Is the Capital ‘Spigot’ Open or Closed? Investing is a strange beast. One day all you see in the news is stories of the capital markets closing. The next day you read a story about large investment managers raising new funds and pushing into new areas. We see an example…

‘WHY’ YOU DO SOMETHING IS SOMETIMES MORE IMPORTANT THAN ‘WHAT’ YOU DO. — “Most company founders know that showing passion is important, but often they become focused on getting all the information they can into a pitch. It’s crucial for them not to forget to display how much they care about their company” — DR. CHIA-JUNG TSAY Want to Showcase Your Company’s Uniqueness…

“One of the terrible things Silicon Valley has done is convince founders that the only way to build a big company is by raising lots of money and hiring people constantly.” — WILLIAM HOCKEY Everybody Wants Rapid Growth. Right? ‘Rocket ship growth’. Doesn’t that sound exciting? You identify a problem…

“The effects of the [2008/09] financial crisis and the pandemic differed dramatically; the financial crisis put the brakes on funding, while the pandemic was an inflection point.” — CRUNCHBASE.COM Different Crises. Different Causes. Different Outcomes. I am a big fan of pattern recognition, and try to employ it my life…

“Micro-VC managers tend to benefit from being early movers, as they are able to set the tone, gain higher ownership and develop strong engagement and relationships before the Series A groups get involved.” — StepStone Separating the Investing World into Two Camps — Private Equity and Venture Capital — is…

“Demand for ESG [environmental, social, and governance] is going to transform all investing.” — LARRY FINK, BLACKROCK CEO Question: is ESG a viable investment strategy, or is it just marketing hype? The answer is complicated. ESG is one of the hottest themes in investing today. To be very clear, I…

“The SEC would love to see more companies go public earlier, and if companies face enhanced reporting requirements, it is possible they may look at doing just that.” — CRUNCHBASE.COM When most people hear of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC), they primarily think about US stock markets. That…

“A postponed IPO “can be a moral hit to a team, so when you can, provide that liquidity through another means” — JON BASSET — NEXTGEN VENTURE PARTNERS (CRUNCHBASE.COM) Valuation growth is amazing. However, eventually, investors want liquidity too… Funding a company’s growth using private equity and/or venture capital is…

“The strategy is increasingly being viewed by both general partners and limited partners as a viable exit path for portfolio companies — just as if a general partner takes a company public, or exits through a trade sale or a secondary buyout,” said Dennis Scharf, a managing director on the…