Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

Limited Partners or LPs (the people who invest into VC funds) have taken notice as 2014 is by all accounts the busiest year for LPs since the Great Recession began. But it still takes VC to scale a business (thus large capital into industry winners like Uber, Airbnb, SnapChat, etc). The iPhone was released.

Technical Review 398

Technical Review Venture Capital Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 398

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

Similar to the explosion of seed funds in the past decade, we (and some limited partners too ) believe these Flexible VCs are on the forefront of what will become a major segment of the venture ecosystem. Early-stage: Cofounder with engineering/ product background from top-tier university or major technology company.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

thebarefootvc

JULY 3, 2017

I knew, because of my broad network, female and other minority founders would comprise a large percentage of the fund. Success in early stage investing is about spotting unique talent and collaborating with entrepreneurs to help grow their businesses, not a prescribed method of pattern recognition.

LP 65

LP Technical Review Silicon Valley Limited Partner 65

David Teten

AUGUST 15, 2013

Most VCs (including ff Venture Capital ) collect money from independent limited partners in order to form their fund. The most common tactic we’ve seen from large corporations is providing a package of benefits for startups in order to build relationships with early-stage companies. 1) Corporate Venture Capital.

Startup 114

Startup Technical Support Venture Capital Balance Sheet 114

ReadWriteStart

JULY 19, 2023

Big Sky Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm , has recently announced the launch of its inaugural fund, with $20 million in capital commitments. Initially, they assumed that venture capital and investing in funds were common knowledge among potential limited partners (LPs).

Kazakhstan 92

Kazakhstan Montana Venture Capital Miami 92

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2019

Yes, VC / Startup Funding is up Massively If you look at how much VC firms have raised from Limited Partners (LPs) over the past 2 decades you’ll see that we’ve returned to a level that we haven’t seen since 1999. And finally the best of the best are able to raise “growth funds” to complement their early-stage funds.

Venture Capital 292

Venture Capital IPO Mezzanine Early Stage 292

David Teten

MARCH 14, 2018

– Create a franchise and license access to it , e.g., the Draper Venture Network. Some of the VC fund’s own limited partners will typically invest in a SPV, plus the platform’s members can contribute additional capital. . I see a small number of other VCs at our stage pursuing a similar, expensive strategy. .

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Cofounder 60

Austin Startup

MARCH 15, 2021

Capital Factory has been the most active early stage investor in Texas since 2010, investing in hundreds of startups and collecting more than $100 million in pre-emptive investment rights to invest in hundreds more. Capital Factory has partnered with AngelList Rolling Funds to better meet the needs of today’s investors.

Accredited Investor 106

Accredited Investor Texas San Antonio San Francisco 106

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 2, 2010

A fund size of $25 – $100 million in normally an “early stage&# fund that is likely to do seed investments and/or smaller A round investments. A fund size of $100 million – $200 million is likely to either be an A round investor or “stage agnostic&#.

Venture Capital 269

Venture Capital Balance Sheet Early Stage Software Review 269

David Teten

JANUARY 9, 2018

That said, one limitation in early-stage investing particularly is that 2022’s growth sectors probably don’t fit neatly into a vertical we can define today. a “Bitcoin Fund”, a “Social Media Fund”, a “Nanotech Fund”), you’re going to raise capital from Limited Partners who are very focused on Theme X.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Private Equity Silicon Valley Differentiation 60

David Teten

JANUARY 9, 2018

That said, one limitation in early-stage investing particularly is that 2022’s growth sectors probably don’t fit neatly into a vertical we can define today. a “Bitcoin Fund”, a “Social Media Fund”, a “Nanotech Fund”), you’re going to raise capital from Limited Partners who are very focused on Theme X.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Private Equity Silicon Valley Differentiation 60

David Teten

JULY 25, 2017

We also have a better known brand than some of our early stage companies, so we can leverage that to help source talent. Effectively, we are a market maker between our portfolio companies and the late-stage VCs and large enterprises which are our co-investors. For example, we provide direct coaching on how to pitch investors.

Portfolio 60

Portfolio Technical Review Private Equity Database 60

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 30, 2016

I wanted to encourage more of our Limited Partner (LPs, or the people who invest in VC funds) to attend our annual meeting in person. Our format is simple: We do one day with just LPs and VCs so that we can first network amongst our peers and learn what the changes in our industry are. So I decided to change up our format a bit.

Community 150

Community Los Angeles LP Portfolio 150

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

And I also now have to raise money myself, but this time from bigger institutions that our industry calls LPs (limited partners). If you’re raising money in Financial Services I’ve never met a more knowledgeable investor than my partner, Brian McLoughlin. He’s awesome for early-stage entrepreneurs.

Developer 366

Developer Silicon Valley PR Las Vegas 366

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 21, 2016

I met with a family office investor yesterday and we were talking about his family's interest in diversifying their investments into early stage companies. Without a plan, without a network, without trust, without transparency, or a path to learning that doesn't mean you're an investor. That makes you a gambler, or a hobbyist.

Due Diligence 82

Due Diligence Limited Partner Early Stage Networking 82

Agile VC

JULY 19, 2012

This is true not only in a firm’s dealings with entrepreneurs but also with it’s limited partners and even within the firm among its partners. A firm that’s continuously managed to look beyond it’s network has been Sequoia. Like many leading firms CRV used this opportunity to raise a huge $1.2

Cofounder 193

Cofounder Limited Partner Early Stage LP 193

Growthink Blog

JUNE 28, 2010

The 3 traditional methods of early-stage private equity diversification all have significant drawbacks: 1. They, however, are both professional investors and technologists, and deeply networked into the core U.S. Increasingly in recent years, there have sprung up angel investor networking groups around the country.

Private Equity 63

Private Equity Technical Review Silicon Valley Los Angeles 63

Growthink Blog

JUNE 28, 2010

The 3 traditional methods of early-stage private equity diversification all have significant drawbacks: 1. They, however, are both professional investors and technologists, and deeply networked into the core U.S. Increasingly in recent years, there have sprung up angel investor networking groups around the country.

Private Equity 63

Private Equity Technical Review Silicon Valley Los Angeles 63

Steve Blank

JUNE 1, 2011

Investors get board seats to assure themselves and their limited partners that they are duly informed about their investment. 3) An experienced board brings an extensive network of customers, partners, help in recruiting, follow-on financing, etc. From a VC’s point of view there are two reasons for board meetings.

Silicon Valley 290

Silicon Valley Business Model Venture Capital Balance Sheet 290

Eric Friedman

AUGUST 18, 2021

He is also co-founder and Managing Partner of Deciens Capital, an early stage investment fund. What I mean by this is that a lot of folks are perched on soap boxes across social networks, shouting from the hilltops. Today, we are lucky to welcome Dan Kimerling of Deciens Capital. You take a more tacit approach.

Silicon Valley 88

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Cofounder Africa 88

VC Cafe

MARCH 27, 2022

As an investor, it’s not always easy to assess the team at the very early stage, especially if they didn’t come from working in the space before. Regardless of the space, Limited Partners, investors in venture funds, want to know the ESG (environmental, social and governance) impact of their investments.

Cofounder 179

Cofounder Venture Capital Equity 179

Steve Blank

JUNE 1, 2011

Investors get board seats to assure themselves and their limited partners that they are duly informed about their investment. 3) An experienced board brings an extensive network of customers, partners, help in recruiting, follow-on financing, etc. From a VC’s point of view there are two reasons for board meetings.

Silicon Valley 258

Silicon Valley Business Model Venture Capital Balance Sheet 258

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

There’s no doubt (at least anecdotally) that the pace of VC investments in early-stage technology companies has picked up in the past few months. I hear from several sources that Sequoia is very active in the market aggressively chasing several deals and even driving up prices on some early-stage deals.

IPO 255

IPO Investment Bankers Venture Capital Marketing 255

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

They are tech-enabled companies that provide high-yield investments for fund limited partners (LPs) that perform like bonds but generate returns on par with equity investments. Founders First Capital Partners defines these high performing organizations as Zebra Companies.”. Apply for funding.

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

K9 Ventures

MAY 14, 2011

In my view the terminology being used for early stage investors by the press and the media is not as clear as it should be. I’ve talked about this on several occasions when I’ve been at conference and on panels, but I figured it would make sense to do a post explaining my taxonomy of the early-stage investing world.

Preferred Stock 125

Preferred Stock Seed Stage Incubator Early Stage 125

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2010

But when I’m looking to invest the dollars that my Limited Partners have entrusted my firm with I’m going with my view. He invested $8 million in a company in the computer networking space. Large early stage rounds. • He invested $8 million in a company in the computer networking space. Closing text.

Entrepreneur 321

Entrepreneur Warrant Silicon Valley Early Stage 321

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

While my company may not have lasted, and even though I swore to myself that I wouldn't do another startup--this recently launched new venture is moving forward with the help of some fantastic partners. million of limited partner commitments--a huge and exciting first step.

LP 112

LP New York City New York Chad 112

This is going to be BIG.

JULY 8, 2013

When you''re out on the road pitching, and getting people to believe in you, you feel a deep sense of responsibility to your limited partners--and there isn''t a day when you don''t wonder why you didn''t just take some easy corporate job where no one would notice if you weren''t working productively.

Venture Capital 167

Venture Capital Early Stage Portfolio Private Equity 167

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 13, 2011

Investors get board seats to assure themselves and their limited partners that they are duly informed about their investment. An experienced board brings an extensive network of customers, partners, help in recruiting, follow-on financing, etc. From a VCs point of view there are two reasons for board meetings.

Silicon Valley 117

Silicon Valley Balance Sheet Metrics Early Stage 117

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 22, 2016

Since I started working at First Round Capital back in 2009, very few early stage investors seem to be doing the same kinds of deals at the same stage today as they did back then. I'll never get it right 100% of the time, but I realize now, more than I ever have, how these relationships add up to a network over a career.

New York City 60

New York City New York Venture Capital Limited Partner 60

Austin Startup

MARCH 7, 2021

It possesses a strong corporate base, talented workforce, and a vast network of nationally ranked universities, startup development organizations and innovation-minded companies to support a robust tech ecosystem,” said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. AT&T Pension Fund and the DIRECTV Pension Plan.

Texas 90

Texas San Antonio Houston Dallas 90

Feld Thoughts

AUGUST 1, 2018

The $750 million fund combines all of our prior fund strategies – our early stage, early growth, and partner fund investments – into a single fund. For historical reference, our early-stage funds (FG 2007, FG 2010, FG 2013, and FG 2016) are all $225 million in size.

Syndicate 17

Syndicate Syndication IRR Canada 17

Rob Go

NOVEMBER 30, 2015

In October, we held our annual Limited Partners meeting at NextView. This is happening because many series A investors are not really investing in early stage companies any more. In fact, many of these investors are not just looking for early product/market fit, but for meaningful scale and growth.

Later Stage 28

Later Stage Marketing Early Stage Ratchet 28

Professor VC

DECEMBER 8, 2015

Musk was the early winner taking the CEO role (for a brief period) in the merged company and the largest equity stake as well. I was a Limited Partner in Angel Investors II (Ron Conway's angel fund) that was an investor in Confinity. At the IPO, Musk held a 14.2% stake vs Thiel's 5.6% (Sequoia Capital had 10.7%).

Merger 28

Merger LP IPO Redemption 28

K9 Ventures

NOVEMBER 30, 2008

However, even though this is a young industry, I’m going to posit that “early-stage” venture capital as it exists today is broken and in need of reform. On average, each partner needs to deploy $50M over 5 years, or $10M per year. The most constrained resource for a partner at a venture firm is time.

IRR 48

IRR Venture Capital LP Early Stage 48

Professor VC

FEBRUARY 26, 2010

Rather than going through their networks or targeting specific sectors for deal flow, they are going to rely on an algorithm to select companies. My first reaction is incredulity that limited partners would buy into this idea. Seed stage investing is all about the team, so there may be something to this idea.

San Jose 28

San Jose Silicon Valley Venture Capital Angel Investor 28

Professor VC

SEPTEMBER 24, 2009

I was a limited partner in Angel Investors, LP, Ron Conways fund in the late 1990s. Don't Stop Believin' Is There Any Truth in "The Social Network"? I take CFO roles in early stage companies and participate on the management team during the early financings and business model development phases.

San Jose 33

San Jose Angel Investor Venture Capital Mezzanine 33