A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

DECEMBER 14, 2020

And here we are, with a 24×7 global marketplace for crypto assets that has a market capitalization of over half a trillion and daily volumes in the hundreds of billions. This pales in comparison to the legacy capital markets, but that is always the case with a new entrant on the scene. Anyone can do it. And many/most do that.

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The Seraf Compass

DECEMBER 21, 2022

I tell this story as one simple example of the importance of actually understanding a company’s Capitalization Table (“cap table”) before transacting in their shares. Shareholders who don’t have a good grasp of this important investment concept are at a significant handicap when it comes to investing.

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The Seraf Compass

NOVEMBER 8, 2023

Have you ever been in a situation where you are negotiating an investment with an entrepreneur and you can’t agree on the pre-money valuation? Any early stage investor who makes more than one or two investments will certainly run into this issue.

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The Seraf Compass

MAY 11, 2022

In the world of startup company investing, the best-known investors are those who invest in the tiny percentage of companies that make it big. Should a typical angel investor apply the “swing for the fences” approach to their personal investing? Think Facebook, Google or Amazon.

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The Seraf Compass

MAY 10, 2023

Staying on top of the early stage investing world requires a lot of reading. One of the biggest trends we witnessed over the past few years is the rapid pace of new early stage venture fund formation combined with significant growth in the amount of capital invested.

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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. Legally, directors are required to provide governance and oversight.

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

JULY 18, 2022

Those values, on a schedule of investments we publish to our investors every quarter, flow through to our financial statements and capital accounts and establish how much an interest in our partnerships are worth at that time. If you might lose money on an investment, it is always best to signal that ahead of time.

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The Seraf Compass

JANUARY 1, 2020

You will hear the term “Follow-on” as a frequent catchphrase for this type of investing. Simply put, the investor is asking if you will invest additional funds in the company. Participating in follow-on rounds is an important part of his approach to angel investing. Let’s see if we can figure out why.

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Revolution

FEBRUARY 13, 2023

Since the beginning of modern venture capital investing — a relatively nascent asset class — the industry has been biased toward funding what it knows best: founders with familiar demographics (white, male) in familiar geographies (Silicon Valley).

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Entrepreneurs' Organization

AUGUST 4, 2023

As an entrepreneur or founder starting a business, you may think of capital as purely monetary. Capital is often viewed only as an opportunity for an infusion of money into a business to get it started or grow and scale your company. Outside investment is not mandatory when starting a business. To raise or not to raise?

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Entrepreneurs' Organization

OCTOBER 8, 2020

Invest in Yourself. We all invest our time and money in people and things. The best investment for entrepreneurs is always going to be in themselves. Invest in yourself in both small and big ways. Giving yourself set times to think and focus is a valuable investment. Invest in Your Business.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2019

I’ve heard a lot of people question whether there is too much money in venture capital chasing too few great deals. Others believe that new business models are emerging that could replace venture capital all together. We’re in a new tech bubble!” some have pronounced. Valuations are out of control” is the mantra of others.

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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. That may change. Or it may not.

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500

APRIL 28, 2020

Long before diversity and inclusion became buzzwords, we decided to make venture capital inclusive from day one at 500 Startups. The post Why Investing in Female Founders Matters Now More Than Ever appeared first on 500 Startups. Since 2010, we have expressed our commitment to those values in multiple ways.

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Dream It

FEBRUARY 14, 2020

Via TechCrunch by Arman Tabatabai: Venture capital has been flooding the various subverticals under the robotics umbrella in recent years, and the construction space is one of the largest beneficiaries. Matt Murphy and Grace Ge, Menlo Ventures Which trends are you most excited about in construction robotics from an investing perspective?

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The Seraf Compass

NOVEMBER 29, 2023

One of the biggest challenges faced by early stage investors is to assemble a portfolio of investments that in aggregate return more than 2 times the original amount invested in the total portfolio. In other words, for every dollar you invest in your portfolio, you want to get two dollars back over time.

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Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative

APRIL 12, 2022

Investing in a Sustainable Future. When it comes to preserving and protecting the Earth for our communities and the generations to come to have access to green spaces, clean water and air, and health, it’ll take a collective investment far more significant than any individual. Maximizing Human Capital. Maximizing Human Capital.

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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.

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American Entrepreneurship

SEPTEMBER 11, 2024

Private equity firm Rotunda Capital Partners focuses on transforming family-founder-owned companies into data-driven platforms that lead to accelerated growth. The firm’s latest investment into family-owned Mama Lycha, the leading provider of branded Latin American foods, was announced this week.

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

MARCH 14, 2022

There is a lot of criticism of venture capital in web3. Bitcoin did not have or need venture capital. Ethereum did not have or need venture capital. So why would any web3 project need venture capital? That’s why you might want to take venture capital for your web3 project. It is a good question.

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Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

how on Earth could the venture capital market stand still? One of the most common questions I’m asked by people intrigued by but also scared by venture capital and technology markets is some variant of, “Aren’t technology markets way overvalued? On the one hand, you’re over paying for every investment and valuations aren’t rational.

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The Seraf Compass

MAY 22, 2024

Unlike a convertible debt issuance, these stock transactions permanently alter the capitalization of the company by adding new stockholders, who are typically purchasing a brand new class of stock created for them, typically a series designated class of preferred stock with special rights and privileges they have negotiated.

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This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 15, 2020

It would be a directive to literally invest in the talent base—to create a path for influence and economic mobility within a firm. There are lots of problems with access to venture connections that account for some of this, but how you invest and pay your own team is the one indisputable thing that is in a VC firm’s control.

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The Seraf Compass

MAY 8, 2024

Unlike a stock transaction, these convertible debt deals do not alter the capitalization of the company by adding new stockholders until the debt is converted into equity. This article is intended to provide a quick overview and explanation of the principal documents in a fundraising where the investors are purchasing convertible debt.

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AsiaTechDaily

AUGUST 27, 2024

Nikon Corporation has announced the launch of the NFocus Fund, a new private fund established in partnership with Geodesic Capital. As the anchor limited partner, Nikon has invested in this […]

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The Seraf Compass

OCTOBER 25, 2023

Those same dynamics apply to fund investing. However, if you start an investment fund and collect and lose other people’s money, that’s a very different story. But if you borrow your friend’s car and do the same thing, sorting out the legalities can be significantly more complicated.

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500

APRIL 6, 2020

The challenge remains, however, of navigating the current investment climate, and we want to help our founders as much as possible in this unknown landscape. The post How Startups Can Navigate the Change in Investment Climate Due to COVID-19 appeared first on 500 Startups. If you missed the event, watch it here. To do so, we.

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This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 3, 2016

That was a question posed to me by a new analyst at a venture capital fund. While there are lots and lots of really kind, generous people working in venture capital--the recently retired Howard Morgan, Hunter Walk, Brad Feld, and Karin Klein for example--it's really tough to argue that there isn't widespread jerkery.

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Both Sides of the Table

JULY 26, 2022

We believe this consistency in leadership and intuition for where the markets were going in the heady days of 2019–2021 helped us to stay sane in a world that momentarily seemed to have lost its mind and since we have new capital to deploy in the years ahead perhaps I can offer some insights into where we think value will be derived.

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This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 3, 2023

I’ve made over 100 investments in my career and nearly half of those went into diverse teams. A founder who has a handful of venture-backed friends—successful ones who have raised multiple rounds of capital and who have grown their companies through different stages—has a huge advantage over one that doesn’t.

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American Entrepreneurship

JUNE 13, 2024

Successful track record of investment spurs latest fund supporting biotech innovation Foresite Capital, a multi-stage healthcare and life sciences investment firm continues to do what they do best—investing in companies that leverage biology and big data to transform healthcare. With over $3.5

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

Venture capital is about backing the leaders of tomorrow who imagine the world as it should be and aren’t constrained by what it is today. As an industry we’re not always as good as we could be about our own “creative destruction” to create the tomorrow of venture capital. So What Does All This Mean? And all the platform stuff.

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Revolution

MAY 23, 2023

Part of the antidote for startups: employing a more prudent approach to raising capital and curating a diverse investor base. To shed additional light on this issue and its ultimate impact on startups, I partnered with the Center for Real Estate Technology & Innovation to ask proptech founders about their capital and strategic partners.

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American Entrepreneurship

DECEMBER 11, 2024

Companies in every sector are investing in the latest technologies with an eye toward winning in their markets with AI, said Misha Herscu, CEO and co-founder of Cake. The post Googles early-stage AI Fund Gradient Invests in Cakes Open-Source AI Platform for All Businesses appeared first on American Entrepreneurship Today.

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American Entrepreneurship

OCTOBER 31, 2024

The company’s recent close of a Series C round was led by Development Partners International’s African Development Partners (ADP) III Fund, joined by first-time investors G oogle’s Africa Investment Fund and Verod Capital – a leading African private equity firm.

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American Entrepreneurship

JULY 22, 2024

A ni.VC , a recently announced pet venture fund, sees great investment opportunities, investing $35 million in U.S. For the past four years Liu invested at the intersection of software, science, and healthcare. The Miami and New York City-based fund’s first investment was made into DOG PPL, a canine social club.

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Entrepreneurs' Organization

JUNE 19, 2024

Instead, it began with 15 years of hands-on learning in capital markets, working closely with entrepreneurs, investors, and bankers. This experience allowed me to identify a critical void in financing companies: building healthy capital stacks and navigating the public offering process.

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