Evan Vitale

Accounting Professional

Evan Vitale – VC News Update!

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By Evan Vitale

Here are some of the stories making headlines in the world of venture capital this week.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published a nice personal piece in which venture capitalist Ross Leinweber, of Cedar Road Capital, offered his “Venture Capital Wish List.” You can find the full story here: http://bit.ly/2hPjc0y

In St. Louis, venture capital firms have launched funds totaling $682 million in 2016, according the St. Louis Business Journal.

Several high-profile investment funds that launched in the fourth quarter of this year propelled St. Louis to one its best, if not the best, year on record for raising venture capital.

Nearly half a billion dollars was invested in approximately 10 funds this year. Details: http://bit.ly/2huXnXE

Entrepreneur has a piece on venture capital entitled “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Venture Capital (But Were Afraid To Ask).”

The article is appropriately sub-titled “VC sounds appealing, but is it for you? Here’s what you need to know to navigate a ‘typical’ series of fundraising rounds. The full story is here: http://bit.ly/2hswKzZ

Modern Healthcare is reporting that Inova recruits managers for $100 million venture-capital program.

Inova Health System will provide $100 million in venture capital over the next three to five years to support precision-medicine companies and create an incubator for startups. The goal is develop ideas to improve the broader health system and make money off the innovations.

The Falls Church, Va.-based system has brought aboard veteran venture capitalists Hooks Johnston and Pete Jobse to manage the investments, Inova announced. Details: http://bit.ly/2huYG9h

Evan Vitale – Venture Capital News Update!

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By Evan Vitale

Let’s see what stories are making headlines this week in the world of venture capital.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Tyson is launching a $150 million venture-capital fund in hopes that it will facilitate expansion and innovation. Other food and agricultural conglomerates such as General Mills Inc., Coca-Cola Co. and Campbell Soup Co. have launched venture-capital efforts in recent years, jockeying for position against Silicon Valley firms including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Khosla Ventures. Details: http://on.wsj.com/2hcFuxd

GreenBiz.com has an interesting article asking the question “can venture capital ever propel cleantech?” According to the article, a July report by MIT Energy Initiative, “Venture Capital and Cleantech: The Wrong Model for Clean Energy Innovation (PDF),” has compared the performance of venture capital (VC) in the software, medical and cleantech sectors. The results showed VC is not the right model for investments in the cleantech sector. Public funding is crucial at the beginning of projects. Details: http://bit.ly/2h69A5f

According to pymnts.com, venture capital has hit a plateau citing analysts KPMG and CB Insights. Data suggests the trend is global: North America VC investments for the quarter were fairly flat compared to Q2, and while Europe saw an increase in the number of deals for VC funding, there was a decline in the value of that collective funding. Even Asia is seeing a pullback from investors, the report found, finding that VC funding activity has “slowed down dramatically” since 2015. Details: http://bit.ly/2ge84cy

Finally, Wing Venture Capital has announced that it has closed Wing Two, its $250 million second fund, according to venturebeat.com. Wing Two has the backing of some of the wrold’s most sophisticated investors, including premier universities and private foundations. Details: http://bit.ly/2gk4FfM

Have a great week!

Evan Vitale – Venture Capital News Update!

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By Evan Vitale

As we now head into the final month of 2016, let’s see what stories are making headlines in the world of venture capital.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Pritzker Group Venture Capital, one of Chicago’s most active venture capital funds, is ramping up its presence in Los Angeles, where it sees opportunity in health care, artificial intelligence and consumer-facing businesses.

The firm announced Tuesday that two of its Chicago investment staff have moved to Los Angeles, a step leaders hope will help it tap into more deals in the city that is home to YouTube and Snapchat. Details: http://trib.in/2gOvKVB

Venture capital funding has dropped off leaving some small firms defenseless, so says an article published in Investor’s Business Daily.

Declines in the venture capital market are hitting startups of all sizes, but the ones left particularly vulnerable are the thousands of young companies that raised seed funding during headier times just a year or two ago.

The seed frenzy peaked in the first quarter of 2015 when more than 1,500 startups raised their first rounds of capital, according to research firm PitchBook Data. Many of those companies are now running out of cash, and most won’t be able to get more. Details: http://bit.ly/2gOAlXW

Data Center Knowledge has published an article on “Deep Tech” and how its dominating the plateauing European venture capital market.

For years, the rap on Europe’s technology scene was that it was dominated by consumer-oriented e-commerce companies, some of which were blatant knock-offs of successful U.S. businesses, while the real pioneering innovation was taking place back in Silicon Valley.

That is no longer the case, London-based venture capital firm Atomico says in its latest annual report on the state of European tech. Startups focusing on deep technology — which would encompass the kind of artificial intelligence developed by Google’s DeepMind, or typing prediction from Microsoft-acquired SwiftKey — are drawing an increasing share of European venture funding. Deep tech accounted for $1.3 billion of European venture investments in 2015 and an estimated $935 million this year, up from just $289 million in 2011, Atomico said in its report, which was jointly commissioned and released in conjunction with the Slush technology conference in Helsinki, Finland. Details: http://bit.ly/2gJwcbb

 

 

Evan Vitale – Holiday VC News Update

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By Evan Vitale

Here are some of the stories making headlines in the world of venture capital during the Thanksgiving holiday week.

According to the Wall Street Journal, China firms are working harder to gain a larger share of U.S. venture capital. The article claims that between 2011 and the third quarter of 2016, Chinese technology deals grew from 1.7% to 4.1%. Details: http://on.wsj.com/2ghGRtO

Forbes has a nice piece on “Biotech Venture Capital Mythbusting Redux.”

Venture capital has been on a good run over the past few years across a range of sectors; even with recent slowdown relative to 2014-2015, venture-backed investments remain above historic averages. In fact, the first three quarters of 2016 alone are already higher than the annual rate of venture investing in all but two years since 2002. Details: http://bit.ly/2fM4I18

A warning from Fortune.com in a piece titled “Venture Capital Recruiting Scam Resurfaces.”

Earlier this year Fortune unveiled two strange, related scams aimed at the private equity and venture capital industries: One involving fake recruiting firms called Prelude Recruiting and Renaissance Recruiting, a fake VC firm called Sienna Ventures, and the other involving a fake venture capital firm called Asenqua Ventures. Details: http://for.tn/2gdTt4O

Here’s hoping you enjoyed a long and relating holiday weekend that that you’re ready for a full week this week and we are truly into the big holiday shopping season!

Evan Vitale – Venture Capital News Update!

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By Evan Vitale

As we head closer to Thanksgiving and other holidays, what’s happening in the world of venture capital?

Well, the New York Times has an interesting piece on Spark Capital and their “drive” to lead a $12.5 million investment in Cruise Automation – a start-up based in San Francisco whose software helps cars pilot themselves. Six months later, Cruise sold itself to General Motors for about $1 billion. You can read the full article here: http://nyti.ms/2fUvlCf

Forbes is reporting that there are two macro trends occurring within venture capital (VC) which are combining to have a transformative impact. As has been noted repeatedly over the past several years, the VC landscape has morphed into a barbell structure, with lots of small funds on one end and a handful of large, megafunds on the other, with few moderate-sized funds in between. Details: http://bit.ly/2fIcGsi

From Fortune.com, Following Donald Trump’s presidential election victory last Tuesday, a partner at Peter Thiel’s venture capital firm has publicly expressed his fears of a Trump presidency, breaking with the contrarian tech billionaire’s staunch support for the Republican real estate mogul.

Just as Thiel joins Trump’s White House transition team, Bloomberg reports that Geoff Lewis of Founders Fund spoke out against the President-elect, in a blog post published on Sunday titled “Turn On Reality.” Details: http://for.tn/2fqdODh

Sodexo has reported that its profit attributable to equity holds of the parent for fiscal year 2016 declined 9.0 percent to 637 million euros from 700 million euros in the previous year, so says RTT News. Details: http://bit.ly/2fYLhBR

However, a day later, Sodexo announced the launch of Sodexo Ventures, a 50-million euro venture capital fund, whose investments will combine agility and creativity with the Group’s investment capacity, skills and expertise in sectors as varied as Food-Tech, health and wellness, data, mobility and smart buildings.

Sodexo Ventures will invest in start-ups with high growth potential in line with Sodexo’s current or future activities. This investment strategy will allow Sodexo to closely monitor, anticipate and respond to evolutions in its rapidly moving sectors and markets. Details: http://bit.ly/2fYMXeI

Evan Vitale – VC Sentiment Surges in 3Q

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By Evan Vitale

What’s new in the fast-paced world of venture capital? Here are some recent headlines making news.

During the third quarter 2016, venture capital sentiment surges as tech IPOs pop, so says an online article by CNBC.

Start-up investors showed a jolt of optimism in the third quarter, thanks to some initial public offerings (IPOs), after a first half with none.

Confidence among venture investors jumped 8 percent in the period, the biggest increase since the first quarter of 2012, according to the Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist Confidence Index. Based on a 5-point scale, confidence rose to 3.88, from 3.6 in the second quarter, the report said.

The survey of 32 venture capitalists by Mark Cannice, a professor at the University of San Francisco School of Management, showed that while exit activity is still historically slow, there are reasons to be excited heading into the new year.

You are read the entire article here: http://cnb.cx/2e4XxEh

The Michigan Venture Capital Association recognized top tech innovators at its annual dinner recently.

Millendo Therapeutics, Fontinalis Partners and RetroSense Therapeutics were the top honorees Wednesday at the Michigan Venture Capital Association‘s 2016 Awards Dinner.

Ann Arbor-based Millendo Therapeutics works on finding drugs to improve the quality of life for patients with endocrine diseases. It won the Capital Event of the Year Award as the state’s largest health care deal in 2016 and largest venture capital financing round in the state.

The full article is here: http://bit.ly/2fHgb5K

In Cincinnati, Everything But The House has landed $41.5 million in its latest round of venture capital fundraising. EBTH’s “Series C” round of investment is expected to help the Downtown Cincinnati-based company grow its operations, build out technology platforms and expand its team nationally. Maryland-based Greenspring Associates led the latest round of investment in EBTH with participation from Greycroft Partners and Spark Capital.

Check out the article here for more details: http://cin.ci/2feMZ5x

Evan Vitale – Kobe Bryant Now A VC

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By Evan Vitale

What’s new in the world of venture capital news?

According to The Wall Street Journal, former Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant is now a venture capitalist with a goal of emphasizing team building and long shots.

Bryant sees parallels between his hall-of-fame basketball career and his new role as a venture capitalist.

Failure—the frequent outcome for early stage investment—is something Mr. Bryant learned about on the court, the former NBA star said at the WSJDLive conference in Laguna Beach, Calif. Early in his career, Mr. Bryant recalled, he shot five straight air balls in the playoffs.

You can read the full article here: http://on.wsj.com/2dVd47Z

Meanwhile, Pacific Business news is reporting that Ronald Bernal, a venture partner at Menlo Park, California-based New Enterprise Associates, and his wife, Pamela, have acquired a Hawaii estate for $5 million.

The 5,834-square-foot, four-bedroom, five-and-a-half-bathroom home sits on 1.2 acres in Hanalei on Kauai’s North Shore. The details are here: http://bit.ly/2dZYNXT

Everyone wants to know “what’s the next big thing for venture capital” and Investopedia has offered some ideas, suggestions and predictions in a recent article.

The top 10 industry verticals in terms of capital invested so far in 2016 are: mobile ($14.4 billion), SaaS ($13.4 billion), E-commerce ($8.7 billion), LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability, or green living & technology; $7.5 billion), life sciences ($6.8 billion), big data ($3.8 billion), oncology ($3.5 billion), Fintech ($3.4 billion), manufacturing ($2.4 billion) and cybersecurity ($2.2 billion).

Check out the full article here: http://bit.ly/2eJmWD5

Forbes has published an article on how to find money when most venture capital is flowing to fewer, bigger and later-stage financing.

Here, according to contributing writer, Todd Hixon, the venture capital industry is experiencing concentration of winners, like the rest of the economy. This drives how venture capitalists (“VCs”) make decisions. Entrepreneurs seeking money need to understand this behavior to craft their financing strategies.

The full article is available here: http://bit.ly/2eURA8T

Evan Vitale – VCs in Life Insurance Biz

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By Evan Vitale

What’s new in the wild world of venture capital this week?

Venture capital is now “prowling” into the life insurance business, reports The Wall Street Journal.

In an article published on Thursday, Oct. 20, Ladder Financial Inc., a Silicon Valley startup that offers term-life-insurance policies for California residents, said Wednesday it raised $14 million in a new fundraising round led by Canaan Partners. The venture-capital firm was one of the first outside investors in LendingClub Corp. , a pioneer in financial technology.

Insurance is becoming a fashionable bet. Competition in online lending has become more intense, and investors have become more skeptical of loan quality. More venture capitalists now are looking at new companies that want to displace the insurance agent, rather than the loan officer.

You can read the full story here: http://on.wsj.com/2dOhoUj

The Jerusalem Post is reporting that KamaTech, a startup incubator organization for ultra-Orthodox Israelis, has launched a venture capital fund dedicated exclusively to entrepreneurs and start-ups from the haredi community in a seasonally appropriate setting – a succa.

Called 12 Angels, the new fund has amassed $5 million from some of the most prominent Israeli investors in the hi-tech sector, including Chemi Peres, co-founder of Pitango Venture Capital; Adi Soffer Teeni, general manager of Facebook Israel; and Dov Moran, whose company invented the USB flash drive.

The full story is here: http://bit.ly/2dCaGTE

KCRise Fund, a new Kansas City-based venture capital fund that piggybacks on other investor funding, has announced investments in SpiderOak and Innara Health, so says a recently-published article in The Kansas City Star.

SpiderOak, an online data security company based in Mission, and Innara Health, a developer of neonatal medical products based in Olathe, are the fund’s first recipients.

You can read the full article here: http://bit.ly/2enjECs

Evan Vitale – VC News Update!

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By Evan Vitale

Here are some of the venture capital stories that are making headlines this week!

Venture capital funding has hit a two-year low and venture capitalists are playing it “safe” this year, so says a report released by cnet.com.

After the heady days of 2015, when a whopping 25 companies were valued at a billion dollars or more between July and September alone, VC financing is resetting the pace, according to Venture Pulse, a report released Thursday. The report was compiled by CB Insights, which watches the VC market, and KPMG International, a consultancy.

Read the full story here: http://cnet.co/2dZ5h7S

Meanwhile, GeekWire shared some of the same news in that venture capital mega-deals have dropped by 53% during the third quarter 2016.

Globally, investments declined 14 percent compared to the third quarter as fewer companies raised “mega-deals” of $100 million or more. There were just 34 deals of $100 million or more during the third quarter, compared to 73 deals of that size in the third quarter of 2015.

Total funding came in at $24.1 billion for the third quarter, the lowest tally in two years.

Check out the story here: http://bit.ly/2dLZRyH

And, venturebeat.com has shared the same gloomy sentiments reporting that VC funding has hit a two-year low and has dropped 18% to $14.4 billion in North America as “unicorns” retreat.

At long last, venture capital’s long-awaited return to normalcy appears to be happening. VC funding for the third quarter of 2016 slid for nearly every key metric: a smaller number deals, less total funding, fewer +$100 million mega-rounds, and just 8 unicorns created. And that was globally. For North America, generally, and California, specifically, venture activity was subdued compared to the most quarters, but still quite healthy. Some might even call this as a return to capital efficiency.

“It’s worth noting that a bit of sobriety is a good thing. 2015 funding levels were irrationally high with a new unicorn being birthed every 3rd day as investors were keen to force-feed perceived startup winners with cash. That was not sustainable,” wrote Anand Sanwal, CEO of CB Insights, in Venture Pulse, a quarterly report published by KPMG International and CB Insights which was released today.

Read more here: http://bit.ly/2ea5iV2

Evan Vitale – Venture Capital News Update!

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By Evan Vitale

As I write this, a hurricane is bearing down on the Bahamas; Florida and Georgia and who know where “Matthew” will go from there. There’s a rush on supplies; bottled water; generators and gasoline for those who are evacuating. Stay safe everyone in the path of this storm!

Meanwhile, here are the stories making headlines in the world of venture capital:

TechCrunch is reporting that Fenox Venture Capital is putting India funds on hold after its General Partner Venktesh Shukla departed.  This occurred after a recently appointed general was hired to lead the fund.

Shukla did not offer much detail, but in an email to TechCrunch said, “I was initially tempted by the opportunity to work with the fund in India but changed my mind. [I’ve] decided to build my own early-stage fund focused on Silicon Valley innovation.”

Shukla’s early-stage fund is called Monta Vista Capital.

Read the details here: http://tcrn.ch/2dKg19o

In Detroit, Crain’s is reporting venture capital activity experienced a sharp increase in Michigan during third quarter.

According to the Washington D.C.-based National Venture Capital Association and PitchBook, a VC database, $118.8 million was invested in 18 deals in Michigan during the third quarter – up from $58 million in the second quarter and $48.8 million in the first quarter.

Michigan ranks 17th nationally in VC deals in the third quarter.

The full story is here: http://bit.ly/2duIRzw

Payoneer has raised $180 million in venture capital funding, as reported by Financial Times. This makes the Israeli-turned-US cross-border payments provider the subject of one of the biggest funding rounds by a financial technology company this year.

The company was founded in 2005 by Yuval Tal, a former Israeli special forces officer, who is its president. It has its headquarters in New York, a large research centre in Tel Aviv and has clients in more than 200 countries, including many of the biggest internet marketplaces such as Amazon, Airbnb, Google, Getty Images and UpWork.

Check out the story here: http://bit.ly/2cUsyu6