View from Seed

MAY 2, 2019

As the seed stage that atomized and series A rounds have become larger and more traction based, the paths to series A have changed. 500K in angel or pre-seed funding -> Raise a $2–3M institutional seed -> Raise an A. This is the logical path that one would think is pretty “standard” for early stage companies.

Early Stage 214

Early Stage Dilution Valuation .Net 214

View from Seed

JUNE 10, 2020

Many of these Founders we wouldn’t have had an opportunity to connect with if we hadn’t launched this program. When the point of the program is a Demo Day show at the end, all of the participating companies need to be in lock-step. all designed to scale, it requires a logistical effort with a rigid timeline.

Cofounder 177

Cofounder Syndicate Syndication Alabama 177

View from Seed

OCTOBER 21, 2014

As the seed-stage startup fundraise process has received more transparency in recent years, ranging from published advice on how to raise seed capital to increased availability through AngelList, Funders Club, and various accelerator programs, I’ve noticed another trend emerging.

Valuation 336

Valuation Founder Seed Stage Angel Investor 336

Professor VC

SEPTEMBER 26, 2011

How would Billy Beane have done as an early stage investor? Below is a short description of their philosophy: "The part of our philosophy that makes us most different from other startup investors is that we dont believe gut feel is a reliable indicator of potential at the seed stage. ProfessorVC. Steve Bennet. at 2:32 PM.

Technical Review 38

Technical Review Early Stage San Jose Angel Investor 38

Feld Thoughts

MAY 8, 2012

Yesterday I sent emails out passing on participating in two seed rounds for companies I really like. They had lots of investors trying to invest and each company was competitive with two other seed stage companies we’ve seen in the past 30 days. This translates into about a dozen new investments a year plus or minus a few.

Seed Stage 138

Seed Stage LP Warrant Syndicate 138

Hunter Walker

MARCH 8, 2014

If you’re graduating this spring and starting a career in tech, I’ve got one piece of advice: go work at a midstage startup (I’ll define that as B/C rounds of financing – eg Twilio, Stripe, Airbnb, Warby). Here’s why: 1. You have the resources to build and launch, which means your work will see the light of day.

Liquidity Event 134

Liquidity Event Early Stage Seed Stage Startup 134

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 16, 2021

Out of hundreds of applications, we selected six pre-seed stage teams building companies shaping a brighter collective future by combining software and creativity to drive change in the lives of everyday people — their businesses include everything from empowering local main street businesses to making automobile insurance more accessible.

Seed Stage 285

Seed Stage Programming Finance B2B 285

The Next Web

NOVEMBER 20, 2013

Thus, there is going to be a bit of tightening within the early stage VC space in India over the next couple of years. Furthermore, given the government’s programs to attract top notch VCs and tech companies, it has become a great place to raise capital and base your Asian operations over the past half-decade.

Asia 123

Asia Silicon Valley India China 123

View from Seed

JANUARY 11, 2023

With three accelerator cohorts under our belts and 17 graduated teams to turn to for feedback, we’re more confident than ever that our white-glove approach has lent itself well to the kind of program our industry was lacking. Read on to learn more and decide whether this is the right program for you.

Programming 156

Programming Sacramento San Francisco Founder 156

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 26, 2022

Obviously the funding environment has changed considerably in 2022 but as early-stage investors our daily jobs stay largely unchanged. And while over the past few years we have been laser-focused on cash returns, we are equally planting seeds for our next 10–15 years of returns by actively investing in today’s market.

San Francisco 408

San Francisco Early Stage Venture Capital Los Angeles 408

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 13, 2010

Investment in training, adherence to process, global knowledge sharing systems, quality control / partner reviews and campus recruitment programs that attracted the right talent. “Reality is, at the seed stage, most rocketships look more like the cardboard variety you’d make as a kid than something NASA developed.

Turkey 302

Turkey Differentiation IP Technical Review 302

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 15, 2020

Robert and I talked about how it's working, the science of pseudoviruses and reporter genes, how his father's example in science and business set him on his path, and how to bridge the gap between science and finance. Now they have a $500 million program to try to make an antigen diagnostic, which is exactly what I'm working on.

Technical Review 68

Technical Review Software Review Finance Technology 68

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2011

With new micro VC entrants into to early-stage investing plus increased competition from angels, incubators and the like – traditional VCs have taken notice. So VCs spent a couple of years experimenting with earlier-stage investing, which is OK. The Explosion in Early-Stage Innovation. There are also others.

Venture Capital 296

Venture Capital Software LP Early Stage 296

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

The popularity of convertible notes is increasing in the world of startup financing, especially in seed-stage companies. It is attractive for seed-stage companies that have not had time to show much traction in terms of their product or revenue. For any (early stage) startup, the team is the most critical asset.

Cap Table 112

Cap Table Pre-Money Valuation Stock Options Option Pool 112

dondodge.typepad.com

JANUARY 15, 2011

Entrepreneurs face some pretty tough questions at a very early stage. How much equity should I grant to early employees? It isnt always possible to have a competitive bidding situation at each financing round so here are some guidelines for funding sources and percentages. Should I take Angel or VC money? 5% Managers -.25%

Equity 40

Equity Employee Dilution Valuation 40

mashable.com

SEPTEMBER 12, 2011

million in venture financing. No doubt early-stage companies can be started on a shoestring by low-paid entrepreneurs, but when financing a scalable, sustainable product, a free application server won’t make much of a difference. In fact, it’s barely even the beginning for most companies in their seed stage financings.

Startup 79

Startup Social Media RSS Social Network 79

Seeing Both Sides

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

Understanding the market and establishing product/market fit is a critical seed-stage milestone. When Udi Mokady and Alon Cohen launched CyberArk — the darling of the cybersecurity industry, with a market capitalization of nearly $2 billion — the founders abandoned the local strategy early on. Partner with Foreign VCs.

Cofounder 20

Cofounder Technical Review United States 20

www.currentlyobsessed.com

MAY 28, 2010

It hardly deserves any attention at all in the early stages. For some closing thoughts, I’ll just add that: Valuation tends to be too much of a focus for most early stage companies. I know this sounds crazy, but it’s not. That’s a nice way of putting it. For example, liquidation prefs.

Valuation 42

Valuation Channel Pre-Money Valuation Term Sheet 42

View from Seed

APRIL 20, 2020

As we have discussed elsewhere, the world of early stage investing is shifting from FOMO ( F ear O f M issing O ut) to FOLD (Fear Of Looking Dumb). To address these issues directly, we at NextView are launching a new program focused on Accelerating the Everyday Economy. Further capitalizing the company for success.

B2B 436

B2B Seed Stage B2C Programming 436

mashable.com

NOVEMBER 3, 2010

For the first-time entrepreneur or founder looking for seed stage funding, this circle can be especially difficult to penetrate. Mashable Mashable reached out to angels, seed stage investors and VC firm partners and asked them to share their wisdom with the rest of us. and Path Intelligence.

Angel Investor 80

Angel Investor Startup San Francisco Social Media 80

techcrunch.com

SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

There has been no shortage of controversy and criticism around the convertible note, a popular investing vehicle that’s used by seed stage and angel investors. As a refresher, a convertible note is a loan that automatically converts into equity upon the closing of a Series A round of financing.

Equity 87

Equity San Francisco Technical Review Angel Investor 87

www.vccafe.com

MARCH 11, 2013

Seed Startups. VC Cafe covers early stage Israeli and European tech & mobile startups. easy business finance software. YCombinator Series AA Equity Financing Documents. Series Seed Documents â?? Fenwick & West Seed Investment Standard Forms, used by most angels. Seed Stage Valuation Guide.

Software Review 53

Software Review Technical Review Startup 53

pandodaily.com

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

Firms like Accel and Greylock and Menlo Ventures announced discovery or seed funds, while other firms like Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz pioneered stealthy scout programs to give entrepreneurs their money, whether they knew it or not. In fact, if anything, there are fewer. But the Series A has remained the same.

Technical Review 93

Technical Review Silicon Valley Incubator Syria 93