While the Sequoias and the Andreessen Horowitzes of the world continue to swell in size, their influence on venture capital may be heading in the opposite direction as micro funds increase their impact on the industry. Whether you define micro funds as below $50 million or sub-$25 million, these are truly the funds that power […]
Venture
Drive Capital’s investors hit a fork in the road • ZebethMedia
Drive Capital was founded by two former Sequoia Capital Partners looking to start anew in the Midwest. But investors in the Columbus, Oh.-based firm have had a bumpy ride of late, and according to our sources, they aren’t enjoying it. It’s a dramatic turn for Drive, which announced $1 billion in capital commitments back in […]
TAM takedown, green card layoffs, when to ignore investor advice • ZebethMedia
When the downturn began, many VCs urged founders to slash their marketing spending. On its face, that’s an effective way to extend runway while cutting costs. Several months later, we’ve since learned that cutting marketing budgets doesn’t make early-stage startups healthier, but it is a great way for VCs to reduce burn rates across their […]
VCs dish on why food tech investment was so light in Q3, while SAVRpak bags freshness deal with Jüsto • ZebethMedia
Like many other venture-backed sectors in recent months, investment in food tech has largely been quiet over the past few months. Sure, there have been some bigger deals in the third quarter, for example Meati Foods grabbing $150 million for its mushroom root-based meat (still the best alternative protein food photo I have seen since […]
Fund of funds Sweetwood Ventures bets big on VC’s smallest funds
Despite legacy venture capital firms continuing to raise bigger and bigger funds, LPs may have more luck focusing on the small stuff. Amit Kurz, a general partner at Israel-based fund of funds Sweetwood Ventures, thinks so. He told ZebethMedia that last year he started to notice more and more tiny funds he wasn’t familiar with […]
Jack Selby of Thiel Capital is using a new VC fund to invest in Arizona startups • ZebethMedia
Jack Selby, a former PayPal exec the longtime managing director of Thiel Capital who attracted some attention years back for his low-key largesse, has a new, $110 million venture fund that he intends to invest mostly in his adopted state of Arizona, where Selby has lived since 2002. The debut vehicle of the firm, called […]
‘I’m worried about the overall lack of LP appetite going forward.’ • ZebethMedia
During an unprecedented bull run, crypto-focused investors raised, and deployed, billions of dollars in capital. But now, not only are VCs operating in a bearish crypto market, they are navigating the fallout of the FTX collapse and the potential impact it will have on their investment strategies moving forward. Double Down founder and general partner […]
Zulu banks $5M for its LatAm digital wallet amid shaky ground for crypto • ZebethMedia
With new information coming to light about the FTX saga every day, it’s certainly an interesting time for cryptocurrency. Just ask our ZebethMedia colleagues at TC Sessions: Crypto today. As we figure out if any of this has damaged trust in the industry and funding for startups, adoption of crypto in Latin America continues to […]
SaaS startups that ignored VC advice to cut sales and marketing better off this year
Venture-backed startups have had to make myriad spending cuts this year in an attempt to either live up to a high valuation, minimize their burn rate or both. But new data from fintech Capchase shows that many startups — especially venture-backed ones — seem to be getting the wrong advice concerning where to downsize. Capchase, […]
Maybe FTX was the real poster child for 2021’s startup excess • ZebethMedia
If someone offers you a seat on a rocket, you don’t ask which seat. So goes one of Silicon Valley’s favorite platitudes, one that you can trace back (at a minimum) to former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and former Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. The idea is that if you are given a shot at working […]