A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

Matt is a great CEO and has even written a book about leading and growing a company called Startup CEO. Their new company Bolster is all about scaling and building a great management team for your startup. Bolster also will allow venture capital firms and startup investors to participate in its platform as super users.

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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. The reality is that as a result of two major trends the costs of starting a technology startup went down massively. The “A Round” of my startup in 1999 was $16.5 What gives?

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Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2014

Many startups now go through accelerators and have mentors passing through each day with advice – usually it’s conflicting. There are bootcamps, startup classes, video interviews – the sources are now endless. On investment strategies I have “ Deflationary Economics ” 6. What is a founder to do?

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Paul G. Silva

APRIL 1, 2025

As I shared in a previous post , when I was president of Click Workspace, a startup coworking space, our board chairman delivered feedback that hit me hard: I wasn’t paying enough attention to our financials. Many founders would leave board meetings with lengthy to-do lists. ” This shift changed everything.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

I have been writing a series on how startup boards get selected, who sits on them and what to avoid. I started this series in part to help entrepreneurs but also to help newer investors because I’ve know with so many new companies you have so many new board members and many people are trying to figure out there respective roles.

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Entrepreneurs' Organization

JULY 6, 2020

Like the downturns in 2008 and 2001, this has been a very trying time for entrepreneurs running startups. At the same time, many investors are being more cautious with making new investments, preferring to focus on their existing portfolio before investing in new companies. A startup is not a lone adventure.

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peer-to-peer startup advice entrepreneurs 321

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2013

I am fond of quoting that about 70% of my investment decision of an early-stage company is the team. Final startup grind from msuster. So I naturally spend much time with the companies in which I invest helping them: recruit. PMs are a vital part of a tech startup. Be careful about board construction. and so forth.

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Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 26, 2015

We recently released the video sharing app Ferris and announced that Upfront Ventures led the funding in the company in our seed round of $2 million and I personally joined the board. So Why Did We Invest? Otherwise known as a tech startup. Yes, we’ve only launched on iOS for now. Building for Android.

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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.

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Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

Nearly every successful tech startup I’ve observed over the past 20 years has gone through a similar growth pattern: Innovate, systematize then scale operations. Innovate In the early years of a startup there is a lot of kinetic energy of enthusiastic innovators looking to launch a product that changes how an industry works.

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NZ Entrepreneur

NOVEMBER 19, 2024

Launching a startup in New Zealand is exciting, but navigating the accounting side of things can be tricky. Choose the best business structure for you Choosing the right business structure for your startup is a crucial first step. A budget, on the other hand, provides a financial framework for the startup’s operations.

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Both Sides of the Table

JULY 26, 2022

We remain confident in the long-term trend that software enables and the value accrued to disruptive startups; we also recognized that in a strong market it is important to ring the cash register and this doesn’t come without a concentrated effort to do so. The answer is: not much.

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Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

What person hasn’t crouched at an airport to get 18% extra on one’s battery before boarding an airplane? In fact, the headline of one read, “How Putting $10m into uBeam illustrates everything that is wrong with tech investing today.” But “what is wrong with tech investing today?”

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Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

On the one hand, you’re over paying for every investment and valuations aren’t rational. Today you have funders focused exclusively on “Day 0” startups or ones that aren’t even created yet. 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.

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Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 4, 2013

He then brought her to board meetings so nobody could accuse him of not having a business model. Put simply – you need enough users in a segment who care about what you’re doing to dictate investing further in the product or in sales & marketing resources. LEAN STARTUP MOVEMENT. You need product / market fit.

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Dream It

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

We did a previous dose on 5 things investors wish startups knew. Managing Partner, Steve Barsh , sat down to give us 5 MORE things investors wish startups knew. Keep reading for some more of the most common mistakes startups make when pitching and for Steve’s tips on how to fix them. Go here if you missed it.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 16, 2015

Fred Wilson also wrote on a similar topic in his usual more succinct manner , with a great quote being: “One thing I know for sure is that those who advise and invest in startups cannot and should not meddle in the day to day decision making. It’s harmful and hurtful to the startup and those that lead it.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

When you set up a board it is often initially a combination of the founders and the early investors. This post sets out how I believe founders (and investors) should think about independent board members having worked with many of them for the past 20 years. The board is where large equity investors get their representation.

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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. There is no divorce court for startups. I also think startup boards need to evolve. There should be many more independent directors and many fewer investor directors on startup boards.

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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). But there are tons of great startup folks so you need a narrower filter. billion IPO), Envestnet (Chicago, $1.25

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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. Some of these folks are founders and CEOs, but not at high-growth tech startups. They might not understand how a pre-revenue startup could be worth anything, let alone be valued at $5mm. Perhaps they inherited it.

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Both Sides of the Table

JULY 7, 2015

” I found myself nodding through all of it with quotes like, “Seed investing is the status symbol of Silicon Valley,” said Sam Altman. I love how open Danielle has been throughout the development of her startup Mattermark including honest reflections of when she has changed her opinion. That’s what it feels like.”. ” Uhhuh.

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Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 23, 2015

One of the questions we discussed is, “How much capital should a startup raise?” We also spoke about what it takes to be an effective board member. Often as board members we know contextually what the likely right answer is from years of experience and seeing similar scenarios. I promise it’s worth watching.

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Paul G. Silva

FEBRUARY 11, 2025

Breaking the “Impossible” at VVM When I was at Valley Venture Mentors, we set this BHAG: “In ten years, catalyze entrepreneurs to change the economy of Western Massachusetts by generating $1 billion in cumulative revenue and investment.” ” At the time, we were running a startup accelerator for 6 companies.

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Dream It

APRIL 12, 2020

Martino founded Bullpen in 2010 with a focus on post-seed, pre-Series A startups, and he led the fund’s investments in companies like FanDuel, Namely, Ipsy, SpotHero, Classy, and Airmap. This geographic distinction is now less about actual geography and more about mentality and style of investing of these types of firms.

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Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

There are certain topics that even some of the smartest people I talk with who aren’t startup oriented can’t fully grok. It’s common cocktail party chatter to hear people confidently pronounce that some well known startup is sure to blow up because, “How could they succeed when they’re not even profitable!” What did they actually do?

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 3, 2015

I am often asked how we make decisions on investments at Upfront Ventures. A typical investment discussion is not a bed of roses. ” In other words, just because you liked my last investment is no reason for me to be nice now. The same is true at startups. You’re a startup, not GE. A company presents.

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TechCrunch

JANUARY 27, 2023

Chroma , a startup working to build a new type of audiovisual entertainment specifically for mobile devices, is now adding a Twitter co-founder to its board. However, in 2013, Stone and the others shifted their focus to individual startups. The two hit it off and began to have monthly calls after Stone’s angel investment.

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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.

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American Entrepreneurship

MARCH 19, 2025

Next NJ Program and AI Innovation Challenge Administration Grant Program will increase AI investment and catalyze groundbreaking research TRENTON, N.J. New Jerseys continued investment in the sectors of the future will pay dividends for generations to come, setting the Garden State on a path of economic strength and prosperity.

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leadership board economic growth economic development 52

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 6, 2020

You need to: study the rules, make sure that you don’t violate the “affiliate rule” (more later), consult with your Company Counsel, consult with your board and investors and then make your own determination. When the $350 billion is fully invested will more be made available? You should discuss with your board second.

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American Entrepreneurship

JANUARY 21, 2025

million pre-A funding round, the FinTech startup aims to expand its regional footprint while laying the groundwork for future global growth. Notably, the round saw participation from Jason Gardner, founder and former CEO of Marqeta, who made this investment his first in the MEA region. With its just closed $5.2

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startup board entrepreneurship ventures 98

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. Uber employs 3000 people, more than most startups in NYC do, and is only six years old.

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real estate coworking transportation innovation 419

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.

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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.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

You transition from “startup” to real business and it turns out that having an entire team be efficient is more important than that boundless energy but destructive nature of constantly changing direction from the CEO. And board confidence matters in growing companies. And board confidence matters in growing companies.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

” “Mark has a vested interest in talking down valuations of startups.” Most prefer not to say this publicly for two reasons: 1) they have an entire portfolio of startups, many of whom are raising capital and 2) they prefer not to be attacked publicly or seem “anti entrepreneur.” All of these are false.

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