Feld Thoughts

MARCH 24, 2017

Foundry Group is best known for our investments in startups, but our vehicle currently investing in other venture funds, Foundry Group Next, is off to what we believe to be a great start and I wanted to share an update about it by talking about our new investment in a fund managed by Founder Collective. It starts with the people.

Founder 75

Founder LP Technical Review Seed Stage 75

thebarefootvc

JANUARY 27, 2014

I think that later stage valuations are frothy (for reasons I explain below) while earlier stage valuations are starting to stabilize from previous highs (with the exception of the superstar serial entrepreneur) - turns out scaling in a sea of competition (both startup and entrenched) is not so easy. The answer is yes and yes.

Technical Review 63

Technical Review Valuation Venture Capital Investment Bankers 63

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 19, 2017

by Marek Danyluk, managing partner at Space Executive. Venture capital fundraising can be divided into three stages: seed, early stage, and later stage. According to the same report by KPMG, the median deal size is the largest for later-stage funding, at $26 million.

Venture Capital 196

Venture Capital Asia Artificial Inteligence Later Stage 196

David Teten

MAY 9, 2012

We are in the midst of two great disruptions to American business: the internet’s ongoing disruption of most traditional industries: finance, healthcare, retail, finance, fashion, etc. Founded in 1970, NAIC firms invest in venture (early stage/later stage) and private equity (growth/buyout/mezzanine/distressed/secondary funds).

Venture Capital 154

Venture Capital Programming Accredited Investor New York 154

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

David's firm most recently participated in the $77 million second round financing of SoFi, a one year old startup focusing on student loans. I suppose, more specifically, the bubble ended in the last two weeks of September--right after this financing. The other entrepreneur quoted in the story is from a guy pitching a Pinterest clone.

Venture Capital 114

Venture Capital Marketing Term Sheet Software Review 114

Reid Hoffman

MARCH 9, 2021

Another of Bezos’ trademark strengths is his willingness to embrace management innovation. For example, one of the management innovations that distinguishes Amazon from all the other major tech companies is its writing culture. But for some companies the secret sauce might be engineering or finance. Sometimes, it’s not obvious.

Leadership 42

Leadership Technical Review Cofounder Later Stage 42

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). And even with the significant cost of credit card debt, many entrepreneurs aggressively use existing cards to finance a startup.

Private Equity 118

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 118

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 9, 2017

by Tina Hay, founder and CEO of Napkin Finance. One of the most important factors in becoming a successful entrepreneur is managing finances. Whether early or later-stage, the growth of every company most often depends on how much capital is available to fund its growth.

Burn Rate 100

Burn Rate B2C Finance Later Stage 100

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Analytics vs. Finance?—?what’s In reality, these two domains require quite different skill sets (more on this later). Finance is about reporting on historical performance and future planning through the lens of financial metrics. This is a bit of an oversimplification as there are many sub-disciplines within finance?—?accounting/controller,

Analytics 149

Analytics Hiring SQL Forecast 149

Seeing Both Sides

AUGUST 28, 2017

I wonder, for example, if our portfolio company, Codecademy , would have avoided its latest financing round and instead created “CodeCoin” in order to incent contributors to software development lesson plans and a marketplace for coding content? In short, token sales allow early stage companies to skip the series B round and beyond.

Early Stage 20

Early Stage Equity Venture Capital Government 20

Seeing Both Sides

AUGUST 28, 2017

I wonder, for example, if our portfolio company, Codecademy , would have avoided its latest financing round and instead created “CodeCoin” in order to incent contributors to software development lesson plans and a marketplace for coding content? In short, token sales allow early stage companies to skip the series B round and beyond.

Early Stage 20

Early Stage Equity Venture Capital Government 20

VC Adventure

MAY 5, 2022

BUT (and you knew there was a but here given the post title…) it’s a poor way to compare the relative performance of funds early, and even into the mid/later, stages of a fund’s life. management fee). This is a mistake. Recycling hurts IRR.

IRR 116

IRR Metrics Valuation LP 116

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 21, 2018

He was in a later-stage financing round and was talking with many investors. How to plan a fund raise before you even start The importance of in-person meetings and re-engagement in your process How to manage your psychology during a difficult raise How many VCs should you meet? And how do you prioritize your time ?

Term Sheet 217

Term Sheet Later Stage Demand Email 217

Gust

SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

To begin with, it is important to understand some basic facts about the world of entrepreneurial finance: There are many more entrepreneurs than there are investors, with the result that only one company out of every 400 that seeks venture funding actually receives it.

Angel Groups 159

Angel Groups Elevator Pitch Software Review Deal Flow 159

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 6, 2020

trillion, it is by far the largest of its sort in the world and financed projects that in other settings may not have passed investment criteria screens. [3]. Additionally, investment managers are attracted to matching long-dated pension liabilities with the extended duration nature of leased asset. municipal bond market.

Private Equity 164

Private Equity New York City Chicago Investment Bankers 164

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 8, 2018

I have served on the boards of several companies with just such VC talent at the table, partners in firms that made subsequent investments in companies where I either made early investments or led a group of fellow investors in early rounds of finance.

Covenant 97

Covenant Angel Investor Valuation Later Stage 97

Small Business Force

FEBRUARY 21, 2014

In early stage companies (and even some later stage or mature ones), there is no one area where most entrepreneurs and small business owners are lacking in just basic fundamentals, than in dealing with their company's finances and financial management. If don't generate it, you have nothing to manage.

Finance 37

Finance Management Forecast Entrepreneur 37

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

” If the “nut” is too high I usually veer them towards later-stage opportunities (post B or C round) where the comp is higher, the exit is more likely / nearer, the upside is still nice but obviously not the same as if you joined early). the standard 4-6% for a hired-gun CEO). ” (Warren Buffett).

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Liquidation Preference Silicon Valley IP 150

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 19, 2017

That is, how much should your company be willing to lose in cash every month as you make investments in staff and equipment that funds technology, sales, marketing and management. How Much Capital You Have Raised / Your Runway In general I recommend that in early-stage startups you try to raise at least 15-18 months of runway.

Burn Rate 212

Burn Rate Startup .Net Venture Capital 212

Steve Blank

JUNE 15, 2010

Certain VC’s like the new class of Super-Angels and small VC funds specialize in the early stage of a startup where you are searching for a business model. And some larger funds that specialize in later stage deals may have a partner or two who likes to invest at this stage. Is it for your technology? (In

Founder 231

Founder Vesting Later Stage Early Stage 231

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 28, 2010

VC Financings: 1. Summit is a hugely respected firm in Silicon Valley and a long-term “institution&# but they’re better known as more of a “private equity&# investor meaning that they do later stage investments in much larger companies that are profitable. I keep meaning to get him drunk to spill the stories.

Venture Capital 270

Venture Capital Cofounder Spain San Diego 270

Growthink Blog

MAY 10, 2012

Early Stage Investment (Series A & B) 4. Later Stage Investment (Series C, D, and so on) 5. Mezzanine Financing Most companies that raise equity capital and are eventually acquired or go public receive multiple rounds of financing first. Series B is the round that follows series A in early stage financing.

Equity 88

Equity Mezzanine Later Stage Venture Capital 88

Up and Running

AUGUST 17, 2015

Between my experiences as a management consultant, as well as my product and marketing roles at multiple tech companies, I felt that I had enough operational experience to make that leap sooner than later. When it came time for me to decide on whether or not to attend business school, I knew I wanted to eventually start my own company.

Entrepreneur 60

Entrepreneur Cofounder Angel Investor eCommerce 60

Hunter Walker

JUNE 21, 2014

One question entrepreneurs sometimes don’t ask when raising seed financing is “will this investor be able to follow on in future rounds.” Our LPs have a history of interest in this area and the economics are usually pretty standard (low/no management fee but some carry on profits).

Institutional Investors 91

Institutional Investors Dilution Later Stage Portfolio 91

Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). composed of these investors and management. For you who fit that description, nice work. It’s an option, even though an expensive one.

Private Equity 106

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 106

www.mint.com

MARCH 9, 2010

Mint is the best way to manage your money. This is how you can determine if the company management is optimistic (good), delusional (sometimes good, often necessary), or just plain pathological liars (always bad). Check out the personal finance topic by clicking here. 2 comments Mint Life Know your money. Live your life.

Software Review 68

Software Review Startup Post-Money Valuation Technical Review 68

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

The most important advice I could give you before you set out in fund raising mode is to understand that fund-raising a sales & marketing process and needs to be managed. You need to figure out how much time to spend with each prospect and you need to rigorously manage your time and the calendar. an investment in your company.

Term Sheet 332

Term Sheet Due Diligence Campaign Sales 332

The Equity Kicker

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

There’s been a lot of talk recently about what will happen to startup financing in 2016, including here on this blog. The consensus is definitely negative, but one thing that has buoyed my optimism about the prospects for our portfolio is the number of new funds raised in London recently.

Marketing 60

Marketing Institutional Investors Venture Capital Later Stage 60

K9 Ventures

JUNE 5, 2015

Together this means that Seed stage companies need to run longer and at a higher expense structure, meaning they need to raise a lot more capital. A re-jiggering of deal stages and sizes had begun in 2013. The management fee structure provides a perverse incentive to GPs to increase the size of their funds.

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Venture Capital Early Stage Valuation 48

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 31, 2019

Scott Kupor is the managing partner at Andreessen Horowitz, where he’s responsible for all operational aspects of running the firm. He's been with the firm since its inception in 2009 and has overseen its rapid growth, from three employees to 150+ and from $300 million in assets under management to more than $10 billion.

Lean 108

Lean Venture Capital Conversion IPO 108

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

However, in private markets, there is more room to optimize across all 11 steps of the investing process: firm management , marketing, fundraising , origination , manage relationships, due diligence, negotiation, monitoring, portfolio acceleration , reporting, and. 1) Manage the firm . This is harder than it sounds.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

A Crowded Space

AUGUST 26, 2013

Later Stages. Let’s look more broadly at later-stage equity financing. Do you think they will turn to the crowd and manage working with 1,000+ investors. Raising money on a website surrenders your secrecy. If startups want to stay quiet, crowd-funding is not an option.

Later Stage 87

Later Stage Liquidity Event Equity Vertical 87

Up and Running

JANUARY 30, 2014

About three months ago, a friend and I started Credential Cabinet , a service to help professionals manage their credentials and continuing education credits. Accelerators focus on early-stage startups, while incubators are geared toward later-stage startups. Coding the site was straightforward. Accelators.

Incubator 105

Incubator New York City Venture Capital Startup 105

The Entrepreneurial Mind

JUNE 14, 2010

They do play a role, but only a limited one with later stage businesses that have good cash flow. But, they still want high growth and they will be VERY active in the management of the business. The new reality of financing does not mean we are entering an age when no exciting new start-ups will be emerging.

Kentucky 56

Kentucky Washington Nashville Bootstrapping 56

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 9, 2010

I serve on the boards of several companies with just such VC talent at the table, partners in firms that made subsequent investments in companies where I either made early investments or led a group of fellow investors in early rounds of finance.

Covenant 59

Covenant Angel Investor Valuation Later Stage 59

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 1, 2009

Sloan Foundation , the Sloan School of Management at MIT , the Sloan program at Stanford , and the Sloan/Kettering Memorial Cancer Center in New York. Sloan realized that the traditional centralized management structures (like General Motors had in 1920) were poor fits for the management of GM’s already diverse product lines.

Silicon Valley 161

Silicon Valley United States RSS Customer Development 161

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 26, 2011

Wesabe taught us that social doesn't necessarily make managing finances online more appealing--and given Facebook's propensity to change privacy settings, I'm not sure a lot of people are going to want to manage their money on Facebook. What will Facebook do to things? What's the business model?

Technology 116

Technology Valuation Community Restful 116