This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 21, 2019

While most of the money that goes into VC funds comes from institutions that are highly experienced in the asset class, some family offices and high net worth individuals also invest in VC. They’re trying to get exposure and diversification at the same time, while potentially seeing co-investment deal flow.

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Revolution

NOVEMBER 18, 2021

When Revolution Growth first invested in Sweetgreen in 2013, the whisperings of food and wellness were present but sparse, and the bulk of lunchtime options focused more on convenience than ingredients. At the time, restaurants and food tech were on the margins of most investors’ minds and there was skepticism around VC-backed food concepts.

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investing investment transportation disruption 363

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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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. 4) The diverse background of the founder is not the main reason why most diverse founders get turned down for investment. That pitch has never excited any VC in the history of VC funding. Ducks head.]

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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. These are easy tips if you know what to look out for. Do your research You should do your research before talking to an associate.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2018

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. It’s not uncommon for a VC to ask you how much capital you’ve raised and what the post-money valuation was on your last round. So why does a VC ask you?

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The Seraf Compass

JULY 8, 2020

A very common practice in the investment world is syndication. Syndication allows multiple investors -- whether they be individuals, angel groups, VC funds, etc. -- to join together and provide the funding resources needed by one company. Syndication has been a common practice amongst VC firms for decades.

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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. Am I ineligible since I’m VC-backed? There is nothing in the rules that state that VC-backed businesses are ineligible. I am not claiming to be the world expert on this. shouldn’t I? The short answer is “no.”

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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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This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 10, 2015

The last thing you want as either a founder or even a VC is to have an investor get stuck with you when you're not on the same page about expectations. So here's all the reasons I told him he shouldn't be in: 1) Fund investing is boring. More updates, more casual events, more exposure to portfolio companies, co-investing, etc.,

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venture capital investing investment ventures 416

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. 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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This is going to be BIG.

MAY 11, 2015

As a single GP (a firm with one investment decision making professional), I get asked a lot of questions about how I manage my time considering the number of investments I make. I think that's probably less than most early stage VCs take, but I think I've gotten pretty good at being decisive about what I'm *not* likely to invest in.

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Both Sides of the Table

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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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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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

JUNE 1, 2021

When I look at all of the opportunities we are currently considering plus all of the investments we have made this year to date, what stands out most to me is the location of the founders and teams. And very little of it is in western Europe where most of our non-US investing has been for the last decade.

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venture capital capital investing investment 279

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 3, 2020

Fund investing, like adulting, is boring. That’s the first thing anyone trying to raise a fund needs to understand, as well as anyone thinking about investing in one. The partner at the fund, the VC, gets to do the fun part—the meeting with founders, vetting deals, negotiating, helping, etc. So what’s the point?

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

FEBRUARY 20, 2020

This page shows the highlights of this sale, including a video, a link to the investment deck, and a link to the offering circular. I paid $330 for ten shares (out of a total of 1000 shares) implying a value of $33,000 for the five pairs, or roughly $6600 each.

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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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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

AUGUST 17, 2020

I woke up to a dream this morning where I was playing a game that was very similar to Turntable.fm , a failed effort to create a social music experience that had a moment back in 2011 and that I had invested in via USV. Investments that don’t work haunt me. It comes with the territory in VC. Then I woke up.

investing 205

investing investment VC venture capital 205

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 3, 2016

Why do VC's get such a bad rap? That's literally your baby--and 98% of the time, a VC will tell you that your baby is ugly. We're "kingmakers" whose investment has the "Midas Touch." That's probably why the vast majority of applications for VC positions tend to be from males. So what gives? 3) Access to money.

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This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 4, 2018

When you get an investment from Brooklyn Bridge Ventures—you get me. My investment thesis is shaped by the sum of my personal experience and so are my values. My goal is to make Brooklyn Bridge Ventures the most accessible VC firm not just because I think it’s good business, but because I think it’s a based on good values.

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

OCTOBER 15, 2020

I wrote yesterday , about the quarterly numbers for VC investing activity: If this was a student coming home with a report card, it would be straight As. Firms invested a total of $434 million in Q3—the lowest figure since the second quarter of 2017, according to PitchBook data. It feels like positive change is happening.

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The Seraf Compass

NOVEMBER 23, 2022

might be, “finding great companies, investing in them and waiting for big financial returns.” Putting in place a well-thought-out investment strategy is a crucial component when building a high- performing portfolio of early stage companies, especially if that portfolio is going to generate acceptable returns.

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strategy VC investing investment 360

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 22, 2020

To a VC, $50,000 a pre-sale isn’t really that much. VCs are less interested that you sold 10 customers, 20, or 100—they want to understand how many you’re selling per week and whether or not that kind of pace would be profitable for your sales & marketing efforts. That’s why we invest in a portfolio.

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The Seraf Compass

JANUARY 11, 2023

In Part I of this article we discussed several key concepts of fund investment strategy and how funds are categorized, whether it be by industry, geography, stage, specialty (e.g. social impact, corporate, etc.) or some other criteria. Now let's take a closer look at capital allocation strategy and the life cycle of a venture fund.

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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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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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The Seraf Compass

OCTOBER 19, 2022

Alicia Castillo Holley is an active angel investor in Silicon Valley and the Founder and CEO of The Wealthing VC Club, a boutique investment group of accredited investors that fills rounds led by VCs. This profile is the eighth in a series of interviews highlighting the work of interesting female investors.

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This is going to be BIG.

MAY 16, 2024

This is something I talk about a lot with my VC coaching clients. When Roger Ehrenberg set out to professionalize his angel investing into a fund, he used “Data” as the theme. He wasn’t only investing in businesses that sold data. The question is what to focus on. Data wasn’t a sector.

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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.

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

DECEMBER 15, 2020

In the most recent Pitchbook 2021 predictions , they project that Silicon Valley will make up less than 20% of all VC deals in 2021. In the first decade of USV, the 2000s, we mostly invested in NYC and Silicon Valley. In the second decade of USV, the 2010s, we invested throughout North America and Western Europe.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2021

 —  @jasonlk How the Long Game Has Benefitted Upfront I was thinking about it this morning in particular and thinking about my own personal investment history. sold to Disney for $670 million and since our first investment was at < $10 million valuation we did quite well. Maker Studios?—?sold

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

NOVEMBER 15, 2021

These investments have a high failure rate. In my experience, roughly half of seed stage investments fail completely, wiping out everyone’s investment, including the founding team’s. The exit values in VC have increased significantly over the last decade leading to escalating entry values. That makes sense.

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This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 11, 2021

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Charlie O'Donnell - VC (@ceonyc) She’s the best. I’d like to invest in enterprise companies that make the experience of working better for all—from benefits and professional development to company culture. These are solutions I want to invest in. This is my daughter, Mirren.

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

MAY 5, 2021

There has been this narrative about investing in VC funds that you have to get into the top quartile (25%) or possibly the top decile (10%) in order to generate good returns. I have heard that for as long as I have been in VC and probably have written it here a few times. Well, it turns out that is not right.

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VC board investing investment 279

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 10, 2020

VCs are notorious for kicking tires. VCs take a meeting just to learn about an area. If deal flow is slow, a VC will take a meeting if you and your team seem mildly interesting even if your product isn’t. Some VCs have no money left in their funds, but they still like playing VC. Do you have dry powder for this?

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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. ” I’m not so sure.

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