The Ledger
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Fenton: Docker's valuation plummeted from $1.5B to zero, stranding Benchmark
“So last time I did an all hands meeting at Docker was three years ago, and there were 60 employees that, that we'd spun out of the prior company, and the valuation was zero. So we'd gone from over a 1,000,000,004, 1,000,005 to zero, and I was working with some…”
Stanford's endowment blackballed Benchmark's Fund I over its 30% carry demand
“Literally almost all of these folks who are starting Benchmark, they get so angry that not only do they not invest in the fund, they start organizing against this young benchmark capital. They call up all of their peers, the other university endowments across …”
Benchmark structured $1.5 million in founder loans to win the eBay deal
“It was also reported by the Washington Post after the IPO of eBay that Benchmark had also structured Equity-backed loans to Pierre and Jeff in the amount of 750,000 dollars each as a way to, like, prevent them essentially, give them an incentive not to take th…”
Khosrowshahi: Uber eliminated all dual-class super-voting shares for SoftBank deal
“We literally had to, like, get everyone to agree to blow up the high vote shares. I think it's actually the only time when tech, a tech company like, they blew up all of the high votes.”
Friendster CEO Tim Koogle blocked Benchmark from investing in Facebook's Series A
“Specifically what happened was Benchmark had invested in Friendster, and so was conflicted out. Now you could argue that was an unavoidable mistake, you know, but like, boy does that hurt. And supposedly, I think it was Bob Kegel who was on the board of Friend…”
Nearly 100% of Benchmark portfolio companies successfully raise a Series B
“The thing that is not squishy at all is, it has to be close to a hundred percent of benchmark companies that raise a Series B.”
Benchmark launched its inaugural Fund I demanding a 30% premium carried interest
“Benchmark comes out, the new Benchmark Capital swinging right out of the gate with 30% carry. Premium carry.”
Benchmark GPs receive equal carry and free ownership of the management company
“It both means that each of the partners in a given fund have equal carry, but also all of the current GPs own the management company without paying for it. The management company is always just given to whoever the equal current GPs are.”
Benchmark founding partners stepped down in 2005 with zero tail economics
“David Byrne and Andy Ratcliffe, and they had brought on another GP during that period, Alex Balkansky, in the 2005, 2006 fund they raised then, they all step back and they don't take tail economics, meaning they're out of the management company, no longer form…”
Benchmark Passed on Facebook Due to a Conflict With Friendster
“Which is what tied their hands and why they could not pursue an investment in Facebook.”
eBay was profitable and growing 10% monthly at its Series A round
“And an interesting thing to note is, at this point, eBay is growing 10% a month. So check, fast growth company. It's profitable. All these checks that are getting mailed in, like, it is generating cash and growing.”
Benchmark's equity stake in Uber was valued at $8 billion in 2018
“In 2018, when that Wall Street Journal piece came out, their holding in Uber was worth eight billion dollars, so that alone would have sixteen-xed the fund.”
Benchmark offered $6.7 million for eBay at a $20 million valuation
“They give Pierre and Jeff a term sheet to invest 6.7 million dollars total in the company in a series A financing at a twenty million dollar pre-money Evaluation.”
Benchmark's 2011 fund reached a 25x gross return before fees
“According to a 2018 Wall Street Journal article, they reported that before fees, the 20 11 fund was sitting on a 25 X on that five hundred and fifty million.”
Benchmark led Uber's Series A at a $60 million post-money valuation
“20 11. A ten million dollar Series A at a, 10 or 11, at a sixty million dollar post money valuation.”
Benchmark returned Fund VI entirely from Facebook's acquisition of Instagram
“I mean, they returned the fund on the investment, but, like, with the sale to Facebook.”
Benchmark realized $1 billion selling half its Snap stake in 2018
“You got February, 2018, Benchmark sold almost half of its stake in Snap and realized a billion dollars in gains somewhere.”
Benchmark's $6.7 million eBay investment reached over $4 billion after IPO lockup
“By the time the lockup expires the next spring in 1989, that stake is worth over four billion dollars on an eighty-five million dollar fund.”
Bill Gurley is not a general partner in Benchmark's next fund
“Bill Gurley is not a general partner in the Next Benchmark Fund, and the majority of the current partners joined in the last five years.”
Benchmark's first fund delivered a 92x return on invested capital
“Certainly nobody would think that this current fund that they are investing out of and this current basket of companies, inclusive of the ones they would do over the next 12 months, would be a 92 X in just a few years.”
Peter Fenton rapidly backed Twitter, Docker, and New Relic at Benchmark
“In short order, Peter goes on to do Twitter, Docker, Zora, Hortonworks, New Relic, Elastic.”
Eric Vishria led Confluent's Series A at a $24 million valuation
“His first deal was Confluent. Series A. Seven million at a 24 post. The company's trading at a 7.6 billion dollar market cap today.”
All five Benchmark Fund I partners made identical profit on eBay
“David Byrne made as much money on eBay as Bob Cagle made on eBay, as Bruce Dunleavy, as Kevin Harvey, as, you know, Andy Ratcliffe made on eBay. They all made the same.”
Sarah Tavel led Chainalysis's Series A round during a crypto winter
“The very first investment that she made after she moved over from Greylock and joined Benchmark was Chainalysis, which does not fit any of those categories and was a very, very non-consensus deal to do in the middle of ICO crypto winter in 2017, early 20 18. S…”
Benchmark and Sequoia split Webvan's $7 million round with $3.5 million each
“So it's a seven million dollar round. Benchmark splits the deal with Mike Moritz at Sequoia. Sequoia does three and a half million. Benchmark does three and a half million. Moritz and Byrne join the board.”
Benchmark originally branded as a seed and startup firm, not Series A
“Which is really interesting because Benchmark mostly markets themselves at this point as a Series A firm. That is not how they marketed themselves then. They said, we do seed and startup investments. Seed being pre-business plan and startup being post-business…”
Post-eBay, Benchmark expanded overseas and raised a $1 billion fund
“They tried everything. They threw the kitchen sink at corporate partnerships. They expanded to multiple continents at the same time. They were like, oh, bigger fund, let's raise a billion dollar fund. And they tried it all.”
Benchmark made a late-stage growth investment in Dropbox in 2011
“In 20 11, at the beginning of the Fab Four era, they did a Late stage growth investment in Dropbox in their four billion dollar round.”
Peter Fenton is Benchmark's only remaining active 'Fab Four' GP
“2018, they do fun nine. Matt and Mitch step back at that point. Bill sticks around for one more fun cycle. And then of course, you know, probably everybody knows at this point, certainly if you're still listening at this point, Bill has stepped back now at thi…”