Are you selling?
January 5, 2009
Brad Feld has a good point: “In most companies, too few people sell too little of the time. If you are a member of the senior executive team of a company that is trying to become profitable, are you spending 50% of your time selling and generating revenue? If not, why not? And, if you have a board of directors, are your board members selling also?”
At Architel Scott and I do ALL of the selling (well 90% Scott). Finding someone who can sell your business as well as you is not easy or inexpensive. If you want to start a business you better learn how to sell.
JPG Magazine, Hubris & Fear
January 5, 2009
I am sharing my thoughts about the recent events at JPG because it would appear we will not be selected as the new caretaker of JPG. I received an email from Ron Palmeri from Minor Ventures (they own 52% of JPG) indicating that discussions with potential acquirers such as myself had ceased. He indicated that there are over 20 interested in parties who have made offers that include significant cash components. Minor intends to accept bids until close of business Pacific time on Wednesday. Of course, this is a big turnaround from the email we received on January 1st indicating JPG would be closing down. My question was ‘how did we go from shutting down, to a bidding war?’ The answer? HUBRIS & FEAR!
Once considered the greatest sin in ancient Greece, hubris is one of the leading cause of the failure of venture backed companies. Raising money is a tricky endevour. On one hand you need to show that you need money, while at the same time somehow suggest that you don’t really need the money. Raising money is like walking a tight rope. If you act desperate suggesting, “If we don’t get something closed before New Years Day we will have to close.” you may get your money, but at a VERY unattractive price. On the other hand if you don’t admit that the doors are closing interested investors may not act fast enough.
More importantly, CEOs of companies on the brink of collapse often hide their troubles from their customers, partners and potential acquirers. Ironically, since many potential acquirers are competitors too, it may seem counter intuitive to reveal the extent of your troubles to them - this is a mistake. When all else has failed you can almost always find someone willing and able to take over your company. When you are about to die it is a VERY small risk to take - reveal your situation to every potential partner/acquirer. Give them a chance to help save your business, if not your job.
In JPG Magazine’s case the company had ZERO debt and no vendor liabilities - basically a clean slate. This was the easiest deal in the world for anyone like Smugmug or Flickr to do - but they had no idea JPG was in trouble. They only learned of the opportunity AFTER JPG’s CEO announced he was closing the business. The truth was, Mitchell Fox and his team couldn’t find anyone interested in funding their business model - it wasn’t because no one wanted JPG. JPG at some price, with a different business model, with a different management team would be a GREAT investment. Ironcially, even during our conversations on Friday, Mitchell was still under the impression that the business was sound and all he needed was money. He felt he was best positioned to make JPG succeed and any plan that didn’t include him or his team wasn’t even a possibility he had considered. Since Mitchell had already announced to the world he was shutting the company down - fear was no longer the issue - the only issue that remained was hubris.
Once it becomes clear your business is insolvent (i.e. you are about to run out of money) it is time to start thinking outside of the box. Quit thinking about your job and start thinking about the shareholders (hopefully you are one too). It doesn’t take a rocket scientist that there are a hundred potential acquirers of JPG - if you are willing to let your business go to ZERO I can only think hubris is to blame. Flickr would love to own JPG at some price - of course they wouldn’t need Mitchell or Devin. SmugMug would love to own JPG at some price - they wouldn’t need Rex or Kristine.
This post might sound a little like sour grapes, but in reality I am VERY much guilty of the EXACT same behavior. I lost $20MM of venture capital because I wasn’t willing to admit to my competitors that I was in trouble - I was too interested in saving face and my job. Of course I always thought we would be able to raise the money or sell the business - I drank my own KoolAid. Had I called 5-10 competitors I could have likely found a competitive buyer for the company - instead I focused on raising more capital that would keep me in charge or a strategic buyer whow would keep me and my team around. I acted out of fear and hubris. In my defense we had a HUGE built in burnrate - i.e. JPG has no debt or liabilities.
Stay tuned, if I learn any more about the transaction I will keep you posted.
What sort of startups will work in 2009?
January 5, 2009
Does this describe your startup? In the wake of the greatest destruction of wealth in human history you should ask yourself what sort of business are you running and how you are running it. We glorify companies that grow quickly. Just look at awards such as the Inc. 5000 - ‘The Fastest Growing Private Companies in America’. What is so great about fast? What do you give up when you go fast? Quality? Sustainability? Responsibility? Morality? Profitability? The judges at Inc. don’t even pretend to care about and of those things. They explain what it takes to make the list:
“If your revenue in 2005 was at least $200,000 and revenue in 2008 is at least $2 million then you may have what it takes to make the 2009 Inc. 500|5000 list. Send us an email to receive the application today! Please note that independent contractors and public companies are excluded.”
In the old days entrepreneurs would build their businesses to succeed; requiring a focus on profits. Revenue didn’t really matter as long as you grew profits. Wall Street helped entrepreneurs understand that profits didn’t matter as much as scale. Get as big as possible regardless of the financial or moral costs. Take big risks, bet the farm.
If you demand and depend on profits to run your company you are forced to go slower, take fewer risks and as a result you are often more aware of the way you run your company. When you are going at lightspeed sometimes you don’t notice the people you are running roughshod over. When you are taking it slow, focusing on organic growth you can’t help but be a better corporate citizen. Slower growth means you can spend more time with your family. Slower growth means you don’t need to raise as much money (don’t count on being able to raise much in 2009/2010). When you slow down a little you make as many mistakes, but they are almost always smaller and easier to resolve.
Wall Street has proven that everything we thought we understood was wrong - or at least it is wrong now. Michael Lewis has a great article in the New York Times titled, “The End of the Financial World as We Know It” and points out something that scared me when I read it, “Good God, the world seems to be saying, if they don’t know what they are doing with money, who does?” I remember getting offered shares of the AudioNet IPO. Looking at the business model I was fairly sure it would never work. Of course, AudioNet turned into Broadcast.com and then was purchased by Yahoo! making Mark Cuban a billionaire. The good news for guys like me (i.e. entrepreneurs who prefer to bootstrap their businesses), this sort of stuff is going to happen less and less.
Don’t get me wrong. Had Mark and Todd focused on slow growth at AudioNet they would have most likely failed - the velocity of their company made them rich. But I think it is time to accept: that was then, this is now. I wouldn’t recommend starting a company that won’t generate profits in the nearterm. There will be exceptions like Twitter and WordPress. Tried and true models - selling stuff for more than it costs to make. Providing services for more than they cost to provide. Building and selling things. These are the sort of companies that will work in 2009.
Don’t worry, while you are generating those monthly profits, paying yourself a decent salary - you are building enterprise value. Maybe in five to ten years it will be time to sell - time to take some money off of the table. But maybe you will simply enjoy growing your $1-10MM company and the fruits it allows. The vast majority of people who liv
e in all of those big houses in Highland Park and Preston Hollow built their companies slowly over the course of years and decades. Slow down and live - you can’t help but get rich along the way - 5-10% growth wont get you in the Fast 50, but it will double the size of your business in five years without betting the farm to do it.
For me? There are scores of amazing treasures just ripe for the taking. Kiss a bunch of frogs and find a few princess. Over the past month we took over SevenLayer and Friday made bid to buy JPG Magazine. The hard part is trying to decide which ones we should buy. Worst case, we just buy goats (inside joke)… :)
Our plan for JPG Magazine
January 4, 2009
In a phrase, “Getting back to basics” will be our mantra for JPG Magazine should we be successful in our bid to take over as caretaker of the JPG community. As a subscriber, user and contributor to JPG over the years I was shocked when I heard the managers of JPG decided to shut the magazine down. Surely there was a way to save the magazine and, more importantly, the JPG community. It took me 20 minutes to decide that I would pick up the JPG torch and ensure that JPG would not die, but instead flourish. On Friday I made a written offer to JPG’s shareholders to acquire the magazine and the publishing company.
By Friday afternoon I had found two other groups similarly interested in joining forces to save JPG using our collective experience, time, resources and capital. The key was to close quickly, over the weekend if possible and by Monday at the latest. After talking to Mitchell Fox Friday afternoon it would seem our simple plan to save JPG was going to get more complex. Mitchell suggested he wanted to delay closing to see if he could get a better deal. Instead of thinking about what was best for the community I immediately suggested that our offer was only good until close of business on Monday. I was excited about the prospect of saving JPG and I didn’t want to lose the opportunity to someone else. On top of that I will be giving the keynote on Wednesday in Holland at an open source conference on Android - pretty hard to close a deal when you are on stage or on an international flight.
Over the weekend I realized it wasn’t important that whether or not I was the one who would save JPG; it was clear JPG would be saved. Preserving the community, preserving the vision; that was what was important. Don’t get me wrong, I still hope that Mitchell and his team agree that we would make the best caretaker for JPG, but I realize that there might be someone better positioned to save the community.
I received more than 900 (yess nine hundred) emails from JPG readers, contributors and subscribers - almost all appreciative and positive about our plan to save JPG. Some of the messages were two or three pages long - detailing how much JPG means to them. After sifting through the emails I am even more convinced JPG MUST survive. To get an idea of the sort of emails I have received just check out the savejpg.com website.
To conclude, I think there is a place for JPG in the publishing world, but I think JPG needs to be small, nimble and efficient. JPGs unorthodox model, its srcappy bootstrap startup roots - planted originally by Derek and Heather will be our future, not our past. Trying to turn JPG into traditional news-stand magazine isn’t the answer. Step one will be to allow the community to elect a small board of trustees to oversee the direction and management of both the community and the magazine. Their mandate will be to help JPG ‘get back to basics - to what makes JPG special’.
If you are interested in helping please email me at amuse@m-ven.com. If you want to encourage JPG’s shareholders to accept our offer email Ron Palmeri at ron@minorventures.com. At the end of the day, it would seem that regardless of whether or not we are successful, JPG will survive (hopefully they don’t sell it to SmugMug as Mike Arrington suggested).
Startups are hardwork…
January 3, 2009
It may seem obvious, but I think it is worth noting: Building a company from the ground-up is really hard and it takes time - more time than you may have been lead to believe. How long do you think it took Dell, Jobs or Gates to build their companies? To start, they aren’t done building (well maybe Gates is).
- It took Jobs 4 years to get Apple off the ground
- It took Dell 4 years to get Dell off the ground
- It took Gates 6 years to get Microsoft off the ground
Of course in all three cases the hardwork was just starting. To turn these upstarts into the multinational powerhouses they are today, it took even longer. These companies were not overnight successes. There are VERY few examples of companies that last that were built in a year. Of course most of us aren’t Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or Michael Dell and as a result we shouldn’t be surprised if it takes us even longer.
Entrepreneurship isn’t something you pick up because you want flexible work hours. Starting a company takes more time than you have. Work life balance? Forget about it. Ironically, most entrepreneurs get paid MUCH less than their peers working for IBM and Microsoft. This ‘income-gap’ will last for years in most cases. If you think about how many hours an entrepreneur must invest in his startup and how much income he left behind you will soon realize that starting and running your own company isn’t as much about the money as it is about the company. Entrepreneurs have ideas, dreams, passions - ideas, dreams and passions that aren’t being met in the traditional job market.
As an entrepreneur if you work longer, harder and smarter than the next guy - throw in some luck - you might become rich. More entrepreneurs end up simply making ends meet, but make up for their income shortfall by loving what they do. So don’t quit you job and start a business if you aren’t ready to give up time and money.
It’s official, JPG Magazine won’t close!
January 3, 2009
I have been a JPG Magazine subscriber for some time (thanks Jake) and I was surprised when I got an email from the magazine indicating they were shutting down on January 1st. About 20 minutes after getting the email I sent an email to JPG CEO Mitchell Fox suggesting I would buy the magazine. He called me the next morning and after exchanging a few emails and calls I sent him a term sheet to buy the company around lunchtime. The consensus was that if we were going to save the company we had to act fast. By around 4PM CST I got what seemed like a form email suggesting ‘BIDS’ were due by Wednesday. I called Mitchell and told him we needed to have the lawyers work over the weekend so that we could issue a press release and email to the users on Monday indicating ‘JPG Lives!’ I stressed that a) there are a few moving parts that require we sign at least the term sheet by Monday, b) the value of the asset will deteriorate if we delay and c) I will be leaving to speak at a conference in Amsterdam on Wednesday and basically out for the rest of the week. Mitchell explained that he thought it was only fair to wait a few days to see what other offers might come in.
The folks at JPG have our offer in hand and we are hopeful we get to take over as caretaker of the community. I have a little experience taking over bankrupt or insolvent businesses and JPG looks like a business we can save. We don’t have plans to combine it with another photo site or blog, we simply want to keep JPG as it is: JPG. Based on Mitchell insistence that we delay the acquisition and Mike Arrington’s post, it would seem that we won’t be the new caretaker, but it is clear JPG won’t die - I am pleased to confirm: JPG LIVES!
Want to be Mike Arrington in [insert city name]?
January 1, 2009
There can be only one Mike Arrington and only one TechCrunch, but there is no reason you can’t be like Mike in your own neck of the woods. David and I are working to make SpringStage a vehicle for the creation and promotion of startup communities throughout the United States and beyond. We need “Mikes”, i.e. catalysts, to join the cause to organize and promote entrepreneurship in cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas, Buffalo and so on. Each major city should have at least one catalyst; someone who cares about building a healthy startup community in their area - here is how it works: Step One: start writing your own startup blog (we will set it up for you), Step Two: organize local events (we will show you how and help you), Step Three: (well, we have to keep some things secret). For example, here is the SpringStage schedule in Dallas for 2009.
Today we have catalysts in Alabama, Belgium, Brazil, Caribbean, China, Colorado, Florida, Texas, Kentucky, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Philadephia, Philippines, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ukraine, Vietnam and Washington. Want to join us? You don’t get paid, the only reward is that you might make a difference in your own community. Join us by filling out this short application form.
2009 is going to be a big year for SpringStage and we are looking for a few good people to join our cause. Our official launch is planned for Q1 (we will keep you posted).
Louis Gray Predicts 9,000,000 Android Phones in 2009!
January 1, 2009
Louis Gray posted his “10 Predictions for 2009 in the World of Tech“. His fifth prediction is that Android will have less than 20% of iPhone sales in 2009. Assuming this is true, that could mean as many as 9,000,000 people will adopt a phone that uses the Android operating system like T-Mobile’s G1. This is amazing. The iPhone sold 9,300,000 units in its first full year, if Louis is correct I think you would have to call Android a hit!
I have been preparing my keynote presentation for AndroidDevCamp in Amsterdam next week and have been compiling some statistics (all based on published, non-NDA related information). I think they are instructive:
- Apple sold 1,000,000 iPhones in 74 days (120 if you count activated phones)
- T-Mobile reportedly has sold 1,000,000 G1s in 71 days (no idea how many are activated)
- G1 has outsold iPhone (in same time period)
This is especially amazing if you consider that AT&T has 65.7 million U.S. users compared with T-Mobile’s 25 million U.S. users. Android has a three-to-one advantage in penetration:
- 1.5% of AT&T users had an iPhone 74 days after launch
- 4.0% of T-Mobile users had a G1 71 days after launch
- G1 has 3-1 better penetration rate than iPhone (in same period)
The more interesting statistic is that T-Mobile has more than 100 million users in the EU (that is more than T-Mobile and AT&T combined in the US). What do you think this will mean for Android adoption when T-Mobile unleashes the G1 in Europe? The sale price of the G1 and the iPhone were roughly the same in the US - $179 versus $199 or so - no real advantage either way. In Europe, where their is no history of carriers subsidizing the cost of handsets, T-Mobile has announced that the handset will be free with a two or three year contract. Here are my thoughts for EU penetration in Q1 2009 (based on US iPhone 1.5% penetration and US G1 4% penetration):
- Low side: 1,500,000 G1 handsets sold in EU Q1 2009 (based on iPhone penetration history)
- Mid-range: 4,000,000 G1 handsets sold in EU Q1 2009 (based on G1 penetration history)
- High side: 6,000,000 G1 handsets sold in EU Q1 2009 (based on Free handset deals)
- G1 is poised for a blow out year in 2009
While Louis might be right, I have a feeling first year adoption of Android may be even higher than the iPhone’s first year adoption. Why? Very simple, Android has a first year market size of 125,000,000 users (T-Mobile) while Apple’s first year market size was only 67,500,000 users (AT&T). Additionally, T-Mobile customers seem to be more likely to switch from their dated feature phone to the new G1 as evidenced by their higher penetration numbers. Add on the fact that T-Mobile is going to subsidize the phone in a MUCH bigger market I have a feeling Android might explode in 2009. “iPhone, meet train…” (of course NONE of these numbers are worth repeating - they are almost all conjecture based on third-party reports - but they seem to be ‘relative’ and thus worth thinking about)
Competing with Google?
January 1, 2009
I asked my Dad to vote for ShopSavvy to win a Crunchie for Best Mobile App. He finally voted for us today (thanks Dad). This evening he mentioned to me that we ‘don’t have a chance in hell of beating Google.‘ I laughed to myself after thinking about what he was saying. It never occurred to me that we wouldn’t win. Entrepreneurs often wear blinders - sometimes those blinders make all the difference - if we thought about all the reasons why we shouldn’t be able to ‘win’ we would never try. Okay, so I get it - it is damned unlikely we will win a Crunchie given our competition, but I guess it is an honor to be nominated alongside companies like Google and Pandora.
The sad truth: There are 16 categories and 103,272 votes. So assuming there are around 6,000 votes in our category, I suspect we have around 1,200 votes based on user feedback. There are six other nominees in our category - assuming an even split between the other nominees we could be winning, but I suspect that Google and Pandora have the majority of votes leaving us in third place - ug. Anyway, there is a chance we could win, but only a slight chance (the entrepreneur in me I guess). My point? PLEASE VOTE FOR SHOPSAVVY (you can vote daily).
Microsoft slashing 15,000 jobs!
December 31, 2008
According to reports, Microsoft will layoff 17% or 15,000 employees. Stuart Johnston points out these will be the company’s first-ever layoffs. The MSN group is going to carry the brunt of the layoffs, but Microsoft employees in Europe, Middle East and Africa are expected to be hard hit as well. Expect the announcement prior to January 22nd, the week before Microsoft’s Q2 earnings report.
Ironically, Architel is looking for several additional team leads to join the custom application support group. Our acquisition of SevenLayer means we need even more smart Microsoft engineers to join our team. MSFTies apply here.
AndroidDevCamp Amsterdam!
December 30, 2008
Earlier this month I was asked to speak at AndroidDevCamp in Amsterdam and I am pleased that we figured out how to make it happen (thanks to Raimo van der Klein, Peter Robinett, Yuri van Geest, Martijn Pannevis and Maarten den Braber for making it possible). I will be giving the Keynote (obviously, they have never heard me give a presentation). Here is the schedule:
15:00 Doors open
16:00 Opening
16:15 Introduction on Android
16:45 Android App Showcases
17:45 Keynote: Alexander Muse - ShopSavvy
18:15 Hackaton & Workshops:
Stream 1: Sean Sullivan - Using REST-based Web Services with Android
Stream 2: API corner - Hyves, IENS, ING, Nu.nl, Huizenzoeker, Mobypicture
Stream 3: Android Building Blocks/Fundamentals/Objects
23:00 Closing and drinks!
Check http://androiddevcamp.nl for program updates. There will be several APIs available: They explained in their our invitation they will have different kind of APIs available, both documentation and API developers to assist campers. Currently they have IlseMedia/Nu.nl, ING ATM locator(exclusive), MobyPicture and Hyves confirmed! I hope to get some great additional APIs available for the event.
ShopSavvy nominated for a 2008 Crunchie!
December 29, 2008
I am pleased to announce ShopSavvy, our mobile barcode scanning application, was nominated for a 2008 Crunchie in the ‘Best Mobile App’ category. Thanks to everyone who nominated us. The winner for each category will also be chosen by reader voting. Please vote for ShopSavvy. Voting ends on January 5, 2009 at Midnight PST. You may vote up to once per day.
The 2008 Crunchies is the second annual competition and award ceremony to recognize and celebrate the most compelling startups, internet and technology innovations of the year. The Crunchies are co-hosted by GigaOm, VentureBeat, Silicon Alley Insider, and TechCrunch. Best of all, the internet community is invited to choose who wins.
Want to learn more? ShopSavvy™ is a shopping assistant developed for Google’s Android mobile phone platform and is one of T-Mobile’s featured applications in their 2008/2009 US and EU launch. Users can scan the bar code of any product using their phone’s built-in camera. ShopSavvy will then search for the best prices online and through the inventories of nearby, local stores using the phone’s built-in GPS. ShopSavvy won Google’s Android Developer Challenge and is available in Google’s Android Market. Follow us on twitter. Read more
Ironically we are launching the Vietnam Startup Blog!
December 24, 2008
Word from Vietnam is that the government is tightening the rules on blogs. Our latest startup blog is from Vietnam (we should be launching in the next couple of days) and I am now a little reluctant to reveal our latest member of the SpringStage crew.
Are you going public?
December 22, 2008
I get emails almost daily from people asking, “Is Big in Japan publicly traded?” When I respond that we are private the most common reply is, “Do you plan to go public?” Finally I began asking why people cared. The answer? They wanted to invest.
When I was in my twenties my goal was to be the CEO of a public company; getting my face on the cover of Fortune. Now that I am in my thirties my goal is to generate cash. The Wall Street Journal had a great article explaining why I would NEVER consider taking my company public:
In the name of “fairness,” preventing future Enrons, and increased oversight, Congress, the SEC and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) have piled burdens onto the economy that put entrepreneurship at risk.
The new laws and regulations have neither prevented frauds nor instituted fairness. But they have managed to kill the creation of new public companies in the U.S., cripple the venture capital business, and damage entrepreneurship. According to the National Venture Capital Association, in all of 2008 there have been just six companies that have gone public. Compare that with 269 IPOs in 1999, 272 in 1996, and 365 in 1986.
Faced with crushing reporting costs if they go public, new companies are instead selling themselves to big, existing corporations. For the last four years it has seemed that every new business plan in Silicon Valley has ended with the statement “And then we sell to Google.” The venture capital industry is now underwater, paying out less than it is taking in. Small potential shareholders are denied access to future gains. Power is being ever more centralized in big, established companies.
For all of this, we can first thank Sarbanes-Oxley. Cooked up in the wake of accounting scandals earlier this decade, it has essentially killed the creation of new public companies in America, hamstrung the NYSE and Nasdaq (while making the London Stock Exchange rich), and cost U.S. industry more than $200 billion by some estimates.
$100,000,000 in early stage cash for Dallas & Houston!
December 20, 2008
With all of the crazy economic news you might have missed the news that Austin Ventures just raised a new $900 million fund in October. Tom Ball and Mike Dodd stopped by our offices on Friday and described their plan to get active in the Dallas and Houston areas. Austin Ventures has reserved $300MM of the new fund for early stage deals. Assuming around $200MM goes to early stage deals in Austin, the remaining $100MM will be focused on companies located in Dallas and Houston. Lets see if Dallas can get more than Houston, deal?
This is AMAZING news. We are hoping to hold a few SpringStage events with Tom and Mike in early 2009. My thought was that they could invite two or three founders from startups who might be interested in talking about their businesses and their experiences with Austin Ventures. If you are interested in an intro or if you have an idea for an event (i.e. that includes Austin Ventures) please ping me directly.
About Mike: Mike Dodd joined Austin Ventures in 2008 and focuses on early and expansion-stage software and web-enabled business and consumer services. Most recently, Mike was SVP of Corporate Development with Omniture, Inc. (NASDAQ: OMTR), a publicly traded analytics and online business optimization software company. While there Mike led the identification, acquisition, and integration efforts around Omniture’s acquisition of two domestic and two international companies which totaled approximately $500 million in consideration. Prior to Omniture, Mike was Senior Vice President and General Manager at MyFamily.com , a consumer online content subscription business. He was also a Partner with Europatweb, a venture capital firm where he worked with companies such as Liquidity Services Inc (NASDAQ: LQDT) and MyFamily.com, and a technology investment banker with Robertson Stephens in San Francisco. Mike received an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in finance from Syracuse University.
About Tom: Thomas Ball joined Austin Ventures in 2005 and focuses on software investing. Most recently, Tom was CEO and co-founder of Openfield Technologies which merged with Razorgator Interactive Group. While there, he played a key role in securing partnership deals including Yahoo, MSN, eBay, and Knight Ridder. Prior to Openfield, Tom was the Chairman, CEO and Founder of eCoupons (acquired by Lifeminders, NASDAQ: LFMN). Tom also has experience in private equity investing and strategy consulting from his time as a Principal at Discovery Capital and as an Engagement Manager at Mitchell Madison Group. Tom received an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and a BS in Finance with honors from the University of Florida.
About Austin Ventures: For nearly 25 years, Austin Ventures has successfully partnered with visionary entrepreneurs and startup executives to build category-defining technology companies. We focus on seed and rapid growth opportunities in:
- Enterprise application, Internet, and infrastructure software
- Datacenter and communications systems
- Semiconductors and components
Our venture capital team typically becomes involved early in a company’s development. The majority of our initial investments occur prior to product availability. Our investments range in size from $100,000 proof-of-concept projects to $20 million expansion capital rounds.
We maintain a rigorous investment process and a commitment to work closely with our portfolio companies. We understand that promising companies need more than financial backing to succeed. As a partner, Austin Ventures provides emerging technology companies with a long-term investment approach, a proven ability to build value at the early stage, affiliate fund support, and access to an unparalleled network of executives, capital sources, and technology professionals. We also work with a specialized affiliate fund focused on early-stage medical technology, healthcare services and healthcare IT companies to explore further opportunities.
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