View from Seed

JULY 24, 2015

On Tuesday, July 21, we hosted the first-ever Boston Consumer Tech Summit. The invite-only event was attended by 300 of the area’s best tech leaders, founders, product managers, designers, developers, investors, engineers, salesmen and women, and more, all of whom are hard at work in consumer tech.

Boston 120

Boston Cofounder B2C PR 120

Agile VC

JULY 16, 2014

One of our portfolio companies, Plastiq , announced yesterday that they raised a $10M Series B led by Khosla Ventures and are planning to move their headquarters from Boston to San Francisco. Some lament the relocation of Plastiq and other companies who start in Boston but end up moving to Silicon Valley or other startup hubs.

Boston 208

Boston Silicon Valley San Francisco Cofounder 208

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2021

The right answer is to find a co-founder with complementary skills. Network to find co-founders just as you network to find investors. Co-founders are business partners for startups, so don’t be afraid to join and explore sites such as StartupWeekend, StartupAgents and CoFoundersLab.

Cofounder 315

Cofounder Startup Silicon Valley Kansas 315

crowdSPRING Blog

NOVEMBER 8, 2018

Silicon Valley has dominated the U.S. Despite repeated efforts, only a few cities outside the Valley (New York and Boston) have historically had the critical mix of VC funding, network, and talent to fuel vibrant startup centers. cities (outside of Silicon Valley and the East Coast), to build your startup.

United States 113

United States Las Vegas San Francisco Denver 113

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 6, 2015

The right answer is to find a co-founder with complementary skills. Network to find co-founders just as you network to find investors. Co-founders are business partners for startups, so don’t be afraid to join and explore sites such as StartupWeekend, StartupAgents and CoFoundersLab.

Cofounder 120

Cofounder Founder Silicon Valley Startup 120

Agile VC

DECEMBER 13, 2011

I looked at this founder’s prior startup, which ultimately had a successful exit, and then was happy to connect with him again as he launches a new project. Im a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur turned East Coast VC. I co-founded NextView Ventures , a seed-stage VC firm based in Boston, in 2010.

Seed Stage 185

Seed Stage Silicon Valley Cofounder Technical Review 185

crowdSPRING Blog

JULY 30, 2017

Silicon Valley has dominated the U.S. Despite repeated efforts, only a few cities outside the Valley (New York and Boston) have historically had the critical mix of funding, network, and talent to fuel vibrant startup centers. All of these things aside, one of its biggest attractions may be what is not: Silicon Valley.

United States 82

United States Las Vegas San Francisco Denver 82

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

Many people don’t realize that the majority of the monetization of the Internet originated in Los Angeles but was perfected in Silicon Valley. Is it any surprise to see Zulily in Seattle, Wayfair in Boston, ExactTarget in Indianapolis, TrueCar in Los Angeles, GroupOn in Chicago or BuzzFeed in NYC? It is different.

Los Angeles 376

Los Angeles Silicon Valley Entrepreneur Seattle 376

Genuine VC

JULY 9, 2013

Recently, we surveyed our Boston-based NextView portfolio Founder/CEOs asking them about which service provider firms they’ve been using. When we took the poll itself, one founder said: “This is a great idea. We would have loved to have it when we were getting started.”

Early Stage 246

Early Stage Boston Portfolio Silicon Valley 246

Version One Ventures

MAY 24, 2016

Just a few years ago, if you wanted to do something big, you needed to go to Silicon Valley. Over the past month, I’ve spent a lot of time in NYC, Toronto, and Ottawa for board meetings, conferences, meetings with our founders, re-connecting with co-investors, and meeting new entrepreneurs. Great senior talent.

Silicon Valley 113

Silicon Valley San Francisco Startup DC 113

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 5, 2009

The culture and work ethic of Convergent had earned it the title “the Marine Corps of Silicon Valley”. Unlike Intel chips, MIPS chip architecture also made it possible to plug in a math co-processor. A few days later Gordon became a founder. And so was his reputation for being verbally abusive to his direct reports.

North Carolina 125

North Carolina Silicon Valley Fractional VPE Part-Time VPE 125

VC Cafe

JUNE 29, 2012

You’re in Silicon valley, competing against the best of the best. When I met Instagram, Kevin (the founder) had great numbers, but he wasn’t even thinking about revenue. I invested in a company called Yobongo – the founder blew me away, he ended up selling his company and I made most of my money back.

Developer 103

Developer Silicon Valley Software Review Mexico 103

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2010

If you are a first-time entrepreneur, I often recommend that you team with a co-founder with experiences, connections, and a skill set that complements, but doesn’t duplicate yours. Move to Silicon Valley. Co-founder is a long-term relationship. The question is how to find that elusive perfect-fit partner.

Cofounder 135

Cofounder Founder Silicon Valley Startup 135

Agile VC

JANUARY 4, 2012

Founders Hardi Meybaum and Indrek Narusk originally started building the company in their native Estonia before moving to Boston to join the hub of SaaS / CAD software companies located here. Im a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur turned East Coast VC. It’s really been a pleasure for me to work with these guys.

Community 100

Community Estonia Syndicate Syndication 100

Up and Running

MARCH 11, 2015

But, getting in the doors of a Sand Hill Road VC in Silicon Valley can be an incredibly difficult undertaking. This is the home of Jason Cohen, software startup founder, bootstrapper, investor, and mentor. His blog is full of personal stories, gentle advice, and guidance that will be useful to any startup founder.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Technical Review Silicon Valley Cofounder 60

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 20, 2014

According to the Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist Confidence Index® for the First Quarter 2014, the Q1 increase marks seven consecutive quarters of positive sentiment among Silicon Valley venture capitalists. The significant findings include the following: Founders need to live in the right place.

Silicon Valley 271

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Massachusetts California 271

Austin Startup

MARCH 3, 2018

Friday, March 9 Attracting VC Funding Outside Silicon Valley Panel with HomeAway founder Brian Sharples & Capital Factory Director Gordon Daugherty We do a lot of things differently in Texas, including fundraising. Gayle King is co-host of CBS This Morning. as in pro wrestling?—?you’re you’re going to take some hits.

Technical Review 58

Technical Review Silicon Valley Texas Austin 58

Agile VC

APRIL 17, 2011

Kayak was started here in my backyard of Boston… co-founder & CTO Paul English and the product/engineering team is based here in Concord MA. Co-founder & CEO Steve Hafner and the business team are based in Norwalk, CT. Im a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur turned East Coast VC.

Pre-Money Valuation 113

Pre-Money Valuation Liquidation Preference Dividend Common Stock 113

Agile VC

MAY 26, 2011

Many assume it was a cakewalk, based on the success LinkedIn has enjoyed over time and the current stature of our founder/CEO Reid Hoffman (now Chairman). Silicon Valley is still emerging from the tech bubble and massive downturn of late 2000-2002. Google is still a private company (their IPO was Aug 2004). Thanks Lee.

Term Sheet 178

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Technical Review Social Network 178

Hippoland

JULY 6, 2018

From that perspective, things have been mostly rosy in the Silicon Valley for startups! except for 2008-2009, which is another story) But, I think we’re in trouble, Silicon Valley. Other cities that I like are LA (basically my backyard), Boston (oldie but goodie), and ATL. I went to college during the bust.

Silicon Valley 48

Silicon Valley San Francisco Portugal Ireland 48

Hippoland

JULY 6, 2018

From that perspective, things have been mostly rosy in the Silicon Valley for startups! except for 2008-2009, which is another story) But, I think we’re in trouble, Silicon Valley. Other cities that I like are LA (basically my backyard), Boston (oldie but goodie), and ATL. I went to college during the bust.

Silicon Valley 48

Silicon Valley San Francisco Portugal Ireland 48

crowdSPRING Blog

JULY 30, 2017

Silicon Valley has dominated the U.S. Despite repeated efforts, only a few cities outside the Valley (New York and Boston) have historically had the critical mix of funding, network, and talent to fuel vibrant startup centers. All of these things aside, one of its biggest attractions may be what is not: Silicon Valley.

United States 48

United States Las Vegas San Francisco Denver 48

Agile VC

JUNE 5, 2011

Even for those who don’t care to dive into the numbers, it’s worth a quick glance because co-founder/CEO Andrew Mason wrote a letter which forms the preamble of the full document. The folks at Yipit did a detailed analyis of the Boston data and concluded Groupon’s model is deteriorating there.

North America 100

North America Chicago Boston Silicon Valley 100

Steve Blank

JANUARY 21, 2016

If you’re a technical startup founder, one of the painful lessons is that it’s not enough just to build a great product. The show follows the journeys of founders who share what it takes to build a startup – from restaurants to rocket scientists, to online gifts to online groceries and more. Clay Hebert.

Detroit 120

Detroit Baltimore Entrepreneur Cofounder 120

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2013

According to the Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist Confidence Index® for the First Quarter 2013, the Q1 increase marks three consecutive quarters of positive sentiment among Silicon Valley venture capitalists. The significant findings include the following: Founders need to live in the right place.

Venture Capital 238

Venture Capital Silicon Valley Massachusetts California 238

ReadWriteStart

MAY 10, 2012

That seems steep, especially with programs like Codecademy available for free online and other programs like Boston Startup School free for students that are accepted. This is not the first time a Silicon Valley entrepreneur has advocated learning to code as opposed to going to college.

Ruby 137

Ruby Developer San Francisco Silicon Valley 137

Reid Hoffman

JULY 12, 2017

Silicon Valley has a remarkable track record of producing valuable technology companies. Of the 13 high-tech companies in the world that are worth over $100 billion, six of them hail from Silicon Valley. So the question on many minds is, “Where is the next Silicon Valley?”. of the world’s population!

Silicon Valley 28

Silicon Valley San Jose San Francisco Mexico 28

Austin Startup

MARCH 1, 2018

Intro to the Austin EdTech Startup Scene Come meet Sean Duffy , founder of EdTech Austin and let him tell about everything going on in EdTech in Austin! Attracting VC Funding Outside Silicon Valley Panel We do a lot of things differently in Texas, including fundraising. as in pro wrestling?—?you’re and easy to remember?—?framework

Technical Review 89

Technical Review Austin Texas Cofounder 89

Gust

OCTOBER 12, 2014

According to the Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist Confidence Index® for the First Quarter 2014, the Q1 increase marks seven consecutive quarters of positive sentiment among Silicon Valley venture capitalists. The significant findings include the following: Founders need to live in the right place.

Silicon Valley 182

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Massachusetts California 182

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 2, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Saturday, August 2, 2008 Paul Graham on fundraising I have found no better primer on the current realities of starting a new technology company in a startup hub like Silicon Valley than Paul Grahams essays. Its to everyones advantage to let the world think the founders thought of everything.

San Francisco 125

San Francisco Software Review Technical Review Continuous Deployment 125

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2012

If you are a first-time entrepreneur, I recommend that you team with a co-founder with experiences, connections, and a skill set that complements, but doesn’t duplicate yours. If you live in the middle of nowhere, your chances of finding the right co-founder for your new high-tech startup are poor. Get it written down.

Cofounder 239

Cofounder Silicon Valley Non-Compete Startup 239

View from Seed

APRIL 30, 2015

What is it, and how should founders think about it? Below, we talk to Glen Mello , Managing Director of Silicon Valley Bank’s accelerator team in Boston. We’d look at a company and the relationship we have with investors, management team, founders, etc. first and foremost.

Term Sheet 120

Term Sheet Equity Startup Seed Stage 120

Agile VC

APRIL 13, 2012

I spent some time with some startups in San Francisco proper, as opposed to the heart of Silicon Valley (see Note 1). “Silicon Valley” (see Note 2) is hardly alone in this urbanization of startups trend. April 13, 2012. I was back in the SF Bay Area last week for a bit of work and a bit of fun.

Silicon Valley 185

Silicon Valley San Francisco San Jose Startup 185

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 26, 2009

Its easy to take Silicon Valley for granted. Ive written a little bit about the origins of Silicon Valley because I think its important for us to understand how we got here in order to make sure we preserve what is best about our community. But theres no denying the level of support for entrepreneurs that we enjoy.

San Francisco 113

San Francisco Silicon Valley Startup Continuous Deployment 113

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 11, 2019

She’s also a founding member of All Raise, a non-profit committed to improving diversity in both funders and founders. I was in Boston, working for the first time in venture capital as an analyst for this guy who was incredible and an amazing mentor. Ann Miura-Ko is a founding partner at Floodgate , a seed-stage VC firm.

Founder 68

Founder Lean Venture Capital Cofounder 68

Austin Startup

MARCH 7, 2018

Don't miss @DougPepper & expert panelists as they discuss at @SXSW on March 9th: [link] #SXSW  —  @shasta Attracting VC Funding Outside Silicon Valley Panel We do a lot of things differently in Texas, including fundraising. Sunday 3/12 4pm. The future of tech is accessible, flexible, and inclusive.

Mexico 48

Mexico Silicon Valley Texas Austin 48

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 15, 2011

If you are a first-time entrepreneur, I often recommend that you team with a co-founder with experiences, connections, and a skill set that complements, but doesn’t duplicate yours. If you live in the middle of nowhere, your chances of finding the right co-founder for your new high-tech startup are poor.

Partner 231

Partner Cofounder Silicon Valley Non-Compete 231