Venture Curator

Venture Curator offers insider tips on startups and venture capital, sharing insights from leading figures like Paul Graham, Steve Jobs, and Marc Andreessen. It covers product-market fit, fundraising strategies, valuation discussions, and startup development tactics. The content targets founders and investors, emphasizing practical advice for success in the venture ecosystem.

Startups Venture Capital Product-Market Fit Investor Relations Startup Fundraising Startup Valuation Startup Scaling Market Analysis Artificial Intelligence Customer Acquisition

The hottest Substack posts of Venture Curator

And their main takeaways

What's Better Than Product Market Fit (PMF)? It's Product Market Distribution Fit (PMDF) | Tips For Negotiating Valuation With Investors | VC Remote Jobs and More

179 implied HN points • 25 Sep 23
💼 Business Startups Venture Capital Negotiation Investors Remote Jobs
  1. Achieving Product Market Distribution Fit (PMDF) is crucial for startup success, not just Product Market Fit (PMF). Channel selection plays a vital role in reaching target customers.
  2. Early investment in sales and marketing can lead to better business outcomes than solely focusing on product quality.
  3. Efficient distribution channels are essential for startup growth; understanding Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and Lifetime Value (LTV) ratio is key in achieving success.

How Did The Great Startups Like Airbnb or Instagram Make Pivot Decisions? | VC Remote Jobs & More

139 implied HN points • 27 Nov 23
💼 Business Startups Pivoting Entrepreneurship Venture Capital Innovation
  1. Pivoting in startups often involves changing direction when things aren't going as planned, but it should not be glorified as success.
  2. Successful startups approach pivoting as a learning experience rather than a badge of honor, with most effective pivots driven by passion or necessity.
  3. Not all pivots are equal; those driven by genuine passion or necessity tend to be more successful than those just brainstormed on a whiteboard.

Marc Andreessen: 'Founders Can't Raised Fund Without Understanding Risk-Cash Relation'| Running Great User Interview Using Y-Combinator Strategy | VC Remote Jobs and More

159 implied HN points • 31 Oct 23
💼 Business Startup funding Venture Capital Entrepreneurship Remote Jobs
  1. Understanding the relationship between risk and cash flow is crucial for founders to successfully raise funding.
  2. Peeling away layers of risk with each funding round can help founders attract more investment.
  3. During user interviews, focus on understanding user problems rather than pushing product features.

The Game-Changing Clause Every Entrepreneur Should Add to Their Convertible Notes

219 implied HN points • 12 May 23
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Investment Financing Startups Legal
  1. Convertible notes with caps can have hidden risks for entrepreneurs, especially when the conversion price exceeds the cap.
  2. Adding a specific clause to convertible notes can protect entrepreneurs from potential unfavorable outcomes when converting to equity.
  3. Including a clause stating a non-participating liquidation preference in a convertible note can level the playing field and provide essential protection for entrepreneurs.

How VCs Evaluate & Make High-Quality Investment Decisions?

179 implied HN points • 23 Jun 23
💰 Finance Investment Startup Venture Capital ROI Financial forecasting
  1. To understand VC investment decisions, consider the Venture Capital Method, where earnings and market support determine the firm's future value.
  2. Investors aim for successful exits with specific returns and use metrics like ROI and IRR to evaluate startup potential.
  3. Negotiations between VC firms and founders often involve ownership percentages based on future valuations and return expectations.
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

Decoding Venture Capital Fund Performance: Unveiling the Distribution, Residual Value, and Total Value

179 implied HN points • 08 Jun 23
💰 Finance Venture Capital
  1. Evaluation of venture capital fund performance involves three key terms: Distribution Paid In Capital (DPI), Residual Value Paid In Capital (RVPI), and Total Value Paid In Capital (TVPI)
  2. These terms help Limited Partners (LPs) assess the success of a fund and understand the returns generated beyond the initial investment.
  3. Understanding the relationship between these terms can provide insights into the performance and potential value of a venture capital fund.

Why Your Startup Idea Isn’t Big Enough for Some VCs? | Sam Altman Strategy - To Find The Right Problem To Solve? | VC Remote Jobs & More

139 implied HN points • 03 Nov 23
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Venture Capital Startup Strategy Financial Analysis Remote Jobs
  1. Investors look for startup ideas with the potential to reach a billion-dollar valuation, known as 'big ideas,' and may reject ideas perceived to lack that scalability.
  2. Venture capital operates on a power law model, where a small percentage of investments drive the majority of returns, requiring each investment to potentially return the entire fund.
  3. Founders should focus on solving popular, growing, urgent, expensive, mandatory, and frequent problems to increase their startup's chances of success.

Breaking the Mold: Why Founders Should Ditch the Links and Just Send the Deck

179 implied HN points • 27 May 23
💼 Business Venture Capital Startups Marketing Investment Entrepreneurship
  1. Send your pitch deck as a file instead of a link to make it more compelling and shareable
  2. Ensure your deck is visually appealing, concise, and focused, under 10MB for efficiency
  3. Include key elements in your deck like team, problem, unique approach, value proposition, market data, and financial projections, while excluding sensitive details

Is the "1% Market Fallacy" Holding Your Startup Back?

159 implied HN points • 19 Jun 23
💼 Business Startups Venture Capital Market Analysis Entrepreneurship Job Opportunities
  1. Beware of the '1% Market Fallacy' where startups believe capturing a small percentage of a massive market will guarantee success.
  2. Building a successful startup requires focusing on a specific, well-defined market segment to understand customer needs and create a competitive advantage.
  3. It's more effective for startups to prioritize capturing a significant share of a smaller market first before expanding to larger markets.

Decoding Term Sheet: Liquidation Preference | Particiaption & Non-Participation Rights

179 implied HN points • 23 May 23
💼 Business Venture Capital Startup Financing Investments Startups
  1. Understanding terms like liquidation preference, participation, and non-participation rights is crucial for both investors and founders in startup financing.
  2. Liquidation preference refers to the priority investors have in receiving proceeds from the sale of a company.
  3. Non-participation means investors choose between a 1X preference or their stake, while participation involves investors receiving funds through both methods during liquidation.

Venture Capital Fund Modelling II : Masterclass

179 implied HN points • 16 May 23
💼 Business Venture Capital Startup Investment Career development Finance
  1. Discover how VC funds calculate target ownership in startups, providing valuable insights for founders and VC enthusiasts alike.
  2. Understand the costs associated with VC business, like organizational fees, operational fees, and management fees, to determine the total investment capital for startups.
  3. Learn about the average check size that VC funds invest in startups and how ownership percentage is calculated based on the investment amount and post-money valuation.

Why Founders Are Afraid to Talk About MOAT? | Investors Getting 64X Return From $975M Loom Sale | VC Remote Jobs and More

139 implied HN points • 13 Oct 23
💼 Business Startup Ecosystem Venture Capital Entrepreneurship Investments Tech industry
  1. Founders are hesitant to discuss their startup's competitive advantages, known as MOATs, due to lack of understanding and fear that their startup may not have a strong enough MOAT.
  2. A startup's MOAT includes characteristics like community, trust, network effects, and users that make it hard for competitors to replicate.
  3. Successful companies like Spotify built their MOAT on a bold vision and a statement that revolutionized the user experience, rather than just technology or features.

Venture Capital Fund Modelling: Masterclass

159 implied HN points • 14 May 23
💰 Finance Venture Capital Investment Startups Funds Job Opportunities
  1. When calculating the average check size for startups in a venture capital fund, it's important to consider operating expenses and fees charged by the VC fund.
  2. Venture capital funds divide their funding into initial investments and follow-on investments based on the fund size and agreements with limited partners.
  3. The average check size for a VC fund is determined by subtracting management fees, dividing the remaining fund size, and deciding on the initial and follow-on investment amounts.

Understand Convertible Note Investment Option: The Valuation Game-Changer!

159 implied HN points • 10 May 23
💰 Finance Investment Startup Venture Capital
  1. Convertible notes can be a helpful option for startups looking to secure funding without immediate valuation, allowing time to build the company's value.
  2. Convertible notes are ideal for early-stage companies, especially those with a proven product and solid concept, helping them raise funds and scale effectively.
  3. From an investor's perspective, convertible notes offer a riskier but potentially more rewarding opportunity to secure equity at a discounted rate or via a valuation cap.

Lesser-Known High-Paying Roles in Venture Capital

159 implied HN points • 06 May 23
💼 Business Venture Capital Roles Career Opportunities Finance Operations
  1. Venture Capital has high-paying roles beyond just investment positions, like Community Managers responsible for networking and supporting founders.
  2. Roles like Investor Relations are essential in VC for managing communications with fund investors and attracting new ones.
  3. Talent + Hiring roles play a crucial part in VC by helping portfolio companies find suitable talent for key positions.

Venture Capital Fund Modelling III: Masterclass

139 implied HN points • 18 May 23
💼 Business Venture Capital Finance Investing Startups Career development
  1. Venture capital fund lifecycle involves raising capital from LPs over 2-2.5 years, making investments during the commitment period, and shifting to follow-on investments afterward.
  2. VC funds go through a cycle of raising capital for Fund I, investing during the commitment period, then raising funds for Fund II to sustain investment activities.
  3. GPs play a crucial role in fundraising, investment decision-making, and supporting portfolio startups to ensure the success and growth of the VC fund.

Decoding Term Sheets for Founders and Investors in Simple Terms

139 implied HN points • 08 May 23
💼 Business Investing Startups Venture Capital Finance Negotiation
  1. Term sheets are important for founders and investors as they outline the terms of the deal and can impact the future success of a business.
  2. Understanding the economic aspects of term sheets, like valuation, investment amount, and liquidation preference, is crucial for negotiating deals with venture capitalists.
  3. Key terms in term sheets include equity, option pool, liquidation preference, anti-dilution, and founders should carefully consider these terms when making decisions.

Navigating Dilution and Ownership in Startup Fundraising

119 implied HN points • 07 May 23
💼 Business Equity Venture Capital Investors Ownership
  1. Startup fundraising involves dilution and impacts founder equity, but understanding the process and planning can help founders maintain control of their company while securing needed funding.
  2. Dilution in startup funding happens when new shares are added, reducing existing shareholders' equity positions.
  3. Calculating the impact of dilution can help founders determine their ownership percentage after raising funds.

Decoding Startup Valuations with the Venture Capital (VC) Valuation Method

99 implied HN points • 13 May 23
💼 Business Venture Capital Financial forecasting Job Opportunities
  1. Venture capital firms use various methods to calculate startup valuations, including the VC Valuation method.
  2. The VC Valuation method involves six steps to determine the value of a startup, such as financial forecasting and calculating the ownership stake of the VC firm.
  3. Understanding the VC Valuation method can help founders comprehend how VC firms arrive at startup valuations.

Coming soon

39 implied HN points • 06 Apr 23
💼 Business News
  1. The Venture Crew newsletter is coming soon.
  2. The newsletter is by Sahil S.
  3. The newsletter can be found at theventurecrew.substack.com.

How To Find Problem-Solution Fit? (A Framework) | VC Jobs

2 HN points • 04 Jun 24
💼 Business Investment Strategies Venture Capital Market Analysis
  1. Startups need to ensure their solutions fit the problems they are trying to solve for a successful venture.
  2. The process of finding Problem-Solution Fit involves moving from idea conception to validation in phases.
  3. It's crucial for founders to understand the distinction between Problem-Solution Fit and Product-Market Fit to navigate their startup's growth effectively.