Version One Ventures

JANUARY 31, 2024

As one fellow VC said to me, “Raising a fund for an emerging manager in 2024 might be one of the hardest things you can do”. The first is the fund that you would ideally raise if LP capital was not a constraining factor. In this market, emerging managers should be more focused on the minimum viable fund rather than their ideal fund.

LP 73

LP Differentiation Deal Flow India 73

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

But gone are the days where VCs put dollars into companies and ask founders to step aside quickly so that the VC can install their favorite management team. The start is about inspiration, vision, product, early execution whereas the scale is about team management, process and consistency. Is it possible that you get fired?

Venture Capital 236

Venture Capital Startup Angel Investor Silicon Valley 236

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2019

I work hard to create working relationships with my fellow non-management board members in the same way that every investor ultimately works to develop strong working relationships with founders. We do lunch where everybody has a casual conversation followed by 6 hours of content and discussion. kind of like a board for a VC firm).

LP 269

LP Startup Burn Rate Stock Options 269

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

As two fund managers employing Flexible VC, we think it is a healthy addition to the ecosystem and will yield more predictable and stable healthy returns for investors. Too often, investment structures force the management team to make decisions between misaligned growth and investment (return) objectives. Flexible VC: Blended Return.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 12, 2020

The new point person seemed intent on bringing in new managers. I took my last LP meeting the first week of March and clearly, I didn’t close anyone that I had met with at that time. I had a lot of great conversations this year—not all of them were easy or comfortable, but they were real. He seemed paranoid.

LP 136

LP Technical Review Software Review Valuation 136

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

At the other end of the spectrum large funds have gotten even larger in the past few years which has massively increased the amount of consolidation in our industry as 66% of LP money into venture is now concentrated in late-stage or full-cycle VCs. Why is this? and the bigger funds can’t get in directly.

Technical Review 398

Technical Review Venture Capital Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 398

Hunter Walker

AUGUST 8, 2023

Obvious caveats to my POV here, most specifically: exposure is limited to largely the US/SiliconValley ecosystem, driven by our own portfolio, my friends and co-investors, the funds I’m a LP in, and our institutional LP relationships. Fund Sizes Got Too Big. Firms raised too much money.

Portfolio 99

Portfolio Cap Table LP Valuation 99

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 18, 2017

Recently the firms two founding partners (and also Managing Partners) —  Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham  — decided to transition management of the firm to Andy Weissman (who joined in 2012) and Albert Wenger (joined in 2008 and writes one of the most thoughtful blogs in our industry ).

Leadership 161

Leadership LP Venture Capital Silicon Valley 161

Austin Startup

AUGUST 10, 2017

Before graduating, I decided to forgo the finance path and instead dove into engineering and later sales and product management roles at VersaSuite (health IT) in Austin. Diversified funds are the most effective way to manage exposure to this volatile, rapidly evolving asset class. We were infatuated with tech.

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Cofounder Technical Cofounder Austin 48

Hunter Walker

JANUARY 5, 2014

Managing short-term tactical outcomes with longer term relationship cultivation. raising capital, building LP relationships, infrastructure and platform investments, recruiting for firm, budget/audit, evaluating overall firm strategy and performance. But as I build our business, it’s time that I’m thinking about.

Software Review 103

Software Review Balance Sheet Cofounder Technical Review 103

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2019

If you get into the best deals it has never been a better time to be a VC or LP, and the best have developed strategies to capture more value Given that the best deals are pushing out their exit dates it means that many firms aren’t seeing as quick of liquidity as they might have 20 years ago.

Venture Capital 292

Venture Capital IPO Mezzanine Early Stage 292

David Teten

JANUARY 23, 2021

For example, one LP told me she prefers customized emails from fund principals, as opposed to a bulk-mailed quarterly update. In particular, highlight the metrics by which you measured your past activities: size of exit, number of people you managed, $ budget you were responsible for, etc. We are using Digify to manage this.

Private Equity 78

Private Equity Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review 78

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2017

WINTER For starters when we conducted our annual VC & LP survey in December of 2016 to prepare our annual Upfront State of the VC Industry report we found that twice as many VCs cut their investments in 2016 relative to 2015 with > 30% of VCs having cut investments. Unless of course something Trump’s our good weather.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Saudi Arabia Kuwait Burn Rate 150

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2020

Of our early-stage deals we do 33% Seed, 66% A’s) Why recycling is important, but why without exits you might even be forced to stop paying management fees for a while What Will Happen with LPs in this Economic Market? Harry asked me whether I thought LP “defaults” (not funding the VC commitments it made) would go up.

Marketing 263

Marketing Valuation Churn Rate Balance Sheet 263

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

However, in private markets, there is more room to optimize across all 11 steps of the investing process: firm management , marketing, fundraising , origination , manage relationships, due diligence, negotiation, monitoring, portfolio acceleration , reporting, and. 1) Manage the firm . This is harder than it sounds.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

Hunter Walker

APRIL 28, 2017

For VCs, annual LP meetings are combination Board Meeting + Community Event. Several founders gave 10-12 minute updates on their companies, and then, a dinner with our LPs, Homebrew founders and fund advisors. We spent an afternoon with our investors, providing updates on fund performance, market dynamics and future plans.

LP 70

LP Portfolio Founder Community 70

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 2, 2017

So I would start by sharing with the fund an institutional LP due diligence checklist , and ask them to share their data room with you. Sean Seton-Rogers, Partner, Profounders Capital, breaks the conversation into three areas: Control: voting/veto for new deals, share of management company. So assessing fit is critical.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Partner 60

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 7, 2018

There is an old management saying, “measure twice, cut once” which refers to the benefit of doing some planning. If you’re raising a seed round (say $1.5m) and the firm you’re talking to manages $1.2 This can be somebody on 15 boards or maybe the managing partner. One first-pass qualification is “stage.” Super busy partner.

LP 215

LP San Francisco Minneapolis Partner 215

David Teten

JULY 12, 2017

GPs strategically invite trusted [Limited Partners and others] to co-invest, often based on the LP’s ability to add value or when the amount of capital required to complete an attractive transaction is larger than they are able to invest alone.”. Sometimes we’ll reach out to individual angels, not just funds and family offices.

Syndicate 60

Syndicate Syndication Institutional Investors LP 60

David Teten

MARCH 2, 2013

We thought that you’d be interested in our conversation. He surmises that LPs aren’t buying the argument that large funds don’t perform. Beyond the fact that LP capital commitments don’t prove anything about returns, however, large funds are likely much more resilient to a few bad years than small funds are.

LP 114

LP Securities and Exchange Commission Silicon Valley Venture Capital 114

Hunter Walker

AUGUST 24, 2014

Yes, at early stages you want to maximize investment going into company operations and not private pockets but that’s why these conversations should happen openly and with structure (for example, series FF which requires Board approval to liquidate in a financing).

Founder 109

Founder San Francisco Liquidity Event LP 109

The Equity Kicker

JULY 8, 2019

This is what brings us to the second big difference: the cost of Applied Venture is too large to finance from a standard VC management fee. . Different funds finance the cost of these teams with a differing weighting of asking portfolio companies to pay for services, larger than normal management fees, and reduced compensation for partners.

Portfolio 84

Portfolio LP Venture Capital Partner 84

Feld Thoughts

JANUARY 28, 2015

Here’s what I remember the conversation being. I’m in for $100,000 so you’ve got your first LP. Shortly after that conversation (either the same day or the following day) my partners at Foundry Group (Seth, Jason, and Ryan) all committed to invest in the fund. One day in 2009 David Cohen and I were talking.

LP 70

LP Seattle Angel Investor Partner 70

David Teten

AUGUST 21, 2019

This includes the application process, phone calls with us, conversations with co-founders, investors and counsel, etc. not because of LP objections or moral concerns, but because the pool of potential M&A buyers is greatly limited. Requires regular monthly payments and careful cash management. Soup to nuts.

Revenue 60

Revenue Liquidation Preference Equity Cofounder 60

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2017

Every LP I speak with these days tells me, “We need to have coverage in Los Angeles — we know that” and it’s no coincidence that we’ve seen the explosion in emerging managers covering the Seed and A-round investment scene in LA. They always ask whether I see this as threatening as Upfront Ventures. link] The Snap IPO Happened.

IPO 191

IPO Los Angeles South Korea Armenia 191

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 3, 2021

The other day, my wife Aja Singer and I were having a conversation about being more intentional with our time, especially when it comes to working. What we found was that doing this exercise together created the space for really productive conversations about how we spend our time. I’m pretty lucky because I control most of my time.

Management 120

Management Portfolio LP Social Media 120

Hunter Walker

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

Below I’ll share some of the principles we use at Homebrew , knowing that there’s not really a single ‘right’ answer for a fund manager. Most of this discussion is about ‘playing offense’ — working towards being a good steward of LP capital and the risk/reward associated with VC. Pigs get fat but hogs get slaughtered.

Venture Capital 122

Venture Capital Cap Table LP Equity 122

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

I recently read a blog post by Beezer Clarkson, Managing Director of Sapphire Ventures about why entrepreneurs should care about from whom their VC funds raise their capital. We have many LPs who come from industry and this is truly a value-add in a LP/VC relationship 3. Beezer did. Read the responses to this story on Medium.

LP 150

LP Entrepreneur United States Venture Capital 150

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

While it’s true that they are investing LP money from a fund, it’s also true that the VCs are required to write large checks into their funds so every time they do a “capital call” (request money from an LP to fund you) they are also having to wire their own money into the deal. VCs most certainly do have skin in the game.

Warrant 187

Warrant LP Cofounder Founder 187

conversionxl.com

FEBRUARY 4, 2014

Extra Lucrative Conversion Advice. Conversion Optimization Services. Conversion Research. We’ve organized everything to best simulate a visitor’s experience on a landing page from first click to final conversion. Why You Should Focus On Clicks Before Conversions. Conversion rates for our top Adwords are way up.

Analytics 98

Analytics Software Review Conversion Video 98

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 15, 2014

I went to see several LP funds in Boston. At least twice I had conversations that went like this, “Yes. I figured if we couldn’t fund every company locally we should at least embrace them as a community and show that we’re willing to mentor them whether they raise their money in town or not. It’s true.

Community 369

Community Silicon Valley Chicago Boston 369

firstround.com

SEPTEMBER 10, 2013

Management and Company Building. -->. ” Constructively critical conversations keep us in the mindset of self-improvement. An in-person conversation using the same words might go quite differently. The one cost engineers and product managers dont consider. The one cost engineers and product managers dont consider.

CTO Hire 52

CTO Hire Engineer Software Review Part-Time VPE 52

Agile VC

DECEMBER 6, 2012

A little more inside baseball from the VC biz… why VC’s rarely make “crossover” investments, with capital from multiple funds the VC firm manages invested in a single startup (see note 1). If Acme Ventures III, LP invests in Startup X then typically Acme Ventures IV, LP would not. Why is this?

LP 178

LP Balance Sheet Differentiation Limited Partner 178

Austin Startup

JUNE 26, 2019

Even though most of this message was already drafted, we also had a Hail Mary of a final acquisition conversation that closed the following morning. The Whole Enchilada For those of you interested in more than The Skinny, keep reading… Countless conversations have been had with key users, customers, advisors, mentors, family and friends.

Silicon Valley 54

Silicon Valley Startup B2C Sweat Equity 54

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 31, 2015

Executive function refers to a number of mental processes that are required to regulate, control, and manage daily life tasks. Typically one would have – Distractibility – If I start getting bored with a task, meeting, movie or conversation I immediately start to notice other things to shift my attention to. I have ADD.

LP 150

LP Lean Chicago Video 150

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2016

I remember when seed funds first started (they were being incorrectly called “super angels” and then Micro VCs before Seed Funds stuck) and every LP (who invest in VCs) told me they weren’t convinced about Seed Funds (too small, too hard to pick winners, would they be able to follow on?). Explosion in Seed Funds. Choose wisely.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Silicon Valley Burn Rate LP 150

Austin Startup

APRIL 1, 2018

Primack quotes an LP as saying, “Never get confused. Though a firm raising a larger fund will earn more management fees, in a vacuum it’s a single consideration (maybe proof of misaligned incentives, maybe not). And then the conversation moved to guessing where the world may go. It’s almost always a fee grab.”

Institutional Investors 48

Institutional Investors LP Portfolio Valuation 48