Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

If you track the venture capital industry it would be hard to miss the conversation going on this week over AngelList “Syndicates.” I had a chance to discuss AngelList Syndicates with Naval at Michael Kim’s Cendana LP/VC conference on a panel with Naval, Roger Ehrenberg (IA Ventures) and Mike Brown, Jr.

Syndicate 356

Syndicate Syndication Cofounder Early Stage 356

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2016

At the Upfront Summit in early February, we had a chance to have many off-the-record conversations with Limited Partners (LPs) who fund Venture Capital (VC) funds about their views of the market. LPs See The Over-Valuations and Don’t Like It. All isn’t completely rosy in the LP views of the venture industry.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital LP Silicon Valley Marketing 150

thebarefootvc

JULY 3, 2017

Over the past month, Silicon Valley has been at the forefront of many conversations outside of the technology world. Limited partners (LPs), who manage the capital that gets deployed into venture capital funds, can play an important role in diversifying the funding landscape.

LP 65

LP Technical Review Silicon Valley Limited Partner 65

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

just having a sparring partner with a vested interest in your success can be useful. The Limited Partners (LPs) who back funds don’t expect their dollars to be passive. was originally published in Both Sides of the Table on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Venture Capital 236

Venture Capital Startup Angel Investor Silicon Valley 236

David Teten

JANUARY 23, 2021

I’ve been fortunate to be a Partner at two different VC firms over the past 9 years, and we’ve grown AUM 10X both times. Build the firm as much as possible before you solicit limited partners. . The next best move is to build your core team, e.g., recruit an Advisory Board, Venture Partners, and EIRs. Lastly, gather feedback.

Private Equity 78

Private Equity Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review 78

Hunter Walker

JANUARY 5, 2014

Stage 1 : Either Satya or I are meeting the founders, usually solo, giving them an overview of Homebrew and learning about their startup through direct conversations, using the product (whatever stage it’s at) and doing some background on their industry (if it’s an area new to us). Stage 2 : Here both of us are engaged.

Software Review 120

Software Review Balance Sheet Cofounder Technical Review 120

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 3, 2015

I had no idea I’d eventually be boxed out of the SaaS branding by Jason (SaaStr) and the LA branding by my partner Greg Bettinelli with #LongLA ! I was an early fan and heavy user of Quora back in the day and used to get huge benefit out of the conversations I had there. I thought about the fact that I was starting in LA?

LP 150

LP Israel Technical Review Deal Flow 150

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2021

You can listen to the entire conversation above or via this link , but I also wanted to highlight one topic we discussed that I feel strongly about, which is how I think enterprise sales and venture fundraising are basically the same muscle. OK, so you’ve found your target LPs who invest in funds at your stage. Why Buy Me?

LP 375

LP Southern California Los Angeles Differentiation 375

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 12, 2020

I took my last LP meeting the first week of March and clearly, I didn’t close anyone that I had met with at that time. They’re too busy awkwardly trying to explain their overdue search for a new “diverse” partner and why it took until 2020 to realize that a fund full of white people was a problem. He seemed paranoid.

LP 146

LP Technical Review Software Review Valuation 146

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

But in business, you want a lot of partners. In the private equity universe, most Partners have primary training as deal-makers, not as managers. See Bessemer Venture Partners’ A comprehensive guide to security for startups. Most of us want one spouse and we’re done. The 11 Steps of Investing in Private Companies. 2) Market .

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

After building NextView for almost 10 years now, I’ve been having more conversations recently with first time managers looking for some tactical advice. At first glance, you’d think that all LPs pretty much want to buy the same thing. Every fund pitching an LP is pitching this as a baseline. Are they a principal or an agent?

LP 309

LP Customer Early Stage Portfolio 309

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. Yes, via conversion rights at a valuation cap.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2019

Every year I invited my largest investors to NYC to have an LPAC meeting (Limited Partner Advisory Committee?—?kind We do lunch where everybody has a casual conversation followed by 6 hours of content and discussion. kind of like a board for a VC firm). Follow the whole series.

LP 269

LP Startup Burn Rate Stock Options 269

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Scott Kupor of A16Z responded with a comprehensive overview of valuation methodology in a post that while accurate feels more targeted at sophisticated Limited Partners (LPs) who invest in funds. Upfront Ventures has partnered with Andreessen Horowitz on several deals. What’s an LP to do in deciding which funds to invest in?

Jordan 264

Jordan LP Cofounder Limited Partner 264

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 18, 2017

Recently the firms two founding partners (and also Managing Partners) —  Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham  — decided to transition management of the firm to Andy Weissman (who joined in 2012) and Albert Wenger (joined in 2008 and writes one of the most thoughtful blogs in our industry ). Maybe that’s USV, too.

Leadership 161

Leadership LP Venture Capital Silicon Valley 161

Agile VC

DECEMBER 6, 2012

If Acme Ventures III, LP invests in Startup X then typically Acme Ventures IV, LP would not. 1) LP Bases Change Over Time – Most healthy VC firms tend to have stable relationships with the limited partners investing with them. 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 know investors who are great at this (including several of my partners) — but that’s not me. During the Q&A I was asked about how I make investment decisions in early-stage businesses.

Early Stage 254

Early Stage Non-Compete LP Later Stage 254

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

We capped our fund size so that we would stay true to our investment strategy in terms of size, scope and number of partners as we stood in 2014 when we raised the fund. She has formerly worked at a VC fund (DFJ) and worked closely with the partners and the network at DFJ and knew what it was like to build, manage and evolve a VC partnership.

LP 150

LP Entrepreneur United States Venture Capital 150

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2019

Yes, VC / Startup Funding is up Massively If you look at how much VC firms have raised from Limited Partners (LPs) over the past 2 decades you’ll see that we’ve returned to a level that we haven’t seen since 1999. If you want the whole deck you can find it on SlideShare but I’ve written up a short summary with commentary below.

Venture Capital 292

Venture Capital IPO Mezzanine Early Stage 292

The Equity Kicker

NOVEMBER 26, 2013

LPs, the investors in VC funds, have a difficult job to do, largely because they have to work with poor quality data and only a small fraction of VCs deliver the returns that make them worth investing in. Discipline also helps to keeps a venture fund’s loss ratio low which is important as they are ultimately stewards of LP investment funding.”

LP 154

LP Venture Capital Portfolio Reputation 154

Feld Thoughts

MARCH 14, 2023

I had many 1:1 conversations, emails, and messages with our portfolio company CEOs, along with several open Zoom lines where people could ask questions and just commiserate and feel part of a shared community. Foundry is supporting it as a firm, and I’m supporting it personally along with my partner Jaclyn Hester.

Founder 168

Founder Silicon Valley LP Portfolio 168

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2010

As a reminder, VC funds are comprised of money from LP’s (Limited Partners) that include university endowments, pension funds, high-net-worth individuals, insurance companies and large corporations. In a single fund of $100 million you might have 30 difference LPs. Now, let’s get more ominous.

Pre-Money Valuation 226

Pre-Money Valuation Venture Capital LP Term Sheet 226

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. note: to follow realtime conversations & engage with me on Facebook you can follow me here: https://www.facebook.com/msuster ]. State of the Market.

LP 150

LP Valuation Burn Rate Pre-Money Valuation 150

View from Seed

OCTOBER 11, 2022

I made over a dozen angel investments and a few investments in VC funds as an LP, expanding my focus to new geographies, sectors, and stages. I became certified as a professional coach through the Hudson Institute of Coaching to be a more mindful and effective partner on a founder’s journey.

North America 156

North America San Francisco Cap Table Cofounder 156

Feld Thoughts

OCTOBER 10, 2013

Last night I had dinner with my partners and our significant others. Much of the conversation was personal, as in addition to being one of our largest investors, Jamey has become an incredibly close friend. I remembered my conversation with Jamey. Earlier this year I had dinner with Jamey Sperans, one of our investors.

LP 152

LP Venture Capital Conversion Restful 152

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

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

While it’s true that they are investing LP money from a fund, it’s also true that the VCs are required to write large checks into their funds so every time they do a “capital call” (request money from an LP to fund you) they are also having to wire their own money into the deal. VCs most certainly do have skin in the game.

Warrant 187

Warrant LP Cofounder Founder 187

Hunter Walker

SEPTEMBER 9, 2024

And it’s often to the detriment of everyone involved, but especially to the detriment of founders and LPs. I’ve been a personal LP in every one of Ryan’s funds and part of what has always impressed me is his understanding of these tradeoffs in strategies and incentives.] Others won’t.

Venture Capital 102

Venture Capital LP Cofounder Early Stage 102

David Teten

MARCH 2, 2013

See the Techcrunch posts by my Partner John Frankel and Professor Robert Wiltbank , my recent post on the quality of angel returns data , as well as reports from the Silicon Valley Bank and Kauffman Foundation. We thought that you’d be interested in our conversation. I’m obliged to say that sentiment is not universal.

LP 114

LP Securities and Exchange Commission Silicon Valley Venture Capital 114

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 12, 2011

I’m sure there are a lot of product people that would like to be a fly on the wall for that conversation. I’m even more excited to be working with Chris Fralic, who is the partner on point here for First Round and Theresia Ranzetta from Accel, who joined us in this round. That’s CrunchTrainer and that will be out soon.

LP 108

LP New York Sales Web 108

Feld Thoughts

OCTOBER 24, 2017

My partner Lindel just put a post up on the Foundry Group website about our investment in K9 Ventures. We are proud to be an LP in Manu Kumar’s third fund. I’ve been friends with Manu since 2009 and an investor (personally) in his first two funds. A number of interesting companies were presented. I adore Manu.

LP 91

LP Engineer Conversion Partner 91

Feld Thoughts

MARCH 20, 2019

Since then, I’ve been a founder of a number of companies, a CTO of a public company that acquired my first company, an angel investor, a VC in two different firms that I helped start, and an LP in a bunch of VC firms. My partner Dave was vice president. I was president of my first company (Feld Technologies).

LP 109

LP Angel Investor Cofounder Leadership 109

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 2, 2017

It’s hard enough to get a job at a venture capital or private equity firm; it’s even more complex to join as a Partner. So I would start by sharing with the fund an institutional LP due diligence checklist , and ask them to share their data room with you. Contact : to existing portfolio, to internal team resources, to LPs.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Partner 60

Babbling VC

JANUARY 7, 2011

Conversely you could blame the LP's (limited partners: the investors in venture funds) and say they are the one's not risking it enough. The Tier-1 funds continue getting the money from the LP's and before LP's give their money to other VC's, they'll increase the amount of money they invest in the Tier-1 funds. .

Finance 76

Finance LP Europe Valuation 76

Feld Thoughts

SEPTEMBER 12, 2019

The author, Abbi Waxman , shares the last name with David Waxman , who is a partner at TenOneTen Ventures. Foundry is an LP in TenOneTen and it’s been fun to work with David again after a long hiatus. ” which then prompted a fun conversation about Nick, Shawn, David, and the mysterious Abbi who I hope to someday meet.

Los Angeles 17

Los Angeles Alaska LP Cofounder 17

Hunter Walker

APRIL 28, 2017

For VCs, annual LP meetings are combination Board Meeting + Community Event. Several founders gave 10-12 minute updates on their companies, and then, a dinner with our LPs, Homebrew founders and fund advisors. We spent an afternoon with our investors, providing updates on fund performance, market dynamics and future plans.

LP 77

LP Portfolio Founder Community 77

Bryce Dot VC

DECEMBER 4, 2012

That post sparked a series of conversations, both online and off, about what makes a pitch great and how to best use the time a founder secures with a potential investor. Despite its simplicity, the deck proved to be extremely effective for framing the conversation with both new and existing investors. We have a deep loyalty to them.

LP 60

LP Advisory Board Institutional Investors Security 60