Happy Friday.
Hello from 35,000 feet somewhere over Canada en route back to DC.
I’m heading to Shreveport, Pittsburgh, Tulsa and a few other places over the next ~30 days. If you’re around (or know someone that will be around any of the 10+ cities I’m visiting), RSVP to the respective stops on my 2016 tech tour and you’ll be the first to know when I post the updated event calendar for each place.
Finally, if you’re in the DC Metro area and looking for a place to work (and hang out), join me at Brickyard Ashburn. If you mention that you learned about it through my newsletter (or you just hit reply now), I’ll hook you up with some sweet discounts. 😉
1. “if you’re too late no one cares, if you’re too early no one knows what you’re talking about.” [Link] [Tweet]
Josh Kopelman isn’t based in the Valley (Pennsylvania, actually) and his portfolio is everywhere. One of my favorite bits: “(what if) instead of being a venture firm managing a portfolio, if you could be a venture firm building a community? It could be far more powerful.”
2. “So, from a POV perspective, the 2016 plain vanilla startup.” [Link] [Tweet]
Whether you think we’re in a bubble or not (or don’t care), fundraising in 2016 is already changing. Growth matters. Unit economics matter. Everything matters, unfortunately.
As Philipp says, “Keep your head down and your wallet closed.”
3. “Deal volume and valuations are up massively over the past seven years and non-VC money has entered the system.” [Link] [Tweet]
If you’re really trying to understand what’s happening in the private market for tech companies right now, no one makes it easier than Mark Suster. There’s a lot of info here but, especially if you plan to fundraise or invest this year, you should chew on this.
4. “I did not have much money then, but I had hope.” [Link] [Tweet]
No, don’t go dive into a startup because you read this story. The point is that hard workand luck are required to succeed.
The real problem with entrepreneurship today: everyone wants the glory, few people want to do the work.
5. “TL;DR: Corporate and Institutional VCs complement each other.” [Link] [Tweet]
Every corporate VC I’ve met claims to provide their portfolio companies with access to their employees and customers. In practice, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a founder excited by anything but the money that the corporate VC brings to the table. Have you?
6. “Just do it fast, get it closed, get back to working on the company.” [Link] [Tweet]
So much good stuff here, go read it. As I mentioned last week, everything you need to know to start a company is online these days and this piece is a great example of that.
7. “entrepreneurs should understand how their investors are being compensated.” [Link] [Tweet]
Not every angel needs to be a VC and not every company needs to raise VC money. That being said, I’m willing to bet that founders and angels would make far better decisions if they understood how the economics of venture funds actually work.
8. “a YouTuber who operates on food the way Dr. Frankenstein operates on cadavers.” [Link] [Tweet]
Oreos and Reese’s Cups. You guys, what’s not to love about this?
9. “Without realizing it, I found myself in the middle of a hot new trend in VC.” [Link] [Tweet]
It isn’t just VC, it’s every industry. This year, I expect to see LPs starting to write much, much more often.
10. “Marketing channels don’t last forever.” [Link] [Tweet]
Whatever you do, it’s time to consider yourself a marketing company that does [whatever you do] rather than a [buzzword] company with an intern that handles your social media.
Firehose
You can get the full stream of the things I read, it’s all on Twitter — follow me: @paulsingh. Sometimes I write stuff too. You can always find me on Slack, apply to join.
Have a great weekend!
-P
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