Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

At our mid-year offsite our partnership at Upfront Ventures was discussing what the future of venture capital and the startup ecosystem looked like. What is a VC To Do? I can’t speak for every VC, obviously. But the way we see it is that in venture right now you have 2 choices?—?super discipline & focus.

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Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

I was having dinner with a friend last night and we were chatting about venture capital and a bit about what I’ve learned. I know I can’t be in every deal and I know that the easy part of being a VC is writing the first check in a deal. They worry too much about missing out on a deal. I don’t. Price matters.

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VC investment investing entrepreneurs 374

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2016

Non VC Growth Rounds. The other major trend of 2012–2015 was the entrance of “non VCs” into late-stages of venture capital , which mostly consisted of hedge funds, mutual funds, corporate investors, sovereign wealth funds and even LPs doing direct deals. VC Infighting. Some called this “buying logos.”

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venture capital capital ventures VC 271

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

how on Earth could the venture capital market stand still? One of the most common questions I’m asked by people intrigued by but also scared by venture capital and technology markets is some variant of, “Aren’t technology markets way overvalued? How our VC Firms Like Ours Organizing to Meet the Challenges?

ventures 471

ventures VC venture capital funders 471

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 23, 2016

You run X amount of capital and Y percentage of that is allocated to venture capital. For the VC that means if you're returning money to your institutional investors, that's about all you need to worry about. Either way, VC funds aren't really built around creating much of an experience for their Limited Partners.

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venture capital capital ventures VC 284

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2013

And I am often approached by entrepreneurs in cities which don’t have a vibrant VC community. Just ask the people of Portland, Seattle, Boulder, Iowa, Princeton, Dallas or countless other cities that don’t have enough venture capital. It’s a goal to help you understand the life of a VC. Ask SuperCell.

VC 365

VC board communities pitching 365

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 16, 2014

How long does it take from first meeting a VC to getting cash in the bank? The way I choose conferences and events, and my strategy once I''m there, is based more around who I''m going to back two years from now than it is who is raising now. Venture Capital & Technology' That''s an interesting question.

VC 418

VC pitching networking venture capital 418

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 24, 2014

Not every potentially good VC previously worked for Fred Wilson and Josh Kopelman. Not every VC used to get pitched by VC funds for a living and has seen hundreds and hundreds of VC pitch decks. Venture capitalists play an important role in burgeoning ecosystems. Venture Capital & Technology'

accelerator 388

accelerator mentorship VC incubation 388

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

They imagine it to look something like this: They think that there are some deals that are automatic yeses and some that are just bad, but there’s a whole lot that are kind of in the middle—deals that can be nudged over to one side or the other based on things like clever fundraising strategy or the presence of bias. This isn’t surprising.

advice 476

advice pitching venture capital VC 476

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2014

We’ve been dying to tell you all for a while that we had raised a new venture capital fund and of course given SEC filing requirements the story was somewhat already scooped by the always-in-the-know Dan Primack a few weeks ago. If you want to understand how the VC industry is changing there is a great primer in the link.

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ventures VC venture capital real estate 396

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. Perhaps the biggest piece of new news is that after 17 years of operations we’ve changed our name from GRP Partners to Upfront Ventures. Well, the venture capital industry has changed a lot in the past 20 years … and we have too.

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ventures venture capital advice VC 343

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

I became a VC 12 years ago in 2007 when the pace of deals was much slower. As I was trying to figure out the role I wanted to play in the VC world I decided I wanted to focus on businesses that were building deeply technical products to solve problems for business users. VCs have different views and strategies on this.

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VC venture capital capital investment 223

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2016

My partner Greg Bettinelli (worth following on Twitter) was recently named by The LA Business Journal as the “ Top deal maker in Los Angeles in Venture Capital.” And Greg has had the most influence on Upfront Ventures’ strategy since he joined. ” Numero uno. I was nowhere to be found.

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disruption VC communities ventures 226

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 23, 2012

When people tell you how and why they raised capital or what drove their app to success, they often attribute success to planning or neat little explainable reasons when they might simply have no clue what happened. Venture capital is kind of like a knuckleball. Maybe they turned you down because they thought you were too pushy.

advice 417

advice startup VC strategy 417

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. 6/ Venture Capital In Expansion Phase. Telegram announced their ICO and raised over $1B from some of the best VC firms. VC funds invested directly in MakerDao’s Dai stable coin.

VC 165

VC startup venture capital mix-use 165

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 24, 2014

As a result I didn’t write my first venture capital check until March 2009 – exactly 5 years ago. I divided success into the phases of venture capital and 18 months into writing my first check here was my view (details on each in the link above). Sourcing high-quality leads : 9/10. None have exited.

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VC venture capital financing finance 387

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 11, 2013

Nearly four months ago we rebranded at Upfront Ventures. 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. Relaunching our brand is part of our larger initiative to build a VC firm of the future.

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ventures VC strategy advice 324

David Teten VC

FEBRUARY 17, 2025

At Coolwater Capital , the Y Combinator for VC funds, we assess this as part of our diligence process. However, forming your new fund also typically requires making important decisions about firm strategy, culture, how you make decisions, budget, data ownership, and other issues.

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culture strategy venture capital financing 52

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 14, 2015

I spoke at Michael Kim’s excellent annual Cendana VC/LP conference today. 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. This will be seen as a watershed moment in the wake-up call and rationalization of our industry.

VC 392

VC capital culture venture capital 392

TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 17, 2020

Italy’s ecosystem for tech venture capital and startups has been in development for years and has made decent strides in the last decade. The good news: VC funding in Italy has grown. This has seven different funds under management, including a VC fund-of-funds, “Series A/B matching” funds and acceleration funds.

VC 122

VC venture capital mix-use accelerator 122

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2013

has now employed the same strategy. Acquihires and Venture Capital. I’m a VC. But that’s not how you make money in the venture capital business. But as a repeatable strategy for large companies to try and compete with each other it still strikes me as a wasteful strategy.

strategy 357

strategy venture capital advice entrepreneurs 357

TechCrunch

AUGUST 17, 2022

At TechCrunch, it often seems as if every other startup story is about yet another fun company raising satchels full of venture capital. One truth is that successfully raising capital from a VC firm is a huge milestone in the life of a startup. Another truth is that VC isn’t right for all companies.

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venture capital startup founder capital ventures 102

AsiaTechDaily

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

” Exit Strategies and Long-Term Planning: Building Value as the Core Focus While exit strategies are crucial, Jeshua advises founders to prioritize building intrinsic value. For founders opting for VC funding, swift closure of funding rounds is advised to maintain focus on product development.

venture capital 98

venture capital peer-to-peer capital ventures 98

Jason Malki

JANUARY 23, 2023

who is a junior investor in the Venture Capital industry. He hopes to find a fulltime position in venture capital after graduation. He currently serves as a Venture Partner at Mech Ventures where they invest in the future of pop culture. Azriel Nicdao otherwise known as (A.Z.)

venture capital 98

venture capital capital ventures startup 98

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2014

Changes in the Software World & in Venture Capital. But notably you had the following changes: Horizontally scalable computing & storage systems, which meant you required less capital up front for hardware. Venture Capital. And then the world changed. Changes in the Startup Ecosystem. We have invested $17.3

startup 390

startup communities venture capital angel capital 390

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

If you’re not taking this zone-out down time I’ll bet you’re not having enough strategic reflection on your job, your company, your strategy. Frankly, I think venture capital is that way, too. How does the world in Los Angeles intersect differently with venture capital? How can I raise the bar?

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creativity venture capital entrepreneurs board 400

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2015

I’m often asked about the differences between being at a VC and being an entrepreneur and whether I prefer one or the other. The biggest difference I cite is that Venture Capital often feels like an “individual sport” while startups are a “team sport.” It was more hedge fund than venture capital.

culture 339

culture VC communities venture capital 339

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

She hasn’t raised any venture capital. It represents the great majority of entrepreneurship and eschews the fairytale rags-to-VC-riches stories we so often read about in the press. If you haven’t read my blog posts on why Tracy chose the right strategy it’s worth a read. That may soon change.

peer-to-peer 363

peer-to-peer entrepreneurs startup entrepreneurship 363

David Teten VC

NOVEMBER 18, 2021

One of the first decisions we had to make in setting up our new VC fund, Versatile Venture Capital , was our CRM and marketing technology infrastructure. . I’m very interested in the tech stack of private equity/VC firms , both to improve the efficiency of Versatile VC and also as a focus area for our investing.

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venture capital capital ventures VC 123

TechCrunch

JULY 18, 2022

Fundrise , a company that allows anyone to invest in real estate with a minimum investment of just $10, is making a splashy entry into the venture capital market with the goal of raising a new $1 billion growth equity fund to invest in late-stage tech startups, it announced today. Fundrise manages over $2.8

real estate 91

real estate venture capital capital ventures 91

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 6, 2013

He had been working as a strategy consultant post b-school at Monitor and worked closely with a good family friend of mine who recommended I meet him. He wanted to work in venture capital and I was new to the industry and in no position to hire anybody. Monitor had a little internal VC group so he got some experience there.

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collaboration VC accelerator consulting 344

Revolution

MAY 11, 2023

Our findings confirmed a significant shift away from the traditional tech hubs of the Bay Area, New York City, and Boston, with the proportion of seed- and early-stage VC dollars funneling into the Bay Area falling below 30% for the first time in more than a decade. Think of who you want to partner with one, five, and ten years down the line.

real estate 296

real estate energy innovation VC 296

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? billion fund.

VC 466

VC culture sustainability capital 466

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 17, 2014

One of the big opportunities for them is audience development--driving event attendees to the content, events to the readers, and doing some low-hanging fruit upgrades to their social strategy. Venture Capital & Technology'

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pitching consulting VC venture capital 375

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

MARCH 28, 2022

So I saw this tweet by Semil Shah yesterday: A friend who works in an industry far from tech startups & VC asked what would be the single article I’d share to read on each topic. So I am reposting it below: The venture capital business is highly competitive. Talk about the strategy issues facing the company.

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VC entrepreneurs venture capital strategy 261

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

But this strategy great depends on point 3. Availability of Capital. ” Stay lean and only raise a big round if you DO find product / market fit and which point you want to loosen the belt quickly and raise the capital to do so. .” If Pre-VC be mindful that in tough times capital can take longer to raise. *

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startup VC frameworks capital 383

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 26, 2022

Photo by Scott Clark for Upfront Ventures (no, Evan is not standing on a box) Last year marked the 25th anniversary for Upfront Ventures and what a year it was. 2021 saw phenomenal returns for our industry and it topped off more than a decade of unprecedented VC growth. How do we plan to do it?

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ventures startup peer-to-peer venture capital 408