View from Seed

APRIL 20, 2020

As we have discussed elsewhere, the world of early stage investing is shifting from FOMO ( F ear O f M issing O ut) to FOLD (Fear Of Looking Dumb). Starting today, we will begin accepting our first cohort of startups into the program: WHO : Pre-Seed & Seed stage startups located anywhere focused on the U.S.

B2B 436

B2B Seed Stage B2C Programming 436

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 16, 2021

Out of hundreds of applications, we selected six pre-seed stage teams building companies shaping a brighter collective future by combining software and creativity to drive change in the lives of everyday people — their businesses include everything from empowering local main street businesses to making automobile insurance more accessible.

Seed Stage 285

Seed Stage Programming Finance B2B 285

View from Seed

OCTOBER 22, 2015

That thinking led us to the approach and operating principles we have today. We only make a small number of investments each year per partner so that we can be hands-on. We take board seats and want to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with founders at the seed stage to try to make the biggest possible impact.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Startup Portfolio Institutional Investors 120

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. Of the Inc. 5000 companies, only 6.5%

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

The Next Web

OCTOBER 23, 2013

There aren’t a tonne of funds focused on seed-stage funding worldwide, but we can add a new one to the list today. SparkLabs , the company behind the accelerator program in Korea , is expanding its scope with its first seed-stage fund that will “help great startups go global.”. Asia Entrepreneur Insider News sparklabs'

Seed Stage 139

Seed Stage Asia Silicon Valley 139

David Teten

MARCH 18, 2021

A typical VC thesis: “we invest in tech startups in Europe at an early stage” However, our experience shows that in many cases: . Thirty-four VC firms in OpenVC call themselves “early-stage” Yet, 30% of those don’t actually invest in pre-revenue startups. 2) Business model-defined funds.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Cofounder Venture Capital Deal Flow 78

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 13, 2010

On July 27th, 2001 Accenture IPO’s and many of the partners grew fabulously wealthy. Accenture opened massive operations in India & China and continued its industry dominance. “Reality is, at the seed stage, most rocketships look more like the cardboard variety you’d make as a kid than something NASA developed.

Turkey 302

Turkey Differentiation IP Technical Review 302

View from Seed

APRIL 2, 2015

And since I’m an operator, not investor, I recognize just how valuable all the casual, daily discussions inside a VC’s office can be to fellow operators and entrepreneurs. ” So it’s no wonder that one aspect of an early-stage startup’s existence can be perpetually up for debate: their graphic design.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Design Startup Early Stage 120

The Equity Kicker

AUGUST 8, 2017

For those of you who are time poor here’s the tltr: Forward Partners operates a focused investment strategy because it helps us make better investment decisions and provide better support to our companies. For the three and a half years that we’ve been going, Forward Partners has operated a focused investment strategy.

Artificial Inteligence 78

Artificial Inteligence eCommerce Early Stage Algorithm 78

VC Cafe

JULY 5, 2010

To learn more, VC Cafe interviewed Brian Rosenzweig, one of the managing partners in the new fund and the former marketing director at 21Ventures. based Angel capital with early stage technology companies in Israel, and do so in a way that substantially mitigates the risk of seed stage investing.

Technical Review 106

Technical Review Software Review Seed Stage 106

Rob Go

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

It occurred to me that although we mentioned our new thematic approach when we raised our last fund in 2017, we haven’t really shared a broader manifesto about how we are approaching the early stage market. It’s been an interesting several years in the early stage venture eco-system, and the sands have shifted considerably.

North America 36

North America Seed Stage Early Stage Lead Investor 36

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 26, 2020

Luckily, I teach with two great VCs, Mar Hershenson of Pear Ventures and Jeff Epstein of Bessemer Venture Partners who both put together presentations unraveling the mysteries of how and why startups raise money. For startups the early stage funding landscape looks like this: Step 1: The Pre-seed round – you raise $100-$750K.

Cofounder 429

Cofounder Seed Stage Valuation Metrics 429

Mucker Lab

AUGUST 27, 2014

As an entrepreneur himself, founding and operating printed circuit board factories in Taiwan, my father was debating between two places to immigrate to and build his next new venture: Los Angeles (“The Valley” aka San Fernando Valley) and Santa Clara (“Silicon Valley”).

Los Angeles 138

Los Angeles Southern California Silicon Valley Technical Review 138

K9 Ventures

JUNE 5, 2015

Almost two years ago, in a private/closed meeting with K9 Ventures’ LPs only, I claimed that: What was being referred to in the press as the “Series A Crunch” was not because fewer Series A deals were being done, but because there were too many Seed deals being done. Seed stage was super tough.

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Venture Capital Early Stage Valuation 48

VC Cafe

MARCH 31, 2021

VC Cafe: What’s the best advice or practical tips you have for founders with regards to marketing and branding at seed stage? This can be really hard for early stage startups, but it means the difference between being good or being great. And running fast as an early stage start-up is so important.

Marketing 179

Marketing Early Stage Seed Stage 179

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 25, 2010

. “Yes&# was given to me by one of my favorite angel investor / seed VC’s to work with – John Greathouse of Rincon Venture Partners and author of the blog InfoChachkie that you should check out because it is filled with great info from a guy who has been a very successful operator.

Silicon Valley 293

Silicon Valley Technical Review Southern California Angel Investor 293

View from Seed

JANUARY 11, 2023

We wholeheartedly believe in the potential of each company we select; the smaller batch size allows the NextView partners, who possess deep operating and founding experiences at companies like LinkedIn, PayPal, eBay, and Blue Apron, the space to spend meaningful one-on-one time with each founder every single week. Let’s do this! .

Programming 156

Programming Sacramento San Francisco Founder 156

View from Seed

JUNE 10, 2020

The NextView Accelerator Doesn’t Operate in Strict Cohorts. . Most accelerators operate in class cohort “batches.” But the emphasis of our program is the direct one-on-one interaction with NextView partners to help push the company forward. These engagements don’t need to be constrained to a strict timetable.

Cofounder 177

Cofounder Syndicate Syndication Alabama 177

View from Seed

MAY 29, 2019

Many of us in the seed stage ecosystem have noticed a shift in the way seed rounds are coming together. Historically, seed rounds were syndicated among several different firms. It is actually no surprised that the syndication-friendly nature of seed investing is changing. Repercussions for Investors.

Syndicate 267

Syndicate Syndication Cofounder Cap Table 267

Gust

OCTOBER 20, 2011

Angels typically invest in companies operating in industry sectors with which they are familiar. We also have data points for VC investments in seed/startup companies (but not necessarily pre-revenue companies). Marketing/Sales/Partners. Sales channels, sales and marketing partners. – No partners identified. ++.

Valuation 146

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Intellectual Property Technical Review 146

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 22, 2012

Let’s start out with the basic functions of a tech company: 1) Engineering 2) Marketing 3) Sales 4) Business development 5) PR 6) Design 7) Product Management 8) HR 9) Operations 10) Finance Ok, that's just overwhelming. When the product is early and still pivoting, these are kind of the same thing. Ready to start simplifying?

PR 144

PR Technical Review Seed Stage Design 144

Women Entrepreneurs Can

NOVEMBER 19, 2022

A Venture Capital Firm is a firm that invests in startups and early-stage companies. Early-Stage Investments vs. Mid-Stage Investments. Investing in a startup company carries a high degree of risk, particularly at the early stage. Pre-Seed Investments. Management Company.

Venture Capital 52

Venture Capital Early Stage Liquidity Event SEC 52

techcrunch.com

SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

There has been no shortage of controversy and criticism around the convertible note, a popular investing vehicle that’s used by seed stage and angel investors. Ressi estimates that the debt note now accounts for over 50% of all angel and early stage deals. → Learn More. Top News Delivered To You. 2011 Holiday.

Equity 87

Equity San Francisco Technical Review Angel Investor 87

techcrunch.com

APRIL 26, 2013

In December, AngelList , a service that matches early-stage startups with investors, debuted the ability to allow accredited investors to actually invest in startups on the platform with as little as $1,000. AngelList also partnered with SecondMarket to create an investment vehicle for these investments. Crunchboard.

SEC 61

SEC Accredited Investor San Diego New York City 61

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 6, 2011

Jussi Laakkonen , CEO & founder of Applifie, summarized it well: We recently raised our seed round at Applifier and it was led by a silicon valley seed fund MHS Capital, whose general partner is Mark Sugarman. If you are in the very early stages with your company and there are no major reasons (e.g.

Silicon Valley 104

Silicon Valley Startup Seed Stage Delaware 104

Hippoland

FEBRUARY 12, 2018

Etc… At the pre-seed stage, a big way to stand out is if you have a V3 statement (as opposed to a V1 statement). I can’t speak for my business partner Eric, but he has had a lot more experience with building businesses and side projects with smaller lifetime values. I.e. how has this investor made money before?

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Business Model B2B Email 48

Hippoland

FEBRUARY 12, 2018

Etc… At the pre-seed stage, a big way to stand out is if you have a V3 statement (as opposed to a V1 statement). I can’t speak for my business partner Eric, but he has had a lot more experience with building businesses and side projects with smaller lifetime values. I.e. how has this investor made money before?

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Business Model B2B Email 48

The Equity Kicker

NOVEMBER 28, 2016

That’s because early stage companies find it easier to change their market than their team whilst later stage companies find it easier to change their team than their market. Some very early stage investors go as far as to say that for them team is everything. At Forward Partners we don’t go that far.

Seed Stage 60

Seed Stage Later Stage Early Stage Partner 60

Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 12, 2012

We at NextView Ventures often invest in a startup’s first round alongside other funds; either seed stage focused ones like ourselves or larger traditional firms. Addressing both of those issues can stem from the motivations as to why someone would want to put their hard-earned cash into a risky early-stage startup in the first place.

Angel Investor 257

Angel Investor Syndicate Syndication Early Stage 257

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2011

Open cloud led by Amazon with their AWS services drove total operating costs down by 90%. Amazon in turn led to the formation of an earlier stage of venture capital now led by what I call “micro VCs&# who typically invest $250-500k in companies rather than the $5-7 million that VCs used to invest. There are also others.

Venture Capital 296

Venture Capital Software LP Early Stage 296

mashable.com

NOVEMBER 3, 2010

For the first-time entrepreneur or founder looking for seed stage funding, this circle can be especially difficult to penetrate. Mashable Mashable reached out to angels, seed stage investors and VC firm partners and asked them to share their wisdom with the rest of us.

Angel Investor 80

Angel Investor Startup San Francisco Social Media 80

mashable.com

SEPTEMBER 12, 2011

No doubt early-stage companies can be started on a shoestring by low-paid entrepreneurs, but when financing a scalable, sustainable product, a free application server won’t make much of a difference. For example, my company decided early on to hire a UI designer, which has helped tremendously with our product development.

Startup 79

Startup Social Media RSS Social Network 79

Seeing Both Sides

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

We selected this benchmark because it reflects the phase in which companies have proven product viability, achieved initial product/market fit, and are now expanding sales and growing more complex operations. They are seeking to build companies so that they are attractive to late-stage funds.”

Cofounder 20

Cofounder Technical Review United States 20

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 3, 2015

For context, last year, based on questions from our existing portfolio, we launched two board deck templates for seed-stage startups. If we’re designing a great early-stage startup pitch from the ground up, what would that look like? So, we hope these two deck resources can address both issues. Pitching NextView?

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Startup Seed Capital Audience 120

Rob Go

JULY 17, 2014

NextView Ventures II is $40M, twice the size of our first fund, and we continue to be exclusively focused on seed-stage companies pursuing internet-enabled innovation. As former operators and product-oriented entrepreneurs, Dave, Lee, and I tend to think of our firm as a startup company and our approach to investing as our product.

Seed Stage 69

Seed Stage Early Stage Due Diligence Liquidity Event 69

Hearpreneur

MAY 4, 2019

Existing corporations are focused on operational excellence and incremental improvements through process and efficiency. It is, literally, the toolkit for operating what we call the Big to Bigger machine. It is the ecosystem created by the two that fuels world-changing innovation. Tell us about your products and services.

Cofounder 66

Cofounder Founder Entrepreneur Venture Capital 66

Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 12, 2012

We at NextView Ventures often invest in a startup’s first round alongside other funds; either seed stage focused ones like ourselves or larger traditional firms. Addressing both of those issues can stem from the motivations as to why someone would want to put their hard-earned cash into a risky early-stage startup in the first place.

Angel Investor 128

Angel Investor Syndicate Syndication Early Stage 128