Steve Blank

JANUARY 11, 2022

Team Army Venture Capital. needs to reevaluate and improve its public venture capital relationship with companies with dual-use technologies. Final problem statement : Chinese adversarial venture capital investments in U.S. Original problem statement : the U.S.

Technical Review 331

Technical Review Technology Taiwan Venture Capital 331

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 12, 2019

As there was no venture capital, these early startups were funded by early sales to weapon systems prime contractors and subcontractors. Within a decade, the rise of venture capital in Silicon Valley enabled startups to find commercial customers rather than military ones.

Government 316

Government Artificial Inteligence Silicon Valley North Korea 316

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2021

That means that many companies are now forgoing the rush to go public (IPO), in favor of major equity investments from specialized venture capital funds, such as Japan’s SoftBank. These tolerate negative cash flows for growth. These have the vision and the resources to fund long-term digital success.

Software Review 355

Software Review Algorithm IPO Global 355

The Startup Magazine

MAY 15, 2025

For decades, venture capital (VC) and angel investments in groundbreaking startups have captured headlines, promising exponential growth and disruptive innovation. Venture capital fuels innovation and chases transformative growth, accepting high failure rates for the chance at monumental wins.

Search 85

Search Technical Review Due Diligence Venture Capital 85

Steve Blank

APRIL 10, 2019

As Venture Capital emerged as an industry in the mid 1970’s, investors in venture-funded startups began to give stock options to all their employees. And Mark Suster of Upfront Capital has a great post that summarizes these changes. It’s called Growth capital. On its surface this was a pretty radical idea.

Stock Options 335

Stock Options Stock Vesting Common Stock 335

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2021

Success in an incubator means likely access to venture capital, and connections to industry gurus and business opportunities. About 80% of TechStars startup graduates go on to raise venture capital or a significant angel funding round, versus maybe 1% of all startups who seek funding. Follow-on funding and connections.

Incubator 366

Incubator Technical Review Due Diligence Venture Capital 366

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 29, 2020

Maintaining your team’s passion and freedom to focus first on innovating for customers are only a couple of the reasons for thinking hard before you seek money from crowdfunding, angel investors, venture capital organizations, or attempt to qualify for a public stock offering. Investors will become the toughest boss you ever had.

Bootstrapping 310

Bootstrapping Advisory Board Startup Venture Capital 310

The Startup Magazine

MAY 8, 2025

USC Marshall/Greif Incubator strides forward with events and competitions The USC Incubator, led by Paul Orlando, shared its congratulations to the incredible work of its undergraduate team who won VCIC West and tied for 4th place globally at the 2025 Venture Capital Investment Competition.

Software Review 124

Software Review Technical Review Global Ecuador 124

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

Venture capital is about backing the leaders of tomorrow who imagine the world as it should be and aren’t constrained by what it is today. As an industry we’re not always as good as we could be about our own “creative destruction” to create the tomorrow of venture capital.

Partner 361

Partner Management Cofounder San Francisco 361

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 22, 2024

Advances in materials science will drive down error rates Regional research consortiums Venture capital investment FOMO and financial engineering We talk a lot about qubits in this post. How many physical qubits do you need? As a reminder a qubit – is short for a quantum bit.

Technical Review 267

Technical Review Illinois Algorithm Software Review 267

View from Seed

APRIL 6, 2021

You have a deep desire to learn the venture capital business and are ready to hustle to meet the next great founder. You are a self-starter and enjoy approaching work independently without much direction. You act as an “ invited guest.”. You are hungry. You have an authentic passion for startups and a deep respect for entrepreneurship.

Technical Review 317

Technical Review Software Review Seed Stage Cofounder 317

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 6, 2025

However, despite the initial panic, venture capital funding for AI remains robust. The Global AI Investment Landscape Despite the excitement around DeepSeek, venture investments in Chinese startups have nearly flatlined in 2024, at a time where global investments (particularly in AI) are booming.

China 97

China Artificial Inteligence ChatGPT Generative AI 97

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2021

If you are approaching a recognized venture capital group, or even an accredited angel investor, a non-disclosure agreement is counter-productive. Here are the key considerations from my perspective: Dealing with known or trusted investors and advisors.

Non-disclosure Agreement 399

Non-disclosure Agreement Technical Review Due Diligence Angel Investor 399

View from Seed

MARCH 4, 2020

The biggest rise, unsurprisingly, was China, which enjoyed a huge surge in venture capital dollars over the past decade and enjoyed its fair share of blockbuster exits. I personally think it’s pretty healthy to see so much success in Venture Capital driven by relatively new market entrants. Looking Forward.

Venture Capital 313

Venture Capital China Technical Review Africa 313

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2022

Maintaining your team’s passion and freedom to focus first on innovating for customers are only a couple of the reasons for thinking hard before you seek money from crowdfunding, angel investors, venture capital organizations, or attempt to qualify for a public stock offering. Investors will become the toughest boss you ever had.

Cost 267

Cost Bootstrapping Advisory Board Startup 267

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2021

LPs Haven’t Yet Grokked the Long Game While the VC community realized 5ish years ago that short-termism in venture capital didn’t make sense and has capitalized on the scale advantages of letting companies go long, the LP community by and large hasn’t totally grokked this.

Venture Capital 363

Venture Capital LP Valuation Later Stage 363

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 25, 2020

According to National Venture Capital Association statistics , only 16% of venture-backed startups recently used this alternative, due to high liability concerns, demanding shareholders, and high costs. IPO – public company initial public stock offering.

Exit Strategy 376

Exit Strategy Startup Private Equity Equity 376

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2023

While I recognize that there continues to be a shortage of venture capital for new entrepreneurs, compared to the demand, don’t succumb to the temptation to take funds from investors that you are not totally comfortable with.

Technical Review 345

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Offshore 345

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2022

Yet as I mentor entrepreneurs around the country, crowdfunding still seems to be one of the least understood approaches to startup funding, with more myths than accredited angels and professional venture capital investors combined.

Accredited Investor 352

Accredited Investor Startup SEC Equity 352

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 26, 2023

The venture capital system promises both founder and investor that they can be successful while getting what they want. The post Venture Capital: A System Built On Trust appeared first on Young Upstarts. It does this by making money the medium: Investors have money, founders need money.

Venture Capital 278

Venture Capital Founder Silicon Valley Startup 278

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2021

No real investor or venture capital firm asks for money from the company they are intending to invest in. Here someone who is not a registered financial broker contacts you on the Internet, tells you about all the people they know with money, then turns around to ask for a “retainer” or fee to cover their time and efforts.

Technical Review 371

Technical Review Due Diligence Non-disclosure Agreement SEC 371

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

At our mid-year offsite our partnership at Upfront Ventures was discussing what the future of venture capital and the startup ecosystem looked like.

Technical Review 416

Technical Review Pre-Money Valuation San Francisco Valuation 416

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2022

Hopefully you can see from this list that the people and processes involved in financing a nonprofit have little in common with angel investors, or the venture capital process. This could work to get you legal or accounting services, but won’t get you cash to pay employee salaries.

Angel Investor 327

Angel Investor Equity Technical Review Exit Strategy 327

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2020

Finally I realized that venture capital and angel investors are actually humans, despite some views to the contrary. As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all.

Intellectual Property 316

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 316

View from Seed

APRIL 14, 2020

This led to a number of repercussions that most VC’s have lamented during this time, including higher prices, larger rounds, shoddy due diligence, and many companies raising large sums of venture capital that probably aren’t suited to VC funding.

Early Stage 374

Early Stage Software Review Technical Review Due Diligence 374

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 20, 2020

Yet as I mentor entrepreneurs around the country, it still seems to be one of the least understood approaches to startup funding, with more myths than accredited angels and professional venture capital investors combined.

Accredited Investor 324

Accredited Investor Entrepreneur SEC Equity 324

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2020

While I recognize that there continues to be a shortage of venture capital for new entrepreneurs, compared to the demand, don’t succumb to the temptation to take funds from investors that you are not totally comfortable with.

Technical Review 310

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Offshore 310

Hunter Walker

OCTOBER 14, 2024

HW: Sanzo was founded, and thrived, through a time where traditional venture capital firms got excited about – and then became more disillusioned – with DTC brands. What was it like seeing some folks raise tens of millions of dollars, and where has your financing mostly come from?

New York City 116

New York City Hockey Stick Angel Investor Distribution 116

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 29, 2022

If you need venture capital, maybe you need to spend more time in Silicon Valley or Boston. Fortunately, you can develop this skill. Location and luck: right place at the right time. I’m a proponent of the old adage that you make your own luck in business.

Silicon Valley 325

Silicon Valley Angel Investor Technical Review Boston 325

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

Finally I realized that venture capital and angel investors are actually humans, despite some views to the contrary. As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all.

Intellectual Property 278

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 278

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 19, 2025

Artificial intelligence continues to be a bright spot in the world of venture capital. In Q3 of 2024, AI-related startups landed $19 billion USD, which equates to 28% of total venture dollars.

Artificial Inteligence 96

Artificial Inteligence Engineer Software Software Engineering 96

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2022

We have all seen examples of new ventures that fail , despite large infusions of venture capital, and high-potential new technologies. I have found that no amount of personal or investor money will create or substitute for self-leadership and business leadership.

Leadership 285

Leadership Reputation Venture Capital Global 285

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 31, 2023

Raising venture capital? Fundraising has been significantly harder last year is that venture capitalists have become more risk-averse. The post How To Secure Venture Capital Funding Even If You’re A New Entrepreneur appeared first on Young Upstarts.

Venture Capital 245

Venture Capital Security Entrepreneur Startup 245

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2023

If you are approaching a recognized venture capital group, or even an accredited angel investor, a non-disclosure agreement is counter-productive. Here are the key considerations from my perspective: Dealing with known or trusted investors and advisors.

Non-disclosure Agreement 254

Non-disclosure Agreement Technical Review Due Diligence Angel Investor 254

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 25, 2023

According to National Venture Capital Association statistics , only 16% of venture-backed startups recently used this alternative, due to high liability concerns, demanding shareholders, and high costs. IPO – public company initial public stock offering.

Exit Strategy 264

Exit Strategy Private Equity Equity Technical Review 264

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 30, 2024

Israel continues to be a relatively liquid market Another strong indicator for the strength of the Israeli startup ecosystem has been exits/ liquidity, especially given the shortage of exits in the venture capital industry. For example, In the last 30 days Salesforce acquired three Israeli startups for a combined $2.6

Israel 183

Israel Technical Review Startup Generative AI 183

Hunter Walker

APRIL 21, 2025

I entered venture capital with some beliefs – many of which still hold true (such as ‘your LPs are your business partners, not your customers’). Soon I’ll have spent more time on cap tables than org charts. That’s a 2025 milestone as Homebrew turns 12.5

Venture Capital 124

Venture Capital Cap Table San Francisco Early Stage 124