VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 2, 2022

With the investor slowdown we’ve seen so far in 2022, approximately 30% globally in Q2 2022 (compared to the equivalent period last year, according to Crunchbase ) it’s more difficult for startups to get funded, which increases the important of finding the right investor, as quickly as possible.

Technical Review 166

Technical Review Early Stage Cofounder Portfolio 166

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 18, 2019

Brooklyn Bridge Ventures , the pre-seed and seed stage VC fund I run in NYC, has invested in 64 companies in the last six and a half years. Twenty-five of them have at least one female co-founder. Fifteen had co-founders over 40. Five have LGBTQ+ founders.

Venture Capital 164

Venture Capital Portfolio Cofounder Seed Stage 164

Agile VC

DECEMBER 13, 2011

How to Evaluate Firms for a Seed VC. AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. I often tell these entrepreneurs that I genuinely hope they prove us wrong, and are wildly successful with their startup. I recently was having one of these conversations with an entrepreneur I’ve known for a couple years. Author howerl.

Seed Stage 185

Seed Stage Silicon Valley Cofounder Technical Review 185

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2013

My internal compass has always steered me strongly toward the belief that founders who can scale with their startup companies are better to back that founders who eventually need to hire a CEO. Very few founder CEOs go into the job ever expecting to give up their seat. It’s your baby. I saw it first hand.

Technical Review 303

Technical Review Cofounder Analytics Founder 303

View from Seed

APRIL 16, 2015

An easy way to think about it is that value over time doesn’t go up and to the right in a straight line like this: Instead, it’s more of a stair step like this: So, what are the value inflection points that create the stair steps, and how does one think about it at the earliest stages? These might include: Bring on a technical co-founder.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Cofounder Early Stage Startup 120

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

(co-written with Jamie Finney, Founding Partner at Greater Colorado Venture Fund. More and more startups are pursuing Revenue-Based VCs , but “RBI” doesn’t fit everyone. From RBI, Flexible VCs borrow the ability to reap meaningful returns without demanding founders build for an exit. Of the Inc. 5000 companies, only 6.5%

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

BeyondVC

JANUARY 3, 2019

Thanks to all of the amazing founders, advisors, co-investors, corporate partners, and others that helped make 2018 an amazing year. To that point, we are most excited when our founders are able to go from slide deck to product-market fit and Series A and beyond. We are truly grateful for your support. First check to Series A?—?congrats

Stealth 79

Stealth Advisory Board Cloud Virginia 79

View from Seed

OCTOBER 11, 2022

At the seed stage and as companies scale, helping the founders I work with identify and reach their goals, personally and professionally, gives me energy and purpose. And I’ve been fortunate enough to witness their startups scale from ideas to $1B+ businesses (and even an IPO in the case of Poshmark).

North America 156

North America San Francisco Cap Table Cofounder 156

View from Seed

JUNE 10, 2020

of teams’ online pitch decks and recorded videos, as well as loved the dozens of second-round video conversations which we had with Founders working on quite compelling startups. Many of these Founders we wouldn’t have had an opportunity to connect with if we hadn’t launched this program.

Cofounder 177

Cofounder Syndicate Syndication Alabama 177

View from Seed

MAY 18, 2016

Many folks have discussed the role and value a board of directors can bring to a startup, even very early in the company’s lifecycle. The purpose of a board is not simply to be the founders’ friend… it is to help govern the company and provide input into its strategic direction. See #3 and #4 below for how to manage this.).

Seed Stage 216

Seed Stage Cofounder Later Stage Government 216

Austin Startup

OCTOBER 29, 2020

Capital Factory Founder, Joshua Baer, introduces 2019’s Texas Startups Roadshow in Austin. Texas Startups Roadshow goes Virtual during Global Entrepreneurship Week Take a statewide virtual tour across the 10th largest economy in the world with the Texas Startups Roadshow , during Global Entrepreneurship Week.

Texas 97

Texas San Antonio Global Dallas 97

View from Seed

AUGUST 5, 2014

This is a guest post from Ben Rubin , co-founder and CEO of Change Collective , which offers courses for behavior change with world-class experts. For seed-stage startups, when resources are tight, trying to consciously build startup culture can feel wasteful. Values at Change Collective.

Cofounder 307

Cofounder Startup SCRUM Seed Stage 307

Up and Running

DECEMBER 13, 2021

Fundraising isn’t easy for most founders. No longer are founders being asked to drive up and down Sand Hill Road, meet in small coffee shops throughout SF or NYC, or spend a meaningful amount of money getting around to all of these meetings. Don’t interrupt your co-founder or the investor. Know when to stop talking.

Founder 85

Founder Cofounder SMS Seed Stage 85

Agile VC

MAY 26, 2011

How to Evaluate Firms for a Seed VC. AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. 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). Salesforce.com is a startup with 76,000 subscribers (over 2.1M May 26, 2011.

Term Sheet 178

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Technical Review Social Network 178

Agile VC

APRIL 17, 2011

How to Evaluate Firms for a Seed VC. AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. 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.

Pre-Money Valuation 113

Pre-Money Valuation Liquidation Preference Dividend Common Stock 113

Hearpreneur

MAY 4, 2019

Large corporations have become fat and afraid of change, which has allowed startups to usurp these corporate goliaths. Conversely, the integrated mindsets, mechanics, and methodologies of entrepreneurship and venture capital are designed and calibrated to discover new customer needs and devise innovative and new-to-the-world solutions.

Cofounder 67

Cofounder Founder Entrepreneur Venture Capital 67

View from Seed

JULY 17, 2019

Although you still hear stories of investors that require founders to move to SF, it’s more likely these days that investors see a winning business outside of the Bay Area as a positive, given the costs and competitive pressure in that local market. How should a founder go about it? But doing this takes extra work.

San Francisco 243

San Francisco Cofounder B2B Seed Stage 243

techcrunch.com

APRIL 26, 2013

For Startups And Winning SEC Approval, AngelList Opens Up Investment Platform To More Companies. In December, AngelList , a service that matches early-stage startups with investors, debuted the ability to allow accredited investors to actually invest in startups on the platform with as little as $1,000. Enterprise.

SEC 61

SEC Accredited Investor San Diego New York City 61

View from Seed

JULY 28, 2016

In episode 22 of our podcast, Traction , Unbounce co-founder and marketing keynote speaker Oli Gardner shared five key parts to well-optimized startup landing pages. It can be used to convert customers, convince co-marketing partners to collaborate with you, and build loyalty longer term. Social proof.

Startup 136

Startup Seed Stage Cofounder Aggregator 136

YoungUpstarts

MAY 8, 2018

Imagine having the tough conversation when things go wrong. All entrepreneurs want to demonstrate that they’re competent, courageous, and bold, however, always take a co-founder or trusted advisor along. If an investor is hierarchical and doesn’t see diversity as a competitive tool, look for capital somewhere else.

Seed Stage 133

Seed Stage Due Diligence Cofounder New York 133

YoungUpstarts

JULY 29, 2013

by Meng Weng Wong, co-founder and social engineer at JFDI Asia. Specialists” have deep experience in some area of startup practice, like law, bookkeeping, growth hacking, or platform strategy. In the US, seed accelerators offer more than $100,000 to startups. Some founders stay at hostels.

Asia 207

Asia Singapore Cofounder Incubator 207

The Equity Kicker

JUNE 26, 2014

Our model of backing entrepreneurs and then also investing heavily in a team and co-working space to support them is new. We are a bit like an accelerator programme, a bit like an incubator and a bit like a straight early stage fund, yet we are also different to all of these things in crucial ways. I like that about us.

eCommerce 98

eCommerce Partner Incubator Early Stage 98

Agile VC

JANUARY 12, 2012

How to Evaluate Firms for a Seed VC. AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. Good investors try to be clear in terms of what they look for in terms of progress and milestones of the startups they invest in. As I’ve stated before, I’m a big believer in being deliberate and explicit in startup fundraising.

Seed Stage 100

Seed Stage Silicon Valley Syndicate Syndication 100

Genuine VC

AUGUST 3, 2010

During the seed stage where Micro VCs invest, there are three primary diligence factors: Team and individuals – The information discovery here involves conversations with former coworkers, cofounders, partners, investors, and customers. Quicker diligence is not lesser diligence at the seed stage for Micro VCs. ?

Seed Stage 123

Seed Stage Cofounder Metrics Forecast 123

Agile VC

FEBRUARY 28, 2012

How to Evaluate Firms for a Seed VC. AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. Startups in NextView’s portfolio frequently receive inbound interest from other VC investors who are intrigued about what they’re doing, and I often talk with other early-stage entrepreneurs how to approach similar situations.

Early Stage 100

Early Stage Syndicate Syndication Silicon Valley 100

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 24, 2009

In other words, they are facing conditions of extreme uncertainty, just like startups. So I generally feel right at home in these conversations. But, as any startup can tell you, this opens up a tremendous set of opportunities for the rest of us. Just like with startups, this is a hybrid question. 12comments: Dougvs said.

San Francisco 113

San Francisco Lean Technical Review Distribution 113

Hippoland

JANUARY 1, 2017

2) My 500 Startups family 2016 marked my first full year as an investor. In the beginning, I started the blog, because writing was cathartic for me and was a way for me to write down what I was advising founders already on a 1:1 basis. I don’t ever forget that or take it for granted. I never intended to go into VC.

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Cofounder Email Canada 48

Rob Go

JULY 18, 2019

Although you still hear stories of investors that require founders to move to SF, it’s more likely these days that investors see a winning business outside of the Bay Area as a positive, given the costs and competitive pressure in that local market. How should a founder go about it? But doing this takes extra work.

San Francisco 48

San Francisco Cofounder B2B Seed Stage 48

Gust

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Entrepreneurs and investors who have spent any time dealing with convertible debt seed financing transactions are likely to have encountered the subject of valuation caps. Valuation caps can come into play in settings other than seed-stage convertible note financing rounds. MySpace became its own company, MySpace, Inc.,

Valuation 98

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Merger Vesting 98

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 6, 2010

It’s a conversation that creeps up from time-to-time. This person had been introduced to me several times by angels and I was told that I’d be the perfect seed investor. Almost every deal I’ve ever funded I’ve gotten to know the founders over time. Tags: Raising Venture Capital Startup Advice.

Early Stage 360

Early Stage Startup Venture Capital Seed Stage 360

Agile VC

JULY 11, 2012

How to Evaluate Firms for a Seed VC. AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. Merrill, Pickard, Anderson & Eyre [Silicon Valley] –> Itself an outgrowth of the venture investing arm of the original Bank of America (based in SF), Merrill Pickard backed many startups that ultimately went public. July 11, 2012.

Silicon Valley 240

Silicon Valley Carried Interest Cofounder Boston 240

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 11, 2019

Ann Miura-Ko is a founding partner at Floodgate , a seed-stage VC firm. She’s also a founding member of All Raise, a non-profit committed to improving diversity in both funders and founders. Ann will be speaking at this year’s Lean Startup Conference in October about all of this and more. I've been in venture now twice.

Founder 68

Founder Lean Venture Capital Cofounder 68

Rob Go

JANUARY 10, 2012

One practice that we instituted early on was to create a co-working culture, much like what you see in the startups we invest in or the shared workspaces where startups are birthed. It may seem weird for a VC, but it definitely isn’t weird if you visit the offices of a startup.

Due Diligence 46

Due Diligence Seed Stage Cofounder Deal Flow 46

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 15, 2020

"I really like that resilience word," Robert Rhinehart told me in our conversation about his new organization, The Corona Initiative. You may know him as the founder of Soylent, the nutrition company he started in his kitchen and scaled nationwide. In addition, a complete transcript of our conversation follows the show resources below.

Technical Review 68

Technical Review Software Review Finance Technology 68

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 5, 2015

You can see the example deck embedded at the end of this post, but in summary, it’s a very short document (five to seven slides) followed by an extensive appendix that maps to the most frequently asked questions a founder is likely to face. You tell your story about how you decided to start your business and how you met your co-founders.

Cofounder 120

Cofounder Startup Seed Stage Warrant 120

mashable.com

NOVEMBER 2, 2011

Facebook Co-Founder’s Startup Asana Launches Publicly. 9 Tips for Raising Startup Funds on AngelList. Joshua Baer is the co-founder and CEO of Otherinbox , a prolific angel investor and the director of Capital Factory , Austin’s seed-stage incubator. Trending Stories.

Social Media 80

Social Media Startup Angel Investor RSS 80

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

We expanded to Houston, San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles within months, and we were generally doing all the things and seeing all the things that a startup needed to do and see in order to feel good about VC funding prospects. I never did find a VC to lead a round of funding for Localeur, but two things happened by the end of 2015.

Silicon Valley 48

Silicon Valley Technical Review Venture Capital San Francisco 48