This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 24, 2021

Sometimes it all seems like magic. In the beginning of my venture career, I knew of a firm that was involved in a highly competitive funding round that they ultimately failed to win. It was a clearly hot space and they felt like they had missed out on an opportunity to place their bet in it—and worst of all, they lost the deal to what they considered a rival firm.

Funds 127

Funds Investors Companies Investing 127

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

OCTOBER 25, 2021

When you look at the recent Q3 numbers on seed and early-stage VC fundraising, you might think we are in the late stages of a VC bubble: The words I would use to describe the current environment in early-stage VC are “fast and furious.” And yet the thing that makes me think this could be the new normal and not the late stages of a bubble is the dramatic increase in the number of people who are choosing to work in or form new startups.

Startups 123

Startups Companies 123

Dear Mr. Market

OCTOBER 27, 2021

Dear Mr. Market: This isn’t the type of letter we like to write you. Our brief note today will not center around anything of stock market or economic interest. Mr. Market dupes people with his manic, unpredictable, and volatile ways but one thing that we can guard ourselves from is the ever growing threat of phishing. What exactly is “phishing”?

Investment Firms 52

Investment Firms Stock Market Stock Market Capital 52

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

OCTOBER 29, 2021

I backed this project this morning. The Tether Bike Light is “a bike safety device that projects a safe zone around your bike, responds to road users around you, identifying safe and unsafe roads in your city.” I like the idea that “locations of overtakes are recorded to identify safe and unsafe zones in your city to help plan safer routing.” That is very cool.

Funds 76

Funds Crowdfunding 76

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

OCTOBER 27, 2021

Now that we are beginning to see what consumer applications are like in the decentralized web (web3), it is interesting to compare that to what consumer applications are like in the centralized web (web2). It became clear early in the 2000s that the big opportunity in the web would be to build large networks of engaged users. That was USV’s initial web2 thesis: USV in 140 characters: invest in large networks of engaged users, differentiated by user experience, and defensible though network

Stakes 109

Stakes Assets Investing 109