Rob Go

MARCH 5, 2012

One area of fundraising that is not that straightforward is how to put together a syndicate of investors for your seed round. It can be a little puzzling for entrepreneurs to make sense of this, especially since the landscape of seed investors is emerging and different seed investors act quite differently from one another.

Syndicate 49

Syndicate Syndication Lead Investor Due Diligence 49

View from Seed

AUGUST 12, 2015

I once showed a company to another VC for an investment we were syndicating. This investor loved the team and thought the solution they were building was compelling. The early traction may be interesting, but investors fear that demand is driven by a relatively small niche with idiosyncratic tastes or needs.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Marketing Angel Investor Term Sheet 120

View from Seed

AUGUST 12, 2015

I once showed a company to another VC for an investment we were syndicating. This investor loved the team and thought the solution they were building was compelling. The early traction may be interesting, but investors fear that demand is driven by a relatively small niche with idiosyncratic tastes or needs.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Marketing Angel Investor Term Sheet 120

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

Genuine VC

JULY 30, 2012

By communicating pricing expectations with potential lead investors, I mean sharing either an “ask” or even stated floor for the pre-money valuation of the company (with a priced preferred round) or explicitly stating a valuation cap (for convertible note round).

Valuation 136

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Angel Investor Syndicate 136

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2010

They were grateful for the extra money as their launch was overwhelmingly successful and they had to rapidly hire staff to support customer demand. Signaling problems always exist - What Chris doesn’t make clear is that signaling problems exist with nearly EVERY investor. If you’re doing well you’ll have demand.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Term Sheet Early Stage Silicon Valley 265