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𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝗰𝗸𝘀 #𝟳: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗥𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗩𝗖 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱 – 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶-𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Let's delve into a technical yet utterly fascinating aspect of venture capital: raising the fund itself. Yes, it's about amassing those millions to fuel cool startups. But did you know it's not all gathered in one go? As we gear up for our second close at welovefounders, let’s explore the magic of multiple closes and the dance of investor equalization. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶-𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 Raising a VC fund typically unfolds in phases, known as "closes." Here’s how it works: - 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦: This initial phase is the kickoff. It allowed us at welovefounders to start deploying capital as early as September 2023, even while we continue to raise more. Think of it as opening the gates to start the race. - 𝘚𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴: These are opportunities for additional investors to join the fund over a period, typically 12 to 24 months. It's like keeping the door open just a bit longer to let a few more VIPs into the concert. Why this strategy? Flexibility, my friends! It helps fund managers like us secure capital faster and start making investments sooner rather than waiting to hit the ultimate fund target. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 What happens when new investors come in after the first close? Suppose you're considering joining our second close (and please do! 😍). We’ve been investing in awesome companies for the last 9 months, and these companies have already started creating significant value (more on that soon). There needs to be an agreement between first and second close investors to ensure all invest on the same basis. Enter the world of equalization: - 𝘊𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘔𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘴: New investors contribute not only their share of the current investments but also catch up on any investments made between their entry and the first close. This ensures fairness, maintaining equivalent stakes for all investors regardless of their joining time. - 𝘍𝘦𝘦 𝘈𝘥𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴: Similarly, new investors might pay an equalization fee to compensate earlier investors who bore more risk initially. This balancing act ensures that whether you're the first or the last investor on board, everyone enjoys the same risk and reward setup. It's like ensuring every concertgoer gets a front-row experience, even if they arrived a bit late. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲? Understanding these mechanics is crucial, whether you're considering becoming a VC fund investor or you're on the entrepreneurial side, curious about where all this investment money originates. 🚀 Disclaimer du Jour: The insights shared come from my personal adventures in the fundraising jungle. They're meant to guide and inspire, not serve as financial gospel. #equilization #fundraise #venturecapital

The European VC world has been through a lot. There was a big slowdown and some tough times. This period has tested our resilience and adaptability But you know what? We made it through stronger and smarter. This is why, as a co-founder of EUVC I am proud to honor those who have made it through this period. The European VC Awards. This isn't just another awards ceremony. They're a big shoutout to everyone. Those who's been brave, smart, and innovative through these tricky times. It's our way of saying, "We see you, and we're proud!" 👏 Nominate your favorite people and have the chance to get a free ticket for #SuperVenture. 👇 https://lnkd.in/dJckaRuN #euvc #vc #tech #investing #venturecapital

VC Beat, "niche-game": Largest VC LPs (Endowments) are seeking "Edge" when choosing Emerging Managers: 1 - deep knowledge, 2 - deal network. quote "A true edge on the market, some differentiating factor that will be impossible for other firms to replicate." “How can they win aside from paying the highest price?” “Over the last few years, we’ve focused more on niche managers who have real sector expertise, a narrower focus,” Investor Q said. “They go much deeper and they’re building networks in specific places. They tend to all be developing their own deal flow.” end-quote. #vc, #venturecapital, #familyoffice, #wealthmanagement, #highnetworth, #fundraising, #privateequity, #alternativeinvestments, #investmentstrategy, #investmentstrategies, #forbes, #machinelearning, #generativeai, #ai https://lnkd.in/e9ffU5XE

Despite the fundraising slowdown and reduced investments in new companies, Israeli VCs still hold significant financial strength, managing $10B in assets. According to a report by IVC Data and Insights, Gornitzky & Co, and KPMG "Last year, 21 Israeli VCs managed to secure an aggregate amount of $1.52B. Notably, three VC funds accounted for 51% of the total capital, raising over $200M each: Qumra Capital IV, TLV Partners V, and Viola Growth IV." We're proud to be part of this resilient group and are committed to fostering growth and innovation in the Israeli tech sector. 🇮🇱 We look forward to deploying our newly raised $250M fund and partnering with early-stage, promising founders aiming to build category-defining companies and revolutionize industries. 🚀🙌 Read the full story by Sophie Shulman on CTech by Calcalist: https://lnkd.in/e8B23cYJ

Thinking about establishing a fund in the Nordics or becoming a VC fund manager but not sure how to get started? Venture Challenge can help you develop your first fund by sharing the process, tools, network, and venture expertise needed to succeed. The VC Challenge program will help you: ✨ Understand the venture mindset: Understand what it really means to be a VC and their role in the innovation ecosystem ✨ Develop your fund focus: Define your target market and the unique investment opportunities. ✨ Develop you fund process: Decide on your company selection filters and the investment decision methodology. ✨ Develop your portfolio: Decide on the target fund size, pace, number of deals, and what are your target expected returns. ✨ Develop a sourcing and dealflow strategy: Define your fund's brand and value proposition and how you will win the best deals. ✨ Develop a team story: Explain why your team is the most capable to execute the investment thesis and what is your track record. ✨ Understand how LPs think: Understand what LPs are looking for and how to build long term relationships. ✨Create your fund presentation: Develop your fund deck and get ready to start fundraising. ⏰ Join their free webinar on September 26th at 14:00 EEST to learn more about the program and how to participate in the Nordic Venture ecosystem as an emerging fund manager. Register at 👇https://lnkd.in/dyCfNrR5 #venturecapital #vcchallenge #investments #nordicinvestments #venture #emergingmanagers #nordicstartups

Today, we're unveiling The European VC Awards 🥳 We've been brewing on this for a good while now together with Chris Wade, Joe Schorge, the whole team at Isomer Capital (Laura Corrigan, you're the 💣), Alex Hazell, Greg Brown, and Stephen Lowery at HSBC Innovation Banking and Abbie Cooper at Informa Connect/SuperVenture and damn I'm happy to finally see it out there ❤️🔥 2 hours in since the launch and the emails are flooding in, so happy to see that the awards resonate with people 😍 Truly could not be more hyped 🏆 now, before reading more, turn up your speakers and hit play on the below video to listen to the purely AI generated preliminary soundtrack for the awards (smell a competition for best soundtrack coming up eh!? 🤣) As always, you can read much more on EUVC and tune into an in-depth conversation on the pod but let me also outline the categories below and most importantly: ask you to go nominate on the link in the comments. Five Awards to Celebrate Our Champions Designed to celebrate change-makers in European VC, the awards are dedicated to recognize and honor the firms and individuals that truly stand out and make a difference. We will do so across five categories: Hall of Fame: Celebrating a lifetime of achievement in European Venture, this award is for those who have shaped the industry through their investments, contributions, and thought leadership over 20+ years and is stepping back from an active investing role and/or entering into a portfolio career of multiple firms. Firm of the Year: This accolade recognizes a firm from a fully holistic view, including pure financial performance and portfolio performance as well as innovation, impact on the ecosystem, diversity, transparency and fairness as well as team and culture. Newcomer of the Year: Honoring emerging managers, this award goes to a fund that has had its first close in the past year, recognizing their remarkable success in bringing something new and innovative to the European Venture market while building traction around their fund and vision. Achievement of the Year: This category is for the outstanding achievements and contributions in the European VC ecosystem in the given year, whether from an individual, company, or fund. This is the wild one where anything can happen. Exit of the Year: Honoring the firm that has had a company that has exited and created the most value back to the VC and therefore back to the European Venture ecosystem. This is about venture capital returns as opposed to “the biggest exit” and will also encompass strategic aspects of the exit such as timing in relation to market conditions and exit strategy. Hope you'll all participate in this celebration of our wonderful world of venture and go nominate, share and most importantly: party with us in Berlin on June 4th 💃 #euvc #vc #tech #investing #venturecapital

A unique experience of being a General Partner (GP) in a venture fund is being both on the raising and investing sides of the table. On any given day, I’m evaluating investments and founders, while I, too, am being evaluated. This has me thinking about the characteristics that LPs - limited partners, or fund investors - look for in GPs, and whether and where that differs from what we look for in startup founders. But that’s just one of the many questions I’ve been wanting to ask LPs. I’ve also been wondering:   ❓ Do LPs care if GPs are good at fundraising?   ❓ How do LPs think agtech differs from other venture sectors?   ❓ Do impact-first and financial-first investors want to co-invest?   ❓ How do LPs think about where returns will come from in agtech? So in another excuse to learn (and fundraise) out loud, and in an attempt to continue to open the black box that is investing, I jumped on the opportunity to catch up with Eliza Jackson (Macdoch Ventures) and Sara Balawajder (Builders Initiative) - two investors who’ve scanned, scouted, and deployed globally into #agtech funds and direct investments. Here are some of my favorite bits: On why invest in funds. "It's a confidence building thing. This is a new sector for us, and we acknowledge there's a lot to learn. And whenever that's the case, we think partnering with fund managers can be a better way to get deeper, faster, rather than sitting behind and spinning your wheels, getting stuck on desk research." On exits in agtech. "The main thing is that the exit pathways don't look the same. And so if you as a GP can't acknowledge that with me, and you're going to tell me it's a NASDAQ IPO for all of your companies, it's probably not a fit. It's just not what we believe will be the case." On fundraising tactics. "I think you don't want to show weakness to LPs, or at least that's the perception. But ultimately it's a partnership and we should be trying to help each other." Links below to the edited transcript & the full chat on the #agtechsowhat podcast 👇👇👇

Meet HERmesa's December "Member of the Month" Eliška Hookham! "My background is a mix of fintech (Revolut and VC investing at Fidelity International) as well as broader tech and corporate and exiting my own startup. I am passionate about growing early stage businesses and innovation at larger firms & I am currently a fractional growth leader and innovation advisor. I have capacity for one more exciting project if your startup or angel portfolio needs strategic growth expertise! I am also diving deep into building a new business in fintech & social impact, so if there's anyone working in this space I'd love to connect." Q: What brought you to angel investing and HERMESA? A: (HERmesa founder) Marla Shapiro and the community. I was already passionate about supporting both female founders and investors through various initiatives (like amplifi -https://amplifi.carrd.co/ - a community I started) . Hermesa's mission really resonated with me and the community gives us unparalleled access to excellent founders and investment opportunities. I worked as a venture investor but angel investing felt so unfamiliar and like a club for the ultra wealthy - Hermesa demystifies the angel world making it easy to write your first check and ask the 'not so smart' questions Q: Can you share a key highlight on your angel investing journey so far? A: It’s a humbling experience overall because no matter how much domain knowledge or experience you have or think you have in an area, there are so many moving pieces in the startup world that you need to get comfortable with the uncomfortable. As cheesy as that is, you need to be willing to take a chance and risk that's bigger than what you might be used to with stock market investing for example. And that's ok because the joint decision making with other angels as well as founder interactions and support you give them makes it worthwhile. And you're constantly learning! Q: Can you tell us about your investment thesis and some of the companies you have invested in? A: Without the intention I have found myself gravitating towards B2B investments and particularly in fintech, climate, impact. But I'm always open to most sectors: one such investment and my first with HERmesa is Flexa. The founder Molly Johnson-Jones is what made this a no-brainer and she is reinventing the future of work. The business model was so sound and the vision so well thought out. I always recommend staying pretty open minded, you never know what great founder or business might hit the desk! Q: What would you say to others who are thinking about becoming angel investors? A: Join a community of other like minded investors. It is a no-pressure way to start. It takes about a year of getting comfortable and figuring out your style - and I still haven't fully figured it out either, but with more exposure and confidence you're able to discern what investments are a fit for you and hone in on your approach to risk.

Oliver Libby provides valuable insights on navigating the ever-evolving VC landscape with the "Four C's: Key Elements for a New Day in Venture Capital." The article delves into current trends in government involvement in the industry and key drivers of success for entrepreneurs and investors alike. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dC_JfK-a cc: Venture Capital Journal #VentureCapital #Regulation #VC

RSVP for REVERSE DEMO DAY - Cohort 33, this Wednesday, Aug 23rd, at 1:00pm PST. We will be sharing many exciting updates, including: 1) Annoucing the VC investments we're making this quarter, sourced out of 4,000+ startups, a <0.1% selectivity, as part of VU's Venture Capital Investor Accelerator. 2) Annoucing our first real estate investment as part of VU's Real Estate Private Equity & REIT Investor Accelerator. 3) Two new platforms: 1) LP Match - Free Matching Platform Between Fund Managers & LPs, 2) Global Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (GVCPEA) - Global network of funds / LPs and hosted events. https://lnkd.in/gDgkK4HY