Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 19, 2013

The era of VCs investing in successful consumer Internet startups such as eBay led to a belief system that seemed to permeate many enterprise software startups that hiring sales or implementation people was a bad thing. If you’re an early-stage enterprise startup services revenue is exactly what you need.

startup 403

startup financing finance strategy 403

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

And the loosening of federal monetary policies, particularly in the US, has pushed more dollars into the venture ecosystems at every stage of financing. What Has Changed in Financing? However, to be a great VC you have to hold two conflicting ideas in your head at the same time. Of course we can’t. By definition?—?I’m

ventures 471

ventures VC venture capital funders 471

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 22, 2018

This will be the post where I dangerously attempt to walk the minefield of a white male VC opining on the topic. Besides, how effective of a filter is it that someone can get coffee with a non-VC and convince them that you'd want to see the deal? That pitch has never excited any VC in the history of VC funding.

VC 270

VC pitching peer-to-peer founder 270

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

As a VC you want to feel like you have “proprietary sources” of deal flow. But I think there is a down side that I see in startups that raise artificially at prices above what a normal market might value. And I’m seeing this even at some really well run startups. ” Otherwise, “why I am so lucky?”

VC 347

VC advice pitching entrepreneurs 347

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2013

Final startup grind from msuster. And the folks at Startup Grind have been kind enough to invite me to present this morning in Mountain View on the topic. PMs are a vital part of a tech startup. Hire admin / office management after you raise a reasonable size VC round. Limit the number of VCs. figure out roles.

startup 388

startup consulting construction board 388

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

That prediction obviously turned out pretty wrong, but it did drum up a whole lot of chatter about the right ingredients for building a startup community—about New York vs Boston on the East Coast and whether cities like Austin and Seattle would ever break through. Startup founders always need help. You need both.

communities 434

communities startup real estate mentorship 434

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2014

I have never been more optimistic about the impact that the tech startup community is having on cities in America or about the role that cities outside of San Francisco / Silicon Valley can play in our future. Changes in the Startup Ecosystem. So the startup work moves to where the startup founders live and not vice versa.

startup 390

startup communities venture capital angel capital 390

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 29, 2014

In fact, my salary never caught up with my pre startup salary across 2 companies and 8 years. I will speak with people earning good money at a larger company or even well-financed startup who are mulling over the choice of whether or not to quit. Why did I join as a partner in a VC fund on that salary? I often say.

startup founder 409

startup founder investing investment founder 409

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 24, 2015

It will make follow-on financings much harder and people will have to consider whether or not to do inside rounds. These are all normal things but in this big run since 2009 we’ve all gotten used to nearly 100% follow-on financing rates, valuations only moving up, deals clearly the convertible note caps and low mortality rates.

finance 344

finance financing ventures real estate 344

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

If you truly believe that you, your company and your products are exceptional and your company will be valuable then you’re actually doing them a FAVOR by helping them invest in your startup. The typical VC process is as follows: They say there are three rules in property: Location, location, location. Same with VC.

VC 332

VC advice entrepreneurs energy 332

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

That’s what every VC is telling their portfolio companies these days. If you don’t realize that, just imagine you’re a VC fund with some dry powder in the second half of 2023. The one question every VC needs to be able to answer on the way to getting to a “yes” is, “Can this return a big chunk of my fund one day?”

VC 415

VC startup accelerator financing 415

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 27, 2014

Scott and I agree on nearly everything: The VC structure is changing and there appears to be a bifurcation into small & large VCs with an impact on “traditionally sized” VCs. The only point we didn’t seem totally aligned on was what we happening to the “middle of the VC market.”

VC 309

VC SaaS strategy ventures 309

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 13, 2014

Investment experience (5 years a VC at Battery Ventures). Startup CEO experience (Founded P.S. XO along with my good friend Soleil Moon Frye. Kara has worked in finance in Boston, NYC and Silicon Valley. But there are tons of great startup folks so you need a narrower filter. Upfront Ventures VC Industry'

VC 408

VC networking board ventures 408

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 28, 2012

When you work inside a startup with lots of clever and motivated staff you’re never short of good ideas that you can implement. As a VC I regularly meet with companies and listen to their plans. It’s tempting to take on new projects, new features, new geographies, new speaking opportunities, whatever. Let me explain.

startup 415

startup advice VC financing 415

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 7, 2014

No VC will be so naive as not to see straight through it. When I first became a VC, seed rounds were typically $500k – $1.5 There weren’t a lot of seed funds in 2007 so this was often done by angels, funding consortia or sometimes early-stage funds that existed then (First Round Capital, True Ventures, SoftTech VC, etc.).

VC 399

VC advice finance financing 399

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

Round sizes of > $100 million or more now account for 47% of all VC dollars (62% if you count rounds > $50 million) This has made venture capital significantly more valuable for VCs and LPs who invest in the best companies As part of our study we noticed a trend many have spotted but few have explained?—?why

investing 328

investing investment VC venture capital 328

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 6, 2015

Turns out that not only is he real, but he''s one of the most genuine, thoughtful, and egoless people I''ve met in the startup world--a real breath of fresh air. You''ve been in VC long enough to see lots of different funds, partners and deals. You get a lot of choice as a VC as to who you want to spend your time with.

VC 377

VC collaboration disruption founder 377

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2013

One of my favorite events last year was attending Startup Grind where I got to interview Clayton Christensen, author of The Innovator’s Dilemma. And of course we talked about many of my views of building startups. I got a job at a bank, and I worked in their corporate finance group. You didn’t join startups then.

startup 337

startup entrepreneurs consulting board 337

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

What is the True Sentiment of VCs? I recently survey more than 150 VC friends from all stages and geographies what they thought about the market by asking “Which of the following statements best describes your mood heading into 2016?” ” “This will be great for VCs and bad for entrepreneurs.”

startup 285

startup VC entrepreneurs investing 285

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 28, 2013

The biggest question I think VC''s face right now is whether or not, in the future, the best founders will look and act like the best founders of the past. My own track record as a VC across First Round Capital and Brooklyn Bridge Ventures actually starts in January of 2010, *after* the Airbnb class of Winter 2009.

venture capital 407

venture capital VC ventures capital 407

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2021

But markets have changed and I think investors, founders and experienced executives who want to join later-stage startups can all benefit from playing the long game. This “overnight success” was first financed in 2004. My first ever investment as a VC was Invoca. It literally drove FOMO. Maker Studios?—?sold Entrada Ventures? —?that

venture capital 363

venture capital capital ventures VC 363

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 8, 2016

Much has changed in the past four months of the technology startup world and how outsiders value the business. The terrible consequence is that some great companies struggle to get financed. I am a VC so this will be seen as self serving. It applies to all startups – not just SaaS. In my mind this simply means.

startup 269

startup VC financing finance 269

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 11, 2021

Photo by Vanna Phon on Unsplash Customer acquisition is the lifeblood of many startups from e-commerce to gaming to marketplace companies, among others. Most of these startups spend the lion’s share of their marketing budget in today’s social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Snap, TikTok and so on because?—?no no surprise?—?that’s

founder 424

founder peer-to-peer sustainability VC 424

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

Something happened in the past 7 years in the startup and venture capital world that I hadn’t experienced since the late 90’s — we all began praying to the God of Valuation. How might our next phase of the journey seem brighter, even with more uncertain days for startups and capital markets? What happened? There was no money train.

VC 466

VC culture sustainability capital 466

TechCrunch

OCTOBER 4, 2022

While Adesanmi worked for years in Nigeria’s banking and fintech space, his family’s real estate background pushed him to establish a startup in proptech. This process allowed the four-year-old startup to establish good unit economics and significant traction before scaling, Adesanmi noted. monthly to finance rent payments.

VC 131

VC real estate venture capital finance 131

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

DECEMBER 31, 2020

So today, I will write about 2020 in the context of tech/startups/VC/crypto. And they finance the trend that they are directionally correct about. Startups and the investors who finance them benefit from all of this. We now have virtual capital raising so that startups don’t need to travel to raise capital.

real estate 279

real estate energy VC finance 279

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.

innovation 286

innovation startup board leadership 286

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 11, 2013

You can watch the video above for a very brief overview of why we rebranded and where we see our place in the VC ecosystem along with what has changed in our industry. I often advise startup companies not to try and pin all of your brand equity into an announcement. who is talking about putting in up to $30 million in our startup.

ventures 324

ventures VC strategy advice 324

Dream It

APRIL 7, 2020

Friday, April 3 was supposed to be the orderly launch of the CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) providing $349B of urgently needed funding to struggling startups and small businesses. What are the immediate do’s and don’ts for startups? For instance, one of our startups applied to J.P.

startup 348

startup communities VC ventures 348

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 26, 2022

2021 saw phenomenal returns for our industry and it topped off more than a decade of unprecedented VC growth. The Upfront VII and Growth teams are made up of 10 partners: 6 leading investment activities & 4 supporting portfolio companies including Talent, Marketing, Finance & Operations. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

ventures 408

ventures startup peer-to-peer venture capital 408

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 11, 2016

Gregg Johnson, CEO of Invoca For the first 5 years or so after I became a VC I didn’t talk much about what I thought a VC should be excellent at since frankly I wasn’t sure. It’s easy to think the role of a VC is to have strong opinions about markets, trends, tech dynamics and so forth. The role of VC is sparring partner.

venture capital 363

venture capital capital ventures VC 363

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2014

We are often asked how companies get funded, why VCs make the decisions we make and what we’re looking for in entrepreneurs. I think this is a Seriously great example of how this process works for at least one VC – Upfront Ventures. So I hope that offers you insights into how companies move through the VC system.

media 373

media education VC finance 373

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 19, 2017

As a VC, burn rate is one of the most discussed topics I have with teams who are pitching me for raising capital and it is one of the most common discussions points I have with founders in companies that I’ve backed. years of cash runway, which is too much for a startup. million for 18 months. Each investor would need to write $1–1.5

startup 212

startup venture capital capital VC 212

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

If you haven’t raised any money or if you raised a small round from angels or friends & family I would suggest you avoid setting up a formal board unless the people who would join your board are deeply experienced at sitting on startup boards. Well, once people get on boards it’s pretty tough ego-wise to convince them to step off.

board 236

board startup venture capital financing 236

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 6, 2013

We got along and shared stories about the startup market. Monitor had a little internal VC group so he got some experience there. More like a temporary VC just to get some experience and of course we’d pay him. We got a bit of extra help on company analyses and he got to see a VC from the inside.

collaboration 344

collaboration VC accelerator consulting 344

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 9, 2014

We all know that funding markets have changed for startups. Generally speaking in venture capital financings the legal documents will specify that only “major investors” (a threshold set in the agreement – which can be $500,000 investor or more). Fundraising / Negotiations Startup Lessons VC Industry'

venture capital 352

venture capital VC board financing 352

TechCrunch

MARCH 11, 2021

David Teten is founder of Versatile VC and writes periodically at teten.com and @dteten. 15 steps to fundraising a new VC or private equity fund. Stéphane Nasser is co-founder of OpenVC , an open-source initiative to collect and analyze all VC theses. VC websites by David Teten and Sam Sabin , co-founder of Hireblue.

VC 136

VC investing investment venture capital 136