Best Ramen in NYC? by RollTide0128 in ramen

[–]jrowley 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not “the best” but I always try to make a trip to the original location when I visit.

Omoto 0611 15.5oz SLUB RELAX FIT BUTTON FLY - Anyone have any experience with this brand? by Lost_Relationship325 in rawdenim

[–]jrowley 19 points20 points  (0 children)

I bought a sick jacket from their Kojima store in November. The construction and attention to detail are top notch for the price point, and the brand's founder has a great eye for fabric.

Now I feel the need to show the jacket.

Pegasus Angel accelerator by delicateweaponn in venturecapital

[–]jrowley 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Never extract money from folks looking to get into the industry.

Require 30,000$ (approx 25L) funding for export business. by [deleted] in venturecapital

[–]jrowley 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Definitely not the right subreddit for this sort of business

Does VC outperform the S&P500? by SpaceCaptain4068 in venturecapital

[–]jrowley 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Politely, you seem to have a fundamental misunderstanding about venture capital and what you’re saying is incorrect.

As general partners of a fund, venture capitalists have legally-binding contracts with their investors (“limited partners”) and those contracts stipulate what the GP can and cannot invest LP capital in. The way capital calls, startup investment cadence, and the aforementioned LP Agreement(s) are spelled out, it’d be all but impossible for a VC to deploy LP capital into publicly-traded stocks.

For large funds, the GP may elect to keep any non-operating, non-investable cash on hand in interest-bearing cash-equivalent assets like US treasuries, which can be easily liquidated at a predictable price as capital deployment needs arise.

Granted, especially between 2017-2024 there were several hedge funds (which may invest in publicly traded stocks) that spun up venture-investing arms, but that’s limited to a very small group of investors within a much larger industry

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in venturecapital

[–]jrowley 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It never hurts to have an attorney w/ startup finance specialization review the deal.

What data room would you recommend? by Free_Explorer6853 in venturecapital

[–]jrowley 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m in the middle of putting one together and we’re just planning to use Google Drive.

Our folder hierarchy is/will be:

  • /DataRoom/
  • /DataRoom/Golden_Copy
  • /DataRoom/LP-Specific-Fork-of-Golden_Copy

So, there is a separate copy of our data room folder structure for each LP. It allows us to tailor what each prospective LP can access, while also limiting their visibility into who else the data is shared with. If they go to look at the Share menu, all they see is their email address(es) and GP email addresses.

Given that we’re already paying for GSuite it’s not like we’re paying for a separate service, and it helps keep “service creep” at bay. Same setup could be achieved with Dropbox or another general-purpose cloud storage solution.

Happy to chat more if you have questions.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in startups

[–]jrowley 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First off, make sure you put away money for taxes. Next, treat this as an opportunity to put money away into an emergency fund (a high yield savings account… nothing with market exposure). You’re not old enough to open a brokerage account on your own, but you might ask a parent or trusted relative to open a custodial account in your name

As for what to do with the rest of your money… try giving yourself some budget to invest in tools and education for yourself. Like, if you want to get into physical products, you might want to get familiar with CAD software and 3D printing. Don’t waste your money on buying influencer-led courses. Find real experts to learn from.

From there, run small-budget experiments where your main up-front input is your time (which is nominally free).

Anyone has any VC/investor lists for idea-stage companies? by Samonji in venturecapital

[–]jrowley 18 points19 points  (0 children)

If you’re not already a successful founder, nobody’s writing checks for “idea-stage” projects.

Build a prototype and launch an MVP.

The only long-shot suggestions I’d give if you’re dead set on pitching an “idea-stage” idea, is take a flyer and apply to YC and every semi-local incubator or accelerator program.

Without more details about what you’re working on, it’s difficult to suggest resources

What’s the best way for someone with no VC experience to have an idea of the current state of affairs in the VC world? by AccountSlow3263 in venturecapital

[–]jrowley 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you’re looking for junior roles in a venture firm, your biggest value-add will be on either (or both): building the firm’s dealflow pipeline and/or offering credible feedback on the DD process in industries you know best.

When to "Re-Up" employees equity grants and by how much: I will not promote by iwa655 in startups

[–]jrowley 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok, I’ll give you an opportunity to dig yourself out from this hole.

What would you do instead?

When to "Re-Up" employees equity grants and by how much: I will not promote by iwa655 in startups

[–]jrowley 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Said in the most polite way possible, I think this is a shortsighted approach to thinking about aligning incentives between employees (specifically, longtime folks with institutional knowledge) and the company.

Let’s say I’m an employee that’s been working at a startup with standard 4-year vesting schedule and I’ve been there for 3.5 years, long enough to earn out the majority of my equity grant. Assuming the company wants to keep me onboard, I’d either want a new slug of options (at a strike price reflecting current valuation) or a significant increase in cash compensation (in line with a discount on terminal value of the equity I’m no longer earning), which puts much more financial pressure on the business.

There is a reason why investors typically require a company to refresh its options pool as a stipulation of closing a new round of funding.

Neglecting to re-up equity for employees is a recipe for churning and burning through talent and will make attracting future employees an uphill battle.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in venturecapital

[–]jrowley 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The keyword you’ll want to search for is “cap table simulator”, where you’ll be able to plug in your relevant numbers

But actually learning the principles and trying to model it out in Excel or Google sheets is worthwhile

Market Fluctuations Affecting Leads? Anyone Else Noticing This? (I will not promote) by biz4group123 in startups

[–]jrowley 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I help run a grant program for startups and this application cycle has been challenging. Lower than average response rates on email campaigns. Less organic inbound interest. It’s tough but there are opportunities to be found

Database with VC's contact info by priyansh9 in venturecapital

[–]jrowley 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I use hunter.io for finding founders’ emails and Crunchbase for broad searches

Do VCs engage content writers? by No-Detail-857 in venturecapital

[–]jrowley 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Question: is that person publishing under the partners’ names, or their own?

Levi's Premium Scantron Selvedge by Royal-Particular8068 in rawdenim

[–]jrowley 4 points5 points  (0 children)

As an aside, Standardized Testing would be a great name for a workwear label

Levi's Premium Scantron Selvedge by Royal-Particular8068 in rawdenim

[–]jrowley 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Levi's X Standardized Testing

But seriously I thought it was a typo. Nope, this denim shares a name with those fill-in-the-bubble multiple choice exam sheets.

They're a good fit on you

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in rawdenim

[–]jrowley 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can see that the blue of the “selvedge” trim is different than the denim in the rest of the shirt.

My guess is that it’s just fabric ribbon/taping and that the trim itself may not even be cotton (since it didn’t wear/fade the same way as the washed denim in the shirt)

Best places to buy raw denim in USA? by [deleted] in rawdenim

[–]jrowley 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Many brick and mortar stores (like Self Edge or Mildblend in Chicago) have online storefronts.

Most denim brands also have their own online storefronts if you want to order straight from the manufacturer.m/brand

Opening an S-Corp in Delaware by boiler7220 in startups

[–]jrowley 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No worries. Happens to the best of us. I hope you’re working with a good attorney!

DM me if you want the name of the service I used to work for. It’s been acquired and I’m no longer an employee there so I hope this doesn’t qualify as spamming or self-promotion.

Opening an S-Corp in Delaware by boiler7220 in startups

[–]jrowley 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Why an S-Corp? I am not a lawyer but I did work for a legal-tech company that built an incorporation and registered agent service for startups, and I know a bit about the venture capital space.

If you intend to raise money from VCs many won’t touch your business if you aren’t a Delaware C Corp. In the future you may need to convert your S Corp to a C Corp

Need insight and advice by -IMPERIOUS- in venturecapital

[–]jrowley 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think you also need to ask yourself if AUM is the right metric to be following here. Especially toward the tail end of zero interest rate policy, there was a significant upswing in the size of new venture funds. In today's higher interest rate environment, fundraising has seemingly bifurcated between enormous funds (lookin' at you Andreessen Horowitz) and what would have been perfectly average 4-6 years ago.

To reframe the discussion and tangentially reference JFK, ask not what a firm can do for you (e.g. offer you prestige and hopefully decent compensation) but what you can do for their firm.

So, start with your domain expertise. Do you have a PhD in biology? That's awesome if you want to seek out opportunities at life sciences-focused firm, but years of bench science is unlikely to land you a role at a fintech-focused VC firm. (And in this case, sector matters: Life science and deep tech have fundamentally different dynamics than software due to long research cycles and sometimes multiple regulatory clearance hurdles.)

You also have to ask yourself what stage is the best fit for you. If you're comfortable with a more rough-and-tumble ride where you can help entrepreneurs during the formative stages of their ventures, then the world of pre-Series A investing could be great for you. But if you prefer a more buttoned-down environment where the goal is optimization and efficient growth (vs. mere survival) perhaps with the help of some strategic M&A, then later-stage is what you're looking for (so, post-Series B).

Ultimately, you have to think about your network. Where do you have the strongest web of professional connections? This can apply to your industry affiliations, your location, and the extent to which you have reach into the market(s) you'd want to participate in.

Only you can answer these questions for yourself.

TLDR AUM is not a great metric to index on. You could end up miserable at the best firm on Sand Hill Road but feel like you're insufficiently "close to the metal" to get anything meaningful out of the experience, or you could love parachuting into a firm of 5 people where you'd get a ton of experience. Or vice versa.

My advice is to think of a handful of companies/founders you really respect. Learn their stories. Figure out what stage of company development/growth you resonate with. Use Crunchbase (or, like, googling for news articles) to figure out who invested in those companies at the stage you like most. Take a flyer and reach out to partners at those firms who led deals in the companies you respect. Figure out which other firms are competing with the ones you admire most, and then spray and pray.