VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 9, 2022

As you may already know, I’ve always been a fan of startup landscapes. This edition includes maps of Israeli startups building the Metaverse, Insurtech, Martitime tech, Proptech and Contech, Digital Health, Smart Logistics and Supply Chain, Sports Tech and ecommerce. Israeli founded proptech startups (credit: Proptech Zone ).

Israel 210

Israel Technical Review eCommerce Startup 210

View from Seed

APRIL 6, 2021

You have an authentic passion for startups and a deep respect for entrepreneurship. You will spend the rest of your time working alongside the partners throughout the investment process – analyzing investment opportunities, assisting in market research and diligence, and post-investment portfolio support. You are hungry.

Technical Review 317

Technical Review Software Review Seed Stage Cofounder 317

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

Finding a startup team is always a problem when it comes to hiring a programmer. And only after that, you can move to search and start looking to hire developers for a startup. You can also find the startup team at the web company. The post How To Hire A Developer For Your Startup appeared first on Young Upstarts.

Hiring 189

Hiring Developer Software Review Development Team Review 189

View from Seed

JANUARY 13, 2021

What has happened is that over the last 10 years, the vast majority of successful startups have raised some sort of a seed round prior to a series A. First, the winners in most portfolios don’t often have a true recap round. This requires some increase in fund size even with a fairly modest sized portfolio.

Dilution 399

Dilution Later Stage Portfolio Technical Review 399

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2018

After my board meeting I had to do an interview with a CFO candidate that one of my portfolio companies asked me to speak with. I left the meeting and had to attend a 3-hour board meeting where two founders have been fighting and each want the other one fired. But it’s only Tuesday. Some were interesting, some weren’t. You’re in control.

Software Review 381

Software Review Churn Rate Due Diligence New York 381

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2014

In case you didn’t know, many VCs target a 3-year investment horizon for a fund and after that the fund mostly does only follow-on investments in companies in that portfolio. In 2015 we go back to square one and start to build a brand new portfolio. Our last fund we raised was in 2012 and we began investing it in April of 2012.

Las Vegas 396

Las Vegas St. Louis Southern California San Diego 396

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 8, 2020

They have a huge existing portfolio that reflects the versatility of their business. By searching through their portfolio, the expanse of their work really comes into focus. The post How Startup Company Inflatable Anything Is Changing The Custom Inflatable Industry appeared first on Young Upstarts.

Customer 222

Customer Australia Software Review Portfolio 222

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 28, 2021

Entrepreneurs who require funding for their startup have long counted on self-accredited high net worth individuals (“angels”) to fill their needs, after friends and family, and before they qualify for institutional investments (“VCs”). Thus investing in startups should always be approached as a low odds game.

Angel Investor 361

Angel Investor Accredited Investor IRR Angel Groups 361

VC Cafe

MARCH 1, 2024

Most startups equate the process of fundraising to dating – founders have to typically kiss a lot of frogs until the find the right fit. Climate tech – We have a fair chance of avoiding catastrophic climate change if startups offer commercial solutions to decarbonize society or remove carbon from the atmosphere.

Artificial Inteligence 176

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Software Review Generative AI 176

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 30, 2025

By Gayle Jennings OByrne Though interest rates have gone down slightly, ongoing market volatility means that funding for startups is still difficult. Meanwhile, the more recently started AngelPad program has provided an average of $14 million in funding for startups participating in its programs.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Due Diligence Silicon Valley Startup 78

View from Seed

JULY 6, 2020

You have an authentic passion for startups and a deep respect for entrepreneurship. You will spend the rest of your time working alongside the partners throughout the investment process – analyzing investment opportunities, assisting in market research and diligence, and post-investment portfolio support. . You are hungry.

Technical Review 257

Technical Review Software Review Hiring Seed Stage 257

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

The core of the investing job of course is investing dollars into startup companies and helping as a mentor, advisor and board member on the companies in which you’ve invested. Marketing, recruiting, building data products & tools, event management, analyzing the portfolio, etc. And all the platform stuff. What’s he doing?

Partner 361

Partner Management Cofounder San Francisco 361

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 17, 2024

Today, a new class of startups are attempting to sell these products to the Defense Department. Amazingly, there is no single DoD-wide phone book available to startups of who to call in the Defense Department. the Joint Strike Fighter) or for an entire portfolio of similar programs (e.g., But startups? So I wrote one.

Programming 249

Programming Customer Portfolio Government 249

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

At our mid-year offsite our partnership at Upfront Ventures was discussing what the future of venture capital and the startup ecosystem looked like. Pitchbook estimates that there is about $290 billion of VC “overhang” (money waiting to be deployed into tech startups) in the US alone and that’s up more than 4x in just the past decade.

Technical Review 416

Technical Review Pre-Money Valuation San Francisco Valuation 416

VC Cafe

MARCH 21, 2022

Below is the first landscape of Israeli startups building the Metaverse, which we published last month in Calcalist , which helps explain our view a bit. We mapped over 50 startups that collectively raised more than $3.5 The Israeli startups building the Metaverse (Source: Calcalist / Remagine Ventures ). Gaming + web3/NFTs.

Startup 187

Startup Community Social Network Portfolio 187

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

These days, people like to say we are living in the golden age of startups. The startups that play too safe and don’t take any active steps to meet these goals are making themselves vulnerable to the harsh realities of the globalized economy. When it comes to startups, there is really no bad way to reach out to new customers.

Startup 183

Startup Non-Compete Social Media Global 183

View from Seed

DECEMBER 4, 2019

One or two of the best companies may continue to appreciate, but most of a VC’s portfolio has probably been realized, written off, or has maxed out its value. The longer the portfolio maintains the same value without distributing back cash, the worse the fund’s ultimate IRR. That 10% might start to look more like 12% or 15%.

LP 256

LP IRR Distribution Portfolio 256

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 24, 2021

A large portion of your competitive advantage and your potential value to investors is the size of your intellectual property portfolio. In reality, patents are only one of at least eight items that should be in your IP portfolio. When someone says Intellectual Property (IP), most entrepreneurs think only of patents.

Intellectual Property 363

Intellectual Property Portfolio Valuation Non-disclosure Agreement 363

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 20, 2023

New startups are created every day – each with fresh ideas and solutions. However, the reality is stark: up to 90% of startups fail, with the average failure rate for the first year standing at 10%. Understanding the Tech Startup Landscape The tech industry today is a mixed bag of opportunities and obstacles.

Technical Review 137

Technical Review Startup Silicon Valley Agile 137

View from Seed

JANUARY 27, 2021

You have an authentic passion for technology, startups, and a deep respect for entrepreneurship. You will also spearhead internal initiatives to help support the success of our 100+ exciting existing portfolio companies. You have effective written communication skills with an established body of work. You act as an “ invited guest.”.

Operations 227

Operations Hiring Seed Stage Boston 227

VC Cafe

MARCH 7, 2025

Israeli tech funding remained stable in February, with 25 startups raising a total of $588 million and two new unicorns minted: Dream and Augury. – by Y Combinator YC on AI-first software development (for 25% of the startups in the current YC batch, 95% of the code is AI generated!) Startup funding -20% YoY to $19.3B

Israel 103

Israel Stealth Taiwan ChatGPT 103

Feld Thoughts

JUNE 9, 2021

Matt Blumberg has a new book out titled Startup CXO: A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Company’s Critical Functions and Teams. It’s a follow-up to his previous book, Startup CEO: A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Business. His hard-won lessons from Return Path show up in Startup CEO: A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Business.

Fractional CTO 195

Fractional CTO Cofounder Startup Lead Investor 195

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 17, 2024

Below, I’ve listed a bunch of attributes a startup might have and how they push the decision-making needle one way or the other. doesn’t really buy you many points with an investor—but coming off like a startup n00b really tanks your chances. If I’m known to invest in mobility startups, I review a ton of different business models.

Technical Review 165

Technical Review Cofounder Startup Equity 165

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

The reality is that as a result of two major trends the costs of starting a technology startup went down massively. I launched my first startup in 1999 so I know the economics of launching from first-hand experience. The “A Round” of my startup in 1999 was $16.5 What Does This All Mean for Seed Investing?

Venture Capital 328

Venture Capital Technical Review Seed Stage IPO 328

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2014

On August 26th I had an equally effusive intro from Ynon Kreiz, also a friend, trusted source and also the CEO of portfolio company Maker Studios. So this was definitely an introduction I was going to take.

Technical Review 373

Technical Review North America Los Angeles Cofounder 373

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

When you think about the trends of faster-growing startups due to social networking, credit card enable and mobile first consumers – the reality is that many startups are becoming very large financially before needing to go public. The “big boom” in startup financing started around March 2009?—?more and hasn’t abated.

Technical Review 398

Technical Review Venture Capital Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 398

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 11, 2022

With Hauser Private Equity board member John Hayden serving on the board of directors for Washing Systems and Gryphon Investors providing a strong collaboration, both firms were able to position the enterprise for continued growth and success, and in 2018 the investment was realized with the sale of the portfolio company.

Private Equity 165

Private Equity Equity Technical Review Software Review 165

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

For the past 10 years, with interest rates near zero, VC investors plowed record amounts into tech startups and enjoyed a seemingly ‘easy’ investing environment. Prices went up from round to round, and startups were encouraged to grow, grow, grow, and not to worry about profitability.

Venture Capital 215

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Institutional Investors 215

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 26, 2024

Venture capital: it’s the jet fuel behind many of the most explosive startups turning them into household names. Investing in a startup during its nascent phases offers the tantalizing prospect of being part of the next big thing. However, managing such a portfolio is no small feat. The allure here is unmistakable.

Venture Capital 148

Venture Capital Technical Review Due Diligence Early Stage 148

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2019

Successful startups seem to follow similar paths to greatness, and unfortunately all too often that path leads them back down the hill much faster than they went up. By definition, most startups begin as a result of some innovation in product, process, or service. Consider MySpace and Webvan. Product-line expansion.

Dilution 224

Dilution Merger Flash Global 224

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

Unfortunately, for startups entering a regulated market following this advice this might not be the optimum path. And why was Bill’s advice of staying away from Washington flawed for startups? These barriers to new innovative startups are called economic rent. Regulation What’s regulatory capture? Why is it bad? In the U.S.

Washington 319

Washington Government Marketing Silicon Valley 319

VC Cafe

AUGUST 11, 2022

A couple of weeks ago I was did a fireside chat with Alon Grinshpoon, founder and CEO of Echo3D , a CDN and CMS for 3D content in the cloud and a Remagine Ventures portfolio company, as part of an entrepreneurial finance MBA class in Tel Aviv University. We were discussing both sides of the table and the relationship between founders and VCs.

Founder 187

Founder Term Sheet Cofounder Venture Capital 187

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 2, 2022

With the investor slowdown we’ve seen so far in 2022, approximately 30% globally in Q2 2022 (compared to the equivalent period last year, according to Crunchbase ) it’s more difficult for startups to get funded, which increases the important of finding the right investor, as quickly as possible.

Technical Review 166

Technical Review Early Stage Cofounder Portfolio 166

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 11, 2021

As an angel investor to startups, I’m still surprised to find entrepreneurs who expect investors to give them money, and assume no strings attached. In any case, your startup is now part of some investor’s portfolio, so you need to treat the situation like reporting to a new boss, and not like a new freedom.

Term Sheet 433

Term Sheet Advisory Board Liquidation Preference Startup 433

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 2, 2019

Define and document the portfolio of initiatives to deliver on your strategic objectives and fulfill your production and skill requirements. Scale up your portfolio of initiatives, monitor progress and dynamically pivot as your plans are implemented. Architect: Build an actionable plan and acquire delivery resources.

Technical Review 226

Technical Review Leadership Portfolio Matching 226

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 20, 2022

When you’re putting together design ideas and portfolios on your tablets and computers, you will need a digital space to store them. The post 5 Essential Purchases for A New Graphic Design Business appeared first on The Startup Magazine. 3. Cloud Storage. This means you’ll need to use cloud storage.

Design 166

Design Software Review Cloud Technical Review 166

VC Cafe

JANUARY 12, 2022

While Metaverse rose to fame initially due to Facebook’s name change into ‘Meta’ to express their ambition to become a Metaverse company within 5 years (and perhaps deflect some of the negative PR), there are now many large companies, startups and brands working on their metaverse strategy. We’ve made several investments in this space.

Technical Review 217

Technical Review Israel Non-Compete IP 217