Gleb Maltsev has spent more than a decade coaching thousands of people on how to tell stories. The biggest takeaway? The majority of pitches miss their mark. Maltsev deep dives into why and what you can do about it (with visuals throughout). has spent more than a decade coaching thousands of people on how to tell stories. The biggest takeaway? The majority of pitches miss their mark. Maltsev deep dives into why and what you can do about it (with visuals throughout). READ MORE
A.I. Funding Frenzy Escalates
When four leading artificial intelligence researchers left Google this year to create a start-up called Mobius AI, they weren’t sure what their product might be — just that it would involve A.I. technology that could generate its own photos and videos.
Within about a week, two of Silicon Valley’s top venture capital firms, Andreessen Horowitz and Index Ventures, had swooped in with a funding offer, three people with knowledge of the matter said. READ MORE
Venture Capital Financing in Uncertain Times
Many companies and venture capital (VC) investors are encountering down rounds for the first time in a decade or longer. Given the long heritage of VC financing structures, we can look to previous downturns to identify investment terms and tools that are once again relevant. This insight provides a general summary of some techniques VCs and venture-backed companies can use to recalibrate risk, including the anatomy of a down round. READ MORE
Venture capital and private equity firms reportedly working on acquiring parts of SVB
Venture capital firms and private equity groups are reportedly working on plans to acquire and preserve parts of Silicon Valley Bank to continue serving clients in the technology sector.
The Financial Times reported today that a group of more than a dozen VC firms, including General Catalyst Group LLC, Andreessen Horowitz LLC and Khosla Ventures LLC, have been holding talks on enabling SVB to continue lending to, investing in and advising companies in the sector. One of the proposals is said to include the formation of a consortium with Apollo Global Management Inc. to bid for portions of SVB. READ MORE
Despite 2022’s volatility, VC funds performed better than you think
Over the last year, the venture industry has had a tough time. Many feared that the bull market had pushed valuations to unsustainable heights and would result in a windfall of startup down rounds and cash burn, which would have a negative impact on VC fund performance. But before SVB failed, it was going relatively well. READ MORE
How Underrepresented Founders Can Cultivate More Funding Opportunities
Entrepreneurship is a challenging path for anyone, but it can be even more so for individuals from underrepresented communities who face additional obstacles in accessing funding and support. While the statistics on venture capital funding for women and minorities remain low, there are ways that budding founders from underrepresented communities can increase their chances of success. READ MORE
Silicon Valley Bank Bet Big On Biotech. And Now It’s Gone.
Silicon Valley Bank, the prominent startup and venture capital bank that was abruptly taken over by regulators Friday, had made big bets on the biotech space in recent years, and its sudden downfall leaves life sciences companies particularly vulnerable.
The main concern is whether or not early-stage biotech companies that banked with SVB will be able to access their cash. With no cash flow, nascent pharmaceutical startups rely on their cash reserves to fund drug development. READ MORE
Silicon Valley Bank Collapse Leaves Tech Industry Scrambling For Answers
The stunning move by the FDIC to take over Silicon Valley Bank on Friday left venture firms and their portfolio companies staring at a great unknown many never thought possible.
SVB works with more than half of all U.S.-based startups and is the preeminent provider of venture debt in the industry. Its collapse leaves open gaping questions among startups about cash flow and access as bank regulators moved in. READ MORE
Yes, Startup SPAC Deals Are Still Happening. They’re Just Smaller And Rarer
Given the notoriously awful performance of so many SPAC mergers, you’d think new deals wouldn’t be happening.
But you would be wrong. READ MORE
Silicon Valley Bank Collapse Leaves Tech Industry Scrambling For Answers
The stunning move by the FDIC to take over Silicon Valley Bank on Friday left venture firms and their portfolio companies staring at a great unknown many never thought possible.
SVB works with more than half of all U.S.-based startups and is the preeminent provider of venture debt in the industry. Its collapse leaves open gaping questions among startups about cash flow and access as bank regulators moved in. READ MORE
Private fund investors flood secondary markets in dash for cash
The start of this year brought a glut of assets for sale on the secondary market by institutional investors facing a growing need for cash, but so far buyers have been slow to bite.
Secondary buyers and bankers that broker such deals estimate that as much as $18 billion of private-equity fund stakes have been offered for sale so far this year. The glut includes $6 billion of holdings being shopped by nonprofit healthcare provider and insurer Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, Calif., which if sold in its entirety would be among the largest portfolios ever to trade. READ MORE
What Does the Venture Capital Due Diligence Process Look Like?
Venture capital firms typically follow a due diligence process when evaluating potential investment targets. That means founders and their businesses are carefully examined, so the startup team should be aware of how to deal with it. Usually, the process at Leta Capital involves seven steps. Here are those steps, along with what entrepreneurs should know about each one: READ MORE
Uncle Sam Is Disrupting the Venture Capital World
Higher interest rates, slumping stock prices and corporate America’s shift in focus from growth to profitability has taken the air out of one of the main drivers of innovation and new company formation in recent decades: tech startups funded by venture capital . At the same time, the US government passed a host of bills last year that create new funding streams for manufacturing and technology industries — with strings attached . As a result, economic growth this decade could be driven less by Silicon Valley values and more by the values of the administration setting the terms for the new funding. READ MORE
How early-stage investors can prepare for an uncertain outlook
In the context of current economic headwinds, money managers and investors grapple with tough decisions about where to invest and how to maintain a diversified and well-performing portfolio. Companies in sectors experiencing “hyped” valuations are at a greater risk of losing value in a market correction. Meanwhile, early-stage venture investments in essential sectors such as healthcare and industrial production can provide shelter from stormy markets by focusing on disciplined capital formation, long-term value creation, and the potential for outsized returns. READ MORE
Startups Opt For Microcap Mergers To Tap Public Markets
Most years, at least a few buzzy startups manage to carry out high-profile IPOs. But lately, with the window for large new offerings frozen shut, those debuts aren’t happening.
Instead, what we do see are smaller deals in which venture-backed startups are tapping public markets through combinations with Nasdaq-traded microcap companies. Transactions, which take the shape of mergers, reverse mergers and M&A deals, involve companies in similar industries as well as disparate ones. READ MORE
What Makes A Great Startup Name? We Look At The Latest Trends
Founders selecting a company name would prefer one that has it all: Cool, catchy, original, evocative and legally unencumbered.
But at the end of the day, a single attribute often determines success or failure, said Michael Carr, co-founder and self-described chief naming officer of Austin-based brand consultancy NameStormers. READ MORE
Outlook for Private Equity Dealmaking in 2023
Private market investments this year are in a state of uncertainty following a slowdown in M&A activity in 2022 after an active 2021.
Contributing to the state of uncertainty are record-high inflation, rising interest rates, tight supply chains and uncooperative labor markets, all of which are still weighing on buyers’ and sellers’ minds. And further, these recession indicators are factoring in on the market and hence, we are starting to see some difficulty in deals closing as senior lenders grow increasingly more cautious about leverage and industries with cyclical activity. READ MORE
The VC Fundraising Sea-Change: Less Formal, More Human
FinTech firms are increasingly focusing on profitability, turning away from the growth-at-all-costs strategy many have long pursued.
According to some investors, this strategic pivot from growth in favor of profits is necessary to win back cautious investors who are more focused on unit economics now and no longer swayed by a firm’s growth potential. READ MORE
Angel Investing vs. Venture Capital
Angel investors and venture capitalists tend to operate in the same circles. While both invest in startup companies and new technologies, they're otherwise very different. An angel investor is generally an individual looking to invest their own money in a startup business. A venture capital firm is a group looking to invest its clients' money in new companies. This leads to stark differences in how these investors operate. READ MORE
Artificial Intelligence In Agtech Is Blooming
Artificial intelligence has been a hot topic in recent months thanks to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. While everyone is marveling at the technology for passing law exams, AI has long had the ability to feed us.
Source.ag, a Netherlands-based agriculture tech startup, announced on Thursday it raised a modest $23 million Series A funding round for its AI platform that predicts the best growing conditions for greenhouse plants. READ MORE
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