Remove development Remove incumbents Remove opportunity
article thumbnail

Why Entrepreneurs & VCs Should Focus on Basecamp, Not the Summit

Both Sides of the Table

Market Opportunity. We always say that great opportunities are composed of a world-class team addressing a big & disruptive market opportunity. By definition the market is already large and therefore crowded or it’s nascent and the opportunity is not totally clear. But what about markets? Think about Twitter.

article thumbnail

Why We’re Looking to Fund Stuff With More Meaning

Both Sides of the Table

Many questioned whether it could survive under the fail whale, inevitable competition from Facebook, founder fighting, fights with 3rd-party developers let alone become a revolutionary business that could make money. When Fred Wilson funded Twitter I guarantee you it wasn’t obvious that it was a billion dollar idea. Far from it.

funders 362
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Why I Backed a 24-Year-Old Trying to Assess Human Potential

Both Sides of the Table

When a founder is “opportunity driven” it’s too easy to quit at the first bump in the road. 70% Team, 30% Market I also talk often about how much the team plays a critical role in my decision backing an A-round company because so much changes as a company develops. Fundamentally the system feels broken.

article thumbnail

6 VCs explain why embedded insurance isn’t the only hot opportunity in insurtech

TechCrunch

If you think embedded insurance is the only hot thing in insurtech these days, we’ve got a surprise in store for you: While it’s true that startups that help sell insurance together with other products and services are enjoying tailwinds, there are plenty of other opportunities in the space, several investors told TechCrunch+.

article thumbnail

Why Hulu is the OPEC of Online Video

Both Sides of the Table

I have always loved watching videos there but always believed that any company controlled by a consortia of interests would be doomed in the long run – especially by established, large incumbents with an interest in protecting the past more than innovating the future. In the current structure I cannot see how Hulu becomes this company.

article thumbnail

My First 16: Competing in a Crowd of Incumbents with Mercury’s Immad Akhund

Andreessen Horowitz

In this episode, a16z partner Seema Amble talks with co-founder and CEO of Mercury Immad Akhund about the idea of a minimum delightful product in fintech, doing the spreadsheet math on unit economics early on, and how to compete in a category already filled with incumbents. And we have a treasury function, and we do have fees around that.

article thumbnail

UK challenger bank Starling raises $376M, now valued at $1.9B

TechCrunch

Challenger banks continue to see huge infusions of cash from investors bullish on the opportunity for smaller and faster-moving tech-based banking startups to woo customers from their larger rivals. In the latest development, U.K.-based This means that the round, a Series D, values the company at £1.372 billion ($1.9