Venture Capital

In tough financial times, VCs often focus on shoring up portfolio companies rather than investing in new opportunities. But it’s still possible to raise capital—if you refine your approach.

By adopting a global talent acquisition strategy, venture capital not only extends the opportunities of entrepreneurship across the world, it helps startups reduce churn and break even faster.

In industries seeing stagnant growth or a negative impact from uncontrollable, outside forces, many companies are turning to corporate venture capital as an alternative means to innovation. Yet, famed venture capitalist Fred Wilson once said that corporate venture capital was the “devil.”

As a founder, how should you decide how to fund your start up and think about bootstrapping vs. venture capital? Each comes with advantages and limitations. A framework can help compare the two and decide how to get funding for a startup.

Over the past decade, venture capital funding has risen by 17% annually to a figure $254 billion. What factors have contributed to this surge and what do they mean for the industry going forward?

Revenue-based financing allows an entrepreneur to repay an investment over time, to retake ownership of their business, and give a capped return to investors. With founders increasingly rejecting the scale-at-all-costs mentality, this article investigates the math of revenue-based investing and whether in VC it is possible to play averages over home runs.

Depending on your perspective, type, and motivation, the idea of building a board of directors either excites or intimidates you, complete with all associated imagery of aged oak rooms, brief-case wielding titans, and expensive cigars. This article, by Toptal Finance Expert Orinola Gbadebo-Smith, sets out to debunk a few myths. It sheds light on boards as a construct, their workings, dealings, and nuances, and explores some battle-tested strategies for recruiting, building, and managing effective boards.

VC and PE fund structures are traditionally raised in the closed-ended manner, through limited partnerships with end dates. A less common alternative to this is an open-ended/evergreen fund, an ongoing structure that continues indefinitely. In this article we discuss the nuances of open-ended funds with a GP from B37 Ventures, who raised and operates one.

2017 saw a number of issues arise in the VC industry and it may be approaching a watershed regarding its relevance. This article looks into the root causes of the industry’s problems and why they have come to light. VCs can go through a pivot of their own to retain a seat at the table, with big data, exotic funds and platforms offering a path forward.