Navid Shahrestani’s Post

A few little "secret" advantages we offer at The Fund School is that most fund thesis/ideas that we get pitched don't qualify for the VC exemption and us being an ERA firm gives these emerging managers the shortcut by them not having to register their firms right away and using ours. We also have an evergreen fund of funds linked to a GP stakes Startup Studio which gives these emerging managers options to either take a direct allocation or to Co-GP their fund with us. Say it with me, E-co-sys-tem!

Here's my advice to every founder planning on going out to raise in this market: You should be raising capital for a round that you seem overly qualified for For example, some people think pre-seed means having your initial team and product ready to go.. If you have a team and product but also have your first 5 customers, well then you've surpassed majority of people's expectations for a pre-seed round Could you raise a seed round? Maybe. But you are MORE likely to be able to raise a pre-seed. Instead of seed investors hesitating and thinking you MIGHT stretch to reach their bar, pre-seed investors will be thinking "wow, they have a lot more than I'm used to seeing at this stage" Especially in this market where VCs are a bit more cautious with their money, avoid trying to overshoot. Does this make sense?

We held an awesome webinar for our portfolio companies on fundraising in this market. Paul Abrahimzadeh, Citi’s Co-Head of North America Equity Capital Markets, anchored the discussion by sharing his perspective on the improving public and late-stage private markets in the context of previous interest rate cut cycles. Ryan Alam and I then shared how we see this impacting Series A-C companies and our thoughts on constructing an investor syndicate in light of how this market has also impacted venture capital funds.   I think 2024 will likely be another frothy year for many venture backed companies, but we are also seeing pockets of incredible opportunity. Companies that are growing efficiently have as much fundraising momentum as ever. These founders can take advantage of this split market to widen the gap between them and their competitors.   We continue to see quality businesses that have the building blocks for strong financial performance as well as positive impact on society and are excited to be deploying capital!

A lot of money has been raised in the last 5 years and what happened to these massive amounts of new venture firms? Here is Keith's answer which a lot of people won’t like 👇 “I think they all failed. There is a trend of emerging managers and solo GPs. I personally invested in 20-30 new funds, and maybe 2 are good funds”. #venturecapital #emergingmanagers #startupinvesting

For business owners and investors alike, the emergence of Reg A and CF offerings heralds an era marked by inclusivity, opportunity, and innovation. The post Raising Capital For Your Startup Through a Reg A or CF Offering appeared first on ReadWrite. https://lnkd.in/gqwvv6AQ

Why is raising for pre-seed so hard to do? Before I answer that question, here's a quick history lesson on how pre-seed rounds came about: To keep it simple, pre-seed rounds started popping up around 5 to 10 years ago as investors started realizing there was more and more competition at the seed and series a stages. On top of that, LPs were dying to get their hands on great investment opportunities that hadn't been discovered yet. Hence, the pre-seed round was created. But as money poured in, so did risk. Now we're seeing VCs prioritize profitability sooner. We're seeing a shift from blitz scaling to sustainable growth. LPs are much more cautious now, which in turn is forcing VCs to be more cautious with the bets they choose to take... This is one of the reasons I've been pushing some of the founders I work closely with to consider raising an angel round, but that's a convo for another time. The clip below is a small part of the full episode I put out today on Funded, make sure to check the full ep out ⬇

Understanding what 'Growth stage' 😇you are in will help you pitch the right VC. 🎯 Investors look at 'stage growth' 📈 fact! 'First time' founders raising for the 1st time 👶 'Emerging' founders raising their 2nd and 3rd finds 🚀 'Established' founders looking 🔎 at their 4th + funds 💼. Understanding where you are can save you ⏰ time and effort💡

🔍 Take a look at the Q4 2023 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor First Look, and dive into data packs covering the global and European VC ecosystems. According to the data, global VC funding fell to roughly $345 billion, down from $531 billion in 2022. The decline in VC fundraising was even steeper, with firms collecting $161 billion versus $307 billion a year ago. https://lnkd.in/eENMPG6A

Three key learnings in VC. From Bastian R. Larsen, Founding Partner of BlackWood Ventures. 1/ Stay curious. Embrace curiosity across finance and venture capital. It drives continuous learning and adaptability. 2/ Build meaningful relationships. Cultivate genuine connections in various fields. It creates support and collaborative opportunities. 3/ Work towards a common goal. Leading a European VC fund develops your ability to align teams with shared objectives. Collaborate with stakeholders from various countries and industries. It yields outcomes with a great impact. What else would you add? Leave your thoughts below. And check out our discussion with Bastian on EUVC. https://buff.ly/48CV3nB #venturecapital #startupfunding #europe"