Agile VC

JULY 16, 2014

To these folks, Boston’s founder pool is a leaky bucket… a young founder who moves to Silicon Valley, New York, or elsewhere is a sign of frailty of Boston’s startup ecosystem. And talent flows in many directions (all three co-founders of NextView are all Silicon Valley transplants to Boston).

Boston 208

Boston Silicon Valley San Francisco Cofounder 208

Agile VC

JANUARY 4, 2012

Founders Hardi Meybaum and Indrek Narusk originally started building the company in their native Estonia before moving to Boston to join the hub of SaaS / CAD software companies located here. Im a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur turned East Coast VC. It’s really been a pleasure for me to work with these guys. zhoucn9999.

Community 100

Community Estonia Syndicate Syndication 100

Agile VC

APRIL 17, 2011

Kayak was started here in my backyard of Boston… co-founder & CTO Paul English and the product/engineering team is based here in Concord MA. Co-founder & CEO Steve Hafner and the business team are based in Norwalk, CT. Led by General Catalyst with participation by co-founders Steve Hafner & Paul English.

Pre-Money Valuation 113

Pre-Money Valuation Liquidation Preference Dividend Common Stock 113

Agile VC

JULY 26, 2019

When meeting with founders we now often ask them what their favorite future is for their startup. We ask it in the hopes of gaining a deeper understanding of the founders’ long run vision for the business and to glean some insights into their underlying motivations for being an entrepreneur. So what’s your favorite future?

Limited Partner 100

Limited Partner Founder Partner Startup 100

Agile VC

JANUARY 21, 2015

A population of founders, employees, investors, advisors, and others all aligned in trying to build large disruptive businesses is naturally prone to lofty, even over-the-top language. And when and how should founders communicate challenges with their employees, investors, or other stakeholders? How can we put things into context?

Cofounder 188

Cofounder Seed Stage Employee PR 188

Agile VC

DECEMBER 19, 2013

Angel investing, particularly for entrepreneurs and others who’ve chosen a startup career path, can be rewarding in many different ways. 3) Pathway to VC Role - Many former entrepreneurs who ultimately become VCs had at least some experience as angels prior to joining a VC firm or starting their own firm.

Angel Investor 265

Angel Investor Early Stage Syndicate Syndication 265

Agile VC

APRIL 2, 2013

It occurred to me that we usually refer to entrepreneurs associated with a startup as being “behind” the company or phenomenon. I mean this not simply as a paean for entrepreneurs. So most founders don’t really feel like “inventors” And so we end up with so-and-so, the folks behind company X.

Founder 100

Founder Entrepreneur Employee Startup 100

Agile VC

JUNE 17, 2015

We see co-working spaces where the ratio of work to non-work (ping pong, beer, startup talks, etc) is pretty low, while elsewhere founders enamored with the lifestyle or perception of being an entrepreneur, believing they’ve made it once their company raises a Series B.

Startup 188

Startup Cofounder Seed Stage IPO 188

Agile VC

JANUARY 21, 2015

A population of founders, employees, investors, advisors, and others all aligned in trying to build large disruptive businesses is naturally prone to lofty, even over-the-top language. And when and how should founders communicate challenges with their employees, investors, or other stakeholders? How can we put things into context?

Cofounder 100

Cofounder Seed Stage Employee PR 100

Agile VC

JULY 19, 2012

First and foremost, it’s worth emphasizing that greatness as a VC firm is derived primarily from helping exceptional entrepreneurs build enduring companies. 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.

Cofounder 193

Cofounder Limited Partner Early Stage LP 193

Agile VC

AUGUST 1, 2016

We like to back authentic founders here at NextView… entrepreneurs who have experience and unique perspective on the market they’re trying to transform. Today we announced our investment in The Outline, a new digital media company founded by CEO Josh Topolsky.

Cofounder 100

Cofounder Media Internet Founder 100

Agile VC

JANUARY 22, 2014

We signed a term sheet with Ben for Change Collective’s round shortly before the holidays and he did a great job bringing in our friends at Founder Collective as a co-lead and Eniac Ventures and a small set of angels in a short time.

Term Sheet 173

Term Sheet Cofounder Mobile Cloud 173

Agile VC

OCTOBER 5, 2012

One of the most common questions I get is “What’s the best career path to becoming a founder someday?” ” The very short answer is that most people who are ultimately founders (or usually co-founders ) of a company “tack” towards that goal in a series of career steps.

Founder 217

Founder Cofounder Later Stage Operations 217

Agile VC

JUNE 5, 2011

Even for those who don’t care to dive into the numbers, it’s worth a quick glance because co-founder/CEO Andrew Mason wrote a letter which forms the preamble of the full document. Im a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur turned East Coast VC. Groupon’s become a juggernaut in the immense local marketing space.

North America 100

North America Chicago Boston Silicon Valley 100

Agile VC

SEPTEMBER 16, 2014

All of us at NextView extend our congratulations to founder Hardi Meybaum and the rest of the GrabCAD team. I was impressed by Hardi as an entrepreneur in our first meeting there in the Seedcamp mentoring sessions. GrabCAD today announced their acquisition by Stratasys (NASDAQ: SSYS).

Boston 154

Boston Acquisition Estonia Viral 154

Agile VC

JUNE 17, 2015

We see co-working spaces where the ratio of work to non-work (ping pong, beer, startup talks, etc) is pretty low, while elsewhere founders enamored with the lifestyle or perception of being an entrepreneur, believing they’ve made it once their company raises a Series B.

Startup 100

Startup Cofounder Seed Stage IPO 100

Agile VC

JANUARY 12, 2012

Even the best entrepreneurs often hear “no” from potential investors. As a result, we frequently spend time with entrepreneurs before they’ve started fundraising or while they’re still contemplating various pathways for funding their businesses. Im a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur turned East Coast VC.

Seed Stage 100

Seed Stage Silicon Valley Syndicate Syndication 100

Agile VC

AUGUST 2, 2011

I thought this was an incredibly apt depiction of great entrepreneurs and innovators. Or as my friend and mentor Reid Hoffman says being a founder is like throwing yourself off a cliff and assembling an airplane on the way down. Well perhaps the most disuptive entrepreneurs are a little out of their mind… in a good way.

Silicon Valley 113

Silicon Valley Seed Stage Syndicate Syndication 113

Agile VC

MAY 21, 2012

The expanding universe of potential buyers is a great thing for founders. We’ll see how long they remain exciting, innovative places to work but at least for now I think most founders who contemplate an acquisition would be open to having their company and team be part of a Facebook, LinkedIn, or Zynga. Pingback: this.

Acquisition 162

Acquisition Silicon Valley B2B Seed Stage 162

Agile VC

APRIL 27, 2012

We love meeting entrepreneurs who take this blank canvas approach when thinking about disrupting markets. My partner David recently wrote about how investors tend to bring their own inherent biases (both good and bad) into pitch meetings with entrepreneurs. Im a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur turned East Coast VC.

Silicon Valley 124

Silicon Valley Seed Stage Syndicate Syndication 124

Agile VC

JULY 15, 2015

I described our existing investments in Whoop and Konekt and our thinking more broadly on businesses that have a hardware component.

Internet 100

Internet Stealth Cofounder Seed Stage 100

Agile VC

JULY 15, 2015

I described our existing investments in Whoop and Konekt and our thinking more broadly on businesses that have a hardware component.

Internet 100

Internet Stealth Cofounder Seed Stage 100

Agile VC

MAY 16, 2012

Rather these firms know that there are countless bright, hard-working entrepreneurs out there thinking 24/7 about the next big thing and so they remain open to these innovative ideas even if the firm hasn’t previously formed a specific investment thesis about that space. Im a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur turned East Coast VC.

Seed Stage 124

Seed Stage Silicon Valley B2B Syndicate 124

Agile VC

FEBRUARY 28, 2012

Startups in NextView’s portfolio frequently receive inbound interest from other VC investors who are intrigued about what they’re doing, and I often talk with other early-stage entrepreneurs how to approach similar situations. Im a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur turned East Coast VC. Author howerl. Read More ».

Early Stage 100

Early Stage Syndicate Syndication Silicon Valley 100

Agile VC

DECEMBER 5, 2011

Objective Logistics co-founders Philip Beauregard and Matt Grace sent out this illustration immediately after the round was announced which I think keeps this in perspective nicely. Im a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur turned East Coast VC. This team knows the really hard work lies ahead and remains totally focused on that.

Silicon Valley 100

Silicon Valley Seed Stage Syndicate Syndication 100

Agile VC

JULY 11, 2012

Should there be a notion of “founder equity” for those individuals who put in the hard work to start a firm and build the brand? Paul Ferri @ Matrix) though the vast majority had multiple co-founders. Im a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur turned East Coast VC. But it’s not quite that simple. link] leehower.

Silicon Valley 240

Silicon Valley Carried Interest Cofounder Boston 240

Agile VC

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

the Sequoia’s and Greylock’s of the world) or sometimes its based on the entrepreneurial successes of the founders of new firms (e.g. A16Z today or Founders Fund or General Catalyst a few years ago). For some firms that promise seems very sound based on funds well before the most recent one (e.g.

LP 154

LP Portfolio Venture Capital IRR 154

Agile VC

JUNE 25, 2012

The company has been in stealth mode for the last couple months but I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about NextView’s investment in the company and our enthusiasm to be working with co-founders Dan Foody and Alex Cote. I first met co-founder/CEO Dan Foody a little over six months ago. Overall, great find! Read More ».

Cofounder 140

Cofounder Stealth Silicon Valley Mobile 140

Agile VC

OCTOBER 29, 2014

Very small funds may not have any large institutions as LP investors, just individuals, but even the largest and most established VC funds often have “sidecar” funds to enable a select group of individuals to invest in their funds (typically entrepreneurs the firm knows well). Should they care?

Venture Capital 279

Venture Capital LP Private Equity Institutional Investors 279

Agile VC

APRIL 13, 2012

I describe this in part as the “Social Network” effect… not just the movie itself but the example of Mark Zuckerberg and many other high profile young founders as role models ( who can forget this image? ) Im a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur turned East Coast VC. Read More ».

Silicon Valley 185

Silicon Valley San Francisco San Jose Startup 185

Agile VC

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

All three have perspective as both entrepreneurs and as investors / advisors in the startup board room. Each startup CEO has their own style and each board has its own quirks in terms of composition and DNA (size, investors vs founders vs independents, etc). single slide board mtgs).

Startup 209

Startup Early Stage Leadership Conversion 209

Agile VC

MAY 10, 2012

I first met Matija Kopic, Farmeron’s co-founder & CEO, a few months ago. It was one of those first meetings where you’re instantly impressed by an entrepreneur and the ambitious vision they’re pursuing. Im a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur turned East Coast VC. this is a smart investment. Read More ».

Silicon Valley 223

Silicon Valley Cofounder Seed Stage Syndicate 223

Agile VC

JUNE 12, 2012

Both are building on top of the existing credit card infrastructure because as Swipely Founder/CEO Angus Davis points out, millions of people are walking around with a mobile payment device in their pocket… it’s called a credit card. Im a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur turned East Coast VC. Read More ».

Mobile 250

Mobile Disintermediation SMS Government 250