Top Insights
- Raising at a juiced valuation can have devastating downstream consequences for a startup.
- Recent momentum in funding underestimated founders has helped firms realize the opportunity of having a diverse team of investors.
- It is harder than ever to be a “generalist” investor. To succeed in today’s market you need a thesis.
- Portfolio management near the peak is key to thriving in a down market.
Background / Intro
- Joanne Wilson is a blogger, businesswoman and angel investor with 130+ investments.
- She mostly invests in women and underestimated founders.
- Back in the 1990’s, Joanne was Jason’s top sales executive at Silicon Alley Reporter and taught him a very important lesson: sales solves everything. “If you have a great person who can sell, everything goes in the right direction.” – Jason Calacanis
Spotting a bubble, impact of juiced valuations on startups
“… we’ve seen it so many times over the past 20 years. (Founders) end up with a down round even though (they’ve) done a good job.”
“(After raising a down round) that company is damaged. And then institutional investors have moved on into something new and something else and you’re f****d.” – Joanne Wilson
- How raising during a bubble can create downstream issues:
- Founders raise at an inflated valuation, and then have to put up crazy numbers to justify a higher valuation in their next round of funding
- So, even really good companies can “get ahead of their skis” and fail to justify their mid-bubble valuations
- If a company (Read more…)