Chris Gonzales’ Post

Venture Capital (VC) is a double-edged sword. It's impact depends on whoever wields it. Like any other industry in the world, it has a few stars and a large majority of mediocrity that does far more harm than good. Remember that the next time you're searching for capital for your "disruptive" idea. #venturecapital #startupfunding #fundraising

Summary: The article discusses the current venture firm fundraising market and the success of emerging VC firm A* in raising $315 million for its oversubscribed Fund II. It highlights the firm's focus on early-stage investments and its experienced founding partners. Key takeaways: Venture firms raised $9.3 billion in Q1 and it is unlikely that 2023's record-breaking total of $81.8 billion will be surpassed. A* has been successful in fundraising due to its focus on seed rounds and backing breakout companies in its portfolio. The firm's founding partners have a strong track record and diverse experience in different industries. Counter arguments: The article mentions that emerging managers are feeling the frost in the fundraising market, suggesting that not all emerging VCs may be as successful as A*. While A* has found success in raising institutional investors for Fund II, this may not be the case for all emerging VCs. #venturecapital #vc #fundraising #startups #innovation

VCs continue to defer or cancel fundraising plans. The venture capital ecosphere has been very sluggish the last few years, and the trickle-down has presented numerous challenges for startups. Many startups have seen their valuations drop and consequently have pushed back their planned equity financings.  Some have had to get creative in their financing, and some waited until it was too late. Let’s hope the second half of 2024 is better than the first. #VC #venturecapital #PE #privateequity #fundraising

💡As an early-stage startup founder, if you are planning on fundraising from a relatively newer venture fund, it is useful to be generally aware of this.👇 ➡️ Institutional LPs are reducing their exposure to the venture asset class by cutting commitments to emerging managers or first-time funds and selling fund stakes on the secondaries market. ➡️ As a result, GPs are increasingly having to tap into their network of high-net-worth investors and family offices, who tend to behave differently in a couple of important ways than institutional LPs do, which can have ramifications for the venture fund. #startups #venturecapital

One of the most influential business and civic leader in Chicago, Lukas Walton, continues to increase the positive influence of its business and philanthropic impact: His Chicago-based venture fund S2G Ventures is adding outside investors for the first time as it looks to raise a $1 billion fund. The venture fund, which launched a decade ago, announced last week it was spinning off as a separate entity from Walton’s Builders Vision organization, which includes a philanthropic arm. Sanjeev Krishnan, managing partner at S2G Ventures, explains this admirable growth strategy: "We believe system-wide change demands innovative solutions that defy conventional approaches. This evolution of S2G unlocks greater potential and expanded capacity to support projects that benefit our planet and human health. At the core of this will remain our close collaboration with Builders Vision." Chicagoland needs more innovators and entrepreneurial leaders like Lukas Walton, Sanjeev Krishnan, Aaron R.udberg, Chuck Templetom, and everyone involved at the firm to create our future.

So many of us might think about starting a venture fund. Perhaps we’ve worked in startups or equities, or even management consulting and the allure of being a VC speaks to us on some level. Sure, it can lead to status and wealth, but more importantly, it’s an opportunity to unlock potential and shape the future. But survivorship bias is real. For every one person we hear about raising a fund successfully, we don’t hear about the other 99 who tried and failed. It’s harder when you have no prior track record as a VC. And it’s even harder when you’re raising capital in a country where VC is almost non-existent, to invest in a yet unproven tech startup landscape. But that’s exactly what Blackbird VC founder Niki Scevak did back in 2013. Scevak met with 522 prospective investors, raising $29M from 96 of them for the firm's first fund. It wasn't about convincing people, he says. "It was about surfacing believers". Blackbird has since gone on to raise four more funds, closing its fifth - a $1BN fund, late last year. It was early on Canva, Safety Culture, Culture Amp and has subsequently generated $10BN in returns to investors over the past decade - making it one of the best-performing VC firms in the world. Learn more below on what it takes to successfully raise capital. https://lnkd.in/e3d4U_Qk #venturecapital #vc #startups #capitalraising

Scott Belsky on the bursting of the over-VC-funded white male founder bubble, and how the future belongs to those of us who have never had any choice but to 'bootstrap longer, monetize sooner and pressure-test our business plan' (last year only 1.7% of all venture capital went to female founders): 'As I think about the implications of the new world of capital, I am most excited about the potential of very sober start-ups. We will see more startups bootstrap themselves longer, monetize sooner, and pressure test their business plan in ways that will prioritize product-led growth. Financing will become more tactical, and less of an ego-driven focal point. Somehow, over the last two decades, raising money for a new company became a badge of honor and a pursuit in and of itself. Somehow the ultimate form of validation in entrepreneurship was needing money. Nevertheless, the proxy for being a high potential company became a VC buying part of your company after a relatively quick round of diligence in the short time frame of a competitive market. Ultimately, the investors and employees of companies that over-raised capital just because they could will suffer the consequences.' https://lnkd.in/eW9bwXXg #FundFemaleFounders #FundFemaleFoundedFunds

🚀What makes NuFund Venture Group stand out?🚀 🌍We are the pioneers of a new way of investing in early-stage technology companies that aim to change the world. We are the world's first and largest angel investor group with a venture fund. 🌟 💡 Innovation Meets Tradition 💡 We combine the founder's fair and caring mentality of Angel Investing with the Speed and Institutional Mindset of Venture Capital. 💼We are happy to report that since our first fund in 2019 to the end of 2023, we have funded 99 companies and conducted due diligence for hundreds. 🏅 🔍 Dedication and Volunteerism 🔍 This method of investing is not easy to maintain since we need our high-caliber members to volunteer their time for our investments. But we have done it in the last four years, and we have done it well. 🤝We did it because of the heavy lifting and intense contributions of some outstanding NuFund Venture Group Investor/Members. It's time we spotlight the heroes among us: the Deal Captains. 🤝 🎖️ Celebrating the Deal Captains 🎖️ The Deal Captain Awards celebrate the spirit of volunteerism that drives NuFund. This award embodies NuFund's unique blend of angel investing's heart and venture capital's professionalism. It celebrates the balance between passionate investment in startups and the disciplined, professional approach required to navigate the investment landscape successfully. We have many more NuFund Deal Leads to celebrate, but please join us in celebrating our first-ever Deal Captain Awards, which are a tribute to those who've gone above and beyond. 🏆 The Deal Captains, like Prasad Sunkara, Ph. D and Martin Gleeson, have not just led but shaped the trajectory of our ventures. 🏆 As we continue to bridge the gap between angel investing's passion and venture capital's professionalism, we're setting new benchmarks for what investors and founders can achieve together. 💪🔥 #AngelInvesting #PreSeed #SeedRound #VentureCapital #Payitforward

SaaS Ventures-- led by Collin Gutman-- Rated #35 Top VC fund ahead of Sequoia, Greylock, Khosla, General Catalyst,, Rise of the Rest and thousands more--  Business Insider -- a leading publication covering the world of venture and private equity-- just came out with a list and article of the 75 top venture capital funds.  The publication started analyzing the "thousands" of funds before ranking the top 75.  See link below. There were no sponsorships or applications or outreach/lobbying by funds -- no one knew what was going on till the list came out. Many of the very top rated "funds" are actually "incubators" or "accelerators" that showcase particular individual start-ups and don't accept investments in a "fund."  And as expected many of the big names--that are difficult for individual investors to access-- made the list:  Steve Case's Rise of the Rest at #57; Khosla Ventures at #56; Sequoia Capital at #55;  Founders Fund at 52; General Catalyst at #49; Greylock at #47.   But ahead of that pack. . . as the  #35 top rated fund was Collin's SaaS Ventures.  Pretty amazing but deserved.  (By co-investing smaller checks with the big leading funds in America and leaving the months of diligence and the board seat to the large investor, SaaS Ventures invests smaller checks in many more deals, spreading the risk of venture but retaining the upside, thereby largely "de-risking venture.) https://lnkd.in/e-qT6Csc

Newcomer's VC Directory is updated with several new heavyweights! There’s a lot of marketing and spin when it comes to venture capital. VC firms’ websites and thought pieces often leave core questions unanswered: Who is in charge? How much money does that firm really have to invest? With our VC Directory series, we give you an easy-to-digest guide to some of the most important firms in the Valley. For this latest installment, we’re adding must-know details on six Silicon Valley heavyweights: Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Y Combinator, Bain Capital Ventures, IVP, and Spark Capital. They’re joining eleven firms that we’d already entered into the directory: Benchmark, Index Ventures, Lightspeed, General Catalyst, Khosla Ventures, Founders Fund, Kleiner Perkins, Greylock, Bessemer Venture Partners, Accel, and New Enterprise Associates (NEA). Their entries have all been updated as partners have joined and left, deals have been made, and funds have been raised. Check it out: https://lnkd.in/eQizqA8b