Both Sides of the Table

MAY 7, 2018

Conversely if you’re raising $20 million in a C round then you probably shouldn’t be targeting an $80 million fund because they aren’t likely a good fit. Next up you need to now find which partners in which firms have led deals that look like yours. Partner on the way out. Super busy partner. New partner.

LP 215

LP San Francisco Minneapolis Partner 215

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 24, 2014

Not just the $20 million round at Invoca, the $70 million I helped us raise at Maker Studios , but I was intimately involved with the earliest funding round at DataSift and every subsequent round which has recently announced $42 million led by Insight Venture Partners and $70 million in total. The monkey on my back. ” Yup.

Los Angeles 387

Los Angeles Intellectual Property LP Venture Capital 387

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

The VC industry grew dramatically as a result of the Internet bubble - Before the Internet bubble the people who invested in VC funds (called LPs or Limited Partners) put about $50 billion into the industry and by 2001 this had grown precipitously to around $250 billion. Here’s my take: 1. VC will shrink. Oh yes it will.

LP 311

LP Technical Review Early Stage Silicon Valley 311

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

But in business, you want a lot of partners. In the private equity universe, most Partners have primary training as deal-makers, not as managers. See Bessemer Venture Partners’ A comprehensive guide to security for startups. Most of us want one spouse and we’re done. The 11 Steps of Investing in Private Companies. 2) Market .

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

After building NextView for almost 10 years now, I’ve been having more conversations recently with first time managers looking for some tactical advice. At first glance, you’d think that all LPs pretty much want to buy the same thing. Every fund pitching an LP is pitching this as a baseline. Are they a principal or an agent?

LP 309

LP Customer Early Stage Portfolio 309

Feld Thoughts

MARCH 14, 2023

I had many 1:1 conversations, emails, and messages with our portfolio company CEOs, along with several open Zoom lines where people could ask questions and just commiserate and feel part of a shared community. Foundry is supporting it as a firm, and I’m supporting it personally along with my partner Jaclyn Hester.

Founder 168

Founder Silicon Valley LP Portfolio 168

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

just having a sparring partner with a vested interest in your success can be useful. The Limited Partners (LPs) who back funds don’t expect their dollars to be passive. was originally published in Both Sides of the Table on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Venture Capital 236

Venture Capital Startup Angel Investor Silicon Valley 236

View from Seed

OCTOBER 11, 2022

I made over a dozen angel investments and a few investments in VC funds as an LP, expanding my focus to new geographies, sectors, and stages. I became certified as a professional coach through the Hudson Institute of Coaching to be a more mindful and effective partner on a founder’s journey.

North America 156

North America San Francisco Cap Table Cofounder 156

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

(co-written with Jamie Finney, Founding Partner at Greater Colorado Venture Fund. Similar to the explosion of seed funds in the past decade, we (and some limited partners too ) believe these Flexible VCs are on the forefront of what will become a major segment of the venture ecosystem. Yes, via conversion rights at a valuation cap.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 5, 2010

Through comment conversations with many of you I tried to emphasize that it isn’t enough to just have one attribute. If your idea is so amazing that it warrants my hard-earned angel money or the money of my LP investors from our fund then why should I take a risk on you if you won’t take a risk on yourself? You need the whole package.

Entrepreneur 293

Entrepreneur CTO Hire South America Salary 293

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 ). Maybe that’s USV, too.

Leadership 161

Leadership LP Venture Capital Silicon Valley 161

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 3, 2015

I had no idea I’d eventually be boxed out of the SaaS branding by Jason (SaaStr) and the LA branding by my partner Greg Bettinelli with #LongLA ! I was an early fan and heavy user of Quora back in the day and used to get huge benefit out of the conversations I had there. I thought about the fact that I was starting in LA?

LP 150

LP Technical Review Deal Flow 150

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 12, 2020

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. They’re too busy awkwardly trying to explain their overdue search for a new “diverse” partner and why it took until 2020 to realize that a fund full of white people was a problem. He seemed paranoid.

LP 136

LP Technical Review Software Review Valuation 136

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2019

Every year I invited my largest investors to NYC to have an LPAC meeting (Limited Partner Advisory Committee?—?kind 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). Follow the whole series.

LP 269

LP Startup Burn Rate Stock Options 269

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

Limited Partners or LPs (the people who invest into VC funds) have taken notice as 2014 is by all accounts the busiest year for LPs since the Great Recession began. But it still takes VC to scale a business (thus large capital into industry winners like Uber, Airbnb, SnapChat, etc). Why is this?

Technical Review 398

Technical Review Venture Capital Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 398

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

We capped our fund size so that we would stay true to our investment strategy in terms of size, scope and number of partners as we stood in 2014 when we raised the fund. She has formerly worked at a VC fund (DFJ) and worked closely with the partners and the network at DFJ and knew what it was like to build, manage and evolve a VC partnership.

LP 150

LP Entrepreneur United States Venture Capital 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

If you track the venture capital industry it would be hard to miss the conversation going on this week over AngelList “Syndicates.” I had a chance to discuss AngelList Syndicates with Naval at Michael Kim’s Cendana LP/VC conference on a panel with Naval, Roger Ehrenberg (IA Ventures) and Mike Brown, Jr.

Syndicate 356

Syndicate Syndication Cofounder Early Stage 356

Hunter Walker

JANUARY 5, 2014

Stage 1 : Either Satya or I are meeting the founders, usually solo, giving them an overview of Homebrew and learning about their startup through direct conversations, using the product (whatever stage it’s at) and doing some background on their industry (if it’s an area new to us). Stage 2 : Here both of us are engaged.

Software Review 102

Software Review Balance Sheet Cofounder Technical Review 102

Haystack

JUNE 1, 2018

” Depending on your point of view, it is the perfect trigger for a conversation about the state of the Bay Area’s investment market. A well-networked LP recently remarked to me they’ve estimated over 150+ of the 500+ known seed funds are currently “in market” right now.

LP 116

LP Global Social Media Portfolio 116

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 2, 2017

It’s hard enough to get a job at a venture capital or private equity firm; it’s even more complex to join as a Partner. 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. Contact : to existing portfolio, to internal team resources, to LPs.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Partner 60

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Scott Kupor of A16Z responded with a comprehensive overview of valuation methodology in a post that while accurate feels more targeted at sophisticated Limited Partners (LPs) who invest in funds. Upfront Ventures has partnered with Andreessen Horowitz on several deals. What’s an LP to do in deciding which funds to invest in?

LP 264

LP Jordan Cofounder Limited Partner 264

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

” There are a lot of data points that one can observer to get a sense of the venture capital markets – both LP fundings into venture and VC financings of startups. note: to follow realtime conversations & engage with me on Facebook you can follow me here: https://www.facebook.com/msuster ]. State of the Market.

LP 150

LP Valuation Burn Rate Pre-Money Valuation 150

Agile VC

DECEMBER 6, 2012

If Acme Ventures III, LP invests in Startup X then typically Acme Ventures IV, LP would not. 1) LP Bases Change Over Time – Most healthy VC firms tend to have stable relationships with the limited partners investing with them. Or public policy changes may force GPs or LPs to end longstanding relationships.

LP 178

LP Balance Sheet Differentiation Limited Partner 178

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 6, 2016

When I went to add partners at Upfront I called an LP of mine and told him I was trying to recruit a new partner named Kara Nortman. I shot back quickly at my LP “ You’re kidding me, right? I imagine a world in which no LP ever says to me again, “I hope you’re not hiring her because she’s a woman.” What utter b t.

Los Angeles 150

Los Angeles LP Nevada South Korea 150

Austin Startup

JUNE 26, 2019

We tried, and opted out of, potentials for pivots; we pitched for game-changing partners and acquisitions that did not ultimately convert. 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. Obviously, it did not convert. We pitched.

Silicon Valley 54

Silicon Valley Startup B2C Sweat Equity 54

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2019

Yes, VC / Startup Funding is up Massively If you look at how much VC firms have raised from Limited Partners (LPs) over the past 2 decades you’ll see that we’ve returned to a level that we haven’t seen since 1999. If you want the whole deck you can find it on SlideShare but I’ve written up a short summary with commentary below.

Venture Capital 292

Venture Capital IPO Mezzanine Early Stage 292

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2016

I was asked again in an LP meeting later in the week and then again at a founder breakfast gathering we hosted yesterday. I know investors who are great at this (including several of my partners) — but that’s not me. During the Q&A I was asked about how I make investment decisions in early-stage businesses.

Early Stage 254

Early Stage Non-Compete LP Later Stage 254

The Equity Kicker

NOVEMBER 26, 2013

LPs, the investors in VC funds, have a difficult job to do, largely because they have to work with poor quality data and only a small fraction of VCs deliver the returns that make them worth investing in. Discipline also helps to keeps a venture fund’s loss ratio low which is important as they are ultimately stewards of LP investment funding.”

LP 154

LP Venture Capital Portfolio Reputation 154

Feld Thoughts

OCTOBER 24, 2017

My partner Lindel just put a post up on the Foundry Group website about our investment in K9 Ventures. We are proud to be an LP in Manu Kumar’s third fund. I’ve been friends with Manu since 2009 and an investor (personally) in his first two funds. A number of interesting companies were presented. I adore Manu.

LP 91

LP Engineer Conversion Partner 91

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

Feld Thoughts

MARCH 20, 2019

Since then, I’ve been a founder of a number of companies, a CTO of a public company that acquired my first company, an angel investor, a VC in two different firms that I helped start, and an LP in a bunch of VC firms. My partner Dave was vice president. I was president of my first company (Feld Technologies).

LP 108

LP Angel Investor Cofounder Leadership 108

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

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

Feld Thoughts

OCTOBER 10, 2013

Last night I had dinner with my partners and our significant others. Much of the conversation was personal, as in addition to being one of our largest investors, Jamey has become an incredibly close friend. I remembered my conversation with Jamey. Earlier this year I had dinner with Jamey Sperans, one of our investors.

LP 152

LP Venture Capital Conversion Restful 152

Austin Startup

DECEMBER 12, 2017

Cindy Revol, Joe Beard and Anurag Jain from Perot Jain, LP We received a warm welcome from Trey Bowles when we first came to Dallas and there have been many others who have opened their arms to us since. Perot Jain, LP is an early stage venture capital firm founded by Ross Perot Jr. Ross Perot, Jr., About Perot Jain, L.P.

Dallas 48

Dallas San Antonio Houston Texas 48

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

JULY 12, 2017

First, a formal definition: According to Capital Dynamics , “Co-investments are direct investments in a company made alongside and on the same terms as a lead [General Partner]. We see our potential coinvestors in four primary buckets: 1) HOF Capital ’s own limited partners. 2) Investors with very specific value-add. Economic benefit.

Syndicate 60

Syndicate Syndication Institutional Investors LP 60