Agile VC

APRIL 17, 2011

Kayak was started here in my backyard of Boston… co-founder & CTO Paul English and the product/engineering team is based here in Concord MA. Co-founder & CEO Steve Hafner and the business team are based in Norwalk, CT. Led by General Catalyst with participation by co-founders Steve Hafner & Paul English.

Pre-Money Valuation 113

Pre-Money Valuation Liquidation Preference Dividend Common Stock 113

View from Seed

APRIL 30, 2015

What is it, and how should founders think about it? Below, we talk to Glen Mello , Managing Director of Silicon Valley Bank’s accelerator team in Boston. With venture debt as a source of low-cost capital to fuel growth or buy time during later stages, should a founder approach their fundraising from VCs any differently today ?

Term Sheet 120

Term Sheet Equity Startup Seed Stage 120

Agile VC

JUNE 5, 2011

Even for those who don’t care to dive into the numbers, it’s worth a quick glance because co-founder/CEO Andrew Mason wrote a letter which forms the preamble of the full document. The folks at Yipit did a detailed analyis of the Boston data and concluded Groupon’s model is deteriorating there. Read More ».

North America 100

North America Chicago Boston Silicon Valley 100

Agile VC

MAY 26, 2011

Many assume it was a cakewalk, based on the success LinkedIn has enjoyed over time and the current stature of our founder/CEO Reid Hoffman (now Chairman). Yes… he was a very successful PayPal exec and previously co-founder & VP Product of SocialNet. We three partners are working hard. We have a long way to go baby!

Term Sheet 178

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Technical Review Social Network 178

View from Seed

JUNE 16, 2015

Editor’s note: Local tech media company BostInno (a division of the American City Business Journals) hosts an annual Boston State of Innovation conference. I was recently asked to sit on panel with my fellow VC peers and some top entrepreneurs from the Boston tech community. What’s the real reason you didn’t invest?

Boston 120

Boston Syndicate Syndication eCommerce 120

Rob Go

APRIL 19, 2017

Recently, I’ve been spending a fair bit of time with a number of the new early-stage investors in Boston. As more early-stage investors emerge in Boston, some folks have asked me whether I feel any discomfort around the many new “competitors” on the scene. There are a lot of new folks in the space. The Engine.

Early Stage 34

Early Stage Boston Artificial Inteligence Term Sheet 34

View from Seed

JULY 9, 2015

It’s a common question that every VC fields from founders — and founders field from other founders, and marketers field from founders, and PR people field from founders. Be sure you have an honest and direct discussion with your lawyers, who should be viewed as true partners who understand these things.

Startup 120

Startup PR Cofounder Stealth 120

View from Seed

OCTOBER 22, 2015

One of the best and most positive movements proliferating around the tech community is what Product Hunt founder and CEO Ryan Hoover calls “building in public.” Also, we’d love to syndicate any articles you’ve written offering tactics or stories about going zero-to-N at your startup! ). – NextView blog.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Seed Capital Syndicate Syndication 120

Agile VC

APRIL 27, 2012

My partners and I have blogged about some of these including Invited Guest , Golazo , Authentic , and Tribe. My partner David recently wrote about how investors tend to bring their own inherent biases (both good and bad) into pitch meetings with entrepreneurs. My partner @ LeeHower looks back: [link] 5 days ago Search.

Silicon Valley 124

Silicon Valley Seed Stage Syndicate Syndication 124

Agile VC

MAY 21, 2012

The expanding universe of potential buyers is a great thing for founders. We’ll see how long they remain exciting, innovative places to work but at least for now I think most founders who contemplate an acquisition would be open to having their company and team be part of a Facebook, LinkedIn, or Zynga. Read More ».

Acquisition 162

Acquisition Silicon Valley B2B Seed Stage 162

Agile VC

JANUARY 18, 2012

Being a startup founder isn’t for everyone ultimately, in fact it probably isn’t for most people. Not everyone has the skillset and experience to be a founder, and many of those that do may not have the risk tolerance. Seven Reasons to Become a Founding Entrepreneur. January 18, 2012.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Cofounder Silicon Valley Seed Stage 100

Agile VC

AUGUST 2, 2011

Or as my friend and mentor Reid Hoffman says being a founder is like throwing yourself off a cliff and assembling an airplane on the way down. I co-founded NextView Ventures , a seed-stage VC firm based in Boston, in 2010. My partner @ LeeHower looks back: [link] 5 days ago Search. What person in their right mind does that?

Silicon Valley 113

Silicon Valley Seed Stage Syndicate Syndication 113

Agile VC

DECEMBER 5, 2011

Objective Logistics co-founders Philip Beauregard and Matt Grace sent out this illustration immediately after the round was announced which I think keeps this in perspective nicely. I co-founded NextView Ventures , a seed-stage VC firm based in Boston, in 2010. My partner @ LeeHower looks back: [link] 5 days ago Search.

Silicon Valley 100

Silicon Valley Seed Stage Syndicate Syndication 100

Agile VC

JULY 11, 2012

The names of these once great, now defunct firms may not be terribly familiar today but here are just a few examples: American Research & Development [Boston] –> Founded by George Doriot and depending how you count it, either the first or second formal VC firm in the US.

Silicon Valley 240

Silicon Valley Carried Interest Cofounder Boston 240

Rob Go

JANUARY 9, 2012

I believe that the best way to understand an investor is to meet the founders that they work with. Geography: Of the 16 investments, 9 are currently headquartered in Boston, 4 are in NYC, 2 are in SF, and 1 has s presence in both Boston and Chicago. The main focus of our fund is in the Boston-New York corridor.

Portfolio 46

Portfolio Syndicate Syndication Cofounder 46

Agile VC

FEBRUARY 28, 2012

If you and all the people around your startup (co-founders, advisors, existing investors) feel strongly that the company A) could benefit from additional equity capital at this time and B) you’ve accomplished value accretive milestones since your last round of funding, then it might make sense to talk with potential new investors.

Early Stage 100

Early Stage Syndicate Syndication Silicon Valley 100

Agile VC

JANUARY 12, 2012

When a startup doesn’t match the stage where a particular investor focuses, founders may get a response along the lines of “This is interesting to us, but come back once you get from X phase to Y phase” That could be from seed stage to a larger Series A financing need, or to progress from pre-product to post-revenue.

Seed Stage 100

Seed Stage Silicon Valley Syndicate Syndication 100

Agile VC

MAY 16, 2012

IMO Bessemer is perhaps the most emblematic firm of thematic investing… all the investment professionals in the firm from senior partners to more junior staff team up in small groups to construct “ roadmaps ” of the themes in which they intend to pursue investments, which are then articulated more broadly within the firm.

Seed Stage 124

Seed Stage Silicon Valley B2B Syndicate 124

Rob Go

JANUARY 8, 2014

We make 2-4 investments per year per partner. We don’t do chip-in investments – each investment is a full-allocation of partner time. We don’t invest in “syndicates A rounds” as our first point of entry into a company. Syndicates: We have a bias to lead rounds. Each investment matters.

Syndicate 45

Syndicate Syndication Portfolio Advertising 45

View from Seed

AUGUST 26, 2015

Here’s a great recap on the Boston Globe’s tech blog.). And if you just want to learn about different types of angels and what motivates each, my partner David has written about that before here.). They also want to help founders and want their products and services to exist. Be founder driven. Why Invest?

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.). And if you just want to learn about different types of angels and what motivates each, my partner David has written about that before here.). They also want to help founders and want their products and services to exist. Be founder driven. Why Invest?

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Angel Investor Software Review Silicon Valley 120

Rob Go

JANUARY 7, 2013

As a founder, it feels like a long time, but it’s really a blip on the radar in the scheme of things. This equates to 3-4 investments that are “led” internally by each partner. We have no junior investment staff, we are a partner driven investor that is focused on each and every portfolio company. Commerce: 5.

Portfolio 49

Portfolio Seed Stage Cofounder B2B 49

David Teten

FEBRUARY 3, 2014

The venture capital industry is continuing its evolution from an upside-down pyramid (typically 3-10 Partners, plus some administrative support) to a traditional hierarchical pyramid. Summit Partners and TA Associates have leveraged their origination programs to move into later stage buyouts.

Private Equity 114

Private Equity Venture Capital Technical Review Equity 114

www.paulgraham.com

APRIL 28, 2010

I think it would help founders to understand funding better—notjust the mechanics of it, but what investors are thinking. And if trouble withinvestors is one of the biggest threats to a startup, managing themis one of the most important skills founders need to learn. Some angel investors join together in syndicates.

Technical Review 76

Technical Review Startup Software Review Angel Investor 76

mashable.com

SEPTEMBER 1, 2011

Droid X Feature Comparison [INFOGRAPHIC] iPad By the Numbers [INFOGRAPHIC] LinkedIn Explores What It Takes To Be an Entrepreneur [INFOGRAPHIC] September 1, 2011 by Ben Parr 15 Share on Tumblr email share Share on Tumblr email share Where does the ideal startup founder come from? Have an account? Whom is he or she connected to?

San Francisco 99

San Francisco New York City Social Media Entrepreneur 99

Agile VC

APRIL 13, 2012

Also all the big anchor companies that a startup might want to partner with at that time (eBay, Google, Oracle, Yahoo!, I describe this in part as the “Social Network” effect… not just the movie itself but the example of Mark Zuckerberg and many other high profile young founders as role models ( who can forget this image? )

Silicon Valley 185

Silicon Valley San Francisco San Jose Startup 185

Agile VC

MAY 10, 2012

I first met Matija Kopic, Farmeron’s co-founder & CEO, a few months ago. So it took me a minute to describe to my partners why SaaS for cows is incredibly exciting… Farmeron is a SaaS company focused on the data management challenges facing the agriculture sector. this is a smart investment. Good stuff Lee.

Silicon Valley 223

Silicon Valley Cofounder Seed Stage Syndicate 223

Agile VC

JUNE 25, 2012

The company has been in stealth mode for the last couple months but I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about NextView’s investment in the company and our enthusiasm to be working with co-founders Dan Foody and Alex Cote. I first met co-founder/CEO Dan Foody a little over six months ago. Read More ». Previous Entries.

Cofounder 140

Cofounder Stealth Silicon Valley Mobile 140

Agile VC

JUNE 12, 2012

Both are building on top of the existing credit card infrastructure because as Swipely Founder/CEO Angus Davis points out, millions of people are walking around with a mobile payment device in their pocket… it’s called a credit card. I co-founded NextView Ventures , a seed-stage VC firm based in Boston, in 2010.

Mobile 250

Mobile Disintermediation SMS Government 250