David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

Tim Friedman, Founder, PE Stack , said, “If I could offer one piece of advice to today’s managers, it would be to take the time to understand the demands of the modern institutional LP. We are also seeing technology evaluation as an increasingly important part of LP operational due diligence.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

Yes, via conversion rights at a valuation cap. Yes, via conversion rights at a valuation cap. As a result, unfounded hockey-stick graphs and unicorn promises give way to financial fluency, realistic expectations, frank conversations about what a business can credibly achieve, and transparency. . Flexible VC: Compensation-based.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2019

Here are some observations I have from this exposure: If a company moves from strength-to-strength with predictable outcomes, easy financings, low staff turn-over, limited competitive threats then the composition of the board probably doesn’t matter as much. kind of like a board for a VC firm). Follow the whole series.

LP 269

LP Startup Burn Rate Stock Options 269

Austin Startup

AUGUST 10, 2017

Although we were studying finance, we were always more interested in tech. Before graduating, I decided to forgo the finance path and instead dove into engineering and later sales and product management roles at VersaSuite (health IT) in Austin. But we never lost the finance bug. We were infatuated with tech.

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Cofounder Technical Cofounder Austin 48

Agile VC

DECEMBER 6, 2012

Unlike a startup that might raise equity financing across several rounds all combined in a single balance sheet, VC’s do not simply commingle these funds into a single bucket to be allocated across all the companies in that firm’s portfolio. Or public policy changes may force GPs or LPs to end longstanding relationships.

LP 178

LP Balance Sheet Differentiation Limited Partner 178

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2016

I was asked again in an LP meeting later in the week and then again at a founder breakfast gathering we hosted yesterday. I spend hours thinking about the products, competitors, market opportunities, recruiting and financing of these businesses. I answered in the same way I always do so I thought I’d just write it publicly.

Early Stage 254

Early Stage Non-Compete LP Later Stage 254

Hunter Walker

MARCH 24, 2025

I collect data points in conversation and start building my own theory of the topic, which I then write up and share with the world in the form of my quarterly essays. I like simulating other peoples perspectives in my mind and putting them in conversation with each other as a way of identifying blind spots in my own thinking.

LP 69

LP San Francisco Silicon Valley Framework 69

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Because VCs tend to “mark to market” for private investments so you would often value a company based on the last financing. What’s an LP to do in deciding which funds to invest in? was originally published in Both Sides of the Table on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Jordan 264

Jordan LP Cofounder Limited Partner 264

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

” There are a lot of data points that one can observer to get a sense of the venture capital markets – both LP fundings into venture and VC financings of startups. They point to some widely known facts: financings & valuations are up massively over the past 7 years and non-VC money has entered the system.

LP 150

LP Valuation Burn Rate Pre-Money Valuation 150

Babbling VC

JANUARY 7, 2011

I personally believe that one of the major drawbacks to venture capital in Europe is chronic under-financing and people skirt around this issue. Hence, financing rounds have been smaller (roughly a ratio of 5 to 1 when comparing US to EU). Even Dropbox and Etsy have done far larger rounds to finance their growth.

Finance 76

Finance LP Europe Valuation 76

Haystack

JUNE 1, 2018

” Depending on your point of view, it is the perfect trigger for a conversation about the state of the Bay Area’s investment market. A well-networked LP recently remarked to me they’ve estimated over 150+ of the 500+ known seed funds are currently “in market” right now.

LP 116

LP Global Social Media Portfolio 116

Hunter Walker

AUGUST 24, 2014

It’s for reasons like these that I support getting startup founders some liquidity during their company’s first few years, perhaps as early as Series A financing when appropriate. Or put startup expenses on their credit cards, far beyond their savings, hoping they can close financing for the company by end of the month.

Founder 127

Founder San Francisco Liquidity Event LP 127

Hunter Walker

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

Most of this discussion is about ‘playing offense’ — working towards being a good steward of LP capital and the risk/reward associated with VC. Conversely, if you’re not a good picker, it’s difficult to overcome that, even if you had perfect timing on secondary sales. Much of success in venture is knowing what (and when) to buy.

Venture Capital 146

Venture Capital Cap Table LP Equity 146

Hunter Walker

AUGUST 8, 2023

Obvious caveats to my POV here, most specifically: exposure is limited to largely the US/SiliconValley ecosystem, driven by our own portfolio, my friends and co-investors, the funds I’m a LP in, and our institutional LP relationships. Whatever gets reported is just the tip of the iceberg.

Portfolio 117

Portfolio Cap Table LP Valuation 117

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2016

I remember when seed funds first started (they were being incorrectly called “super angels” and then Micro VCs before Seed Funds stuck) and every LP (who invest in VCs) told me they weren’t convinced about Seed Funds (too small, too hard to pick winners, would they be able to follow on?). Explosion in Seed Funds. Choose wisely.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Silicon Valley Burn Rate LP 150

www.quora.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Some finance guy said "12k a month minimum" and someone replied "I must be living in abject poverty" and its true. They are not even investing with their own money, but with their LP's money. 109k/year plus the option to build more widgets in the future. Therefore the risks to the founders are greater.

Equity 40

Equity Employee Founder Cofounder 40

The Equity Kicker

JULY 8, 2019

This is what brings us to the second big difference: the cost of Applied Venture is too large to finance from a standard VC management fee. . Different funds finance the cost of these teams with a differing weighting of asking portfolio companies to pay for services, larger than normal management fees, and reduced compensation for partners.

Portfolio 84

Portfolio LP Venture Capital Partner 84

David Teten

AUGUST 21, 2019

Revenue-Based Investing (“RBI”) is a new form of VC financing, distinct from the preferred equity structure most VCs use. This includes the application process, phone calls with us, conversations with co-founders, investors and counsel, etc. Most founders who are raising capital look first to traditional equity VCs. Soup to nuts.

Revenue 60

Revenue Liquidation Preference Equity Cofounder 60

Austin Startup

JUNE 26, 2019

Even though most of this message was already drafted, we also had a Hail Mary of a final acquisition conversation that closed the following morning. The Whole Enchilada For those of you interested in more than The Skinny, keep reading… Countless conversations have been had with key users, customers, advisors, mentors, family and friends.

Silicon Valley 54

Silicon Valley Startup B2C Sweat Equity 54

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2017

WINTER For starters when we conducted our annual VC & LP survey in December of 2016 to prepare our annual Upfront State of the VC Industry report we found that twice as many VCs cut their investments in 2016 relative to 2015 with > 30% of VCs having cut investments. Unless of course something Trump’s our good weather.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Saudi Arabia Kuwait Burn Rate 150

Start Up Blog

APRIL 29, 2013

The co-commerce era is here and defined by the 3 C’s – Collaboration, Conversations and Creativity. Footwear brands Nike, Adidas, Converse and Tiger have all done very well bringing back designs from the 1980′s to leverage the trend. Conversation has overtaken contemplation.

Uruguay 123

Uruguay Technical Review Vertical Las Vegas 123

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 4, 2021

Just before the IPO, I had a far-reaching conversation with co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong as he approached this major milestone for the company he co-founded back in 2012. Here's my conversation with Brian Armstrong. We're having this conversation still in the midst of a seemingly never ending pandemic and lockdown.

IPO 113

IPO Cofounder Technical Review Government 113

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2017

This is key because in a permanently low-interest-rate environment parking large pools of capital in assets that benefit from interest is not possible so LPs seek “higher yield.” Here is the entire survey, which can also be downloaded and shared. If you need the original keynote slides for any reason — just ask.

LP 286

LP Silicon Valley Venture Capital Startup 286