Comments on: Fast changes for Venture Capitals and Angels in technology http://montrealtechwatch.com/2007/08/02/fast-changes-for-venture-capitals-and-angels-in-technology/ Technology and Innovation news in Montreal Fri, 11 May 2012 12:54:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Lupe Ciriello http://montrealtechwatch.com/2007/08/02/fast-changes-for-venture-capitals-and-angels-in-technology/#comment-914447 Lupe Ciriello Mon, 24 Jan 2011 10:16:54 +0000 http://montrealtechwatch.com/2007/08/02/fast-changes-for-venture-capitals-and-angels-in-technology/#comment-914447 Is definitely blogengine superior to blogger somehow? Must be because it is starting to be popluar as of late. Is definitely blogengine superior to blogger somehow? Must be because it is starting to be popluar as of late.

]]> By: Montreal Tech Watch » New central place for new technology companies in main downtown Montreal area http://montrealtechwatch.com/2007/08/02/fast-changes-for-venture-capitals-and-angels-in-technology/#comment-260454 Montreal Tech Watch » New central place for new technology companies in main downtown Montreal area Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:45:39 +0000 http://montrealtechwatch.com/2007/08/02/fast-changes-for-venture-capitals-and-angels-in-technology/#comment-260454 [...] Ian Rae has had many ideas, and one of them was to get technology entrepreneurs and companies together in a space. I actually met him 2 years ago, and my immediate answer was that he wasn’t the first one to think about this, and the hardest thing was covering operational expenses and marketing, like Mark McQueen from the Wellington Fund pointed out in an earlier MTW post. [...] [...] Ian Rae has had many ideas, and one of them was to get technology entrepreneurs and companies together in a space. I actually met him 2 years ago, and my immediate answer was that he wasn’t the first one to think about this, and the hardest thing was covering operational expenses and marketing, like Mark McQueen from the Wellington Fund pointed out in an earlier MTW post. [...]

]]> By: Canada is full of innovation, where is the money for it? | A View from the Isle http://montrealtechwatch.com/2007/08/02/fast-changes-for-venture-capitals-and-angels-in-technology/#comment-8947 Canada is full of innovation, where is the money for it? | A View from the Isle Tue, 18 Dec 2007 23:37:05 +0000 http://montrealtechwatch.com/2007/08/02/fast-changes-for-venture-capitals-and-angels-in-technology/#comment-8947 [...] Wellington Financial is making the statement that there is just a dismal investment record for the first half of 2007. MTW has this comment: VCs must realize that if they want to invest in technology, they will have to adapt to the times, deal with more tech entrepreneurs but get less control, and start new initiatives like startup schools which are more relevant to industry’s needs. Source: Montreal Tech Watch [...] [...] Wellington Financial is making the statement that there is just a dismal investment record for the first half of 2007. MTW has this comment: VCs must realize that if they want to invest in technology, they will have to adapt to the times, deal with more tech entrepreneurs but get less control, and start new initiatives like startup schools which are more relevant to industry’s needs. Source: Montreal Tech Watch [...]

]]> By: Technology and Innovation in August | Montreal Tech Watch http://montrealtechwatch.com/2007/08/02/fast-changes-for-venture-capitals-and-angels-in-technology/#comment-2211 Technology and Innovation in August | Montreal Tech Watch Tue, 04 Sep 2007 02:26:52 +0000 http://montrealtechwatch.com/2007/08/02/fast-changes-for-venture-capitals-and-angels-in-technology/#comment-2211 [...] about venture capital investment in Canada. (August [...] [...] about venture capital investment in Canada. (August [...]

]]> By: catech » Blog Archive » Canada is full of innovation, where is the money for it? http://montrealtechwatch.com/2007/08/02/fast-changes-for-venture-capitals-and-angels-in-technology/#comment-1546 catech » Blog Archive » Canada is full of innovation, where is the money for it? Thu, 16 Aug 2007 21:16:37 +0000 http://montrealtechwatch.com/2007/08/02/fast-changes-for-venture-capitals-and-angels-in-technology/#comment-1546 [...] Wellington Financial is making the statement that there is just a dismal investment record for the first half of 2007.  MTW has this comment: VCs must realize that if they want to invest in technology, they will have to adapt to the times, deal with more tech entrepreneurs but get less control, and start new initiatives like startup schools which are more relevant to industry’s needs. Source: Montreal Tech Watch [...] [...] Wellington Financial is making the statement that there is just a dismal investment record for the first half of 2007.  MTW has this comment: VCs must realize that if they want to invest in technology, they will have to adapt to the times, deal with more tech entrepreneurs but get less control, and start new initiatives like startup schools which are more relevant to industry’s needs. Source: Montreal Tech Watch [...]

]]> By: Heri http://montrealtechwatch.com/2007/08/02/fast-changes-for-venture-capitals-and-angels-in-technology/#comment-1396 Heri Sat, 11 Aug 2007 12:51:44 +0000 http://montrealtechwatch.com/2007/08/02/fast-changes-for-venture-capitals-and-angels-in-technology/#comment-1396 Hi david, thanks for the feedback, i won't go into details, i think we both know who is the expert here, but i just want to say that in Québec, there are too many venture capital aiming for big deals. i saw statistics saying that it's the 4th region for VC per capita in the world. for technology entrepreneurs, what we need in quebec right now is more seed investors and more early stage deals. of course, this is not what investors are looking for. but you have to get through this so that they actually have 'real' companies to invest in the future. Hi david,

thanks for the feedback,

i won’t go into details, i think we both know who is the expert here, but i just want to say that in Québec, there are too many venture capital aiming for big deals. i saw statistics saying that it’s the 4th region for VC per capita in the world.

for technology entrepreneurs, what we need in quebec right now is more seed investors and more early stage deals. of course, this is not what investors are looking for. but you have to get through this so that they actually have ‘real’ companies to invest in the future.

]]> By: David http://montrealtechwatch.com/2007/08/02/fast-changes-for-venture-capitals-and-angels-in-technology/#comment-1324 David Tue, 07 Aug 2007 22:28:32 +0000 http://montrealtechwatch.com/2007/08/02/fast-changes-for-venture-capitals-and-angels-in-technology/#comment-1324 Responding to MRM, first, I can get into a long discussion of VC numbers in Canada vs US as I know the data quite intimately. The key to US data is to look at what a vast % Silicon Valley and/or California represents. Also, look at the early stage vs late stage $ in US vs Canada as well as the average deal size. You will see Canada, on a relative basis, does far TOO MANY early stage deals with the money we have available. The US does fewer dollars relatively, and much fewer deals. We have the double problem, less money and too many deals = significantly lower average deal size. This was particularly acute in Quebec until the recent changes in the VC market. This applies more to all tech on average, and less specifically to the software/internet/media markets that are relatively less capital intensive. Happy to share data/numbers from Canada, US, Europe, or Israel if people need them. Back to the main topic on seed investing. We don't do a big whack of seed deals, maybe 1 or 2 per person (although there is no strict allocation) so we manage and work with them closely like any other deal - often more so due to the early nature of the company. For me, check out www.dabbledb.com as one I/we did last year, and I'm just in the middle of doing another right now. We are on the board, we are helping with staffing, corporate/financial stuff, strategy, product managment (my background), media, general connections, etc.. Pretty much everything except code - you do not want any of my code in your product! ;) The harder question for lots of companies is do they really want/need venture funding? It is a tool like a power drill, only use it if you actually need it. Trying to measure with a power drill is pretty useless, and sometimes VC is equally useless. Anyways, lots of me typing. Happy to chat, email, IM, etc. on the topic. Responding to MRM, first, I can get into a long discussion of VC numbers in Canada vs US as I know the data quite intimately. The key to US data is to look at what a vast % Silicon Valley and/or California represents. Also, look at the early stage vs late stage $ in US vs Canada as well as the average deal size. You will see Canada, on a relative basis, does far TOO MANY early stage deals with the money we have available. The US does fewer dollars relatively, and much fewer deals. We have the double problem, less money and too many deals = significantly lower average deal size. This was particularly acute in Quebec until the recent changes in the VC market. This applies more to all tech on average, and less specifically to the software/internet/media markets that are relatively less capital intensive. Happy to share data/numbers from Canada, US, Europe, or Israel if people need them.

Back to the main topic on seed investing. We don’t do a big whack of seed deals, maybe 1 or 2 per person (although there is no strict allocation) so we manage and work with them closely like any other deal – often more so due to the early nature of the company. For me, check out http://www.dabbledb.com as one I/we did last year, and I’m just in the middle of doing another right now. We are on the board, we are helping with staffing, corporate/financial stuff, strategy, product managment (my background), media, general connections, etc.. Pretty much everything except code – you do not want any of my code in your product! ;)

The harder question for lots of companies is do they really want/need venture funding? It is a tool like a power drill, only use it if you actually need it. Trying to measure with a power drill is pretty useless, and sometimes VC is equally useless. Anyways, lots of me typing. Happy to chat, email, IM, etc. on the topic.

]]> By: MRM http://montrealtechwatch.com/2007/08/02/fast-changes-for-venture-capitals-and-angels-in-technology/#comment-1299 MRM Tue, 07 Aug 2007 00:50:36 +0000 http://montrealtechwatch.com/2007/08/02/fast-changes-for-venture-capitals-and-angels-in-technology/#comment-1299 Hi there Here is the follow-up data and post. http://www.wellingtonfund.com/blog/2007/08/05/brutal-venture-capital-stats-for-h1-2007-part-2/ Salut MRM Hi there

Here is the follow-up data and post.

http://www.wellingtonfund.com/blog/2007/08/05/brutal-venture-capital-stats-for-h1-2007-part-2/

Salut

MRM

]]> By: Heri http://montrealtechwatch.com/2007/08/02/fast-changes-for-venture-capitals-and-angels-in-technology/#comment-1259 Heri Sun, 05 Aug 2007 15:25:13 +0000 http://montrealtechwatch.com/2007/08/02/fast-changes-for-venture-capitals-and-angels-in-technology/#comment-1259 hey, i would be interested in how you run your seed program. do you follow each entrepreneur closely? how do you manage your portfolio then? in a startup school, i wouldn't see entrepreneurs paying for it. the view is that the VC fund will get the bests opportunities at the end, so you will get your investment back. I guess you can view it as a selection process. About capitalism, a startup school allows you to spread risks and get more deals. of course you will have less control and you should consider more risky business plans. you should have a look at ColoradoStartups.com, it's a fund based in Boulder and I find them very innovative hey, i would be interested in how you run your seed program. do you follow each entrepreneur closely? how do you manage your portfolio then?

in a startup school, i wouldn’t see entrepreneurs paying for it. the view is that the VC fund will get the bests opportunities at the end, so you will get your investment back. I guess you can view it as a selection process. About capitalism, a startup school allows you to spread risks and get more deals. of course you will have less control and you should consider more risky business plans.

you should have a look at ColoradoStartups.com, it’s a fund based in Boulder and I find them very innovative

]]> By: David http://montrealtechwatch.com/2007/08/02/fast-changes-for-venture-capitals-and-angels-in-technology/#comment-1214 David Fri, 03 Aug 2007 23:38:19 +0000 http://montrealtechwatch.com/2007/08/02/fast-changes-for-venture-capitals-and-angels-in-technology/#comment-1214 "and why not “startup schools”. i am finding your reaction “incredibly limited”. it looks like you are sitting comfortably in your vision how VCs should operate and how they should approach entrepreneurs. sighh.." Is this baiting me? I was being a bit tongue-in-cheek to express my surprise that entrepreneurs would want start-up schools run by VCs - generally we are bashed for "sitting comfortably" and not knowing what its like to be real entrepreneurs. Your comment and sigh are reached without knowing pretty much anything about my approach to venture capital. How would you see startup schools working? Would people be fine with 1-5% of the attendees being funded (that would be the ratio)? Would we get shares in every attendee as payment for the school, or would we charge cash (that you don't have which is why you want to raise money) or would we be expected to eat the cost out of our marketing budget? Is there really a demand - in Vancouver, where I am, there are monthly VEF (www.VEF.org) events on these topics, the BCTIA (www.BCTIA.org) constantly has events, the various accountants/lawyers have bootcamps, Telus New Ventures BC competition has classes and mentors (and a very healthy prize at the end), etc.. At least in Vancouver, I don't see a huge gap. What would you like to see in a school that is not currently provided elsewhere? Then of course, if you came to our VC school, we wouldn't have to compete for your deal, right? ;) I'm not opposed to the concept, but I think there are a lot of questions to be answered. We have a seed program, as do most other VCs these days, so we are familiar with early stage investing and the issues that go with it. I'm not sure a school is the answer, but I'm willing to be convinced - the operating word in venture capitalist is capitalist, if it makes financial sense it will probably get done. “and why not “startup schools”. i am finding your reaction “incredibly limited”. it looks like you are sitting comfortably in your vision how VCs should operate and how they should approach entrepreneurs. sighh..”

Is this baiting me? I was being a bit tongue-in-cheek to express my surprise that entrepreneurs would want start-up schools run by VCs – generally we are bashed for “sitting comfortably” and not knowing what its like to be real entrepreneurs. Your comment and sigh are reached without knowing pretty much anything about my approach to venture capital.

How would you see startup schools working? Would people be fine with 1-5% of the attendees being funded (that would be the ratio)? Would we get shares in every attendee as payment for the school, or would we charge cash (that you don’t have which is why you want to raise money) or would we be expected to eat the cost out of our marketing budget? Is there really a demand – in Vancouver, where I am, there are monthly VEF (www.VEF.org) events on these topics, the BCTIA (www.BCTIA.org) constantly has events, the various accountants/lawyers have bootcamps, Telus New Ventures BC competition has classes and mentors (and a very healthy prize at the end), etc.. At least in Vancouver, I don’t see a huge gap. What would you like to see in a school that is not currently provided elsewhere?

Then of course, if you came to our VC school, we wouldn’t have to compete for your deal, right? ;)

I’m not opposed to the concept, but I think there are a lot of questions to be answered. We have a seed program, as do most other VCs these days, so we are familiar with early stage investing and the issues that go with it. I’m not sure a school is the answer, but I’m willing to be convinced – the operating word in venture capitalist is capitalist, if it makes financial sense it will probably get done.

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