Top 4 Curated Venture Capital Weekly Update for Aug 3, 2022 đź’°
🗒️ Top 5 data points that can make or break your SaaS acquisition
Venturebeat: To sell your Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) startup at a price and terms that make you happy, you need data that convinces buyers that what you’re asking for is fair. Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes: What
Venturebeat: To sell your Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) startup at a price and terms that make you happy, you need data that convinces buyers that what you’re asking for is fair. Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes: What do they want? What motivates them? Only then will you know how to address their concerns.
Your most likely candidate is a financial buyer: Someone who sees your startup as an attractive investment over the medium to long term. Financial buyers compare asking prices to future earnings potential to determine whether it’s fair trade.
Factors potential buyers look at include: How easy will it be to scale your SaaS startup? Will they earn a return on investment (ROI) in three to five years? Ultimately, you are responsible for proving that your startup is an exceptional investment opportunity. And, in this, metrics matter.
No financial buyer worth their salt will take a chance on you unless you have the data to back up your claims. I mean cold, hard numbers like monthly recurring revenue (MRR), customer churn, acquisition costs, customer lifetime value, and more.
Techcrunch: Like a groundhog and its shadow, many venture capitalists see a shrinking economy and burrow away, resting their check-signing hand for better days.
But climate-focused VCs are on a tear lately, pumping well over a billion dollars per quarter into startups that strive to mitigate emissions as the Earthbakes.
Buoyant Ventures is one such firm building momentum for the sector. Based in Chicago, the investor told regulators this week via an SEC filing that it has locked down just over $50 million for a new fund. Buoyant declined to comment when emailed by TechCrunch, but the filing shows the firm has been raising cash for the fund since at least May 2021. So far, 75 (unnamed) limited partners have chipped in, and Buoyant is fishing for just shy of $50 million more.
Led by Electronic Arts and Energize Ventures alum Amy Francetic and former Accenture executive Allison Myers, Buoyant’s first deal dates back to the summer of 2020. That’s when it backed Raptor Maps, which aims to help solar farms squeeze more juice from the sun by spotting issues — like panel damage and shading — with drones and sensors.
Sports Business Journal: hen Major League Baseball took over Los Angeles for its recent All-Star festivities, its expansive activation footprint was suffused with youth-focused sports tech startups across the city. Swing-tracking firm Diamond Kinetics outfitted batting cages with sensor-enabled bats, youth training company EL1 Sports offered instructional programming and league management platform LeagueApps provided back-end data services and operated a youth playing field.
All three of those companies have partnerships with MLB, which the league is leveraging to grow baseball’s youth participation. But those startups also count the league as an investor, a critical component of MLB’s long-term business strategy.
“When we find something we like, we want to make a statement by making a cash investment or taking equity in a business,” said Chris Marinak, MLB’s chief operations and strategy officer. “Baseball is taking a partnership approach with them. And by creating that alignment with their business, they might divert resources from other projects to baseball. We feel that’s a tool that’s really helpful, particularly when there are so many of these early-stage companies looking to get a foothold in sports.”
MLB has historically completed roughly a half-dozen transactions annually, including both cash investments and broader partnerships through which the league has taken equity stakes. In its cash deals, MLB has invested anywhere from $1 million or less for early-stage startups to investments in the range of $20 million to $30 million for more mature businesses. The league was part of a $15 million Series B for LeagueApps last year, as well as Fanatics’ $1.5 billion funding round in March.
Financial Regulation News: U.S. Rep. Trey Hollingsworth (R-IN) recently introduced legislation encouraging more investment from venture capital firms.
The Developing and Encouraging our Aspiring Leaders (DEAL) Act, which unanimously passed the U.S. House Wednesday night, would provide small businesses and startups with more access to capital to grow their business ideas.
“Now more than ever, we need to foster the growth of small businesses and local startups,” Hollingsworth said. “This bill will help Hoosier businesses access the critical capital needed to grow, invest in our communities, and create more jobs. I encourage the Senate to act and pass the companion bill quickly.”
The legislation would require the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to expand the definition of a qualifying investment to include broader equity securities. The bill would allow venture capital funds to provide necessary growth capital as those companies go public without having to register as a registered investment adviser.
The National Venture Capital Association said it applauded the legislation’s passage.
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🗒️ Top 5 data points that can make or break your SaaS acquisition
Venturebeat: To sell your Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) startup at a price and terms that make you happy, you need data that convinces buyers that what you’re asking for is fair. Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes: What do they want? What motivates them? Only then will you know how to address their concerns.
Your most likely candidate is a financial buyer: Someone who sees your startup as an attractive investment over the medium to long term. Financial buyers compare asking prices to future earnings potential to determine whether it’s fair trade.
Factors potential buyers look at include: How easy will it be to scale your SaaS startup? Will they earn a return on investment (ROI) in three to five years? Ultimately, you are responsible for proving that your startup is an exceptional investment opportunity. And, in this, metrics matter.
No financial buyer worth their salt will take a chance on you unless you have the data to back up your claims. I mean cold, hard numbers like monthly recurring revenue (MRR), customer churn, acquisition costs, customer lifetime value, and more.
Click here to read more
🗒️ Climate-focused VC stays scorching as Buoyant Ventures targets $100M fund
Techcrunch: Like a groundhog and its shadow, many venture capitalists see a shrinking economy and burrow away, resting their check-signing hand for better days.
But climate-focused VCs are on a tear lately, pumping well over a billion dollars per quarter into startups that strive to mitigate emissions as the Earth bakes.
Buoyant Ventures is one such firm building momentum for the sector. Based in Chicago, the investor told regulators this week via an SEC filing that it has locked down just over $50 million for a new fund. Buoyant declined to comment when emailed by TechCrunch, but the filing shows the firm has been raising cash for the fund since at least May 2021. So far, 75 (unnamed) limited partners have chipped in, and Buoyant is fishing for just shy of $50 million more.
Led by Electronic Arts and Energize Ventures alum Amy Francetic and former Accenture executive Allison Myers, Buoyant’s first deal dates back to the summer of 2020. That’s when it backed Raptor Maps, which aims to help solar farms squeeze more juice from the sun by spotting issues — like panel damage and shading — with drones and sensors.
Click here to read more
🗒️ Finance: For leagues like MLB, venture capital strategy is about much more than immediate returns
Sports Business Journal: hen Major League Baseball took over Los Angeles for its recent All-Star festivities, its expansive activation footprint was suffused with youth-focused sports tech startups across the city. Swing-tracking firm Diamond Kinetics outfitted batting cages with sensor-enabled bats, youth training company EL1 Sports offered instructional programming and league management platform LeagueApps provided back-end data services and operated a youth playing field.
All three of those companies have partnerships with MLB, which the league is leveraging to grow baseball’s youth participation. But those startups also count the league as an investor, a critical component of MLB’s long-term business strategy.
“When we find something we like, we want to make a statement by making a cash investment or taking equity in a business,” said Chris Marinak, MLB’s chief operations and strategy officer. “Baseball is taking a partnership approach with them. And by creating that alignment with their business, they might divert resources from other projects to baseball. We feel that’s a tool that’s really helpful, particularly when there are so many of these early-stage companies looking to get a foothold in sports.”
MLB has historically completed roughly a half-dozen transactions annually, including both cash investments and broader partnerships through which the league has taken equity stakes. In its cash deals, MLB has invested anywhere from $1 million or less for early-stage startups to investments in the range of $20 million to $30 million for more mature businesses. The league was part of a $15 million Series B for LeagueApps last year, as well as Fanatics’ $1.5 billion funding round in March.
Click Here to Read More
🗒️ House unanimously passes Hollingsworth legislation encouraging more investments from venture capital firms
Financial Regulation News: U.S. Rep. Trey Hollingsworth (R-IN) recently introduced legislation encouraging more investment from venture capital firms.
The Developing and Encouraging our Aspiring Leaders (DEAL) Act, which unanimously passed the U.S. House Wednesday night, would provide small businesses and startups with more access to capital to grow their business ideas.
“Now more than ever, we need to foster the growth of small businesses and local startups,” Hollingsworth said. “This bill will help Hoosier businesses access the critical capital needed to grow, invest in our communities, and create more jobs. I encourage the Senate to act and pass the companion bill quickly.”
The legislation would require the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to expand the definition of a qualifying investment to include broader equity securities. The bill would allow venture capital funds to provide necessary growth capital as those companies go public without having to register as a registered investment adviser.
The National Venture Capital Association said it applauded the legislation’s passage.
Click Here to Read More
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