BLOG STARTUPS, VENTURE AND THE TECH BUSINESS
Posts Tagged ‘Venture Capital’
June 2 2009
by John Backus
Top 5 Reasons No VC Will Read Your Email
Top 5 Reasons No VC Will Read Your Email You start your email “Dear Investor.” At least pretend that you are only sending your idea to us! In the “to” filed, you copy include 100’s of VCs. Again, make us feel special. We are an early stage fund and you are trying to raise $50M. ...
May 28 2009
by Todd Hixon
The Venture View from DC
I spent the last two days at the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association (MAVA) annual meeting. The contrast in the feeling at this meeting to similar gatherings in New England is noteworthy.The MAVA meeting was well attended: about 800 people, the same number as in May 2008. Many of the top VCs in the region were visible: ...
May 9 2009
by Todd Hixon
Scott Derschlag, Skype COO: TLH notes from the Nantucket conference
Skype is a Ferrari that is running on 3 cylinders: [sounds like someone hyping a car company to me] huge success engaging users (400m) weak on monetization ($550m, $1.30/user) customer service is a challenge with a user base the size of the European union Fremium is a subtle strategy: different customers have different behaviors some ...
May 9 2009
by Todd Hixon
Managing through the downturn: TLH notes from the Nantucket conference
First panel: Managing through the downturnAron Ain, CEO, KronosJana Eggers, CEO, SpreadShirt (customized apparel), $10s m run rate, just raised growth capital (offers were shocking)Christia Lampe-Onnerud, Boston-Power, advanced lap-top batteries, H-P is lead customer, growing fastChris Zannetos, CEO, Courion, Info SW co, security business, manage provisioning of systems for employees (eg, 800 new interns at ...
May 9 2009
by Todd Hixon
LP Panel: TLH notes from NVCA annual meeting
Title: “The Delicate LP/GP Relationship”Moderator: Becky Buckman, ForbesContext: LP liqudity squeeze, mediocre VC performance [besides that, how was the play, Ms. Lincoln?]Panel: Nick Harris, Lexington Partners (secondaries), typically buying 5-yr old funds, believe in VCRebecca Connelley, FairView: known for great names, very conservative, raise $300m/3 year cycle, keep it right-size, 30% is emerging manager mandates (Fund I-III), ...
May 9 2009
by Todd Hixon
Liquidity Panel: TLH notes from NVCA annual meeting
Controversial suggestion: extend lock-ups. Data suggests that VC selling is a major drag on price during first two years (small cap IPO performance historically is pretty flat in first year, much better in second year). Newhall from NEA: average hold post IPO used to be 3 years, before the bubble.Few buyers for newly minted IPO ...
May 9 2009
by Todd Hixon
IT Panel: TLH notes from the NVCA Annual Meeting
Moderator = Chip Hazard (a VC)Panel:CIO of TransUnionPartner at Bain who does IT consultingDavid Skok, Matrix GPCIOs cutting 10-20% based on expected revenue shortfalls of 10%-40% have lost discretionary spending ability Focus is on short term savings and efficiency, not on the future 50% discount rate, need payback within a budget year variablize costs — ...
