Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2010

Our guest this week on #TWiVC was Dana Settle , partner at Greycroft Partners , a venture capital firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Current round: $35mm in Series C (extension of Series B at higher valuation) from General Atlantic, Matrix Partners. Note that I’m not defining who numbers 1,2 are. Time will tell.

Partner 240

Partner New York City Cofounder Syndicate 240

View from Seed

APRIL 14, 2020

VCs are always founder focused no matter the market environment. But in a FOMO world, more investors are willing to take a chance on a founder that they don’t know, but seems to match some of the heuristics of other high quality founders. This gets really challenging if it remains difficult to meet in person or to travel.

Early Stage 374

Early Stage Software Review Technical Review Due Diligence 374

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 11, 2020

by Shaun Djie, Co-Founder & COO of Digix. The country has also been a strong supporter of distributed ledger technology and recently announced that their blockchain payments project, Project Ubin , is ready for mainstream commercial deployment.

Asia 290

Asia Technical Review Technology Singapore 290

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 6, 2017

Things like negotiating distribution channels and partners and how to handle market expansions. Having advanced that curve on the Smart Parka’s design and the Kickstarter funding to help North Aware move to the manufacturing phase, he’s now learning about other issues critical to entrepreneurs.

Founder 189

Founder Pakistan Software Developers Software Development 189

View from Seed

JANUARY 6, 2021

When a company is pitching a VC, there is typically one partner who is the advocate for the deal and is shepherding the process. When I’m shepherding a company through our process, founders sometimes ask me to point out the things that are of particular importance to the folks on our team.

Partner 180

Partner Distribution Founder Acquisition 180

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Jeff Katzenberg has a great track record – head of the studio at Paramount, chairman of Disney Studios, co-founder of DreamWorks and now chairman of NewTV. Since NewTV won’t be making the content, they will be licensing from and partnering with traditional entertainment producers. ” Fire, Ready, Aim. He just hired Meg Whitman.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

A few weeks ago, we hosted a small dinner for a number of portfolio company founders, LP’s, and friends of the firm. It’s by far the longest time I’ve spent working on any one thing, and I feel very blessed to have been able to work with my partners, colleagues, founders, and collaborators. Patience is a virtue.

IRR 205

IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 205

View from Seed

MARCH 4, 2020

Innovation is Becoming More Broadly Distributed. At a firm level, I think that getting multiple partners on the list is a great milestone as well. In 2009 Bessemer had the most Midas List partners with 6 investors. Name brand firms like Benchmark, Sequoia, and NEA had 4+ partners on the list.

Venture Capital 313

Venture Capital China Technical Review Africa 313

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 26, 2023

The enterprise focuses on bringing the best global medical partners to the U.S. market and partners with medical device dealers across the U.S. market while offering expanded educational opportunities and resources. IML’s leadership role as a resource for the U.S. That’s why our relationship with IML is so important.”

Leadership 123

Leadership Technical Review Global Cofounder 123

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 8, 2020

Still, COVID-19 helped tip the balance towards a globally distributed model. A globally distributed business model allows you to hire the best talent wherever in the world it is. Transitioning to and managing a globally distributed model isn’t plain sailing. Factors that are tipping the scales. Automate as much as possible.

Distribution 145

Distribution Global Agile Startup 145

View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

A few weeks ago, we hosted a small dinner for a number of portfolio company founders, LP’s, and friends of the firm. It’s by far the longest time I’ve spent working on any one thing, and I feel very blessed to have been able to work with my partners, colleagues, founders, and collaborators. Patience is a virtue.

IRR 156

IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 156

Up and Running

JUNE 29, 2015

You don’t have to do everything yourself—a partner can be an asset to your business. For this reason, you might consider working with a business partner. But, how can you find and cultivate a business partner relationship like that? Here are several places to find the perfect partner for your business.

Partner 60

Partner Cofounder Networking Founder 60

View from Seed

DECEMBER 4, 2019

The top quartile has distributed 2.03x (vs. 1.68) and the median fund now has distributed 1.27X (vs. The longer the portfolio maintains the same value without distributing back cash, the worse the fund’s ultimate IRR. Based on that metric, the top quartile fund has now distributed 2.03X after 12 years. 2 years ago).

LP 256

LP IRR Distribution Portfolio 256

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 7, 2013

Anyone who reads this blog frequently will know that I am a big believer in low-cost video content and specifically the power of YouTube as a content creation & distribution platform. Distribution costs have, too. The industry finally has one of their own at the helm of the largest YouTube network. They read less than 30 minutes.

Video 320

Video Los Angeles Technical Cofounder CTO Hire 320

View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

A few weeks ago, we hosted a small dinner for a number of portfolio company founders, LP’s, and friends of the firm. It’s by far the longest time I’ve spent working on any one thing, and I feel very blessed to have been able to work with my partners, colleagues, founders, and collaborators. Patience is a virtue.

IRR 136

IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 136

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

Most of these rhyme with what we’ve said in the past, but some have also evolved to fit the changing landscape and our own convictions about what really matters for founders and their investors at the seed stage. We see innovation becoming more broadly distributed over time, and outlier companies being built in more and more places.

North America 120

North America Seed Stage Early Stage Lead Investor 120

ConversionXL

MARCH 31, 2021

Interviewing them will provide you with their wants and needs from a messaging perspective and uncover topic ideas and distribution channels. Much like your audience analysis report, it will ensure everyone involved in the planning, production, and distribution process is aligned. Well-defined goals and objectives.

Audience 127

Audience Non-Compete Distribution Channel 127

Austin Startup

MARCH 13, 2020

Q1 2020 marks Reset ’s two year anniversary, from when we had our first conversation about how we could help distributed teams find affordable space to meet and work. Your partner matters To all those solo-founders out there?—?kudos kudos to ya’ll. Our biggest example of this was our pivot from B2C to B2B.

B2C 62

B2C Austin B2B Cofounder 62

Hunter Walker

MARCH 27, 2017

Here’s a question I recommend founders ask Seed or Series A VCs during their fundraising: “What’s a risk you’re more comfortable with than the average VC?” Here are two: We’re more comfortable with certain types of founder risk (first time, non-traditional) than some funds. Technical risk.

Founder 48

Founder Technical Review Cofounder Distribution 48

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 20, 2019

by Lu Zhang, founder and managing partner of Fusion Fund. Competition from other startups and established incumbents, constraints on time and capital, and limited access to talent and technology resources are just a few of the hurdles nearly every first-time founder faces while trying to build a business.

Technical Review 140

Technical Review Due Diligence Early Stage Differentiation 140

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 15, 2020

It is possible to attract a venture capital partner with an idea for a business, but most deals are closed after the business has a founding team , a minimum viable product or MVP, and customers. The corporate governance section defines the power distribution between the founders and the investors. Understand VC Term Sheets.

Venture Capital 144

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review Security 144

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 16, 2014

Should they go after high-tech nerds for partners, or professional technologists? The right answer for a good business partner today is neither of the above. Startups succeed most often when the founding partners know how to build and run a business, rather than how to build and run technology.

Partner 259

Partner Entrepreneur Non-Compete Cofounder 259

ReadWriteStart

DECEMBER 16, 2020

To be fair, many businesses had distributed teams even before COVID-19 blindsided us. In fact, according to Founders Forum’s survey of 400+ startup owners, 94% of the respondents were already working from home before the pandemic. In distributed teams, employee engagement is critical. Image Credit: pixaby.

Technical Review 200

Technical Review Startup Belgium Software Review 200

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

(co-written with Jamie Finney, Founding Partner at Greater Colorado Venture Fund. From RBI, Flexible VCs borrow the ability to reap meaningful returns without demanding founders build for an exit. By tying payments to actual revenues, founders and investors remain aligned around the company’s real-time performance, good or bad.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2016

Yet I meet inventors and startup founders every week who balk at the thought of sharing the founder position. It’s fine for one to be the visible head of the company, but if you look at recent great successes of recent times, almost always there is a partner behind the scenes who was key to making the right things happen.

Partner 120

Partner Cofounder Entrepreneur Matching 120

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2023

Too many founders have learned that passion and free beta products do not imply a sustainable business. To get the visibility and distribution you need will likely require one or two levels of partner relationships and a real model for marketing, events and promotions. Customer support is more than handling exceptions.

Business Model 273

Business Model Customer Angel Investor Bootstrapping 273

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2014

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. Corporate business development and strategic partner executives are flocking to Silicon Valley to find these five types of innovation. Lessons Learned.

Acquisition 332

Acquisition Intellectual Property Silicon Valley Startup 332

YoungUpstarts

JULY 21, 2019

The founders of Benkheim&Co , an online brand which seeks to change the traditional luxury watch concept, explains how motivated entrepreneurs benefit from globalisation, efficient fulfilment services and new technologies. What helped him was his passion for the product and an excellent business partner.

Cofounder 113

Cofounder Technical Review Technology Netherlands 113

YoungUpstarts

MAY 5, 2020

by Itamar Gero, founder and CEO of SEOReseller.com . This will help you fill gaps within your operations that have been created either by losing employees or outsourced partners. Adding value can also mean reimagining your product distribution. The US economy has not been immune to this. According to ABC News, another 6.6

Small Business 227

Small Business SBA Small Business Administration SEO 227

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2020

Should they go after high-tech nerds for partners, or professional technologists? The right answer for a good business partner today is neither of the above. Startups succeed most often when the founding partners know how to build and run a business, rather than how to build and run technology.

Non-Compete 435

Non-Compete Cofounder Social Media Partner 435

ReadWriteStart

AUGUST 26, 2022

How to Scale Unicorns With Partner David Zhang, TVC. Joining us for this episode is our partner David Zhang, Partner at TCV (( Technology Crossover Ventures ). I’m a partner at TCV, which we founded in 1996. So, think of the typical two founders with a pitch book in a garage. Jonathan Siddharth .

Partner 132

Partner Cofounder Retention Acquisition 132

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 31, 2011

In a developer panel discussion this morning, there was a muted but robust discussion around the creation, distribution and monetization of apps. CEO and co-founder of Swagsoft Aldric Chang recommended search engine optimization (SEO), especially for apps that have highly targeted audiences, such as those for legal and medical use.

Asia 196

Asia Singapore Application Development Social Media 196

Genuine VC

AUGUST 27, 2015

Tales become legends about founders of exceptionally transformative companies who truly struggled to get any investors’ attention early on. These rejection emails to the founder of Airbnb represent just one of the most recent example of this familiar theme. A long-standing relationship with a founder and her ability to execute.

Software Review 100

Software Review Portfolio Framework Distribution 100

BeyondVC

JANUARY 3, 2019

We had another solid year filled with learning, growth, laughter, and new projects and partners. Thanks to all of the amazing founders, advisors, co-investors, corporate partners, and others that helped make 2018 an amazing year. ABM/Demand Gen), Richard Crowley (Slack, Ops Architect), Misha Brukman (JanusGraph, co-founder).

Stealth 79

Stealth Advisory Board Cloud Virginia 79

Duct Tape Marketing

APRIL 6, 2022

Steve is the CEO of Founders Space, one of the world’s leading startup accelerators with over 50 partners in 22 countries. Founders Space was ranked the #1 incubator for overseas startups by Forbes and Entrepreneur Magazines. 18:05] How does the Founder Space operate? [20:21] He's the CEO of founders space.

San Francisco 97

San Francisco Technical Review Incubator Silicon Valley 97

VC Cafe

JANUARY 27, 2021

We are taking the screen sharing experience to the next level, so that collaboration doesn’t get in the way of doing great work,” writes CEO and founder Tom Medema. As teams become increasingly distributed, video communication is important for both internal alignment and external business development.

Vertical 148

Vertical Video Technical Review Europe 148

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 14, 2024

Over a decade ago, when I was working for First Round Capital, we opened our doors for “Open Office Hours”—a series of open meetings where any founder could come in and chat with us for 20 minutes each. I’m not sure we backed any of the founders—but that wasn’t the point. We met quite a few smart folks. We had 70 investors sign up!

Curation 126

Curation Community Founder Stock 126