A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

NOVEMBER 15, 2021

We have been seeing quite a few seed rounds getting done in and around $100mm post-money and that concerns me for a few reasons: Seed stage is when a company has a good team, a good idea, but has not yet proven product market fit and a go to market model, and has not yet demonstrated a sustainable business model. That makes sense.

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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.

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This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 20, 2013

That''s not really positive or sustainable for building a startup ecosystem. It''s exciting for me to be running the first venture capital fund in Brooklyn and to be a part of this ecosystem so early--not just as a Brooklyn resident but as a Brooklyn native. Venture Capital & Technology' fuckyeahbrooklyn.

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This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 9, 2015

When I first started in venture capital, back in 2001, I used to fund funds. I worked for an institutional investor that invested in both venture capital funds and later stage growth deals. Can you sustain that going forward in a world that becomes more connected and more transparent? Plus, it's a lot of work.

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TechCrunch

JANUARY 27, 2023

Earlier this month, we reported that investors’ sentiments surrounding venture capital activity going into this were more reserved than upbeat. But before that, there was shared optimism that African startups would raise more VC funding last year than in 2021 when the continent, for the first time, passed the $4-5 billion threshold.

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This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 24, 2013

That's why you can't crowdsource signals to invest in venture capital--because most people don't see big things coming. The next set of investors, "people with balls" according to another VC I know--Shana Fisher, Kal Vepuri. People usually get the really big ideas wrong.

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TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 22, 2021

The firm has an Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Tel Aviv presence, and now has a $160 million sack of funds to deploy across its focus areas: sustainability and technological innovation in the construction, real estate and manufacturing industries. Sebastian Peck and Talia Rafaeli are heading up the new sustainability fund for Kompas.

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AsiaTechDaily

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

According to him, a valuable company, sustained by growth and impact, naturally becomes an attractive acquisition or public offering candidate. For founders opting for VC funding, swift closure of funding rounds is advised to maintain focus on product development.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

She worked for 5 years as a VC at Battery Ventures and co-headed M&A at IAC working with Barry Diller. Venture capital is about backing the leaders of tomorrow who imagine the world as it should be and aren’t constrained by what it is today. I promise you, he really said this out loud.)

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Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

Recently I wrote a post arguing to make the definition of a Startup more inclusive than that to which Silicon Valley, fueled by Venture Capital return profiles, would sometimes like to attach to the word. Elect 1-2 representatives and even invite a local VC to invest personally and sit on the investment committee or be an advisor.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

I need to take some VC meetings. So entrepreneurs need to think the same way some VCs do – because markets change, competition changes, innovation & technology cycles move so fast only having a few truly outstanding leaders in your company can you sustain any sort of advantage. Him: “I know, I know.

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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. Galileo did it first in 1609, and we’re doing it again now.”

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TechCrunch

MARCH 2, 2021

Over the past decade, venture capital has become synonymous with entrepreneurship. But what if you don’t have unicorn dreams – or you don’t want to pursue VC money? Bootstrapping a SaaS company is not only possible – I believe it’s a saner, more sustainable way to build and scale a business. startups are backed by VCs.

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This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 4, 2010

It's similar to the way LinkedIn started with Reid Hoffman and the network of Silicon Valley VC's that initially populated the service or the network of developers who were following Joel Spolsky and began the Stack Overflow community. The question is whether or not this kind of highly influenced vibe is sustainable at scale.

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

SEPTEMBER 15, 2019

This simple and short blog post by the folks at Correlation Ventures contains the key to venture capital returns – the hit rate. What is important is this chart from the Correlation post: I guess they have a keen eye for correlation at Correlation Ventures. More capital means more businesses get funded.

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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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TechCrunch

OCTOBER 21, 2020

.” It says it builds a self-sustainable “privacy-friendly alternative to very popular and widely used surveillance capitalism web analytics tools”. However, the research shows a possible interesting trend away from the VC-backed startups of the last 10 years. And Runa Capital clearly has an interest in publishing the list.

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TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 16, 2022

Though some businesses may never be truly sustainable, a venture firm in Seoul argues that emerging climate-tech startups will help big manufacturers do better overall. The early-stage VC had already set up five social impact funds and backed 81 startups since 2020, after Han acquired the firm in December 2019.

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This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 1, 2010

The simple fact of the matter is that most startups seeking angel or vc capital just don’t receive it—and that’s just anywhere. It’s often some combination of the idea not being big enough to sustain a venture exit or the company just not being appropriate for venture financing. I was there, too.

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TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

It seems that every internet company and their dog have at least one venture capital (VC) arm under their wing, with the likes of Google Ventures (now GV), Microsoft Ventures (now M12), Salesforce Ventures , Twilio Ventures , and Zoom Ventures all serving their corporate namesakes potential cash cows via hundreds of equity investments.

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Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

Being profitable certainly makes your company more sustainable in difficult times. Do you imagine eventually raising VC and trying to build a faster growing company?” The likely response of a VC to your company that raised $3 million and now is profitably doing $1.5 They raised $5 million in venture capital to fund growth.

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Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2010

I guess it may be impractical for Twitter to acquire Seesmic given it has raised considerable amounts of venture capital (reportedly $12 million) but the broader point for me is that I always believed Twitter should control the client versions of its product. Think about the creative tension.

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This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 25, 2013

Anyone who was doing something new and cutting edge should feel connected to each other--whether or not they are building a venture backed startup. It's even more relevant now that I've started the first venture capital fund in Brooklyn-- Brooklyn Bridge Ventures --and invested in four Brooklyn based companies.

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Startup Blogpost

OCTOBER 28, 2022

How do you determine if corporate venture capital is right for your startup? To help you determine if corporate venture capital is right for your startup, we asked startup founders, investors, and business leaders this question for their best pieces of advice. Be Sure You Have Similar Goals and Expectations.

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This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 4, 2010

It's similar to the way LinkedIn started with Reid Hoffman and the network of Silicon Valley VC's that initially populated the service or the network of developers who were following Joel Spolsky and began the Stack Overflow community. The question is whether or not this kind of highly influenced vibe is sustainable at scale.

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TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

While capital infusion into companies took a summer siesta, some venture capital firms continue to see their coffers runneth over. Three years after raising a $500 million fund , European venture capital firm Northzone is back with what partners are calling its “largest fundraise to date” of €1 billion, or $1.01

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Founders Coop

JANUARY 11, 2023

Our firm’s original premise was – and remains – dead simple: Seattle is a global gravity well for engineering talent, thanks to the sustained excellence and corresponding human capital needs of Amazon and Microsoft. By contrast, venture capital is a craft that defies both speed and scale.

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TechCrunch

JANUARY 7, 2022

Securing early-stage venture financing is usually the best way to accelerate and sustain growth, but with various funding options available, how do you figure out the best course of action? What is the best alternative to VC, and at what point in your company’s growth do other funding sources make sense?

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

JUNE 12, 2022

I have worked in three venture capital firms in the thirty-six years I have been doing venture capital investing. A real partnership is where everyone is equal, not just in terms of economics (which is critical to sustaining this model), but also in terms of influence and stature. Real partnership.

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Ian Hathaway

MARCH 31, 2020

Senators led by Amy Klobuchar introduced the New Business Preservation Act to incentivize venture capital formation around the country. It avoids two well-known traps for government-sponsored venture programs by requiring that public funds are matched with private dollars and that capital is deployed by professional investors.

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Revolution

NOVEMBER 28, 2023

When these three elements are in harmony, a startup is not only better positioned for success but also more likely to attract investment, secure partnerships, and achieve sustainable growth. For investors, expanding horizons beyond traditional tech hubs can uncover promising opportunities that capitalize on regional strengths.

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AsiaTechDaily

FEBRUARY 8, 2023

Earth Venture Capital (Earth VC), a global climate tech venture fund with Southeast Asia focus, led the recently concluded funding round that was also participated by KSL Maritime Ventures, the venture capital arm of The Kuok Maritime Group, and existing Ampotech investors like Silicon Solution Ventures and SEEDS Capital.

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TechCrunch

JUNE 10, 2022

Felix Williams is the founder and managing director of Lagomaj Capital. TechCrunch sat down with Williams to learn more about how he got into venture capital, and his plans for the future. When did you first become interested in venture capital? While growing up, I had no idea what venture capital was.

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Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Venture Capital is a tricky industry. Since the majority of VC returns come from a small number of deals, “obvious” investments seldom return such incredible multiples. When Fred Wilson funded Twitter I guarantee you it wasn’t obvious that it was a billion dollar idea. Far from it.

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David Teten VC

AUGUST 30, 2021

We are brainstorming a new solution to a widespread challenge in many countries: how to develop a self-sustaining, independent local tech ecosystem. I co-wrote this essay with Prabhat Gusain , currently the Chief of Staff at Caffeinated Capital; formerly an intern with Versatile VC ; and a 2021 MBA from UVA Darden.

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AsiaTechDaily

NOVEMBER 8, 2022

Register Philippine-based circular economy startup Humble Sustainability has raised $750,000 in Seed funding to enable it to bring companies’ excess inventory back to circulation through its technology services. Bookmark( 0 ) Please login to bookmark. Username or Email Address. Remember Me. No account yet?

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TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 13, 2020

NextView Ventures, a Boston-based venture capital fund, has raised an $89.6 The NextView Ventures team did not immediately respond to request for comment. A hot Boston VC Summer. Despite the pandemic, Boston’s startup scene has continued to attract record numbers in venture capital volume.

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