Haystack

OCTOBER 2, 2019

Those of us in the early-stage tech ecosystem by now well know that saying “there are a LOT of seed and new startups” is a gross understatement. It feels like a tsunami of deal flow , and for me, I’ve outlined how I pay attention to inbound flow in terms of what gets priority. to solve this issue.

Deal Flow 106

Deal Flow Cap Table Early Stage Institutional Investors 106

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2011

I just read the Q1 2011 report from CB Insights , which shows venture capital is back. billion to work across 738 financing deals with U.S. billion jump in funding over the same quarter of 2010 with a similar number of deals, so it clearly shows a trend to larger deal sizes for fewer startups.

Venture Capital 233

Venture Capital Revenue Elevator Pitch Silicon Valley 233

Steve Blank

MAY 17, 2010

I suggested that they first might want to read my post on why business plans are a poor planning and execution tool for startups. Where did the idea that startups write business plans come from? A startup is not executing a series of knowns. Instead of business plans I have suggested that startups use business models.

Business Plan 312

Business Plan Business Model Customer Development Deal Flow 312

crowdSPRING Blog

JANUARY 3, 2011

The past year saw startups on the rise, an increase in venture capital funding (both in real dollars and numbers of companies funded), a resurgence of IPOs, and the rise of David against Goliath, as best represented by Groupon’s spurning of a $6 billion offer from Google. Investors will be bullish on startups.

Technical Review 93

Technical Review Venture Capital India Startup 93

ReadWriteStart

AUGUST 20, 2012

Today’s venture capital deal flow to innovative new companies looks a lot like a fat man trying to squeeze into a slim Italian suit. The new shape of innvovation is a lot more inclusive of new approaches and sources of startup funding. In 2000, venture capitalists poured a staggering $112.2 Venture Capital

Venture Capital 127

Venture Capital San Francisco Deal Flow Atlanta 127

Gust

FEBRUARY 22, 2014

There are literally hundreds of platforms currently operating that connect investors and startups, and there have been at least a hundred others that have come and gone. As I’ve discussed elsewhere, Gust’s long-term goal is to serve as the infrastructure platform for the entire global, early stage finance industry.

Belarus 107

Belarus Kazakhstan Portugal Accredited Investor 107

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

Over the same 30 years, Venture Capital firms have honed their skills and strategies to match Wall Streets needs to achieve liquidity for their portfolio companies. One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is misunderstanding the role of venture capital investors.

Silicon Valley 217

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 217

Mucker Lab

AUGUST 27, 2014

My father eventually decided on Santa Clara (Saratoga, more specifically), and so I grew up in the shadows of the orchards of Cupertino and the nondescript concrete startup boxes of Santa Clara. Encyclopedic knowledge of term sheets and startup buzzwords can be quickly learned, trained, and packaged. Diversity” and “Domain Experience”.

Los Angeles 138

Los Angeles Southern California Silicon Valley Technical Review 138

ReadWriteStart

AUGUST 20, 2012

Today’s venture capital deal flow to innovative new companies looks a lot like a fat man trying to squeeze into a slim Italian suit. The new shape of innovation is a lot more inclusive of new approaches and sources of startup funding. In 2000, venture capitalists poured a staggering $112.2

Venture Capital 66

Venture Capital Deal Flow Atlanta Incubator 66

Gust

SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

To begin with, it is important to understand some basic facts about the world of entrepreneurial finance: There are many more entrepreneurs than there are investors, with the result that only one company out of every 400 that seeks venture funding actually receives it. One of the primary ones is the referral source.

Angel Groups 159

Angel Groups Elevator Pitch Software Review Deal Flow 159

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2010

The dinner parties now are filled with self-righteous angel investors bragging about how many deals they are in on. They have marked-up paper gains propped up by an over excited venture capital market that has validated their investments. Logic tells me the following: It is hard to make money angel investing.

Florida 299

Florida Technical Review San Antonio Los Angeles 299

Haystack

JULY 4, 2019

Most folks who are not close to early-stage startups and new company formation would be surprised to discover that a high number of companies, after receiving funding from individuals or institutions, do not send updates to their investors. For me, I am pretty zen about this after six years of early-stage startup investment.

Early Stage 167

Early Stage Deal Flow Finance Metrics 167

Gust

JANUARY 22, 2014

Gust is the infrastructure that underlies much of the professional world of early stage finance. Gust News Invested Interests angel investors David Rose Gust investments startup' As a very active angel investor myself, I frankly can’t imagine how I could keep track of all the pieces without Gust.

Angel Investor 150

Angel Investor Angel Groups Accredited Investor Early Stage 150

Gust

APRIL 23, 2014

When you realize that the platform operates in half a dozen languages and has investors or entrepreneurs in over 200 countries engaging in both local and cross-border investments, you can begin to see the outlines of the future of finance. Gust News angel groups businesses financial industry Gust innovations startups'

Angel Groups 127

Angel Groups Accredited Investor Private Equity Deal Flow 127

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 11, 2013

I often advise startup companies not to try and pin all of your brand equity into an announcement. Simply – we believe it’s hypocritical to sit with tech startups every day and talk about the need to innovate while ourselves making no major changes. Hamet is a 3x entrepreneur and also former EIR with True Ventures.

Ireland 324

Ireland Jordan Portfolio Flash 324

Gust

JANUARY 22, 2014

Gust is the infrastructure that underlies much of the professional world of early stage finance. Gust News Invested Interests angel investors David Rose Gust investments startup' As a very active angel investor myself, I frankly can’t imagine how I could keep track of all the pieces without Gust.

Angel Investor 89

Angel Investor Angel Groups Accredited Investor Early Stage 89

Haystack

DECEMBER 18, 2019

The obvious trend in startups (which has been going on for a year or two) is the idea of the “prosumer as the new consumer.” This has led to some very competitive financing rounds, which from afar is a signal various groups see the market potential of these models. ” In 2020, I gave 1.5 answers to that question.

B2B 90

B2B North America Malaysia Warrant 90

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

So perhaps what I learned at Fordham that benefitted me post wasn't necessarily my Finance classes--it was trying to live my life for others. Is it no accident, then, that one of the founding fathers of venture capital, Don Valentine of Sequoia, also came from Fordham? There's no magic flow of great deal flow.

Venture Capital 107

Venture Capital Deal Flow Europe Early Stage 107

Haystack

APRIL 10, 2018

OK, so microVC funds and smaller pre-seed financings could really be a thing. This narrative was laced through the event, especially with the founder of Thumbtack, Marco Zappacosta, recounting his company’s financing story. Um… wow. 4/ LPs noted that the term “pre-seed” is really a U.S.

Seed Stage 60

Seed Stage San Francisco Ratchet Silicon Valley 60

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

Private equity and venture capital investors are copying our sisters in the hedge fund world: we’re trying to automate more of our job. . See Bessemer Venture Partners’ A comprehensive guide to security for startups. She answered, ‘We see a lot of deals.’ I said we had a lot of deal flow. 2) Market .

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

K9 Ventures

MAY 14, 2011

The companies go through a 3-6 month long startup bootcamp and then typically try to raise angel/seed funding. Angels : Angels are individual investors, who are investing their own capital and doing so on a part-time basis. At first blush, uVCs acting more like institutional venture capital funds may be considered a bad thing.

Preferred Stock 125

Preferred Stock Seed Stage Incubator Early Stage 125

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

MARCH 11, 2014

You have your general management meeting and in your general management meeting you talk about product development, about marketing and about finance. That is always true for all startups until they get old, right? Edwin: No, I do think, and I realize that very much, that if I were to take venture capital, the whole game changes.

Technical Cofounder 220

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Software Review Management 220

Austin Startup

MAY 19, 2018

It drives up valuations, creates interest in the category among other investors, and in a new space a well funded competitor is usually out there educating audiences about the very problem the startup solves. Just as you look at deal flow as a funnel, a good CEO disqualifies and moves on.

Founder 75

Founder Early Stage Software Review Deal Flow 75

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2011

At first I was cynical about his ability to have 500 startups (or some fraction of that which is still larger than any VC has). He stresses the importance of his initial legwork getting his “champions” on board before going to AngelList and feels this is a crucial first step for any startup. My Personal Take on AngelList.

Valuation 292

Valuation Deal Flow Lead Investor Cofounder 292

David Teten

MARCH 18, 2021

Public theses are often inconsistent with how firms actually deploy capital. A typical VC thesis: “we invest in tech startups in Europe at an early stage” However, our experience shows that in many cases: . of venture capital deals. Those companies have garnered only about 2% of all capital invested.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Cofounder Venture Capital Deal Flow 78

mashable.com

NOVEMBER 3, 2010

Here’s an overview: Mitch Kapor: Kapor is founding partner of Kapor Capital , a firm that invests in seed and early stage startups. This is the man you’ll need to impress should you wish to slice off a piece of the sFund pie for your startup. Craig is currently the CEO and founder of stealth-ish startup BetterWorks.

Angel Investor 80

Angel Investor Startup San Francisco Social Media 80

Professor VC

MARCH 12, 2015

The above was the opening salvo of a controversial tweetstorm yesterday by my former student and 500 Startups founding partner, Dave McClure (full venom below). I already own stock in Twilio indirectly through a limited partnership interest in a venture fund and don''t need to bet more on Twilio.

Syndicate 28

Syndicate Syndication Silicon Valley Common Stock 28

Rob Go

NOVEMBER 30, 2012

The venture capital market continues to be in transition, and a lot of changes have occurred in the early stages of the market. Given this definition, we continue to see dedicated seed funds providing strong benefits for founders, including: Minimal signaling risk at the next round of financing. See that original post here.

Seed Stage 55

Seed Stage Pre-Money Valuation Dilution Early Stage 55

Version One Ventures

MAY 15, 2013

Crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo are helping fill the financing void for startups that struggle to find traditional financing. For example, I recently wrote about crowdfunding being a viable option for hardware startups who notoriously have a tough time attracting funding from VCs.

Angel Investor 148

Angel Investor Equity Venture Capital Deal Flow 148

VC Cafe

JULY 20, 2010

D eloitte Touche in Israel produces a Venture Capital and Private Equity survey every other quarter in an attempt to identify trends within the venture capital arena, give a summary of VC expectations of the Israeli VC community for the next six to twelve months. Clear cut: VC activity in Israel will become difficult.

Mezzanine 92

Mezzanine Venture Capital IPO 92

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 1, 2020

Even if they were, startup employees usually don't hold more than 10% of the company's overall stock and less than 10% of the company's employees were black at the time of the IPO. Venture capital is supposed to make a high multiple of return for the risk. Who benefitted equity-wise from Uber's success? No current founders, pls.

Michigan 117

Michigan Deal Flow Accredited Investor Equity 117

David Teten

NOVEMBER 23, 2020

Blue Future Partners, a venture capital fund of funds, recently interviewed me on ESG in venture capital. For example, I’m an investor via ff Venture Capital in: – Plated.com is a meal kit company, delivering you the recipe and fresh ingredients to make a gourmet meal in your own kitchen.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Partner Technical Review Cofounder 60