Archive: venture capital
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The Ideal Startup Portfolio Size
By Andy Gordon on September 29, 2021
Most meetings I attend aren’t very exciting. But yesterday’s was fascinating because we discussed one of the most important questions an early investor can ask. What is the ideal number of companies for a successful startup portfolio? Many opinions were put forward. So what did we decide? That it needs further research and exploration. But there is an ideal number. And it should be obvious to everybody. That number is… one. For…
The Perfect Environment for Startup Investing
By Adam Sharp on September 28, 2021
While you all know I’ve been a bit frustrated with the high valuations of startups today, there is a lot to be said for investing in this asset class in our current environment. Many bonds are yielding -5% after inflation is…
Equity Crowdfunding Shows More Growth Than Venture Capital
By KingsCrowd on September 22, 2021
Note: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted everything from education to events to healthcare. So it makes sense that it’s impacted the investment landscape too. But while traditional venture capital firms have had to change some of their methods, investing online is nothing new for crowdfunders. So did 2020…
Startup Investing in 2014 vs. Startup Investing in 2021
By Adam Sharp on September 21, 2021
When I first started investing in startups in the summer of 2014, seed-stage deals were typically valued between $4 million and $5 million. I remember seeing a few deals at $1 million and a few more at $2 million and $3 million. Today I’d estimate the…
Online Startup Investing Is the Future
By Adam Sharp on September 14, 2021
One of the concerns people have about online startup investing is getting a read on founders over the internet. However, I don’t think this is a real problem. The best way to evaluate founders is to simply evaluate their business. How much progress have they made?…
Startup Insider: How Founders Can Expand Beyond Their Home Region
By Early Investing on August 26, 2021
A founder’s ability to break out of the region where they started their company is a major factor in determining their success. Starting a small business in the suburbs of Ohio is one thing — expanding that business to Chicago, New York and San Francisco is…
How Crowdfunders Can Invest Better Than Venture Capitalists
By Allison Brickell on August 25, 2021
Drake Dukes, co-founder of startup data platform Gravity, shared some interesting data recently from his analysis of 992 unicorn founders. Now for our secret sauce… Here is the FounderDNA™ of every unicorn founder (992 analyzed): 53% are Serial Founders 35% are Technical…
Startup Insider: A Shocking Amount of Exit Experience
By Early Investing on August 23, 2021
For years, venture capital (VC) firms have favored founders who have experience leading companies to successful exits. “Look for founders with prior exits,” VC investors say. “They know what they’re doing.” But Drake Dukes, co-founder of data company Gravity, analyzed 992 unicorn founders and…
A Public Venture Capital Fund Worth Investigating
By Adam Sharp on August 3, 2021
Draper Esprit — a publicly traded venture capital (VC) firm — is in the news again. TechCrunch just published a piece titled “Why Draper Esprit doubled down on its status as a publicly listed VC.” Here’s a snippet of what Draper…
Startup Insider: Venture Capital Learns From Crowdfunding
By Early Investing on July 26, 2021
Equity crowdfunding is often seen as the balancing force to traditional venture capital. Venture capital is exclusive and focuses on writing large checks to a few companies. Equity crowdfunding prioritizes inclusivity and the power of many small investments added together. But what if there were a…
How To Deal With Crazy-High Startup Valuations
By Adam Sharp on July 16, 2021
I saw a pretty interesting thing on Twitter this week. Founders Fund general partner Keith Rabois posted the following. Biggest change in the venture landscape now: There are no VC funds with pricing discipline. All of us…
Startup Valuations Aren’t Changing Anytime Soon
By Adam Sharp on June 22, 2021
Lately, I’ve written a lot about how expensive startup valuations have become. It’s gotten pretty silly in some cases. Now I’m wondering: Are they going to get cheaper anytime soon? Based on what I’m seeing, I’m leaning towards no.
Why Founders Refuse VC Money
By Andy Gordon on March 31, 2021
Venture capital (VC) investing isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Last week I talked about the many things that crowdfunding does that appeal to founders and investors alike. Today, I’d like to focus more on the VC side of investing. And why…
What VC Gets Wrong About Crowdfunding
By Andy Gordon on March 24, 2021
A tech startup founder was bragging to me about his recent hires a couple of days ago. He found some outstanding people and said that the talent available in 2021 was off the charts. But it wasn’t just luck or happenstance. The highly experienced people he…
Venture Capital Is Facing Real Competition at Last
By Adam Sharp on March 19, 2021
On Monday, the SEC’s new startup investing rules went into effect. Startups can now raise $5 million annually through equity crowdfunding. That’s a 5x increase from the previous limit. I really can’t overstate how important this change is. It’s a monumental moment for startups — and…
Crowdfunding is the Next Evolution of Startup Investing
By Andy Gordon on March 17, 2021
The tech sector is under attack. Lawsuits. Politicians. Regulators. They’re all gunning for the tech industry. But what about the venture capital firms that financed the industry’s growth? These companies should also command our attention. Their money nurtured big tech companies in their early years. More…