Mo Saeed

Big things on the horizon, we are motivated and blessed to be at the dawn of a new age for the internet. Read more about our journey below or listen to the podcast: https://lnkd.in/eJeNhvVa

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Profitable venture scale businesses. Its a new thing. Its the way businesses should be built. But only the best founders and capital allocators can do it successfully.

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Great time on the Embracing Erosion podcast w/Devon O'Rourke! We talked about: 🚀 How to scale a company from concept to 9-figure exit 🔄 How to break away from the traditional consulting model and apply product approaches ⏩ Why it’s important to iterate quickly and often with messaging 💸📈What signals are important to pay attention to when investing in startups and much more!

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Within the venture industry, illiquidity in is sometimes viewed as a feature rather than a bug, as it protects investors from selling at the worst times (which as seen throughout history is commonplace in the public markets). However there are limits, and the problem of illiquidity will have to be solved in a more systematic way. LP driven secondaries are inefficient and opaque, large M&A comes with major regulatory hurdles, selling in traditional secondary rounds is limited given the focus on efficiency and the departure of crossover funds, and the IPO bar is expected to remain very high (don't see <$1B market cap IPOs). Meghan Reynolds and I talked a few weeks ago about this (see link in comments) as has Mark Suster in many recent pods. Agree that over the next decade, we should see more of the following to solve for the liquidity problem. 1) PE funds serving as an exit for VC backed companies, meaning companies that are near or at EBITDA positive. 2) Continuation funds that provide LPs with an option to rollover or get liquid (single asset or all assets). I'm spending a lot of time here. 3) A more efficient liquidity marketplace for LP sales/buys. 4) Strip sale of a set of assets. Planning a special roundtable pod with some secondary and primary managers to discuss the growing liquidity problem in VC.

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Charles Hudson is hands-down one of the sharpest minds in early-stage investing. As the Founder and Managing Partner at Precursor Ventures, Charles has backed over 375 companies and supported more than 400 founders. → His portfolio includes hits like Clearco, Juniper Square, and Carrot → He's helped founders raise over $175 million across four funds → He's an active leader in the VC community, serving as the 2023-2024 Chair of the NVCA Board of Directors But even with all of his successes and accolades, what really sets Charles apart is his founder-first philosophy. He's not looking for "coachable" founders who hang on his every word. He wants founders who are decisive, independent thinkers. He believes his job is to give founders what they need, not impose his own agenda. Charles is the kind of investor every founder wants in their corner. One who shows up, follows through, and builds genuine relationships over time. And on this week’s episode of Minimum Viable Podcast, he's sharing his insights on what makes for a truly productive founder-investor partnership. Founders, this is a conversation you’ll want to hear. — What's the #1 quality you look for in an investor? Tune in to the full episode when it drops this Wednesday to hear much more from Charles and learn how to make the most of your investor relationships.

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Wonderful article about Emily Knight and the whole The Engine Accelerator team on the amazing work their doing changing the world with #ToughTech!

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For the past few months of been part of the Venture Institute, a hands-on program designed to help emerging venture managers and aspiring venture capital operators learn the craft. Impressions: -- 💰 🚫 The fact that it's free is amazing. You are getting access to serious domain experts in weekly sprints where you learn about Venture capital topics. -- ⭕ Comprehensive. This is a true boot camp that provides a soup-to-nuts understanding of VC. Including: Venture structures, Fund economics, Understanding Limited Partners, Making Venture deals, Operations, Accounting, career considerations and more. -- 🤔 Engaging. It is a practicum-style course where you are doing hands-on exercises at all times. The only way to learn IMO. -- 📚 Incredible resource. There is a wealth of reference material and an LLM called Decile Hub specially trained on VC best practices and it's good! https://lnkd.in/gw6imyf9 A lot more I can say, but bottom line is it's a great program, 5-stars ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ and worth your time if you are interested in exploring a career in Venture Capital. More info here: https://lnkd.in/geAHwjjZ

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Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, some of the most successful VC investors, have made their fortunes by investing early in companies that have changed the world, such as Facebook, Airbnb, and Reddit. Now, they plan to expand their strategy and raise money for their first private equity fund. From an outside perspective, they seem interested in capitalizing on the current market downturn and acquiring quality companies at more attractive prices. A16z, with its strong track record and credibility, is well-positioned to succeed in the PE world. Their openness to investing in new sectors like AI and blockchain, their robust social presence, and the right network to access top deals position them well to be a big success. What are your thoughts on a16z’s plan to enter the PE space? #a16z #privateequity

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Announcing: $300M raised for The General Partnership's Fund II When we launched The General Partnership, we aimed to redefine venture capital partnership and closing this second fund is one more step toward that vision. Working with Daniel Portillo and our team of industry veterans, we've shown that true partnership goes beyond capital. Our approach is unique: We offer customized support for each company's needs - recruiting, product and engineering, GTM and Capital. We give founders the resources they need with capital and by deploying experienced recruiters, engineers, designers, and GTM leaders to work with leaders at each startup. We maintain alignment with founders through our Sweat Equity model. To our founders: Your trust validates our model. We're committed to driving your success through hands-on work, not just checks. To our LPs: Thank you for believing in our vision. Your support enables us to continue redefining VC and supporting the best as they build their companies. With Fund II, we're doubling down on supporting founders from formation to breakout stages and if you’re a builder, Let’s run it back! More here from Dan Primack and Axios https://lnkd.in/gcn9U9s5 And our note on TheGP II here: https://lnkd.in/gTJ8pyZu

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The words Private Equity have been distorted with the passage of time. The truth is PE done well is not only a value creation platform but also a force for good. We back good businesses, good teams, and together we build. More from Traub Capital Partners Co-Managing Partner, Brian Crosby, in this short video.

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A great The Angel Nest Podcast episode recorded yesterday with Thomas Wisniewski of newark venture partners! Really insightful conversation around trends in Seed stage investing, how metrics matter in communicating traction, and important aspects of financial modeling for early stage startups. Many thanks for your time Tom and thanks David Hemenway as always for hosting. Look out for the release of the episode soon! #angelinvesting #seedstage #startups #financialmodeling #venturecapital #startups

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🌟💰 Cendana & Kline Hill Launch $105M Fund for Secondary Stakes in Seed VC Funds💰🌟 📢Cendana Capital, a fund of funds that invests in dozens of seed-stage venture firms, and Kline Hill Partners, a firm focused on buying small previously owned private assets, are announcing a new $105 million Kline Hill Cendana Partners fund, which is well above the $75 million target, reported TechCrunch. 🔊“Over the past 2 years, we’ve been hearing from our portfolio funds, ‘We have a family office that wants to sell their $2 million commitment. Would you be interested in buying it?'” said Michael Kim, founder and managing director of Cendana Capital. "As we navigate the evolving VC landscape, this fund offers a unique opportunity to buy stakes in seed-stage VC funds and startups at relative bargains," shares Michael Kim. 💡💸 Led by Kim and Chris Bull, CFA of Kline Hill Partners, this joint venture combines expertise and relationships to navigate the secondary market with precision. "Our goal is to capitalize on the current buyer's market in venture capital," says Bull. 🌐🤝 "With traditional secondary investors eyeing the venture space, the competition is fierce. However, our focus on seed-stage firms sets us apart," explains Kim. 📈💼 Cendana’s relationships with its portfolio funds, including Lerer Hippeau, Forerunner Ventures and Bowery Capital, are helping it take the lead on sourcing secondary deals. Cash-hungry venture investors, whether VCs themselves or their LPs, are increasingly looking to sell their illiquid positions to secondary buyers.  As they embark on this venture, the firms are poised to make a significant impact on the VC ecosystem, providing much-needed liquidity and unlocking new opportunities for growth. "The future looks bright for Cendana and Kline Hill's joint endeavor," concludes Bull. 🌟💰 With the demand for liquidity in the VC space at an all-time high, Cendana and Kline Hill's initiative couldn't come at a better time. By facilitating secondary transactions in seed-stage funds, they're not only providing relief to cash-hungry investors but also fueling innovation and growth in the startup ecosystem. 🌱💡 As the venture capital landscape continues to evolve, partnerships like these will play a crucial role in ensuring the health and sustainability of the industry. With their proven track record and strategic approach, Cendana and Kline Hill are well-positioned to lead the way forward. 🚀🌐 ✅ Looking to raise capital for your #fund and increase the international pool of your LP #investors?   🤝 Need warm #LP introductions?   📝 Selling #secondaries to increase liquidity?   🧐 Looking for co-investments?   ▶ G+QUANT's link for inquiries and fund decks: https://lnkd.in/gjC_EuTE #VentureCapital #SecondaryMarket #SeedFunding #Innovation #StartupInvesting #Entrepreneurship #CendanaCapital #KlineHillPartners #VCInvestment #SeedStage #LiquidityOpportunity #FutureofVC #InnovativePartnerships

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2 active fund offerings from the Echelon Fund team who have been killing it ever since their cohort at The Fund School. https://lnkd.in/gVd-dhfY sidecarportfoliofund.com This presentation of Echelon Fund, LLC and Sidecar Portfolio Fund (the “Company”) is for information only and shall not constitute an offer to buy, sell, issue or subscribe for, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, sell or issue, or subscribe for any securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice and is based on publicly-available information, internally developed data, third party information and other sources. The third party information has not been independently verified. While the Company may not have verified the third party information, nevertheless, it believes that it obtained the information from reliable sources and has no reason to believe it is not accurate in all material respects.

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Southeast VC Update: Q2 2024 PitchBook Venture Monitor Highlights The Southeast continues to hold its position in the VC regional landscape #5 in dollars raised for Q2 2024 🥉 #3 in deal count (just behind the West Coast and the Mid-Atlantic) H1 2024 Southeast Breakdown:  📊 10% more deals than Northeast  📈 30% more deals than Mountain region, 20% more than South  💰 5% more dollars raised than Mountain region  💸 23.5% more dollars raised than South YoY Funding Trends:  📈 Southeast: Up 29% 📈 Mid-Atlantic: Up 136%  📉 Midwest: Down 67%  📉 New England: Down 11%  📈 West Coast: Up 59% Key Trend: While closing in on Mid-Atlantic numbers, we are seeing more deals but smaller rounds. This could indicate strong activity occurring in the seed & early-stage funding, despite the macro challenges. (Pitchbook classifies the Southeast as AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN, Puerto Rico, & Virgin Islands) #BuildInSE

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⛳ Emerging fund managers pulse check. PitchBook tracks over 10,000 funds that are raising money, with 45% being emerging fund managers (defined as firms with less than 3 funds). Despite a dip in available capital—down to 16% from the pre-pandemic 23%—these managers are finding creative ways to stay competitive, like partnering with larger firms. 💼 Joanna Drake (founder turned investor) shared how "wildly different" it is raising a fund versus for a startup. One key datapoint she shared on the fund side was how little feedback you get along the way (and the years you can wait for it). The “long-winded and challenging process to raise capital” inspired Drake and Ben Black to create RAISE Global, a community for emerging fund managers and the “forward-thinking LPs” who back them. (A decade later, several hundred emerging managers with AUM under $200m are on the platform) They've found the newest emerging managers are more diverse and geographically dispersed than Silicon valley, and more were able to crack the ceiling and raise larger $100m funds (although this is still a small % of the market, requiring partnership with larger funds at the late stage). ▶ And not a hugely surprising datapoint: A lot of action is in the sub $49 million range, where roughly 50% of emerging managers are raising. Theresa Sorrentino Hajer, Head of U.S. venture capital research at Cambridge Associates warns that past success isn't actually a strong indicator on it's own to assess emerging managers. We've had a valuation reset. And newer managers with investments during the 2019-2021 "party days", need to build relevant track record and play to their strengths. A lot of emerging managers are specializing (70% who applied for Raise had a thematic focus), and betting on getting in as early as possible in the startup's lifecycle (Raise: 31% at accelerator/ pre-seed stages, and 47% at seed stage). “Emerging managers have to compete on a different dimension,” Nick Moran from New Stack Ventures. You're no longer just dealing with capital. Emerging VC's need to be as innovative and nimble as the startups they invest in, having a unique thesis and insights. They also play a role at the top of the deal-flow funnel: helping larger firms find promising companies, so finding a thesis, sector or philosophy aligned partner at a larger firm is helpful. Onwards! #EmergingManager #Startups #VC

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UNLOCKING THE SECREATS OF THE GLOBAL VC ECOSYSTEM : A SUMMIT FOR LIMITED PARTNERS AND VENTURE CAPITALISTS TO THE GLOBAL VC's ECOSYSTEM SUMMIT -------------- 💰💵 Check 1st post in features section in my profile 💵💰 -------------- #VCEcosystemSummit #VentureCapital #LimitedPartners #Investment #PortfolioManagement #GrowthStrategy #IndustryLeaders #Networking #Collaboration #Innovation #Startup #Entrepreneurship #Funding #Investor #LP #GP #VC #PrivateEquity #HedgeFund #AssetManagement #WealthManagement #FinancialServices #InvestmentBanking #CapitalMarkets #BusinessGrowth #Scaling #Expansion #Disruption #Volatility #RiskManagement #Resilience #Sustainability #ESG #ImpactInvesting #Diversity #Inclusion #Equity #Equality #WomenInVC #WomenInFinance #MenInVC #MenInFinance #VentureCapitalist #InvestmentBanker #FinancialAnalyst #PortfolioManager #InvestmentManager #AssetManager #WealthManager #FinancialPlanner #InvestmentAdvisor #VCFirm #StartupAccelerator #Incubator #CoworkingSpace #EntrepreneurialEcosystem #InnovationHub #BusinessNetworking #ProfessionalDevelopment #Leadership #Mentorship #CareerGrowth #IndustryTrends #MarketInsights #FinancialRegulations #InvestmentStrategy #RiskAssessment #DueDiligence #DealMaking #MandA #IPO #PrivatePlacement #HedgeFundManager #AssetAllocator #FamilyOffice #SovereignWealthFund #PensionFund #EndowmentFund #VentureCapitalInvesting #StartupFunding #GrowthCapital #ExpansionCapital #Buyout #Recapitalization #Restructuring #Turnaround #DistressedInvesting #SpecialSituations #EventDriven #CreditInvesting #DebtFinancing #EquityInvesting #MezzanineFinancing #GrowthEquity #VentureDebt #SeedFunding #SeriesA #SeriesB #SeriesC #IPOPrep #PreIPO #PostIPO #PrivateCompany #PublicCompany #MicroVC #NanoVC #SeedStage #EarlyStage #GrowthStage #LateStage #PrivateEquityFund #HedgeFundManager #InvestmentPortfolio #RiskManagementStrategy #InvestmentResearch #FinancialPlanning #WealthCreation #CapitalGrowth #InvestmentOpportunities #BusinessExpansion #MarketTrends #IndustryInsights #FinancialInnovation #InvestmentInnovation #VCDeals #StartupSuccess #InvestmentStrategy #PortfolioDiversification #InvestmentRisk #InvestmentReturn #InvestmentGrowth #InvestmentIncome #InvestmentManagement #InvestmentConsulting #PrivateEquityInvesting #HedgeFundInvesting #VentureCapitalInvesting #AngelInvesting #ImpactInvesting #SustainableInvesting #ESGInvesting #ResponsibleInvesting #InvestmentFirms #InvestmentCompanies #InvestmentPartners #InvestmentNetwork #InvestmentCommunity #InvestmentEvents #InvestmentConferences #InvestmentSummit #InvestmentForum #InvestmentRoundtable #StartupInvesting #EarlyStageInvesting #GrowthStageInvesting #LateStageInvesting #PrivateEquityFirms #HedgeFundManagers #VentureCapitalFirms #AngelGroups #ImpactInvestors

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As we dive into 2024, the Series A fundraising landscape is becoming increasingly daunting. Investment standards are soaring, and fewer startups are making the cut. Series A investors are finding many seed stage companies too premature. The median valuation jump from seed to Series A skyrocketed from $19.5 million in Q1 2022 to $28.7 million in Q1 2024. Investors now demand stronger revenue performance, targeting $2 million to $3 million in ARR, up from $1 million to $2 million. Alarmingly, only 12% of Q1 2022 seed startups secured Series A funding within two years, down from 31.8% in Q1 2020. #venture #earlystage #seedtoseriesa #seed #seriesa #inspireglobalventures https://lnkd.in/gW4bkcNy

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Good blog post from my partner Andrew Heyman on the importance of alignment between founders and their VC partners. GoPoint is actively seeking new investments. Happy to speak more with anyone running new ventures looking for perspective here.

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🚀 Here's to continued growth and success in the VC world! 🚀 You might remember the buzz about the SEC aiming to ramp up reporting and auditing for VC funds to increase oversight. Well, great news for the industry – the SEC's rule has been overturned. The U.S. Appeals Court has decided to lift the additional oversight on private equity and hedge funds, marking a significant win for venture capital and private equity. This decision helps us maintain the flexibility and innovation that drive our success. Read more about this pivotal decision here: #VentureCapital #PrivateEquity #FinanceNews #Victory #VC #VentureCapitalist #SecuritiesandExchange #SEC https://lnkd.in/ev6NeayV

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