robin hood Ventures

Angel Investors Play Big Role For Start-Ups, Think Tank Says

Shannon Lee — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:18:25 GMT

From WSJ - The total capital raised from angel investors in the U.S. in 2009 was $17.7b, compared to $18.7b for VCs according to a report by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. While VCs are prone to supporting high-tech start-ups in Silicon Valley, and less risky late-stage start-ups, angels are more likely to "support entrepreneurs in their own back yards", funding typically $25,000 - $500,000. Angel investors are also increasingly investing in biotechnology and health-related ventures.

Read the entry and report here:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203806504577179430766885266.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
http://www.oecd.org/document/30/0,3746,en_2649_33703_49309726_1_1_1_1,00.html

Why Tech Start-Ups are Staying in Philly

Shannon Lee — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 20:47:06 GMT

From the RJMetrics blog - find out why this start-up turned down offers that involved moving their company to New York or Silicon Valley and is instead "doubling-down on Philadelphia".

Read the entry here:
http://info.rjmetrics.com/blog/bid/50397/Why-Our-Startup-is-Doubling-Down-on-Philadelphia

Recent Exit Trends of Venture Backed Companies

Shannon Lee — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 20:37:28 GMT

The net return on venture investing tends to cluster in the bi-modal distribution, i.e. a substantial, or poor return. SVB Analytics has put together an eye-opening report on venture-backed company exits. The data is broken down by several industry types - software, hardware, biopharmaceuticals and medical devices/equipment. While there are a variety of takeaways, it does re-emphasize the relative difficulty in attaining "successful exits" (as defined separately by industry), exit prices in excess of $100 million and/or exit multiples in excess of 5X (based on all capital invested over time).

Read the report here.

The Best Way to Angel Invest $1,000,000

Shannon Lee — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 20:14:50 GMT

There are many approaches to investing a million dollars. It isn't an easy decision determining which to take, especially after working tirelessly to make your own money to invest. Christopher Combs decided to pose the question on Quora, received some great tips, and has shared a possible approach on his blog here.

The Philadelphia Metro Area Life Science Angel Scene

Shannon Lee — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:06:02 GMT

At a recent panel presentation, several principals of angel groups based in Philadelphia discussed the role of angel groups in funding emerging life science companies, detailing their respective groups' life science investments over the last five years.

The panel included Jeff Nicholas, a partner at Fox Rothschild LLP and the Managing Director of Delaware Crossing, Ellen Edelmen Weber, the Executive Director of Robin Hood Ventures, J. David Owens, an investor in the Mid-Atlantic Angel Group, Katherine O'Neill, the Executive Director of Jump Start, and Jeff Snellenburg, a member of Delaware Crossing, and Lori F. Reiner, an audit partner with EisnerAmper LLP, who moderated the panel.

A full article (written by Fox Rothschild) can be found here.

NJEDA Matching funds

Marshall Yang — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 14:28:58 GMT

New Jersey Economic Development Authority invests in early stage companies and promotes local commerce. They have funds for early and expansion-stage companies, that match the private investment they get from angels and VCs. Some of the funds:

The Edison Innovation Angel Growth Fund (www.njeda.com/AngelGrowthFund) provides up to $250,000 in subordinated convertible debt financing for technology companies with minimum trailing 12 month commercial revenues of $500,000 that have received 2:1 match funding from an angel investor or angel group within 90 days prior to application.

The Edison Innovation VC Growth Fund (www.njeda.com/VCGrowthFund) provides up to $500,000 in subordinated convertible debt financing for technology companies with minimum trailing 12 month commercial revenues of $500,000 that have received 1:1 match funding from a venture capital firm within 90 days prior to application.

The Edison Innovation Growth Stars Fund (www.njeda.com/GrowthStarsFund) provides follow-on funding up to $500,000 in subordinated convertible debt financing for the best performing Edison portfolio companies with minimum trailing 12 month commercial revenues of $2 million that have received 1:1 match funding from an angel investor/group or venture capital firm within 90 days prior to application.

To see more funds at NJEDA, click here.

Investors' Circle Fall Venture Fair is open to applications

Marshall Yang — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 13:10:41 GMT

Investors' Circle, a network of early stage investors, is hosting a venture fair in Philadelphia, Oct 26-28. They will select 10-12 companies to present at the event. To learn more about the event and how to apply, click here.

Documents Startups Should Have

Marshall Yang — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 19:48:55 GMT

A startup shouldn’t be a smaller version of a big company, especially in the Lean Startup era. However, the minimalism could bring you potential legal pitfalls. Some key documents are essential for basic operations such as sales and hiring. DDC compiled a one-pager on the Most Important Documents to Find in Your Company, which is very handy when you put your company “paperwork official”.

DreamIt Philadelphia Fall 2011 Application is open!

Marshall Yang — Wed, 25 May 2011 18:10:30 GMT

DreamIt Ventures, a startup accelerator program with a strong track record, opened application to its Philadelphia Fall program, running from Sep 9 through Dec 16. To apply, click here. They also partner with Comcast Interactive Capital, the venture capital affiliate of Comcast Corporation, to select five minority-led startups under the Minority Entrepreneur Accelerator Program (MEAP). To learn more, click here.

Robin Hood Ventures and DreamIt Ventures sponsor the May Philly Tech Meetup

Marshall Yang — Wed, 25 May 2011 17:55:37 GMT

Robin Hood Ventures and DreamIt Ventures are sponsoring the next Philly Tech Meetup: http://bit.ly/l2uMFJ. Speakers from the angel group and the incubator will kick start the event, followed by startup demos and Q&As. At the end, we will have an after party in a local bar. Please RSVP here. If you have product/prototype to demo, click here.

Board Package

Marshall Yang — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 17:46:05 GMT

DDC, a startup developing business document sharing software and Morgan Lewis, a law firm serving the entrepreneurial community, authored a very handy guide in compiling and distributing the board package.

"Board what?" many of my friends working on their early-stage companies may ask. When investors such as Robin Hood Ventures write checks to a company, we usually require a seat in the company's board of directors (see our Screening Criteria). The board meets periodically to review the company's performance and make decisions for the company. The board meeting is one of the major venues where Robin Hood's industry knowledge and operational experience add value to our portfolio companies. To give the board members an effective update of the company, the CEO makes a package of documents including presentation slides and supplementary materials. The guide from DDC and Morgan Lewis tells CEOs what to and not to include in the package. Thanks to DDC and Morgan Lewis.

PowerPoint Font - Size Matters

Marshall Yang — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 03:16:46 GMT

I know how much information in a presentation slide entrepreneurs want to convey. Guy Kawasaki, a VC and the former chief evangelist of Apple, however claims that text-heavy presentation slides give him vertigo. He recommend entrepreneurs to use at least 30-point font, to highlight contents that reflect the company value the best (read his blog post here). Pennsylvania State engineering communication Professor Michael Alley agrees with him, recommending 28-point (read more of his presentation advice). Guy’s more flexible version of the font-size rule is that it should be the audience’s age divided by two. And no, using a 10-point font is not to say to investors: oh you look so young.

USVP's Take On Presenting Risks

Marshall Yang — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 16:36:14 GMT

In the entry last week I talked about how a entrepreneur can win trust from investors by presenting frankly about the competitors. See more here. One of the Robin Hood's member, Jeff Strider, sent me a link to the entrepreneur page of USVP (here). They also mentioned how important it is to be objective about the risks of your new venture:

"Early-stage investing is a long-term commitment to working together -- the stakes are too high for either side to become "promotional" in their presentation of the opportunity."

Investors think alike.

Be Honest about Your Competitors

Marshall Yang — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 01:03:01 GMT

In a business plan presentation, being frank about competition wins the respect of investors. Savvy investors know every product/service has substitute. Showing your competitors’ strengths, according to Fc Expert’s Mark Suster, is a great chance to show the positioning of the company; if you intentionally hide them, investor will know.

A business truly with no competitors, on the other hand, means it is too early to invest. The precursor of iPhone, Apple Newton, did not have any competitor 15 years ago in mobile devices. But it was “15 years too early”, says Ex Apple CEO John Sculley.

Valuing Your Value Proposition

Sasan Choobineh — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:23:19 GMT

While it may seem like common sense to do so, many entrepreneurs do not seem to understand the importance of forming a clear and thoughtful value proposition. What is a value proposition? What elements should be included in your value proposition in order to attract angel investors? Find out more about about what is deemed to be a "primary foundation characteristic" of any fledgeling business here.

Angel Investing - Most Frequently Asked Questions

Ellen Weber — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 19:20:30 GMT

What's the difference between Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists? What are Angel Groups and how do they work? What makes a company a good candidate for angel investment?

We hear this questions all the time, and thought we'd put together an overview of angel investing. Please feel free to share this overview.

Obtaining Funding with 5 Magic Slides

Sasan Choobineh — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 16:56:20 GMT

Are you an entrepreneur desperately trying to catch an investor's eye? As Socialcast founder Tim Young asserts, the age-old mantra holds true: the simpler, the better. In your company's initial presentation, concision is key. Read here to learn how 5 magic slides can propel your company to super-stardom.

Disrupting the Start-Up Funding Eco-System

Sasan Choobineh — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 16:19:20 GMT

Because start-ups themselves have fundamentally changed, angels, super-angels, micro-cap VCs, and seed incubators are beginning to dominate early-stage consumer web investing. How are startups adapting to this new eco-system? Click here to watch a presentation by Naval Ravikant at the Capital Factory 2010 Demo Day in Austin, Texas, in which he talks about all this and more.

Angel v. VC Math: How are they Different?

Sasan Choobineh — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 16:05:33 GMT

Think you know the differences between effective angel and VC exit strategies? Though the terms "angel investing" and "venture capital investing" are often conflated as meaning the same thing, they are actually quite different-- especially when it comes to making the math work for exits. To find out more, read angel investor and exit strategist Basil Peter's power point here and watch his full presentation here.

Super-Angels - the latest trend in the entrepreneurial eco-system

Kevin Chu — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:04:01 GMT

There is a lot of controversy in the entrepreneurial ecosystem these days. Are VC funds too big? Is the new VC trend of doing some really early deals a good idea? Have angel groups created a bad cycle by preferring post-revenue companies? The latest catalyst to the eco-system – the rise of the super-angels, a growing segment of start-up investors raising new smaller funds. How will this new class of investors effect the eco-system? Click here to read the full article.

MoneyBall for Startups: Invest BEFORE Product/Market Fit, Double-Down AFTER

Kevin Chu — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 15:44:24 GMT

There has been a lot of recent discussion regarding the concept of VCs and angels investing earlier in consumer internet start-ups, as they become more and more capable of achieving significant milestones with less resources. The following article discusses this phenomenon, and also suggests an investment strategy that the author feels should be implemented to capitalize on this new trend. Note that this thesis really only applies to consumer internet start-ups, as sales to large companies still require a long time to get to proof of concept, as do life science companies.

Anatomy of the 10-Minute Pitch

Kevin Chu — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:22:37 GMT

The Anatomy of the 10-Minute Pitch is an excellent resource for entrepreneurs who are in the process of preparing for a pitch. It outlines and explains all of the important elements that need to be covered in a pitch to investors, and also breaks down the amount of time that should be allocated to each component. Direct and concise, this article put together by the Alliance of Angels (AoA) is a must-read for all up and coming entrepreneurs.

How To Communicate With Your Investors

Ellen Weber — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:12:45 GMT

I loved this blog post by an entrepreneur turned VC: How to Communicate With Your Investors. Mark Suster suggests not only how often boards should meet, but also how to most effectively leverage investor board members, and how to keep them posted in between meetings. His idea of focusing investors on making useful introductions is great advice, and his suggestions on keeping a scheduled, regular stream of small information bytes is also very useful.

Angels Revising Proposed Bill on Early Stage Investing

Ellen Weber — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 15:16:20 GMT

There has been a great deal of press lately about the proposed "Dodd Bill" that was designed to protect investors from Madoff-type schemes. In creating the bill, there were two key changes that had the potential to quash angel investing: raising the limits for accredited angels and requiring an entrepreneurial company raising funds to notify the SEC and get clearance, as well as all states in which the company is raising funds. The good news is that thanks to an intense lobbying effort by the Angel Capital Association and others, the bill will be revised. See the details here:
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-04-23/angel-investors-close-to-deal-removing-curbs-from-finance-bill.html

Why Every Startup Should Make A Business MODEL Before Wasting Time On A Business PLAN

Ellen Weber — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 12:09:18 GMT

Serial entrepreneur Steve Blank has an excellent post on his blog about the value of business models vs. business plans.

He points out the ultimate benefit of making a dynamic business model: being able test your assumptions before you waste time crafting a plan that might not actually work.

Blank compares two early-stage startups: one that had spent the last 3 months researching and writing up their business plan -- while the other spent their 3 months building and testing their business model.

This link was found on Innovation Daily.