Dream It

JANUARY 13, 2021

Learn how to pass a VC associate screen in under 10 minutes! Alana suggests that before speaking to an associate, you gain a basic understanding of the fund’s focus and stages they invest in. VCs love when founders come back to them having hit or exceeded the goals they laid out. What does good prep look like? For example.

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

AUGUST 23, 2021

I realized a long time ago that the VC’s customer is the founder/CEO/portfolio company and that our investors (called LPs in VC speak) are our “shareholders” That was a very defining moment for me and has clarified what matters the most in a VC firm. That is very rare but has happened. That can work too.

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Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 6, 2020

But I have been in close contact with the NVCA, many of the major law firms and many of the major VC firms. If you do apply you must certify that your information and application are true and honest. Am I ineligible since I’m VC-backed? There is nothing in the rules that state that VC-backed businesses are ineligible.

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VC peer-to-peer startup advice 279

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2018

One of the hardest things about the fund-raising process for entrepreneurs is that you’re trying to raise money from people who have “asymmetric information.” VC firms see thousands of deals and have a refined sense of how the market is valuing deals because they get price signals across all of these deals. So why does a VC ask you?

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This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 21, 2025

I cant tell you how many times I got announced as a successful VC when I was introduced on a panel or sat across the room from a potential limited partner telling them I was. You dont owe them success, but you do owe them honesty, transparency, and a willingness to share enough information with others to enable them to help you.

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Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 12, 2013

Now that he’s become a VC he’s promising me he’ll provide way more public information and discourse so please welcome him by following him on Twitter and better yet welcoming him with a Tweet of your own linking to his Twitter handle or this post. This is a big news day at Upfront Ventures. And he followed through.

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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. If you don’t believe in your bones that you’re amazing then it’s no wonder you don’t want to sell them on making the investment.” Same with VC.

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MAY 24, 2018

In order to understand how to “get to yes” with a VC you first need to understand how VC partnerships make decisions and then you can understand how to increase your odds of closing a deal. VC Partnerships Start by understanding how many partners are at the firm you are approaching. It’s super easy to suss all this out.

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Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

I’m over-paying for every check I write into the VC ecosystem and valuations are being pushed up to absurd levels and many of these valuations and companies won’t hold in the long term. However, to be a great VC you have to hold two conflicting ideas in your head at the same time. That used to be called A-round investing.

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Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

” From the hyperbolic Jason Calacanis weighing in that “The petty VC’s did everything to deride [Naval, the co-founder of AngelList]” as though the industry was collectively s g its pants that AngelList was going to put us out of business. This is the same way VC firms, by the way. Bowery Capital).

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Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 13, 2018

One of the hardest things to know when you’re new to fund raising is what you’re supposed to send to an investor, when and will they keep your information confidential. As a VC and former entrepreneur let me offer you some advice. whether they invest or not. This is part of a series on how to improve your fund raising game.

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Dream It

FEBRUARY 14, 2020

With our 2020 Robotics + AI sessions event on the horizon in early March, we’re diving back into the sector to learn about the attributes of construction attracting robotics VCs the most and which types of startups VCs are actually writing checks for in 2020. How much time are you spending on construction robotics right now?

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This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 23, 2014

When I turn down the opportunity to invest in a startup, I really turn it down. It''s unclear what piece of information they were lacking or how someone could have gotten them over the hump. It just feels like the VC wasn''t that interested in the first place and so they''re not sure what the interest was in the first place.

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The Seraf Compass

SEPTEMBER 23, 2024

Join Seraf for an engaging and informative webinar on VC investing in BRICS countries, with an emphasis on the exciting opportunities in Brazil. This event is tailored for venture capitalists, startup founders, and investors eager to delve into the high-growth potential within Brazil's dynamic market.

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This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 22, 2020

A VC’s default is “no”, so without enough information to be convincing, it’s going to wind up being a pass. To a VC, $50,000 a pre-sale isn’t really that much. The key is understanding that VCs want to see what could happen, and how not what will most likely happen. That’s why we invest in a portfolio.

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TechCrunch

OCTOBER 9, 2023

This is the United States’ first piece of legislation that aims to increase diversity within the venture capital landscape.

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TechCrunch

DECEMBER 16, 2021

Internet giant Google announced today that it has made the first investment from its Africa Investment Fund in Ugandan super app SafeBoda. Google sets up $50M fund to invest in African startups. We are focusing on investments where we believe that Google could add value,” the managing director said in October.

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Haystack

DECEMBER 29, 2018

It’s that time of year, time to look back and reflect on the most significant storylines in the tech, startup, and VC world. And, with that warning, I offer to you, the big stories in the startup and investing ecosystem of 2018, written in ascending order of importance and magnitude…. 6/ Venture Capital In Expansion Phase.

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Hunter Walk

MARCH 3, 2025

. “ Different & Excellent ” equates to something that doesn’t exactly look like other VCs. Could be pinning their thesis on a category of technology or type of founder that isn’t yet understood by the investment community.

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peer-to-peer VC investing investment 83

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 12, 2013

Because my role as a VC requires me to take and endless stream of meetings I long ago decided I need to learn as much as I can from the meetings I attend so I often just ask tons of questions and assimilate knowledge. When I think about what defines us as a VC I think: Operationally knowledgeable / strong startup competence.

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Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 11, 2021

Despite the huge and sustained growth in digital advertising (or maybe because of it), there are virtually no tools where a marketer or growth leader can understand their performance and spend across channels, nor where they can share best practices and insights with their peers so the platforms are at an information advantage.

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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. They now have a strong VC lead from Foundry Group and from experience when you get advice from Foundry it comes with authority, experience, empathy and the right amount of straight talk.

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JUNE 16, 2016

Computer Vison Startup Nanit If you follow me on Snapchat ( msuster ) you might already know that I’ve been looking at and investing in a number of companies in the computer vision space. Today I am so excited to announce our latest investment in the category —  Nanit  — which is a smart baby monitor.

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investing investment peer-to-peer real estate 208

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 14, 2013

Will I have information that other journalists don’t have (otherwise known as a “scoop”)? The idea is that you put out information with data and a point-of-view and that becomes the story rather than you. I am a VC. They are an investment bank that targets the technology & media sectors.

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mix-use advice VC technology 389

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2013

It’s the first EIR that we’ve had in the years that I’ve been with the firm and I hope will be the start of our investment in this program. We’re excited to continue to grow our investment professional staff and will continue to do so over the course of 2013 & 2014 with our new fund.

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pitching advice VC entrepreneurs 372

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 20, 2015

VC funding. We love capital efficiency until we love land grabs until we abhor over funding until we get huge payouts and ring the bell for more funding until we attract every non-VC on the planet to invest in startups until it crashes and we start the cycle all over again none the wiser. The industry did that in 2007.

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This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 23, 2012

I've only recently started leading investments a little over two years ago. My track record of leading deals consists of only seven investments, luckily no zeros (knock on wood) and one exit. Try and figure out exactly what a startup had to show at the moment a VC chose to invest in them. I mean, what do I know?

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2018

When you raise money from investors you produce information that you are told they want and care about: A fund-raising deck that articulates your company strategy, plans, team, market, competitors and so forth. These collective sets of documents form the basis of what somebody looking at investing would call “financial due diligence.”

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MAY 27, 2013

Your goal should be to turn your VCs into extended members of your team to get real value from them. Understanding where your VC partner sits in their respective fund and where their fund is in the cycle of its investment lifecycle will help you understand your VCs behavior. More information comes out. Rob does it.

board 365

board VC advice pitching 365

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2013

If you’ve been following the press about VC funds you’ll know this is no small feat. We think transparency and easy access to information benefit our entire ecosystem. Like many modern VCs, we’re committed to investing in the community and in our portfolio companies. See what we did there?

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ventures venture capital advice VC 343

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 13, 2022

In this case, a VC would have every right, having seen lots of products get built and succeed or fail, to want to observe and discuss that process. What’s harder to notice for a founder is all of the things that a founder isn’t being asked to review in detail that a VC has no problem trusting the founder on.

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David Teten VC

MARCH 1, 2022

The easiest way to work with and for VC funds is to become a part-time scout, getting paid for sourcing investments. How to win consulting, board, operating, and investment roles with private equity and venture capital funds (video). How to find a job as a VC scout. VC recruiters list and compensation data.

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VC venture capital accelerator ventures 128

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 7, 2015

After checking out The Information's "open dataset" on diversity in venture capital , I felt pretty disappointed. So, while my fund might be 100% run by one white guy, I'm sure I'd fare pretty well on The Information's list if they added actual funding data. VCs have an inflated sense of the value of their own time.

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venture capital capital ventures VC 367

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FEBRUARY 18, 2016

We use this try to draw some context that informs our funding decisions. We also are dependent on money, advice and support of many of our friends & colleagues in the venture industry who co-invest with us in nearly every deal we do. VC survey data 2016 from Mark Suster. Of course we fund companies in good markets and bad.

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peer-to-peer VC advice ventures 277

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MAY 14, 2018

I know all of this because every VC knows this because we’ve all either funded companies that have marketing technology or we’ve seen a pitch with a company that does this. If you haven’t read the other VC fund-raising posts I’ve done as part of this series you can find the whole outline and this first in the series here.]

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JANUARY 25, 2014

Investment Partner Megan Quinn weighed in publicly. So if you need any proof that Perkins has no connection to his former firm if an investment partner hasn’t even met him he clearly doesn’t cast a long shadow over the firm. Tech Market Analysis VC Industry' People don’t know him. What about Kleiner?

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education real estate economic growth VC 417

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JANUARY 18, 2014

If the deal is from out of your geography and/or out of your focus area or a deal is being referred by a well-know investor who normally co-invests with similar syndicates – at least ask yourself, “Why am I so lucky to be getting this call.” Fred Wilson said it best in his post about loss ratios in VC.

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