VC in DC

LivingSocial Black Friday deals

Check out this Huffington Post piece on LivingSocial's Black Friday efforts.  Huff Po

PEHubWire on Grotech and LivingSocial

 

Some things can only be known in the fullness to time, for now, here's a view from PEHub and Jonathan Marino.   Today, I can' t correct or dispute anything.   So I won't, maybe later....

peHUB Wire--Monday, Nov. 21, 2011

INTRO:
 
No-Tech? Did Grotech whiff this June when it dumped a substantial portion of its LivingSocial stake? If you believe the New York Times, it seems very possible. Raising $200 million at a $5 billion valuation means LivingSocial won’t be dependent on its near-term capital to get public, and that it will have plenty of time to sit back and watch and learn from its biggest competitor’s (many) missteps. Now, they’ll also be able to pinpoint the precise moment—should it happen—when DC-area-based LivingSocial’s valuation outstrips that of Groupon. According to one TechCrunch report, Grotech’s valuation has nearly doubled inside of the last seven months. Translation: it’s a good thing Don Rainey and the gang held onto the remainder of that LivingSocial stake. Now, when Grotech is out raising its next fund, it can say it only botched their market timing on exiting about half its best investment ever, instead of the whole thing. Fortunately, for as long as Danny Snyder runs the Redskins, every other investor around the Beltway will comparatively seem like a genius.
-Jonathan Marino

Related articles

• preIPO - Groupon PR to peHUB: call us before you write (nextlevelofnews.com)
• LivingSocial set to raise almost $200M at $5B valuation (venturebeat.com)
• Venture Capital Outlook: Potomac Techwire Event on 12/15 (startups.typepad.com)
• LivingSocial To Announce Funding Of $200 Million Next Week (REPORT) (chats-blog.com)
• LivingSocial to Announce $200 Million in Funding Next Week [REPORT] (mashable.com)
• LivingSocial Set to Raise Near $200 Million - New York Times (blog) (dealbook.nytimes.com)
• LivingSocial goes national with Black Friday deals (sfgate.com)
• LivingSocial Black Friday Deals: Online Service Goes National (huffingtonpost.com)

Where should you post your status? Useful flow chart.

Love this flow chart for posting status into social media.

Venture Capital Outlook: Potomac Techwire Event on 12/15

Paul Sherman and the Potomac Techwire folks always put on a first rate event.  This is supported by their events frequently selling out.  Here is a link to an upcoming event that I will be joining the panel for on December 15th.  Should be fun and interesting as always given this crew.

Here is PTW's write up:

Venture Capital Outlook 2012 is part of the Potomac Tech Wire breakfast series that brings together senior executives in the Mid-Atlantic to discuss technology issues in a conversational, roundtable environment moderated by the editor of Potomac Tech Wire. The panel will focus on the overall outlook for venture capital investing in the DC area, current deal terms, technology trends, valuation issues and predictions.

Speakers:
John Backus, Founder and Managing Partner, New Atlantic Ventures
Arun Gupta, Partner, Columbia Capital
Don Rainey, General Partner, Grotech Ventures
Harry Weller, General Partner, NEA

Moderator: Paul Sherman, Editor, Potomac Tech Wire

Schedule:
7:30-8:00: Registration/Networking/Breakfast buffet
8:05-9:30: Panel Discussion and Breakfast
9:30-10:00: Networking

Twitter hash tag: #VCLook

Here is the link to register.

Event Registration

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Personal Launches: Private Sharing and Auto Form Completion

The private sharing of private information is an idea whose time has come.  And, so has the ability to automatically complete forms.  Here is an introductory video. 

What's hot on LivingSocial

Here's a nice infographic on the "Must Haves" on LivingSocial for Q3.

HTML

 

Groupon IPO Graphic

Number of new start ups is down

Steve Case provides consistent and quality leadership to our community and StartUp America.  Here is a short video link worth viewing.

 

 

History of Social Commerce Graphic

Start up CEO's have 1 of 3 Goals; Win, Make a Fortune or Change the World

Image by elycefeliz via Flickr

The reasons to start a business are many and varied.  In my experience, the CEO's that pitch us have one of three goals; they want to win or they want to make a lot of money or they want to change the world.  So which CEO's tend to deliver the greatest returns? 

Maybe not who you'd think. 

Changing the world is consistently the best way to create value.

People whose aim is to win tend, over time, to reduce the scope of the game to one that is winnable.  So rather than ambitions being large or goals getting bigger in impact as it progresses, this CEO's enterprise tends to narrow or shrink.  And winning is often benefits a smaller and smaller group of people in this scenario.  (Even if that means not winning for the investors)  Winning is more important than the people so throwing some over board hardly matters.

A primary aim of making a lot of money introduces a whole gamut of decision influencers.   Most of those influencers promote short cuts and borderline decisions.  Yes, making money is the central point of an enterprise in a capitalist system.  But trying to do so without creating value is akin to running a scheme.  

People who seek to change the world create the greatest value.  Value for themselves, employees, customer and investors.  It is isn't about limiting the scope to "win" or taking short cuts to a great payday.  It is about changing the world -- which is the biggest scope and doesn't support any short cuts.  And changing the world requires a big idea that is well executed whereas winning or making a ton of money don't always require those in practice.

So you might ask, what about VC's?  Do they want to make a ton  of money, win or change the world?

Yes. Yes, they do.

 

 

 

 

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Grotech is looking to build our team: Associate Position at Grotech Ventures

Here is the job listing that we will be promoting beginning next week to fill a new position.   If you or someone you know has an interest, please note the email address at the bottom of this post. 

 

Grotech Ventures, a leading, national venture capital firm headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia near Washington, D.C.,  is seeking an Associate to join our highly successful investment team. The Associate will be expected to hit the ground running, taking a proactive role in deal flow creation through networking and actively participating in venture/startup related events; conducting pre-investment due diligence, financial modeling and deal structural analysis; researching new potential investment areas and companies; and ultimately helping execute and manage the firm’s investments. The Associate will have the opportunity to get involved in every aspect of the investment process from sourcing to executing transactions to portfolio management.

Candidates should have prior experience in investment banking, venture capital, private equity, management consulting, or a broad-based role at a technology company or startup. The Associate position requires strong analytical capabilities, financial modeling proficiency and excellent written and oral communication skills.

Compensation commensurate with experience.  Resumes should be sent to Jennifer Ports, jports@grotech.com.

 



Article in Modern DC Business Magazine

Really appreciate the cover recognition by Modern DC Business and the way the article turned out.  Thanks to all the folks at MDB.

Here is a link to the article.

Modern DC Business Article