Steve Blank

AUGUST 19, 2013

In the last six years half the VC’s in the space have disappeared , unable to raise new funds, and the number of biotech and device startups getting first round financing has dropped by half. Charles Dickens. For exits, acquisitions are the rule and IPOs the exception. WTF is going on?

Venture Capital 301

Venture Capital Startup Lean Philadelphia 301

David Teten

MAY 9, 2012

We are in the midst of two great disruptions to American business: the internet’s ongoing disruption of most traditional industries: finance, healthcare, retail, finance, fashion, etc. HBSAANY members include venture capitalists, individual accredited investors, and other institutional investors.

Venture Capital 154

Venture Capital Programming Accredited Investor New York 154

View from Seed

JUNE 7, 2016

Just to discuss a few benefits more in-depth… First and foremost, getting into a regular cadence readies the company to think and operate more professionally for later rounds of financing. At NextView, one founder we invested in last year proactively asked us, as her lone institutional investor, to start doing this.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Founder Seed Capital Institutional Investors 120

David Teten

JANUARY 9, 2013

The group is about 22 people; managing directors, partners and COO’s of major investments firms in Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, and Tunisia. Aspen is looking for institutional investor and entrepreneur speakers willing to share their investing insights and personal experiences. More details.

Tunisia 114

Tunisia Libya Algeria Mauritania 114

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

Yes, it’s true that FOMO (fear of missing out) is driving some irrational behavior and valuations amongst uber competitive deals and well-financed VCs. For starters we saw a huge influx of inexperienced managers enter the VC industry proving clearly that being a VC is not a purely quantitative job. The Exit Problem.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Mobile 347

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

ithacaVC

MARCH 9, 2017

The importance of the Board is why institutional investors (like VCs) often get a seat on the Board after an investment. But don’t be fooled, there is an element of control as investors want a say in critical decisions. The list goes on and on. Good corporate governance is critical at startups and other companies alike!

Seed Stage 58

Seed Stage Software Review Institutional Investors Lead Investor 58

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2014

Prorata investments rights given investors the right to invest in your future fund-raising rounds and maintain their ownership % in your company as your company grows and raises more capital. New investors sometimes want early investors to put in money to “prove” they have confidence in the new price.

Technical Review 336

Technical Review Later Stage Early Stage LP 336

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). And even with the significant cost of credit card debt, many entrepreneurs aggressively use existing cards to finance a startup.

Private Equity 118

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 118

Austin Startup

APRIL 1, 2017

out of state VCs Don’t rush a term sheet In assessing financing terms and interacting with their lead investors, most founders instinctively focus on two core things: economics and control. But institutional investors have a job to do, and it’s not to be your BFF. Do not take that selection lightly.

Term Sheet 48

Term Sheet Institutional Investors Technical Review Lead Investor 48

Ben's Blog

MAY 24, 2021

Editor’s Note: This testimony was delivered by a16z managing partner Scott Kupor to the U.S. By way of background, I am the Managing Partner for Andreessen Horowitz, a $16.5 The SEC’s Director of the Division of Corporate Finance recently provided some guidance raising questions about the extent of PSLRA coverage. IPO market.

SEC 36

SEC Accredited Investor IPO Technical Review 36

David Teten

NOVEMBER 15, 2013

Since I became an institutional investor, my #1 learning is: this is a highly unusual and somewhat baffling industry. Asset management also shows the traditional earmarks of an industry ripe for disruption — most obviously, unhappy customers and extremely profitable incumbents.

Management 114

Management Pre-Money Valuation Venture Capital New Hampshire 114

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 9, 2018

Cohen and John Kador, in their classic book “ What Every Angel Investor Wants You to Know ,” includes these great points of practical advice on this subject: Manage expectations before the fact. That’s why it is better to use institutional investors and loans when you are able, with realistic time frame expectations.

Cram Down 148

Cram Down Angel Investor Equity Dividend 148

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 10, 2014

Cohen and John Kador, in their recent book “ What Every Angel Investor Wants You to Know ,” includes these best points of practical advice I’ve seen recently on this subject: Manage expectations before the fact. That’s why it is better to use institutional investors and loans when you are able, with realistic time frame expectations.

Founder 254

Founder Cram Down Angel Investor Equity 254

Hunter Walker

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

Starting a venture capital blog post with 1970s country music lyrics is pretty uncommon, but so is writing about when and why an investor might choose to sell equity before the company exits. 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.

Venture Capital 122

Venture Capital Cap Table LP Equity 122

abovethecrowd.com

AUGUST 23, 2020

During each and every modern IPO, the banks all tell the management teams that there are two key objectives in the road-show process. Talk to any management team from any IPO in the past three years, and you will find they had this exact conversation. This is critically important to understand, partially because it’s so outlandish.

IPO 118

IPO Silicon Valley Warrant Matching 118

Gust

SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

To begin with, it is important to understand some basic facts about the world of entrepreneurial finance: There are many more entrepreneurs than there are investors, with the result that only one company out of every 400 that seeks venture funding actually receives it.

Angel Groups 159

Angel Groups Elevator Pitch Software Review Deal Flow 159

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2013

Cohen and John Kador, in their new book “ What Every Angel Investor Wants You to Know ,” includes these best points of practical advice I’ve seen recently on this subject: Manage expectations before the fact. That’s why it is better to use institutional investors and loans when you are able, with realistic time frame expectations.

Cram Down 230

Cram Down Angel Investor Equity Dividend 230

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 6, 2020

trillion, it is by far the largest of its sort in the world and financed projects that in other settings may not have passed investment criteria screens. [3]. The buyers (or lessees) in these transactions are pension funds, insurance companies, or private equity representing other institutions. municipal bond market.

Private Equity 129

Private Equity New York City Chicago Investment Bankers 129

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2015

Cohen and John Kador, in their classic book “ What Every Angel Investor Wants You to Know ,” includes these best points of practical advice I’ve seen recently on this subject: Manage expectations before the fact. That’s why it is better to use institutional investors and loans when you are able, with realistic time frame expectations.

Cram Down 120

Cram Down Angel Investor Equity Dividend 120

VC Cafe

JUNE 19, 2020

According to its survey released this month, the impact investment market has reached $715 billion in 2019, with an estimate of about 1,720 organizations now involved in managing funds for those who want to make a financial return from investments that also have beneficial social or environmental outcomes. “We

Venture Capital 174

Venture Capital Global South Africa 174

Pascal's View

MARCH 10, 2010

Susan Mangiero , CEO of Investment Governance’s Fiduciary X , asked me the following: Question: Given recent instances of VC-backed company fraud and questions about the management team, how can institutional investors protect themselves from key person risk? Will they work 24/7 to get the job done? Share and Enjoy:

Government 28

Government Technical Review Due Diligence Institutional Investors 28

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2010

Often when startups who have raised venture capital need another round of financing they will turn to their existing investors to give them money before raising from outsiders. a loan) that is later converted to equity at the time of the next financing. It starts as a debt instrument (e.g.

Startup 290

Startup Burn Rate Warrant Bankruptcy 290

Startup Company Lawyer

MARCH 12, 2009

Any company that raises venture financing will need to be a C corp in order to issue preferred stock. If founders want the benefit of flow through tax treatment with respect to losses prior to an outside financing, an S corp election may make sense as long as there are no entity or non-U.S. citizen/resident stockholders.

LLC 61

LLC Stock Options Preferred Stock Stock 61

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 6, 2011

My key takeaways from talking to roughly 40 institutional investors in the valley about investing to an European startup are: Traction cures all ills. Not literally, but one big surprise to me was that in the 40 odd investor meetings I had, I managed to open the deck probably only 5-10 times. Simplify, practice.

Silicon Valley 104

Silicon Valley Startup Seed Stage Delaware 104

VC Adventure

MAY 21, 2014

Syndicate Dynamics: To sign up for FG Angels, an investor must be approved by Foundry Group and agree to their terms, which include a carry. The carry is a percentage of the returns on the investment that the investor will give to Foundry Group for managing the syndicate and investments (note that AngelList itself takes a carry as well).

Syndicate 93

Syndicate Syndication Technical Review Due Diligence 93

David Teten

FEBRUARY 1, 2017

I recently met with a friend who’s a senior executive at a large investment management organization. Point72 Asset Management. The Future of FinTech: A Paradigm Shift in Small Business Finance. 14 Industry Trends the Top FinTech Execs are Watching (Institutional Investor). NY Fintech Hubs. AXA Strategic Ventures.

New York 60

New York Community DC Boston 60

Hunter Walker

JUNE 21, 2014

One question entrepreneurs sometimes don’t ask when raising seed financing is “will this investor be able to follow on in future rounds.” Our LPs have a history of interest in this area and the economics are usually pretty standard (low/no management fee but some carry on profits).

Institutional Investors 91

Institutional Investors Dilution Later Stage Portfolio 91

Board Effect

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

Organizations demonstrate their commitment to ESG for nonprofits, in part, by how they manage relationships with employees, vendors, and others. Shortly after, activist investors followed suit and used the same strategy to advance other important causes. In many ways, ESG has become the new measure of success for organizations.

South Africa 76

South Africa Government Africa Institutional Investors 76

ReadWriteStart

MAY 2, 2012

Getting financing for your startup is rarely easy, but if you approach the wrong investor, you can make it even harder than it has to be. How can there be a ‘wrong investor’?” Approaching the wrong investor is kind of like asking someone who’s married out on a date. Venture capitalists are institutional investors.

Angel Investor 124

Angel Investor Institutional Investors Angel Groups Flash 124

K9 Ventures

MARCH 23, 2011

The convertible note was really intended as an instrument for a “bridge financing” – when an equity round was imminent, and likely to occur, but the company needed some money in between. In that case, it made good sense to have a debt instrument, where the note holder then converted into equity when the financing occurred.

Pre-Money Valuation 132

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Equity Liquidation Preference 132

Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). composed of these investors and management. For you who fit that description, nice work.

Private Equity 106

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 106

The Equity Kicker

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

There’s been a lot of talk recently about what will happen to startup financing in 2016, including here on this blog. He also surveyed 72 institutional investors in VC funds who said they think they will maintain their rate of commitments to new funds this year.

Marketing 60

Marketing Institutional Investors Venture Capital Later Stage 60

abovethecrowd.com

JUNE 2, 2021

On March 26, SoFi announced that “it will be offering its members (at least those with $3K in their account) the ability to invest in IPOs for companies going public, an investment opportunity that has traditionally been reserved for large institutional investors or ultra-high-net-worth individuals.” see below).

IPO 82

IPO Customer Matching Silicon Valley 82

David Teten

AUGUST 21, 2019

Or should they look to one of the new wave of Revenue-Based Investors? Revenue-Based Investing (“RBI”) is a new form of VC financing, distinct from the preferred equity structure most VCs use. A company with that mindset is dramatically less risky, because it’s not dependent on the financing markets for continued viability.

Revenue 60

Revenue Liquidation Preference Equity Cofounder 60

Austin Startup

AUGUST 1, 2017

TL;DR: In a market that has historically idolized huge, splashy financings and exits, an increasing number of entrepreneurs are realizing that everyone else’s definition of success — particularly among certain large VCs — isn’t necessarily aligned with their own. If I put in $2MM and get out $10MM in a $50MM exit, that’s a solid 5x return.

Liquidation Preference 48

Liquidation Preference Common Stock Valuation Silicon Valley 48

Campus Entrepreneurship

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

Individuals or institutional investors could then log onto the website, review the loan requests, and decide if they wanted to fund the small business.

Small Business 43

Small Business Finance Institutional Investors Business Plan 43