View from Seed

JUNE 11, 2019

At this point, founders find themselves in a luxurious situation of being able to build the best possible syndicate. Here are a couple tips and suggestions on how to go about creating the most supportive investor base for a typical institutional seed round. Building relationships with multiple partners at the firm.

Syndicate 202

Syndicate Syndication Seed Stage Lead Investor 202

David Teten

FEBRUARY 3, 2014

Now that I’ve been an institutional VC for a few years, I thought it would be helpful to revisit our findings from the investor side of the table. The venture capital industry is continuing its evolution from an upside-down pyramid (typically 3-10 Partners, plus some administrative support) to a traditional hierarchical pyramid.

Private Equity 114

Private Equity Venture Capital Technical Review Equity 114

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 7, 2015

I actually think a strong lead with some well-placed and experienced angels is the right mix. All of my partners at Upfront do. And from Nancy Hua … “Too many angels can also hurt a start-up and be taken as an indication that a company is not strong enough to attract any one “lead” investor, said Ms.

Cap Table 150

Cap Table Cofounder Silicon Valley Startup 150

Genuine VC

JULY 10, 2012

There are essentially two distinct basic strategies for startup entrepreneurs to raise a seed round of capital: Subscription approach – An entrepreneur sets a structure (usually a convertible note) and recruits individual angel investors who subscribe to the round, all without a term-driving lead investor.

Syndicate 207

Syndicate Syndication Seed Stage Portfolio 207

View from Seed

AUGUST 26, 2015

(And although this is written for angel investors, I think entrepreneurs can only benefit by increasing their knowledge around these investors and hope you’ll continue reading if that’s you. And if you just want to learn about different types of angels and what motivates each, my partner David has written about that before here.).

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Angel Investor Software Review Silicon Valley 120

View from Seed

AUGUST 26, 2015

(And although this is written for angel investors, I think entrepreneurs can only benefit by increasing their knowledge around these investors and hope you’ll continue reading if that’s you. And if you just want to learn about different types of angels and what motivates each, my partner David has written about that before here.).

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Angel Investor Software Review Silicon Valley 120

View from Seed

MAY 29, 2019

Historically, seed rounds were syndicated among several different firms. Today, we are seeing less syndication of seed rounds and sharper elbows among many of the funds in the market. Instead of broadly syndicated rounds, we are seeing much more competition for fewer slots. Why Is Seed Investing Becoming More Sharp Elbowed?

Syndicate 267

Syndicate Syndication Cofounder Cap Table 267

mashable.com

NOVEMBER 2, 2011

Look for Your Lead Investor. First you’ll want to find a lead investor — someone many other investors will recognize and respect. This list of top angel investors is a good start. Thanks to Mashable’s Supporting Event Partners. Global Syndication Partners. 3 Comments.

Social Media 80

Social Media Startup Angel Investor RSS 80

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

Just as with any company, the most important issue is the team; see “ How to Negotiate a Partner Role at a Venture Capital or Private Equity Firm “ . See my summary on how lead investors think about building out their syndicate. . Another critical design consideration is your tech stack. 6) Due diligence.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Private Equity Management Cap Table 60

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

Just as with any company, the most important issue is the team; see “ How to Negotiate a Partner Role at a Venture Capital or Private Equity Firm “ . See my summary on how lead investors think about building out their syndicate. . Another critical design consideration is your tech stack. 6) Due diligence.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Private Equity Management Cap Table 60

Rob Go

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

As the venture capital industry has evolved, more and more seed investors are passing on traditionally “seed stage” startups because there isn’t enough traction. We are also seeing more investors try to be a part of syndicated A rounds for companies that are raising $5M or more and are really not what most would consider “seed” stage.

North America 36

North America Seed Stage Early Stage Lead Investor 36

View from Seed

OCTOBER 21, 2014

Sharing these pricing expectations early with potential lead investors fundamentally qualifies your conversations, but it also runs the risk of prematurely losing a potential financing partner, or else it can reduce options to maximize your fundraise outcome. And as my partner Rob Go likes to say, “Time kills all deals.”).

Valuation 336

Valuation Founder Seed Stage Angel Investor 336

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 1, 2010

Many (Union Square Ventures, Foundry Group, True Ventures, GRP Partners, Mike Hirshland at Polaris Ventures) do it the right way – we treat it as a normal investment and we don’t have a “options&# strategy with our investment. The investor strategy is really determined by the management team. Ask their strategy.

Post-Money Valuation 298

Post-Money Valuation Term Sheet Warrant Partner 298

Pascal's View

JULY 9, 2017

At its core, this issue points to the lack of understanding about the importance of post-money valuation by both entrepreneurs and investors. In contrast, there is limited benefit for being the 2 nd investor or the 10 th investor joining the syndicate of a priced round, so it is common for investors to wait to see “who else is involved”.

Post-Money Valuation 49

Post-Money Valuation Valuation Cap Table Covenant 49

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 6, 2015

She had so much insight to share that we broke the interview into two parts, 1) Corporate Venture Capital and more broadly, 2) How the Fortune 500 Can Buy, Invest and Partner with the Innovation Economy (coming soon). . Some corporate funds now lead rounds. Teten: What makes for a good vs. bad corporate venture investor?

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Balance Sheet Technical Review Portfolio 60

Feld Thoughts

AUGUST 2, 2010

This prompted me to write a post titled AngelList Boulder and Some Thoughts on Seed Investing where I promised to write up some of my thoughts on how and why VCs could be good seed investors. They are: Fred Wilson: Lead Investors, Dipshit Companies, and Funding Every Entrepreneur. each are equally happy situations.)

Angel Investor 152

Angel Investor Cofounder Syndicate Syndication 152

David Teten

JULY 12, 2017

First, a formal definition: According to Capital Dynamics , “Co-investments are direct investments in a company made alongside and on the same terms as a lead [General Partner]. We see our potential coinvestors in four primary buckets: 1) HOF Capital ’s own limited partners. 2) Investors with very specific value-add.

Syndicate 60

Syndicate Syndication Institutional Investors LP 60

Genuine VC

JULY 30, 2012

By communicating pricing expectations with potential lead investors, I mean sharing either an “ask” or even stated floor for the pre-money valuation of the company (with a priced preferred round) or explicitly stating a valuation cap (for convertible note round). It’s like opening a job interview by sharing salary requirements.

Valuation 136

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Angel Investor Syndicate 136

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2010

First, if the VC does 15-20 of these under one partner then it is certain he can’t spend any time with these investments. They don’t mind being the lead investor on deals that they seeded. And then there is GRP Partners. And they don’t. Foundry is both stage agnostic and s yndication agnostic.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Term Sheet Early Stage Silicon Valley 265

View from Seed

OCTOBER 22, 2015

We’ve written before on how to research partners , how to pitch the right investor at a given firm, and how to raise seed capital , generally speaking. But it’s also useful to try and understand where exactly you are in the process with a particular investor. I’m going to discuss with our team here and then get back to you.”

Term Sheet 120

Term Sheet Due Diligence Seed Stage Seed Capital 120

David Teten

JUNE 12, 2014

I will continue to work closely with the group, while continuing to serve as a Partner at ff Venture Capital. As a result, we launched the Fast Track program, which helps VCs and active investors who are HBSAANY members to syndicate rounds with value-added members of our network. 2) Intellectual ambition. 4) Inclusion.

New York 114

New York Angel Groups Connecticut Florida 114

Agile VC

JANUARY 12, 2012

In fact we’re not very influenced by how a startup is received by other investors, as we’re comfortable investing in seed stage startups as either lead investor or as a participant with other investors. My partner @ LeeHower looks back: [link] 5 days ago Search. What’s Your Favorite Future?

Seed Stage 100

Seed Stage Silicon Valley Syndicate Syndication 100

Growthink Blog

MAY 3, 2010

Other participants in the round included Adams Street Partners, Angeleno Group, PCG Clean Energy & Technology Fund, Vedanta Capital LP, New Silk Route, The Westly Group, and current investor MissionPoint Capital Partners. The "lead" VC firm creates the terms of the deal. A few notes to point out: 1.

Venture Capital 71

Venture Capital LP Syndicate Syndication 71

David Teten

JANUARY 7, 2019

A retail investor might join an existing syndicate on a crowdfunding site based on a deck and maybe an email. However, usually the biggest challenge for a company is finding a lead investor, and that requires one or typically more meetings. . I earlier wrote a checklist for the information to share with a VC.

Syndicate 60

Syndicate Syndication Dilution Partner 60

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

Rob Go

JANUARY 9, 2012

But one investment this year originated from a cold email regarding a post on one of our partners’ blogs (we invested after getting to know the founders over several months). Stage: We are seed investors, but often, the first institutional seed round happens at different stages in the company’s maturity. VC Lead: 5.

Portfolio 46

Portfolio Syndicate Syndication Cofounder 46