Genuine VC

JULY 8, 2010

My new partners, Rob Go and Lee Hower , and I are very enthusiastic about starting our new firm, NextView Ventures. The three of us believe that there is a compelling market opportunity on the east coast for a new seed-stage venture capital firm for founders starting internet-enabled businesses.

Silicon Valley 154

Silicon Valley Seed Stage Cofounder Venture Capital 154

Genuine VC

SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

My own circuitous path graduating a couple years later intentionally without a job (see bullet #1) eventually led me onto the venture capital investing side of startups, but I still regret not fully taking advantage of the two years that only a business school environment (and calling card) can provide.

Cofounder 256

Cofounder Portfolio Venture Capital Reputation 256

Genuine VC

JANUARY 22, 2013

So just as a thought-experiment, I plotted both NextView Ventures’ Boston-based and Manhattan-based companies on a map to see what the picture looked like. My partner Rob Go recently took a stroll through the NextView portfolio in a post which only briefly touched upon geography.)

Boston 169

Boston Startup Portfolio Green 169

Genuine VC

JANUARY 17, 2011

Last summer, I along with my partners announced that we were forming a new micro venture capital firm. I’d encourage you to follow both his blog and my partner Rob’s as we share our story.?.

Seed Stage 125

Seed Stage Boston Early Stage New York 125

Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 22, 2012

When we started NextView Ventures, we deliberately took time during our first offsite together to define a shared sense of “Ethos” which we are going to use as guiding principles in building our firm. As we dig deeper into the remaining characteristics, I wanted to talk a little about what we mean by “Tribe.”

Portfolio 114

Portfolio Seed Stage Venture Capital Partner 114

Genuine VC

MARCH 8, 2012

In a business where the entrepreneur is the customer of a venture capital firm, good customer-service (so to speak) is paramount. It’s fairly telling to note, that of the fifteen portfolio companies we’ve invested in here at NextView, between the three of us partners we had said “no” to the founders at some point on eight of them.

Venture Capital 167

Venture Capital Portfolio Conversion Partner 167

Genuine VC

MAY 5, 2015

One of my first mentors in venture capital explained to me that the key role of a VC is to “aggregate talent.” When we thought there may be a match, my partners and I would introduce someone who we knew was looking for a new job straight to a portfolio company. But it seemed like it wasn’t enough. We could be doing more.

Portfolio 100

Portfolio Startup Boston Seed Stage 100

Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 22, 2012

When we started NextView Ventures, we deliberately took time during our first offsite together to define a shared sense of “Ethos” which we are going to use as guiding principles in building our firm. As we dig deeper into the remaining characteristics, I wanted to talk a little about what we mean by “Tribe.”

Portfolio 100

Portfolio Seed Stage Venture Capital Partner 100

Genuine VC

JANUARY 5, 2010

At the end of the day, all venture capitalists will tell you that they’re above average. Naturally, not all venture capital returns can be above average (…or even good , but that’s the subject of another post.) Go ahead – ask one. Of course, they have to be… we’re eternally optimistic or we would be doing something else.

Boston 150

Boston Early Stage Venture Capital Operations 150

Genuine VC

JULY 6, 2011

A lot has been written for entrepreneurs about optimizing a venture capital fundraising process, but one aspect which isn’t discussed very often is the pacing of it. Two (seemingly contradictory) maxims that are often repeated in this context are: “it goes slow until it goes fast” and “time kills all deals.”

Term Sheet 150

Term Sheet Deal Flow Venture Capital Conversion 150

Genuine VC

MARCH 8, 2012

In a business where the entrepreneur is the customer of a venture capital firm, good customer-service (so to speak) is paramount. It’s fairly telling to note, that of the fifteen portfolio companies we’ve invested in here at NextView, between the three of us partners we had said “no” to the founders at some point on eight of them.

Venture Capital 103

Venture Capital Portfolio Conversion Partner 103

Genuine VC

MARCH 25, 2010

I had coffee with an entrepreneur friend the other day who is in the early stages of putting a company together, and he recounted how his informal conversations with a venture capitalist had quickly escalated into a full partner pitch in just a few weeks. Having one or two early discussions with VCs can help clarify those scenarios.

Early Stage 123

Early Stage Venture Capital Term Sheet Conversion 123

Genuine VC

MARCH 25, 2010

I had coffee with an entrepreneur friend the other day who is in the early stages of putting a company together, and he recounted how his informal conversations with a venture capitalist had quickly escalated into a full partner pitch in just a few weeks. Having one or two early discussions with VCs can help clarify those scenarios.

Early Stage 121

Early Stage Venture Capital Term Sheet Conversion 121

Genuine VC

JANUARY 5, 2010

At the end of the day, all venture capitalists will tell you that they’re above average. Naturally, not all venture capital returns can be above average (…or even good , but that’s the subject of another post.) Go ahead – ask one. Of course, they have to be… we’re eternally optimistic or we would be doing something else.

Boston 101

Boston Early Stage Venture Capital Operations 101

Genuine VC

OCTOBER 11, 2011

Last September I wrote a post outlining my view of the venture capital industry: increasingly evolving like the beer industry as it continues to mature. What’s pouring = individual partners matter. How much of a benefit is it to have your mobile company backed by a firm which only does mobile?

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Seed Stage Entrepreneur LP 150