Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2018

VC Partnerships Start by understanding how many partners are at the firm you are approaching. It’s pretty easy since nearly every VC lists its partners on the website. Some firms are trickier since they artificially call everybody “partner” but they’re not all “investment partners.” How many partners are there?

Technical Review 314

Technical Review Due Diligence Partner Term Sheet 314

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

For the past 10 years, with interest rates near zero, VC investors plowed record amounts into tech startups and enjoyed a seemingly ‘easy’ investing environment. Essentially, show that you can build a great portfolio and deploy all capital pre series A.”

Venture Capital 215

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Institutional Investors 215

VC Adventure

JUNE 14, 2022

Indeed, many firms even institutionalize the practice of providing help to portfolio companies through extensive platforms that may include PR, talent, marketing, technical, and other help (sometimes offered for free, sometimes offered ads a pay-for-service, but often at below-market rates for those services).

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Due Diligence Portfolio Venture Capital 150

David Teten

JANUARY 23, 2021

I’ve been fortunate to be a Partner at two different VC firms over the past 9 years, and we’ve grown AUM 10X both times. Build the firm as much as possible before you solicit limited partners. . The next best move is to build your core team, e.g., recruit an Advisory Board, Venture Partners, and EIRs. Lastly, gather feedback.

Private Equity 78

Private Equity Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review 78

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 18, 2017

Businesses are well-versed in leveraging technology in customer-facing activities. A recent Harvard Business Review (HBR) report , created in partnership with Scout RFP , highlighted this lag and its possible ramifications. With the right technology, procurement can have a staggering impact on the company’s bottom line.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Finance Software Review Due Diligence 124

Version One Ventures

SEPTEMBER 5, 2019

What makes this anniversary so special is that it marks my first full year as General Partner. I advise and support our portfolio companies. And I work with my partner Boris to build the business that is Version One. Over the past year, I have been asked by many people what has changed for me now that I’m a GP.

Technical Review 126

Technical Review Due Diligence Partner Portfolio 126

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 “ . Another critical design consideration is your tech stack. On Copper (our deal board), a due date of two business days is automatically set for us to review the opportunity.

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 “ . Another critical design consideration is your tech stack. On Copper (our deal board), a due date of two business days is automatically set for us to review the opportunity.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Private Equity Management Cap Table 60

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2014

On August 26th I had an equally effusive intro from Ynon Kreiz, also a friend, trusted source and also the CEO of portfolio company Maker Studios. By September 18th we were ready to bring them to a full partner meeting and as a group we were bought into the vision and the experience of this exact team to pull things off. And Seriously.

Technical Review 373

Technical Review North America Los Angeles Cofounder 373

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 7, 2014

In case you don’t know – as VCs we have have 2 sets of customers: LPs (limited partners) who invest money in our funds and entrepreneurs (who we in turn give money to and help support them in building businesses we hope will be valuable). Who else is going to tell a VC if he got a bad reference from an entrepreneur or fellow VC?

Software Review 341

Software Review Customer Technical Review LP 341

David Teten

DECEMBER 12, 2017

(written by Philipp von dem Knesebeck , Managing Partner, Blue Future Partners (bluefp.com, @bluefutureteam ), and David Teten ). VCs are at the forefront of technological disruption, funding many of the latest cutting edge productivity tools. But what tools are they using themselves to automate their own processes?

Early Stage 60

Early Stage Technical Review Software Review Venture Capital 60

Seeing Both Sides

OCTOBER 19, 2008

Some readers have pointed out to me that I left out a very key element of the due diligence process: what the process itself reveals about the nature of the entrepreneur to the VC. VCs don’t typically enter a true due diligence process until after the 2nd or 3rd meeting. 2) Digging deep.

Technical Review 37

Technical Review Due Diligence Partner Finance 37

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. Be ready when it counts.

Technical Review 140

Technical Review Due Diligence Early Stage Differentiation 140

VC Adventure

OCTOBER 14, 2020

We’ve kept ourselves intentionally small as a firm so can keep our close connection with our portfolio founders from due diligence, to investment, and throughout the lifecycle of our investments. Foundry Group is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology companies and venture fund managers.

Networking 99

Networking Technical Review Hiring North America 99

Austin Startup

DECEMBER 17, 2020

End of Year Update After officially announcing Breyer Capital Austin earlier this year after two years of active planning and due diligence, I received a humbling number of gracious emails and messages from Austin-based leaders, entrepreneurs, executives, and investors. Breyer Capital Austin?—?End Breyer Capital Austin?—?End

Austin 84

Austin Silicon Valley Technical Review Texas 84

The Equity Kicker

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

We see this all the time at Forward Partners where we invest right from the idea stage and most of the companies get a first version of their product live for less than £30k (that generally includes founder salaries and time spent doing customer research). Forward Partners and Crowdcube are both attacking elements of these problems.

Early Stage 119

Early Stage Development Team Review Technical Review Software Review 119

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

Since 2017 we’ve managed $3 million in revenue-based financing, which helps cash-strapped technology companies grow. In 2019 we partnered with several revenue-based lending providers, effectively creating a marketplace. “. We’re also regularly following-on for existing portfolio companies.”. Bigfoot Capital. ARR of $500K+.

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 23, 2017

VCs tout themselves as frontier technology investors, but most are using the same infrastructure tools they have used for the past 20+ years: Excel and recent college grads searching Google. According to Knowledge.VC , under 5% of US VCs have a full-time team member focused on technology. . But we’re doing it slowly.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Technical Review 60

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

Every potential early-stage Venture Capitalist should take a year and do it before he or she makes partner. Over time Venture firms realized that the partners in the firms needs a variety of skills: People skills (ability to recognize patterns of success in individuals and teams). we have a partner-track associates program.

Venture Capital 333

Venture Capital Early Stage Technical Review Startup 333

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Angels invest in one out of every forty deals they review (2.5%) versus the one out of 400 by VC’s (0.25%). They are professionals with full-time jobs, who often don’t have time for due diligence (and may not even know how to do it) and often make decisions through trusted referrals or based on gut feelings (more on gut feelings later).

Angel Investor 159

Angel Investor Technical Review Software Review Accredited Investor 159

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 29, 2010

GRP Partners is looking to hire two analysts (maybe even three) to join our practice in Los Angeles. If this isn’t you, we’d probably still have a look if you did something truly exception – probably at startup or tech firm. And none of our partners actually worked for any of these firms. Are we elitist?

Los Angeles 290

Los Angeles Technical Review Due Diligence Venture Capital 290

VC Cafe

JULY 5, 2010

The workshop discussions centered on a series of Harvard Business School case studies, and related reading materials, pertaining to four companies: R&R, ProfitLogic (a Battery portfolio company), E-Ink and Celtel International. For Battery, the ROI for the Workshop will be difficult to quantify.

Software Review 116

Software Review Technical Review Community Due Diligence 116

David Teten

MARCH 14, 2018

My Partners at HOF Capital are younger than I am, which means that we have a half-century horizon for the franchise we are building. First Round Capital’s forum for portfolio executives is a powerful example of a scaleable resource. – Hire more non-Partner staff. So we think about scaling a lot.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Cofounder 60

VC Cafe

JULY 5, 2010

To learn more, VC Cafe interviewed Brian Rosenzweig, one of the managing partners in the new fund and the former marketing director at 21Ventures. investors the opportunity to participate in the Israeli high-tech market. But we do tell them that we are aiming for a 3X-5X return on each portfolio company.

Technical Review 106

Technical Review Software Review Seed Stage 106

VC Adventure

JULY 27, 2011

Before Foundry makes an investment we perform extensive due diligence. While this process varies, we’re always diligent before entering into what we view as a long term partnership with the company. One of those recently sold off a significant piece of technology for quite a bit money.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Due Diligence Cap Table Portfolio 120

David Teten

JANUARY 11, 2020

What tech stack should a microinfluencer use? Many investors including me spend most of our day doing the same things people have always done in our job: in my case, due diligence, deal execution, etc. They’re taking a $1m check from me, or giving $5m to me as a limited partner. Tech stack.

Social Media 60

Social Media Technical Review Media Private Equity 60

Rob Go

OCTOBER 6, 2013

For additional reading on this topic, check out this great article at the FRC review from Neil Roseman on Technical Hiring at Amazon. Every senior exec at every portfolio company likewise, has a set of data that they know cold about their function and comparable companies. More diligence doesn’t make VCs perform better.

Venture Capital 74

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review Due Diligence 74

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2011

One example is that they introduced a program where their founders can pool together shares from their company and exchange them for a small portfolio of other First Round Capital companies. In the early 80’s he left academia to work on venture capital investing with Jim Simons, Renaissance Technologies. and Half.com.

Pre-Money Valuation 284

Pre-Money Valuation Technical Review Cofounder Cram Down 284

David Teten

JULY 25, 2011

The opportunity in NY is clearly heating up, both literally and figuratively, as investors turned out in 100+ degree weather to hear about emerging technologies in the financial sector. Each of the startups made a solid case for the unique value proposition their technology would provide to the financial sector.

Software Review 114

Software Review New York City Technical Review Due Diligence 114

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

(co-written with Jamie Finney, Founding Partner at Greater Colorado Venture Fund. Our categorization is not a technical one. Additionally, Flexible VC can accommodate all types of companies, not just asset-lite, tech-enabled companies.”. Novel Growth Partners, Lighter Capital, Rev Up, Corl, Flow Capital. Of the Inc.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2014

Prorata rights are one of the most important rights of a private market technology investors and yet are seldom fully understood. A first or second-time fund has an easier time fund raising when they can show a few 4-8x’s in their portfolio than if they always average up. Why prorata rights are becoming a bigger deal to angels.

Technical Review 336

Technical Review Later Stage Early Stage LP 336

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 15, 2018

New products: creative solutions to enhance the products and services portfolio which can improve the customer journey. Loyalty and rewards: tech solutions and platforms, such as card-linking and alternative payment options, which are easily integrated into Avios, the airlines’ channels and retail partners. World class mentors.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Due Diligence Startup Analytics 60

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

My initial desire to blog came from something that’s always been my approach to investing – I’m a nerd and I love to play with the technology and part of my approach has really been to understand things both at a user level and at a reasonably deep tentacle level. Brad on blogging. How did you start blogging? “My Is that when it became big?

Technical Review 288

Technical Review Venture Capital Silicon Valley Software Review 288

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2010

If I’m interested I get to spend more time with them, if I’m not I don’t have to – A few companies per month come in that have fascinating business ideas that warrant my spending more time trying to understand their people, company, technology and market. I work hard, don’t get me wrong. We travel together.

Technical Review 312

Technical Review Due Diligence Spain Warrant 312

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 6, 2015

She had so much insight to share that we broke the interview into two parts, 1) Corporate Venture Capital and more broadly, 2) How the Fortune 500 Can Buy, Invest and Partner with the Innovation Economy (coming soon). . I recently had a chance to interview Mari Joller , an expert on corporate innovation, on this topic.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Balance Sheet Technical Review Portfolio 60

Up and Running

DECEMBER 27, 2018

It partners with many companies/inventors and splits the licensing revenue 50-50. It has more than 40,000 patents in its portfolio. So, if a bank agrees that you can use a patent as collateral, they essentially agree that it has significant value, based on their due diligence. It acquires patents from almost every domain.

Intellectual Property 93

Intellectual Property Technical Review Due Diligence Cofounder 93

David Teten

FEBRUARY 3, 2014

The venture capital industry is continuing its evolution from an upside-down pyramid (typically 3-10 Partners, plus some administrative support) to a traditional hierarchical pyramid. The median VC reviews 87 opportunities before making 1 investment. Detailed due diligence. Profiled initially. Target Selected.

Private Equity 114

Private Equity Venture Capital Technical Review Equity 114