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Down Rounds: Deal With Reality

Feld Thoughts

She has a good article today in TechCrunch titled Embrace the down round (it’s going to be okay, maybe). ” Now, I’m not encouraging anyone to do a down round if unnecessary., ” Now, I’m not encouraging anyone to do a down round if unnecessary.,

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How the pre-seed round made a comeback in 2024

VC Cafe

Carta reports that 20% of the rounds in 2023 were down rounds, but I believe the actual number is much higher. For that and other reasons (like cash preservation) VCs moved to focus more on earlier stage, and many funds that typically invest in A started deploying more into seed rounds.

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Take Five – how shut are the venture markets right now?

VC Cafe

new unicorns created each day), startups may find themselves raising down rounds as they struggle to justify previous valuations. However, employees have been notified that Meta no longer plans to commercially release the AR glasses due to efforts to cut back on heavy investments in its Reality Labs and AR/VR division.

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10 Rosh Hashanah Resolutions for Startup Founders

VC Cafe

A combination of competition for top talent and an effort to bring employees back to the office drove startups in Israel to throw extravagant parties and all-inclusive retreats abroad. The press took notice, especially since just a few months later startups were laying off employees en-masse to cut costs. Team, product, market.

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Cybersecurity startups face market challenges

ReadWriteStart

Consequently, some startups have faced struggles securing investments, resulting in down rounds where their valuations decline between funding rounds. Additionally, these down rounds can decrease employee morale, as they may dilute shares or pay cuts, affecting the overall work environment.

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Cram Down – A Test of Character for VCs and Founders

Steve Blank

They offered desperate founders more cash but insisted on new terms, rewriting all the old stock agreements that previous investors and employees had. A cram down is different than a down round. Shut the company down and start another one. Founders rationalize it’s good for their employees. You’re not.

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Venture Capital Q&A Session

Both Sides of the Table

The A round was done in February 2000 (end of the bull market) and my B round was done in April 2001 (bear market). As a result I had to do a down round. Down rounds are psychologically really difficult on companies and can make it harder to do later rounds. I eventually needed more money.