Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2021

And again, just like in enterprise sales, this is all about differentiation ?—?what what makes you different and complimentary to all the other funds in their portfolio? It’s critical to stand for a firm differentiator and here’s why: it shines a clear spotlight on whether you are or are not a good bet for this LP.

LP 375

LP Southern California Los Angeles Differentiation 375

Hunter Walker

MARCH 28, 2018

.” I hear, read, see examples every day of investors espousing differentiated theses with regards to why they exist. Your portfolio page. Your portfolio page is your thesis. Your portfolio page is your thesis. So we network, we write blog posts , we research, we tweet. Because the portfolio page is real.

Portfolio 104

Portfolio LP Differentiation Founder 104

VC Cafe

MARCH 1, 2024

Companionship Differentiated value prop vs. generalist chat products – AI companion products hat specialise in content that mainstream models aren’t good at (or don’t allow), like fictional role plays or erotica. Bitcoin Allocation – Growing the role of bitcoin in investment portfolios.

Artificial Inteligence 176

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Software Review Generative AI 176

Version One Ventures

JANUARY 31, 2024

Since then, I’ve received 200+ inbound leads (and counting). Have backed close to 20 emerging GP's over the past 5 yrs & looking to add 3-4 more to the portfolio this year. Investing felt very easy during that time; investment pacing, portfolio construction and follow-on decisions didn’t seem to matter. DM's open.

LP 72

LP Differentiation Deal Flow India 72

Austin Startup

MAY 11, 2017

645 Ventures 645 Ventures makes deeply-researched investments in institutional Seed to Series A rounds for exceptional companies who demonstrate stellar early results in the areas of market validation, product differentiation, team strength, and brand narrative. These sectors generally leverage the Internet or software in a fundamental way.

Private Equity 48

Private Equity Venture Capital Technical Review Seed Stage 48

Version One Ventures

JULY 21, 2020

By 2016, we had begun to specialize into a thesis-driven firm , focusing on businesses with potentially large network effects built around people and/or data. . We still think that network effects are incredibly valuable. Amazing, mission-driven founders are found throughout our portfolio. Fast forward to today.

Founder 213

Founder Vertical Differentiation Portfolio 213

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

” The pioneering fund of funds realize that their source of differentiation is much more about the latter than the former. Many prominent LPs have also recognized the “prorata opportunity” and have set up “direct investment vehicles” themselves to take prorata stakes in their managers portfolio companies.

Technical Review 398

Technical Review Venture Capital Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 398

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 5, 2014

As the former CEO of a professional expert network , I’m a firm believer in the value of speedy access to relevant experts. I was excited to see that GLG (formerly Gerson Lehrman Group), the industry leader, is now offering a professional network service geared to the needs of the startup community: GLG Share.

New York 114

New York Technical Review Networking Advisory Board 114

Haystack

JUNE 5, 2018

Not yet profitable but invaluable to developers worldwide, the decade-old company bootstrapped, differentiated from formidable competitors GitLab and Atlassian’s BitBucket, weathered leadership upheavals, and eventually ingested lots of venture capital which helped them weather the challenges they faced.

Acquisition 71

Acquisition Azure Open Source Seattle 71

VC Cafe

MAY 29, 2022

Sequoia’s “Adapting to Endure” Sequoia presented this deck to a group of portfolio founders and it quickly spread online to founders worldwide. We may see many VC funds increase their reserves strategies to triage their portfolio through this high-bar Series A environment. Notable tech layoffs (source: Protocol ).

Venture Capital 183

Venture Capital Early Stage Valuation Startup 183

VC Cafe

APRIL 27, 2011

10 things VCs can do to differentiate themselves and provide more value to potential investments – based on feedback from dozens of entrepreneurs. Despite the VC’s obvious disadvantage in the early stages, marketing and differentiation of venture capital funds is limited today. what about all those portfolio companies?

Venture Capital 90

Venture Capital Differentiation Incubator Angel Investor 90

Hunter Walker

MARCH 25, 2015

In today’s world where product and access are largely ubiquitous, and price is a terrible thing to compete on, we stand by our motto that customer experience is the last frontier to differentiate on to become a leading brand and a lasting company. How do you convey to founders why your backgrounds are valuable to them?

Naming 48

Naming Technical Review Early Stage Green 48

VC Cafe

APRIL 8, 2011

What started originally as how can VCs differentiate themselves to stand out, quickly became an Entrepreneur’s wish list from its VCs. Getting to specific people for recruiting, business development or just networking, entrepreneurs is highly appreciated when it’s targeted. Help with introductions – but be selective.

Technical Review 101

Technical Review Due Diligence Hosting Harvest 101

View from Seed

JANUARY 11, 2021

The majority had dedicated more time to guiding the portfolio companies through the pandemic. . VCs have sourced from known founders and trusted networks to curb risk. Investors looked to known, credible networks, to closed communities, and sought warm introductions to source new deals.

Venture Capital 350

Venture Capital Cofounder Early Stage Seed Stage 350

thebarefootvc

MAY 8, 2012

However, the reality is that I am building a portfolio of investments and, like Brad, I believe in being an active and helpful investor. No matter how capable and experienced, an entrepreneur needs as many trusted, networked and experienced eyes and ears to help her navigate through this dynamic market. This takes a lot of time.

Venture Capital 78

Venture Capital Syndication Syndicate Bandwidth 78

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2011

And these ideas have ways of seeping into board discussions with portfolio companies as in, “have you ever thought about trying A, B or C?&# I worked with an entrepreneur who was to appear at a startup networking event where he was to talk about his company’s plans. You have tons of differentiation. Life goes on.

Early Stage 380

Early Stage Stealth Marketing Startup 380

Version One Ventures

JULY 19, 2018

We love their network effects and continue to invest in them. However, over the past few years, we’ve seen new marketplaces succeed by differentiating through a new shopping experience (i.e. mobile) and/or new or differentiated supply. The answer is YES!

Disintermediation 110

Disintermediation B2B Differentiation Aggregator 110

Version One Ventures

DECEMBER 15, 2014

This thinking inspired me to come up with a framework for a user engagement pyramid that I have been encouraging our portfolio founders to create for themselves. For example, if we were to take a social network like Facebook or Twitter, we might end up with something that looks like the diagram below (n.b. for their posts.

Social Network 167

Social Network Metrics Framework Networking 167

The Equity Kicker

JULY 8, 2019

Then from the mid 2000s, value add began moving beyond the partner to the firm as VCs began employing people who’s full time job was helping their portfolio. The most common strategies are to provide networking services and content to portfolio leaders so they can be more effective in their jobs. . Building platforms.

Portfolio 84

Portfolio LP Venture Capital Partner 84

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2012

This also requires a huge investment to get to critical mass, and real work to differentiate and sell premium services to users locked-in as free. This doesn’t work well with “nice to have” offerings, like social networks, but does work for new drugs that solve critical health problems. Portfolio pricing. Cost-based model.

Business Model 282

Business Model Revenue Portfolio Differentiation 282

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2014

This also requires a huge investment to get to critical mass, and real work to differentiate and sell premium services to convert users to paying customers. This doesn’t work well with “nice to have” offerings, like social networks, but does work for new drugs and medical devices that solve critical health problems. Cost-based model.

Revenue 287

Revenue Startup Business Model Retention 287

Duct Tape Marketing

OCTOBER 28, 2021

John Jantsch (00:00): This episode of the duct tape marketing podcast is brought to you by the MarTech podcast, hosted by Benjamin Shapiro, brought to you by the HubSpot podcast network. And of course, a number of small businesses have found brilliant ways to differentiate against these big competitors and also to harness the internet.

Small Business 101

Small Business Entrepreneur Green Community 101

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

Of course these are great places to network with other investors, meet great entrepreneurs and keep your connections strong with senior execs at larger companies like Yahoo!, But they are also a tax on your time with portfolio companies, looking for new investments, running your shop and honestly they are a tax on your family life.

Cofounder 374

Cofounder Syndication Syndicate Early Stage 374

Reid Hoffman

JULY 12, 2022

Freelancing on the side to build toward a portfolio career comes with the risk that your performance at your day job will suffer. It will differentiate you. Consult mentors in your network to help think through contingencies. Negotiating for a higher salary involves the risk of seeming greedy or arrogant. Revisit your Plan Z.

Differentiation 69

Differentiation Salary Networking Stock 69

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 23, 2013

This also requires a huge investment to get to critical mass, and real work to differentiate and sell premium services to “convert” users to paying customers. This doesn’t work well with “nice to have” offerings, like social networks, but does work for new drugs and medical devices that solve critical health problems. Cost-based model.

Product 290

Product Revenue Business Model Retention 290

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 20, 2023

From building a strong brand and network to leveraging digital marketing and providing exceptional customer service, these tips will provide you with actionable strategies to take your real estate business to new heights. Network effectively Networking plays a crucial role in growing your real estate business.

Technical Review 147

Technical Review Social Media Networking Differentiation 147

View from Seed

MAY 12, 2015

Some partners at VC firms are just more accessible than others, taking more meetings with entrepreneurs both inside and outside their immediate networks. And if you’re easily able to get an introduction to a particular partner through a close tie in your own network, that’s often just the right approach. Don’t overthink it.

Partner 120

Partner Term Sheet Reputation Deal Flow 120

Hippoland

AUGUST 16, 2018

And, your idea is 50th social networking site of the week. Unless you have a differentiated angle / approach to the problem AND/OR significant traction, an investor won’t be able to understand why you stand out and why to back your horse instead of someone else’s. Especially at the early stages.

Sales Cycle 54

Sales Cycle Differentiation Early Stage Bootstrapping 54

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 26, 2010

This also requires a huge investment to get to critical mass, and real work to differentiate and sell premium services to users locked-in as free. This doesn’t work well with “nice to have” offerings, like social networks, but does work for new drugs that solve critical health problems. Portfolio pricing. Cost-based model.

Product 247

Product Startup Portfolio Revenue 247

Hippoland

AUGUST 16, 2018

And, your idea is 50th social networking site of the week. Unless you have a differentiated angle / approach to the problem AND/OR significant traction, an investor won’t be able to understand why you stand out and why to back your horse instead of someone else’s. Especially at the early stages.

Sales Cycle 48

Sales Cycle Differentiation Early Stage Bootstrapping 48

Lightspeed Venture Partners

DECEMBER 14, 2012

To bring an additional perspective to the conversation, I invited Lightspeed portfolio companies BloomReach, EdgeSpring, MapR, Nutanix, PernixData and Virtual Instruments who are focused on helping companies store, manage, analyze, and surface next-generation data and content.

Business Model 159

Business Model Distribution Aggregator Channel 159

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2010

The strategy of GigaOm and where they differentiate in the market. I made the point (not widely publicized) that OS4 is currently “breaking&# many applications that use ad networks that are not Apples (most notably AdMob, owned by Google). Competitors: Playdom , Social Gaming Network. Read more: PaidContent.

Venture Capital 225

Venture Capital Non-Compete Vertical Europe 225

Gust

AUGUST 24, 2014

This also requires a huge investment to get to critical mass, and real work to differentiate and sell premium services to convert users to paying customers. This doesn’t work well with “nice to have” offerings, like social networks, but does work for new drugs and medical devices that solve critical health problems. Cost-based model.

Revenue 184

Revenue Startup Retention Internet 184

Cracking the Code

JANUARY 19, 2016

As a consequence, they need a VC that has a strong international network and can help them develop their go to market successfully in the US. What’s the n°1 startup that you wish you had in your portfolio? They are running a series of interviews of European VCs investing in SaaS and I was lucky to be the first one.

API 48

API Silicon Valley Europe Differentiation 48

Up and Running

JUNE 15, 2017

There were some common design trends in olive oil packaging the company wanted to differentiate from. I’ve selected a few key areas to consider, to increase the odds you’ll pick the perfect designer for your packaging design: Tip #1: Take a good look at their portfolio. Asking for referrals from your network can be a great start too.

Design 107

Design Product Greece Portfolio 107

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 29, 2011

Reality is that we're probably connected in some way anyway through various social networks anyway and I'm very quick to figure out all of those connections to ask about you. I don't mind cold intros at all--but it's hard when I can't figure out who you are in the context of my network. What do you think of the group buying space?

Technical Review 113

Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence Venture Capital 113

Hunter Walker

MAY 18, 2015

Anne Dinneen: Nothing has contributed more to the growth of the Irvine endowment over the years than our venture portfolio. And what leads to adding or removing a fund from Irvine’s portfolio? An addition to the portfolio typically offers some differentiation or new value proposition. What would your advice be?

LP 48

LP Portfolio Early Stage Institutional Investors 48