Jan 5, 2020
 in 
Venture Capital

The Best of Venture Happenings, News, and Research in 2019

Author
GoingVC Team

The State of Startups 2019

First Round’s Survey of Startups this year revealed that over two-thirds of founders fear we’re in a startup bubble – leading to rockier fundraising routes moving forward. D&I and culture are taking a forefront, and not just for founders, but employees – so look for continued focus on creating a more well-rounded culture as a competitive advantage (for both VCs and startups!).

Softbank is Screwing Up & WeWork’s Woeful Year

Our obligatory Softbank and WeWork content. Techcrunch covers the angle from Softbank and WeWork. What happened, who is to blame, and what can we (maybe?) learn from this saga? Read More (Softbank) | Read More (WeWork)

What’s the Deal with Direct Listings?

Without doubt direct listings are becoming more popular. Slack may have been the most high profile name to raise capital via a direct listing this year – and there are plenty of reasons in this market environment to consider a direct listing – a trend we expect to continue. Read More.

The 37% Rule: How to Decide When to Stop Wondering and Start Doing

Algorithms to Live By is a must read for I would argue anyone, and it starts with a a simple heuristic for determining when to stop wondering and start doing (hint: it’s 37% of the total required). This nifty rule of thumb can help, as an example, when determining how many candidates to interview before hiring…or perhaps how any startups to review before cutting a check. Read More from Tomasz Tunguz.

More Female Founded Unicorns Than Ever

A banner year for female founded startups as more companies founded by women in 2019 than in any previous year achieved the magical billion dollar valuation. Certainly an under-invested area, are ‘female-founded startups’ an undervalued asset class? Read More.

The VC Model is Broken – Here’s a Fix

The Pareto Principle is at an extreme in VC. Only 5% of funds hit a 3x return multiple for their investors, while the remainder at best break even. What about a blockchain built member-only funding club model? Consilience Venture proposes an interesting alternative to the VC model – one that includes de-risking by spreading it across more investors, creating liquidity through the ability to buy and sell shares via tokens, and generating more value through a networked community.

Don’t Miss: The Best VC Related Books We Read in 2019.

Why Gross Margins Matter

Sometimes getting back to basics can help a lot. Two Sigma Ventures penned a simple and illustrative case for the importance of gross margins. Not only are gross margins an easy metric to calculate, but companies with stable gross margins benefit from persistence in margins, and ultimately are rewarded with an ability to weather storms, leading to higher valuations. A necessary refresher on Finance 101.

How Much Money Do VC’s Make?

John Gannon’s 2019 Survey across the VC industry reveals how much VC’s make across different roles and firms and is filled with interesting tidbits of data and actionable takeaways for those job hunting in the new year.

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