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. Every quarter our firm goes through a process to value our entire portfolio.

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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. Follow the money.

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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.

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The Seraf Compass

MAY 10, 2023

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. These days, funds are popping up almost everywhere.

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This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

Just yesterday, I got a note from a female founder of color: “Earlier this year you invited me to one of your off sites and that made a huge difference for me as a founder raising capital for my first company… I'm just looping back with the individuals who were helpful and who said "yes" to me during a pretty grueling process.

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This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 15, 2020

In venture, it’s all about getting an opportunity to make partner and being included in the carry—the economic upside of a fund. There have been a lot of calls for VC firms to make more hires from the Black and Brown community, as well as to hire more women. Not all hires, however, are made equally.

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The Seraf Compass

OCTOBER 25, 2023

If you make a simple mistake while driving, like hitting some black ice you didn’t see, and you skid off the road into a ravine and total your car, assuming no injuries, that’s a bummer and a major inconvenience for you. 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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Source Link

APRIL 14, 2021

Despite the growth in women-owned businesses, venture capital is still funneled to mostly male-owned businesses. of venture capital funds went to women-owned businesses in the U.S. That’s more than double the percentage in 1997. Since 2007, the number of businesses owned by Black women has grown by 163%.

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500

DECEMBER 16, 2019

This year we dove headfirst into the rise of corporate venture capital, the changing nature of venture capital education, and the important task of startup ecosystem building. In 2018, we saw this trend reach new heights with more corporate venture capital (CVC) funds than ever.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

Over the past month a colleague ( Chang Xu ) and I sifted through data on the venture capital industry (as we do every year) and made a bunch of calls to VCs and LPs to confirm our hypotheses. As a result of the IPO window shifting we saw a massive inflow of public-market capital into the latest stages of venture.

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This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

Or that venture capital is a meritocracy? This doesn’t take into consideration, however, that venture capital is a financial product—a product that works for some people and doesn’t work for others. We know what the racial and gender wealth disparity looks like: This is a lesson taught to be by Jewel from Collab Capital.

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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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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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This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 30, 2015

Sam Altman of YC recently pointed out that pulling back during the downturn in 2008 would result in several big misses: In October of 2008, Sequoia Capital—arguably the best-ever in the business—gave the famous “RIP Good Times” presentation (I was there). These sound fundamentals drive the venture capital market over the long term.

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Dream It

JULY 31, 2019

The product should be live if we hope to raise capital. A program to get your company 'accelerated'- selling faster, moving faster, which does not necessarily translate to capital. 4- Any startup can raise venture capital I've also seen a misconception on business types, versus their ability to raise venture capital.

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This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 19, 2015

Unlike venture capital funds, they don't make money directly off the multiples of their return. Rowe Price and Fidelity funds who bid the company up to ridiculous valuations in their pre-IPO rounds. Seemingly everyone except them knew that the company wasn't worth that much--but it didn't matter.

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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.

SEPTEMBER 1, 2015

It's key to getting into venture capital. That's how you get funded. That's how you get hired and how you can hire the best people. It's why you get press and even how to get customers. If you were driven to be the very best person anyone could ever hope to work with, you'd go on to do amazing things.

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

JANUARY 1, 2024

As we enter 2024, the capital markets have found their footing and are moving higher. That is good news for the innovation economy because healthy capital markets are a necessary support system. However, optimistic capital markets are necessary but not sufficient for a healthy innovation economy.

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

JANUARY 18, 2021

In early June, I wrote this post explaining that I and we need to do more to reduce the inequality issues for Black people in tech, venture capital, and startups. I think MLK day is a good time to talk about what has happened since that post.

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

JANUARY 27, 2021

Last fall, USV raised two new venture capital funds from our loyal and supportive investors. "we remain committed to our way of practicing venture capital … Our funds are small. We announced the new climate fund on January 8th and I blogged about it here. While it is less newsmaking, it is worth talking about.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 14, 2015

One of the points I tried to make is that as venture capital investors as an industry we seem to have a healthy disdain for public market investors. What is your revenue growth rate and what does this imply about your number of months of capital remaining? ” It goes like this: What is your net burn rate? ” Listen.

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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.

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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. They became our guiding principles, because we know that great talent exists in all forms, no matter your gender, race, nationality, age, or background.

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Revolution

MAY 11, 2023

Consequently, the Bay Area experienced a surge, capturing over one-third of all early-stage venture funding in the U.S., Despite 2022’s heel turn, the ten-year funding trend line still points to VCs concentrating less capital in the major coastal hubs and more in the rest of the country, a collective area of focus for attendees.

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Revolution

NOVEMBER 28, 2023

Louis, Missouri stands as a major hub for the agricultural sector, shaped by its advantageous location, academic institutions, industrial presence, and capital availability. Steve Lekas, CEO of Branch , and former Allstate/Esurance veteran, chose Columbus as the home base for his company to capitalize on this robust insurance ecosystem.

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

NOVEMBER 23, 2020

Public stocks, bonds, private equity, real estate, venture capital, etc. In venture capital, there were something like 30,000 companies that raised venture capital in 2019. We can say that we are looking to back trusted brands that increase access to capital, wellness, and knowledge , and we do.

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The Seraf Compass

NOVEMBER 29, 2023

In the language of Venture Capital, the goal of a successful early stage investor is to achieve a Distributed to Paid-In (DPI) ratio greater than 2X. In other words, for every dollar you invest in your portfolio, you want to get two dollars back over time.

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Revolution

FEBRUARY 15, 2024

What we did: Rise of the Rest Managing Partner, David Hall , joined Cofounders Capital Managing Partner, Tim McLoughlin, onstage at the Network for Entrepreneurs, Wilmington’s community event. Where we went: Wilmington, NC? He then joined Wilmington founders at Live Oak’s Channel for office hours. Where we went: Detroit, MI?

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American Entrepreneurship

NOVEMBER 20, 2024

With its robust global patent portfolio and the support of notable beauty and venture capital investors, its reach is global. The Series A round was led by Long Journey Ventures, Artifact Capital, and Boardman Bay Capital Management, joining key previous investors such as Ulta Beauty, a brand-first collaborator.

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The Seraf Compass

JULY 19, 2023

As an active angel investor in the Boston tech sector, I witnessed many paths to a successful return on my invested capital. So, is it possible for an angel to make venture capital returns (e.g. Sometimes the path is short and sweet. Other times the path is long and convoluted, but ultimately leads to a happy ending.

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

APRIL 1, 2021

Most venture capital funds have a “recycling” provision that allows them to sell some percentage of their investments and reinvest those funds back into new investments instead of distributing that capital to their limited partners. Those are great opportunities to recycle capital.

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Entrepreneurs' Organization

MARCH 8, 2024

Women still only get about 2% of venture capital investment money, and we want to see that change,” said Cindy Boyd, EO Houston. “By Raising funds through a Special Purpose Vehicle and giving other women a chance to be on your cap table is one way to activate community and help other women see the power of their capital,” Syama said.

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

[link] — Dan Primack (@danprimack) February 25, 2023 I DM’d Dan to let him know that is not the right way to think about the venture capital business. That’s the only way to think about the venture capital business that makes sense to me. The entrepreneur is the customer and the LP is the shareholder.

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The Seraf Compass

MAY 31, 2023

Now let's dive into fund size and sources of capital. In Part I of this article we addressed trends in VC fundraising, the roles played by GPs and LPs, and key questions fund managers should expect during the prospecting process.

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

JANUARY 31, 2023

I like to think of what we’ve been going through in the tech sector/startup land/venture capital over the last year as a cleanse. Venture capital firms got out of whack. Things had gotten so nutty, frothy, and out of control that we needed a reset. Cost structures got out of whack.

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

MAY 31, 2022

A public charity allows us to raise capital from others in addition to our family’s philanthropic gifts. We use this public charity to put together syndicates of donors and raise more capital for our projects than would be possible on our own. It reminds me very much of the way early-stage venture capital works.

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