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Month: July 2019

191. Corporate VC (David Horowitz)

by Nick Moran

David Horowitz of Touchdown Ventures joins Nick to discuss Corporate VC. In this episode, we cover:

  • Backstory/ Path to Venture
  • Talk about the 14 years you spent with Comcast Ventures -- what you learned and why you left?
  • What lead to founding Touchdown Ventures?
  • At Touchdown, you partner with leading corporations to manage the complete venture lifecycle from entity formation to investment management…Can you dive into the thesis/focus of the firm?
  • Why would a founder choose corporate VC funding over institutional funding?
  • I was reading through the “Risky Business” blog on the Touchdown website and found some pretty interesting articles…specifically one that talks about “the most overlooked skill in Corporate venture" being deal management…that it “requires more effort than all other activities combined”…why is deal management so challenging?
  • Why do you think CVC’s funding has historically been more inconsistent than institutional venture funds?
  • Why are corporations willing to take minority stakes in startups? As Fred Wilson said on CVC—“You want the asset? Buy it.” Is there a risk to founders of taking investment from a large corporate that can "look under the hood" and reverse-engineer the tech or exploit the IP?
  • Is the core objective of a CVC financial return or is it more of a strategy play? (i.e. market insight, actively trying to grow certain sectors)
  • How does the mindset of a CVC change in a bear market, especially compared to institutional VC?
  • How does follow-on funding work in corporate VC? If the corporate has a poor financial year, (Read more...)

191. Corporate VC (David Horowitz)

by Nick Moran

David Horowitz of Touchdown Ventures joins Nick to discuss Corporate VC. In this episode, we cover:

  • Backstory/ Path to Venture
  • Talk about the 14 years you spent with Comcast Ventures -- what you learned and why you left?
  • What lead to founding Touchdown Ventures?
  • At Touchdown, you partner with leading corporations to manage the complete venture lifecycle from entity formation to investment management…Can you dive into the thesis/focus of the firm?
  • Why would a founder choose corporate VC funding over institutional funding?
  • I was reading through the “Risky Business” blog on the Touchdown website and found some pretty interesting articles…specifically one that talks about “the most overlooked skill in Corporate venture" being deal management…that it “requires more effort than all other activities combined”…why is deal management so challenging?
  • Why do you think CVC’s funding has historically been more inconsistent than institutional venture funds?
  • Why are corporations willing to take minority stakes in startups? As Fred Wilson said on CVC—“You want the asset? Buy it.” Is there a risk to founders of taking investment from a large corporate that can "look under the hood" and reverse-engineer the tech or exploit the IP?
  • Is the core objective of a CVC financial return or is it more of a strategy play? (i.e. market insight, actively trying to grow certain sectors)
  • How does the mindset of a CVC change in a bear market, especially compared to institutional VC?
  • How does follow-on funding work in corporate VC? If the corporate has a poor financial year, (Read more...)

Building & Measuring Sustainable Growth Marketing Strategies | Greymatter

by Greylock Partners
This post is by Greylock Partners from Greymatter

Greylock Investor Mike Duboe, Right Side Up CEO Tyler Elliston, and KeepTruckin VP of Data Science Kim Larsen discuss frameworks and tactics for successful growth marketing. This episode of Greymatter is the second in a series of growth discussions featuring Greylock investor Mike Duboe. In this discussion, Right Side Up CEO Tyler Elliston and KeepTrucking VP of Data Science Kim Larsen chat with Mike about the foundational concepts and tactics to build and measure effective growth marketing strategies. Mike, Tyler, and Kim discuss the importance of diversification in marketing channels, best practices for measurement including incrementality testing, how to avoid common pitfalls of budget allocation, and building a growth marketing team in-house versus partnering with an agency. This podcast goes into many more concepts and frameworks, but below are just a few takeaways from the discussion.

Building & Measuring Sustainable Growth Marketing Strategies | Greymatter

by Greylock Partners
This post is by Greylock Partners from Greymatter

Greylock Investor Mike Duboe, Right Side Up CEO Tyler Elliston, and KeepTruckin VP of Data Science Kim Larsen discuss frameworks and tactics for successful growth marketing. This episode of Greymatter is the second in a series of growth discussions featuring Greylock investor Mike Duboe. In this discussion, Right Side Up CEO Tyler Elliston and KeepTrucking VP of Data Science Kim Larsen chat with Mike about the foundational concepts and tactics to build and measure effective growth marketing strategies. Mike, Tyler, and Kim discuss the importance of diversification in marketing channels, best practices for measurement including incrementality testing, how to avoid common pitfalls of budget allocation, and building a growth marketing team in-house versus partnering with an agency. This podcast goes into many more concepts and frameworks, but below are just a few takeaways from the discussion.

FOMO in Washington DC: Mnuchin, Trump and Tomorrow’s Libra Hearing

by jlk
This post is by jlk from The Barefoot VC

The last time I wrote was on the eve of Facebook’s cryptocurrency Libra announcement. At this time tomorrow, the US Congress will have held its first hearing on the matter. It’s been quite an active few weeks – Bitcoin reached highs over $13K at one point before retreating back to the $10K mark (still nearly 3x higher than its lows earlier this year). The SEC provided more guidance on crypto custody (echoing much of what was said in FinCEN’s guidance which I covered back in May) and qualified the first Reg A blockchain offerings.

However, all eyes are on Washington DC, with US Secretary Treasury Steve Mnuchin calling a press conference today to express Treasury’s view on digital assets and in particular the Libra token. You can watch a video of his remarks here.

He reiterated his previous stance on concerns over money laundering but did note that

Treasury “welcomes responsible innovation…that expands access to financial services”. This is in contrast to President Trump’s tweetstorm a couple of days ago:

“I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air. Unregulated Crypto Assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity….”

 

“We have only one real currency in the USA, and it is stronger than ever, both dependable and reliable,” Trump continued. “It is by far the most dominant currency anywhere in the World, and it will always stay that way. (Read more...)

Our 6 Must Reads for Cutting Through Conflict and Tough Conversations

by First Round Review

Big ideas, strong-willed characters, impossible deadlines and close quarters — if you wrote out a recipe for conflict, it might bear an uncanny resemblance to the high-stakes, pressure-cooker environment of a startup. We spoke with top engineers, seasoned managers and experts in human behavior to share their experience-tested wisdom on conflict mediation and management in rapidly scaling companies.

Greymatter Blitzscaling | People with Reid Hoffman & Chris Yeh

by Greylock Partners
This post is by Greylock Partners from Greymatter

This episode in the Greymatter Blitzscaling capsule series, with Reid Hoffman and Chris Yeh, provides an overview of some of the main people issues you might encounter when blitzscaling. Indeed, while many of the articles in the popular press that mention blitzscaling focus on the financial capital involved, in most cases, the greatest constraint on blitzscaling is your ability to find, develop, and retain the human capital needed to manage hypergrowth.

Greymatter Blitzscaling | People with Reid Hoffman & Chris Yeh

by Greylock Partners
This post is by Greylock Partners from Greymatter

This episode in the Greymatter Blitzscaling capsule series, with Reid Hoffman and Chris Yeh, provides an overview of some of the main people issues you might encounter when blitzscaling. Indeed, while many of the articles in the popular press that mention blitzscaling focus on the financial capital involved, in most cases, the greatest constraint on blitzscaling is your ability to find, develop, and retain the human capital needed to manage hypergrowth.