David Teten

MARCH 18, 2021

Investment theses are just hypotheses; the portfolio shows how accurate the hypothesis was. Foundry Group, investing primarily in “ Software and Internet ”, follows six major themes, e.g., Human Computer Interaction (HCI) or Distribution. Investment theses are just hypotheses; the portfolio shows how accurate the hypothesis was.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Cofounder Venture Capital Deal Flow 78

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

You’d expect the number to go down over time, but it’s notable that even 14 years later, VC funds are showing that a very significant % of value is still illiquid. So, four years later, DPI is still trying to catch up with TVPI from 2017. Early-stage valuations are up 70%, and late-stage valuations are up 103% (source Pitchbook ).

Valuation 319

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Distribution Early Stage 319

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

You’d expect the number to go down over time, but it’s notable that even 14 years later, VC funds are showing that a very significant % of value is still illiquid. So, four years later, DPI is still trying to catch up with TVPI from 2017. Early-stage valuations are up 70%, and late-stage valuations are up 103% (source Pitchbook ).

Valuation 295

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Distribution Early Stage 295

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 5, 2023

You can stop making new investments, but it will take years to actually work through your active portfolio companies. Still, I wouldn’t ever have wanted to trade off the pace of deals and the stage that I start with a company to have worked at a later stage fund where capital becomes more of a commodity.

Later Stage 218

Later Stage Venture Capital Term Sheet Limited Partner 218

VC Adventure

AUGUST 15, 2018

Higher strike prices distributes proceeds away from short term gain tax to equity holders who more typically are paying long term gains on the value that was shifted (I’m skipping a huge amount of nuance and detail here but the above is a general representation of how things work). So what should this discount be? I was wrong.

Valuation 48

Valuation Common Stock Cap Table Software Review 48

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 31, 2019

And while it can often be the case that “lemons ripen early” (meaning that the unsuccessful companies fail early in a fund’s lifecycle), the harvest cycle for the winners in the portfolio can take what sometimes feels like an eternity. Your new book, Secrets of Sandhill Road , is literally subtitled Venture Capital and How to Get It ?

Lean 108

Lean Venture Capital Conversion IPO 108

Genuine VC

MAY 20, 2013

To make money, VCs should aim to have meaningful target ownership in their portfolio investments, but 20% is by no means some kind of magic number. The impact of a single investment on a fund depends on ownership percentage, as well as the fund size and the portfolio size (i.e. And it manifests itself in pernicious ways.

Venture Capital 244

Venture Capital Cap Table Portfolio Early Stage 244

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

You’d expect the number to go down over time, but it’s notable that even 14 years later, VC funds are showing that a very significant % of value is still illiquid. So, four years later, DPI is still trying to catch up with TVPI from 2017. Early-stage valuations are up 70%, and late-stage valuations are up 103% (source Pitchbook ).

Valuation 156

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Distribution Early Stage 156

Gust

JANUARY 4, 2012

How much is it worth investing in cultivating and enforcing an IP portfolio ? Later stage companies have some additional concerns: What favorable impact could IP have for PR, marketing and investor relations purposes, or as an attraction to potential acquirors? Barriers to entry ?

Intellectual Property 143

Intellectual Property IP Startup United States 143

VC Adventure

MAY 5, 2022

BUT (and you knew there was a but here given the post title…) it’s a poor way to compare the relative performance of funds early, and even into the mid/later, stages of a fund’s life. But that doesn’t seem to be stopping funds or LPs from touting IRR as the gold standard for evaluating relative fund performance.

IRR 116

IRR Metrics Valuation LP 116

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

It’s a way of looking at venture that I never thought of before—that venture capital and its distribution of ending outcomes is probably not something you’re going to go after if you don’t have at least a little bit of wealth cushion and definitely not if you’re already under water. She sees that as the best way to run her business.

Venture Capital 162

Venture Capital Cofounder Deal Flow Later Stage 162

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 6, 2020

By that time investment bankers were on a roll privatizing assets as far flung as Chilean Electricity Distribution Rights, Montreal’s container port, parking meters in Chicago, sections of the Pennsylvania turnpike, the London City airport, and (the proposed) CA & FL Lottery systems. Ironically, given the U.S.’s

Private Equity 129

Private Equity New York City Chicago Investment Bankers 129

ReadWriteStart

AUGUST 26, 2022

I’m sure many of your startups are relatively large companies in the unicorn stage and beyond. What guidance for your portfolio companies? I will say the one thing we tell all our portfolio companies is to get fit and lean in. So just keep an eye out; depending on your growth stage, it could be reasonably attractive.

Partner 132

Partner Cofounder Retention Acquisition 132

www.paulgraham.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

The distribution of investors should mirrorthe distribution of startups, which has the usual power law dropoff.So It seems probable that investors have till nowon average been overcontrolling their portfolio companies. Though a lot of investors are entering this territory, there isstill room for more.

Startup 93

Startup Valuation Non-Compete Deal Flow 93

Ben's Blog

APRIL 7, 2021

As companies and cities wrestle with the future of work, future of cities, and future of tech made possible in a post-COVID future, the question is whether it also impacts — and presents an opportunity to address — one of the greatest problems of our time: the unequal distribution of economic opportunity across the United States.

Silicon Valley 36

Silicon Valley Non-Compete San Francisco Government 36

View from Seed

APRIL 7, 2015

For instance, one compelling thing about our former portfolio company Sunrise ( recently acquired by Microsoft ) is that the company actually never really had a website. Even later stage VCs will push to meet founders much earlier than seems appropriate for their sweet spot. Almost all VCs say they like to invest really early.

Early Stage 120

Early Stage Founder Later Stage Engineer 120

Professor VC

DECEMBER 8, 2015

Often times those involve trading within a venture capital portfolio or between two venture firms portfolios. Luckily, Google was one of the 150 and did ultimately return the fund assuming the LP was smart enough to hold the stock after distribution.

Merger 28

Merger LP IPO Redemption 28

Austin Startup

MARCH 7, 2021

San Antonio has Geekdom with USAA and Port San Antonio with the Air Force Cyber Command; Houston has The Ion with Rice University, Microsoft and NASA and The Cannon distributed across the city; Dallas has Pegasus Park with UT Southwestern and Lyda Hill Philanthropies; and Austin has Capital Factory with the Army Futures Command.

Texas 90

Texas San Antonio Houston Dallas 90

A Crowded Space

AUGUST 4, 2011

Then about a year and half ago, I moved on from oDesk, really just because it was becoming a later stage company and I personally prefer the earlier stage challenges. So it’s a powerful tool for social proof and distribution and evangelism. If I invest even just $50 in company, I’m going to be promoting it.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Venture Capital San Francisco Boston 60

abovethecrowd.com

APRIL 20, 2016

Some later-stage investors may be tempted to become Sharks themselves and start including structured terms into their own term sheets. Cash distributions are what matter at the end of the day, bug big paper gains still make for good fundraising pitches. Now you make your own decisions. It will also minimize future dilution.

IPO 40

IPO Term Sheet Silicon Valley Valuation 40

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 3, 2019

We do the work of sorting through the pitch decks of everyone and their mother, finding the diamonds in the rough, helping them turn an idea into something that looks like a company—and we do it for a fraction of the management fees of our later stage counterparts. That creates a tradeoff of paying up for more information.

Portfolio 110

Portfolio Burn Rate LP Distribution 110