recently rated:

Rated by 5

4.0 4.2 3.8 4.0 4.2

4.1

QUALCOMM Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ San Diego, US West

top rated funds:

Rated by 14

4.6 4.5 4.2 3.9 4.8

4.4

New Atlantic Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ Reston, US East

Rated by 31

3.4 4.0 4.2 4.1 3.8

3.9

True Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ Palo Alto, US West

Rated by 21

3.7 3.6 4.0 3.9 3.7

3.8

FLOODGATE

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 39

3.8 4.1 3.3 3.6 4.1

3.8

RRE Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ New York, US East

Rated by 98

4.7 3.8 3.7 3.0 3.6

3.7

Sequoia Capital

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 19

3.8 3.9 4.0 2.9 4.0

3.7

406 Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ Boston, US East

Rated by 16

3.6 3.5 3.8 3.5 3.5

3.6

August Capital

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 15

3.7 3.2 3.8 3.5 3.6

3.6

Aberdare Ventures

 

$$$$$ San Francisco, US West

Rated by 11

3.6 3.8 3.0 3.2 3.7

3.5

Mangrove Capital Partners

Certified

$$$$$ Luxembourg, Europe

Rated by 57

3.7 3.5 3.3 3.3 3.8

3.5

Trinity Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 11

3.9 3.7 3.4 3.0 3.4

3.5

GRP Partners

Certified

$$$$$ Los Angeles, US West

Rated by 13

3.8 3.7 3.6 2.9 3.6

3.5

Meritage Funds

Certified

$$$$$ Denver, US West

Rated by 12

3.0 3.8 3.4 3.2 3.4

3.4

Fidelity Growth Partners Europe

Certified

$$$$$ Boston, US East

Rated by 13

3.2 3.5 3.5 3.1 3.8

3.4

Blumberg Capital

Certified

$$$$$ San Francisco, US West

Rated by 32

3.4 3.5 3.2 3.2 3.5

3.4

InterWest Partners

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 44

3.5 3.5 3.0 3.1 3.3

3.3

Mayfield Fund

 

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 25

3.1 3.5 3.3 3.3 3.4

3.3

Opus Capital

 

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 15

3.9 3.6 2.8 2.9 3.5

3.3

Versant Ventures

 

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 33

2.9 3.2 3.6 3.4 3.5

3.3

Shasta Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 42

3.5 3.2 3.2 3.0 3.7

3.3

Bessemer Venture Partners

Certified

$$$$$ Larchmont, US East

Rated by 50

3.7 3.2 2.9 3.4 3.3

3.3

New Enterprise Associates

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 25

4.0 3.5 2.7 2.7 3.3

3.2

Index Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ Geneva, Europe

Rated by 10

2.7 3.4 3.2 2.7 4.1

3.2

DN Capital

 

$$$$$ London, Europe

Rated by 38

2.9 3.5 3.2 2.9 3.4

3.2

Hummer Winblad Venture Partners

Certified

$$$$$ San Francisco, US West

Rated by 28

3.7 3.3 2.9 3.2 2.9

3.2

Draper Fisher Jurvetson Gotham Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ New York, US East

Rated by 21

3.3 3.3 3.5 2.6 3.2

3.2

Emergence Capital Partners

Certified

$$$$$ San Mateo, US West

Rated by 24

3.5 2.7 2.7 3.8 3.1

3.1

The Founders Fund

Certified

$$$$$ San Francisco, US West

Rated by 10

3.1 3.2 3.1 3.1 3.1

3.1

Bain Capital Ventures

 

$$$$$ Boston, US East

Rated by 41

4.0 3.0 2.8 2.4 3.0

3.1

Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 16

2.8 3.2 2.7 3.7 3.2

3.1

Milestone Venture Partners

Certified

$$$$$ New York, US East

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Found Across The Web:
The Trend Of Convertible Debt [Founder Insight]
Seth Levine tackles the trend of convertible debt vs. preferred equity in angels and super angels financing startups. He identifies the difference between the west and east coast when it comes to the structure of financing deals. He also tackles whether this trend is good for entrepreneurs and investors. - Seth Levine

”The Year Of The Angel” [Founder Insight]
The San Jose Mercury News reported on angel investors and their rise. This article highlights the experience of how a young startup company, Udemy (Founder Institute graduate), secured financing from 11 angels by tapping their network and finding the right angels. Adeo Ressi has seen the trends and has declared, “2010 is the year of the angel” - Mercury News

2Q10 Venture Capital By The Numbers [Founder Insight]
Comparing second quarter 2010 to first quarter 2010 numbers, overall the news is positive with an improvement in up rounds compared with down rounds, an increase in venture investment, and a increase in the number of venture-backed IPOs. The venture capital industry does still face looming concerns in achieving successful exits, thus continuing to diminish their ability to fundraise in this tough economic climate. - VCExperts

Great Discussions on TheFunded:
Great Technology And How To Leverage That - TheFunded member, Sloan, seeks advice on securing major contracts without the ‘right’ network. This discussion has evolved into much more than just networking, it touches on topics ranging from his general approach to the market to due diligence from potential investors.

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Founder Showcase
Date/Location: October 21, 2010 – Mountain View, CA
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FailCon 2010
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Smaller midwestern VC based in Minnesota. Prefer to share deals with other VCs. Seemed to be mostly healthcare-focused with limited expansion in other areas.

We interacted mostly with Matt Blodgett and Cali Tran over at North Bridge. It was our first time raising money and both of these guys were honest and straightforward with us. They were on time for meetings, fulfilled their commitments, and always friendly. They also made several useful business development intros.

Though we ultimately didn't do a deal together, I would call Matt and Cali again and recommend them to other entrepreneurs. Good guys.

CalCEF is green both in focus and experience, but we've had a good experience with them. Sue Preston has gone to bat for us founders on a number of occasions, which we respect. They syndicate their deals and are friendly enough with other firms that we had a syndicate partner very quickly.
On balance, we like CalCEF. Great people, never missed a mtg (sometimes late), interesting LPs, and we feel that they genuinely want to be successful and aren't looking to pull the rug out from under our feet.

We had an introduction by another VC. Intersouth received our information, asked a lot of questions and within two weeks made a major investment in a competitor. They were under no obligation to us but it sure felt like we were taken advantage of.

NVF was a referral by another VC. They were tough on the diligence but once they became believers in the team and our data, NVF have become very important to our firm. Both Campbell and Reinhard have gone to bat for us a number of times. I cannot offer a more favorable review of this firm.

The San Jose Mercury News reported recently on the grim numbers released by the National Venture Capital Association on returns on venture capital investments. 10-year returns turned negative toward the end of 2009 and are even worse in the first quarter of 2010. The 10-year return is a significant benchmark of performance in the venture capital industry. It is reported that the NVCA numbers show “venture capital funds returned 25.8 percent over 10 years for the quarter ending March 2009” and “for the quarter ending March 2010, that return had fallen to minus 3.9 percent.”

Furthermore, these numbers indicate a more serious problem in the venture capital financial model. The venture capital model is built on a minimum number of portfolio companies holding IPOs to make up for other portfolio companies which fail. With less and less companies going public, it is closer to impossible for venture firms to meet their required returns for investors and sustain their current business model. This translates into a shift in Silicon Valley and ultimately affecting job creation and the overall economy.

The article points to an end of the vneture capital industry. Is it really an end or just a realignment? And are IPOs headed for a come back or will smaller M&As proliferate in the years to come? Article found can be found here.

As a three time entrepreneur and someone who has raised a fair amount of capital, I have become slightly jaded when it comes to VC's who pitch themselves as "really rolling up their sleeves and helping their portfolio companies. I typically take it as part of the value added portion of why one funds money is better than another.

The same was true when we were raising our last round of capital and started talking to OpenView. They were pitching us on their difference from traditional VC's because of their operating experience and OpenView Labs. Ultimately we decided to move forward with OpenView and I have been simply amazed at how they actually walk the walk.

George Roberts is the partner on the board and Scott Maxwell participates frequently with our company. The value that these two have added along with Labs, has been really amazing. These guys genuinely believe that through operational excellence their portfolio companies will ALL win. They don't believe that Venture has to be a home run business, they firmly believe that all of their portfolio companies will be winners, and if they treat all of them like they have treated Balihoo, then they just might be right.