recently rated:

Rated by 6

2.3 2.5 2.7 2.5 2.4

2.5

Merus

 

$$$$$ 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 30

3.3 4.1 4.0 3.9 4.0

3.8

Leapfrog Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 54

3.8 3.8 3.8 3.3 3.9

3.7

First Round Capital

Certified

$$$$$ San Francisco, US West

Rated by 98

4.7 3.8 3.7 3.0 3.6

3.7

Sequoia Capital

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 29

3.8 3.7 3.7 3.3 4.0

3.7

Altos Ventures

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 25

3.4 3.1 3.0 3.3 3.1

3.2

Sigma Partners

 

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 21

3.3 3.3 3.5 2.6 3.2

3.2

Emergence Capital Partners

Certified

$$$$$ San Mateo, US West

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I really appreciated the fact that Andy took the time to get back to me with feedback. Most VCs I've approached don't care enough to even respond, which I think is very unprofessional.

Andy let me know they don't do life sciences type investing, but also gave me some feedback about defending against competitors, which I found very helpful. It also showed his understanding of business, and I have incorporated the feedback into our investment summary.

I keep hearing that these guys are weak on technology domain knowledge. Simple things like "what is RSS" and "what is mozilla" ... is this a firm in business purely because of its geographic location? appreciate your thoughts.

Found Across The Web:
The Story of Backblaze 'Almost Being Acquired' [Founder Insight]
Gleb Budman, CEO of Backblaze writes an awesome and transparent post on their story of 'almost being acquired'. He shares his whole story, in detail, walking through the acquisition process, dealing with competing offers, how the deal fell through, and breaking down what he's learned. - Backblaze Blog

The VC Seed Investor Signaling Problem [Founder Insight]
Brad Feld addresses "the signaling problem" created when VCs make a seed investment, but decide not to follow-up and participate in the subsequent round of financing, thus creating a negative perception for future investors. He highlights one large VC firm's approach to this problem which is "sell[ing] [the shares] back to the founders, the company, or the angels at somewhere between $1 and [the VC firm's] cost." - FeldThoughts

Addressing Stock Options [Founder Insight]
Mark Suster discusses how to portray and address stock options with your employees and your founding team. Ultimately, he advocates transparency and notes, "there is nothing worse than an employee who wakes up one day feeling duped." - Both Sides of the Table

Great Discussions on TheFunded:
Common Questions Answered For First Time Founders - The starting point of launching a company can be very difficult and exciting at the same time. A member of TheFunded poses preliminary questions for launching a startup including rules on incorporation, par value of common stock, and TheFunded's "Class F Share."

Major Events:
BizTechDay
Date/Location: Sep. 24th – New York / Sep. 28th – Seattle / Oct. 23rd – San Francisco
Description: BizTechDay is a event where inspiring entrepreneurs share impactful business idea sand technology strategies. It is where you will meet someone who will change your business.

Mobilize 2010
Date/Location:Septmeber 30, 2010 - San Francisco, CA
Description: Mobilize 2010 will bring together the thought leaders of the mobile web ecosystem for discussions, demonstrations and debate. This year's event will detail how the adoption of mobile computing and the availability of connectivity everywhere have changed the landscape for innovation. Use code 'THEFUNDED' to get $100 off tickets.

Founder Showcase
Date/Location: October 21, 2010 – Mountain View, CA
Description: See pioneering "super angel" Mike Maples Jr., and pitches from 10 promising start-ups at the 5th Founder Showcase - Silicon Valley's premier startup pitch and networking event. Use code 'invitediscount15' to get 15% off tickets.

FailCon 2010
Date/Location: October 25, 2010 – San Francisco, CA
Description: At FailCon, join over 400 founders, investors, executives, developers, service provides, and press as we share tips and tools to avoid, prepare for, and recover from the most common startup mistakes. Get 10% off with the code '10Founders'

We had a very good meeting with one of their partners. I can't speak for the rest, but he was one of the nicer partners whom we've pitched. Just thought I'd add my $0.02 to weigh against the other poster.

They wound up choosing not to invest, but were very prompt in getting back to us, and they were helpful in introducing us to one of their portfolio companies.

In just one year we've grown the Founder Showcase to be Silicon Valley's Premier Startup Pitch and Networking Event. The winner of each event has received funding from an investor they met at the event, and countless other presenting companies have received funding as well - over $2mm in total. The best part for us, however, is that all the companies presenting at the event and getting financed are members of TheFunded.

The 5th Founder Showcase is coming up on Thursday, Oct. 21st in Mountain View, CA. We previously declared 2010 "The Year of the Angel", so we're very happy to announce that Super Angel Mike Maples Jr., Managing Partner of FLOODGATE and early investor in Twitter and Digg, will be speaking and judging pitches at the event. In all we expect over 300 in attendance, include over 40 investors. Check out this video recapping the last event, and reserve your tickets today. The last three Showcases have completely sold out.

Applications to pitch on stage at the event are also now open. The competition is free, and any company less than 2 years old and with less than $500k in funding can apply. Click here for more information.

Finally, we've also teamed up with BizTechDay, the largest and most impactful business and technology entrepreneur conference, to offer technology entrepreneurs access to both events on October 21st and 23rd in the Bay Area for a reduced bundled price. By attending the Showcase and BizTechDay, you will meet and learn from the brightest minds and most promising startups in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. Only 25 bundled tickets are available, so reserve yours today.

We hope to see you at the Founder Showcase.

We approached QCA as a potential add-on to a syndicate of Angel groups. The pitch process was well described and straightforward. We got good, relevant questions from them, they appeared to read the materials we sent and actually listened closely during pitches and phone calls. Since they were not a lead for this deal, perhaps it was easier for us, but overall this was one of the most efficient processes we dealt with in our financing round.

In the current capital formation environment, HPA and groups like them are essential and extrememly valuable. The HPA group is as good as any the Company dealt with in this funding round, and better in many respects. So even though the process took longer than it should have, and even though the diligence process was not particularly polished, overall I would highly recommend an approach to Hyde Park Angles. These folks are smart investors and a big enough group to have expertise and connections in just about any field you pitch. Just be prepared to be patient.

Event: Mobilize 2010 - The Future of the Mobile Web

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