View from Seed

JANUARY 26, 2016

In the next post, I’ll talk about how we think about pre-seeds at NextView. It’s become increasingly common for startups to raise several seed rounds, and this has led to a bifurcation in the seed stage between what are known as “pre-seed” (or “genesis”) and institutional seed rounds.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Early Stage Cofounder Finance 120

Hunter Walker

NOVEMBER 21, 2018

When they’re at seed stage, we’re deferring to the founders’ decisions but also trying to help them understand the challenges associated with a hard pivot if their cap table isn’t supportive of the direction. Startups are really hard. My opinion? We’re prepared to take the risk and redeploy. .

Founder 97

Founder Cap Table Seed Stage Cofounder 97

Hunter Walker

APRIL 20, 2018

Like we do at the seed stage, USV almost always plays the role of “ lead investor.” I’m suspect of any early stage lead investor who isn’t willing or interested to spend the majority of their time with their companies (even though I see them pretty frequently in the market).

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Lead Investor Portfolio Reputation 48

Haystack

SEPTEMBER 2, 2018

I am not here to judge what the investor cited in the tweet did or didn’t do well. What I do feel deeply, however, is that we all in the early-stage startup ecosystem are likely being a bit too over-protective. For any startup selling an annual license, the deal may not get signed right away.

Seed Stage 76

Seed Stage Seed Capital Equity Europe 76

Feld Thoughts

DECEMBER 15, 2016

I wrote about this a lot in my book Startup Boards: Getting the Most Out of Your Board of Directors. In pre-seed and seed stage companies, there’s been a trend against having board of directors. Post seed boards tend to be founder and investor-centric. It’s a bad default that needs to be reset.

Sales 70

Sales Seed Stage Early Stage Finance 70

Rob Go

JULY 17, 2014

NextView Ventures II is $40M, twice the size of our first fund, and we continue to be exclusively focused on seed-stage companies pursuing internet-enabled innovation. As former operators and product-oriented entrepreneurs, Dave, Lee, and I tend to think of our firm as a startup company and our approach to investing as our product.

Seed Stage 69

Seed Stage Early Stage Due Diligence Liquidity Event 69

View from Seed

OCTOBER 22, 2015

Theoretically, a firm can pass on a startup anywhere prior to closing (term sheets truly are non-binding from a contractual standpoint). So you should be looking for this level signal and, if you’re getting it, know that it’s in the early stages but progressing in the right way.

Term Sheet 120

Term Sheet Due Diligence Seed Stage Seed Capital 120

K9 Ventures

OCTOBER 19, 2015

Another comment by Marks: “Following the trends that are popular at a point in time certainly isn’t a formula for investment success, since popularity is likely to lead investors on a path that is comfortable but pointed in the wrong direction.” Yes, it’s complicated (a lot more than software!) .”​

Venture Capital 48

Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Valuation Portfolio 48