Tag: VC
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“What do most investors get wrong?” I posed this question to a top investor this week. His answer: investing in companies with no revenue. Only about 10% of startups ever get a product out, he estimates. Of those, only around 10% will ever make a penny in revenue. This puts…
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“We have $20 million worth of LOI’s with major companies in the space.” Whenever I see a phrase like that, I roll my eyes. Letters of Intent (LOI’s) are one of a series of what I call “meaningless metrics.” They’re supposed to show that a startup is doing well, but…
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Why do I love down markets? What do venture capitalists and Hasidic diamond merchants have in common? I dug into that and more at a great Q&A session recently with interns at Starta VC in NYC. Here are some of my favorite moments: 10:13: How pro rata rights work. 12:16:…
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+ Entrepreneur, Finance, Investing, Money, Silicon Valley, Small Business, Startups, VC, Venture Capital+
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In 2009, a small startup called Square was raising its Series A. Andreessen Horowitz saw the deal and passed. That mistake cost them $4.8 billion. The Pitch Square (now Block) had a big idea: make it easy for small merchants to take credit cards. It had an awesome product: a…
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Venture-backed startups have created virtually all of the net new jobs since 1977. Of the top 5 US companies by market cap, every single one raised venture capital. Venture capital has a huge impact on the US economy, but few people understand how it works. In The Secrets of Sand…
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+ Entrepreneur, Finance, Investing, Money, Reading, Silicon Valley, Startup, Startups, VC, Venture Capital+
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Yesterday, I had a great conversation with a founder kicking off his Series A. He had an awesome product with serious traction — but one thing was missing. He had no idea how to price the round! Who could blame him? Though this founder had raised money numerous times in…
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+ Angel Investing, Angel Investors, Entrepreneur, Finance, Investing, Money, Startups, Tech, VC, Venture Capital+
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If you’re having a hard time raising money, you’re not alone. Venture funding fell by half in May compared to the prior year. From a report by S&P Global Market Intelligence: Venture capital investments worldwide dropped 47.8% year over year in May to $18.85 billion from $36.08 billion, according to…
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I was working late into the night, researching a very hot deal. It was 2021 and I was amped — until I found out I couldn’t get an allocation! I was really disappointed. The founder was first rate and the co-investors were Silicon Valley legends. Surely I was missing my…
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With valuations down, this year’s investments should be some of the best ever. But many VC’s are riding AI startups right off a cliff. Total venture capital investment is down almost 90% from the peak, according to Carta. Late stage funding has practically ceased to exist. Even seed is down…
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“You’re going to see a lot of emerging managers shut down in the next few years,” said a VC I met with this morning. She couldn’t stay long — she was heading to California to fundraise. The down market is hitting emerging managers hard. These VC’s are on their first…
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Tremendous 