View from Seed

JANUARY 11, 2021

Noting our own experience, we questioned whether the fast proliferation of virtual interaction introduced by the COVID-19 crisis had changed investor decision-making more broadly across the venture capital industry. Following initial decision paralysis, many venture capitalists have returned to pace.

Venture Capital 350

Venture Capital Cofounder Early Stage Seed Stage 350

VC Cafe

AUGUST 11, 2022

A couple of weeks ago I was did a fireside chat with Alon Grinshpoon, founder and CEO of Echo3D , a CDN and CMS for 3D content in the cloud and a Remagine Ventures portfolio company, as part of an entrepreneurial finance MBA class in Tel Aviv University. As the venture capital industry evolves, so do the models for supporting founders.

Founder 187

Founder Term Sheet Cofounder Venture Capital 187

David Teten

MARCH 28, 2012

Best Practices in Venture Capital Portfolio Company Value Creation. Lowering that failure rate would be highly impactful on venture capitalist returns, if we could figure out how to do it. In an effort to address this, we launched last year a formal study of best practices of VCs in improving portfolio company value.

Portfolio 144

Portfolio Private Equity Venture Capital Early Stage 144

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

Over the past month a colleague ( Chang Xu ) and I sifted through data on the venture capital industry (as we do every year) and made a bunch of calls to VCs and LPs to confirm our hypotheses. As a result of the IPO window shifting we saw a massive inflow of public-market capital into the latest stages of venture.

Venture Capital 328

Venture Capital Technical Review Seed Stage IPO 328

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 28, 2010

Other players such as Obopay have set out to focus on mobile person-to-person cash transfers, mFoundry (a GRP portfolio company) has focused on mobile banking and a mobile wallet and one of my favorite companies m-via is focusing on mobile remittances (right now between the US and Mexico). Tags: This Week in Venture Capital.

Venture Capital 270

Venture Capital Cofounder Spain San Diego 270

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2019

I’ve heard a lot of people question whether there is too much money in venture capital chasing too few great deals. Others believe that new business models are emerging that could replace venture capital all together. We’re in a new tech bubble!” some have pronounced. Follow the money.

Venture Capital 292

Venture Capital IPO Mezzanine Early Stage 292

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 11, 2022

On the other side of the spectrum, the idea of finding a unicorn has attracted many investors toward the much riskier venture capital and emerging technologies. Clearlake Capital Group’s role in the investment will be supporting the global leader’s efforts to innovate products, accelerate growth and bolder M&A.

Private Equity 129

Private Equity Equity Technical Review Software Review 129

David Teten

JULY 25, 2017

As I’ve worked to build out HOF Capital ’s portfolio acceleration platform , the #1 question I think about is: how do we scalably support our companies? Many VCs offer (or strive to offer) a bundle of levers and support structures to help their portfolio companies. We have lower AUM, therefore lower management fees.

Portfolio 60

Portfolio Technical Review Private Equity Database 60

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

When Netscape went public, it unleashed a frenzy from the public markets for anything related to the internet and signaled to venture investors that there were massive returns to be made investing in anything internet related. Massive liquidity awaited the first movers to the IPO’s, and that’s how they managed their portfolios.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

At our mid-year offsite our partnership at Upfront Ventures was discussing what the future of venture capital and the startup ecosystem looked like. But I thought a better way of thinking about how we manage our portfolios is to think about it as a funnel. So it’s about 20%. This translates to about 12–15 investments.

Technical Review 416

Technical Review Pre-Money Valuation San Francisco Valuation 416

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 25, 2017

Venture Capitalism is changing. The influx of large corporations to the venture capital space has only enhanced funding opportunities for startups and startups no longer need to have their sights solely focused on venture capitalists. Startups should leverage these changes in venture capital to their advantage.

Venture Capital 193

Venture Capital Technical Review Kenya Startup 193

View from Seed

MAY 24, 2021

You are intentional about developing a point of view on new sectors that we can learn from. You have a deep desire to learn the venture capital business and are ready to hustle to meet the next great founder. You have a point of view on emerging technology and business models, and you are not afraid to voice your conviction.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Software Review Seed Stage Cofounder 120

Steve Blank

JANUARY 22, 2014

Over the years Dino and I brainstormed about how Lean entrepreneurship would affect regional development. The cloud , open-source development tools and web 2.0 as a distribution channel have vastly reduced the amount of capital a startup needs at the early stage when the risk is greatest.

Early Stage 286

Early Stage Silicon Valley Oregon Technical Review 286

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2022

Examples of some leaders in this space include Ron Conway in Silicon Valley and Jeff Bezos , CEO of Amazon, who each may have over 500 startups in their portfolio. Institutional venture capital dispensed in 2021 reached record highs of almost $330 billion, up significantly from the last few years. Marty Zwilling.

Angel Investor 342

Angel Investor Venture Capital Silicon Valley Portfolio 342

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2013

And we chose to locate ourselves 3 blocks East of The Third Street Promenade where much new development is taking place. Perhaps the biggest piece of new news is that after 17 years of operations we’ve changed our name from GRP Partners to Upfront Ventures. Our portfolio companies value us as sparring partners.

Los Angeles 343

Los Angeles Las Vegas San Francisco Baltimore 343

David Teten

MAY 20, 2016

My colleague Sebastian Soler, software engineer at ff Venture Capital, is leading the launch of a new Meetup with me. I’ve also run my own development consultancy (The212) for ~10 years and have built projects for numerous companies like eBay, IBM, American Express and Ogilvy & Mather. I asked him to write a guest post: Hi!

Private Equity 113

Private Equity Equity Cap Table Venture Capital 113

Steve Blank

APRIL 12, 2013

The first post described how China built a science and technology infrastructure to support advanced weapons systems development. This post is about the rise of Chinese venture capital and how it helped build the countries entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Rise of Chinese Venture Capital. It went bankrupt in 1997.).

Venture Capital 271

Venture Capital China Offshore SBIR 271

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

I was in New York last week with my class at Columbia University and several events made me realize that the Customer Development model needs to better describe its fit with web-based businesses. However the Customer Development Model and the Lean Startup work equally well for startups on the web. It’s an impressive portfolio.

Customer Development 219

Customer Development Web Developer Customer 219

ReadWriteStart

JULY 26, 2022

Also, people in the chemical sector use several digital products and services developed during the past ten years. According to, Crunchbase, it received an undisclosed sum in unknown series funding from Evonik Venture Capital, Pinpools. Further, many start-ups have been stimulated by fresh concepts and technologies. Conclusion.

Germany 175

Germany San Jose Technical Review India 175

Version One Ventures

MAY 29, 2014

venture capital deals go to women founders and CEOs. Business Insider recently crunched the numbers behind 26 of the top venture capital funds in Silicon Valley and learned that the percentage of female-founded startups in their portfolios ranged from a high of 19% to a low of just 4%.

Silicon Valley 167

Silicon Valley Founder Venture Capital Technical Review 167

Steve Blank

AUGUST 31, 2009

After 20 years of working in startups, I decided to take a step back and look at the product development model I had been following and see why it usually failed to provide useful guidance in activities outside the building – sales, marketing and business development. So what’s wrong the product development model?

Customer Development 238

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 238

thebarefootvc

MAY 8, 2012

The best VCs are the ones that balance their optimism, vision and enthusiasm for startups with realism based on very real constraints (the primary one being his/her own time, but also includes market development and exit timing). As an entrepreneur at heart, I often innately grasp the potential of entrepreneurs and ideas that I meet with.

Venture Capital 78

Venture Capital Syndicate Syndication Bandwidth 78

Version One Ventures

MAY 3, 2023

“India for the world” has traditionally focused on outsourcing and leveraging cost advantages, from customer service to product development. Freshbooks and Zoho are the best-known examples from past decades, but an increasing number of start-ups are joining that effort (among others, our portfolio company Headout).

India 87

India LP Silicon Valley Vertical 87

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

There has been much discussion in the past few years of the changing structure of the venture capital industry. The rise of alternative sources of capital (crowd funding and the like). The overall trends in our industry have breathed a new life into the venture capital industry. The iPhone was released.

Technical Review 398

Technical Review Venture Capital Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 398

Hunter Walker

FEBRUARY 17, 2022

There’s so much context required to really understand portfolio companies, and there’s no real way to learn it without diving in head first. In one day, you’ll have to develop a strong opinion about a dozen different industries. KS: So much of what is shared about venture, especially on Twitter, is an endless string of wins.

Venture Capital 85

Venture Capital San Francisco Portfolio Operations 85

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

Just as with any company, the most important issue is the team; see “ How to Negotiate a Partner Role at a Venture Capital or Private Equity Firm “ . See How Private Equity and Venture Capital Investors Are Eating Their Own Dogfood. . 3) Raise capital. 9) Accelerate portfolio company value.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Private Equity Management Cap Table 60

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

Just as with any company, the most important issue is the team; see “ How to Negotiate a Partner Role at a Venture Capital or Private Equity Firm “ . See How Private Equity and Venture Capital Investors Are Eating Their Own Dogfood. . 3) Raise capital. 9) Accelerate portfolio company value.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Private Equity Management Cap Table 60

Version One Ventures

APRIL 30, 2013

As a result, most venture capitalists are reluctant to touch hardware projects, opting for the lower costs and smaller risks of software. While my portfolio is primarily centered around consumer internet as well as enterprise SaaS startups, I typically talk to two to three hardware startups each week. Look at crowdfunding options.

Venture Capital 128

Venture Capital Software Review Incubator Startup 128

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series of posts and I need to file this one under both Raising Venture Capital and Startup Advice. portfolios. Many of these businesses were what First Round Capital called FNACs (features, not companies – this acronym has always stuck with me).

Business Plan 334

Business Plan AJAX Venture Capital Technical Review 334

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 19, 2020

Examples of some leaders in this space include Ron Conway in Silicon Valley and Jeff Bezos , CEO of Amazon, who each may have over 500 startups in their portfolio. Institutional venture capital dispensed in 2019 was down a bit from record highs the previous year, but up significantly over the last few years. Marty Zwilling.

Angel Investor 314

Angel Investor Venture Capital Silicon Valley Startup 314

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2014

The Innovation Portfolio. Companies manage these three types of innovation with an innovation portfolio – they build innovation internally, they buy it or they partner with resources outside their company. What can companies learn from others’ failed efforts to integrate startups into large companies?

Acquisition 332

Acquisition Intellectual Property Silicon Valley Startup 332

www.xconomy.com

JUNE 9, 2012

VP of Strategic and Emerging Business Development, Microsoft. Founder, DEKA Research and Development Corporation. New San Diego VC Firm Emerges as ‘The Moneyball of Venture Capital’. The firm, Correlation Ventures, is using predictive analytics technology to tilt the odds in its favor. Dan'l Lewin. Dean Kamen.

San Diego 40

San Diego Venture Capital Technical Review San Francisco 40

Steve Blank

APRIL 12, 2013

The first post described how China built a science and technology infrastructure to support advanced weapons systems development. This post is about the rise of Chinese venture capital and how it helped build the countries entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Rise of Chinese Venture Capital. It went bankrupt in 1997.).

Venture Capital 163

Venture Capital China Offshore SBIR 163

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

Once the order is fulfilled and paid for, the funds can be paid back. ? Research and development. In very few specific cases, depending on the nature of the business, the business model might demand a considerable gestation period or extensive research and development. Investors usually carry a portfolio of startups.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 11, 2010

The Customer Development process is the way startups quickly iterate and test each element of their business model , reducing customer and market risk. The first step of Customer Development is called Customer Discovery. After I retired I would get calls from VC’s to help with “marketing problems” in their portfolio companies.

Burn Rate 248

Burn Rate Silicon Valley Marketing Boston 248

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

Many observers of the venture capital industry have questioned whether its best days are behind it. Looking ahead at the next decade I am excited by what I believe will be viewed as one of the best and most rational investment periods for venture capital due to seven discrete factors: 1.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Mobile 347

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 14, 2014

Brooklyn Bridge Ventures came in first, with a whopping 61%. Lerer Ventures was second, with just under 20%. So, clearly, I''m making some kind of a portfolio-wide bet there, right? Most companies don''t ever raise venture capital and they do just fine. Venture Capital & Technology'

Founder 143

Founder Venture Capital Cofounder Software Developers 143