Venture Capital 101 PDF
Venture Capital 101 PDF
Venture Capital 101 PDF
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OUTLINE
2- Investment Stages
3- Deal Structure
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1- Introduction & History
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DEFINITION
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THE HISTORY OF VENTURE CAPITAL
Venture capital was created in the 1960’s in Silicon Valley, and was
VC firms that funded these companies include Sequoia and Kleiner Perkins.
For the story of how VC was created, watch the documentary “Something
Ventured”, available online.
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HOW BIG ARE THE COMPANIES THAT VCs FUND
COMPANY VALUATIONS
ANGEL
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2- Investment Stages
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CAPITAL RAISE AND TRACTION METRICS
Initial concept, Initial prototype, beta Strong usage from PMF, strong customer Expansion of product Market leading
identification of customers in target early customers, POCs growth & management lines, proven channels tech/platform,
customers and market segments, MRR $0- convert to customers. team. ARR $2m+, 3x Y/Y to scale customer customer trust.
TRACTION
opportunity. 25k MRR $25k-100k growth. acquisition. Predictable,
ARR $6m+, 3x Y/Y profitable. ARR
$15m+, 2 Y/Y
MRR: Monthly Recurring Revenue ARR: Annual Run Rate PMF: Product Market Fit
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OVERVIEW OF ACTIVE FUND IN THE CANADIAN VC SECTOR
NOVACAP
PANACHE
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CAPITALIZATION AND DILUTION
VC firms typically seek to gain 15% - 30% in each round of investment.
VC firms will often syndicate deals with other firms and investors, seeking to diversify the capitalization table.
VC firms have allocated reserves to invest in subsequent rounds, as the company gains traction and reduces risk.
Pricing is technology investments is typically expressed in terms of pre-money valuation, and never price-per-share.
From the entrepreneur’s point of view, they can raise three successive rounds at 25% dilution before investors own the majority of the company.
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UNICORN TIMELINE EXAMPLE-TWILIO
SEED A B C D E IPO
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
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UNICORN TIMELINE EXAMPLE-TWILIO
§ Annualized revenue growth of 3x, 3x, 2x, 2x, 2x over 5 years (T2D3).
FOR INVESTORS
Top performers in the portfolio will see increasing valuations every 12 – 18 months, and prospects for liquidity within 7 – 9 years.
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3- Deal Structure
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DEAL STRUCTURE
Typical terms
§ Valuation cap: a pre-determined maximum valuation at which the capital will convert.
§ Discount: the discounted valuation at which capital will convert if the maximum valuation is not reached. (typically 20%).
§ Minimum qualified financing: the minimum amount of capital that must be raised at the next equity round for the debt to convert.
(typically $1m).
§ MFN (Most Favoured Nation) clause.
§ Information rights.
Investors and entrepreneurs often use the standard SAFE and KISS templates and customize terms. VCs usually favor convertible
debt in the early stages of a technology venture, and opt for equity rounds in series A financings and later.
Typical terms
§ Liquidation preferences.
§ ROFR and drag –along rights.
§ Preference shares issuance and conversion rights.
For more information on deal structure, see Venture Deals by Brad Feld & Jason Mendelson.
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DEAL STRUCTURE
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DEAL LINGO
VCs typically assume valuation = valuation cap. Thus, the minimum equity at conversion will be at least 20%. ($5m post-
money valuation).
More equity will be assigned conversion if the company fails to close a qualified financing above the $4m valuation cap.
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4- Portfolio & Returns Model
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EXPECTED RETURNS
“HUGE IF IT WORKS”
§ Mostly binary outcomes: company
creates world changing technology,
or goes to zero.
DOUBLING DOWN
§ After initial investment, funds
typically allocate follow-on
investments for 20-30% of their
companies. On average, only 4% of VC
. investments return 10x or more.
PORTFOLIO SIZE
• Assuming 4% of the fund will return
10x+, a minimum portfolio of 25
companies is required.
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500 STARTUPS HISTORICAL FUNDING FUNNEL (FUND I & FUND II)
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PANACHE VENTURES RETURNS MODEL
We believe a large, diversified portfolio of early-stage investments reduces risk and maximizes potential returns relative to
“traditional” VC funds.
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FUND ALLOCATION STRATEGY
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VC FUNDS vs. TYPICAL ANGEL INVESTING
Reviews hundreds to thousands of geographically diverse Reviews a handful of local investment opportunities.
DEALFLOW investment opportunities annually.
Typically large enough to withstand 50%+ failure rate. Usually <10 companies.
PORTFOLIO SIZE
Typically quarterly, with company status and valuation Varies, but typically lacks information rights.
REPORTING
updates. Annual audit.
Investment strategy for number of investments and Varies, but typically no allocation for follow-ons.
ALLOCATION
allocation for follow-ons.
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5- Fund Structure & Fees
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MANAGEMENT & SHAREHOLDERS
LEGAL STRUCTURE
PARTNERS
§ Limited Partners are investors in the fund. They have no control over the management of the fund, but have liquidation preference over
the GP.
§ General Partners are managers of the fund, and make all the investment decisions. General Partners are also expected to contribute to
the fund and become LPs as well.
§ GPs are governed by a LPAC (Limited Partner Advisory Committee), comprised of 3 – 5 of the top LPs in the fund.
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FEES AND INCENTIVES
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5- Dealflow & Investment DD Procedure
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DEALFLOW
1. What is it?
2. How big can it be?
3. Is there founder magic?
4. What are the deal terms?
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WHAT IS IT?
§ Can they clearly state: “We make software/hardware that does some amazing function that solves a major problem for a valuable
customer segment.”
§ Do they have a clear view of the competitive landscape? What is their unique value proposition?
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HOW BIG CAN IT BE
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IS THERE FOUNDER MAGIC
THE FOUNDERS
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WHAT ARE THE DEAL TERMS
§ Will we see a 3x increase in valuation at the next round if the company hits its goals?
§ Are the other investors in the round people/funds you respect and want to work closely with?
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DUE DILIGENCE
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SUCCES FACTORS
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SUCCESS FACTORS
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SUCCESS FACTORS
Example: Idealab launched a video content business before broadband was widely available, and before codec software was readily available. Youtube launched as
this problem was being solved
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CURRENT ON-TREND THEMES IN VENTURE CAPITAL
FINTECH
Shape the future of finance with open/API banking and new digital experiences
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Enable automation and optimization in all industries, using ML and deep learning, computer vision, and natural language processing
DIGITAL HEALTH
Empower people and organizations to live better lives
ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE
Focus on industry verticals at the edge of software driven transformation
BLOCKCHAIN
Disrupt centralized platforms
WOMEN IN TECH
Seeking better financial outcomes through gender equality
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SUMMARY
§ Venture Capital started in the 1960’s, and is responsible for the success of revolutionary companies such as Apple, Genentech, Cisco, and
Intel.
§ Venture Capital today helps fund startups with similar goals: to change the world.
§ VCs typically invest in companies between $3m - $200m in valuation, with the goal of reaching a $1B+ valuation.
§ Venture investing in any one venture is risky; venture funds diversify the risk by building portfolios of startup companies.
§ Results are almost binary: because only 4% of investments produce 10X+ returns, VCs invest with a ”huge if it works” philosophy.
§ The role of a VC is to help a company reach the next stage of funding. During the first 5 years of a superstar company, revenues will triple,
triple, double, double, double – year on year growth.
§ 50% of a VC fund is allocated to initial investments, and 50% for follow-ons, to double-down on the winners.
§ VCs will screen thousands of companies, and will typically ask 4 questions in deal screening: 1) What is it? 2) How big can it be? 3) Is there
founder magic? 4) What are the deal terms?
§ Entrepreneurial success: one study shows that timing is the most important factor.
§ Current on-trend themes in VC: fintech, AI, digital health, enterprise software, blockchain, women in tech.
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Contact info
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