Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2014

For decades large companies have gone shopping in Silicon Valley for startups. What can companies learn from others’ failed efforts to integrate startups into large companies? The answer - there are two types of integration strategies, and they depend on where the startup is in its lifecycle. The Innovation Portfolio.

Acquisition 332

Acquisition Intellectual Property Silicon Valley Startup 332

View from Seed

JANUARY 13, 2021

What has happened is that over the last 10 years, the vast majority of successful startups have raised some sort of a seed round prior to a series A. That said, we definitely don’t bank on this as a firm, even though we do see ourselves playing a multi-turn game with all of our later stage coinvestors. Then Doordash.

Dilution 399

Dilution Later Stage Portfolio Technical Review 399

Steve Blank

JANUARY 22, 2014

Dino Vendetti a VC at Bay Partners, moved up to Bend, Oregon on a mission to engineer Bend into a regional technology cluster. Part 2: Early-stage Regional Venture Funds. Success depends on finding startups that have identified acute customer pains in large markets where conditions are ripe for a new entrant.

Early Stage 287

Early Stage Silicon Valley Oregon Technical Review 287

Hunter Walker

DECEMBER 11, 2023

Originally backed by venture capital, in 2021 Daniel worked with TPG , a large private equity firm, to make them the majority investor. There’s a ton of writing out there about getting *on* the venture curve, but not a lot about getting *off,* so Daniel’s advice below is especially important.

Private Equity 78

Private Equity Equity DC Leveraged Buyout 78

Steve Blank

APRIL 12, 2013

I just spent a few weeks in Japan and China on a book tour for the Japanese and Chinese versions of the Startup Owners Manual. This post is about the rise of Chinese venture capital and how it helped build the countries entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Rise of Chinese Venture Capital. All the usual caveats apply.

Venture Capital 272

Venture Capital China Offshore SBIR 272

The Equity Kicker

OCTOBER 14, 2014

———————————– If you ask most VCs what they look for in a startup they will say great team, great product and great market. Early stage investors like Forward Partners look for a minimum of a great entrepreneur and a great idea. Venture Capital'

Early Stage 123

Early Stage Institutional Investors Venture Capital Startup 123

Steve Blank

APRIL 12, 2013

I just spent a few weeks in Japan and China on a book tour for the Japanese and Chinese versions of the Startup Owners Manual. This post is about the rise of Chinese venture capital and how it helped build the countries entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Rise of Chinese Venture Capital. All the usual caveats apply.

Venture Capital 164

Venture Capital China Offshore SBIR 164

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

I have to start with a major negative: if you have to ask if your startup can get venture capital, then it almost certainly can’t. Venture capital is a very rarified atmosphere of high-end startups and emerging businesses with experienced management teams, high potential growth, secret sauce, and so on.

Software Review 124

Software Review Due Diligence Venture Capital Elevator Pitch 124

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.

Private Equity 48

Private Equity Venture Capital Technical Review Seed Stage 48

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 12, 2013

It is with great pleasure that I can finally announce that we have added Greg Bettinelli as a partner at GRP Partners. He had joined a young startup in LA called HauteLook and was interested in getting to know the local tech community. This is exactly the brand that GRP Partners wants to embody. The guy has knowledge.

Partner 360

Partner Las Vegas Los Angeles San Francisco 360

Austin Startup

JUNE 27, 2017

Looking for Funds in All the Right Places: The Definitive Guide to Austin Capital By David Altounian and Stephen Straus OVERVIEW For entrepreneurs: We’ve compiled a definitive list of sources of capital in Austin to help focus your fundraising efforts. We’ve compiled a definitive list of sources of startup capital in Austin.

Venture Capital 54

Venture Capital Austin Texas Private Equity 54

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2014

They often create the biggest tensions between investors who are investing at different stages in the business. These tensions seep out in some angels or seed funds publicly or semi-privately deriding later-stage VCs for their “bad” behavior. I have seen bad behavior from later-stage VCs, believe me.

Technical Review 336

Technical Review Later Stage Early Stage LP 336

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Thomas Clayton has started and run numerous high-tech startups in Silicon Valley. He is currently CEO of Bubbly , a social media startup backed by Sequoia Capital, SingTel Innov8, and JAFCO. The company is one of the largest VC–backed startups in Southeast Asia, having raised over $60M in funding.

Asia 132

Asia Silicon Valley India Term Sheet 132

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 2, 2010

This is part of my series on Understanding Venture Capital. And funds also have investments from the partners of the firm. For example, my firm, GRP Partners, has a $200 million fund that was closed in March 2009 and we have 4 investment partners. So VCs often raise money every 3-5 years if they can.

Venture Capital 269

Venture Capital Balance Sheet Early Stage Software Review 269

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2021

Shots on Goal Being great as a startup technology investor of course requires a lot of things to come together: You need to have strong insights into where technology markets are heading and where value in the future will be created and sustained You need be perfect with your market timing. On Funding?—?Shots We do other things, too.

Bankruptcy 294

Bankruptcy Bridge Financing Portfolio Angel Investor 294

The Equity Kicker

AUGUST 19, 2015

In the words of an alum from the 2006 cohort: Companies are joining YC at a much later stage. Today, there are six YC companies worth over a billion dollars, and as a result new startups aim much higher. That marks a shift in the YC investment strategy which used to focus on younger businesses.

Later Stage 60

Later Stage Private Equity Venture Capital Valuation 60

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 18, 2017

Union Square Ventures (USV) has been one of the most successful venture capital firms of the past 10–15 years and continues to be a leader in our industry. Lindel is no stranger to thorny venture capital issues — he was arguably amongst the most successful LPs of his generation. Maybe that’s USV, too.

Leadership 161

Leadership LP Venture Capital Silicon Valley 161

Feld Thoughts

NOVEMBER 2, 2016

This quarter they interviewed me as part of it on Quarterly VC Update: Brad Feld on the State of Venture Capital Investing. It continues to be highly dependent on company, stage, and location. At the early stages, raising the first $2m tends to be straightforward in most geographies that have meaningful startup communities.

Venture Capital 70

Venture Capital Private Equity Early Stage Valuation 70

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2014

One of the reasons that now is the time to be an entrepreneur is the explosion of startup assistance organizations, usually called incubators or accelerators. A few are still trying to make a profitable business out of nurturing startups, but it’s a challenge to make money when your customer startups don’t have many resources to give.

Incubator 247

Incubator Silicon Valley Startup Small Business Administration 247

David Teten

JULY 25, 2017

O perations – We work closely with a pool of preferred service providers who address the operational challenges of early-stage companies: accounting, financial modeling, sales acceleration, legal and regulatory needs, insurance, real estate, engineering, and community building. For example, consider public relations.

Portfolio 60

Portfolio Technical Review Private Equity Database 60

The Next Web

AUGUST 26, 2013

Today, in steps 10-12 I want to discuss with you raising your first round of money, hiring to develop and maintain your company culture, as well as defining your role in the management of your startup. Both ways are great, I’ve tried both, but personally I wouldn’t try to start something again without partners.

Management 120

Management Cofounder Startup Bootstrapping 120

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2012

Different types of investors look for startups at different levels of maturity. If your startup is at the wrong stage for the investor you are approaching, fishing for money is a waste of time for both of you. You also will find that the stage your startup is in dictates where you go to seek funding. Growth stage.

Investment Bankers 241

Investment Bankers Venture Capital Startup Initial Public Offering 241

Austin Startup

MARCH 7, 2021

Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio form a massive startup Megalopolis that is attracting top talent, impact-focused investors, and the most innovative companies in the world. Startups and investors should treat Texas like one big city. These are all potential customers and strategic partners for startups.

Texas 90

Texas San Antonio Houston Dallas 90

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

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 5, 2014

I was excited to see that GLG (formerly Gerson Lehrman Group), the industry leader, is now offering a professional network service geared to the needs of the startup community: GLG Share. Professional expert networks allow you to efficiently convert your financial capital into relationship capital.

New York 114

New York Technical Review Networking Advisory Board 114

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2010

Different types of investors look for startups at different levels of maturity. If your startup is at the wrong stage for the investor you are approaching, the courting is a waste of time for both of you. You also will find that the stage your startup is in dictates where you go to seek funding. Growth stage.

Investment Bankers 231

Investment Bankers Venture Capital Startup Initial Public Offering 231

K9 Ventures

JUNE 5, 2015

That in turn requires more capital. So while the infrastructure cost and startup costs may have declined, the operating costs have increased. 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. Implications for Founders.

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Venture Capital Early Stage Valuation 48

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 17, 2012

Oblong, led by Kwin Kramer, which houses more MIT grads per startup than probably any other in LA. Think about venture capital. So many had names of partners (Kleiner Perkins) or local favorite identifiers like trees (Sequoia). But if you were going to start a venture capital fund today, you’d want to stand out.

Community 304

Community Los Angeles Startup Silicon Valley 304

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

The startup ecosystem is a terrific manufacturer of bad fundraising advice. It’s the “hook” that gets a team noticed in a partner meeting. Or that venture capital is a meritocracy? Well, if you add it to your startup, it does a few things. Was she just an anomaly or is there something else going on here?

Venture Capital 162

Venture Capital Cofounder Deal Flow Later Stage 162

Steve Blank

JUNE 15, 2010

The role of a founding CEO in a startup searching for a business model is radically different than a CEO building and growing a company. So if you’re the founder of a startup, you may want to consider who you take money from. What startup stage do they typically invest in? What Startup Stage Do they Invest In?

Founder 231

Founder Vesting Later Stage Early Stage 231

The Equity Kicker

MARCH 10, 2014

As you can see from the graphs below the number of seed funds is growing very fast whilst the number of later stage funds is flat. If I was a ambitious startup with large capital requirements I would make sure I was in a geography where large funds invest regularly. Venture Capital'

Later Stage 142

Later Stage Early Stage Europe Green 142

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

” There are a lot of data points that one can observer to get a sense of the venture capital markets – both LP fundings into venture and VC financings of startups. Limited Partners (LPs) who invest in VC funds have continued to pour money into venture – with the market returning to pre-recession levels.

LP 150

LP Valuation Burn Rate Pre-Money Valuation 150

Up and Running

AUGUST 17, 2015

As I read stories of college dropouts who had successfully sold tech companies, or entrepreneurs with innovative ideas who made it big on Shark Tank, it became clear that there was no set path to startup success. See Also How to Find a Business Partner. It helps mitigate startup risk. It’s a place to form a founding team.

Entrepreneur 60

Entrepreneur Cofounder Angel Investor eCommerce 60

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 30, 2010

Startups, on the other hand, have lots of little failures and successes over time. The first time around, his meetings with Union Square Ventures didn’t result in a check—not until a little nudge got Fred thinking more about it. A lot of startups, however, don't seem to realize this. backgrounds at startups?

Technical Review 106

Technical Review Due Diligence Venture Capital Later Stage 106

The Equity Kicker

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

In the traditionally slow moving world of venture capital they have gone from standing start to raising $4bn across three funds in 5 years – Summit Partners , an older highly successful later stage VC took 15 years to achieve the same feat. The Andreessen-Horowitz (A16Z) story is little short of amazing.

Silicon Valley 125

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Portfolio Later Stage 125

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 25, 2015

Last night I wrote a post about how the fall in the stock market over a 3-day period may affect the venture capital markets. Let me give you the quick summary of what I said yesterday: Public markets affect venture funding. If you’re an entrepreneur or VC who wants somebody else’s view on that you should read it.

Balance Sheet 150

Balance Sheet Valuation Burn Rate Stock 150

Genuine VC

MAY 5, 2015

Today, I’m thrilled to publicly announce NextView’s Talent Exchange, a program helping both top talent and NextView-backed startups connect with each other more easily, beginning with Boston companies (which make up just over half our portfolio). For our startups, we knew we could help them source better and move faster.

Portfolio 100

Portfolio Startup Boston Seed Stage 100