Steve Blank

DECEMBER 3, 2020

We just held our fifteenth session of our new national security class Technology, Innovation and Modern War. Joe Felter , Raj Shah and I designed a class to examine the new military systems, operational concepts and doctrines that will emerge from 21st century technologies – Space, Cyber, AI & Machine Learning and Autonomy.

Technical Review 235

Technical Review Technology China Taiwan 235

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 29, 2022

These authors speak from their own wealth of experience in creating and growing technology startups, marketing, and fundraising. Here are the key elements of the strengths framework they have developed, with my own insights and experience added for your consideration: Money: the capital you have, or can easily raise.

Silicon Valley 325

Silicon Valley Angel Investor Technical Review Boston 325

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

Something happened in the past 7 years in the startup and venture capital world that I hadn’t experienced since the late 90’s — we all began praying to the God of Valuation. How might our next phase of the journey seem brighter, even with more uncertain days for startups and capital markets? What happened? It was 1991.

Valuation 466

Valuation San Francisco Ratchet Liquidation Preference 466

Up and Running

MARCH 11, 2015

And, there’s a good reason why; it includes back-to-back essays on mobile, high-growth startups and technology. Probably the grand-daddy of VC blogs, Union Square Ventures’ Fred Wilson has been posting every day since 2003. From life advice and commentary, to practical know-how for growing a tech startup, AVC is a must-read blog.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Technical Review Silicon Valley Cofounder 60

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

There has been much discussion in the past few years of the changing structure of the venture capital industry. The rise of alternative sources of capital (crowd funding and the like). 50x more Internet users (2.4 The overall trends in our industry have breathed a new life into the venture capital industry.

Technical Review 398

Technical Review Venture Capital Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 398

David Teten

MARCH 18, 2021

Public theses are often inconsistent with how firms actually deploy capital. A typical VC thesis: “we invest in tech startups in Europe at an early stage” However, our experience shows that in many cases: . “Tech” means B2B Saas/Fintech or Consumer apps. of venture capital deals.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Cofounder Venture Capital Deal Flow 78

VC Cafe

APRIL 26, 2023

More and more, people are experimenting with these new technologies that enable anyone to write better, brainstorm, invent, craft and get inspired with text, images, video, voice, music and more. The launch of GPT-4 in March 2023, with its 1 trillion parameters and the new plugins that will connect ChatGPT to the Internet.

Generative AI 78

Generative AI Artificial Inteligence ChatGPT 78

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

A version of this article first appeared in the Harvard Business Review. Since NewTV won’t be making the content, they will be licensing from and partnering with traditional entertainment producers. NewTV will depend on partners like telcos to distribute the content. Then the cycle repeats with a new set of technologies.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

The Next Web

FEBRUARY 23, 2014

Today, with the decentralising nature of the Internet, distributed cloud technology and a growing sentiment toward entrepreneurship, the global startup ecosystem has never been so dispersed. And this is just one of the many pioneering technologies surfacing out of this mid-sized Southern city of the Netherlands. Pune, India?.

North Carolina 168

North Carolina Technical Review Cyprus Raleigh 168

Haystack

DECEMBER 29, 2018

It’s that time of year, time to look back and reflect on the most significant storylines in the tech, startup, and VC world. 6/ Venture Capital In Expansion Phase. Technology is, like water, flowing and seeping into nearly every sector and eventually into most of the global economy. 3/ Crypto Hibernation.

Technical Review 165

Technical Review Venture Capital Russia China 165

VC Cafe

JANUARY 12, 2022

While Metaverse rose to fame initially due to Facebook’s name change into ‘Meta’ to express their ambition to become a Metaverse company within 5 years (and perhaps deflect some of the negative PR), there are now many large companies, startups and brands working on their metaverse strategy. What opportunities do we see in the Metaverse?

Technical Review 217

Technical Review Non-Compete IP 217

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 25, 2017

Venture Capitalism is changing. As an industry, VC essentially acts as a broker between investment banks, who can’t invest in risky startups due to laws on loan interest, and entrepreneurs who desperately need capital. Expanding tech talent. As access to the internet increases from the current 3.5

Venture Capital 193

Venture Capital Technical Review Kenya Startup 193

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 29, 2017

They seem shocked to learn that most professional investors and advisors, myself included, routinely decline such requests, due to costly litigation and administrative nightmares. Here are my guidelines for when a signed agreement is required, versus other alternatives: Insist on a two-way NDA for partner negotiations.

Non-disclosure Agreement 153

Non-disclosure Agreement NDA Technical Review Due Diligence 153

The Equity Kicker

MARCH 28, 2014

They are one of the firms that inspires us here at Forward Partners , particularly for their operational model which we have adapted and extended so it works for early stage in the UK. The ultimate market size that this current generation of tech companies can go after dwarfs that of previous ones. Venture Capital'

Technical Review 125

Technical Review Venture Capital Early Stage Cloud 125

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

My initial desire to blog came from something that’s always been my approach to investing – I’m a nerd and I love to play with the technology and part of my approach has really been to understand things both at a user level and at a reasonably deep tentacle level. If you are outside internet software we are not going to invest.

Technical Review 288

Technical Review Venture Capital Silicon Valley Software Review 288

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

Every potential early-stage Venture Capitalist should take a year and do it before he or she makes partner. Venture capital as a profession is less than half a century old. Market/technology acuity (patterns of success, domain expertise). venture/operating partners to get them into new industries.

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Early Stage Technical Review Startup 332

Up and Running

AUGUST 12, 2014

A few weeks ago I spoke with Boris Wertz, founder of JustBooks, COO of AbeBooks and founding-partner of Version One Ventures. In In as much as a scheduled interview with an angel investor can be, talking with Boris about what it takes to spark the interest of a venture capital firm was a coincidence. Do your research.

Venture Capital 90

Venture Capital Founder Angel Investor Portfolio 90

ithacaVC

MAY 24, 2014

It is worth reviewing if you are interested in entrepreneurship and VC in upstate NY. I am including below the entire introductory email that came with the report. Hello Friends and Colleagues, We are pleased to pass along to you our recent paper “Entrepreneurship in New York: The Mismatch between Venture Capital and Academic R&D”.

New York 79

New York Venture Capital Technical Review New York City 79

ReadWriteStart

FEBRUARY 19, 2020

In 2018, venture capital investments in Latin America doubled for the second consecutive year, according to LAVCA’s Annual Review of Tech Investment in Latin America. Here’s a look at three factors fueling investor interest in Colombia’s technology startups. A growing, increasingly connected consumer base.

Colombia 146

Colombia America Technical Review Startup 146

Feld Thoughts

JANUARY 21, 2016

Fortunately, I’ve got amazing partners. As a result, we’ve always been active at moving primary responsibility for a company (which we define as a board seat) between partners. One of the things we do is a full portfolio review. The post Load Balancing Between VC Partners appeared first on Feld Thoughts.

Partner 70

Partner Fort Worth Technical Review Portfolio 70

online.wsj.com

SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

Loading… Tech. SIGNIFICANCE PROMINENT. --> The Venture Capital Secret: 3 Out of 4 Start-Ups Fail. An entrepreneur with a hot technology and venture-capital funding becomes a billionaire in his 20s. The National Venture Capital Association estimates that 25% to 30% of venture-backed businesses fail.

Venture Capital 107

Venture Capital Software Review Rhode Island North Dakota 107

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

Don’t take my word for it – in the roundup of venture capital predictions for 2017 , I found it to be the top recurring theme. Security will shift from defensive to predictive AI-powered security (Norwest Venture Partners). Chris Rust, Clear Ventures). All key technologies for autonomous driving.

Artificial Inteligence 122

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Startup 122

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 14, 2020

AI is getting tremendous attention and significant venture capital, but AI tools frequently underwhelm in the trenches. However, it should be recognized that a significant amount of that attention is due to its association with Elon Musk. GPT-3 is getting a lot of oxygen lately because of its size, scope and capabilities.

Technical Review 246

Technical Review Connecticut Algorithm Warrant 246

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

According to the Angel Capital Association: Angels (private money) invest in 55,000 startups each year versus 1,500 companies by VC (venture capital) funding. Angels invest in one out of every forty deals they review (2.5%) versus the one out of 400 by VC’s (0.25%). Perhaps the library or a local tech company can host.

Angel Investor 159

Angel Investor Technical Review Software Review Accredited Investor 159

David Teten

JANUARY 10, 2012

17, on “How Investors Are Increasing Their Returns Through Collaboration and Technology”. The first panel will focus on public markets and will discuss the use and effectiveness of social media tools and data mining technologies in harnessing the wisdom of crowds to generate investment ideas. He joined Goldman Sachs & Co.

Technical Review 128

Technical Review Technology North Carolina Switzerland 128

rapidrollout.wordpress.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Web Startup Lessons Advice from a CTO and Entrepreneur Home About Finding a Technical Partner for Your Startup Today I received an inquiry from a student at an Ivy League university who wants to launch a web startup. You can find a technologist to join you as a partner, for half of the company’s equity.

Technical Review 40

Technical Review Fractional CTO Partner CTO Hire 40

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 12, 2011

Chris Dixon is one of my favorite people in tech and writes one of the few blogs I read religiously. If you don’t read it and you care about tech & entrepreneurship, you should. If you like the quick summary notes, please check out Adam’s blog on tech, entrepreneurship & VC as a thank you.

Technical Review 281

Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Cofounder API 281

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

I had really positive experiences such as working with Greg Gretsch at Sigma Partners where he championed us to a partners’ meeting where we sort of got crucified. We made changes and Greg was a gentleman throughout the process rather than berating us for our performance (it was our first partners’ meeting).

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Term Sheet San Diego Viral 274

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. VC will shrink.

LP 311

LP Technical Review Early Stage Silicon Valley 311

Austin Startup

MAY 11, 2017

We focus primarily on software and Internet companies in areas such as SaaS, application software, financial software, consumer internet, and online marketplaces. These sectors generally leverage the Internet or software in a fundamental way. For most of us, we have been the only woman partner or senior executive in our firm.

Private Equity 48

Private Equity Venture Capital Technical Review Seed Stage 48

David Teten

FEBRUARY 3, 2014

Prior to joining ff Venture Capital , I published the first-ever study of how private equity and venture capital funds originate new investments, with my coauthor Chris Farmer , CEO of SignalFire and an experienced VC. The median VC reviews 87 opportunities before making 1 investment. ff Venture Capital.

Private Equity 114

Private Equity Venture Capital Technical Review Equity 114

Mucker Lab

AUGUST 27, 2014

At the time, LA and Santa Clara were both the epicenter of the technology industry due to the significant overlap between the aerospace/military industry (Los Angeles) and the computing business (Silicon Valley). Given our backgrounds, we often get asked about what makes the tech scene in Los Angeles different from that in the Valley.

Los Angeles 138

Los Angeles Southern California Silicon Valley Technical Review 138

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 9, 2011

Venture Capitalists typically have partners’ meetings on Mondays. So the industry formed around a day of the week when all partners could avoid having company board meetings or traveling. I introduced my partners, we spent weeks with the team and felt good rapport. Let’s review all of our existing investments.

Stock 305

Stock Technical Review Marketing Greece 305

Feld Thoughts

JANUARY 2, 2014

I often get asked how I ended up becoming a venture capitalist. When people ask me how they can become a VC, I point them to my partner Seth Levine’s excellent blog posts How to become a venture capitalist and How to get a job in venture capital (revisited). Do you want to help out?”

San Francisco 159

San Francisco Boston Venture Capital Angel Investor 159

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 16, 2016

This is likely the case because of Stanford’s positioning in the Bay Area and the access to venture capital that accompanies it. MBA Unicorns Weigh Heavily Toward Software, Consumer Internet, and E-Commerce. Unsurprisingly, software, consumer internet, and e-commerce companies make up the significant majority of MBA unicorns.

Programming 120

Programming St. Louis Cofounder India 120

David Teten

APRIL 29, 2014

According to the National Venture Capital Association/Dow Jones VentureSource, the VC industry is dominated by men (89% of VC Partners), specifically white men (76% of the total). Of all VC Partners studied, just 10% identified as Asian, 1% as African-American, and less than 1% as Latino.

Venture Capital 114

Venture Capital Los Angeles Cofounder Technical Review 114

David Teten

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

Like virtually the entire tech industry, I am particularly in favor of Startup Visa , which has the goal of stimulating our domestic startup community through acts to keep our foreign-born entrepreneurs in the United States. New York has an extremely active Meetup culture; almost every night there are 3-10 tech-focused events.

Government 146

Government Technical Review New York Offshore 146