Steve Blank

JUNE 11, 2013

These sources are a lot more forgiving of iterations and pivots than later-stage venture-capital funds. In times of unlimited cash (internet bubbles, frothy venture climates) you can fix your mistakes by burning more dollars. What is an IRR? There are two reasons to take venture money.

Venture Capital 225

Venture Capital IRR Liquidity Event Business Model 225

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2016

Too many entrepreneurs tell me they are looking for an investor, and can’t differentiate between venture capital (VC) investors versus accredited Angel investors. The amounts from Angels start as low as $25K, while minimum venture capital amounts usually start in the $2M range. In fact, the reality is quite the opposite.

Angel Investor 120

Angel Investor IRR Valuation Startup 120

Hippoland

NOVEMBER 13, 2016

The #1 problem with the venture capital game, in general, is that *actual success* is measured over decades not years. A common intermediary milestone for most investors is IRR (internal rate of return) of the fund. So there are a lot of unrealized gains built into the IRR of an early fund. Let’s take this one last step.

IRR 48

IRR Valuation Portfolio Due Diligence 48

K9 Ventures

DECEMBER 14, 2008

In my previous post , I claimed that “Venture Capital is a people business in every sense of the word. Unlike investing in public markets, investing in early stage companies happens before those companies have a real business, when it is just a concept and a team, and sometimes not even a whole team.

IRR 99

IRR Bandwidth Venture Capital Early Stage 99

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 25, 2013

“I don’t know the exact math, but I hear it again and again: the top 2% of firms generate 98% of the returns in venture capital.” But the larger funds usually have lower returns because they are often investing bigger dollars at later stages with less risk and therefore lower returns. The second is not.

LP 374

LP Later Stage IRR SMS 374

abovethecrowd.com

APRIL 20, 2016

In Silicon Valley boardrooms, where “growth at all costs” had been the mantra for many years, people began to imagine a world where the cost of capital could rise dramatically, and profits could come back in vogue. Competition also has access to capital. Anxiety slowly crept into everyone’s world. 2015 was the exact opposite.

IPO 40

IPO Term Sheet Valuation Silicon Valley 40

K9 Ventures

MAY 14, 2011

The limited partners may themselves run the gamut from individuals, family offices, venture capital funds to institutional LPs. As fiduciaries, the general partners of the uVC funds have to begin to focus on the dreaded VC I-word : IRR. However, there is a difference. The cycle will continue, as it inevitably does.

Preferred Stock 125

Preferred Stock Seed Stage Incubator Early Stage 125

K9 Ventures

NOVEMBER 30, 2008

The business of venture capital is relatively young. The birth of modern-day venture capital (not considering the European monarchs financing explorations and projects as venture capital) can be traced back to American Research and Development, which was started by Georges Doriot.

IRR 48

IRR LP Venture Capital Early Stage 48