SaaStr

AUGUST 19, 2023

Dear SaaStr: What are The Top Challenges of Venture Capital Firms? The post Dear SaaStr: What are The Top Challenges of Venture Capital Firms? Generally there are three major challenges. The first one is non-obvious. Challenge #1: Raising Another Fund. While Sequoia, Benchmark, Founders Fund, etc.

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Venture Capital Benchmarks Investment Startup 245

SaaStr

JULY 10, 2022

Especially now in 2022, when venture capital again is scarcer, and more expensive, and far harder to close than it was during the go-go times for SaaS of 2021 and late 2020. Does this make venture evil or something because these deals probably didn’t make all the founders multi-millionaires? Both were sold for about 1.5x

Venture Capital 363

Venture Capital Acquisition SaaS B2B 363

Tom Tunguz

OCTOBER 7, 2021

Passive venture capital investing is a relatively new idea. As later stage investors permeate venture capital, they are amassing index funds of startups. Classically, venture capital has been an active asset class. There isn’t a one-to-one mapping of growth capital and passive venture capital.

Venture Capital 355

Venture Capital Investment Startup Product Marketing 355

SaaStr

MAY 27, 2023

Dear SaaStr: When is a Startup Ready to Raise Venture Capital These Days? Churn too high Burn too high Competitors growing faster Already raised “too much” capital The post Dear SaaStr: When is a Startup Ready to Raise Venture Capital These Days? A lot harder. appeared first on SaaStr.

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Venture Capital Startup Churn CTO 265

SaaStr

AUGUST 2, 2023

Dear SaaStr: What Is The Job of a Venture Capital Fund Manager? Net net, this means returning at least 3x the capital they are given to invest. The post Dear SaaStr: What Is The Job of a Venture Capital Fund Manager? Ultimately, the job is to beat Nasdaq by at least 20%. Now what does the job look like?

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Venture Capital Management Startup Investment 201

SaaStr

MAY 9, 2023

Dear SaaStr: What is the Highest Position in a Venture Capital Firm? partnership image from here ) The post Dear SaaStr: What Is The Highest Position in a Venture Capital Firm? The “Managing General Partner” or “Managing Director” or a similar title. In tiny VC firms, 2 partners may truly be equal and both run the place.

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Venture Capital Government Management 237

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 11, 2022

The post Going Big in Venture Capital appeared first on SaaStr. Means Losing Biggish a few times, at least. Something to keep in mind based on who you take money from. Make it match your ambitions, your upside goals, and your downside tolerance.

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Venture Capital AWS Enterprise Revenue 236

SaaStr

JANUARY 29, 2021

Assuming you have at least a partial track record, then, there are two-and-a-half basic paths on how to start a venture capital firm. Start Small before your start a Venture Capital Firm. Grow within a Venture Capital Firm. Partner with someone starting a Venture Capital Firm. Possibly zero.

Venture Capital 306

Venture Capital Investment Travel Compensation 306

Tom Tunguz

JUNE 5, 2021

What does it mean for venture capital and Startupland? Let’s examine the relationship between total venture capital investment and the 10 year Treasury in some detail. As the interest rate approaches zero, venture capital spend approaches infinity. In short, we should expect some cooling.

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Venture Capital Marketing Investment Government 352

SaaStr

JUNE 22, 2023

Dear SaaStr: How Many Good Months Do I Need in a Row to Raise Venture Capital? The post Dear SaaStr: How Many Good Months Do I Need in a Row to Raise Venture Capital? Ideally, at least 4 good months in a row before you try to raise a Seed / Late Seed Round. And at least 2 good quarters for a Series A round.

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Venture Capital Investment Trends 213

SaaStr

MARCH 9, 2021

Q: What are the pros and cons of working in the venture capital space, and why? I’ll list the pros and cons, but before we get there, it’s important to note a few things: Venture Capital is a tiny industry. There are very limited promotion paths in venture. Whatever you do, don’t romanticize it.

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Venture Capital Startup Investment Finance 285

Tom Tunguz

AUGUST 6, 2023

What will a venture capital turnaround feel like? In 2008, I had just become a venture capitalist. Will it be gradual or sudden? What will change the sentiment in the market? Three months later, Lehman fell & the Global Financial Crisis started.

Venture Capital 166

Venture Capital Acquisition Investment Marketing 166

Tom Tunguz

JULY 17, 2022

I wish I had a chart of the bid/ask spread in venture capital today. The bid/ask spread in VC is the difference between the post-money valuation between a VC (the bidder) & a company (seller). In the past few years, the spread has been tight. The market is liquid. Many startups sell shares to buyers at mutually attractive prices.

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Venture Capital Startup Engineering Pricing 213

SaaStr

AUGUST 16, 2020

Q: How is Venture Capital difference since Covid-19? SaaStr New New Venture 2020. The post How Venture Capital Has Changed Since Covid-19 appeared first on SaaStr. At first — and only briefly — things slowed way back. Portfolios in many cases were hit hard, with startups in travel, events, fitness, etc.

Venture Capital 290

Venture Capital Cloud Startup Investment 290

SaaStr

AUGUST 1, 2021

Q: Dear SaaStr: What Happens and Changes After You Raise Venture Capital for the First Time? A few thoughts if you haven’t raised venture capital before: 1. The post Dear SaaStr: What Happens After You Raise Venture Capital for the First Time? Remember you have to prove yourself, still.

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Venture Capital Metrics Data 278

SaaStr

DECEMBER 3, 2022

G2 put on its big annual digital event, G2 Reach , this week and we were lucky enough to host what ended up being a simply amazing session on the real state of venture capital right now. But it’s one of the deepest and most on-point dives on venture today I’ve seen in a while. (@jasonlk) December 2, 2022.

Venture Capital 232

Venture Capital SaaS Investment Startup 232

Tom Tunguz

AUGUST 7, 2023

Perhaps there’s a parallel in buyer psychology in software & in venture capital. Curiously, this is roughly consistent with the lengthening in sales cycles software companies are enduring with customers. Seed valuations remained relatively constant.

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Venture Capital Software Review Data Marketing 100

SaaStr

MAY 26, 2020

Q: How many companies in the Fortune 500 raised venture capital? Why are so many people obsessed with venture capital when many successful businesses didn’t raise it? There are many successful companies that did not raise venture capital, and VC does seem to get a bit too much media attention. 7 out of 100.

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Venture Capital SaaS Cloud Retention 218

SaaStr

DECEMBER 27, 2020

Q: How do Venture Capital Firms really feel about founder salaries? Let me add just one thought to the discussion on founder salaries, once you are venture-backed. The post One Simple Rule On How Much To Pay Yourself Once You Raise Venture Capital appeared first on SaaStr. 10k a year. 10k a month.

Venture Capital 304

Venture Capital Scale Sales Hiring Compensation 304

SaaStr

MAY 19, 2023

You can’t make money in venture unless you have companies that get to $100M or $200M in revenue within seven to ten years. Understanding what venture capital firms are looking for helps you make the best decisions for your specific company. Pay attention to multiples to get a pulse on venture capital.

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Venture Capital SaaS Management Revenue 223

Tom Tunguz

OCTOBER 10, 2020

Each quarter, a group of analysts, including me, publish analysis on the trends in the venture capital market. There’s a risk to those assessments: the data is incomplete since not all rounds founders close within a quarter are reported in that quarter. I was curious about how much variance exists in the data.

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital Investment Trends Data 299

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 4, 2021

The post New SaaStr University FREE Course: The Secrets to Fundraising and Venture Capital appeared first on SaaStr. We’ve assembled many of the best SaaStr posts on raising money, working with investors, and more … updated the content … and added great videos from top SaaS VCs.

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Venture Capital SaaS 229

SaaStr

APRIL 24, 2021

Q: Is venture capital really necessary to do a start-up? Atlassian never raised any primary capital and waited many years until raising money at all for secondary liquidity. The post Do I Need To Raise Venture Capital At All? Maybe it isn’t. It will soon be worth $15B+. And he’ll be worth $5B+. A bit more here.

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Venture Capital Scale SaaS Revenue 269

SaaStr

MAY 6, 2020

The post What’s Really Happening in Venture Capital, Right Now appeared first on SaaStr. Taking a risk on a smaller check and thus a somewhat earlier stage start-up with a lower valuation is often easier in more challenging times.

Venture Capital 251

Venture Capital SaaS Cloud Startup 251

SaaStr

OCTOBER 28, 2020

He said the biggest change in venture capital wasn’t investing over Zoom, or Cloud multiples, or even the pace of investing today. No, the biggest change in Venture Capital in 2020-2021 is what he called “The Postmates Effect” That Postmates was arguably #3 to Doordash and UberEats, and still was worth billions.

Venture Capital 220

Venture Capital SaaS Cloud Investment 220

SaaStr

MARCH 22, 2020

Sign up here to join Byron and me on Thursday at 12:15pm where we do a deep dive on what’s going on in venture capital, fundraising and Cloud right now. The post Webinar: What’s Going On in Venture Capital Right Now with Byron Deeter, Bessemer Venture Partners appeared first on SaaStr.

Venture Capital 194

Venture Capital SaaS Cloud Investment 194

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 3, 2023

After several years of booming business in SaaS, the world of fundraising nearly gave everyone whiplash when capital stopped flowing as freely in 2022 as it did in 2021. So, what exactly is happening in the venture capital world, and what do startup founders need to know? They’re just going to get a little bit better.”

Venture Capital 215

Venture Capital SaaS Sales Hiring B2B 215

SaaStr

APRIL 4, 2020

The post Why Do Some People Consider Venture Capital a “Young Person’s Game”? So starting before 30 can help. That way, you peak around 45-50. It’s not necessary. But it has been the Sequoia way for a reason. appeared first on SaaStr.

Venture Capital 208

Venture Capital SaaS Investment Compensation 208

SaaStr

MARCH 27, 2020

The post The Current State of Venture Capital and Cloud with Byron Deeter, Bessemer Venture Partners appeared first on SaaStr. Full schedule to follow in the coming days, but you can sign up now to save your spot.

Venture Capital 223

Venture Capital Cloud SaaS Investment 223

Tom Tunguz

JULY 22, 2017

It’s wonderful to see the expansion of venture capital across these geographies and especially at very healthy growth rates. A 50% growth rate sustained over 6 years implies 11x growth in venture capital investment during the period. Brazil, United Arab Emirates, and Ireland follow at four, fix and six.

Venture Capital 186

Venture Capital Marketing Development Startup 186

SaaStr

JANUARY 28, 2019

The post How do corporate venture capital firms different from conventional venture capital firms? So generally speaking, corporate VC is best at ownership stakes < 5%. That controls for the downsides and lets you maximize the benefits. View original question on quora. appeared first on SaaStr.

Venture Capital 117

Venture Capital Investment Strategy 117

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 9, 2022

During an enlightening session at SaaStr Europa 2022, Zach Coelius (Managing Partner at Coelius Capital) and Tiffany Luck (Investor at GGV Capital) share the secrets and lesser-known players in the world of venture capital. VC Associates. Remember, it’s a two-way street. Ask how they can help you (intros, feedback, etc.).

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Venture Capital Metrics Management Investment 229

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 5, 2019

Venture capital / equity is expensive. But … with few exceptions, it’s 100% risk capital. But whatever the terms, venture debt is much, much cheaper than equity / venture capital. But the thing is, venture debt has to also be much lower risk. You often have to sell 15%, 20%+ of your company in chunks.

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Venture Capital Finance Revenue Investment 124

SaaStr

JANUARY 11, 2023

The post Investing and Venture Capital in 2023 With SaaStr Founder/CEO Jason Lemkin and Atrium Founder/CRO Pete Kazanjy (Pod 624 + Video) appeared first on SaaStr. Find an experienced investor who you feel a connection with and who believes in your vision.

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Venture Capital Investment Sales Hiring SaaS 203

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 22, 2020

Q: Why has Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstrom’s venture capital firm raised over 800 million to back European startups? The post Why has Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstrom’s venture capital firm raised over 800 million to back European startups? It sounds like about the right amount. Sometimes, a lot more.

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Venture Capital Startup Investment 143

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 13, 2019

Q: How do venture capital firms determine when and how to help stalled or stuck portfolio companies? The post How do venture capital firms determine when and how to help stalled or stuck portfolio companies? It is a super interesting topic more should be written about. Most VC firms do plan for some tough times.

Venture Capital 168

Venture Capital Metrics Investment 168

Tom Tunguz

APRIL 16, 2023

In The Figures that Will Move the Venture Capital Market in the Next 3-5 Years , I wrote about the correlation between interest rates & venture capital investing. The correlation is strong enough to build a simple prediction of early stage venture capital activity in 2023. correlation to -0.51.

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Venture Capital Marketing Government Investment 259