Rob Go

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

Most of these rhyme with what we’ve said in the past, but some have also evolved to fit the changing landscape and our own convictions about what really matters for founders and their investors at the seed stage. However, our overall goal is to invest in the full spectrum of seed. Belief #1: The best time to invest is early.

North America 36

North America Seed Stage Early Stage Lead Investor 36

View from Seed

NOVEMBER 18, 2014

Startups with large, lifecycle VCs included in the seed round syndicate did not reach Series A faster than those who did not. However, large, lifecycle VCs who invest in a seed round seem to correlate to an increase the size of the Series A raised by a given startup. More on these below.). There was no meaningful difference.

Syndicate 333

Syndicate Syndication Seed Stage Startup 333

Hippoland

MARCH 30, 2018

The fundraising landscape in 2018 for pre-seed and seed-stage companies has changed a lot even in just the first few months of this year. These syndicates are often a bit “underground”, so you won’t be able to find them by researching via Google. From there, you can find various syndicates.

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Syndicate Syndication Convertible Security 48

Hippoland

MARCH 30, 2018

The fundraising landscape in 2018 for pre-seed and seed-stage companies has changed a lot even in just the first few months of this year. These syndicates are often a bit “underground”, so you won’t be able to find them by researching via Google. From there, you can find various syndicates.

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Syndicate Syndication Convertible Security 48

Agile VC

OCTOBER 27, 2011

There’s a couple different forces I see at work: 1) Selling & Customer Acquisition - In the last 5 years, the biggest force in business software was the impact of the cloud as an infrastructure layer and product/service delivery mechanism. I co-founded NextView Ventures , a seed-stage VC firm based in Boston, in 2010.

Software 100

Software B2B Silicon Valley Acquisition 100

Agile VC

MAY 26, 2011

I certainly bear no ill will to the various firms that ultimately passed on our fundraise… as a seed stage VC myself now I can appreciate how hard it is evaluating companies at the earliest stages of development. Mostly smartphones + restaurateurs attitude towards viewing the internet as a customer acquisition tool.

Term Sheet 178

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Technical Review Social Network 178

Gust

OCTOBER 20, 2011

Furthermore, angel groups frequently syndicate (co-invest) with neighboring angel organizations in an effort to help fill round of investment for local companies and assist members in diversifying their portfolios with investments in nearby regions. Other factors (great early customer feedback). Orders or early sales from customers.

Valuation 146

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Intellectual Property Technical Review 146

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 6, 2011

And if you don’t have US business activity, then get a beta customer for initial footprint. Jeff Clavier, Seed stage investor in 90+ consumer internet startups, said: We all have a different approach to non Silicon Valley opportunities. You are then “certified&# for local capital raising and will get over hump.

Silicon Valley 104

Silicon Valley Startup Seed Stage Delaware 104

Agile VC

APRIL 17, 2011

paying for travel data from ITA or others (customers acquisition spend is not included in COGS). I co-founded NextView Ventures , a seed-stage VC firm based in Boston, in 2010. Revenue growth: 51% YoY (2010), 1% YoY (2009), 131% YoY (2008). 2010 Gross Profit: $162 million (adjusted EBITDA of $32 million). Author howerl.

Pre-Money Valuation 113

Pre-Money Valuation Liquidation Preference Dividend Common Stock 113

Agile VC

JUNE 5, 2011

Cumulative customers (unique buyers of Groupons): 15.8M (Q1 2011), 9.0M (2010), 0.4M (2009). 3) Groupon’s Business is Like An ATM: Groupon is currently unprofitable on a GAAP basis thanks to acquisition related expenses in 2010 as well as ongoing marketing spend to acquire customers. in net revenue and passes $0.58

North America 100

North America Chicago Boston Silicon Valley 100

K9 Ventures

JULY 19, 2012

which was a $6.25M fund designed to be deployed over 3-4 years, making initial investments between $100K – $250K in concept and seed stage technology companies located in the San Francisco Bay Area. This will allow us to potentially lead the seed round, while maintaining an active engagement with these companies (as with Fund I).

Technology 132

Technology Seed Stage San Francisco Limited Partner 132

K9 Ventures

JULY 19, 2012

which was a $6.25M fund designed to be deployed over 3-4 years, making initial investments between $100K – $250K in concept and seed stage technology companies located in the San Francisco Bay Area. This will allow us to potentially lead the seed round, while maintaining an active engagement with these companies (as with Fund I).

Technology 132

Technology Seed Stage San Francisco Limited Partner 132

View from Seed

JUNE 16, 2015

And that product is a highly engaged seed-stage investment where we are usually the lead or co-lead in a round and will often take a board seat. VCs also love businesses with a high degree of customer referral activity. They also love businesses where the value of a customer tends to expand over time.

Boston 120

Boston Syndicate Syndication eCommerce 120

View from Seed

JULY 9, 2015

So, when should they — or any seed-stage startup — think about drumming up some PR and making noise around funding? This could help that serendipitous partner find you or that prospect (either customer or talent) better understand what you’re doing and proceed with confidence. Why is that important to remember?

Startup 120

Startup PR Cofounder Stealth 120

Agile VC

AUGUST 12, 2011

But unfortunately there’s no magic formula… not getting X million users if you’re a consumer facing startup, or Y customers if you’re B2B SaaS startup, or Z revenue, or whatever. And there are some common precepts seed stage companies can follow. Author howerl. Filed under Uncategorized. Read More ».

Seed Stage 113

Seed Stage Silicon Valley B2B Acquisition 113

Hippoland

FEBRUARY 19, 2017

One of the things I didn’t realize as an entrepreneur was that at the seed stage, *anyone* could potentially be an investor. They can even be your users / customers – for example, The Hustle raised $300k from its readers in 50 hours. The old adage of “Always be selling” definitely applies to fundraising.

Angel Investor 48

Angel Investor Accredited Investor Elevator Pitch Silicon Valley 48

mashable.com

NOVEMBER 2, 2011

Joshua Baer is the co-founder and CEO of Otherinbox , a prolific angel investor and the director of Capital Factory , Austin’s seed-stage incubator. If you can name drop big customers, do that too — you want your profile to look impressive. How many customers have signed up to your service? Include numbers.

Social Media 80

Social Media Startup Angel Investor RSS 80

mashable.com

SEPTEMBER 12, 2011

In fact, it’s barely even the beginning for most companies in their seed stage financings. Early-stage seed and angel investors all realize that a business will encounter a huge range of flux very rapidly. The flow should be build something small, get a customer, and repeat until you hit your final target.

Startup 79

Startup Social Media RSS Social Network 79

Agile VC

DECEMBER 5, 2011

Objective Logistics has created a game layer on top of very sophisticated scheduling algorithms which increase revenue, save time, and improve customer and staff satisfaction. I co-founded NextView Ventures , a seed-stage VC firm based in Boston, in 2010. We’re psyched to help in whatever small ways we can. Author howerl.

Silicon Valley 100

Silicon Valley Seed Stage Syndicate Syndication 100

Agile VC

MAY 16, 2012

At NextView we’ve intentionally taken an approach which combines both thematic and opportunistic investing for a couple reasons: 1) Our Overall Strategy is Highly Focused - We’re a dedicated seed VC fund, so we invest in startups exclusively at the seed stage. Pingback: watch inception online. Pingback: [link].

Seed Stage 124

Seed Stage Silicon Valley B2B Syndicate 124

Agile VC

JANUARY 18, 2012

It’s possible to disrupt industries or touch millions of customers even within a big company… just look at Apple, Amazon, and others. I co-founded NextView Ventures , a seed-stage VC firm based in Boston, in 2010. Author howerl. Filed under Uncategorized. Im a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur turned East Coast VC.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Cofounder Silicon Valley Seed Stage 100

Agile VC

FEBRUARY 9, 2012

It obviously depends who you’re competing against… at the seed stage where NextView plays, there’s a range of different types of investors (large lifecycle VC funds, seed/micro VC funds, angels, etc) so sometimes it’s an apples vs oranges choice by the entrepreneur. How do you win? Author howerl.

Seed Stage 100

Seed Stage Framework Silicon Valley Early Stage 100

Rob Go

MARCH 10, 2012

I think that over time, this is the best way to handle market swings as a seed stage investor who is a) playing in a highly unpredictable part of the market and b) has a very long time horizon. We have a pretty strong sense of what realistic valuation ranges are and aren’t for seed stage companies.

Seed Stage 49

Seed Stage Syndicate Syndication Marketing 49

Agile VC

JUNE 25, 2012

His co-founder/CMO Alex Cote has run customer acquisition programs that have attracted millions of users via a range of channels. I co-founded NextView Ventures , a seed-stage VC firm based in Boston, in 2010. Thanks Ahmed, appreciate the feedback and hope you have an oppty to check out Cloze’s beta. Read More ».

Cofounder 140

Cofounder Stealth Silicon Valley Mobile 140

Professor VC

JULY 25, 2013

I''m a strong believer in fairness (although my daughters may not agree) and investors and entrepreneurs working together as a team to create something valuable to all stakeholders (customers, employees, founders, investors). AngelList (which I remain a big fan) also recently launched a syndicate program.

Term Sheet 46

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Syndicate Syndication 46

Hunter Walker

DECEMBER 21, 2014

17 core investments have been made, I’d say our investment model was, and continues to be, consistent with the type of firm we want to build but if you’re not constantly evaluating how to get better and serve entrepreneurs, you won’t last very long in the early stage venture business. No more, no less.

Cofounder 102

Cofounder Seed Stage Syndicate Syndication 102

Rob Go

AUGUST 26, 2013

. “Institutional seed” rounds on the other hand tend to look like this: >$750K. Post-product, early customer data, somtimes real revenue. Institutional seed investors or larger VC funds. This led to a period of seed stage exuberance, and that led to higher valuations, larger rounds, etc.

Valuation 68

Valuation Seed Stage Syndicate Syndication 68

Agile VC

MARCH 8, 2012

And finally margins matter… a $50-100M software company can go public given it’s 80-90% gross margins, an e-commerce company with 20-30% gross margins and high customer acquisition costs needs to be much bigger (probably 5-10x at least). I co-founded NextView Ventures , a seed-stage VC firm based in Boston, in 2010.

IPO 100

IPO Silicon Valley Revenue Seed Stage 100

Agile VC

APRIL 13, 2012

Budget the time leading up to the expo appropriately to guarantee enough bandwidth to send out email campaigns, put a link on your company website and even post on your organization’s social networking channels to make sure that all your customers, past, present and LV Outlet future know exactly where you are going to be. Read More ».

Silicon Valley 185

Silicon Valley San Francisco San Jose Startup 185

Agile VC

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

That’s actually a combination of Payments (the 30% share Facebook takes from app developer revenues) and advertising spend for ads Zynga buys on FB to acquire customers. I co-founded NextView Ventures , a seed-stage VC firm based in Boston, in 2010. That’s the capex (e.g. Read More ». What’s Your Favorite Future?

IPO 100

IPO South Korea Venezuela Revenue 100

www.paulgraham.com

APRIL 28, 2010

By which I meannot that it has to make something physical, but that it has to haveone thing it sells to many people, rather than doing custom workfor individual clients. Custom work doesnt scale. An advantage of consulting, as a way to develop a product, is thatyou know youre making something at least one customer wants.

Technical Review 76

Technical Review Startup Software Review Angel Investor 76

Agile VC

JUNE 12, 2012

Like anyone else, they are looking to own the customer data and offer smart loyalty programs. The retailers just hate it when cash kickbacks and air miles go into the customer’s payment card, along with a missed opportunity for customer loyalty (they also hate Shopkick et al. Is that it? Not really. Read More ».

Mobile 250

Mobile Disintermediation SMS Government 250