Harry Stebbings and I did an extra last minute 20VC this week on “WTF is Going on in Venture Capital in 2023,” and it was a pretty honest and fun one. About how investing is a bit broken now, and how VCs are dealing with fraud and more.
And how buying has changed in SaaS.
Much more here. It’s pretty direct and off the cuff, and a lot of fun:
In Today’s Episode on “Are VCs Still Investing” We Discuss:
1. What Does it Take To Get Funded Today:
Early-Stage:
- How has what VCs want in early-stage investments changed in this new environment?
- Should startups prioritize growth? Profitability? Capital efficiency?
- How long a runway is sufficient enough for founders to feel comfortable?
- Why does Jason believe most founders are still deluded that they are fundable?
Growth Stage Companies:
- Is the growth stage totally dead?
- What will we see happen to all the companies that raised $50M+ at large valuations that have very little revenue?
- Why does Jason believe that any operator who joined a $BN company in the past few years will not make any money on their equity? What should they do now?
- Will we start to see down rounds and structured rounds at the growth stage? If so, when?
Public Markets:
- Why does Jason believe this is a time unlike any he has seen before?
- Are we in full recession now in Jason’s mind? In Dec 2023, will this be better or worse?
- Which are the most under-priced assets in the public markets today?
- Why does Jason believe VCs investing in public markets are losers?
2. Micro Funds Will Be Decimated and LP Behaviour in 2023
- Why does Jason believe that micro-funds in 2023 will be decimated and unable to raise new funds?
- How will the majority of LPs approach new fund investments?
- How will LPs approach re-investing in their existing managers? How has what they need to see changed?
3. Marketing and Sales: We Need To Change Budgets and Targets
- How should CEOs be changing their marketing budgets in 2023?
- What are the single biggest mistakes CEOs are making in this downturn with regard to their marketing budget?
- How do sales targets need to be amended in the face of changing buying patterns?
- How do the best sales and marketing leaders respond to these changing budgets and targets? How do the worst respond?
It was Great!
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