View from Seed

JULY 31, 2014

And since we will continue to look proactively at new seed-stage tech startups over the next few years, the question becomes: What, then, will these companies look like? Furthermore, one of our recent investments was in Silicon Valley, as all three of us have lived and worked there. Step-Function Ad Tech.

Seed Stage 272

Seed Stage B2C Technical Review Disintermediation 272

thebarefootvc

JULY 3, 2017

Over the past month, Silicon Valley has been at the forefront of many conversations outside of the technology world. Unfortunately not for groundbreaking technology, but for rampant sexual harassment and predatory behavior.

LP 65

LP Technical Review Silicon Valley Limited Partner 65

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 25, 2017

As an industry, VC essentially acts as a broker between investment banks, who can’t invest in risky startups due to laws on loan interest, and entrepreneurs who desperately need capital. Expanding tech talent. It’s an aging adage but it’s true; tech talent can increasingly be found outside of Silicon Valley and the Bay Area.

Venture Capital 193

Venture Capital Technical Review Kenya Startup 193

Version One Ventures

MAY 3, 2023

I shared his optimism going into this trip and came back even more bullish about the potential of India’s tech ecosystem. It’s obviously very large, but most start-up activity is concentrated in a few cities: Bangalore (the “Silicon Valley” of India), Delhi (the 33m strong capital of India), Mumbai (the financial capital) and Chennai.

India 87

India LP Silicon Valley Vertical 87

Haystack

DECEMBER 29, 2018

It’s that time of year, time to look back and reflect on the most significant storylines in the tech, startup, and VC world. Technology is, like water, flowing and seeping into nearly every sector and eventually into most of the global economy. companies, more sensitivity around technology IP and security.

Technical Review 165

Technical Review Venture Capital Russia China 165

Version One Ventures

APRIL 11, 2019

This time, I am very excited to introduce Sin-Mei Tsai , VP of Engineering at Shippo , a Version One portfolio company. Technical design quality. At Shippo, we also consider tech debt in our definition of code quality. The question that we ask is: “In adding or changing a piece of code, did we create any intentional tech debt?”.

Part-Time VPE 100

Part-Time VPE Software Review Engineer Technical Review 100

Feld Thoughts

AUGUST 25, 2015

The key reason for the explosion in capital flowing into the industry, and therefore the large increase in practitioners, had nothing to do with 1970’s performance, early stage investing, or technology. So contrary to the piece, it wasn’t VC were good at early stage technology, it was that they had newfound capital and a big exit window.

Venture Capital 70

Venture Capital SBIC Technical Review Silicon Valley 70

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

But VC is an “illiquid asset&# so funds didn’t disappear quickly - In 2000/01 the stock market quickly adjusted punishing investors in the NASDAQ and in individual public technology stocks. You’ll notice that Harvard lost 30% of the entire value of its portfolio. Others will, too.

LP 311

LP Technical Review Early Stage Silicon Valley 311

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

My initial desire to blog came from something that’s always been my approach to investing – I’m a nerd and I love to play with the technology and part of my approach has really been to understand things both at a user level and at a reasonably deep tentacle level. So everybody goes through this phase of we want to be the next Silicon Valley.

Technical Review 288

Technical Review Venture Capital Silicon Valley Software Review 288

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

I don’t have an MBA and I don’t live in Silicon Valley. Angels invest in one out of every forty deals they review (2.5%) versus the one out of 400 by VC’s (0.25%). Perhaps the library or a local tech company can host. Angel investors come from a variety of ages, backgrounds, and professions. I’m not your average angel.

Angel Investor 159

Angel Investor Technical Review Software Review Accredited Investor 159

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2013

Examples of some leaders in this space include Mike Maples in Silicon Valley and David S. Due to the struggling economy as well, traditional individual Angel investors haven’t been able to fill the gap. Technology costs are plummeting, meaning you can do more with less.

Angel Investor 231

Angel Investor Entrepreneur Early Stage Silicon Valley 231

VC Cafe

JANUARY 12, 2017

Below is a selection of themes and predictions for startups/venture/tech in 2017. Norwest Venture Partners – 2017 Enterprise predictions – https://techcrunch.com/gallery/top-predictions-on-tech-in-2017-from-norwest-venture-partners/. VentureBeat – What top Silicon Valley investors expect in 2017 – [link].

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Venture Capital Silicon Valley Cloud 60

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

Since 2017 we’ve managed $3 million in revenue-based financing, which helps cash-strapped technology companies grow. We’re also regularly following-on for existing portfolio companies.”. Investment Criteria: B2B SaaS or tech-enabled services with proven, recurring contracts. Bigfoot Capital. ARR of $500K+.

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

Austin Startup

MARCH 4, 2019

He does this all round for the Capital Factory portfolio but this week he’ll be in high gear making hundreds of introductions and arranging hundreds of in-person meetings at Capital Factory. Come check out tech through a military lens. See hundreds of exhibitors and demonstrations across every industry and technology.

Silicon Valley 50

Silicon Valley Technical Review Texas Venture Capital 50

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 19, 2015

The rapid rise of the digital economy and sharp focus on delivering an excellent user experience has made it challenging for companies that aren’t Google or some other tech giant to recruit the creative talent they need. The focus in the tech sector these days is all about creating a great user experience, as it should be.

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Silicon Valley Los Angeles New York City 100

Version One Ventures

SEPTEMBER 28, 2016

This problem is relatively minor in large, vibrant ecosystems like Silicon Valley, but can be more pervasive in smaller locations that lack the depth and breadth of experienced start-up advisors and angel investors. It is also especially prevalent in companies that create “hard tech.”.

Silicon Valley 60

Silicon Valley Technical Review Entrepreneur Angel Investor 60

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2016

We All Know That Dollars into Venture Have Gone Up … As a starting point, we know that the dollars into venture have steadily rebounded to pre great-recession levels, with just under $30 billion committed to US technology venture capital in 2015. dollars going directly into portfolio companies vs. the funds themselves).

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital LP Silicon Valley Marketing 150

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

A version of this article first appeared in the Harvard Business Review. Tech IPO prices exploded and subsequent trading prices rose to dizzying heights as the stock prices became disconnected from the traditional metrics of revenue and profits. Then the cycle repeats with a new set of technologies.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

Rob Go

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Summer is always the time when large numbers of new participants in the tech ecosystem arrive and start to get their bearings. It’s also surprisingly difficult for students to get plugged-in to everything that is happening in the local tech ecosystem. Greenhorn Connect: Excellent collection of BOS tech events and resources.

Boston 71

Boston Technical Review Community Cofounder 71

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2011

As a member of one of these local organizations, I use Angelsoft on the investor side to review business plans, deal flow, and help orchestrate presenters at monthly meetings of the local organization. The Founding Chapter is in Silicon Valley, California, (naturally), and I have a connection there if you need a start.

Angel Investor 255

Angel Investor North America South America Accredited Investor 255

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

I came several times to NorCal (where I grew up, actually) and went and met several partners from each Silicon Valley firm. China is indelibly an important part of the future of the global technology system. I’m dropping everything non-portfolio related in the next few weeks and setting my sights on righting my wrong.

China 333

China Silicon Valley Software Review Technical Review 333

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

I came several times to NorCal (where I grew up, actually) and went and met several partners from each Silicon Valley firm. China is indelibly an important part of the future of the global technology system. I’m dropping everything non-portfolio related in the next few weeks and setting my sights on righting my wrong.

China 328

China Silicon Valley Software Review Technical Review 328

Up and Running

MARCH 11, 2015

But, getting in the doors of a Sand Hill Road VC in Silicon Valley can be an incredibly difficult undertaking. And, there’s a good reason why; it includes back-to-back essays on mobile, high-growth startups and technology. From life advice and commentary, to practical know-how for growing a tech startup, AVC is a must-read blog.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Technical Review Silicon Valley Cofounder 60

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

Posted on September 14, 2009 by steveblank Over the last 30 years Wall Street’s appetite for technology stocks have changed radically – swinging between unbridled enthusiasm to believing they’re all toxic. Tech acquisitions went crazy at the same time the IPO market did. 3) invest in and take equity stakes in exchange for capital.

Silicon Valley 217

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 217

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 28, 2015

Craig Schmitz, a partner in the Technology Companies Group at law firm Godwin Proctor LLP who works on corporate, governance, board and fundraising issues, and Erika Fisher, an associate in the firm’s Business Law Department who deals with IP, fielded questions about the legal issues startups face. Debt or convertible securities (e.g.,

Convertible Security 100

Convertible Security IP Technical Review Software Review 100

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 11, 2010

After I retired I would get calls from VC’s to help with “marketing problems” in their portfolio companies. The phone call would sound something like: “We have a company with great technology and a hot product but at the last board meeting we determined that they have a marketing problem. But now the bill had come due.

Burn Rate 248

Burn Rate Silicon Valley Marketing Boston 248

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2015

.” The reason is that at a VC you have a group of partners who often have different focus areas of excellence, each pursues deals in their respective field, each makes investments and sits on boards and each spends their most difficult hours tackling problems at portfolio companies vs. solving the challenges at the VC itself.

San Francisco 150

San Francisco Jordan Los Angeles Technical Review 150

Cracking the Code

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

They’ve earned this position by their incredible work and track record over the last few years helping law enforcement agencies cope with the rise of this new technology. And it requires an exceptionally thoughtful, committed team working diligently to close this gap.

Web 48

Web Silicon Valley Technical Review Artificial Inteligence 48

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Thomas Clayton has started and run numerous high-tech startups in Silicon Valley. The process of raising money in Asia is very different from raising money in Silicon Valley and, frankly, it’s not nearly as easy. Set your expectations – VCs in Asia are different from the Valley.

Asia 132

Asia Silicon Valley India Term Sheet 132

Agile VC

DECEMBER 13, 2011

AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. All VCs make decisions by drawing on the data we have at hand, information gleaned through our diligence process, and our own experience and judgement. I’ve always respected Bessemer for publishing their “ Anti-Portfolio ” on their website. December 13, 2011.

Seed Stage 185

Seed Stage Silicon Valley Cofounder Technical Review 185

Hippoland

AUGUST 21, 2016

Portfolio founder: There’s an investor who wants to invest about $500k. Portfolio founder: That’s the problem. I have this conversation all the time with portfolio companies. Ask for references — you should speak with existing portfolio founders if it looks like the prospective investor is really serious about signing your deal.

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Due Diligence Silicon Valley Portfolio 48

David Teten

JANUARY 9, 2018

Most of the other VC firms with a history of picking unicorns have significantly benefited from being based in Silicon Valley, having much larger investment teams, and having multi-decade Tier-1 reputations, which has led to them seeing most of the best deals in the market. – Technology stack. – Execution.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Private Equity Silicon Valley Differentiation 60

David Teten

JANUARY 9, 2018

Most of the other VC firms with a history of picking unicorns have significantly benefited from being based in Silicon Valley, having much larger investment teams, and having multi-decade Tier-1 reputations, which has led to them seeing most of the best deals in the market. – Technology stack. – Execution.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Private Equity Silicon Valley Differentiation 60

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 20, 2023

With so many startups facing a tough journey right from their inception, the pressing question becomes: How does one successfully navigate the tech industry? The key lies in having a groundbreaking idea and understanding the broader tech landscape and the forces shaping it. Focus on Customer Satisfaction Word of mouth travels fast.

Technical Review 137

Technical Review Startup Silicon Valley Agile 137

Austin Startup

MARCH 3, 2018

Friday, March 9 Attracting VC Funding Outside Silicon Valley Panel with HomeAway founder Brian Sharples & Capital Factory Director Gordon Daugherty We do a lot of things differently in Texas, including fundraising. Salon DE Third Coast: Can Austin Be The Next Big Tech City? tech, film, music, publishing, etc.

Technical Review 58

Technical Review Silicon Valley Texas Austin 58

ReadWriteStart

DECEMBER 9, 2010

Vin proposes to build a restaurant search, reviews and ratings site for the Malaysian market catering both to tourists and locals. Should those entrepreneurs who have built their business elsewhere move to Silicon Valley to raise money? The likelihood of you being able to attract Silicon Valley or U.S.

Silicon Valley 117

Silicon Valley Malaysia India China 117

Agile VC

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. Also portfolio management strategy has shifted a bit in recent years, and many large investors now evaluate at all risky assets together (US tech IPOs, Brazilian bonds, Chinese private equity, etc) rather than making discrete allocations to each bucket. How To Think About The Future.

IPO 100

IPO Marketing Silicon Valley Private Equity 100