VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 6, 2011

Jussi Laakkonen , CEO & founder of Applifie, summarized it well: We recently raised our seed round at Applifier and it was led by a silicon valley seed fund MHS Capital, whose general partner is Mark Sugarman. Use your network #2: approach a corporate financier who advised a company we recently partnered.

Silicon Valley 104

Silicon Valley Startup Seed Stage Delaware 104

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

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2010

Often when startups who have raised venture capital need another round of financing they will turn to their existing investors to give them money before raising from outsiders. a loan) that is later converted to equity at the time of the next financing. It starts as a debt instrument (e.g.

Startup 290

Startup Burn Rate Warrant Bankruptcy 290

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

FEBRUARY 21, 2011

It’s among the most-asked questions on startup forums, and an issue we’re dealing with right now at WPEngine as we bring on new employees: How do you decide how much equity (shares) to give a new employee or partner? This is the key, because Q — what an institutional investor would accept — is a well-understood system.

Equity 276

Equity Salary Hiring Institutional Investors 276

VC Adventure

MAY 21, 2014

What this means for an AngelList company is – be completely ready for investors before giving FG Angels the green light to go live. 506(b) vs 506(c): These refer to two of the SEC rules that regulate “crowdfunding” financing.

Syndicate 93

Syndicate Syndication Technical Review Due Diligence 93

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

Sentiment is strong in personal portfolios and up commensurately with VC’s expectations that their last fund will now be worth something (and along with that increase the partners’ personal wealth). I can tell you first hand than bankers are out making road shows to gin up interest in VCs and institutional investors.

IPO 255

IPO Investment Bankers Venture Capital Marketing 255

K9 Ventures

MAY 14, 2011

This in theory is very similar to the behavior of institutional investors, however, there is one big difference. Institutional investors make sizable investments in a company, so that when they do get a big hit that can make the whole fund. Institutional Venture Funds : aka your friendly neighborhood traditional VC fund.

Preferred Stock 125

Preferred Stock Seed Stage Incubator Accredited Investor 125

David Teten

JANUARY 8, 2013

Historically, institutional investors kept their investing strategy and their activities very discreet. According to Jeff Bussgang, General Partner at Flybridge Capital Partners, about 10-15% of the 1,000 active venture capitalists in the U.S. Social media is valuable for more than just origination.

Private Equity 114

Private Equity Social Media Equity Media 114

Hunter Walker

SEPTEMBER 22, 2014

These “ piggy rounds ” usually left little room for other institutional investors, in contrast to traditional seed rounds which may include several funds collaborating. In May, I speculated several large VCs were changing their strategies after seeing more large seed checks from funds that usually enter at A or B rounds.

Later Stage 106

Later Stage Valuation Semantic Institutional Investors 106

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 6, 2020

trillion, it is by far the largest of its sort in the world and financed projects that in other settings may not have passed investment criteria screens. [3]. Second, the Board can usually avoid a public vote or referendum by leasing to a new partner, something politicians fear. Some attribute the lag to the uniqueness of the U.S.

Private Equity 155

Private Equity New York City Chicago Investment Bankers 155

Hunter Walker

APRIL 27, 2014

Here’s what we covered – it’s a bit inside baseball but just as with the funding post linked above, we think exposing the mechanics of venture can help entrepreneurs and future investors (plus, we learn a lot from any resulting discussions). Afternoon Session. We issued 18 offers and won 14 deals.

LP 112

LP Cofounder Term Sheet Valuation 112

VC Adventure

MAY 21, 2014

What this means for an AngelList company is – be completely ready for investors before giving FG Angels the green light to go live. 506(b) vs 506(c): These refer to two of the SEC rules that regulate “crowdfunding” financing.

Syndicate 48

Syndicate Syndication Technical Review Due Diligence 48

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 27, 2019

It’s no secret that one of the first things you need to do to get a start-up off the ground is secure financing from investors, a bank, alternative funder, or other business. For most start-ups, the first year is an absolutely critical period. It could mean the difference between failure and success.

Startup 69

Startup Institutional Investors Security Finance 69

David Teten

NOVEMBER 15, 2013

Since I became an institutional investor, my #1 learning is: this is a highly unusual and somewhat baffling industry. Disruptable Pattern #4: Most investors put in only a modest amount of their own money into their funds. Disruptable Pattern #5: Institutional investors are eager to cut larger checks rather than smaller ones.

Management 114

Management Pre-Money Valuation Venture Capital New Hampshire 114

BeyondVC

NOVEMBER 17, 2016

We each independently fell in love with enterprise software 20+ years ago as seed investors (cos like gotomeeting/Citrix, greenplum/EMC, livperson/IPO LPSN) and founders (workmarket, onforce/Adecco, spinback/buddymedia/salesf0rce) and are now benefiting from the ecosystems, knowledge and network that weve collectively developed.

Cap Table 78

Cap Table Cofounder Dividend Institutional Investors 78

Rob Go

FEBRUARY 24, 2014

The most impressive fact is that Sequoia is the only institutional investor in the company. This tends to make LPs happy and make the lead partner look good among his or her colleagues. They like to share risk with other investors in case things go sideways. This is very unusual for most large scale VC-backed companies.

Cap Table 78

Cap Table Valuation Finance Institutional Investors 78

David Teten

FEBRUARY 1, 2017

Aquiline Capital Partners. Motive Partners. NYCA Partners. Pivot Investment Partners. QED Investors. SenaHill Partners. The Future of FinTech: A Paradigm Shift in Small Business Finance. FT Partners Fintech Research. Anthemis Group. Broadhaven. Conversion Capital. Digital Currency Group.

New York 60

New York Community DC Boston 60

ithacaVC

FEBRUARY 23, 2012

Luckily, I am not in charge of the internal finance function at our fund. Yes, large institutional investors use the unrealized values and need them for reporting purposes. Some VC firms use the art of Level 3 inputs to mark up their valuations, which has a tendency to make limited partners happy.

Valuation 49

Valuation Institutional Investors Marketing Down Round 49

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

Limited Partners or LPs (the people who invest into VC funds) have taken notice as 2014 is by all accounts the busiest year for LPs since the Great Recession began. Just 3 years ago there was talk of institutional investors “not being able to write small enough checks.” more than 5 years ago?—?and and hasn’t abated.

Technical Review 398

Technical Review Venture Capital Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 398

The Equity Kicker

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

There’s been a lot of talk recently about what will happen to startup financing in 2016, including here on this blog. A lot of them are focused on Series A investing and favour the ecommerce and marketplace sectors that Forward Partners focuses on.

Marketing 60

Marketing Institutional Investors Venture Capital Later Stage 60

BeyondVC

NOVEMBER 17, 2016

We each independently fell in love with enterprise software 20+ years ago as seed investors (cos like gotomeeting/Citrix, greenplum/EMC, livperson/IPO LPSN) and founders (workmarket, onforce/Adecco, spinback/buddymedia/salesf0rce) and are now benefiting from the ecosystems, knowledge and network that we’ve collectively developed.

Cap Table 60

Cap Table Cofounder Dividend Institutional Investors 60

David Teten

APRIL 7, 2017

This is the debut of an annual series of summits focused on sovereign wealth funds, institutional investors, family offices, venture capitalists, and entrepreneurs interested in technology-driven entrepreneurship and with ties to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The summit is hosted by: – ABANA – the preeminent U.S.

New York 60

New York Africa Cofounder Egypt 60

David Teten

AUGUST 21, 2019

Or should they look to one of the new wave of Revenue-Based Investors? Revenue-Based Investing (“RBI”) is a new form of VC financing, distinct from the preferred equity structure most VCs use. A company with that mindset is dramatically less risky, because it’s not dependent on the financing markets for continued viability.

Revenue 60

Revenue Liquidation Preference Equity Cofounder 60

Rob Go

JANUARY 7, 2013

But we behave pretty much exactly the same way in those companies as we do when we are the lead and only institutional investor. This equates to 3-4 investments that are “led” internally by each partner. We invest in about 10 companies each year. This isn’t a quota. Stage: Pre Product: 12. Consumer: 9.

Portfolio 49

Portfolio Seed Stage Cofounder B2B 49

Reid Hoffman

OCTOBER 5, 2020

One of the hottest topics in the technology and finance world right now is an old idea that has suddenly found new life, the special purpose acquisition company or “SPAC.” Most IPOs are managed by a handful of investment banks who run a roadshow to sell stock to risk-averse institutional investors.

Venture Capital 28

Venture Capital IPO Cofounder Institutional Investors 28

Startup Company Lawyer

MARCH 12, 2009

Any company that raises venture financing will need to be a C corp in order to issue preferred stock. If founders want the benefit of flow through tax treatment with respect to losses prior to an outside financing, an S corp election may make sense as long as there are no entity or non-U.S. citizen/resident stockholders.

LLC 61

LLC Stock Options Preferred Stock Stock 61

Ben's Blog

MAY 24, 2021

Editor’s Note: This testimony was delivered by a16z managing partner Scott Kupor to the U.S. By way of background, I am the Managing Partner for Andreessen Horowitz, a $16.5 The SEC’s Director of the Division of Corporate Finance recently provided some guidance raising questions about the extent of PSLRA coverage. IPO market.

SEC 36

SEC Accredited Investor IPO Technical Review 36

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). And even with the significant cost of credit card debt, many entrepreneurs aggressively use existing cards to finance a startup.

Private Equity 118

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 118

Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). And even with the significant cost of credit card debt, many entrepreneurs aggressively use existing cards to finance a startup.

Private Equity 106

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 106

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 26, 2009

Whitney Company by writing a personal check for $5M and hiring Benno Schmidt as the first partner (Schmidt turned Whitney’s description of “private adventure capital&# into the term “venture capital”). Several wealthy families in the U.S. set up companies to do just that – find and formalize investments in new and emerging industries.

Silicon Valley 183

Silicon Valley Securities and Exchange Commission Venture Capital RSS 183

VC Cafe

MARCH 20, 2011

million in its third financing round led by Pitango Venture Capital. Japan’s Softbank and current investors General Catalyst, Spark Capital, and Union Square Ventures also participated. Moshe Bar, a general partner in the fund is a former entrepreneur and chairman of Zooppa – full article. has raised $16.5

Venture Capital 87

Venture Capital Israel Startup Chicago 87

Rob Go

NOVEMBER 30, 2012

Given this definition, we continue to see dedicated seed funds providing strong benefits for founders, including: Minimal signaling risk at the next round of financing. Partner Time. Chris Dixon has written most articulately about this, but many others have as well.

Seed Stage 55

Seed Stage Pre-Money Valuation Dilution Early Stage 55

Hunter Walker

MARCH 17, 2025

This extended to how we pitched LPs as well, aiming for a very concentrated base of institutional investors. We figured that given their commitment to the asset class, so long as we did our job well and treated them like partners in our business, they would show up each fund to back us. So why not focus on both.

IRR 87

IRR LP Institutional Investors Portfolio 87