Rob Go

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

Lead investors are few. Leads that are true force-multipliers are exceedingly rare. Although seed funding has exploded since we started Nextview, we continue to hear the refrain from founders that there are tons of investors that will pile-in on a round that is coming together, but that lead investors are few and far between.

North America 36

North America Seed Stage Early Stage Lead Investor 36

Gust

SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

With that background, here are 30 tips to help you make the most of Gust: Subscribe to the Gust Blog , and go back and read the past posts. Again, although this ‘sausage-making’ is internal to the group, you should proactively work with your lead investor/champion to understand where you are in the group’s process.

Angel Groups 159

Angel Groups Elevator Pitch Software Review Deal Flow 159

View from Seed

JANUARY 27, 2021

Investors take chances when they invest in seed stage companies, but founders take a profoundly larger chance when selecting a lead investor or board member for their company. Most importantly, we want to say thank you to each and every founder that we’ve had the privilege to work with.

LP 411

LP Early Stage Seed Stage Venture Capital 411

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 17, 2012

It means lead investors can get to 10, 15 or 20% ownership depending on whatever math they have that makes their own success model work. More often, its probably closer to 25%, but since this is a blog post, I'll try to look more entrepreneur friendly. That's just roughly the equilibrium we've come to in this world.

Venture Capital 116

Venture Capital Framework Dilution Equity 116

View from Seed

AUGUST 26, 2015

Here’s a great recap on the Boston Globe’s tech blog.). With all that in mind, here’s Angel Bootcamp — The Blog Post Edition. Favor investment rounds with strong leads that haven’t raised millions of dollars before you. Paul Graham on how to be an angel investor. Remember the power law. Other thoughts?

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Angel Investor Software Review Silicon Valley 120

View from Seed

AUGUST 26, 2015

Here’s a great recap on the Boston Globe’s tech blog.). With all that in mind, here’s Angel Bootcamp — The Blog Post Edition. Favor investment rounds with strong leads that haven’t raised millions of dollars before you. Paul Graham on how to be an angel investor. Remember the power law. Other thoughts?

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Angel Investor Software Review Silicon Valley 120

Hunter Walker

SEPTEMBER 12, 2022

And while I passed on leading their seed, I did contribute a smaller amount into the financing, along with three subsequent pro rata/super pro rata investments. I agreed and we subsequently did a TechCrunch Live discussion together with a follow-up blog post in her newsletter.

Cofounder 96

Cofounder Lead Investor Founder Restful 96

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 4, 2021

It’s a super important, near permanent relationship, especially for a lead investor that is likely to take a board seat for many years. There is a well-known trope that choosing a VC to partner with is like marriage. This is true. But in my experience, the metaphor ends there.

Founder 280

Founder Lead Investor Portfolio Reputation 280

Hunter Walker

JANUARY 19, 2023

In their 2015 introductory blog post , the group said We’re hoping to grow OpenAI into such an institution. Researchers will be strongly encouraged to publish their work, whether as papers, blog posts, or code, and our patents (if any) will be shared with the world. What does ‘Open’ aspire to in this case?

Naming 62

Naming Lead Investor Distribution Technology 62

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 23, 2021

The average investor is fairly harmless, and even if they aren’t as helpful as one would hope, they rarely create major headaches. Typically, the lead investor is in a much better place to anticipate what kinds of investors might be willing to collaborate in helping to bridge a company in trickier situations.

Syndicate 207

Syndicate Syndication Term Sheet Cofounder 207

Hippoland

APRIL 9, 2017

e.g. “Dave McClure’s no-BS blog has been a great resource for me in my startup journey, and it’s been fun being able to hang out with him once or twice.” This leads investors to believe that there is something either really wrong with your business or that you, as a founder, are not sharp.

Early Stage 48

Early Stage Cofounder Software Review Naming 48

View from Seed

JANUARY 7, 2020

Even though the relative shortage of seed firms who lead rounds in NYC represents a near-term opportunity for firms like ours, I do hope that there will be more local lead investors in this market as the ecosystem continues to develop and mature.

New York 207

New York Boston Marketing Aggregator 207

View from Seed

AUGUST 12, 2015

In particular, he asked one very clever question of VCs to run a smoother, more effective process, culminating in four term sheets from interested, lead investors. Listen to episode #8 of Traction via iTunes or SoundCloud , or get all links and context via this blog post.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Marketing Angel Investor Term Sheet 120

View from Seed

AUGUST 12, 2015

In particular, he asked one very clever question of VCs to run a smoother, more effective process, culminating in four term sheets from interested, lead investors. Listen to episode #8 of Traction via iTunes or SoundCloud , or get all links and context via this blog post.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Marketing Angel Investor Term Sheet 120

OnlyOnce

APRIL 27, 2021

Last week, I blogged about Bolster’s Board Benchmark survey results , which really laid bare the lack of diversity on startup boards. The conversation with a new potential investor about not taking a board seat. If you have a big new lead investor writing a $40mm check into a growth round, you may not have a leg to stand on.

Vesting 48

Vesting Cofounder Startup Term Sheet 48

View from Seed

DECEMBER 6, 2018

So learning which investors are comfortable with concept stage pre-seed vs post-product seed vs small Series A vs big “momentum” A is an important part of qualifying potential investors. Investors love to maintain optionality for investing in the future if a startup does really well. When “Too Early” Isn’t a “No”.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Early Stage Differentiation Lead Investor 120

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 5, 2011

We’re almost always the lead investor and usually the most active, too. I wanted to be whimsical and have a blog as cool as Spark Capital. Look more modern than our previous website, which had a very 2000 feel to it. Demonstrate the deep relationships we have with the CEO’s with whom we work. Sadly, I couldn’t get there.

Early Stage 260

Early Stage Lead Investor Portfolio Partner 260

Austin Startup

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

Also participating in the round is Austin Ventures, the lead investor of the company’s $3.6 Spredfast plans to use the funding to expand its industry-leading platform that helps companies better manage engagement and conversion across all major social channels, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, blogs and Foursquare.

Lead Investor 74

Lead Investor Social Media Austin Channel 74

www.seriesseed.com

DECEMBER 9, 2012

Series Seed Financing Documents Blog. Blog Archives.   Based on the comments received, both on the blog and in the many deals in which these documents have been used, I am convinced that the terms of a simple set of equity documents are really not an issue.  Most of the comments are on the Blog. 09/02/2010.

Term Sheet 40

Term Sheet Ratchet Dilution Equity 40

View from Seed

OCTOBER 21, 2014

Using NextView as an example, since we both seek to lead the seed round and only lead during this round, I’ve seen this trend manifest in one of two ways: In a priced round, the entrepreneur will often share their valuation ask (or a stated floor) for the pre-money valuation of their company much sooner in the process.

Valuation 336

Valuation Founder Seed Stage Angel Investor 336

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 3, 2014

Which is why I''m sure the dude who picked apart the physics of the latest round of UBeam will undoubtedly get eviscerated in the tweet and blog world. ".Here’s I just respectfully don''t see the same opportunity as her investors do, and I reserve the right to be 100% wrong. Here’s the problem. We all have.

Venture Capital 151

Venture Capital Marketing Valuation Lead Investor 151

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

If you’re raising a round where a new lead investor would invest $5 million the VC fund must have no less than $100 million and if you’re looking for them to write $15–20 million as the lead their fund realistically should be at least $400 million. This goes into the heart of my controversial blog post (coming soon!

Term Sheet 332

Term Sheet Due Diligence Campaign Sales 332

Feld Thoughts

AUGUST 2, 2010

This prompted me to write a post titled AngelList Boulder and Some Thoughts on Seed Investing where I promised to write up some of my thoughts on how and why VCs could be good seed investors. They are: Fred Wilson: Lead Investors, Dipshit Companies, and Funding Every Entrepreneur.

Angel Investor 152

Angel Investor Cofounder Syndicate Syndication 152

View from Seed

JANUARY 11, 2021

The idea that CEOs must have charisma can lead investors to overlook promising candidates, and to consider others unsuited for the role. Said Graham from Lerer Hippeau: “ Not every founder has to fit the archetype of overtly charismatic to be a good founder, and rather many of the best founders do not.

Venture Capital 350

Venture Capital Cofounder Early Stage Seed Stage 350

Agile VC

JANUARY 12, 2012

Even the best entrepreneurs often hear “no” from potential investors. I’ve blogged before how this remains one of the hardest parts of my job. The Difference Between “No” and “Not Yet” January 12, 2012.

Seed Stage 100

Seed Stage Silicon Valley Syndicate Syndication 100

Feld Thoughts

MAY 3, 2010

I am FeedBurner publisher #699 and used it for my blog back when it was “pre-Alpha”. Over the next six months we interacted regularly about the product and when he was ready to start fundraising, I quickly made him an offer and we became the lead investor in the round. How a founder/CEO reacts to this speaks volumes to me.

Product 148

Product Cofounder Lead Investor Software 148

www.readwriteweb.com

MARCH 7, 2011

The startups and investors can do the round however they like. AngelList is a community. The community helps you get intros. startupcto

Technical Review 50

Technical Review Due Diligence Startup Angel Investor 50

Growthink Blog

NOVEMBER 8, 2010

Since 2005, they have been the two leading investors in Africa, investing $31 billion and $16 billion on the continent, respectively. IPO by far this year will be the government ward General Motors. And with their capital and confidence, China and India are stretching their wings.

Africa 104

Africa Brazil China India 104

Professor VC

APRIL 1, 2010

While this may certainly be the case with unsophisticated angels (much less of these now) or in cases with no lead investor, Id argue the opposite. In my experience, venture investors are more focused on percentage ownership, which obviously requires a trade-off with the amount invested and valuation. Blog Archive.

Term Sheet 32

Term Sheet Angel Investor San Jose Venture Capital 32

ithacaVC

DECEMBER 9, 2018

And there is a ton of literature (from blog posts to books) about the value that good independent directors can and should bring to a startup. Sure, the person will ultimately typically need to be mutually agreeable to the lead investor and founders but having the founders source the person strikes the right balance in my opinion.

Stock Options 40

Stock Options Salary Lead Investor Founder 40

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 1, 2010

Future investors will also look at whether your angels “re-upped&# if you hit a bump in the road. VCs are just one of many signals future investors at which future investors will look. If you don’t understand the concept of “signaling&# please read the blog post I wrote on Understanding VC signaling.

Post-Money Valuation 298

Post-Money Valuation Term Sheet Warrant Partner 298

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

This continues my series of posts: Top 30 Startup Posts for July 2010 Top 30 Startup Posts in June 2010 Top 29 Startup Posts May 2010 Startup CTO Top 30 Posts for April 16 Great Startup Posts from March Here they are: How to Minimize Politics in Your Company - Ben's Blog , August 24, 2010 “Who the f@#k you think you f$&kin’ with.

Startup 191

Startup CTO Hire Cofounder Venture Capital 191

View from Seed

JANUARY 26, 2016

This is the first of several blog posts discussing pre-seed rounds. They are either repeat successful founders or first-time founders who are still well-known and well-respected individuals by the lead investor. To ensure you receive the rest, subscribe here. These tend to be cases where founders are proven.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Early Stage Cofounder Finance 120

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2010

I recently wrote a blog post on understanding how the size and age of a venture capital fund might affect you when you’re raising money. In a world of The Funded, VentureHacks and entrepreneur blogs this kind of informations spreads like wildfire. They don’t mind being the lead investor on deals that they seeded.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Term Sheet Early Stage Silicon Valley 265

Rob Go

FEBRUARY 3, 2014

Figuring that out is the subject of another blog post. This is kind of the equivalent of “I’m in as long as you have a lead” but sounds a lot better. Find a lead investor: These are funds that are willing to stick their neck out and be the first “yes” and issue a term sheet. Feel free to call them”.

Term Sheet 73

Term Sheet Due Diligence Valuation Seed Stage 73

Duct Tape Marketing

FEBRUARY 20, 2014

Five Ways You’re Not Going To Get An Investor For Your Startup written by Guest Post read more at Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing Thursday is guest post day here at Duct Tape Marketing and today’s guest is Weston Bergmann – Enjoy! There are a lot of ways to attract an angel investor to your startup.

Kansas City 70

Kansas City Due Diligence Arizona Kansas 70

Rob Go

JULY 17, 2014

We want to be able to comfortably lead these rounds and speak for 1/3 – 1/2 of the capital or more. Our new fund size allows us to do that and continue to play the part of the lead investor. This leads to the second factor. Follow our NextView blog here or the different members of our team.

Seed Stage 69

Seed Stage Early Stage Due Diligence Liquidity Event 69