Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

“Lean” is great in the early days but if you discover an attractive market opportunity you need to get “fat” really quickly or somebody else will. Instant growth = huge valuation from follow-on investors = big VC mark-up on our quarterly reports = LP interest. Grow or die. It is VC math, like it or not.

Silicon Valley 390

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Startup Technical Review 390

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

Consumers pulled their money out of these risky investments, but when LPs make commitments to VC funds they make 10-year, legally binding commitments. So as of 2008 total LP commitments were still at nearly $250 billion. I was at dinner with a large LP and mentioned that I had heard the industry would shrink by 50%.

LP 311

LP Technical Review Early Stage Silicon Valley 311

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. See their blog post on multiples.).

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

Bryce Dot VC

NOVEMBER 19, 2012

That said, we’ve seen a parallel trend wherein the vast majority of LP capital is being consolidated to a handful of the top firms who’s bar for follow on financing is incredibly high.

Seed Stage 61

Seed Stage LP Incubator Venture Capital 61

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2011

I believe some VCs have entered the early-stage market as simply an option on future financing rounds. The LP Community Hasn’t Yet Caught Up. As I’ve started to get to know the other side of the VC industry lately (the people who invest in VC funds or “LPs&# ) one thing has occurred to me. Enter VC.

Venture Capital 296

Venture Capital Software LP Early Stage 296

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2016

If you want to see what was on my mind – I started foreshadowing change publicly in October 2015 with a forecast of what I expected in 2016 VC funding markets at a presentation I gave at the annual Cendana VC/LP conference hosted by Michael Kim. CMRR (contracted monthly recurring revenue) grow 100% y/y. FOMO was NOMO.

Balance Sheet 150

Balance Sheet Burn Rate Valuation Forecast 150

Austin Startup

JUNE 26, 2019

You might notice what’s not on that list above: revenue, investors. No revenue isn’t always a problem for venture-style businesses; no investors + no revenue = challenges for most founders without tremendous self-funding. Lean into it. What did our customers think? Step on the scale.

Silicon Valley 54

Silicon Valley Startup B2C Sweat Equity 54