Month: November 2019

199. SPV’s, Side Cars, & The Syndication Surge (Jeremy Neilson)



Can you give us a brief overview of Assure?

  • Can you walk us through the history of how sidecars and/or angel groups have handled (or mishandled) these syndication style investments in previous decades?
  • What are the pros and cons of utilizing an SPV as an LP or individual investors?
  • Do the lead investors on these SPVs make money upfront -- initiation fees, mgmt fees, broker/transaction fees?
  • Do you see fund managers that use SPVs exclusively for pro ratas? What are the advantages here? What are the regulatory risks for sidecar funds?
  • 199. SPV’s, Side Cars, & The Syndication Surge (Jeremy Neilson)



    Can you give us a brief overview of Assure?

  • Can you walk us through the history of how sidecars and/or angel groups have handled (or mishandled) these syndication style investments in previous decades?
  • What are the pros and cons of utilizing an SPV as an LP or individual investors?
  • Do the lead investors on these SPVs make money upfront -- initiation fees, mgmt fees, broker/transaction fees?
  • Do you see fund managers that use SPVs exclusively for pro ratas? What are the advantages here? What are the regulatory risks for sidecar funds?
  • Europe’s Venture-Backed IPOs and American Exchanges


    This post is by Ian Hathaway from Blog - Ian Hathaway


    Last month, my friend Nicolas Colin, a Director at The Family, described Europe’s tech IPOs as “boring” in a newsletter. Among other points, Colin argues the need for a deeper ecosystem that links Europe’s entrepreneurs with capital markets. Large IPOs are a big part of this:

    We may have IPOs of companies with a European footprint such as Spotify and Farfetch—and the resulting liquidity. But when a European company goes public in the US we miss out on the positive feedback loop that nurtures an ecosystem of investment bankers, analysts, and institutional investors, which in turn will help more European companies go public. What’s more, those IPOs in the US are dependent on the ups and downs of the (partially uncorrelated) US IPO market—and that’s a problem. Nothing like the WeWork debacle has happened here in Europe, but now our tech companies should shelve their IPOs because Adam Neumann was a fraud and SoftBank was negligent in its due diligence? What does it even have to do with us?

    A debate over the veracity of Colin’s claim spilled into social media, which focused more so on what one considers “boring” than anything else. Word choice aside, I presume that by “boring” Colin meant “small.” On that, he has a point. In both a game of averages and outliers, many of Europe’s most valuable startups have in fact looked to American exchanges for public listings.

    I analyzed data from PitchBook on European venture-backed companies that had an IPO (Read more...)

    Europe’s Venture-Backed IPOs and American Exchanges


    This post is by Ian Hathaway from Blog - Ian Hathaway


    Last month, my friend Nicolas Colin, a Director at The Family, described Europe’s tech IPOs as “boring” in a newsletter. Among other points, Colin argues the need for a deeper ecosystem that links Europe’s entrepreneurs with capital markets. Large IPOs are a big part of this:

    We may have IPOs of companies with a European footprint such as Spotify and Farfetch—and the resulting liquidity. But when a European company goes public in the US we miss out on the positive feedback loop that nurtures an ecosystem of investment bankers, analysts, and institutional investors, which in turn will help more European companies go public. What’s more, those IPOs in the US are dependent on the ups and downs of the (partially uncorrelated) US IPO market—and that’s a problem. Nothing like the WeWork debacle has happened here in Europe, but now our tech companies should shelve their IPOs because Adam Neumann was a fraud and SoftBank was negligent in its due diligence? What does it even have to do with us?

    A debate over the veracity of Colin’s claim spilled into social media, which focused more so on what one considers “boring” than anything else. Word choice aside, I presume that by “boring” Colin meant “small.” On that, he has a point. In both a game of averages and outliers, many of Europe’s most valuable startups have in fact looked to American exchanges for public listings.

    I analyzed data from PitchBook on European venture-backed companies that had an IPO (Read more...)

    Startups and Uncertainty


    This post is by Jerry Neumann from Reaction Wheel


    I’m trying to write something longer than a blog post (‘longer?’ you say, ‘oh dear.’) and to keep myself motivated I’m breaking it up into smaller pieces and publishing them here. So this should be read in conjunction with Schumpeter on Strategy and A Taxonomy of Moats. I expect that at some point the three […]

    Top Tier Holiday Shopping Guide 2019



    As we head towards the end of 2019 and the beginning of the next decade, TTCP hopes to make your
    holiday shopping a little easier with this collected list of popular products from our portfolio companies.
    We hope that this will help you pick out the latest technology-driven gifts for all of your friends and
    families.

    Many of these products have been used by the team here at Top Tier, so if you have any questions
    relating to a product or service, please do not hesitate to ask!

     Fashion/Apparel

    Anine Bing

    Cotopaxi

    Kimaï

    Simplicity and sustainability continue to be stylish trends in fashion. Anine Bing mixes sophistication and edge for a modern twist on everyday classics; from shoes and jeans to children’s attire, Anine Bing’s collection will help you revamp your wardrobe. Cotopaxi’s outdoor clothing and accessories help you enjoy the outdoors and do good in the world; they tie their earnings to impact by allocating annual revenues to the Cotopaxi Foundation, which advances their mission to support global poverty alleviation by directing grants to selected nonprofits. Kimaï is an ethical and fair trade fine jewelry brand that uses lab-grown diamonds and recycled gold. This jewelry has been seen on the likes of Meghan Markle and Emma Watson.

    Food

    Magic Spoon

    Good Eggs

    Salted

    New styles of healthy eating continue to emerge as “vegan” continues to be one of the top trending Google searches globally, and food delivery continues to grow as consumers want more convenience. Since low-carb, high-fat diets (Read more...)

    Investor Stories 126: Whats Next (Franklin, Glickman, Cheng)



    On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:

    • Bobby Franklin
    • Steve Glickman
    • Cheryl Cheng

    Each investor discusses sectors, drivers and/or trends that may have a significant impact in the future and are potentially positioned for outsized-returns.

    To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes.

    Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

    Investor Stories 126: Whats Next (Franklin, Glickman, Cheng)



    On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:

    • Bobby Franklin
    • Steve Glickman
    • Cheryl Cheng

    Each investor discusses sectors, drivers and/or trends that may have a significant impact in the future and are potentially positioned for outsized-returns.

    To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes.

    Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

    The support you wish you’d had — Peppy



    The support you wish you’d had — Peppy

    Recently, I had the chance to catch up with Mridula, CEO of Peppy Health* and we spoke about the real cost of lost human capital at work and beyond, the future of insurance that employers provide their teams and everything in between.

    *For some background about what Peppy does, it gives employers a totally new range of employee benefits that have a huge impact on staff attraction, productivity and loyalty — benefits that people actually want. Their first products support new parents and women dealing with the challenges of menopause, with more in the pipeline.

    We often forget that throughout someone’s life, there can be massive changes in their home circumstances that impact their happiness, well-being and career prospects. From their employer’s point of view, this can radically change that person’s productivity and engagement at work, as well as driving attrition and the gender pay gap.

    Peppy was born out of the desire to support people during these challenging times and Mridula, during our chat, shared her views with me during our conversation, which we’ve transcribed below:

    Mridula, CEO of Peppy Health

    Carlos:

    When I first met you, and before we invested in Peppy, I remember you telling me that there are two or three major points in someone’s life that can fundamentally change their outlook, the economic opportunities open to them, and their wellbeing.

    For our readers, what are those points?

    Mridula:

    Three obvious ones are going through fertility treatment, becoming a parent and going through the menopause. (Read more...)