s Leader.

leadership 223

leadership entrepreneurs peer-to-peer board 223

Ben Franklin Technology Partners

DECEMBER 12, 2023

In a recent board meeting, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central and Northern PA (Ben Franklin CNP) proudly unveiled its latest investments in six exceptional tech enterprises situated in central and northern Pennsylvania, totaling $725,000. Revenue is generated through reimbursements from medical and life insurance companies.

innovation 105

innovation technology investing investment 105

American Entrepreneurship

SEPTEMBER 11, 2024

The firm’s latest investment into family-owned Mama Lycha, the leading provider of branded Latin American foods, was announced this week. In addition, Luis Marconi, a longtime executive partner of Rotunda, will become Executive Chairman of the board of Mama L ycha , bringing his insight into family-run companies.

capital 105

capital investing investment accelerator 105

Berkonomics

AUGUST 17, 2023

Preparing for the game… If you have been following our recent insights, you’ll be up to speed knowing that professional investors negotiate tough terms, from provisions of control over asset acquisition, eventual sale of the company, future investments, forced co-sale when others attempt to sell their shares and more.

investing 118

investing investment capital board 118

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

The core of the investing job of course is investing dollars into startup companies and helping as a mentor, advisor and board member on the companies in which you’ve invested. Instead he championed our investment themes into sustainability and food technologies having invested in companies like Apeel Sciences and Ynsect.

ventures 361

ventures leadership mentorship venture capital 361