3.9
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2.7 
Nice Niche On Sand Hill Road
Fund: Leapfrog Ventures
Posted by GonzoBreath on 2008-09-29
Besides being completely transparent and no-nonsense guys, Leapfrog also fills a large niche on Sand Hill Road for two reasons –
They do early stage investing– Every firm will tell you they fund early stage companies, but the fact is you have a snow-ball’s chance in Hades of actually seeing fruit from most firms, especially the larger ones. They will all agree to see your pitch, but not for the purpose of funding you. Leapfrog is one of the few exceptions and does in fact fund ‘start-ups’. They understand the needs and workings of start-ups very well and make great early stage partners.
They do not require IPO potential – For the larger funds, if you do not have the potential for IPO, you simply don’t have enough to move the needle with a 10x exit. With the near extinction of IPOs as of late, I am surprised this attitude survives. Leapfrog is realistic and manages their fund accordingly. Like all funds, the higher the return the better, but, Leapfrog also recognizes there are good deals out there with strong acquisition potential and solid returns.
Leapfrog is a fine friend to the traditional start-up. In our case, we wasted far too many cycles pitching large firms who we had no business pitching to because we did not understand the two points above.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyEfficient, Straight Forward, And Reasonable
Fund: Leapfrog Ventures
Posted by HI-IQT on 2008-09-29
Leapfrog's diligence process was quick and mostly painless. They were able to get to a decision with minimal running around which was nice and different from some other VCs that seemed to ask for a mountain of paperwork just because they could.
They are straightforward. We always knew exactly where we stood with them and even when the feedback wasn't great, it was good to know what they were thinking.
In negotiating deal terms, they were very reasonable. At times the attorneys would propose something and Leapfrog would tell them to keep the terms more straightforward which helped get the deal closed when it could have gotten even more complicated.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyGood Group. One Of The Better Ones.
Fund: Leapfrog Ventures
Posted by rwilliams on 2008-07-19
You get a decent deal from these guys. Not a bad group. They are a little young about some things.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyProfessional
Fund: Leapfrog Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2008-07-08
Turned Down But Gave Us The Rationale
Fund: Leapfrog Ventures
Posted by spayandneuteryourpet on 2008-05-07
We just had an excellent experience with Leapfrog Ventures. While they did say NO, they told us exactly why and their rationale made sense. They spent some time and thought explaining their feedback to us which was very helpful. It also gave us a blueprint for what we need to do next.
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Leapfrog Ventures
Fund: Leapfrog Ventures
Posted by jsamzelius on 2007-09-08
Last week, I pitched to Pete Sinclair. He was the most knowledgable and best prepared VC I have presented to. He validated several of our key points and problem-solved with us in remaining issues. Very different from other VCs!
PRIVATE: Members Only (211 Characters)Pete Sinclair Rocks!
Fund: Leapfrog Ventures
Posted by murtiii on 2007-09-07
Pete Sinclair rocks! Just signed a term sheet with him. We had 2 other term sheets, one from a top tier VC and choose him. Reason: Simple. Cutting all the VC top tier BS aside, we feel he is someone who would roll up his sleeves and build this company with us.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyOverall A Great Vc Partner
Fund: Leapfrog Ventures
Posted by anonymous on 2007-08-30
I worked with Leapfrog (Pete Sinclair) post Peter Rip leaving, and I would highly recommend Leapfrog/Pete S as a fund to work with. As an entrepreneur, I highly value "no BS" input/feedback which Pete does not hesitate to provide - vs. the "run-around" you get with other VC's. In addition, his operational experience and insights were invaluable.
PRIVATE: Members Only (93 Characters)How To Get Through A Pitch Uninterrupted
Fund: Leapfrog Ventures
Posted by muse on 2007-07-23
One thing about Leapfrog - they all made the meeting and they actually heard the entire pitch without interrupting. But make sure the partners are all on the same page - or staying around a while.
PRIVATE: Members Only (954 Characters)Working With Leapfrog And Pete Sinclair Has Been Great!
Fund: Leapfrog Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-05-25
Having pitched a good number of VC to get our first round of funding we found many that were nothing more then a potential check book. The guys at Leapfrog with their marketing and operational background have been phenomenal to work with.
PRIVATE: Members Only (119 Characters)VISIT OUR SPONSOR: advertise here
Pete Sinclair Is As Smart As They Come
Fund: Leapfrog Ventures
Posted by aviterima on 2007-05-09
Too often VC's are simply nothing more than money guys. They have little to no operating experience and therefore can provide little to no real added value or advice. Nothing wrong with getting access to the money but hopefully there is something more to a venture capital relationship than a valuation and a round. Bucking this trend is Pete Sinclair who is an experienced serial enterpreneur in his own right. As a result he has insights and experience that can only be gained by having sat in a CEO's chair. This is refreshing in a world made up of Suits (that just happen to dress casually since they are in California)...
PRIVATE: Members OnlyNot Sure How They Are Now Without Peter
Fund: Leapfrog Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-05-09
I only ever associated Leapfrog with Peter Rip and I am not sure how they are now that he has moved on to Crosslink, or if they are even still investing in new deals. You might want to get a better opinion of the other two partners there as most of the ratings here are closely linked to Peter Rip
PRIVATE: Members Only (115 Characters)Good Insight, Fair Deal
Fund: Leapfrog Ventures
Posted by mansoursalame on 2007-05-07
My experience with LeapFrog has been very positive on the whole. They are able to make decisions quickly, are willing to invest in a Contrarian idea. My experience is that Pete is very technical and has been able to give me a good management perspective on a technical issue that came up, therefore I disagree with a previous post saying that they do not understand technology. I have not had much experience with the other partners
PRIVATE: Members Only (287 Characters)Peter And Pete
Fund: Leapfrog Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-05-04
I disagree with some of the other comments here. Peter and Pete invested in our company because of the technology IP (we had lots of Ph.Ds). They are super smart and were quick to "get the idea" and made a decision to invest in 48 hours. You can't expect anymore than that. Their governance has been very even handed and fair.
Peter is one of the few VCs who can deal with very early stage ideas. Even though he has moved on Crosslink you should feel free to pitch him early in your process as he can deal with seeing half baked plans better than most.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyQuick Decisions, Good Terms, Good Operating Assistance
Fund: Leapfrog Ventures
Posted by OtherPeoplesMoney on 2007-05-04
Being a smaller firm, the Leapfrog Ventures partners were able to come to a decision quickly. Some larger partnerships that we talked to took a long time to get consensus within their teams before generating term sheets. We decided to go with Leapfrog for a Series A, instead of some much larger funds, because they were quick decision makers and we agreed on some decent terms. We also thought that they might be more amenable to working with founding management teams, rather than some other firms that have a reputation for being more invasive.
Post-funding we found that Pete Sinclair was great to deal with, and provided very helpful operating assistance. He gets our business, and is a real advocate for us. Leapfrog has also been supportive in follow-on financing.
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