W. David Gorsline III

New episode of TCA Crossroads, Dave and David continue to emphasize that the venture market is still under pressure as evidenced by TCA Venture Group investments in dollars and deals. VCs and angels are deploying less capital, making it harder for startups to raise new funds. Despite this, there is a surge in Series A deals for AI startups. You can watch the new episode here: https://lnkd.in/gXs7_ysV

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📈🏢 Aby Rosen's RFR Holding is facing a staggering $2.5B debt bill as defaults pile up! 💥 🔎 According to a recent Bisnow article, RFR Holding, a prominent NYC real estate firm, is grappling with mounting debt and defaults. The company, led by billionaire Aby Rosen, has a portfolio of high-profile properties, including the iconic Seagram Building and Lever House. 🏢🏦 📊 The firm's debt load has surged to a whopping $2.5B, with $1.1B in loans maturing this year alone. 💸 The pandemic has hit the commercial real estate market hard, causing defaults to skyrocket. RFR Holding is no exception, with defaults on several properties, including the $200M mortgage on the Seagram Building. 📉 🗣️ "The pandemic has created a perfect storm for commercial real estate," said one industry expert. "Companies like RFR Holding are facing unprecedented challenges as they navigate this difficult time." 🌪️ 🔜 So, what's next for RFR Holding? The company is reportedly exploring options to refinance its debt and avoid further defaults. 💡 With the commercial real estate market showing signs of recovery, there's hope that RFR Holding can weather this storm. 🌞 Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story! 📰🔔 #RFRHolding #CommercialRealEstate #Debt #Defaults #NYCRealEstate

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Great analysis by the AGC team on SaaS public company comps. It's worth a look as we recalibrate mid-way through earnings season. The analysis aligns with the broader Nasdaq equity performance, where the Mag 7 (or fab 4 now :-)) have shown more resilience than the rest of the market. #AGC #SaaS #EarningsSeason #Nasdaq #EquityPerformance

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I'm doing a webinar on having your back office operations in house vs outsourcing. Hope folks can listen in!

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If you're building a fintech startup, you likely know of this investor, but just in case... This week's findfunding.vc spotlight is on Neil Kapur from TTV Capital. He: 🛫 Is based in SF & Atlanta 💲 Has spent time at Google in consumer-facing payments & at two fintech startups  🏔️ Loves alpine mountaineering and has climbed Kilimanjaro, Denali, Rainier, and more!! Amongst founders, Neil and the team at TTV Capital , including Gardiner Garrard, Mark Johnson, Sean Banks, Lizzie Guynn, and Laney Lewis are known for saying “lift, not lean.” They believe that their job as investors is not to create work for founders, but instead ask the right questions and help navigate to the best outcomes. Knowing Neil well personally, he's not only my go-to person for anything related to fintech but I can also highly recommend having him on your cap table - he's the kind of human you want to have in your corner during both good times and bad. Make sure to: ✉️ Pitch him at nkapur@ttvcapital.com ➡️ Follow TTV Capital on LinkedIn For more, check out our funder spotlight card below along with TTV Capital's profile on findfunding.vc (link in comments).

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The Wall Street Journal has an incredibly insightful op-ed from Paul Ryan (Political Office of Speaker Paul D. Ryan (WI-01)). Normally you hear #crypto advocates in terms of why it is a more stable store of value than even the formerly defacto standard of the United States Dollar. Obviously post FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried that idea held no standing. Of note though given the Former Speaker of the House's apporach is demonstrating sound financial and economic arguments highlighting facts about Saudi Arabia and China's postions and numbers one and two of our own foreign debt is that both are showing less appetites for our own dollars. Therefore, in terms of international competitiveness and national defense, adopting this standard could help increase our competitiveness and that of our country domestically and internationally. What do you think? #management #venturecapital #privateequity #capitalmarkets #cryptocurrencies

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Founders & Investors: Check out the new ACA Convertible Note Template by the Angel Capital Association! #SAFEs and #ConvertibleNotes are key for early-stage financings. This resource balances rights and simplifies the process. Learn more and access the template on their website today! https://lnkd.in/di9_JhP6 #StartupFunding #ConvertibleNote #AngelInvesting #EarlyStage #Investment #ACA #Founders #Investors Pat Gouhin Scott Fox 🦊

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In a sea of middle market private equity firms, it’s vital to differentiate. Here's what our portfolio companies say gives TCP its edge. 1. We speak their language 2. We don’t have ego 3. We are strategic partners with resources Traub Capital Partners Co-Managing Partner, Brian Crosby, tells us how...

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Great analysis of recent #vc trends. Thank you Kaela Roeder and Technical.ly for including my thoughts in the piece. My "expanded" two cents below for anyone curious... It is easy to get excited by what is happening in venture capital these days given the advent of AI. However, for early-stage startups, the numbers tell a more nuanced story. Early-stage deal volume in Q4-2023 was down 66% from the peak (Q4-2021) and a quarter of the deals were down rounds. In 2024, volumes stayed fairly flat relative to 2023 levels (signalizing a normalization to pre-pandemic VC activity) and 32% of deals were down rounds in Q1 (a worsening since year end). Early-stage valuations have spiked back up this year – a pleasant boon for some founders. But, this inflation is largely driven by the excitement around AI and strong demand for capital-efficient, high-growth companies. Many startups have tried to become “dot AI” businesses overnight; however, such tactics are not the “silver bullet” to fundraising challenges and growth. With limited time and capital, funds are on the hunt for companies with bulletproof fundamentals or those with exponential growth potential. If you don’t check one of these two boxes, the VC world looks fundamentally different for you. Locally, there are some positive tailwinds. The D.C. area has outpaced other metro areas in adding AI jobs due in large part to the defense industry and an increasing number of tech companies opening-up federal outposts. Over the long-term, this will be very positive for D.C. startup growth and talent.

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Curt Mastio, CPA, who established Founder's CPA, joins Randy for Episode 150 of The Unique CPA. They delve into Curt’s transition from Big Four to his own firm, the complexities of dealing with the blockchain and crypto industries, and FinTech niche and the unique challenges it presents for accountants. They also discuss modern firm practices, tax planning strategies including utilizing R&D tax credits, and the journey of tech startups from seed stage to exit. Listen to the full episode here: https://bit.ly/3W47s0d #theuniquecpapodcast #podcast #accounting #accountingpodcast #tucpa #randycrabtree #bigfour #practicemanagement #blockchain #crypto #tax

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🔎 A graph every VC manager should be following right now. PE's exit to investment ratio has hit a ten year low Most LPs invest a multiple of their VC allocation in PE. The less liquidity coming from larger buckets, the less divestments that can be made into the asset class 🔮 Similarly if this starts picking up, the allocation doors could start to re-open... #VC #venturecapital

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13 years ago when I switched career from banking to VC, the book Venture Deals was one of the most valuable resource to understand common terms used in transactions. I love how they translate the Legalese to plain English! I believe the old blog posts that were the base of the book are also still accessible online (blog? What's that, ask the GenZs) This online course should be a great one, judging from past materials by the same guys (Brad & Jason). Highly recommended for entrepreneurs!

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Large, motivated and differentiated networks are the way

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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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IPO market insiders, while cautious, are optimistic that the current trickle of companies going public will pick up steam. I recently shared some additional thoughts on this trend with Crunchbase. https://lnkd.in/gh75AxcU #ipo #ai #startups

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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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The Information is out with the breaking news that Founders Fund and Sands Capital are leading the next investment round for a #GovTech #Unicorn. Anduril Industries closed an additional $1.5B at nearly double the valuation of last year, bringing its valuation to a colossal $12.5B pre-money or $14B post-money. This is a continuation of Palmer Luckey's winning streak in a sector few #entrepreneurs are willing to go. Importantly, though, this also demonstrates that by doing the hard work with enough time, you can create break-out success! What do you think? #management #venturecapital #privateequity #capitalmarkets https://lnkd.in/eUnCAUMV

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What Angel Investors Are Saying About Our Startup Ecosystem Yesterday, I led a breakfast meeting with leading angel investors hosted by ACG New Jersey and Robert Johnson. Here are some takeaways from our discussion. New Jersey has: 1. Tremendous Untapped Potential and Enthusiasm The growth I’ve seen just in the past few years has been breathtaking to witness. We've never seen so many New Jersey entrepreneurs making an impact on science and technology, and that pace of progress shows no sign of slowing down. 2. Density and Diversity As our nation’s most densely populated state, New Jersey is also one of the most diverse states, with a strong inflow of migrant #innovation from India and East Asia. 3. Many Industry Value Chains Represented New Jersey is a national leader in pharmaceutical, chemicals and healthcare innovation, which creates opportunities for local startups to integrate themselves with and learn from established leaders in their industries. 4. Strong Programs that Support Entrepreneurship The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) and CSIT do a phenomenal job making working capital available to innovative new businesses. 5. Universities that bring smart people together Rutgers, Princeton, Stevens, NJIT, Rowan, FDU and others serve as a lightning rods that brings brilliant entrepreneurs together from all over the world. Do you think I’ve missed something that should be on this list? What do you think about New Jersey’s Startup Ecosystem? Let me know in the comments.

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