Audacious Investor™️’s Post

Venture capital is like any other business where people matter the most. While VC firms focus on the founding team when investing in a startup, limited partners (LPs) look for strong partners in the fund. When key partners leave a VC firm, it can cause several challenges. This is especially true if the departing partners were the main point of contact for startups or responsible for winning deals. Their departure can change the relationship between the founders and the fund, potentially affecting exits and impacting the LPs' ROI. Below is a good article by Tushar Goenka on the subject: https://lnkd.in/gSEgYYUW #venturecapital #investments

General Catalyst, one of Silicon Valley’s largest capital firms, is gearing up to launch what’s known as a “continuation fund” worth between $800 million and $1 billion, according to a person familiar with the plans. A continuation fund consists of a portion of stakes that the VC firm has in portfolio companies. With around $25 billion in assets under management as of 2023, General Catalyst’s exact continuation fund portfolio composition is still being determined. Read more from Marina Temkin on General Catalyst here: https://tcrn.ch/3NBVu9n #TechCrunch #technews #startups #venturecapital #venturecapitalists #funding

New York, USA based Avid Ventures recently closed its second early-stage fund. 💸 $87M in committed capital for Fund II, with backing from institutional investors Mellon Foundation, Hall Capital Partners LLC, Vintage Investment Partners, UJA-Federation of New York, Soka University of America, and CM Wealth Advisors, among others. Individual investors include Brian Singerman, Rob Hayes, and Susan Sobbott. 💡 Fund II will back exceptional founders building transformative #software and #fintech companies from #Seedstage to #SeriesB. Investments will be between $500k and $2M. 🌍 #NorthAmerica, #Europe, and #Israel 📈 Founded in 2020, the VC has completed investments across various sectors, including #payments, #insurance, #gaming, and #dataanalytics. It has backed companies including Nova Credit, Alloy, Coast, Clara, Oyster®, Basis, Thatch, among others. 💭 “We are confident we have the right team in place to identify and partner with top founders, while further delivering our bespoke Strategic Finance value-add.” - Addie Lerner Katz, Avid Ventures Managing Partner 🗞️Abhinaya Prabhu Tech Funding News https://lnkd.in/eg-3GXJ5 👏 For the #AudaciousInvestors unleashing innovation and empowering tomorrow🚀 Addie I Tali I Zeeza I Irene I Daniel I Allie I Kieran I Jack I Jenna I Team Avid Ventures … #venturecapital #vc #funds #startups #entrepreneurs #funding #tech #usa #entrepreneurship #technology #innovation #NewYork #venture #fund

🚀 'Redpoint alum Tunguz quickly closes on $450m for Fund II' 🌟 Your next game-changer is here! 🌱 Calling all investors and founders: Dive into actionable insights, groundbreaking ideas, and strategies to take your journey to the next level. 👉 Read it now: https://lnkd.in/e8h5VnfE ✨ Tomasz Tunguz, who founded Theory Ventures after more than 14 years with Redpoint Ventures, has raised his second fund in just 19 months. Tunguz has closed on $450 million for Theory’s sophomore fund, about 90 percent more than the $238 million he raised for his first fund in April 2023. Tomasz Tunguz, Theory Ventures Fundraising […] Don’t miss out on this must-read for leveling up in the world of startups and investment. Let’s innovate, grow, and succeed together! #Leadership #Innovation #Startups #Entrepreneurship #Founders #Investors #Growth #Strategy #Success

🕚Here’s a flashback to an exciting and bold VC fund launch from 2024. 💸 In Q2 2024, New York, USA based Collaborative Fund ("Collab") raised $125M for its sixth flagship fund, with backing from endowments, foundations, high net-worth individuals, a large asset manager, and more. 💡 Collaborative Fund investment philosophy centres around creativity and collaborative consumption. They primarily invest in #seedstage and early-stage companies focused across #climate, #health, and #food sectors. 🌍 #UnitedStates 📈 Since 2010, the VC has backed start-ups including WeaveGrid, Oula, Boston Materials, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Dandelion Energy, One Trick Pony, [cafeteria], among others. 💭 “We have one LP that told us that they haven’t received a distribution from any of their venture funds in almost 18 months. The fact that we were distributing capital set us apart.” 🗞️Tim De Chant TechCrunch https://lnkd.in/dtpr_geR 👏 For the #AudaciousInvestors unleashing innovation and empowering tomorrow🚀 Craig I Sophie I Guy I Andrew I Jeff I Martina I David I Chris I Matt I Keely I Luisa I Ashika I Craig I Alison I Bryan I Dan I Team Collab … #venturecapital #vc #funds #startups #entrepreneurs #funding #tech #usa #entrepreneurship #technology #innovation #NewYork #Venture #Fund

In the world of venture capital, "pro rata rights" are like a special privilege for early investors that allow them to keep their ownership in a company as it grows. However, exercising these rights can be tricky and expensive because new investors in later funding rounds often want a bigger piece of the pie. To help smaller funds and early-stage VCs keep up, new investment firms like SaaS Ventures are stepping in to provide the necessary capital. This trend shows how crucial it is for early investors to stay connected and well-funded to reap the benefits as startups mature.

Summary: The article discusses the current venture firm fundraising market and the success of emerging VC firm A* in raising $315 million for its oversubscribed Fund II. It highlights the firm's focus on early-stage investments and its experienced founding partners. Key takeaways: Venture firms raised $9.3 billion in Q1 and it is unlikely that 2023's record-breaking total of $81.8 billion will be surpassed. A* has been successful in fundraising due to its focus on seed rounds and backing breakout companies in its portfolio. The firm's founding partners have a strong track record and diverse experience in different industries. Counter arguments: The article mentions that emerging managers are feeling the frost in the fundraising market, suggesting that not all emerging VCs may be as successful as A*. While A* has found success in raising institutional investors for Fund II, this may not be the case for all emerging VCs. #venturecapital #vc #fundraising #startups #innovation

Some seed-stage VC firms give up their pro rata rights due to lacking capital to meet the high capital requirements of a late-stage round and competition from larger VC firms. Alpha Partners, SignalRank, and SaaS Ventures are now stepping in to help seed-stage VC investors exercise their pro rata rights to maintain their ownership percentage. VC firms like Alpha Partners, SignalRank, and SaaS Ventures specialize in providing capital for pro rata investments for Series B and beyond funding rounds. #VentureCapital #Startups

Startup News From PitchBook 3 charts explain Iconiq Growth’s record-breaking $5.75B fund "Iconiq Growth, the venture arm of wealth management firm Iconiq Capital, has closed its seventh flagship fund on $5.75 billion, launching itself into the ranks of the elite VC firms that have raised mega-funds in 2024 despite a desolate LP fundraising environment. The fund, which will invest from product market fit to the pre-IPO stage, is a 42% step-up from Iconiq’s $4.06 billion sixth fund. The raise, which bucks the fundraising slowdown, comes at the same time that venture growth-stage deals look to be making a comeback." https://lnkd.in/dQKM4y43

Peter Thiel-founded Valar Ventures LLC raises $300 million for his latest fund #Valar Ventures, co-founded by Peter Thiel in 2010, has successfully raised $300 million for its ninth fund. This new fund is significantly smaller than its previous ones, reflecting the challenging environment for #VC fundraising. Andrew McCormack and James Fitzgerald, both of whom previously worked at Thiel Capital and Clarium Capital Management, currently lead Valar Ventures. While Thiel’s current involvement with Valar is unclear, his influence in the foundation of the firm is undeniable. The $300 million fund indicates continued confidence in Valar’s strategy and team, despite the broader trends in the VC space where even prominent firms are seeing reduced targets and slower capital deployment. Valar Ventures has a mix of investors, including institutional investors like Pennsylvania Public School Employees Retirement (PSERS), although specific names for this round have not been disclosed. Originally targeting startups in New Zealand, Valar Ventures now specializes in #fintech startups worldwide, including Europe, the U.K., and the SF Bay Area. Notable portfolio companies include Wise, which debuted on the London Stock Exchange with a market cap of $11 billion, Stash, valued at $1.4 billion in 2021, and Bitpanda, last valued at $4 billion. Despite facing difficulties with some investments, such as BlockFi and Breather, Valar Ventures remains a key player in the venture capital landscape. The firm's 2020 vintage fund is currently down by -2.3% in IRR, but it’s too early to draw definitive conclusions The article on TechCrunch in the first comment. Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter: - Linkedin: https://t.ly/s541W   - Substack: https://lnkd.in/dzfGJzmW