View from Seed

FEBRUARY 9, 2022

You have 5-10 years of professional experience as a technology operator, founder, and/or investor. You have a deep desire to hone your skills as a venture capitalist and are ready to hustle to meet the next great founder. NextView is a thematic, seed-stage VC firm focused on the Everyday Economy with $500M+ of capital under management.

Technical Review 156

Technical Review North America Seed Stage Bandwidth 156

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

And from my perspective as an engaged seed stage venture investor, this makes them unfundable. So why do inexperienced (as entrepreneurs), ultra-skilled CTOs fall into the trap of engaging a business partner too early? . … Mark Suster defines founder vs. cofounder a bit more in Most Common Early Start-up Mistakes.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Cofounder CTO Hire Founder 150

View from Seed

MARCH 24, 2021

How to Sell Your Startup’s “Secret” Master Plan at the Seed Stage “Articulating and selling your long run vision is important, but trying to convince those that are deeply skeptical about it is simply a mutual waste of time.” Magic Graph: How Much Seed Capital Should You Raise? ” (Rob Go).

Seed Stage 177

Seed Stage Hiring IPO Analytics 177

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

You might like to think that a bunch of savvy venture capitalists saw a market niche for raising smaller funds or perhaps there was a generational shift where disgruntled junior partners spun out of bigger firms to start their own gigs. But the strangest thing about the decline in the seed stage only happened in the seed stage.

Venture Capital 328

Venture Capital Technical Review Seed Stage IPO 328

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.

Founder 75

Founder LP Technical Review Seed Stage 75

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

Most of these rhyme with what we’ve said in the past, but some have also evolved to fit the changing landscape and our own convictions about what really matters for founders and their investors at the seed stage. Belief #1: The best time to invest is early. And by early, we mean pre-traction. This is not what Nextview is about.

North America 120

North America Seed Stage Early Stage Lead Investor 120

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 21, 2023

This is a question startup founders ask themselves multiple times a week. It’s not just the competition against the incumbents and the large tech platforms that founders has to worry about, but most importantly is the company’s performance and product market fit. How are we doing? The benchmarks are based on the US market.

Retention 109

Retention Conversion Churn Rate B2C 109

The Next Web

NOVEMBER 20, 2013

George Deeb is the Managing Partner at Chicago-based Red Rocket Ventures , a startup consulting and financial advisory firm based in Chicago. If people are funding the business, they should get a premium because at the end of the day, cash funding founders are acting no different than a seed stage investor.

Cofounder 136

Cofounder Equity Founder Seed Stage 136

View from Seed

MARCH 11, 2020

When a founder is raising money, he/she should expect that any serious investor will conduct some level of due diligence before getting to yes. Seed stage companies will mostly face questions around the team and market. The types of diligence they should be doing are hopefully relatively costless to the founder.

Technical Review 279

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Seed Stage 279

The Equity Kicker

DECEMBER 5, 2013

As I’ve written before here at Forward Partners we work with entrepreneurs to help them launch and scale their companies in two different ways. Both sides are free to walk away. Whilst cash is important what really sets us apart is that we offer more than just investment.

Partner 117

Partner Software Review eCommerce Due Diligence 117

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

In general, VC decision-making can feel like a black box, which can be frustrating for founders who are trying to manage their fundraising process and timeline. Regardless, your singular goal is typically to drive towards a “Partner Meeting” where you can pitch the story and vision to the entire investment team.

Partner 196

Partner Seed Stage Restful Differentiation 196

View from Seed

JANUARY 13, 2021

The objection goes something like this: “yes, I can see rookie founders turning to you for a seed round. But won’t all good founders go to established firms that raise series A’s out of the gate?”. YC is a problem for seed funds because it sucks the oxygen out of the room from a talent standpoint.

Dilution 399

Dilution Later Stage Portfolio Technical Review 399

View from Seed

JANUARY 28, 2015

In the last six months, we’ve been asked and answered several key questions about seed-stage startups and raising seed capital. When we first launched this blog, we considered it a “physical” representation of our mission at NextView: Help founders give their companies the best possible start.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Seed Capital IPO Startup 120

Agile VC

DECEMBER 13, 2011

I looked at this founder’s prior startup, which ultimately had a successful exit, and then was happy to connect with him again as he launches a new project. In NextView’s case that’s seed stage internet and software companies. I co-founded NextView Ventures , a seed-stage VC firm based in Boston, in 2010.

Seed Stage 185

Seed Stage Silicon Valley Cofounder Technical Review 185

Mucker Lab

OCTOBER 10, 2023

In navigating the transition from founder-led sales to a structured approach, the pivotal question arises: when to hire a Sales Development Representative (SDR) or an Account Executive (AE) ? Additionally, exploring competitors and partners on LinkedIn provides avenues to connect with potential candidates.

Early Stage 78

Early Stage Sales Developer Development Team Review 78

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. Market Value.

Valuation 336

Valuation Founder Seed Stage Angel Investor 336

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 18, 2019

Brooklyn Bridge Ventures , the pre-seed and seed stage VC fund I run in NYC, has invested in 64 companies in the last six and a half years. Twenty-five of them have at least one female co-founder. Fifteen had co-founders over 40. Five have LGBTQ+ founders. Three teams have African-American founders.

Venture Capital 164

Venture Capital Portfolio Cofounder Seed Stage 164

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

One of the things that founders have the most angst about is whom they should have on their board and at what stage of the business. Why you should set up a board at the seed round of funding I know these days with SAFE documents and rolling convertible notes many founders prefer not to set up a board early on.

Venture Capital 236

Venture Capital Startup Angel Investor Silicon Valley 236

Entrepreneurs-Journey.com by Yaro Starak

AUGUST 19, 2021

Elizabeth Yin is the co-founder and General Partner of a venture capital firm that, and I quote from their website, invests in “hilariously early startups” Hustle Fund typically invests $25,000 as a starting point into startups that have yet to show any revenues.

Founder 98

Founder Partner Venture Capital Cofounder 98

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 9, 2019

*This post is part of our “pitch deck” series where we dissect the seed stage pitch deck and discuss the ideal flow for a pitch. After 12 years of hearing startup pitches, my favorite first 5 minutes came from John Katzman, the founder of 2U. At the time, 2U was pre-launch, raising what today would be considered a super-seed.

Southern California 159

Southern California Phoenix Technical Review Seed Stage 159

View from Seed

APRIL 16, 2015

An easy way to think about it is that value over time doesn’t go up and to the right in a straight line like this: Instead, it’s more of a stair step like this: So, what are the value inflection points that create the stair steps, and how does one think about it at the earliest stages? These might include: Bring on a technical co-founder.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Cofounder Early Stage Startup 120

View from Seed

JANUARY 27, 2021

. $100M is a meaningful increase from our $50M third fund, though it’s still quite small in the grand scheme of venture, especially amid the recent wave of late stage financings and SPACs. We believe that this fund is the perfect size for us to be the best possible partners to early-stage entrepreneurs today.

LP 411

LP Early Stage Seed Stage Venture Capital 411

View from Seed

OCTOBER 14, 2021

As someone relatively new to the VC space, I was particularly struck by the partners’ collective reflections regarding what has changed and what has remained the same. We are high-conviction, hands-on seed stage investors. We will continue to invest in founders who are redesigning the everyday economy. Check it out! .

Seed Stage 296

Seed Stage Portfolio Curation Vertical 296

View from Seed

APRIL 2, 2015

.” So it’s no wonder that one aspect of an early-stage startup’s existence can be perpetually up for debate: their graphic design. Now, I recognize that every founder wants their pitch deck and website design to be quality. The post Accidental VC: How Much Does Design Matter for Seed-Stage Startups?

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Design Startup Early Stage 120

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

(co-written with Jamie Finney, Founding Partner at Greater Colorado Venture Fund. From RBI, Flexible VCs borrow the ability to reap meaningful returns without demanding founders build for an exit. By tying payments to actual revenues, founders and investors remain aligned around the company’s real-time performance, good or bad.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

SiliconHills

FEBRUARY 8, 2024

Austin-based Perigon has closed on a $5 million seed stage round of financing led by LiveOak Venture Partners. Josh Rickel, co-founder, said the company plans to use the money to hire key employees and further develop its technology.

Austin 71

Austin Seed Stage Cofounder Finance 71

Hunter Walker

AUGUST 31, 2023

” That was the email one of Ethena’s founders sent to me and Melanie Naranjo on 8/21/21, a bit over two years ago. Hunter Walk: One of my favorite things to do for founders is speaking with people who are considering joining their startup. I know you’ll really enjoy chatting.”

Employee 113

Employee Startup Vertical Leadership 113

View from Seed

OCTOBER 14, 2021

As someone relatively new to the VC space, I was particularly struck by the partners’ collective reflections regarding what has changed and what has remained the same. We are high-conviction, hands-on seed stage investors. We will continue to invest in founders who are redesigning the everyday economy. Check it out! .

Seed Stage 194

Seed Stage Portfolio Curation Vertical 194

Austin Startup

MAY 11, 2017

645 Ventures: A New Era of Venture Capital Investing Arena Growth Partners We help great leaders build great businesses. Our unique approach to investing, coupled with a pioneering spirit, provides the vision to guide early stage growth companies beyond today and toward future success. That drives every decision we make.

Private Equity 48

Private Equity Venture Capital Technical Review Seed Stage 48

View from Seed

DECEMBER 6, 2018

Five years ago, as the mania around seed fundings was accelerating, Founders were very eager to announce their seed round to the world. And seed VCs, especially as new firms were being established, were eager to encourage their portfolio startups to plant that flag in the ground publicly. Inbound partners.

Seed Stage 201

Seed Stage Stealth Seed Capital Later Stage 201

View from Seed

OCTOBER 11, 2022

At the seed stage and as companies scale, helping the founders I work with identify and reach their goals, personally and professionally, gives me energy and purpose. I made over a dozen angel investments and a few investments in VC funds as an LP, expanding my focus to new geographies, sectors, and stages.

North America 156

North America San Francisco Cap Table Cofounder 156

ithacaVC

DECEMBER 22, 2012

I recently engaged in a conversation (over a few days) about the need for a seed stage company to have a board member other than the founder. For clarity, a company with one founder can have a one member board (assuming a corporation). The decision to have an investor on the board is really one for the founder.

Seed Stage 82

Seed Stage Preferred Stock Founder Angel Investor 82

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

The VC industry grew dramatically as a result of the Internet bubble - Before the Internet bubble the people who invested in VC funds (called LPs or Limited Partners) put about $50 billion into the industry and by 2001 this had grown precipitously to around $250 billion. Partners leave the industry. Here’s my take: 1.

LP 311

LP Technical Review Early Stage Silicon Valley 311

Feld Thoughts

MAY 6, 2021

The program has been running in Colorado supporting pre-seed to post-seed stage startups at the intersection of conservation and technology since 2018. They have graduated 20 founders (see 2018 class here and 2019 class here ) and are taking applications now through May 12th for their next class.

Seed Stage 240

Seed Stage Colorado Early Stage Programming 240

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 13, 2018

Over the past five years, we’ve witnessed an Atomization of the Seed Stage. Early fundraising is no longer a one-and-done fundraise of a single round of Seed capital subsequently followed by a Series A 12–18 months later. A seed extension has ceased to be the equivalent of scarlet letter, and instead has become commonplace.

Seed Stage 136

Seed Stage Post-Money Valuation Valuation Startup 136

ReadWriteStart

MAY 22, 2023

According to Rolf Illenberger, co-founder of VRdirect, a virtual reality platform in Munich, none of the big European tech companies are currently relevant to the future of the Metaverse. Talent retention is one of the biggest challenges facing Europe’s Metaverse industry.

Finland 187

Finland Europe Estonia Silicon Valley 187

View from Seed

JANUARY 11, 2021

The sudden arrival of the global pandemic has shifted the playbook for founders and venture capitalists. As high-conviction, seed stage investors, we are inherently relationship-driven, and we value meeting exceptional founders face-to-face. Zoom calls have taken the place of in-person meetings.

Venture Capital 350

Venture Capital Cofounder Early Stage Seed Stage 350