Feld Thoughts

AUGUST 6, 2013

Much progress has been made to ensure that those in Washington are hearing entrepreneurs’ concerns, but we still have a long way to go – especially with connecting politicians to those in the seed-stage technology sector.

America 151

America Washington Small Business Administration SBA 151

Feld Thoughts

AUGUST 6, 2018

It’s useful to note that in addition to our direct investing and partner fund investing , we are investors in Techstars , which has redefined seed stage investing all over the world.

North Dakota 70

North Dakota Southern California San Diego Indianapolis 70

Feld Thoughts

JANUARY 20, 2017

The AngelList funds will give mentors and alumni early investment access while providing companies with additional early stage capital. AngelList syndicates helps enable seed stage investing at scale. At Foundry Group, we learned a lot by running our own FG Angels syndicate.

Syndicate 70

Syndicate Syndication Seed Stage Vertical 70

Feld Thoughts

APRIL 6, 2012

I’d argue that a seed stage startup should be doing no more than 1 or 2 events per quarter (not including local meetups, hackdays , etc) MAX. “But aren’t there some conferences that I should just avoid?

Las Vegas 135

Las Vegas Seed Stage Silicon Valley Reputation 135

Feld Thoughts

JULY 13, 2014

And, very late stage / pre-IPO investors already investing in companies worth over $1 billion are interested in an even smaller absolute return, often being delighted with 2x in a relatively short period of time. So, let’s zone this in on an early stage discussion. I don’t think so.

Later Stage 195

Later Stage Early Stage Valuation Seed Stage 195

Feld Thoughts

AUGUST 29, 2011

Early on, we defined TechStars as a “mentorship-driven seed stage investment program&# and have held deeply to that concept from the beginning. When David Cohen and I first talked about TechStars in 2006, the concept of a “mentor&# was front and center.

Seed Stage 138

Seed Stage Programming Networking Startup 138

Feld Thoughts

MARCH 20, 2010

On a daily basis, I get an email from someone at a seed-stage startup where their email address does not include their website URL. For example, I just got an email from joesmith@gmail.com for his company CoolThing.

Email 131

Email Seed Stage Startup Founder 131

Feld Thoughts

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

We rarely do convertible debt at Foundry Group – we much prefer to do equity rounds, even at the seed stage. However, many of the seed rounds done in TechStars are done using convertible debt as are many financings of less than $1m.

Term Sheet 125

Term Sheet Seed Stage Angel Investor Valuation 125

Feld Thoughts

AUGUST 28, 2015

Yesterday, I got the docs giving the seed investors, which included the FG Angels group, 12% of the post money cap table. I also appreciate it as it sets an important tone in the seed stage ecosystem. I’m glad the CEO and the VC investors did the right thing.

Cap Table 70

Cap Table Seed Stage Angel Groups Dilution 70

Feld Thoughts

MARCH 15, 2010

million in seed-stage funding has been raised. The data that David published covers a lot of ground, including status by individual company. Some of the pertinent summary data follows: In three years, about $16.5 27 of 39 (~70%) TechStars companies have either raised outside funding after the program or bootstrapped to profitability.

Seed Stage 125

Seed Stage Boston Bootstrapping Programming 125

Feld Thoughts

FEBRUARY 7, 2010

About 20 active (at least four investments in the past year) early stage investors (angels and seed stage VCs) attended. I thought it was spectacular and the twitter stream from #OAFCO reflected this sentiment. Six entrepreneurs presented their companies in short seven minute pitches.

Angel Investor 110

Angel Investor San Francisco New York City Colorado 110

Feld Thoughts

DECEMBER 15, 2016

In pre-seed and seed stage companies, there’s been a trend against having board of directors. Instead, there is no formal board, or no formalism around the board, so it’s just a free for all between the collection of early investors (angels and pre-seed/seed VCs) and the founders.

Sales 70

Sales Seed Stage Early Stage Finance 70

Feld Thoughts

AUGUST 4, 2010

This is an intense week for seed stage stuff in Boulder as TechStars Demo Day is tomorrow where 11 new companies are having their coming out party. I attended the second Open Angel Forum in Boulder tonight. Simply put, it was dynamite.

Angel Investor 130

Angel Investor Seed Stage Early Stage Texas 130

Feld Thoughts

JULY 26, 2010

There is a lot more transparency than there ever has been, the structural dynamics of early stage investing are moving around a lot, and entrepreneurs have more clarity on their choices, ways to figure out who is good and who is bad, and ways to get access to great choices than ever before.

Angel Investor 122

Angel Investor Early Stage Seed Stage Cofounder 122

Feld Thoughts

NOVEMBER 2, 2016

Most importantly from my frame of reference, the amount of activity at the early and seed stage seems to be extremely robust. M&A activity on one hand seems very lively, although it’s less in everyone’s face. How many deals do you expect to make in 2016? Are you a bull or bear? We make around ten new investments every year.

Venture Capital 70

Venture Capital Private Equity Early Stage Valuation 70

Feld Thoughts

APRIL 23, 2015

We deeply believe that the way companies are created and funded, especially at the seed stage, is radically changing on a permanent basis. Now, if you are paying attention to my biases, you’d logically ask “So why did you co-found Techstars and why are you and your Foundry Group partners so involved?”

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Advisory Board Venture Capital LP Seed Stage 70