Agile VC

DECEMBER 13, 2011

My partners and I would be thrilled to support this founder in general, but we don’t have enough conviction about the market opportunity he and his co-founders are pursuing to proceed with an investment. In NextView’s case that’s seed stage internet and software companies. Author howerl. Read More ».

Seed Stage 185

Seed Stage Silicon Valley Cofounder Technical Review 185

Agile VC

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

How to Evaluate Firms for a Seed VC. Startup IPO Market: A Fickle Mistress. The IPO market, she is a fickle mistress. In the first half of 2011, the IPO markets were looking strong for VC-backed companies. Bad economic news in some countries and gloominess across the globe continues to weigh upon all financial markets.

IPO 100

IPO Marketing Silicon Valley Technical Review 100

Steve Blank

APRIL 13, 2013

But what made the overwhelming impression for me was finding an entrepreneurial software cluster on par with the Internet software portion of Silicon Valley. China has essentially closed its internal search, media and social network software market to foreign companies who wouldn’t play with the government rules on the Great Firewall.

Silicon Valley 267

Silicon Valley China Venture Capital Merger 267

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

But VC is an “illiquid asset&# so funds didn’t disappear quickly - In 2000/01 the stock market quickly adjusted punishing investors in the NASDAQ and in individual public technology stocks. What accelerated this was the collapse of the public stock markets. The best and most consistent funds in Silicon Valley (e.g.

LP 311

LP Technical Review Early Stage Silicon Valley 311

Agile VC

MAY 26, 2011

Silicon Valley is still emerging from the tech bubble and massive downturn of late 2000-2002. The market size for online advertising, e-commerce, and web premium services are 1/10th to 1/3rd the size they are today. We’re a how-to site and community for small business on marketing. . Filed under Uncategorized.

Term Sheet 178

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Technical Review Social Network 178

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

As per the chart above, I highly recommend keeping a founder dominated board at the seed stage. Whether the seed investor gets a permanent seat or a temporary seat will largely depend on: The size check they wrote (If it’s a $1.5m If you’re a super experienced Silicon Valley CEO with a billion-dollar exit?—?probably.

Venture Capital 236

Venture Capital Startup Angel Investor Silicon Valley 236

Steve Blank

APRIL 13, 2013

But what made the overwhelming impression for me was finding an entrepreneurial software cluster on par with the Internet software portion of Silicon Valley. China has essentially closed its internal search, media and social network software market to foreign companies who wouldn’t play with the government rules on the Great Firewall.

Silicon Valley 159

Silicon Valley China Venture Capital Merger 159

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 25, 2010

. “Yes&# was given to me by one of my favorite angel investor / seed VC’s to work with – John Greathouse of Rincon Venture Partners and author of the blog InfoChachkie that you should check out because it is filled with great info from a guy who has been a very successful operator.

Silicon Valley 293

Silicon Valley Technical Review Southern California Angel Investor 293

Hippoland

AUGUST 17, 2016

In general, I’m a big fan of convertible notes or convertible securities for seed stage founders. I think my total legal bill for getting my seed round done for LaunchBit was something like < $3000. My expectation is that you’ll check out some of those other resources first if you’re not familiar with any of this.

Equity 48

Equity Convertible Security Silicon Valley Technical Review 48

View from Seed

APRIL 30, 2015

Below, we talk to Glen Mello , Managing Director of Silicon Valley Bank’s accelerator team in Boston. Especially in the early stages, so much about the company may change in how they think about product or go-to-market — and change multiple times — before raising an institutional round.

Term Sheet 120

Term Sheet Equity Startup Seed Stage 120

Up and Running

MARCH 11, 2015

But, getting in the doors of a Sand Hill Road VC in Silicon Valley can be an incredibly difficult undertaking. Jason does an excellent job explaining the math behind more complex subscription forecasting, but also touches on topics like marketing and company culture. Follow Jason on Twitter @ASmartBear. Sam Altman.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Technical Review Silicon Valley Cofounder 60

K9 Ventures

JUNE 5, 2015

Almost two years ago, in a private/closed meeting with K9 Ventures’ LPs only, I claimed that: What was being referred to in the press as the “Series A Crunch” was not because fewer Series A deals were being done, but because there were too many Seed deals being done. Seed stage was super tough. Implications for Founders.

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Venture Capital Early Stage Valuation 48

BeyondVC

JANUARY 3, 2019

We are purpose-built to not only invest pre-product but also to help accelerate your path to product-market fit with our decades of entrepreneurial and investing experience along with our active CXO advisory board. First check to seed?—?congrats will be a great fit with the Salesforce marketing cloud. Rebel exit to Salesforce.

Stealth 79

Stealth Advisory Board Cloud Virginia 79

Agile VC

OCTOBER 27, 2011

InsightSquared is tackling business intelligence software (hardly a sexy market) with an incredibly sexy product that incorporates Facebook style timelines and other features. Im a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur turned East Coast VC. I co-founded NextView Ventures , a seed-stage VC firm based in Boston, in 2010.

Software 100

Software B2B Silicon Valley Acquisition 100

Hippoland

JULY 24, 2016

Valuation is a nebulous topic amongst early stage startups, so I thought I’d really spell it out in detail. In short: Valuations for seed stage companies are fairly arbitrary and driven solely by supply and demand. And therefore, it’s also not quite analogous to the market cap of a publicly traded company.

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Valuation Vertical Demand 48

Steve Blank

JUNE 15, 2011

Today, the signs of the new bubble are the Linked-In initial public offering (IPO), Facebook’s stratospheric valuation and the rapid rise of early-stage startup valuation. Hiring technology talent in Silicon Valley is getting difficult, and the time it takes to drive across Palo Alto has tripled—all signs of the impending apocalypse.

Silicon Valley 327

Silicon Valley Stealth Valuation Mississippi 327

Agile VC

JUNE 5, 2011

Groupon’s become a juggernaut in the immense local marketing space. It also puts another chink in the armor of the meme that monster internet companies can only be built in Silicon Valley (LivingSocial, Kayak, Gilt Groupe, CSN Stores, et al doing damage here too). But even in Boston & Chicago it remains above $20.

North America 100

North America Chicago Boston Silicon Valley 100

Agile VC

APRIL 17, 2011

Last week ZipCar began trading and has a market cap of about $1 billion. Only 7% of the search queries are performed by users referred by search engines, meaning Kayak’s brand is very strong and they continue to build it ($39M spent in 2010 on brand advertising, nearly $92M in total marketing spend). Quinstreet priced at $15.00/sh

Pre-Money Valuation 113

Pre-Money Valuation Liquidation Preference Dividend Common Stock 113

Reid Hoffman

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

.” Making early-stage investment capital accessible to a broader range of founders is the impetus behind my own investments in companies like Concrete Rose Capital , 645 Ventures , and Village Global , among others. But inequitable access to seed-stage capital is a pervasive structural issue.

Technical Review 28

Technical Review America Government Silicon Valley 28

Diego Basch

MARCH 14, 2013

I’ve been around Silicon Valley for a while so I’m connected to many engineers and investors whom I deeply respect. If your seed-stage company fits the criteria above, please contact me. If I see a company that I would have wanted to start, I’d like a chance to contribute to its success.

San Francisco 55

San Francisco Startup Silicon Valley Seed Stage 55

Steve Blank

AUGUST 27, 2009

Ironically, the model is a good fit when launching a new product into an existing , well-defined market where the basis of competition is understood, and its customers are known. We had no clue what our market was when we first started. We’ll look at the model stage-by-stage. None of mine did.)

Silicon Valley 260

Silicon Valley Product Startup Product Development 260

Scott Edward Walker

JULY 25, 2013

Usually to change the world you need to hit the market with force.” (at The ‘lean startup’ philosophy makes a lot of sense at the beginning of the company when you’re trying to get to product-market fit.” (at I think objectively there are too many seed-stage companies…The good news is, I don’t think it’s a systemic problem.” (at

Silicon Valley 74

Silicon Valley Seed Stage Lean IP 74

K9 Ventures

JUNE 12, 2012

Some days in Silicon Valley it feels like there are more investors than there are entrepreneurs. While it it may not feel that way, the data suggest that there is indeed too much capital in the system — especially so at the seed stage, with more and more individuals and larger funds trying to invest in companies at this stage.).

Venture Capital 117

Venture Capital Silicon Valley Founder Seed Stage 117

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 6, 2011

VC investors rely heavily on referrals, but what should a non US startup do when looking to raise funding in Silicon Valley? How best can European startups land VC funding in the US / Sillicon Valley? For example, in response to “ How do I raise funds in Silicon Valley for a European-based startup ? &# Eyal S.

Silicon Valley 104

Silicon Valley Startup Seed Stage Delaware 104

Genuine VC

JULY 8, 2010

” Thanks to the support of our current sponsors Microsoft NERD , Gesmer Updegrove , and Silicon Valley Bank , the event will not only continue to thrive but also evolve. We too are entrepreneurs at the very earliest stages of starting; as things coalesce we’ll announce the details and launch.

Silicon Valley 154

Silicon Valley Seed Stage Cofounder Venture Capital 154

K9 Ventures

JUNE 12, 2012

Some days in Silicon Valley it feels like there are more investors than there are entrepreneurs. While it it may not feel that way, the data suggest that there is indeed too much capital in the system — especially so at the seed stage, with more and more individuals and larger funds trying to invest in companies at this stage.).

Venture Capital 105

Venture Capital Silicon Valley Founder Seed Stage 105

Gust

OCTOBER 17, 2012

Their firsthand knowledge of creating new businesses and new markets seemed quite relevant to successfully investing in other entrepreneurs working to do the same. Valuable lessons learned from Andy’s personal experience venture investing in Silicon Valley. The best estimate of overall angel investor returns from this data is 2.5

Angel Investor 152

Angel Investor Venture Capital Seed Stage Silicon Valley 152

The Next Web

NOVEMBER 20, 2013

The ways of doing business across the Pacific are very different than in Silicon Valley, and the quality and breadth of VCs out here vary widely across different countries. The key investors to keep tabs on are, for the most part, concentrated in four primary markets: China. The players in Japan have had their ups and downs.

Asia 123

Asia Silicon Valley India China 123

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 2, 2011

Although Silicon Valley gets the bulk of the tech world's attention, as ReadWriteWeb's Never Mind the Valley series likes to highlight, there are actually thriving startup hubs all over the place. FounderFuel is backed by the team behind Montreal Startup and Real Ventures (a $50 million seed-stage fund).

Programming 118

Programming North America New York City Silicon Valley 118

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2015

The right investor will have specific feedback on pricing models, distribution and market positioning to improve scalability. For new entrepreneurs looking for seed-stage help, concentrate on investors who know you or organizations with a vested interest. Use initial feedback wisely to improve your case.

Cost 120

Cost Angel Groups Due Diligence Silicon Valley 120

Professor VC

JANUARY 27, 2011

The last blogger in Silicon Valley. I strongly believe (at least for very early stage technology ventures) that you will get diminishing returns and arguably negative returns once you get past an initial threshold of team, product, market and financial diligence. ProfessorVC. Thursday, January 27, 2011.

Technical Review 31

Technical Review Due Diligence Silicon Valley San Jose 31

Haystack

APRIL 10, 2018

Earlier today, the folks from Afore Capital hosted their inaugural “Pre-Seed Summit” in San Francisco. About 150 people showed up, a healthy mix of founders, seed-stage investors and big fund VCs, and a bunch of LPs of various sizes. 4/ LPs noted that the term “pre-seed” is really a U.S.

Seed Stage 60

Seed Stage San Francisco Ratchet Silicon Valley 60

Rob Go

OCTOBER 14, 2012

The others are mainly in Silicon Valley with some exceptions. We are increasingly finding that excellent founders are creating remarkable businesses everywhere, and we are first and foremost a stage and sector focused fund. The VC market is shaping up pretty much as we expected.

New Hampshire 50

New Hampshire Croatia Omaha Portfolio 50

Ben's Blog

APRIL 7, 2021

Before we talk about how this might work, it’s helpful to take a look back at a case study of what gave rise to Silicon Valley as an innovation cluster and the San Francisco Bay Area as a modern supercity. In the case of Silicon Valley, it was a combination of: Universities like Stanford. Federal government.

Silicon Valley 36

Silicon Valley Non-Compete San Francisco Government 36

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2012

They’ve been a long-term investor in our fund – GRP Partners – and it was important to me to spend time with them in their home market and meet the people with whom they deal locally. I met with Dave Knox whom I had previously met when he worked at P&G in marketing. Find out how local markets differ from yours. Shake hands.

Houston 364

Houston Dallas Los Angeles Chicago 364

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 6, 2014

I came of age with the digital revolution, and by applying my marketing expertise with the science of search, I learned how to start companies. From restaurants to tech companies, I’ve seeded a number of new ventures with my own marketing know-how instead of just cash. By Dan Soha, Five Mill Ventures.

San Francisco 154

San Francisco Business Model Silicon Valley Coder 154

Agile VC

JANUARY 27, 2012

There’s lot of anecdotal evidence for this: Seed stage investors (including NextView and many of our peers) are seeing more startups progress from seed to Series A stage in 6-9 months rather than 12-18. Multi-billion dollar valuations for late stage startups like Dropbox, et al. Read More ».

Hockey Stick 113

Hockey Stick Seed Stage Silicon Valley Syndicate 113