recently rated:

Rated by 28

3.4 3.9 4.1 4.0 3.6

3.8

True Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ Palo Alto, US West

top rated funds:

Rated by 12

4.5 4.4 4.3 3.9 4.7

4.4

New Atlantic Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ Reston, US East

Rated by 20

4.0 3.8 4.2 4.2 4.0

4.1

Maples Investments

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 12

4.2 4.1 4.1 3.6 4.0

4.0

Updata Partners

 

$$$$$ Red Bank, US East

Rated by 39

3.9 4.2 3.4 3.7 4.2

3.9

RRE Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ New York, US East

Rated by 55

3.9 3.9 3.8 3.5 4.0

3.8

First Round Capital

Certified

$$$$$ San Francisco, US West

Rated by 30

3.3 4.1 4.0 3.9 4.0

3.8

Leapfrog Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 101

4.7 3.8 3.7 3.2 3.6

3.8

Sequoia Capital

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 29

3.9 3.8 3.8 3.4 4.1

3.8

Altos Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 14

3.8 3.4 4.0 3.7 3.8

3.8

Aberdare Ventures

 

$$$$$ San Francisco, US West

Rated by 28

3.4 3.9 4.1 4.0 3.6

3.8

True Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ Palo Alto, US West

Rated by 56

3.8 3.7 3.4 3.5 3.9

3.7

Trinity Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 16

3.6 3.5 3.8 3.5 3.5

3.6

August Capital

 

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 29

3.4 3.5 3.4 3.8 4.0

3.6

Clearstone Venture Partners

Certified

$$$$$ Santa Monica, US West

Rated by 15

3.3 3.1 3.8 3.5 3.9

3.5

DFJ Mercury

Certified

$$$$$ Houston, US Central

Rated by 20

3.5 3.6 3.5 3.2 3.4

3.5

Wellington Partners

Certified

$$$$$ Munich, Europe

Rated by 11

3.6 3.8 3.0 3.2 3.7

3.5

Mangrove Capital Partners

Certified

$$$$$ Luxembourg, Europe

Rated by 45

3.9 3.5 3.2 3.5 3.2

3.5

Menlo Ventures

 

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 41

3.6 3.3 3.4 3.2 4.0

3.5

Bessemer Venture Partners

Certified

$$$$$ Larchmont, US East

Rated by 11

3.9 3.7 3.4 3.0 3.4

3.5

GRP Partners

Certified

$$$$$ Los Angeles, US West

Rated by 12

3.8 3.6 3.6 3.0 3.5

3.5

Meritage Funds

Certified

$$$$$ Denver, US West

Rated by 15

3.6 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5

3.5

Scale Venture Partners

Certified

$$$$$ Foster City, US West

Rated by 38

3.4 3.5 3.0 3.5 3.6

3.4

Polaris Venture Partners

 

$$$$$ Waltham, US East

Rated by 25

3.1 3.5 3.3 3.5 3.4

3.4

Opus Capital

 

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 29

3.5 3.6 3.5 3.0 3.5

3.4

Union Square Ventures

 

$$$$$ New York, US East

Rated by 26

4.0 3.6 2.8 3.0 3.4

3.4

Index Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ Geneva, Europe

Rated by 38

4.1 3.4 3.1 3.0 3.3

3.4

Greylock Partners

Certified

$$$$$ San Mateo, US West

Rated by 38

3.7 3.3 3.3 3.2 3.3

3.4

Foundation Capital

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 52

3.8 3.3 3.1 3.5 3.5

3.4

New Enterprise Associates

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 45

3.5 3.5 3.0 3.1 3.3

3.3

Mayfield Fund

 

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 15

3.8 3.2 3.6 3.0 3.1

3.3

Insight Venture Partners

 

$$$$$ New York, US East

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I feel like I have been suckered into starting LLC's by law firms over and over again, and here is what happens every time: (1) it costs twice as much to get all of the papers done, (2) we start growing and need to layer in complex partnership concepts for the equivalent of employee options, (3) we have to convert to a C Corporation to take any real external financing, and (4) the conversion costs twice as much as you expect since you need to transform a convoluted partnership structure into an equity structure.

Using an LLC structure for a fast growing start-up seems like a trick play to generate ten or twenty times the legal fees. My next company is going to be a corporation, starting with an S corp for preferential tax treatment and migrating to a C corp when the business starts to scale. Any other thoughts on this strategy are welcomed in the feedback.