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Fireside with a VC

Fireside with a VC

By Andrew Romans

Andrew Romans, General Partner of 7BC Venture Capital, 3x author, and university professor, talks to VCs, founders and other VC-startup ecosystem players about all things venture capital, startups, entrepreneurship, technology, CVC, and big corporate tech titans.
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"Fireside with a VC" Dixon Doll, founder of DCM Ventures ($4bn AUM legendary VC)

Fireside with a VCMay 15, 2020

00:00
30:27
#100, Calculating valuations & how much capital to raise, Vibhor Rastogi, Global Head of AI investments at Citi Ventures

#100, Calculating valuations & how much capital to raise, Vibhor Rastogi, Global Head of AI investments at Citi Ventures

Fireside with a VC episode #100 speaking with Vibhor Rastogi, Global Head of AI investments at Citi Ventures, discussing how to determine startup valuations and how much capital a startup should raise. How much to raise should be driven by enough time runway to achieve the next key milestone to unlock the next funding round - be that product, revenue, users or other measurable business milestone KPIs. How the market is changing. Expect to need at least enough time 1) to reach the next business milestone and 2) to raise the next funding round. Expect at least 2 quarters to raise the next funding round in today’s market. How much dilution should a startup expect to take from each funding round ranging from pre-seed to late seed, Series A, B, C, D? How to tie expected exit valuations to today’s valuation? What can a realistic exit be in a good scenario and a bad scenario? What are expected exit multiples and discounted to today’s valuation with the consideration of dilution from future funding rounds? How to calculate future dilution or reserve strategies for various ownership target percentages. Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) best practices at Citi Ventures – Citigroup. How to manage conflicts of interest as a strategic investor compared to a pure financial investor. How Citi Ventures can add value to startups across industry verticals.

 

Find the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/T7yffG5sJ3E.

 

Find this and all full episodes for Fireside with a VC on your favorite podcast platform here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/FiresideVC

 

https://www.citi.com/ventures/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/vibhorrastogi/

 

https://www.7bc.vc/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/romans/

 

Join the conversation, leave comments, and tell us what you think about these topics and this episode.

Mar 21, 202448:05
#99, Using retirement IRA accounts to invest in VC funds w/ Matthew Calhoun at Equity Trust

#99, Using retirement IRA accounts to invest in VC funds w/ Matthew Calhoun at Equity Trust

Fireside with a VC episode #99 speaking with Matthew Calhoun, director at Equity Trust, formerly Midland Trust Company, discussing the benefits of investing into alternative assets such as venture capital funds using your self-directed IRA dollars. What is a Self-Directed IRA and what is different from other retirement accounts? What are the requirements, terms, and cost for this, and how long does it take? Help boost your retirement with this wealth-building combination of tax-optimized retirement accounts maximizing the potential of higher returns with less volatility by adding private market venture capital investments to your tax-advantaged account.


We are happy to introduce our listeners to Matt or contact him directly: mcalhoun@midlandtrust.com.


Find the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/o9FslKnPrmU.


Find this and all full episodes for Fireside with a VC on your favorite podcast platform here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/FiresideVC


https://midlandtrust.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-calhoun-51828687/


https://www.7bc.vc/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/romans/


Join the conversation, leave comments, and tell us what you think about these topics and this episode.

Feb 22, 202412:15
#98, How much funding to raise at what valuation with Eric Ver Ploeg, Founding Partner, Tunitas Ventures
Feb 15, 202447:35
#97, The future of AI with Igor Jablokov, CEO of Pryon $159m VC funding
Feb 05, 202455:46
#96, Legal terms, governance & valuations for up, flat & down rounds with Fenwick’s Kristine Di Bacco

#96, Legal terms, governance & valuations for up, flat & down rounds with Fenwick’s Kristine Di Bacco

Jan 21, 202454:60
Episode #95, M12 Microsoft’s Venture Fund, Peter Berg, Managing Director

Episode #95, M12 Microsoft’s Venture Fund, Peter Berg, Managing Director

Episode #95, Peter Berg, one of two Managing Directors leading M12 Microsoft’s Venture Fund, discusses with Andrew Romans on Fireside with a VC how Microsoft is investing in early-stage startups in B2B SaaS, AI, web3/crypto, and gaming. How the $2.776 trillion dollar conglomerate can add value to startups in a way no other VC can match.

 

Find this and all full episodes for Fireside with a VC on your favorite podcast platform here:

 

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/FiresideVC.

Find this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qZ2MIYFHEvU.

 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterberg/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/romans/

https://www.7bc.vc/

 

Join the conversation, leave comments, and tell us what you think about these topics and this episode.

Dec 22, 202353:15
Episode #94, Business with China now and in 2024

Episode #94, Business with China now and in 2024

Episode #94, Why is China the way it is, what’s happened, and how is China interacting with the rest of the world from a startup & VC perspective? Jonathan Bench, a China expert, practicing lawyer in the region, and active for over 20 years in the market, discusses with Andrew Romans on Fireside with a VC:

• What led up to the decoupling with China and how North American, European and Japanese companies will continue to do business with China?

• What led up to the current situation on a timeline of developments and ultimately Covid?

• The 5x+ increase in shipping costs and the impact of factory shutdowns in China during Covid on western minds for the future relationship with China.

• Supply chain establishment, management and support in China plus Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Mexico and western efforts to diversify and challenges to get out of China.

• How China is buying land and establishing factories in Mexico and how China is everywhere globally?

• How Chinese entrepreneurs are forced to operate within the communist party system and how to establish legitimacy with the rest of the outside world.

• Growth of the legal system in China with US companies now winning in the Chinese legal system which points to the growing legitimacy of the evolving Chinese legal system.

• Examples of Chinese companies trying to play by the rules and achieve legitimacy.

• The different cultural concepts of a signed contract being a final agreement or a stepping stone to an ongoing relationship where key terms are continuously changed

• What are the opportunities for the west to do business in China?


Find this and all full episodes for Fireside with a VC on your favorite podcast platform here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/FiresideVC.


Find this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZtTrik6517E.


Pix from Andrew Romans’ trips to China: https://photos.app.goo.gl/eSxTKBLnJNpBcKvu6.


Andrew Romans’ books published in Chinese:


The Entrepreneurial Bible to Venture Capital (Chinese Edition): https://rb.gy/mwxp1p


Masters of Corporate Venture Capital (Chinese Edition): https://shorturl.at/dgwBJ


https://www.linkedin.com/in/benchjonathan/

https://harris-sliwoski.com/our-team/jonathan-bench/


https://www.linkedin.com/in/romans/

https://www.7bc.vc/


Join the conversation, leave comments, and tell us what you think about these topics and this episode.

Dec 15, 202325:23
Episode #93, VC Panel Part Questions from Audience @7BC San Francisco Event Nov. 14, 2023

Episode #93, VC Panel Part Questions from Audience @7BC San Francisco Event Nov. 14, 2023

Episode #93, VC Panel Part Questions from Audience @7BC San Francisco Event Nov. 14, 2023
VC Panel *Benjamin D. Black, Co-founder and Managing Director, Akkadian Ventures *Victoria Cheng, Partner, PruVen Capital *Carolin Funk, Partner, Blue Bear Capital *Vibhor Rastogi, Global Head of AI/ML/Data Investments, Citi Ventures *Ben Levy, Cofounder, BootstrapLabs *Andrew Romans, General Partner, 7BC Venture Capital, Moderator Confidential videos available for 7BC Portfolio Company 7-Minute Presentations Ryan Welsh, cofounder & CEO, Kyndi - generative AI answer engine for enterprises ($42.8m funding to date) Delivering immediate, accurate, and trusted answers to enterprise users with the power of large language models. John Green, cofounder & CEO, Nada - Unlocking wealth with real-estate. Real estate FinTech ($11.4m funding to date) Nada's platform makes it possible for investors to own a piece of a top city’s home equity market with as little as $100 ("Cityfunds") and for homeowners to cash out home equity without the burden of taking on debt ("Homeshares"). Their platform brings this two-sided market together - delivering access to investors and liquidity to homeowners. Matthew Speitel, CFO, Umbra - Space and Earth based datasets for your defense, intelligence and analytics solutions. ($125m funding to date) We design, build, launch, and operate satellites for high resolution Earth observation, new communications capabilities, and exquisite signal monitoring for low cost distribution via an integrated web platform. Eric Menees, cofounder & CEO, Fynn Credit, Solving America's skilled labor shortage ($11m equity & $25m debt raised to date) Fynn offers loan services for school students. Their loans are private loans, and they do not have the same terms, repayment options, or rates as those offered through federal loan programs, other private lenders, or school based financing options.
https://www.7bc.vc/https://www.linkedin.com/in/romans/ Join the conversation, leave comments, and tell us what you think about these topics and this episode.

Nov 28, 202316:47
Episode #92, VC Panel Part I @7BC San Francisco event Nov 14, 2023

Episode #92, VC Panel Part I @7BC San Francisco event Nov 14, 2023

Episode #92, Part I of the VC Panel at the 7BC Venture Capital San Francisco event Nov 14, 2023 *Benjamin D. Black, Co-founder and Managing Director, Akkadian Ventures *Victoria Cheng, Partner, PruVen Capital *Carolin Funk, Partner, Blue Bear Capital *Vibhor Rastogi, Global Head of AI/ML/Data Investments, Citi Ventures *Ben Levy, Cofounder, BootstrapLabs *Andrew Romans, General Partner, 7BC Venture Capital, Moderator Confidential videos available for 7BC Portfolio Company 7-Minute Presentations Ryan Welsh, cofounder & CEO, Kyndi - generative AI answer engine for enterprises ($42.8m funding to date) Delivering immediate, accurate, and trusted answers to enterprise users with the power of large language models. John Green, cofounder & CEO, Nada - Unlocking wealth with real-estate. Real estate FinTech ($11.4m funding to date) Nada's platform makes it possible for investors to own a piece of a top city’s home equity market with as little as $100 ("Cityfunds") and for homeowners to cash out home equity without the burden of taking on debt ("Homeshares"). Their platform brings this two-sided market together - delivering access to investors and liquidity to homeowners. Matthew Speitel, CFO, Umbra - Space and Earth based datasets for your defense, intelligence and analytics solutions. ($125m funding to date) We design, build, launch, and operate satellites for high resolution Earth observation, new communications capabilities, and exquisite signal monitoring for low cost distribution via an integrated web platform. Eric Menees, cofounder & CEO, Fynn Credit, Solving America's skilled labor shortage ($11m equity & $25m debt raised to date) Fynn offers loan services for school students. Their loans are private loans, and they do not have the same terms, repayment options, or rates as those offered through federal loan programs, other private lenders, or school based financing options. https://www.7bc.vc/https://www.linkedin.com/in/romans/ Join the conversation, leave comments, and tell us what you think about these topics and this episode.

Nov 28, 202320:57
Episode #91, VC Panel Part II @7BC San Francisco event Nov 14, 2023

Episode #91, VC Panel Part II @7BC San Francisco event Nov 14, 2023

Episode #91, Part II of the VC Panel at the 7BC Venture Capital San Francisco event Nov 14, 2023 *Benjamin D. Black, Co-founder and Managing Director, Akkadian Ventures *Victoria Cheng, Partner, PruVen Capital *Carolin Funk, Partner, Blue Bear Capital *Vibhor Rastogi, Global Head of AI/ML/Data Investments, Citi Ventures *Ben Levy, Cofounder, BootstrapLabs *Andrew Romans, General Partner, 7BC Venture Capital, Moderator Confidential videos available for 7BC Portfolio Company 7-Minute Presentations Ryan Welsh, cofounder & CEO, Kyndi - generative AI answer engine for enterprises ($42.8m funding to date) Delivering immediate, accurate, and trusted answers to enterprise users with the power of large language models. John Green, cofounder & CEO, Nada - Unlocking wealth with real-estate. Real estate FinTech ($11.4m funding to date) Nada's platform makes it possible for investors to own a piece of a top city’s home equity market with as little as $100 ("Cityfunds") and for homeowners to cash out home equity without the burden of taking on debt ("Homeshares"). Their platform brings this two-sided market together - delivering access to investors and liquidity to homeowners. Matthew Speitel, CFO, Umbra - Space and Earth based datasets for your defense, intelligence and analytics solutions. ($125m funding to date) We design, build, launch, and operate satellites for high resolution Earth observation, new communications capabilities, and exquisite signal monitoring for low cost distribution via an integrated web platform. Eric Menees, cofounder & CEO, Fynn Credit, Solving America's skilled labor shortage ($11m equity & $25m debt raised to date) Fynn offers loan services for school students. Their loans are private loans, and they do not have the same terms, repayment options, or rates as those offered through federal loan programs, other private lenders, or school based financing options. https://www.7bc.vc/https://www.linkedin.com/in/romans/ Join the conversation, leave comments, and tell us what you think about these topics and this episode.

Nov 28, 202320:57
Episode #90, Down rounds & pay-to-pay provisions, raising at a lower valuation
Nov 08, 202343:30
Episode #89, Jarred Kessler, CEO, EasyKnock fintech, real-estate tech

Episode #89, Jarred Kessler, CEO, EasyKnock fintech, real-estate tech

Episode #89, Jarred Kessler, CEO, EasyKnock fintech, real-estate tech, 15th largest home owner in the US

  • Discussing the dynamics of inflation, interest rates and the volatile US residential real-estate market;
  • Running a New York fintech / real-estate startup before, during, and after Covid;
  • Raising over $120m of equity funding and $600m of debt financing;
  • How they became the 15th largest owner of single residential homes in the US in less than 7 years;
  • The Operating Company/Property Company (Opco/Propco) company structure;
  • Overseeing high-velocity growth in headcount, acquiring and integrating other companies successfully;
  • Managing growth between funding rounds; continuing to innovate product development and service offerings;
  • The interesting interplay between credit card debt, interest rates, inflation, the housing market;
  • The changing percentage of Americans that qualify for a home mortgage;
  • Advice on how to raise VC funding;
  • The difference between raising VC vs debt financing;
  • Managing growth vs profitability, pushing back on investors, and preparing for fundraising in the next economic cycle;
  • Various paths to an exit for a company like EasyKnock


Find the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qJttkx2KJRA.

 

Find this and all full episodes for Fireside with a VC on your favorite podcast platform here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/FiresideVC

 

https://www.easyknock.com/

 

https://www.7bc.vc/

 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/romans/

 

Join the conversation, leave comments, and tell us what you think about these topics and this episode.

 

Join us in person for the next 7BC San Francisco VC Insight Panel & networking reception November 14th .

https://7BCinSF.eventbrite.com

Nov 01, 202337:18
#88, QSBS not paying tax on capital gains
Oct 17, 202321:37
Episode #87, Lessons from new book “Smart Startups” interviews w/ Blue Apron & 17 other VC backed startups
Oct 09, 202356:09
Episode #86 Flint Capital investing in Israeli startups coming to the USA
Sep 29, 202354:54
Episode #85 Building startups on SalesForce – Place RevOps automation and connectivity

Episode #85 Building startups on SalesForce – Place RevOps automation and connectivity

Episode #85 Building startups on SalesForce – Place RevOps automation and connectivity

 

Fireside with a VC talking to Brandon Metcal, CEO of Place, about RevOps (revenue operations) to solve financial forecasting and cash management with sales starting in 2020. Also discussing automating and synchronizing sales to finance, to human resources and other components to streamline SaaS companies that run on SalesForce and now SalesForce CPQ.

 

Talking about lessons learned from both Place and his previous business where Brandon raised $28m in funding and sold the business making a profit for investors, founders and employees.


We also take a deep dive on how to partner with SalesForce and lessons learned from over 20 years of working within the SalesForce ecosystem.

Place has also carved out a slice from their last funding round for investors on WeFunder to increase the network of support for the company.

 

Wefunder: https://wefunder.com/placetechnology/ 

SalesForce AppExchange: https://appexchange.salesforce.com/appxListingDetail?listingId=5e950d92-8476-4461-af88-eea66e55485c (new listing)

RevOps: https://www.placetechnology.com/solutions/revenue-operations (offering)

Place Cash and Burn Podcast, stories of SaaS growth: https://www.placetechnology.com/cash-and-burn-podcast 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/metcalf/

 

Find this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Nt11xrPdKCM.

 

Find this and all episodes for Fireside with a VC here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/FiresideVC

 

andrew@7bc.vc

https://www.linkedin.com/in/romans/

Sep 20, 202350:04
#84 Flipping Your Business into the United States w/ Roger Royse
Sep 07, 202325:56
#83, Aiden software automation & cybersecurity SaaS company for enterprises

#83, Aiden software automation & cybersecurity SaaS company for enterprises

Aug 21, 202339:23
#82, Understanding pre & post SAFEs, convertible notes vs priced rounds with Daniel Zimmermann, Partner, WilmerHale

#82, Understanding pre & post SAFEs, convertible notes vs priced rounds with Daniel Zimmermann, Partner, WilmerHale

#82, Understanding pre & post SAFEs, convertible notes vs priced rounds with Daniel Zimmermann, Partner, WilmerHale

 

Fireside with a VC is hosting a series of discussions on specific legal topics with the best lawyers from Silicon Valley and around the world. This episode is designed to help founders, VCs, advisors and supporters of startups understand everything they need to know and all the moving parts in convertible notes, pre-money and post-money SAFEs compared to priced equity financings. We start out explaining the key parts everyone needs to understand and then quickly get into an in-depth detailed conversation about how important these legal matters are and how it can be the difference between making a great return or not from an investor's perspective and steering clear of icebergs that can sink your startup or have you end up owning much less of your startup on the day of exit.

 

Daniel Zimmermann is a legendary corporate securities lawyer in Silicon Valley, a Partner at law firm WilmerHale and an absolute experienced expert on this topic.

 

Legals is something every founder, angel and VC should be an expert on and we are amazed on a daily basis how many investors and founders fail to understand the basics and moving parts, which ones to push for when negotiating and the finer subtleties that normally only come from decades of experience.

 

Find this episode on all podcast platforms: https://open.spotify.com/show/57V2XYhekz5ETiOwtanWIn?si=a835a3f3b5804cbb.

 

YouTube: https://youtu.be/pI6J1Q6W6dU

 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-zimmermann-lawyer/

 

andrew@7bc.vc

https://www.linkedin.com/in/romans/

 

Join the conversation and tell us your view of the pros and cons of using SAFEs vs convertible notes vs priced rounds or any of the topics discussed in this episode.

Aug 12, 202301:08:19
#81, Sway Ventures, Brian Nugent, Founding General Partner
Aug 08, 202301:14:09
#80, neonVest – how to instantly get Zooms with VCs & Superchargers

#80, neonVest – how to instantly get Zooms with VCs & Superchargers

Fireside with a VC speaking with Aakash Shah and Surya Viswanathan, the founders of neonVest, how their platform is democratizing access to VCs for early-stage startups. NeonVest allows founders to instantly get Zooms with VCs, successful founder operators and other superchargers to help with funding, refining and improving their pitch, company strategy, financial model, SaaS metrics, exit preparation, referrals, operations, tech and product, valuation, culture, sales & marketing, pitch deck, pricing & biz models, term sheets, legal, market dynamics, talent & hiring, ideation & user testing, board formation, market sizing and everything else from angel and VC funding to company building and exiting. We also dive into the value prop to VCs and other superchargers and why they participate in this marketplace for Zooms and meetings. We close talking about the current market dynamics for Seed to late stage growth financings in Silicon Valley and around the world.

 

Check out signing up as a founder or VC here: https://neonvest.com/

Check out the neonVest Audio Experience podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1CB6LR8HPxEbr8Ac5vxgqr?si=f940d0e280684cd1

 

Find this episode on all podcast platforms: https://open.spotify.com/show/57V2XYhekz5ETiOwtanWIn?si=a835a3f3b5804cbb

 

YouTube: https://youtu.be/ID2vQD9Z3sM

 

andrew@7bc.vc

https://www.linkedin.com/in/romans/

 

Join the conversation and tell us your view of the current market conditions for seed financings for tech startups.

Jul 27, 202357:19
#79, Band of Angels - Round table discussion with one of Silicon Valley’s most active angel groups
Jul 19, 202321:32
#78, Jack Guedj, Band of Angels, one of Silicon Valley’s oldest & most active angel groups
Jul 19, 202301:06:46
#77, Andrew Romans talking startup valuations and the current environment for VC financings w/ generative AI w/ US Angels Group

#77, Andrew Romans talking startup valuations and the current environment for VC financings w/ generative AI w/ US Angels Group

Episode #77 of Fireside with a VC, talking startup valuations and the current environment for VC financings as well as the impact of generative AI on startups, angels, VCs and LPs with U.S. Angels, one of the most active investor groups in the U.S. and an LP in 7BC Venture Capital.  

 

· How to price the pre-money valuation for a startup?

· How much cash should a startup raise in its next round?

· What is changing with regards to valuations, size of rounds, terms, exit expectations?

· The connection between the stock market and the private markets from seed to late stage pre-IPO funding and secondaries?

· What does AI mean for capital requirements, competition and everything?

· What to expect from this vintage of startups and VC funds?

· Roundtable discussion with John Ricci and U.S. Angels

 

Special thanks to John Ricci, a friend of more than 15 years!

 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jfricci/

 

https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/yCRhe7cD7zb

https://www.youtube.com/c/AndrewRomansVC/videos

 

andrew@7bc.vc

https://www.linkedin.com/in/romans/

Jun 06, 202357:36
#74, Charles Hudson, Managing Partner, Precursor Ventures on Generative AI
Jun 02, 202353:23
#76, Claus Skaaning, CEO of DigiShares tokenizing real estate assets
Jun 02, 202336:07
#75, Hadley Harris, cofounder, ENIAC Ventures, NYC Seed Fund
May 26, 202340:42
Episode #73, VC Insight Panel, 7BC Event NYC March 7 2023
Mar 31, 202352:12
Episode #72, Krishna Srinivas, cofounder, LiveOak Venture Partners

Episode #72, Krishna Srinivas, cofounder, LiveOak Venture Partners

Episode #72, Krishna Srinivas, cofounder, LiveOak Venture Partners on Fireside with a VC

Ahead of SXSW very happy to share our podcast with one of Austin’s VC OGs discussing:

  • Ten lessons on entrepreneurship from summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro with his wife and kids
  • 100% all-in on Texas, early stage, tech and tech-enabled services, Seed to Series A entry point
  • Close to $500m AUM at LiveOak
  • The evolution of the Austin, Texas VC startup scene
  • What sectors and topics founders were working on and how this evolved to today
  • Who were the VC funds in the 90s, early 2000s when there were literally fewer than 5 active VCs, then 15 VCs with representatives from NEA, Polaris and other big funds and then the collapse back to 5 to 8 active funds and the rise to today with Austin being a leading city with one of the highest concentrations of VC funds per capita
  • The perfect storm of conditions for Austin to become a #2 market after California with huge tech talent and still total lack of local VC capital
  • Lessons from the 2000 dot-com crash relevant to today’s 2023 market, how the current batch of startups will move forward from early to growth stage

YouTube: https://youtu.be/1zRJeFouxPA

All podcast platforms: https://anchor.fm/FiresideVC

Registration is open for 7BC’s in-person VC insight panels, startup presentations & networking receptions

New York City, March 7, 2023 – https://7BC-neonVest-NYC.eventbrite.com.

Seattle, April 4, 2023 – https://7BC-neonVest-Seattle.eventbrite.com.

Planning events in cities in key tech corridors across the U.S. Get in touch if you want to host or sponsor any of our events.

andrew@7bc.vc

https://www.linkedin.com/in/romans/

Thanks to our sponsor Pacific Western Bank, Startup Banking & Venture Debt, Mark diTargiani, mditargiani@pacwest.com

Mar 03, 202350:41
Episode #71, Andrea Lamari, General Partner, Manhattan Venture Partners (MVP)

Episode #71, Andrea Lamari, General Partner, Manhattan Venture Partners (MVP)

Episode #71, Andrea Lamari, General Partner, Manhattan Venture Partners (MVP) on Fireside with a VC

Meet Andrea at 7BC's in-person event in New York City on March 7, 2023 - https://7BC-neonVest-NYC.eventbrite.com.

  • 101 lesson on secondaries and the secondary market
  • Complexities of how secondaries work from the perspective of founders and investors selling shares for liquidity, the buyer of the secondaries, existing preferred shareholders and the company with Right of First Refusals (ROFRs)
  • Deep dive on ROFRs
  • Structuring for primaries and secondaries
  • The bid / ask divide between sellers and buyers and how this will play out over the coming quarters following a downward reset of the market following a boom of early 2021 and a crash of the public markets in February of 2022

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndrewRomansVC/videos.

All podcast platforms: https://anchor.fm/FiresideVC

Registration is open for 7BC’s in-person VC insight panels, startup presentations & networking receptions

New York City, March 7, 2023 – https://7BC-neonVest-NYC.eventbrite.com.

Seattle, April 4, 2023 – https://7BC-neonVest-Seattle.eventbrite.com.

https://www.eventbrite.com/o/7bc-venture-capital-52957202553#events

Planning events in cities in key tech corridors across the U.S. Get in touch if you want to host or sponsor any of our events.

andrew@7bc.vc

https://www.linkedin.com/in/romans/

Thanks to our sponsor Pacific Western Bank, Startup Banking & Venture Debt, Mark diTargiani, mditargiani@pacwest.com

Feb 18, 202301:08:51
Episode #70, John Frankel, cofounder, ff Venture Capital in New York, Poland & Ukraine

Episode #70, John Frankel, cofounder, ff Venture Capital in New York, Poland & Ukraine

Episode #70, John Frankel, cofounder, ff Venture Capital on Fireside with a VC discussing:

· Learnings from Goldman Sachs applied to VC

· Launching the largest VC fund in Ukraine

· Launching a VC fund in Poland

· Managing the 6 VC funds based in New York, but investing across the US

· What percentage of companies get to $100m of ARR and how this drives portfolio construction

· What is the true work and lifestyle in running a VC business from raising capital, sourcing and diligencing deals, reporting, helping startups, numbers, and repeating

· The types of investors John got into fund I and how this changed with characteristics of raising a fund II, III, IV up to fund VI

· The true time table of starting to getting to exits and into carry

· The difference between investing early, mid stage and late stage within the context of a changing dynamic economy

· QSBS tax breaks for LPs, VCs and founders. No tax on the greater of 10x cost or $10m

· Details on why convertible notes are bad and SAFEs are worse

· The best way to construct a board of directors from pre-seed onwards

· Where is the market going? When is the bottom of the market and why?

· Breaking "the economy" into at least 6 different economies

· How the standoff on falling valuations will play out as we recover

· The complex relationship of public markets and private markets

Twitter: https://twitter.com/john_frankel

YouTube: https://youtu.be/DDCqJMVgUsc

All podcast platforms: https://anchor.fm/FiresideVC

Registration is open for 7BC’s in-person VC insight panels, startup presentations & networking receptions

New York City, March 7, 2023 – https://7BC-neonVest-NYC.eventbrite.com.

Seattle, April 4, 2023 – https://7BC-neonVest-Seattle.eventbrite.com.

Planning events in cities in key tech corridors across the U.S. Get in touch if you want to host or sponsor any of our events.

andrew@7bc.vc

https://www.linkedin.com/in/romans/

Thanks to our sponsor Pacific Western Bank, Startup Banking & Venture Debt, Mark diTargiani, mditargiani@pacwest.com

Feb 10, 202301:02:49
Episode #69, Martin Tobias, founder, Incisive Ventures in Seattle on Fireside with a VC
Feb 04, 202356:52
Episode #68, Steve Brotman, Managing Partner, Alpha Partners & Advisor to the Pritzker Family Office

Episode #68, Steve Brotman, Managing Partner, Alpha Partners & Advisor to the Pritzker Family Office

Episode #68, Steve Brotman, Managing Partner, Alpha Partners & Advisor to the Pritzker Family Office discussing:

· The Alpha model to partner with Seed to Series A VC funds to invest in their pro-rata growth rounds of top winners and share carry with the Seed to Series A VC funds.

· Dynamics of early-stage VC funds deciding to double down or create an SPV to put more capital into winners versus partnering with growth specialists like Alpha Partners.

· Is it bad to let your fund LPs get overexposed to single deals via SPVs.

· The trend of LPs trying to do more directs coinvesting with their GPs and now LPs pulling back from making direct investments and “coinvestments” becoming a bad word.

· Investing in growth rounds in this new 2023 macro-economic environment.

· Expectation of multiples and holding times for growth stage investing.

· What are sensible multiples of ARR to pre-money valuations?

· What revenue year-on-year growth rates are expected for growth stage venture backed startups?

· How growth companies can get to profitable unit economics for growth companies and restructure businesses that were selling $100 to customers for $50.

· Are we heading into a worse economy or is the economy improving over the next 6, 12, 18 months?

YouTube: https://youtu.be/3EXtUiunpcQ

All podcast platforms: https://anchor.fm/FiresideVC

https://alphapartners.com/

Registration is open for 7BC’s in-person VC insight panels, startup presentations & networking receptions

New York City, March 7, 2023 – https://7BC-neonVest-NYC.eventbrite.com. Steve Brotman will be one of the panelists on the VC panel in NYC and will be joined by over 37 VCs, family offices and angel investors already registered for the event as of Jan 31, 20223. Waiting list starts at 100 delegates.

Seattle, April 4, 2023 – https://7BC-neonVest-Seattle.eventbrite.com.

Planning events in cities in key tech corridors across the U.S. Get in touch if you want to host or sponsor any of our events.

andrew@7bc.vc

https://www.linkedin.com/in/romans/

Jan 31, 202354:50
Episode #67, Mike Smerklo, cofounder, Next Coast Ventures, $600m+ Austin-based VC

Episode #67, Mike Smerklo, cofounder, Next Coast Ventures, $600m+ Austin-based VC

Episode #67, ​Mike Smerklo, cofounder, Next Coast Ventures, $600m+ Austin-based VC and author on Fireside with a VC discussing:

· Moving from Silicon Valley to Austin, Texas

· Cofounding a VC in Austin, Texas with over $600m in AUM focused on Series A and B rounds within 6 years currently investing out of a $310m Fund IV closed in early 2022

· Timing of a perfect vintage within the macro-economy

· Author of 2020 published book - Mr. Monkey and Me: A Real Survival Guide for Entrepreneurs - https:a//rb.gy/4qfdq3

· How Mike got into startups and venture being recruited by Marc Andreessen

· Building a company from 30 to 3,000 employees, $300m revenue to nearly $1bn valuation and IPO’ing

· Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley in the early dot-com days

· Dynamics of raising fund II compared to funds III and IV

· Are we going into a further recession or recovery in the startup world?

· Valuations and dynamics of A, B, and C rounds over the next 24 months and how to prepare


Book: Mr. Monkey and Me: A Real Survival Guide for Entrepreneurs - https:a//rb.gy/4qfdq3

Blog: www.mikesmerklo.com

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikesmerklo

Twitter: mikesmerklo

Facebook: smerklo


Registration is open for 7BC’s in-person VC insight panels, startup presentations & networking receptions

New York City, March 7, 2023 – https://7BC-neonVest-NYC.eventbrite.com

Seattle, April 4, 2023 – https://7BC-neonVest-Seattle.eventbrite.com

Planning 10 other cities in key tech corridors across the U.S.

Get in touch if you would like to host an event or sponsor and become part of the tour.


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/57V2XYhekz5ETiOwtanWIn?si=6f51aad36d47450a

YouTube: https://youtu.be/EkF219SkWI0

All podcast platforms: https://anchor.fm/FiresideVC

andrew@7bc.vc

https://www.linkedin.com/in/romans/

Jan 27, 202350:50
Episode #66, Mark diTargiani, explaining Venture Debt & Relationships, Pacific Western Bank
Jan 25, 202301:29:01
Episode #65, Alex Moore, Partner at 8VC, 1st employee at Palantir, Defense focused VC

Episode #65, Alex Moore, Partner at 8VC, 1st employee at Palantir, Defense focused VC

Episode #65, Fireside with a VC speaking with Alex Moore, 1st employee of Palantir ($14.5bn market cap), cofounder of Backplane (one of my investments), cofounder of Nodeprime (one of my investments), Partner at 8VC with $6bn+ of AUM discussing:

• Early days of Palantir up to today where he is a board member

• Focusing on defense related tech startups when most of Silicon Valley did not or does not want to support the U.S. defense industry

• Creating startups with a dual defense + commercial revenue / customer model

• Selling into government / intelligence / military

• Culture of recruiting engineers and founders to focus on military / defense tech

• Startups leveraging data in vertical models

• Venture Studio / incubation models that work within the VC machine, ownership models, founder equity, engineering equity / ESOP pool, attracting follow on funding from classic VCs

• Vesting schedules for founders and employees

• How to retain high value engineers and employees

• Valuations in today’s current market for funding and exits

• How many months runway should startups raise for in today’s uncertain market

• How real is the conflict between the West and Russia & China

• Working with Joe Lonsdale & Peter Thiel

• Opportunity to build software for most of the economy that is not leveraging technology yet, but must

• How the demise of crypto is good for real tech startups

• What makes a great entrepreneur and what makes a fundable founding team

• Succeeding in the current economic environment and growing individual careers

Video on Spotify and YouTube https://youtu.be/SScCtPD_awE.

Audio on all podcast platforms - https://anchor.fm/FiresideVC.

Special thanks to Mark diTargiani & the Venture Debt & Startup Banking team at Pacific Western Bank for sponsoring this episode. https://www.linkedin.com/in/markditargiani/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/romans/

andrew@7bc.vc

Jan 20, 202352:24
Episode #64, Greg Coquillo, latest trends in Generative AI, AI/ML & 160k LinkedIn followers

Episode #64, Greg Coquillo, latest trends in Generative AI, AI/ML & 160k LinkedIn followers

Dec 21, 202250:59
Episode #63, Dan Harvey, Vice Chairman of CBRE, WaaS - Workplace as a Service
Dec 06, 202259:48
Episode #62, Brandon Metcalf, CEO of Place, challenges for SaaS companies today

Episode #62, Brandon Metcalf, CEO of Place, challenges for SaaS companies today

Episode #62, Fireside with a VC speaking with Brandon Metcalf, CEO of Place discussing challenges for creating and scaling SaaS companies. Brandon is an Austin-based 4x founder, podcast host, board director, advisor, software creator, Salesforce expert and investor. Discussing:

· Fundraising from angels and VCs

· How to track key SaaS metrics for success and tying that to growth, staffing and fundraising

· The balance of investing in more product engineering or growth vs milking what you have for sales and profitability

· Going from point solutions to adding modules, reaching end-to-end solutions and how that impacts customer win rates, changes whom you are selling to and closing business

· “Must have” vs “nice to have” technology in today’s macro-economic environment

· What has changed in fundraising, cash runways, how to deal with investors and employees

· Hiring, firing and growth during an economic downturn

· Lessons learned from fundraising and M&A exits from previous startups

· Working with Salesforce and how to be successful in this massive ecosystem

Podcast: Cash & Burn: https://www.placetechnology.com/cash-and-burn-podcast/

LinkedIn: Brandon Metcalf: https://www.linkedin.com/in/metcalf/

SaaS glossary: Little Black Book of SaaS: https://www.placetechnology.com/little-black-book-of-saas/

Company website: Place: https://www.placetechnology.com/

Video on YouTube https://youtu.be/uGOmN_WQmHk and Spotify. Audio on all podcast platforms - https://anchor.fm/FiresideVC

andrew@7bc.vc

Nov 16, 202250:49
Episode #61, Kyle Kling, Head of MDI Ventures, the CVC of Telekom Indonesia, 4th largest country in the world by population @Chapman University
Oct 28, 202201:20:53
Episode #60, Chuck Newhall, cofounder of NEA, author of Dare to Disturb the Universe, A Memoir of Venture Capital

Episode #60, Chuck Newhall, cofounder of NEA, author of Dare to Disturb the Universe, A Memoir of Venture Capital

Episode #60 Fireside with a VC speaking with Charles (Chuck) Newhall, III, a 3rd generation venture capitalist. Newhall cofounded New Enterprise Associates (NEA) in 1977 with Dick Kramlich and Frank Bonsal. NEA is the largest VC fund in the world. Newhall is a U.S. warrior who served in Vietnam commanding an independent platoon. His decorations include the Silver Star and Bronze Star. Newhall is also the author of a new book - Dare to Disturb the Universe, A Memoir of Venture Capital.

Discussing:

· Fighting on Hamburger Hill in Vietnam and revelations of a career in VC.

· Founding a VC firm built to last 100+ years and specifics of how he built NEA.

· Origins of venture capital dating back to Phoenicians and how Christopher Columbus was a VC-backed founder with an 80/20 split of the gains or what he “carried”.

· Wisdom from Marcus Aurelius, the 2&20 model, and aligning interests.

· Stories of VC investing and startups including persistent seed investing in Apple Computer. Buying 10% of Apple Computer for $400k by sleeping at the Apple office and refusing to go home.

· Investing based on DD from experts versus investing from passion.

“You’re only one person away from a great company at any point in time.” - Charles (Chuck) Newhall, III

For more buy the books:

1) Dare to Disturb the Universe, A memoir of Venture Capital (https://rb.gy/g1izrc).

2) Brightside Gardens - A Dialogue Between The Head and The Heart (https://rb.gy/qcphsn)

3) The Chronicles of Stanley the Pug (https://youtu.be/uwjq7kInKlY)

Andrew@7bc.vc

Oct 12, 202201:09:10
Episode #59, Arthur Bavelas, Family Office Insights, recession, secondaries, LPs in the VC process
Oct 06, 202259:03
Andrew Romans talking VC and presenting Fund III with old friends in DC

Andrew Romans talking VC and presenting Fund III with old friends in DC

Play this video back at 2x speed if you are proficient in English.  Fund performance is now up since recording this video. Our first fund has a MOIC of 4.11x and expects to return a minimum 7x cash on cash return. Fund II MOIC of 4.41x and expects a 12x to 15x cash on cash return. Fund III is already up 1.27x and newest investors still get in at cost.  Talking to some old friends in the Washington DC area about 7BC Venture Capital related to our 506c VC fund which allows for general solicitation.

Sep 30, 202244:59
Episode #58, Early Stage VC in Africa with Marsha Wulff, cofounder of LoftyInc Capital Management

Episode #58, Early Stage VC in Africa with Marsha Wulff, cofounder of LoftyInc Capital Management

Episode #58 of Fireside with a VC discussing early stage VC in sub-Saharan Africa with Marsha Wulff, cofounder of LoftyInc Capital Management as a guest speaker at Chapman University talking to Professor Andrew Romans and his students at his class on VC.   

*Starting a VC fund to invest in sub-Saharan African early stage tech startups.  

*Overcoming challenges in raising LP capital for a "Top 3" VC fund investing in African startups. 

*Opportunities and challenges facing African entrepreneurs, VCs and LPs as well as the evolving high value angel scene in Africa. 

*Advice for African founders on how to raise angel and VC funding.  

Feel free to get in touch to learn more about investing in African or American VC funds.   

Video on Spotify and YouTube: https://youtu.be/EPgmMjJDmG8.

Subscribe to Fireside with a VC on YouTube, Spotify and all podcast platforms: https://anchor.fm/FiresideVC.  Join the 7BC Venture Capital Syndicate to co-invest with our VC fund (https://angel.co/s/sevenbc/ZZAgQ) or invest in our 506c VC fund which co-invests with our main VC fund and join a powerful network of investors actively backing and supporting our portfolio companies. Andrew@7bc.vc

Sep 24, 202201:13:20
Episode #57, John Vitti, CEO of Versus Game on campus at Chapman University

Episode #57, John Vitti, CEO of Versus Game on campus at Chapman University

Episode #57, John Vitti, CEO of Versus Game on campus at Chapman University with Professor Andrew Romans

Talking about lessons learned from 4 previous startups and how we raised nearly $40m from top Silicon Valley VCs including very hands on investment and support from Eric Schmidt, Kevin Hart, 7BC Venture Capital and other investors.

Building a large business to over $100m in revenue and leveraging Hollywood TV models to drive a high growth, high margin, impact business to change the world.

Advice to founders on getting started and getting connected.

Video: https://youtu.be/KBgwdQo4NqQ.

Subscribe to Fireside with a VC on YouTube, Spotify and all podcast platforms: https://anchor.fm/FiresideVC.

Join the 7BC Venture Capital Syndicate to co-invest with our VC fund (https://angel.co/s/sevenbc/ZZAgQ) or invest in our 506c VC fund which co-invests with our main VC fund and join a powerful network of investors actively backing and supporting our portfolio companies. Andrew@7bc.vc

May 05, 202245:10
#56, Update on the war in Ukraine from the front lines in Kiev with Eric Kadyrov, Founder at Private Tech Network.
Apr 27, 202201:14:25
Episode #55, Secondaries & VC performance metrics

Episode #55, Secondaries & VC performance metrics

Venture Capital Thursdays: Discussing and understanding secondaries, VC performance metrics and evolving liquidity in the venture capital asset class across the stack from founders to angels, Seed VCs, Series A VCs, growth investors and LPs with my students in California. Recommend to play at 2x speed if English is your first language.

· Direct Secondaries – primary vs secondary investing

· How does it work with running a process, getting ROFR’d, how to not get ROFR’d

· How to waste time and not make any money trying to buy secondaries and what happens in the real world?

· Structured secondaries

· How are secondaries impacting the timing of an exit?

· How are secondaries impacting the actual value of the exit?

· How are secondaries impacting the performance of a VC fund to its LP investors?

· Understanding key VC performance terms work
and the impact of Secondaries on performance

· What is IRR? – impact of secondaries?

· What is MOIC? – impact of secondaries?

· What is TVPI? – impact of secondaries?

· What is DPI? – impact of secondaries?

· What is Cash-on-Cash? – impact of secondaries?

· LP Secondaries

· Discounts LP secondary buyers seek to get

· What is a Fund of Funds (FOF)

· Evolving liquidity in the venture capital asset class across the stack from founders to angels, Seed VCs, Series A VCs, growth investors and LPs

Video: https://youtu.be/qorjT7OV9nU

Subscribe to Fireside with a VC on YouTube, Spotify and all podcast platforms: https://anchor.fm/FiresideVC.

Join the 7BC Venture Capital Syndicate to co-invest with our VC fund (https://angel.co/s/sevenbc/ZZAgQ) or invest in our 506c VC fund which co-invests with our main VC fund and join a powerful network of investors actively backing and supporting our portfolio companies. Andrew@7bc.vc

Apr 07, 202201:13:43
Episode #54 Brian Laung Aoaeh, GP @REFASHIOND Ventures on Fireside with a VC

Episode #54 Brian Laung Aoaeh, GP @REFASHIOND Ventures on Fireside with a VC

Episode #54 Brian Laung Aoaeh, GP @REFASHIOND Ventures on Fireside with a VC sharing his story of going from his home country of Ghana to becoming a VC at KEC Ventures and now cofounder of REFASHIOND Ventures focused on supply chain and sharing research on how family offices can best play in the early-stage venture capital space.

· The Research Report on Family Offices: Towards A Partnership Model for Family Offices and Emerging Venture Firm Managers https://docsend.com/view/47y7zzu4rxwhtaxi

· REFASHIOND Ventures: https://www.refashiond.com/

· REFASHIOND Ventures AngelList Fund: angel.co/v/back/refashiond-seed

· The Worldwide Supply Chain Federation: https://theworldwidesupplychainfederation.com/our-vision

Video: https://youtu.be/GLeEzutBOX0

Subscribe to Fireside with a VC on YouTube, Spotify and all podcast platforms: https://anchor.fm/FiresideVC.

Join the 7BC Venture Capital Syndicate to co-invest with our VC fund (https://angel.co/s/sevenbc/ZZAgQ) or invest in our 506c VC fund which co-invests with our main VC fund and join a powerful network of investors actively backing and supporting our portfolio companies. Andrew@7bc.vc

Mar 18, 202249:55
Episode #53 Nathan Beckord, CEO @Foudersuite on Fireside with a VC

Episode #53 Nathan Beckord, CEO @Foudersuite on Fireside with a VC

Episode #53 Nathan Beckord, CEO @Foudersuite and podcast host of “How I raised it” on Fireside with a VC discussing all things fundraising from angels and VCs.

· How to email VCs with a warm intro or cold email.

· Researching investors and forming the most suitable target investor list.

· Developing relationships with VCs before your funding round.

· What docs founders should have prepared for a VC funding round.

· Advice on decks and financial forecasts.

· What’s the goldilocks of being too aggressive or too conservative with financial projections?

· Winning financial models and how to present the numbers including unit economics.

· Advice for recruiting and compensating advisors.

· Pricing your financing round for success.

· How to use Foundersuite to find prospective angels, VCs, family offices and CVCs.

· How to digitize your fundraising process end-to-end.

Foundersuite can be a substitute for expensive subscriptions to Pitchbook, DocSend, DocuSign, virtual data rooms, CRM, templates for legal docs, and a ton more.

Get a 30% discount on your first month of using Foundersuite with the promo code “Romans”.

If English is your first language, please play us at 1.5x or 2x faster speed.

Video: https://youtu.be/R-Kk9prqZ74.

Subscribe to Fireside with a VC on YouTube, Spotify and all podcast platforms: https://anchor.fm/FiresideVC.

Join the 7BC Venture Capital Syndicate to co-invest with our VC fund (https://angel.co/s/sevenbc/ZZAgQ) or invest in our 506c VC fund which co-invests with our main VC fund and join a powerful network of investors actively backing and supporting our portfolio companies. Andrew@7bc.vc

Mar 05, 202253:10
Episode #52 Cindy Padnos, Founder & Managing Partner at Illuminate Ventures on Fireside with a VC

Episode #52 Cindy Padnos, Founder & Managing Partner at Illuminate Ventures on Fireside with a VC

Episode #52 Cindy Padnos, Founder & Managing Partner at Illuminate Ventures. Discussing:

· What it was like being a woman founder and CEO raising VC funding in Silicon Valley decades ago.

· What it has been like being a woman solo GP launching a VC fund in Silicon Valley compared to being a man doing the same.

· Talking about the practical realities of how relationships are formed for women to men and women to women in MBA programs, the VC industry, and how Cindy has navigated and pioneered this reality in Silicon Valley over decades.

· How Cindy has leveled the playing field while purely focusing on financial returns.

· Building personal confidence and overcoming fears.

· Talking about the reality of diversity investing and how this is changing at the VC and founder levels.

· Valuations of SaaS startups now and portfolio construction.

· How the market has been shifting up and down on valuations and what this means for founders and investors.

· The enterprise investment focus of Illuminate Ventures.

· Unique model of forming a 50-person advisory council for Illuminate Ventures with over 50% women.

· How startups and VC funds will perform well even if the economy tanks.

If English is your first language, please play us at 1.5x or 2x faster speed.

Video: https://youtu.be/bdQpwhZRXHI.

Subscribe to Fireside with a VC on YouTube, Spotify and all podcast platforms: https://anchor.fm/FiresideVC.

Join the 7BC Venture Capital Syndicate to co-invest with our VC fund (https://angel.co/s/sevenbc/ZZAgQ) or invest in our 506c VC fund which co-invests with our main VC fund. Andrew@7bc.vc

Feb 21, 202256:09