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May 15th, 2012 Many VC websites have a tab that will tell you that you can submit your business plans to enquiries@vc_company.com or some similar generic email address. But does it really work?
Can you really send your business plan over the transom and expect to get a positive response? The short answer is “no” – don’t waste your time.
I know some VCs would take issue with this and somehow I’m sure that there are some success stories with this method but trust me this is worst way to approach a VC.
Why is it a bad idea? Most VC firms receive
. . . → Read More: Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)
May 10th, 2012 Massolution defines four categories of crowdfunding platforms (CFPs) Equity-based crowdfunding Lending-based crowdfunding Reward-based crowdfunding Donation-based crowdfunding Our survey respondents were asked more than 30 detailed questions relating to the participants on their platforms, the functionality of their platforms and their fundraising activities for the calendar years 2009, 2010 and 2011. Further datawas gathered via direct communications with 135 CFPs and significant secondary research. The survey was conducted under strict non-disclosure rules; hence all the data in this report is aggregated or averaged. Our research identified that nearly US$1.5B was raised by crowdfunding platforms globally in 2011. The participating CFPs represent
. . . → Read More: CROWDFUNDING INDUSTRY REPORT (ABRIDGED VERSION): Market Trends, Composition and Crowdfunding Platforms
May 10th, 2012 Kevin Hartz is sitting this one out.
Sure, Hartz is busy with his day-job as CEO of online ticketing startup Eventbrite, but it’s not a time management thing that keeps him from his usual angel-investing habit. It’s more a money management thing. Hartz doesn’t like to invest his when there is so much sloshing around Silicon Valley.
The last new investment Hartz made was more than a year ago. At the time it was a little company no one had heard of called Pinterest. You’ve probably heard of it now. Hartz also made early bets on Airbnb, Flixster, Palantir, Trulia
. . . → Read More: Angel No More: Why One of Silicon Valley’s Savviest Investors Has Shut His Wallet
May 9th, 2012 For the past couple of decades, venture capitalists have had the upper hand. They’ve had the funding and, traditionally, they’ve held most of the power in the startup ecosystem. But, Fred Wilson, managing partner of Union Square Ventures (and beloved blogger), believes that balance of power is shifting (As noted in Stacey’s take on a similar notion advanced by the Kauffman Foundationearlier Tuesday.) And as it does, venture capitalists themselves must rethink their role.
Speaking to a crowd of entrepreneurs at the Grind work space in New York this morning, Wilson said that since the mid-1990s institutional investors have poured $30 billion
. . . → Read More: Fred Wilson: what crowdfunding means for the VC business
May 9th, 2012 The Kauffman Foundation, which has ties to the venture industry, has issued a damning study of the business that addresses long-running concerns about poor performance and concludes that the limited partners who invest in funds have no one but themselves to blame.
The report, “We Have Met The Enemy…And He Is Us,” draws on lessons from 20 years of investing in venture capital by the foundation, which currently has about $249 million of its $1.83 billion portfolio allocated to venture. The Kansas City, Mo.-based organization promotes entrepreneurship and education, and is known in the venture world for creating the Kauffman
. . . → Read More: Kauffman Foundation Bashes VCs For Poor Performance, Urges LPs To Take Charge
May 2nd, 2012 Getting financing for your startup is rarely easy, but if you approach the wrong investor, you can make it even harder than it has to be. “How can there be a ‘wrong investor’?” you might be thinking. “Don’t I just go with whoever is willing to give me the money?”
It’s not quite that simple. Approaching the wrong investor is kind of like asking someone who’s married out on a date. Not only will they turn you down, but they’ll probably think you’re an idiot.
Many first-time entrepreneurs mistakenly lump angel investors and venture capitalists together. While these two types
. . . → Read More: Angel vs. VC: Which Investor Is Best for Your Startup?
May 2nd, 2012 AngelList has become a popular way for new startups to raise seed funding. In some ways related to the opening up of investing via the JOBS Act, AngelList is designed to level the playing field for entrepreneurs seeking funding.
The website enables any startup to raise funding by pitching to angel investors or requesting meetings, all online. Entrepreneurs in the past have needed a referral or connection to pitch a top angel. And for investors, they now have a more efficient way of meeting and learning about entrepreneurs and their startups. Investors also “follow” other investors, to see what deals they’re
. . . → Read More: The Most Influential Angel Investors On AngelList
April 25th, 2012 When the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act passed recently, many columnists and bloggers began weighing in with varying opinions, and some conjecture that may have muddied the waters.
As I’ve written before, thousands of us entrepreneurs will benefit from the law. This could become a very viable and exciting way for small companies to raise capital. But not yet. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has nine months to draw up the regulations.
As regular readers know, I’ve been writing about crowdfunding to raise investment capital since February 2011. My dream was shattered almost immediately by my trusted attorney,
. . . → Read More: The JOBS Act Is Now Law — So Now What? See Some Details
April 24th, 2012 The short answer is “as much as you need”. The more tactical answer is “as much as you can raise cheaply”. The latter is a pragmatic view. Raise more than you need when times are good. Just because you raise it does not mean you need to spend it – capital efficiency is always good!
In this post I look at what VC are saying SaaS ventures need to raise to get to scale and profitability. But I’ll also look at what VC are doing – what SaaS deals they are funding currently. I look at the capital efficiency drivers,
. . . → Read More: How Much Venture Capital Should You Raise For Your SaaS Venture?
April 24th, 2012 Every so often, venture capitalist Larry Cheng puts out a list of the top VC blogs. Previously, he ranked the blogs by how many subscribers they have on Google Reader. But now he’s changed his methodology and is ranking them by average monthly unique visitors, based on Compete data. He just came out with his new global ranking for the fourth quarter of 2009. Below are the top ten blogs from that list.
If you compare this list to the last one, Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures is now the top VC blogger, followed by Guy Kawasaki of Garage
. . . → Read More: The Top Ten VC Blogs To Follow
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