Disclosure
Garber: Web3 is largely a gimmick and has zero fund investments
“It's not web three where I don't believe in it at all. I'm just a gimmick to some extent, which is what I thought in fund one, which is why there's no web three companies in there. And that's why I've never invested in a web three companies.”
Insight
Garber: Acquirers stall low-runway startups to buy them at 10% of value
“And the M&A, the real smart M&A people are saying, okay, yeah, let's kick some tires and we'll go for a test drive and we'll look over everything under the hood. And then they realize, okay, you're basically running out of money. I'm just gonna, again, same th…”
Insight
Garber: LPs Require 1x DPI Before Backing Subsequent Venture Funds
“You have to produce basically a one X DPI in whatever fund you're in that they've invested in to get them to invest in the next fund. It doesn't matter how well it's shaping up versus the vintage. It doesn't matter if it's top core, top top decile. It doesn't …”
Insight
Garber: First-time founders in secondary markets possess irreplaceable hunger
“I think with the first time founder, especially one that went to a second tier school, like a good school, but not a great school. And some of that's in a second tier city. There's that chip on their shoulder. There's that aggressiveness, the pugnaciousness. T…”
Disclosure
Garber targets moderate return multiples rather than 100x outlier outcomes
“I'm basically the opposite, where I want to have a good outcome in almost every investment I make. I have to, because I'm not shooting for a hundred X, 200 X, 500 X outcomes. I'm shooting for In some cases, two or three X outcomes, but a lot of cases, four or …”
Insight
Garber: Pitching Modest Exit Targets Can Hurt Founders Raising VC Capital
“In some cases, it actually benefits founders to not be forthright because they don't know where the company is going to go and To raise money. If you got, if a founder goes out and says, Hey, I'm shooting for a 30 to 50, sixty million dollar exit... And if you…”
Opinion
Garber: Pure AI deals that look good are probably bad investments
“Same with AI, pure AI solutions. I don't, if I'm seeing a pure AI deal and it's a really good deal, it's probably not a good deal. Some of the offshoots are good deals, and I've got some in the portfolio.”
Disclosure
Garber: Early Light prioritizes first-time founders in second-tier US cities
“So what I'm prioritizing is what a lot of other funds avoid, which is I'm going after first time founders. Primarily I'm going after second tier cities. And by second tier city, I mean like Atlanta, DC, Baltimore, Richmond, Minneapolis, Detroit, Chicago. I'm n…”
Disclosure
Garber: Best Portfolio Returns Came from Negotiating Modest Exit Offers
“And some of the best outcomes that I've had within my portfolio are founders that are like, you know what, the offer is not great, but it's within the bottom end of my range. And since I'm in an opportunistic position, I can come back to them and negotiate and…”
Opinion
Garber: Less bearish on FinTech as investor competition clears out
“And FinTech, which I was pretty bearish on, which I'm actually a little less bearish on because there's a lot less people investing in it now. And I think there's actually still money in it.”
Insight
Garber: Managing 40 to 60 Companies Limits GP Hands-On Support
“Most general partners of funds have portfolios of companies. They could be across multiple funds. They could have angel investments. They could have all sorts of other stuff happening. You're one of maybe 40 or 50 or 60 or who knows how many companies in their…”
Disclosure
Garber: Generalist investors cannot provide startup customer introductions or hiring help
“Like I can be helpful from a financing standpoint, like telling you what to do, or I think is the right thing to do or around M and a, but like in terms of customer introductions or hires, I can't help anyone. Cause I just, I can't, I'm a generalist. I investe…”
Insight
Garber: Founders Should Ask VCs for Specific Names When Pitching
“If founders are out pitching and they're going to get the answers of, oh yeah, I know a lot of people or, and I'd ask who specifically.”
Insight
Garber: Startups under $5M ARR must double revenue annually to raise VC
“The general benchmark, I tell everyone below three to five in ARR is you generally need to be doubling every year at a least. I think if you're over five in ARR, it depends on your burn and everything else, but aim to double at least 50, 60, 70% year over year…”
Disclosure
Garber: Raising Early Light Fund I Took 600 LP Meetings
“I probably took. 600 meetings to get fund one raised. Fund two was probably another three or 400.”
