Brendan Aronson

Episode #102 Fireside with a VC speaking with Tige Savage who cofounded Revolution with Steve Case, founder of AOL – America Online, one of the biggest internet companies in history reaching a peak market cap of $200bn dominating email, internet connectivity, online news, and chat. Tige discusses all things venture capital with a wealth of multi-decade experience covering a wide area of topics on how to run a high-performing VC fund year over year and best practices on investing, governance, legals, portfolio construction, sectors, overall strategy, and today’s exit market. Discussing the organization of Revolution with 1) Revolution Rise of the Rest – their $150m pre-seed fund, 2) Revolution Ventures – the $150m VC fund Tige manages with a concentrated 15 portfolio companies per fund, and 3) Revolution Growth which continues to invest in Series B and beyond. Discussed the pioneering thesis of investing across the US rather than being concentrated in the Silicon Valley, New York, Boston, or other highly evolved tech corridors and why Washington DC matters. Find the full episode on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gyB-yjvG. Find this and all full episodes for Fireside with a VC on your favorite podcast platform here: https://lnkd.in/gtzuxjJh. https://revolution.com/ https://lnkd.in/gyCbq7jy https://www.7bc.vc/ https://lnkd.in/gFa_AAZ7 Join our Newsletter - Fireside with a VC: https://subscribe.7bc.vc. Join the conversation, leave comments, and tell us what you think about these topics and this episode.

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Exciting news for startups! California accounts for about 50% of all venture investments. The not-so-secret reason is that non-competes are illegal in California, so engineers at FAANGs can build competitors without fear. Today, the US Federal Trade Commission declared non-compete agreements illegal nationwide. This means that engineers at big tech companies can now leave and build their own companies without fear of violating a non-competes (legacy agreements for executives are still enforceable - talk to your lawyer), this is a step in the right direction for fostering innovation and competition across the country. A variety of big-business groups have vowed to sue to bring non-competes back, but at least for now, they're gone! #startups #innovation #competition #noncompete Official Announcement: https://lnkd.in/gRXUpgDy Impending lawsuit: https://lnkd.in/gqSiVuTd

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I recently had an enlightening conversation with Alex Pattis, general partner of Riverside Ventures and author of the #1 VC syndicate newsletter, "Last Money In." Alex's journey from sales director to launching a syndicate that has completed over 300 deals is truly remarkable. He's deployed over $70 million in capital and built a network of thousands of LPs along the way. During our chat, Alex clarified the intricacies of syndicates, explaining how they differ from traditional venture funds and the unique value they bring to both founders and investors. Syndicates offer a flexible, deal-by-deal approach for LPs, allowing them to cherry-pick investments. Alex highlighted that having a tier-one VC co-investor can significantly boost LP interest in a syndicate deal. Transparency and managing expectations are crucial when working with founders, according to Alex. He also shared insights on how Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) can be a strategic tool for founders to consolidate smaller investors. These structures offer a way to simplify cap tables while still accessing a broader investor base. Alex offered his perspective on the current syndicate market, noting the increasing interest in growth-stage and pre-IPO deals due to shorter paths to liquidity. This trend reflects a shift in investor priorities and the evolving landscape of venture capital. Whether you're a founder looking to understand syndicates or an aspiring investor curious about this unique approach to venture capital, Alex's insights are invaluable. Check out Episode 48 of Fundraising Demystified to learn from Alex's experience and gain a deeper understanding of the syndicate ecosystem!

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This week Mikal Ventures brings you a 4-week breakdown of the US capital market with an emphasis on the Mikal verticals. Over the 4-week period ending June 10, just over 590 new companies were added, resulting in 95,661 companies included in the US Health Tech, Med Tech, Fin Tech, AI Tech, and Ed Tech verticals. AI Tech maintained its most active status, seeing the greatest percentage of growth in both new companies and transactions. The US Fin Tech vertical led the way in SEC Filings and news articles.  Mikal Ventures publishes these stats to provide a perspective on how the verticals and new startups move through time. We hope you find them informative and thought-provoking. VC Investors are always adjusting their "Play Book" with a variety of options for investing. Mikal Ventures is one of those alternatives, offering curated solutions to real world problems. Reach out if you have questions on how we can be of assistance and bookmark https://mikalventures.com/ for additional insights and information.

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Have you been following the Destiny Tech100 (NYSE:DXYZ)? A closed-end fund that began trading March 26 on the NYSE at a market cap of ~$100 million and then soared to a market cap of $1.1 billion within two weeks. It's a wild story. I hosted Sohail Prasad, Founder of Destiny (D/XYZ), in early February 2024 before their crazy meme ride of April. Over the last few weeks, the stock has come down to more normalized levels, but it's still a story worth checking out. Some of the fund’s most prominent holdings include OpenAI, Elon Musk’s SpaceX, and fintechs like  Stripe, Chime, Brex, and Revolut. Links to full Fintech Leaders episode ⤵⤵⤵ Substack: https://bit.ly/3SWrI2n   Spotify: https://bit.ly/49zOrqo Apple: https://bit.ly/48eXQTl NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE!

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Someone asked me how to move from SW to HW / robotics as a kickass builder excited to jump in. Love it! My response: robotics needs more great SW leaders who treat HW like a commodity, figure out a huge market need / GTM path, then pull in a team to unlock that.  With a SW mindset and SW architecture thinking. A lot of MechEs in love with their tech and the HW.  The HW is commodity - hard but commodity - and SW is where the interesting stuff is.  Simpler is better.  Most important is problem selection.  That is where you make / break the company and idea. And yes - there is HW innovation to be had - and I love folks doing that and doing it well. But there are far, far more opportunities for automation and problem solving with huge value creation now, with basically commodity OTS HW and SW. Choose problem, assemble solution, kick butt.

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If you're a veteran looking to work at a VC or PE backed company, you should understand how these companies differ. Here's a brief explanation of the different investing styles & impact on your job 👇 👉 STYLE OF COMPANIES THEY TARGET PE - PE typically backs stable, cashflowing businesses. These can be services (HVAC, roofing, electrical), manufacturing businesses, or tech companies. They're targeting lower growth than a startup and they're typically less risky. VC - VC backs early-stage technology companies with the capacity to grow to $100m in revenue in a few short years. 80% of VC investments go to B2B SAAS companies. They have VERY aggressive growth goals. 👉 INVESTMENT STAKE PE - typically invests for a controlling interest, ie >50%. This means that they can set a strategy and hire new execs into the biz as needed. VC - typically a minority position of 20 - 30% per fundraising round split among a few VC shops. 👉 WHAT THIS MEANS FOR JOB SEEKERS A PE backed company is fundamentally different from a VC backed company. They have different growth trajectories/goals and different risk profiles. You should understand the likely outcomes and associated time horizons for a company you join! 🖼 PHOTO CRED: Our last happy hour in Austin. Sign up for our happy hour next week at themilvet [dot] org/events ------------------------------------ How would you explain the difference between a VC and PE backed company? What does working in a VC or PE backed company mean for an employee? Let me know in the comments below! 👉 Veterans - we're hosting an in-person networking event in Austin, Tx, with business executives from VC and PE backed companies. There will also be VC and PE investors who join us. Register at themilvet [dot] org/events!

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Hustle Fund Venture Fellows reviewed 1,000+ companies, took 120+ intro calls, and had several deal discussion meetings with our GPs over the last four months. Today, we’re opening up applications for the next cohort to members of Angel Squad. We always planned to have fellows participate in the end-to-end lifecycle of a deal: 🕵🏽‍♀️ sourcing 📊 evaluating 🚀 selecting 🎗️supporting We quickly realized that fellows have a ton of expertise to share beyond deals to see and support other areas of the fund including: 📈 trend analysis 🌍 market mapping 🙋‍♀️ platform support As such, in addition to participating in the entire deal lifecycle, fellows in cohort 3 will have the opportunity to select an area of focus to build experience and drive impact. I'm most excited about the work fellows are doing to: 🚀 launch and join funds 🎓 continue their education 🛠️ build and support companies 🤿 dive deeper into their thesis areas We have learned so much from them! Interested? Learn more about Angel Squad and join us through the link in the comments. 🗓️ Applications are open to current Angel Squad members through Monday, July 1.

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Earlier this year, we surveyed our fellow Los Angeles-based GPs to get a pulse check on the LA venture ecosystem. Here’s what we found: 💗 Deal flow is healthy, and most LA venture investors (68%) are seeing the same or more deal flow YoY. ✈ LA investors are spending time in a variety of markets, with NYC, Austin, and SF following closely on LA’s heels. 🔍 Innovation is concentrated in AI and machine learning, space, and commerce. 💸 Funding is happening, but it’s barbell-shaped, with deals concentrated at the early and late stages. Funding post-Series A has been challenging. 🚩 LA is differentiated, but not without its challenges. Key difficulties include not attracting enough AI talent (despite having the largest number of engineers graduating from our region over any other in the United States); talent relocated to more tax-friendly or less expensive locations; and the great SoCal / NoCal divide 🙏 Thank you to all our many respondents! I’m so glad to be part of a venture ecosystem that includes great minds like Anna Barber, Brent Murri, W. Christine Choi, Sarah Tomolonius, Rob Smith, Win Chevapravatdumrong, John Tabis, Jill Royster, Jesse Draper, Ashley Balla, Britt Danneman, Tram Lai, Carmen Palafox, Elaine Russell, Deborah Benton Amanda Schutzbank, Brian Lee, Petra Griffith, Minnie Ingersoll, Shamin Walsh, Gabe Greenbaum...wow, this list could go on forever...plus too many other exceptional humans to name. You know who you are! Explore our findings more deeply with our survey dashboard: https://bit.ly/3JsaLaB

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Rippling, a late-stage HR tech startup, is in the process of raising $200 million in new capital for its Series F round, potentially reaching a post-money valuation of $13.4 billion, up from the $11.25 billion valuation it reached when it last raised capital in a $500 million Series E just a year ago. Rippling had raised $1.2 billion prior to this round. Rippling’s last round came together during the Silicon Valley Bank crisis, despite challenges like frozen funds. Notable investors include Founders Fund, Coatue, with participation from Greenoaks. For the latest secondary coverage and trading SaxonWeber | ShareWell #secondaries #saxonweber

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Alternative Resources for founders, geared for startups with generous free tiers: 1) Papermark - Docsend alternative. 2) Tally - Typeform alternative. 3) Cal.com, Inc. - Calendly alternative. 4) Supabase - Firebase Alternative. 5) Sender.net - Mailchimp Alternative. What else are people using and loving in the founders stack?

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Great analysis of recent #vc trends. Thank you Kaela Roeder and Technical.ly for including my thoughts in the piece. My "expanded" two cents below for anyone curious... It is easy to get excited by what is happening in venture capital these days given the advent of AI. However, for early-stage startups, the numbers tell a more nuanced story. Early-stage deal volume in Q4-2023 was down 66% from the peak (Q4-2021) and a quarter of the deals were down rounds. In 2024, volumes stayed fairly flat relative to 2023 levels (signalizing a normalization to pre-pandemic VC activity) and 32% of deals were down rounds in Q1 (a worsening since year end). Early-stage valuations have spiked back up this year – a pleasant boon for some founders. But, this inflation is largely driven by the excitement around AI and strong demand for capital-efficient, high-growth companies. Many startups have tried to become “dot AI” businesses overnight; however, such tactics are not the “silver bullet” to fundraising challenges and growth. With limited time and capital, funds are on the hunt for companies with bulletproof fundamentals or those with exponential growth potential. If you don’t check one of these two boxes, the VC world looks fundamentally different for you. Locally, there are some positive tailwinds. The D.C. area has outpaced other metro areas in adding AI jobs due in large part to the defense industry and an increasing number of tech companies opening-up federal outposts. Over the long-term, this will be very positive for D.C. startup growth and talent.

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I’m about possibility and opportunity. During the time between my last exit and starting Cascade Seed Fund I ran multiple companies through strategy building and execution. People love to plan because it’s about possibility but its just as important to know what you don’t want to happen as it is to know what you do want to happen. Lots of companies fail because of too much offense and not enough defense. What are small actions you can do today to strengthen the safety and well-being of your company. More on offense soon.

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I designed Peak OS for venture-backed companies after working with hundreds of them over the past 20 years. VC-backed teams are different, period. They need an operating system designed specifically for them. You can read about why (and get a step by step instruction manual to get started with Peak OS) in my bestselling book, Peak Teams. Check it out on Amazon and Audible. #venturebacked #vcbacked #venturecapital #leadership #ceo #founder #operatingsystem #peakOS

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Want a front-row seat to the frontier of tech? We’ve got the role (or two) for you! We’re expanding our frontier-tech team at Blackbird by hiring a Frontier Tech Investments Associate and Foundry Fellows! Got questions? We've got answers... 1️⃣ What are the roles? 🧪 Associate = a full-time VC investment gig in our Blackbird Investments team, working directly with me. We’re looking for someone with a science and/or engineering background and more curiosity than they can handle. You’ll grow your own investment brand and practice, support our portfolio founders, and will help build Foundry, our early-stage frontier-tech accelerator. ✨ Foundry Fellow = a casual/contract gig in our Blackbird Investments team, ~15h per week for 3 months. The Fellowship is ideal for PhD students and ECRs who want to learn more about startups and VC. You’ll go deep on emerging areas relevant to your expertise (or curiosity!), get a front-row seat to groundbreaking companies in those areas, build out your non-academic network, and develop a solid writing practice. 2️⃣ Why are you hiring? We love frontier tech, and we’re ready to grow our team. 3️⃣ Wow, it’s so great that you’re starting to look at deep tech! Look, we get it: we don’t make a lot of noise about our frontier tech investing. Buuuut we’ve been deep-tech investors since we backed Tim Kentley-Klay to found Zoox back in 2014—we’ve been on incredible journeys with PsiQuantum (building the world's first utility-scale quantum computer right here in Australia!), Inventia Life Science (transforming drug discovery with high-fidelity cell models), Remedy Robotics (surgical robots for remote endovascular procedures), Opto Biosystems (minimally-invasive neural implants to treat cancer), and more. We believe that frontier technologies, and great frontier-tech investing, will be part of the solutions to the greatest problems humanity faces today. 4️⃣ When do applications close? May 31st at 11:59pm AEST. 5️⃣ I have more questions! I’m sure you do! Clare Birch and I are hosting an AMA to answer any and all questions about these roles. Want to know what a week in the life of our team looks like? What’s keeping us up at night? What our ideal candidate looks like? Come along and find out - registration link in the comments 👇 Apply for these roles: Associate - https://lnkd.in/gCfj4EUJ Foundry Fellowships - https://lnkd.in/gj6ATZVZ If you know anyone that we should meet, send me their details! Cameron Elise Ben Andrew Robin Joseph Adelaide James Olivia Lucinda Raghav Jesse Christie Mohamed Tom Amee Pablo Haya Loong Hon Joshua Benjamin Megan Harry Denzil Matthew Diana Daniel Tom Deanna Justin Amar Lilly Stone Thomas

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"I think that's one of the great things about venture and technology in the Silicon Valley ecosystem, is that that ecosystem really rewards that risk seeking, in order to try and find that needle in a haystack that's going to change an industry or change the world. Most industries aren't like that." On today's episode of The Full Ratchet, I was joined by the esteemed Larsen Jensen of Harpoon Ventures. We discuss: - Career transitions: from Olympic swimming to Navy SEAL to VC - VC Strategy: AI, deep tech, cyber security, and enterprise infrastructure - Leadership: qualities & strategies of successful startup leaders - Future of Defense & Tech: how startups can impact defense strategy and infrastructure Listen to the conversation today on TFR.

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PE talent professionals / operating partners: give your human capital practices their annual physical. Here are a few key things to health-check. ▶️ What did I miss? Enjoyed hanging out with Jordan Selleck on The Investors and Operators Podcast... and love the work he's doing with 51 Labs / 51 Vets! #PrivateEquity #PE #ValueCreation

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UNLOCKING THE SECREATS OF THE GLOBAL VC ECOSYSTEM : A SUMMIT FOR LIMITED PARTNERS AND VENTURE CAPITALISTS TO THE GLOBAL VC's ECOSYSTEM SUMMIT -------------- 💰💵 Check 1st post in features section in my profile 💵💰 -------------- #VCEcosystemSummit #VentureCapital #LimitedPartners #Investment #PortfolioManagement #GrowthStrategy #IndustryLeaders #Networking #Collaboration #Innovation #Startup #Entrepreneurship #Funding #Investor #LP #GP #VC #PrivateEquity #HedgeFund #AssetManagement #WealthManagement #FinancialServices #InvestmentBanking #CapitalMarkets #BusinessGrowth #Scaling #Expansion #Disruption #Volatility #RiskManagement #Resilience #Sustainability #ESG #ImpactInvesting #Diversity #Inclusion #Equity #Equality #WomenInVC #WomenInFinance #MenInVC #MenInFinance #VentureCapitalist #InvestmentBanker #FinancialAnalyst #PortfolioManager #InvestmentManager #AssetManager #WealthManager #FinancialPlanner #InvestmentAdvisor #VCFirm #StartupAccelerator #Incubator #CoworkingSpace #EntrepreneurialEcosystem #InnovationHub #BusinessNetworking #ProfessionalDevelopment #Leadership #Mentorship #CareerGrowth #IndustryTrends #MarketInsights #FinancialRegulations #InvestmentStrategy #RiskAssessment #DueDiligence #DealMaking #MandA #IPO #PrivatePlacement #HedgeFundManager #AssetAllocator #FamilyOffice #SovereignWealthFund #PensionFund #EndowmentFund #VentureCapitalInvesting #StartupFunding #GrowthCapital #ExpansionCapital #Buyout #Recapitalization #Restructuring #Turnaround #DistressedInvesting #SpecialSituations #EventDriven #CreditInvesting #DebtFinancing #EquityInvesting #MezzanineFinancing #GrowthEquity #VentureDebt #SeedFunding #SeriesA #SeriesB #SeriesC #IPOPrep #PreIPO #PostIPO #PrivateCompany #PublicCompany #MicroVC #NanoVC #SeedStage #EarlyStage #GrowthStage #LateStage #PrivateEquityFund #HedgeFundManager #InvestmentPortfolio #RiskManagementStrategy #InvestmentResearch #FinancialPlanning #WealthCreation #CapitalGrowth #InvestmentOpportunities #BusinessExpansion #MarketTrends #IndustryInsights #FinancialInnovation #InvestmentInnovation #VCDeals #StartupSuccess #InvestmentStrategy #PortfolioDiversification #InvestmentRisk #InvestmentReturn #InvestmentGrowth #InvestmentIncome #InvestmentManagement #InvestmentConsulting #PrivateEquityInvesting #HedgeFundInvesting #VentureCapitalInvesting #AngelInvesting #ImpactInvesting #SustainableInvesting #ESGInvesting #ResponsibleInvesting #InvestmentFirms #InvestmentCompanies #InvestmentPartners #InvestmentNetwork #InvestmentCommunity #InvestmentEvents #InvestmentConferences #InvestmentSummit #InvestmentForum #InvestmentRoundtable #StartupInvesting #EarlyStageInvesting #GrowthStageInvesting #LateStageInvesting #PrivateEquityFirms #HedgeFundManagers #VentureCapitalFirms #AngelGroups #ImpactInvestors

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If you're building a fintech startup, you likely know of this investor, but just in case... This week's findfunding.vc spotlight is on Neil Kapur from TTV Capital. He: 🛫 Is based in SF & Atlanta 💲 Has spent time at Google in consumer-facing payments & at two fintech startups  🏔️ Loves alpine mountaineering and has climbed Kilimanjaro, Denali, Rainier, and more!! Amongst founders, Neil and the team at TTV Capital , including Gardiner Garrard, Mark Johnson, Sean Banks, Lizzie Guynn, and Laney Lewis are known for saying “lift, not lean.” They believe that their job as investors is not to create work for founders, but instead ask the right questions and help navigate to the best outcomes. Knowing Neil well personally, he's not only my go-to person for anything related to fintech but I can also highly recommend having him on your cap table - he's the kind of human you want to have in your corner during both good times and bad. Make sure to: ✉️ Pitch him at nkapur@ttvcapital.com ➡️ Follow TTV Capital on LinkedIn For more, check out our funder spotlight card below along with TTV Capital's profile on findfunding.vc (link in comments).

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