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Browse: Home / VC

VC

The Real Odds of VC-backed Success

The Real Odds of VC-backed Success

By Chris Yeh on July 22, 2013

I try to give entrepreneurs a realistic view of their chances of startup success.  Yet I’ve always relied on anecdote and example, rather than hard numbers.  Now I don’t have to.  Here is a set of definitive numbers from across the entire industry: “According to the data provided by Sand Hill, since 2003 only 6 […]

Posted in Entrepreneurship | Tagged startups, VC, vceonomics

The reasonable startup valuation formula

The reasonable startup valuation formula

By Chris Yeh on July 11, 2013

It seems like it’s unfashionable these days for investors to worry about startup valuations.  In my opinion, that kind of thinking is likely to lead to disaster for both investors and startups. Far too many people make the mistake of focusing on relative valuation.  “This deal is a bargain in comparison to the other deals […]

Posted in Entrepreneurship | Tagged angelinvesting, startups, valuation, VC

Y Combinator's Startup Math

Y Combinator’s Startup Math

By Chris Yeh on July 10, 2013

Paul Graham has a great essay out in which he explains his view of both Y Combinator and the startup ecosystem.  As usual, it’s a thoughtful essay with a lot of great points.  But what I’d like to focus on are the numbers he provided on YC’s portfolio: “Y Combinator has now funded 564 startups […]

Posted in Entrepreneurship | Tagged startups, VC, vceconomics, ycombinator

Build a profitable business while spending as little as possible (the lesson of Xobni)

Build a profitable business while spending as little as possible (the lesson of Xobni)

By Chris Yeh on July 9, 2013

It’s not that complicated to build a success startup.  Just build a profitable business while spending as little as possible.  It’s not complicated, but it’s hard. I recently saw the news that Yahoo! had bought Xobni.  Xobni was a noble attempt to tackle the email overload problem (xobni = inbox backwards).  According to the stories […]

Posted in Business | Tagged bootstrapping, VC, vceconomics, venture capital, xobni, yahoo

Silicon Valley: The "Ultimate Meritocracy"

Silicon Valley: The "Ultimate Meritocracy"

By Chris Yeh on June 18, 2013

My fellow denizens of Silicon Valley are fond of referring to our happy little ecosystem as the ultimate meritocracy.  It’s definitely true that in comparison to the rigid and/or corrupt regimes that prevail in other industries and geographies, Silicon Valley is a meritocracy, but it is far from perfect. I often joke with the female/minority/over-30 […]

Posted in Entrepreneurship | Tagged gender, race, siliconvalley, stats, VC

Dear Entrepreneur

Dear Entrepreneur

By Chris Yeh on May 28, 2013

Like many investors, I was entertained by Andy Dunn’s recent rant, “Dear Dumb VC” His essay lays out his criticism of VCs by citing the following facts: * You don’t realize you are going out of business * You think you can help entrepreneurs * You spend a ton of an entrepreneur’s time before deciding […]

Posted in Entrepreneurship | Tagged VC, venture capital

Why I hate acquihires (unless I'm doing the selling)

Why I hate acquihires (unless I’m doing the selling)

By Chris Yeh on May 20, 2013

The always insightful Mark Suster recently tackled the subject of acquihires–the practice of large companies buying small startups simply to acquire their people.  Mark lays out an excellent argument for why the acquiring companies are actually losing out when they make acquihires: “You have been at Google, Salesforce.com, Yahoo! for years. You have worked faithfully. […]

Posted in Entrepreneurship | Tagged acquihire, failure, mergers and acquisitions, VC, vceconomics | 1 Response

Heading into 2013:  Thoughts on Ways The Start-Up World is Just So Much Better Now

Heading into 2013: Thoughts on Ways The Start-Up World is Just So Much Better Now

By Jason M. Lemkin on December 19, 2012

I came of age in the tech/venture start-up world in the late ’90s.  As we go into 2013, I’ve reflected a bit on just how much better things are for founders and entrepreneurs now than they used to be, even just in 2005, when we started EchoSign, let alone the old days of Web 1.0. […]

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Featured Posts | Tagged 2013, echosign, Entrepreneurship, Mark Cuban, mark suster, saas, Sharespost, startups, VC, venture capital, Victoria Cross | 1 Response

Making Sense of Color after Meraki, and Going Big

Making Sense of Color after Meraki, and Going Big

By Jason M. Lemkin on November 29, 2012

I had a draft post I’d written weeks ago entitled something like “Color:  Just an Enormously Large Seed Round Gone Horribly Wrong”, or something like that.  Which I guess it was — $41,000,000 to build an iOS app with no revenue that no one ever used. But it wasn’t that interesting, that post/story, so I […]

Posted in Entrepreneurship | Tagged Apple, going big, meraki, saas, Sequoia Capital, startups, Uncategorized, VC, vc funding, venture capital

Unfortunately, We (Probably) Have No Idea If Your SaaS Idea is Any Good

Unfortunately, We (Probably) Have No Idea If Your SaaS Idea is Any Good

By Jason M. Lemkin on November 8, 2012

Here’s the thing in SaaS:  I appreciate you asking me.  But, honestly, generally speaking — I probably have no idea if your pre-launch SaaS idea is any good.  So no need even to show me any deck, any static demo, any mock-ups of your product-to-be.  Because I have no idea if it’s truly a great […]

Posted in Application Software, Entrepreneurship, Featured Posts | Tagged entrepreneurism, founders, saas, start ups, VC, venture capital

The 10x Rule:  What Raising $1 of Venture Capital Really Means

The 10x Rule: What Raising $1 of Venture Capital Really Means

By Jason M. Lemkin on October 23, 2012

Recently, a good friend of mine asked me how much he should raise in his round.  He was lucky enough to have a range of options.  My simple advice was:  assume you have to return a liquidity event (sale or IPO) of at least 10x the amount you raise. Valuations change from round to round. […]

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Featured Posts | Tagged ipo, m&a, saas, startups, VC, vc funding, venture capital, venture funding | 1 Response

A Lean Greentech Approach

A Lean Greentech Approach

By Chirag Mehta on October 1, 2012

I am a greentech enthusiast and I have been closely following the greentech VC investment landscape. The VCs like Kleiner Perkins who have had a large greentech portfolio including companies such as Bloom Energy are scaling down on greentech investment…

Posted in Featured Posts, Technology | Tagged data centers, entrepreneurial, green computing, VC

How Do You Know A VC Is Interested?

How Do You Know A VC Is Interested?

By Chris Yeh on August 6, 2012

“He told us he was going to fund us,” shouts the happy entrepreneur into my ear. I’m sure he dialed me as soon as he got into the car. “He’s not going to fund you,” I say calmly, “The VCs always say that. It doesn’t mean anything.” A lot of entrepreneurs have a hard time […]

Posted in Entrepreneurship | Tagged investing, psychology, VC

VC 2006-11: $136 Billion In, $146 Billion Out

VC 2006-11: $136 Billion In, $146 Billion Out

By Chris Yeh on June 25, 2012

There’s a lot of talk recently about a Kaufmann Foundation report on the venture capital industry that states: Over the past decade, public stock markets have outperformed the average venture capital fund and for 15 years, VC funds have failed to return to investors the significant amounts of cash invested, despite high-profile successes, including Google, […]

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Featured Posts | Tagged ipo, startups, VC, vc funding, vceconomics, venture capital

Entrepreneurs, The Clock is Ticking on Your Career

Entrepreneurs, The Clock is Ticking on Your Career

By Chris Yeh on May 12, 2012

“You have less time than you think,” I tell entrepreneurs. From the time I was a kid, I’ve been obsessed with age and mortality. Unlike most of my peers, I was convinced that childhood was going to be the best, most carefree years of my life, and I remember thinking at age 11, “Well, at […]

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Featured Posts | Tagged career, VC

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