Hi HN! Happy to answer questions here, which is funny because this is where it all really started for me back in 2007 when I was first thinking of starting my first company. I started as an HN reader working at a friend's startup, applied to YC and got in, became a YC partner, and then an early stage investor. We're engineers and designers and product folks, and most investors aren't still (which is crazy, right?) so…
Big congrats, Garry. I've been a lurking fan of yours for many years now and this day honestly feels like an inevitability, even though I know it's required a ton of effort largely invisible to me. Clearly one unique value proposition of your fund is that sweet combination of check amount, time to close, and stage of investment. That's certainly appealing. But I've learned over time that I care most for my fellow fou…
Community is of course amazing to have, and very necessary. We've all been to those horrible mixers where everyone runs around talking about how they're KILLIN' IT. Those are huge wastes of time. It's always done through the little things - events, mixers, dinners where smart people hang out and know that they can trust each other and share what's really happening. YC has worked incredibly well because everyone knows that you can trust each other since if you violate that trust, you'll get kicked out of the community. It's something more people should do. Of course since we're later stage, the founders will be spending a lot more time with their teams than with each other.
We're probably in between YC and a16z. We're a smaller fund, so we can't afford as many operating partners and staff, but we'll be able to do a lot. My goal is to spend almost all of my time with the 20 or so companies we work with in a year, so it'll be more concentrated. That's what will be necessary to get companies from seed to Series A, across that dreaded funding gap.
We've always supported founders to make the right choice whether they want to sell, or not. In terms of alternative exits we haven't gotten there yet, because that model is pretty unproven but I really like what Bryce is doing and I really want it to work, because its clear there is a lot of stuff out there that should exist but can struggle to get capital.
Most seed rounds we see come together are between $1M and $3M these days, so that amount of capital lets us get our percentage ownership (which is necessary for portfolio construction) while also letting a good round happen with other good seed investors. Most folks want at least 18 months to 24 months of runway to get to a solid Series A or profitability, so a lot of these numbers work backwards from that.
Thanks again for your questions Josh! Hope we can be helpful to you down the road.