View from Seed

APRIL 27, 2020

We believe that it is unwise for VCs to try to time markets or do unnatural things to manage investment pace. In all times, we are high-conviction, hands-on investors and make fewer investments on a per-partner basis than pretty much every seed fund in the country. . We look forward to partnering together to make that happen.

Cofounder 194

Cofounder Software Review Portfolio Technical Review 194

View from Seed

NOVEMBER 8, 2023

Forum’s software makes it easier for professional facilitators to host virtual sessions, manage scheduling, and process payments, and the marketplace model enables facilitators and group members to come together from all across the globe.

Cofounder 218

Cofounder Acquisition Hosting Partner 218

View from Seed

JULY 31, 2014

Two weeks ago, my partners and I here at NextView Ventures announced our second fund. As my partner Rob Go has written , our goal is to invest half in consumer web and mobile and half in business-focused ventures. We average eight to 10 total new investments per year as a firm, so this frequency is a typical investment pace for us.

Seed Stage 272

Seed Stage B2C Technical Review Disintermediation 272

View from Seed

OCTOBER 31, 2018

The main value propositions are: user experience and value – home sellers can manage the entirety of their selling activities through its app and cloud-based platform, from valuation to showing scheduling to negotiation and closing, while paying a $5,000 flat fee vs. the industry tradition of 3% commission.

Atlanta 159

Atlanta Cofounder Software Review Technical Review 159

View from Seed

MAY 12, 2015

Yet once the right firms are identified, I believe that the tougher challenge is to determine which partner at these firms to approach. Most firms have anywhere from a couple to up to a dozen or more partners listed on their websites. Sometimes it’s as simple as going to the partner who is “easiest” to get to.

Partner 120

Partner Term Sheet Reputation Deal Flow 120

View from Seed

APRIL 14, 2020

But the risk to founders is that these investors may not be very committed partners and might quickly disengage if things go sideways. The rationale is that these investments may be a way to get to know a team better and watch the move unfold with minimal risk of looking dumb if things don’t work out. Business Models and Sectors.

Early Stage 374

Early Stage Software Review Technical Review Due Diligence 374

View from Seed

DECEMBER 4, 2019

The trends described above in VC performance have an upstream effect on Limited Partners which is somewhat counter-intuitive. Most LPs are trying to manage some targeted asset allocation. And over time, if VC is performing well, the LP may actively manage up their allocation to venture. LP Constraints.

LP 256

LP IRR Distribution Portfolio 256

View from Seed

JANUARY 30, 2020

Partnering with an investor and/or board member is very long term commitment, and I’m always surprised by how little diligence founders do prior to signing up for what could be a 10+ year collaboration. I’d also recommend that your diligence be tuned to the tenure and profile of the particular partner. Anticipating Partner Turnover.

Due Diligence 195

Due Diligence Partner Term Sheet Finance 195

View from Seed

JANUARY 11, 2021

Kent Bennett from Bessemer Venture Partners spoke to this initial slow down: “ We couldn’t do anything until we understood the new normal. While always core to diligence, social validation behind a business and management team became even more critical determinants of fit. I wonder, should it have ever been important?”.

Venture Capital 350

Venture Capital Cofounder Early Stage Seed Stage 350

View from Seed

MAY 11, 2020

As they were conceiving of this business based on Mike’s own experience with medical treatment for managing alcohol, we were captivated by the opportunity to partner with them again. We are proud to be partnering with them again to help address this critical problem. Congratulations again to the Monument team on their launch.

Vertical 207

Vertical Programming Software Leadership 207

View from Seed

OCTOBER 14, 2020

For those of you who don’t know Leah, her career has spanned across journalism, operating at early-stage startups, venture investing, and hedge fund management. In addition to her operating roles, Leah worked on the venture investing team at Slow Ventures, and she began her career in management at Bridgewater Associates.

New York 180

New York Early Stage Cofounder Operations 180

View from Seed

JULY 14, 2020

These companies have long had ongoing training needs to ensure that their employees stay safe and keep performance up, while legacy learning management systems are marred with low engagement in this employee segment. Enter Opus, an employee training and engagement platform that brings the frontline workforce forward into the new era of work.

Portfolio 177

Portfolio Leadership Metrics Employee 177

View from Seed

DECEMBER 11, 2019

“I’m thrilled to announce that I’m joining [New Firm] as a Partner where I will continue to invest in great Founders across the industries I care about.”. “I In any professional service industry, there is natural shuffling in the junior roles, as the race up the pyramid towards a Partner title is like musical chairs.

Venture Capital 204

Venture Capital Cap Table Partner LP 204

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 26, 2019

As a result, many student loan borrowers are struggling to manage a repayment process that’s largely setting them up for failure. Leveraging Will’s deep understanding of the landscape, the team was able to quickly launch a product that truly resonated with both borrowers and partners.

Portfolio 295

Portfolio Cofounder Government Finance 295

View from Seed

APRIL 5, 2016

Rachael is enrolled at the Startup Institute , an eight-week program that teaches its pupils the nuances of web development, web design, technical marketing, or sales and account management. She is a student on the web development track—and based on her background, that might seem a little hard to believe. How to Land the Perfect Startup Job.

Founder 120

Founder Web Development Web Community 120

View from Seed

JULY 12, 2019

Given our high-conviction, hands-on strategy and NextView, we tend to take an approach where each one of our investments has a very clear lead partner within the firm. What is a little unusual is that it is pretty common for the lead partner on an investment to NOT be the same partner who sourced an opportunity.

Due Diligence 120

Due Diligence Venture Capital Partner Founder 120

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

After building NextView for almost 10 years now, I’ve been having more conversations recently with first time managers looking for some tactical advice. Our second cohort of new institutional LPs were largely folks who had studied our space closely and had a concerted focus on finding new seed specific managers.

LP 309

LP Customer Early Stage Portfolio 309

View from Seed

APRIL 30, 2015

Below, we talk to Glen Mello , Managing Director of Silicon Valley Bank’s accelerator team in Boston. Use good judgment, talk to your co-founders/investors/lawyers, and partner with a bank that values transparency and relationships such as SVB.]. As a startup grows, venture debt becomes a viable option to continue that growth.

Term Sheet 120

Term Sheet Equity Startup Seed Stage 120

View from Seed

MAY 11, 2016

The reasons are fairly obvious: It’s easy to reference them and understand their track record; they’ve made a ton of mistakes already that they have hopefully learned from and are unlikely to make again; they are probably more adept at raising and managing capital, which reduces financing risk down the road, etc.

Founder 159

Founder Cofounder CTO Hire Early Stage 159

View from Seed

MAY 18, 2016

(See #3 and #4 below for how to manage this.). Some VCs also use board observer roles as part of the “apprentice” model for younger partners and principals, where the senior partner takes the board director role but has a colleague participate as an observer. Beware Board Observers. Set Expectations for Time/Tenure.

Seed Stage 216

Seed Stage Cofounder Later Stage Government 216

View from Seed

JULY 11, 2019

Before Otis, participating in these markets would be restricted only to those with a ton of cash, would require investors to tolerate very limited liquidity, and require very controlled transactions managed by gatekeepers that extract significant rents. Otis hopes to change all of these things.

Stealth 120

Stealth Portfolio Community Founder 120

View from Seed

JANUARY 11, 2018

For several months now, my partners and I have spent a lot of time talking about why we’re investing in the Everyday Economy. This B2B startup allows homeowners and small business property managers renting out their properties on sites like Airbnb to get paid early.

B2B 120

B2B B2C Vertical Portfolio 120

View from Seed

JULY 24, 2015

The invite-only event was attended by 300 of the area’s best tech leaders, founders, product managers, designers, developers, investors, engineers, salesmen and women, and more, all of whom are hard at work in consumer tech. On Tuesday, July 21, we hosted the first-ever Boston Consumer Tech Summit.

Boston 120

Boston Cofounder B2C PR 120

View from Seed

MARCH 15, 2018

My partners and I have been very public and transparent over the past six months about our thematic investing approach — what we call the Everyday Economy. For example, NextView-backed managed marketplaces like CarDash and Renoviso provide compelling internet-enabled services to connected customers driven by market opportunity.

Technology 120

Technology Artificial Inteligence Marketing Vertical 120

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

Do you need highly skilled functional managers or do you need a true partner? someone to be that true partner). This is why I encourage almost every startup founder to find a partner or a cofounder. These include: Do I need help leading or managing? What functional responsibilities do I need this person to manage?

Hiring 336

Hiring Cofounder Startup Technical Cofounder 336

View from Seed

JULY 31, 2019

Thanks to my very supportive partners at NextView, I was able to focus on being a new parent and enjoying those early moments during my maternity leave. We felt well prepared and had a plan around how we’d manage his feedings and naps throughout the day. .

Seed Stage 166

Seed Stage Demand Early Stage Founder 166

View from Seed

JANUARY 24, 2018

For this reason, we’ve partnered with Guild members who have experience across different kinds of customers, business models, and distribution channels. This is an initiative that we will continue to refine in the coming years, but we are so excited to be partnering with these Guild members going forward.

Operations 176

Operations Cofounder Technical Review Angel Investor 176

View from Seed

MARCH 29, 2018

This could include areas like mental health (as in our portfolio company 10% Happier ), dental health (such as Smile Direct ), nutrition and exercise, pain management, and other areas that impact the everyday life of tens of millions of people.

Vertical 120

Vertical Stealth Portfolio Seed Capital 120

View from Seed

MARCH 16, 2016

I’ll discuss the latter in a second, but first, the increase in investors… A number of super-angels and angel groups institutionalized in the past year, creating a broader set of seed-stage funds, like Converge Venture Partners. A handful of industry-focused funds have also burst onto the scene.

Boston 215

Boston Early Stage Artificial Inteligence Semantic 215

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Similar to Product Managers, a strong Analytics hire requires a diverse set of skills. Someone with strong analytical intuition can become a strategic thought partner with the leadership team and functional leaders. What to look for in your first analytics hire.

Analytics 149

Analytics Hiring SQL Forecast 149

View from Seed

APRIL 2, 2015

Something NextView partner Rob Go said the other day really stuck with me: “A little design goes a long way.” You can hire a professional, outsource to various marketplaces and task management platforms, or rely on any number of free tools. Things should be legible, but they don’t need to be great. But not so fast.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Design Startup Early Stage 120

View from Seed

JULY 28, 2015

I recall that when I was a management consultant at The Parthenon Group, a pretty analytical place, one of my friends in our associate class was clearly the most analytical one in the bunch. The key is finding people (and sources of talent) that tend to deliver the individuals that are 10X more effective with analytics than their peers.

Boston 120

Boston Marketing Early Stage Startup 120

View from Seed

OCTOBER 29, 2014

This post was originally published on the personal blog of NextView founding partner Lee Hower. Most of the dollars a VC firm invests come from outside limited partner investors (LPs). Some institutional investors simply aren’t big enough to have in-house employees to vet and manage a portfolio of VC funds.

LP 335

LP Private Equity Institutional Investors Venture Capital 335

View from Seed

OCTOBER 22, 2015

One of the things we frequently discuss with founders is how to interpret and manage their dialogue with VCs when raising capital. We’ve written before on how to research partners , how to pitch the right investor at a given firm, and how to raise seed capital , generally speaking. can be slightly different.

Term Sheet 120

Term Sheet Due Diligence Seed Stage Seed Capital 120

View from Seed

JANUARY 22, 2015

.” But there’s still value in seeing exact numbers like this, whether because you’re simply intellectually curious or because you’ll avoid seeking a nonexistent magic number and instead turn inward to formulate a concise plan with your management team and seed investors. A Look at Five NextView-Backed Companies.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Portfolio Early Stage Founder 120

View from Seed

OCTOBER 9, 2019

Recently, we got a group of Product Managers from our portfolio together to chat with Fareed Mosavat about all things growth. But I do think that if you want to find somebody who’s good at everything, and talked to a bunch of folks trying to hire product managers, it’s like ‘oh everybody’s missing something’.

Product 52

Product Vertical Non-Compete Analytics 52

View from Seed

AUGUST 27, 2014

This was back when I was director of content at Dailybreak Media, and I was hiring several creatives to build a new team that would grow our audience and work with our brand partners to launch native or sponsored content campaigns. Two simple words that stood way out compared to a sea of “Dear Hiring Manager.” ” Wow!

Hiring 335

Hiring Startup Technical Review PR 335