View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

It’s by far the longest time I’ve spent working on any one thing, and I feel very blessed to have been able to work with my partners, colleagues, founders, and collaborators. My partners will tell you that I am an incredibly impatient person. You want someone who will challenge you and be an intellectual sparring partner.

IRR 156

IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 156

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. Of the Inc. 5000 companies, only 6.5% return cap.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

It’s by far the longest time I’ve spent working on any one thing, and I feel very blessed to have been able to work with my partners, colleagues, founders, and collaborators. My partners will tell you that I am an incredibly impatient person. You want someone who will challenge you and be an intellectual sparring partner.

IRR 136

IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 136

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 8, 2009

Traction can simply mean showing that you’re making progress with customers, product development, channel partners, initial revenue as a proof point, attracting well-known angel investors, winning industry awards / recognition. And I know many stories of Benchmark or similar investors writing term sheets after the first meeting.

Technical Review 309

Technical Review Term Sheet Revenue Venture Capital 309

Mucker Lab

AUGUST 27, 2014

For the last couple of years, I’ve been investing in startups as a partner at Mucker, while spending a lot of time in the Valley working with potential co-investors and partners. Encyclopedic knowledge of term sheets and startup buzzwords can be quickly learned, trained, and packaged.

Los Angeles 138

Los Angeles Southern California Silicon Valley Technical Review 138

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 2, 2010

His term sheet series helped me at a time when I needed help. “Mark, I’m an Associate Partner. The only person who could carry you on his budget is the lead partner, Cory Van Wolvelaere.&#. He was a senior partner, I was a peon. And fighting with the local Italian partners.

Europe 352

Europe France San Francisco Chicago 352

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 5, 2023

She’s already a seasoned pro—three term sheets got signed in her room at the NICU where she spent the first 80 days of her life. I’ll also continue to work within the NYC tech community—now thriving at a level I could hardly have imagined when I first got the pitch deck for USV’s first fund as a Limited Partner at the GM pension fund.

Later Stage 218

Later Stage Venture Capital Term Sheet Limited Partner 218

Up and Running

JANUARY 26, 2012

Firstly, you need to identify some potential smart investors (by ‘smart’ I mean investors who bring more to the table than just cash i.e. access to a network of contacts, distribution etc). Finally you need to be very clear on the terms of the investment i.e. above and beyond the headline rates. What is their preferred exit strategy?

Term Sheet 94

Term Sheet Exit Strategy Software Review Early Stage 94

Reid Hoffman

JULY 27, 2021

Greylock Partners · Reid Hoffman | Philosopher Versus MBA. If they don’t have the right skills or resources, they’ll pick them up along the way by hiring someone, partnering with someone, or just learning it themselves. I was still unprepared; I had no idea that I also needed to learn about go-to-market strategy and distribution.

Silicon Valley 69

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Balance Sheet Cofounder 69

Reid Hoffman

JULY 27, 2021

Greylock Partners · Reid Hoffman | Philosopher Versus MBA. If they don’t have the right skills or resources, they’ll pick them up along the way by hiring someone, partnering with someone, or just learning it themselves. I was still unprepared; I had no idea that I also needed to learn about go-to-market strategy and distribution.

Silicon Valley 69

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Balance Sheet Cofounder 69

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 17, 2020

As she recalls, "once we as a team and ecosystem of stakeholders got our plan together--and a big part of that was our incredible school partners, who said, 'We are going to feed as many kids and families as we can,'-- within a week, we were building at light speed what would be the next iteration of Revolution Foods and our feeding system."

Cofounder 60

Cofounder Security Founder Entrepreneur 60

Rob Go

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

That said, we tend to be very flexible on syndication to bring on great partners, and have collaborated with terrific partners like our most frequent co-investors Founder Collective, Accomplice, LHV, Softech, and others. Belief #3: Outlier Companies Can Be Built Anywhere. Belief #4: The Best Way to Spot Outliers is to be Thematic.

North America 36

North America Seed Stage Early Stage Lead Investor 36

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. Cobalt for General Partners helps GPs to optimize their fundraising strategy. 1) Manage the firm

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

Startup Company Lawyer

MARCH 14, 2010

Founders Institute Plain Preferred Term Sheet (by WSGR – disclaimer, I represent the Founders Institute and was involved in drafting this document). This post assumes that you have a basic understanding of Series A financing terms. Y Combinator Series AA Equity Financing Documents (by WSGR). “ .

Finance 70

Finance Software Review Term Sheet Liquidation Preference 70

Genuine VC

MAY 20, 2013

MYTH: Goal of entrepreneur’s VC fundraising is a term sheet. REALITY: Goal of an entrepreneur’s VC fundraising should be a closed investment, which includes both partnership conviction and an agreement of key terms. People are accustomed to normal distributions, as they’re both intuitive and commonplace.

Venture Capital 244

Venture Capital Cap Table Portfolio Early Stage 244

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 31, 2019

Scott Kupor is the managing partner at Andreessen Horowitz, where he’s responsible for all operational aspects of running the firm. Having been through the company-building process myself and after a decade in VC working with thousands of companies and negotiating hundreds of term sheets, I wrote this book to help demystify the process.

Lean 108

Lean Venture Capital Conversion IPO 108

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. Sean Seton-Rogers, Partner, Profounders Capital, breaks the conversation into three areas: Control: voting/veto for new deals, share of management company. So assessing fit is critical. What should the firm do?

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Partner 60

This is going to be BIG.

JULY 27, 2017

If you need 8 partners and a Magic 8 Ball all to agree, let them know when you've decided to start serious due diligence. Does the VC need to call a special partner meeting because you already have three term sheets or is this the beginning? Be transparent about process and timeline.

Due Diligence 143

Due Diligence Term Sheet Cofounder Founder 143

Eric Friedman

AUGUST 18, 2021

He is also co-founder and Managing Partner of Deciens Capital, an early stage investment fund. I think there are some real virtues to that, however, when I talk to my business partner, Ishan [Sachdev], about it, I use a slightly different metaphor: I talk about Jiro [Ono], Nobu [Matsuhisa], and Benihana. On Sushi and VC.

Silicon Valley 88

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Cofounder Africa 88

abovethecrowd.com

APRIL 20, 2016

All Unicorn participants — founders, company employees, venture investors and their limited partners (LPs) — are seeing their fortunes put at risk from the very nature of the Unicorn phenomenon itself. The Sharks Arrive With Dirty Term Sheets. The typical Silicon Valley term sheet does not include such terms.

IPO 40

IPO Term Sheet Silicon Valley Valuation 40

finance.fortune.cnn.com

AUGUST 21, 2012

Term Sheet. Term Sheet The latest on private equity, M&A, deals and movements — from Wall Street to Silicon Valley. The information is based on part of a confidential year-end 2011 investment report distributed to investors in a fund-of-funds that made commitments between 1999 and 2001. Fear & Greed.

Naming 49

Naming Term Sheet Private Equity Equity 49

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 11, 2010

I’m surprised how few people talk about valuations, term sheet terms, how much to pay recruiters, etc. We’re recommending to our companies that they be distributed.&#. Dogpatch was the brainchild of Mike Hirshland , partner at Polaris. Entrepreneurs need to share more information with each other.

San Francisco 285

San Francisco Incubator Silicon Valley Startup 285

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 25, 2013

As you can see from the chart their data suggests there are about $25 billion of VC distributions per year in the US. Many entrepreneurs come by with great pitches and say, “I’m hoping to have term sheets in the next 30 days.” My view … it is my job to be a sparring partner. Shame on you.

LP 374

LP Later Stage IRR Term Sheet 374

Hunter Walker

JUNE 23, 2013

Under Matt, Toni and Raanan’s leadership they’ve been consistent and committed to their values – open source, distributed workforce. Tumblr – Obviously great mobile product, simple toolset and upside of re-distribution ease via dashboard. They’ve got a wide range of developers making 3rd party tools.

Term Sheet 85

Term Sheet Distribution Aggregator Software 85

NZ Entrepreneur

JULY 8, 2019

I waited for the ‘casino-like’ world of startup investing until I was 28 years old, putting $10,000 into a friend’s software distribution company – a tidy sum for me at that age. Who does this investor know in the customer, partner and executive space they can introduce you to? Seven years later, I exited for $220,000.

New Zealand 43

New Zealand Entrepreneur Valuation Dilution 43

Rob Go

JULY 17, 2014

On #2, we have been fortunate to collaborate with a wide group of exceptional entrepreneurs, coinvestors, and limited partners. Thankfully, that POV has been positive, and allowed us to bring on 4 new institutional limited partners in addition to our existing LP’s, several of whom significantly increased their commitment to NextView II.

Seed Stage 69

Seed Stage Early Stage Due Diligence Liquidity Event 69

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

I had really positive experiences such as working with Greg Gretsch at Sigma Partners where he championed us to a partners’ meeting where we sort of got crucified. We made changes and Greg was a gentleman throughout the process rather than berating us for our performance (it was our first partners’ meeting).

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Term Sheet San Diego Viral 274

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 26, 2020

Luckily, I teach with two great VCs, Mar Hershenson of Pear Ventures and Jeff Epstein of Bessemer Venture Partners who both put together presentations unraveling the mysteries of how and why startups raise money. You may be in a multi-sided market with other customer segments/partners that are critical to your business.

Cofounder 433

Cofounder Seed Stage Valuation Metrics 433

www.vccafe.com

MARCH 11, 2013

free, distributed source code control management system. WSGR Term Sheet Generator. Orrick, Herrington Term Sheet Generator. Founders Institute Plain Preferred Term Sheet â?? Mark Suster GRP Partners Advice. Philippe Botteri, Bessemer Venture Partners. Pivotal Tracker â?? Mercurial â??

Software Review 53

Software Review Technical Review Israel Startup 53

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 6, 2011

The 1M/1M program aims to help a million entrepreneurs globally reach $1 million in revenue (and beyond), thereby building the foundation of a robust, distributed and sustainable economic value creation that would add up to $1 trillion dollars in global GDP. a distributed, democratic model of capitalism. What makes 1M/1M unique?

Silicon Valley 118

Silicon Valley India San Francisco Entrepreneur 118

Life Beyond Code

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

Thus, I have come to the conclusion that if I could help a million entrepreneurs globally reach $1 million in revenue (and beyond), that would be the foundation of a robust, distributed, and sustainable economic value creation that would add up to a trillion dollars in global GDP. a distributed, democratic model of capitalism.

Programming 116

Programming Silicon Valley Bootstrapping Technical Review 116

steveblank.com

JULY 8, 2011

Blogs (VC): Antonio Rodriguez [link] – A very technical VC at Matrix partners who can actually code. Github - Free public repositories, collaborator management, issue tracking, wikis, downloads, code review, graphs Pivotal Tracker – Agile project management tool that enables real time collaboration.

Software Review 110

Software Review Startup Silicon Valley Analytics 110