Sunil Chhaya’s Post

We're excited to launch our $65M Fund III. We’re thankful to our LPs and founders who empower us to do what we love most: backing early-stage B2B software startups. Some high-level notes on our Fund III: ❌ No product, no problem. Happy to back founders pre-product or revenue 🧵 B2B focus: SaaS & Infrastructure as a core focus, with Fintech 💰 Investing $1.5M+ in pre-seed & seed stage startups ⚡️ Leading or co-leading rounds 🪙 Targeting 6-10% ownership 🇺🇸 Market focus: North America (USA) as the primary customer market 🔢 Investing in 30-35 companies over 3.5 years ❄️ Made one stealth investment in an ex-Snowflake team 👯♀️ 50/50 partnership across management company & GP between Sunil and I 🏫 Our LPs include four university endowments, pension funds, funds-of-funds (FoFs), and many VC partners and tech founders/operators 🐥 Kearny Jackson's portfolio: Motherduck, Cortex, Unit, EigenLayer, Comulate, Rythms, RelayFi, Sprig, and more

🚨 Breaking News! Masha Bucher’s Day One Ventures Raises $150M Fund III Day One Ventures, an early-stage VC firm, is bridging the gap between technology and society through art, storytelling, and culture. They focus on AI, climate, enterprise software, fintech/crypto, and deep tech. Here's how Masha did it: 🔢 Numbers Matter: “If you raise the third fund, numbers should say something.” And they do. Masha is an early investor in eight unicorns, with Day One Ventures boasting 22 exits, including one IPO. 💡 A Female Approach: “I have fully raised this fund with a very female energy and approach,” says Masha. “The problem is that women think they need to act like men to become successful. The reality is, I want to be myself.” 🤝  Community Power: “14 of our portfolio founders invested in us.” That’s the strength of a solid community! First Fund III investments include AstroForge, Rainmaker, Cradle, Layer N, and Affiniti. Thank you, Masha Bucher, for sharing your story with Forbes! 👏 Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/gyEgBu7v #Forbes Jenny Chao

Daniel Dart is not your typical VC, if his neck tattoo and ever-present beanie didn't already give that away. He's been many places in many different situations: prison, The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), homeless on the streets of Los Angeles, MIT Sloan School of Management, touring the world with his band Time Again, working with the World Economic Forum and working with the United Nations, just to name a few. Last year he formally began his latest adventure; starting a venture capital fund. Dart recently held a first close on just over $2 million for the debut fund of Rock Yard Ventures with support from some of the biggest names in finance including Gary Cohn, Jeffrey Korzenik, Andrew Eberhart, Benjamin Birnbaum and Ryan Freedman. What drove the decision to enter the high-stakes world of venture capital? A unique relationship with risk may be part of it. “I applied for this fellowship a few months ago and someone asked me, ‘Are you a risk taker?’ To me a risk is something where I might die, so in that case, no, but am I a risk taker starting a fund, taking a job, moving somewhere new? I went to prison, I was homeless, so what’s the worst that could happen? I’m going to fail? Then I’ll start over again." Read more on Venture Capital Journal. #emergingmanagers #venturecapital https://lnkd.in/e-g46DWu

Very insightful reflections from Marvin Liao on how hard venture capital is. I'm in angel investing more than VC, but recognize the pains. I especially like his reference to the need for "Missionaries" over "Mercenaries." Investors and founders with a deep sense of call to change the world through the process of innovative and courageous entrepreneurship. "Only those who have the fire in the stomach and sparkle in the eyes will still be in the business 5 years from now." https://lnkd.in/gaBZJdAU

Some people think you have to be a millionaire with a huge wad of cash to be an Angel Investor. This isn't the case.   There have been huge strides forward in the startup ecosystem to enable easier and more accessible Angel Investing.   If you're interested in Angel Investing and want to find out more, there are some great ways to do so.   1. Understand if you qualify under the Sophisticated Investor rules. 2. Learn from the best with Beste Onay at the UNSW Founders Angel Investing Course (next week). 3. Contribute to the ecosystem with mentorship via the numerous accelerators out there. 4. Get access to a vast array of deals via Aussie Angels - M8 Ventures aka Alan Jones is currently looking for new LPs (investors) and one of my personal favourites Electrifi Ventures (#nepotism).   I'm happy to chat with anyone who has questions, but compared to when I started about three years ago, there are more and more opportunities to begin angel investing.   PS. I'll be at Sunrise and would love to catch up with fellow advocates of the startup ecosystem.

Angel investing in tech startups is increasing in Australia right now. It reminds me very much of 2010-2015: nobody knew everything about how to get started but we each knew a little, and when we all learned to share ideas and a small amount of money, it all started to come together. Now we have a second wave but this time it's much easier, cheaper and faster to get started, both as a new investor and as a founder. Here's some great suggestions on how to get started for the 'angel-curious' investor from Landon Kahn...

🚀 Exciting News from Alpha Partners! 🚀 We're thrilled to announce that our Managing Partner, Steve Brotman, has been featured in TechCrunch's latest article discussing the growing trend of pro rata rights funds. 🎉 Maintaining your stake in a winning startup is more crucial than ever. Alpha Partners is leading the charge by helping early-stage VCs secure their pro rata rights and avoid dilution. With our new fund raising over $150 million, we're committed to empowering our partners to double down on their most promising investments. 💪 Check out the full article on TechCrunch to see how Alpha Partners and other industry leaders are changing the game for seed VCs: https://lnkd.in/etVc4vsF Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to innovate and support the venture capital community! 🌟 #VentureCapital #ProRataRights #AlphaPartners #TechCrunch #StartupInvesting #VC #Innovation #EarlyStageVC #InvestmentStrategy

3 months ago I chatted to Jonathan Cor who inspired me to start posting on LinkedIn. He gave me tips and a guide to follow. Now I've gotten to meet contech investors & founders from all over the world. The latest of which was Vivin Hegde from Zacua Ventures. In 2023, Zacua was one of the most active early stage investors in ConTech. And we had a conversation which I thought was valuable. It was on the role of a ConTech focused Venture Capital fund and how they play an important role in the ecosystem. They both: (1) Provide value to startups in terms of investment and advice. (2) Provide value to the industry in understanding technological change. And point 2 (I believe) is often overlooked by industry professionals. ConTech VCs deeply understand the shifting technological paradigm and uncover market trends by speaking to both experts and founders before completing a deal. This wealth of knowledge and research should be utilized by both contractors & consultants to inform business decisions and solution adoption. And as we've seen a rise in Corporate Venture Capital funds - it's an important consideration. When should we build a corporate fund? And when should we instead learn from an existing fund's knowledge? Stay tuned... there could be a guest post on the way for Last Week in ConTech.

Going from private equity to founding IQ Capital. This is Max Bautin's journey into venture capital. 1️⃣ Private Equity Beginnings. Max started with a team setting up mobile operators in developing countries. This laid the groundwork for his venture career. 2️⃣ Joining the Cambridge Mafia. Later on, Max's network led him to an asset management firm. Angel co-investments and university spinoffs gave him hands-on experience. 3️⃣ Founding IQ Capital. In 2005 IQ Capital was born. Max was joined by his co-founders, Ed Stacey and Kerry Baldwin. Starting with a £25 million fund, they've grown it into a series of funds. Marking now nearly two decades of impact in the venture space. Max's venture journey is as diverse as it is inspiring. It shows: ▶ continuous learning ▶ adapting to challenges ▶ growing alongside the startups they invest in. How about you? What is your journey into venture? Join the conversation. I'm looking to find out more inspiring stories across the European ecosystem. #VentureCapital #StartupFunding #JourneyinVC #Europe