We’re in a global pandemic.  The simple truth is that all venture capitalists have told their portfolio Founder/CEOs that if they don’t absolutely need to raise capital now that they shouldn’t be out there attempting to do so.  Wait.  Wait […]

Fundraising for startups is a mix of selling both promise and reality.  In some respects, one of the often non-intuitive privileges of a seed stage fundraising process is that the company is so new.  There isn’t much history, much reality, […]

In a period of uncertainty, the easiest thing to do as a VC is to be paralyzed by fear and do nothing.  We can stay busy by expending time and effort supporting the existing portfolio, which is the right thing […]

For the last several years, the early stage investing market was driven largely by the Fear Of Missing Out, AKA FOMO. This led to a number of repercussions that most VC’s have lamented during this time, including higher prices, larger rounds, shoddy due diligence, […]

Last week we held a virtual “Lunch and Learn” with Melody and Lee where they had a discussion about what they’re seeing in the market in a covid-19 world, made some predictions about where we are headed in the next […]

When a founder is raising money, he/she should expect that any serious investor will conduct some level of due diligence before getting to yes.  This could look somewhat different depending on the maturity of the business. Seed stage companies will […]

In previous blog posts I’ve written about the two main approaches to building a seed round syndicate – the subscription method (where an entrepreneur presets a structure with a convertible note or SAFE and recruits investors who subscribe to the round, all […]

During the course of a fundraise, founders are likely to encounter a few questions from VC’s that seem awkward or even a bit unfair. These are questions that usually don’t have anything to do with the business itself, but center […]

In general, VC decision-making can feel like a black box, which can be frustrating for founders who are trying to manage their fundraising process and timeline. It usually involves many meetings over the course of weeks (if not months) with […]

About a year ago, my partner David Beisel talked about how seed fundraising is no longer a local game, and that the best entrepreneurs seek out the best investors for them outside of their home market. That being said, it’s […]