The primary VC funding gap is the $3M to $7M Series B
Phil Black · 20VC: True Ventures Founder, Phil Black on 4 Major Risk Categories for Startups, Why The Funding Gap Is At The "Rational B" Round & Why VCs Must Start Small But Think Big · Sep 4, 2017 · at 16:01
Phil Black is the co-founder of True Ventures. He discusses funding market dynamics and structural gaps in early-stage venture capital with Harry Stebbings.
0:00 / 0:16exact quote · 16.6s
720p mp4 · rendered on demand · StarZero watermark
“Right now in today's funding market, I, you know, to me, the gap that has been present for a while has been what we've referred to as the rational B round, you know, and that historically has been kind of a three to five, five to seven million dollar round of funding.”
quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →
More from Phil Black
Phil Black named Jet.com, Zenefits, and Magic Leap as struggling unicorns
“So I had a Twitter post about this about, I don't know, nine months ago. And I said my three favorite unicorns that I think are in trouble were at that time, jet.com, Zenefits, and Magic Leap.”
Bridge rounds work for product delays, not market or team failures
“If it really is, you know, it took a little longer for the product, but it's awesome. We just need three more months before we can have that customer traction. I think that the bridge round is probably going to be fine. If it's, well, we need six more months b…”
Convertible notes and SAFEs are like alcohol: use only in moderation
“Oh, they're okay, but it's kind of like alcohol, and it should only be used in moderation.”
Walmart could have bought Jet.com for one dollar by waiting
“That would have, they could have had that for a dollar if they just would have waited.”
Founders spend large early rounds over 12 to 18 months regardless
“The problem with saying, well, we'll just raise a whole bunch more on the first round is that it's human nature. You don't divide that number by 36 and spend accordingly. You tend to just Divide that number again by that 12 or that 18. And so then you're spend…”