The Ledger
Every statement that passed quotation and attribution checks. Mix any filter with any other: certainty 1/5, debate potential 5/5, or both at once.
why aren't all 13 resolved? a statement only gets an assessment when the public record can support or contradict it. opinions and what-ifs never can, and 0 checkable ones are still open, waiting for their date. predictions held up or didn't; assertions are supported or contradicted. on every card: ▮▮▮▮▮ certainty · ▮▮▮▮▮ debate potential. speakers are clickable
Staenberg: Co-investor reputation drives VC deals more than the founder's pitch
“Entrepreneurs should know that often it's not about the person you're pitching, but it's about the people you're bringing to the table.”
Staenberg: Five years of operational experience makes for better venture capitalists
“You can do venture, but why don't you get some real world experience first? Why don't you go somewhere for five years? And actually know what it means to go through cycles, know what it means to hire and fire people, know what it means to have to work on a tea…”
Staenberg: Early-stage pitch deck market size projections are made-up guesses
“I don't need to see those numbers because they're made up numbers anyway. They're guesses in many ways.”
Staenberg: VCs overvalue their contributions while founders assume all VCs are identical
“Yeah, I think, in general, VCs overvalue their role, and their value add, and but having said that, I think the entrepreneur often makes the mistake of assuming all VCs are the same.”
Staenberg missed the social media wave while running a wine startup
“That's why I, quite frankly, have probably missed most of what's happened in the whole social media and much of the consumer in the last couple years, partly because I was doing my own startup in the wine business, but also because a lot of what that was about…”
Staenberg: Founders should reference check VCs with failed portfolio company founders
“The tell is asking other companies they've invested in, And not just the ones that have worked out, the ones that didn't work out.”
Staenberg: Active major VC funds have dropped from 3,000 to under 1,000
“There used to be close to 3000 major venture funds, and today that's in the hundreds. It's certainly below a thousand.”
Staenberg requires warm introductions or shared investor networks to review pitches
“If someone doesn't come to me through someone I know, Or has a, has an ecosystem of investors that I know, it's very hard for me to take a look at.”
Jon Staenberg has invested in over 250 startups
“So it's probably over 250 startups at this point, just to update here.”
Staenberg invested in DocuSign and Avalara during later funding rounds
“I'm in DocuSign, which I did later in Avalara, Those are two Seattle companies later.”
Staenberg: AngelList and OurCrowd each raised over $100M in 2014
“I think in the last year, both of them had over a hundred million dollars raised through their vehicles.”