View from Seed

JULY 8, 2020

This orientation towards pre-reading allows for the in-person time to be devoted to what matters most in a conversation: a meaningful discussion about company obstacles, priorities, or and initiatives. A key rule of thumb is that 50%+ of board meeting time should be dedicated to a genuine discussion about major issues for the company.

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Email Seed Stage Syndicate Syndication 331

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MAY 24, 2021

You resonate with the NextView mission to “design the future that we want to live in” You enjoy meeting new people and have a healthy appetite for conversation. You have an authentic passion for startups and a deep respect for entrepreneurship. What Will The Job Be Like.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Software Review Seed Stage Cofounder 120

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JANUARY 31, 2024

Similarly, conversations about generative AI very quickly move into speculation about the jobs that will be transformed or eliminated, the skills that future children will or won’t have to learn, and perhaps even the nature of work itself.

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Web Generative AI Houston Distribution 168

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OCTOBER 13, 2020

To me, it’s showing up and relying on the investor to tell you how they want to structure the conversation. It’s also our privilege to learn about your business, and so I am usually more than happy to have you drive the conversation. This is something that is easy to do, but only happens a minority of the time. Don’t let that happen.

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Leadership Conversion Founder Audience 207

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APRIL 27, 2020

Our mantra is to “design the future we want to live in”, and so we pursue themes along these lines like “ healthy living ”, “ economic access ”, and “ conversational and voice computing”. We invest in both B2B and consumer companies that aspire to shape the lives of millions of mass market end users.

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Cofounder Software Review Portfolio Technical Review 194

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NOVEMBER 18, 2020

Conversely, a series A with a $6M ask suggests a lower valuation. Conversely, a smaller fund that writes $5M checks will have a hard time figuring out how they are going to lead a $25M round. If you are asking for $10M, that typically suggests something like a $25-40M pre. And not every round will fit their zone.

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Valuation Founder Conversion Demand 418

View from Seed

MAY 14, 2015

This was the subject of a recent conversation had at NextView HQ, so I wanted to share our conclusions publicly. Conversely, what would it look like if things go better or worse? (A Answer: Much sooner than you’d think. The water-cooler discussion included both VCs and entrepreneurs.). Which firms or individuals can help you?

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Startup Cofounder Technical Review 120

View from Seed

NOVEMBER 23, 2021

I was doing a virtual AMA with a terrific group of underrepresented founders from Visible Hands last week and the conversation turned a little personal. Conversely, if things are not going well, all those things (meaning, purpose, consequence) are under threat.

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Startup United States Valuation Stock 227

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FEBRUARY 4, 2021

Conversely, it’s very common that investors seem wonderful to work with when they are trying to get access to a deal, but then act totally differently once they are on board. But in VC that is only sometimes true, and often is a false indicator. I know many VC’s that are amazing partners to founders in thick and thin.

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Founder Lead Investor Portfolio Reputation 280

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OCTOBER 11, 2022

These reflections, conversations, side projects, and time with my newly expanded family gave me clarity. I became certified as a professional coach through the Hudson Institute of Coaching to be a more mindful and effective partner on a founder’s journey.

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North America San Francisco Cap Table Cofounder 156

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SEPTEMBER 16, 2019

Overall, at this point in the pitch, there should be a bit of a flip in the nature of the conversation. This is the part of the conversation where you can be the most creative and can really capture the imagination of your investors. This section should continue to highlight your strengths, but all with an eye towards the future.

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Seed Stage Metrics PR Leadership 192

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FEBRUARY 23, 2021

Not everyone will get in, but the founder is most likely to pick from those already around the table vs. opening up new conversations. In other words, by the time the term sheet is signed, everyone else in the syndicate is already known and have been talking to the founder already.

Syndicate 207

Syndicate Syndication Term Sheet Cofounder 207

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MARCH 3, 2015

Around the same time we were doing those webinars, we launched our first ebook, and that did much better in terms of conversions — click-through-rate on emails, conversions on landing pages, and so on. EM: We experimented and found success through another tactic aside from webinars on social media.

Marketing 120

Marketing Sales Cycle Startup CTO Hire 120

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SEPTEMBER 23, 2019

My partner Rob has previously written some thoughts on how to approach that conversation. What not to include is directly stating valuation expectations.

Cap Table 211

Cap Table Seed Stage Valuation Dilution 211

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FEBRUARY 12, 2020

I notice some founders (from YC in particular) have been trained to say something like: “we are just starting the process, but things are moving faster than we expect and we are already scheduling follow-up conversations and partner meetings.”. Some founders lay out a specific time frame for when they hope to get the round closed.

Term Sheet 364

Term Sheet Burn Rate Founder Partner 364

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FEBRUARY 14, 2019

The challenge is very similar to conventional animal agriculture, where farmers often think about how much their feed costs and the conversion rate of that feed to meat. The really exciting part of what we’re building, which is just starting now, is this conversation we’re having with people in the food business about consumer acceptance.

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United States San Francisco Afghanistan Seattle 120

View from Seed

DECEMBER 4, 2014

But delaying or avoiding the conversation often results in it being more awkward than it needs to be. Once you have the framework, it’s simply a matter of having the conversation and reaching an agreement. Yes, sometimes these conversations take a few sessions, and at times the conversations can be contentious.

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Equity Founder Sweat Equity Cofounder 315

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APRIL 8, 2020

If you can get a hold of your champion, try to have an honest conversation about what’s going on in the company. Usually, you don’t try and have these conversations so close to finish line, you want to close the deal quickly and not bring up distractions. Really Connect With Your Champion. But we are in unusual times.

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B2B Angel Investor Vertical Early Stage 156

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JANUARY 11, 2021

Of the eight venture capitalists we interviewed, six commented that they felt more efficient and were able to have more early conversations during this period than before. Said one investor, “We may have overdone it on socialization at the expense of productivity.”. VCs are conducting more diligence and employing more founder references.

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Venture Capital Cofounder Early Stage Seed Stage 350

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JULY 14, 2020

This allowed them to design a conversational-based learning experience that is enthusiastically received by both the frontline workers and their managers. A certified ESL instructor who has been on the frontline herself in numerous kitchen and operational roles, she knows both training delivery and her audience intimately well.

Portfolio 177

Portfolio Leadership Metrics Employee 177

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OCTOBER 21, 2014

Sharing these pricing expectations early with potential lead investors fundamentally qualifies your conversations, but it also runs the risk of prematurely losing a potential financing partner, or else it can reduce options to maximize your fundraise outcome. Building a startup and currently in the seed stage?

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Valuation Founder Seed Stage Angel Investor 336

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AUGUST 30, 2019

One of the key conversations that happens during NextView’s evaluation of an investment is the “debrief” after the partner meeting , where the entire partnership gets the opportunity to interact with the founding team and dive deeper into the business. . During the debrief, we would discuss not only aspects of the company (i.e.

Pre-Money Valuation 174

Pre-Money Valuation Syndicate Syndication Valuation 174

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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. The NextView team enjoyed reviewing the literally hundreds and hundreds(!)

Cofounder 177

Cofounder Syndicate Syndication Alabama 177

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MAY 31, 2023

Inspired by Mike’s reflection, and to better understand an entrepreneur’s perspective, I set out to have conversations of my own with founders who have completed the rebound. The blog was authored anonymously, and Mike revealed his authorship years later in Professor Tom Eisenmann’s Entrepreneurial Failure class at Harvard Business School.

Silicon Valley 156

Silicon Valley Cofounder Term Sheet Founder 156

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SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

After building NextView for almost 10 years now, I’ve been having more conversations recently with first time managers looking for some tactical advice. Raising one’s first fund is hard, and there are always a plethora of voices that will tell you that it’s impossible for many different reasons.

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LP Customer Early Stage Portfolio 309

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NOVEMBER 4, 2019

Conversely, I’m also often surprised how little can be built that still gets investors excited about an opportunity. But the way the market values this early work can vary greatly. I’m often surprised by how much effort seed stage teams put into building an early product and how little credit that receives from investors.

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Seed Stage Bootstrapping Demand Early Stage 180

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

Because of this, we wanted to have an honest conversation around the structure of the fundraising deck. But a lot can change over the course of 5 years, and we’ve seen some trends become industry standard that we don’t particularly love.

Seed Stage 159

Seed Stage Metrics Matching Search 159

View from Seed

AUGUST 13, 2014

They do it merely for the entertainment value of participating and care very little if their investments actually yield a return (though that would make for even better conversation fodder). Pros: Sometimes these individuals are well-connected or have a public persona which could be helpful to the business.

Angel Investor 334

Angel Investor Syndicate Syndication Early Stage 334

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MAY 9, 2019

In addition, remote employees miss out on the impromptu conversations that office employees can have. Weaken Communication – It’s much more effective to write out thoughts on a whiteboard with someone in person versus a remote employee. Less Interaction – Email can lead to slower turnaround.

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Hiring Employee Retention Email 266

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APRIL 4, 2017

Independently, one of the things I’ve noticed about social media tech conversations is that they tend to be overly centered on founders and operators from Silicon Valley. While innovation and great ideas aren’t confined to the Bay Area, voices in that geography get more of the limelight.

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Email Silicon Valley New York Curation 185

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SEPTEMBER 5, 2019

But when you are having a real conversation with a real person, you always start by introducing yourself. Yes, with Demo Day presentations Founders generally weave a story about the problem and market, and then close with something like “we are the right team to do this.”

Seed Stage 218

Seed Stage Engineer Restful Founder 218

View from Seed

OCTOBER 22, 2015

With that in the back of our minds, let’s dive into a few of those crucial first-step nuances as you look to gain traction and hold successful customer development conversations. It’s become ubiquitous in our community, but that doesn’t make it any less critical. The early problems you’ll encounter. The problem with most cust dev is twofold.

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Customer Development Developer Customer Seed Stage 120

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MAY 17, 2019

The venture fundraising process for founders has a certain rhythm to it, and so a lot can be read into the timing and pacing of the conversations. This week’s Friday Fun-ism goes hand-in-hand with a previous, “ It moves slow until it moves fast.”

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Term Sheet Reputation Security Conversion 149

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SEPTEMBER 16, 2020

Conversely, a team made up entirely of industry insiders can be worrisome too, because often it’s industry outsiders that are able to push beyond industry norms and offer a truly disruptive solution. If a founder lacks domain experience, having certain holes filled in the early team is a positive signal.

Seed Stage 254

Seed Stage Early Stage Founder Portfolio 254

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JUNE 5, 2018

Tracking your recruiting process provides you insights around the two most important aspects of hiring: Conversion. Iterate on your approaches here to identify what resonates best with candidates and improves conversion. Metrics, metrics, and metrics! Without metrics you cannot manage (and improve).

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Hiring Portfolio Metrics B2C 120

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FEBRUARY 2, 2016

But our conversations at NextView have always ended in excited chatter about the New York opportunity. And it was these conversations that I believe led to the team’s decision to add their own stubborn presence to stand up for seed-stage startups in NYC … me.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage New York New York City Startup 120

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FEBRUARY 3, 2015

From our perspective at NextView, startup pitch meetings should come in two flavors: The first is a conversation. You introduce yourself, you talk about why you started your company, and you start digging into the details in a conversational way. Perfect — easily pull up page 6 in the appendix as a backdrop to the conversation.

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Seed Stage Startup Seed Capital Audience 120