1/ Hi! I’ve been getting a lot of new followers so I thought I’d reintroduce myself.
I am a professional VC investing in enterprise infra software (and some GTM tech on the side). My team of ~5 and I deploy ~$100M/yr across 10 investments.
@rod_mallo
It’s one of those things where you don’t want to disparage your portco by publicly saying they failed and don’t want to upset the acquirer by building their brand as a lowballer, however leaning in too hard like it’s a success is unnecessary
Hard to balance in my experience
@nikitabier
Maybe someone should start a housing as a service (HaaS for short) startup that lends people their homes in exchange for a monthly fee. I think that could solve the problem
@adcock_brett
Also, ask questions such as “would anything I mentioned prevent you from recommending me to the next step in the process?”
This gets the interviewer to think. If they like you, they’re going to say no and then verbally commit to moving you forward.
@privateinequity
Tbf if you’re in equity research, asset management, pursuing a career at BlackRock, etc. then it’s very useful
In the case of investing in businesses, you’re right.
@carrynointerest
This shows the difference in mindset between PE & VC. PE is happy selling to other PE funds but VCs have a negative sentiment towards secondary sales. To them it indicates something is wrong with the business so existing investors want to get out.
Just context. I’m neutral.
Sometimes founders leave their jobs in big tech / hot startups to found their own startup, but that can sometimes be a very bad background for a founder.
A thread.
2) You’re building negative brand equity for your business and yourself. This screenshot is probably in a group chat with this VC’s friends by now. The next partner meeting you have, his associate is whispering in his ear that you’re an asshole who treated his friend like shit.
One caveat: if you’re refusing to take a meeting because you’re heads down on company building, that’s totally fine.
Doing it because the VC who wants to build a relationship “isn’t senior enough,” that’s different.
I heard a story of a GP of a well known fund met with an analyst entering his first VC job. He took the time to give him advice even though nothing would probably come of it. Fast forward a few years, and that analyst ended up intro’ing the GP to a fairly large LP while the GP
Private Equity = guessing exit multiples
Public Equity = front running sentiment
Once you internalize this, the word investor loses its luster
Real prestige lies with the operators
RT & DM
@privateinequity
#PrivateEquity
1) A lost opportunity. You never know what’s under the rock you’re not turning over. I’ve seen analysts advocate for deals that end up getting funded. This may be the value add VC you’ve wanted on your board all along.
@DavidSacks
Im not as well versed on either side of the argument here. Can you help me understand if the US pushes Ukraine to negotiate and cede territory to Russia how that doesn’t create a perverse incentive for dictators everywhere?
Not meant as an attack, I’m just curious your thoughts
The people I work most closely with are those that are fun and personable people to talk to. (It's table stakes to assume that they're smart and talented people).
Don't be a stick in the mud, nobody will want to work with you.
You're not the one delivering the value as the VC, the founder is, but your job is to evaluate that founder's/startup's ability to do so.
An example: 88% of AI projects fail in the enterprise because of bad data.
Solution: a startup who cleans data for AI models to analyze.
@privateinequity
NYC is also neverland that incentivizes people to never grow up and get married and have kids. How many 45 year olds do you know with a roommate who don’t want commitment yet because they’re not ready?
Product. This entails the ability to understand 1) the nuance of what makes a problem hard for a customer and 2) how to deliver a valuable solution to that customer.
A passion of mine is helping those who are passionate about their career path but need help achieving their dreams.
I certainly needed the help when I first got started.
If you're a follower of mine and need help in any way, my DMs are always open.
Lastly on finance, one should know how much money the investor will get back if the company is sold. Factors such as dilution, liquidation preferences, and convertible securities all play a role here.
Most VCs I talk to agree that the AI trend is overhyped
My theory: Tech trends like cloud & data have run out of new ideas and ai is the only new source of investable opportunities
If you have $1B in dry powder and want to charge fees, there’s only one place to put it now
@agazdecki
One of the greatest SaaS investing strategies is vertical SaaS. The TAM isn’t big enough for big tech to eat your lunch, the product is specifically tailored to your customer, and you get to invest in the top 1 or 2 vendors in the space. Perfect combination.