News and Analysis
Zombie VCs are surging: 25% fewer active investors in 2024 vs 2023, and 50% down from 2021's peak. These funds can't make new investments, but their short-term focus can still cause major problems for founders in their portfolio.
News and Analysis
This chart tells an important story for early-stage founders. Only 10% of startups that raised a Series A in 2022 have raised a Series B two years later. That drop of nearly 2/3 from 2018 represents a brutal cliff for founders.
News and Analysis
This chart is a perfect illustration of the pain still to come in venture. The explosion of ‘unicorns’ in 2021 and 2022 is the venture bubble in action. It will take years to unwind, and venture returns will continue to suffer along the way.
News and Analysis
Most businesses aren't a good fit for venture capital. Picking the right sources of funding is one of the most important decisions you'll make. When you're pitching your mushroom farming startup as a tech company, you're on a path that's
News and Analysis
In the coming wave of AI-related disruption, we can enable entrepreneurship and unleash the job-creating forces behind it. We need to learn from the past to set the right policies for the future.
News and Analysis
Exploring the consequences of prioritizing short-term gains over long-term trust and transparency in the startup world, as illustrated by Substack's recent fundraising approach.
News and Analysis
The explosion of AI over the past six months is just the start. This innovation will shake the very foundations of many business models in the coming decade.
News and Analysis
Stay in control of your startup. Stay focused on investing in profitable, scalable growth. Extend your runway as much as possible, staying default investable if possible, but always with a path to default alive.
News and Analysis
If you're interested in the inner workings of the venture capital industry, paying attention to the proposed WeWork IPO is a great place to start. Last week I wrote about the IPO in terms of some of the problems on the company side. But Softbank Capital, WeWork'
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You should be paying attention to the story of the collapsing WeWork IPO. It's a fascinating look at all that can go wrong when a company that is overhyped and overvalued is exposed before they can get through the IPO process. WeWork's most recent valuation was
News and Analysis
When I see 99% destruction in value in a once high-flying startup, there must be some useful lessons in there somewhere. I know I'm a bit late on the Tumblr story, but I was on vacation last week! It's hard to keep up with this level
News and Analysis
I have a few headshots that I use as profile photos on my many email, Slack, and social media accounts. While most of the photos are your standard, professional-looking headshot, there is one that I sometimes use that is the perfect example of perspective and storytelling through effective editing. Whenever