Big tech kills areas of startup activity. The economy needs antitrust to restore healthy competition from startups.
We need data portability and interoperability.
Let’s let innovation thrive. Quash the kill zones.
There are only three truly distinct venture fund strategies, and all of them boil down to one point: Can you change the distribution of companies in which you invest? There are fundamentally only three ways to do this.
Looking for inspiration as you head into the new year? I asked a few top founders and VCs to talk their favorite reads of 2017. These books made the lists of some of the most innovative inds in the business.
Saying "no" is such an inherent part of investing that we sometimes become bad at saying “yes.” My thoughts on how to avoid the cognitive trap.
Sometimes it feels like you are on fire as an investor. You see exciting companies and founders one right after another. Other times, nothing feels quite right.
The reality is that randomness is clumpy. Smart investing plans for the clusters.
An economist friend recently challenge me over lunch.
“Seed investing is changing. What would this market look like if you boiled it down to Econ 101?” he asked. “And who are going to be the winners and losers?”
Having thought about it since, I believe that the market for making seed investments remains very attractive. This piece explores it from an economist's perspective.
Venture capital does great things for the United States. But a good society requires more than just a robust economy. It demands fairness and morality. If the venture community does not do more, we will soon be mentioned in the same dismissive breath as Wall Street.
Venture investors are well-positioned to do more good. It's time we start.
Compounding growth is powerful. A company growing at 15% monthly over four years will be 8x larger than one growing at 10%.
It's an amazing difference. It drives the gap between the iconic companies that break out and those that muddle along toward mediocrity.
I compiled data on some of the most successful companies in venture history to put some measure around this.
There is a bit of wisdom that well-established venture funds are the best place to train new investors. That is, that venture is an apprenticeship business. And the corollary of this wisdom is that the good new funds are spin-outs from existing funds.
The thing is, neither is true for seed-stage venture.
Samir and I wrote recently about the impact of seed funds in securing follow-on financing. This post adds detail and perspective for seed-stage focused General and Limited Partners.
We created League Tables that identify seed funds with the top follow-on rates each year. We believe that follow-on rates are a core metric and critical to understand a young fund’s performance.
Founders should pick investors that not only help the company reach critical milestones, but will help them secure their next round. Follow-on rate is strong evidence that an investor can help a company secure downstream financing.
Samir Kaji and I analyze follow-on rate data and present the top investors here.
Last year I launched an experiment. I started a small venture fund. I wanted to make great investments, work with great entrepreneurs, and explore some specific hypotheses around finding great companies.
Today I’d like to introduce Switch VC.
Today Mode announces its Series A. It’s a big, well-deserved moment for the team. I am happy to join as a returning investor. They are building a great product that data analysts simply love.
We need principles in our crafts. They give us direction and define our style. In the craft of venture investing, my first principle is this: Bet on the most talented founders I can find. Of course I have to balance fast growth, large markets, best-in-class products—all critical factors. In the end though, talent is my lodestone.
Nothing is more exciting than founders taking on large and outmoded industries. And there are few industries larger or more outmoded than insurance. For me, investing again in PolicyGenius is a no-brainer. I've been involved with the team from the beginning. It's clear they figured out something big and that they are the team to take it on.
We scribble notes on an already crowded whiteboard, surrounded by the buzz and hustle of one of San Francisco's popular co-working spaces. Across from me is the head of marketing for one of the startups I first invested in as an angel. The founder had asked me to weigh in on their first major product launch plan, and there was an opportunity to collaborate on a strong, cohesive message that would tie it all together.
It’s 3 a.m. and my phone vibrates. “This can’t be good,” I think, rolling over to read the one text message I never wanted to see: the AppDirect platform is down. No one has been able to use our partners’ applications for hours. And if we don’t fix it now, tens of thousands more will be locked out by morning.