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.
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Lee: Pure software enablement models fail globally across emerging markets
“Enablement doesn't work globally because the stage of development of the development community is very different.”
Lee: VCs use post-term sheet legal negotiations to diligence the CEO
“From an investor point of view, a term sheet sign is not a deal done. We continue to do our due diligence up to the last day, and the entire negotiation process with a founder on the terms is a, like the most revealing of all due diligence”
Lee: Enterprise software buyers in China are budget-based, not SaaS-based
“In China, when you look at so-called SaaS companies, they are, You know, same thing, trying to address similar issues, but the way the market is set up is that many of the customers are budget-based. They are not SaaS-based. They're not going to pay you per mo…”
Lee: GGV has walked away from deals over protracted legal negotiations
“We have been known to step away from a deal, because through that negotiation process, the only the lawyers are making money, because the clock keeps going, the turns keep going, and I'm like, three million deal, they're gonna spend half a million on legal?”
Lee: Founders should reverse-diligence VCs starting from the first meeting
“Having the right investor who knows what it takes to build and have done similar things becomes very important. So doing that due diligence becomes very important. And you should feel very empowered to ask those questions, even from day one of your engagement …”
Lee: Series A legal fees should normally be under $50,000
“You can get a deal, series A, Less than 50 K is the norm. If you're paying more than that, something's wrong. Maybe 20, 20 K is what we see if there's no restructuring, right?”
Lee: GGV portfolio company Kingsoft WPS trades at a $20B valuation
“The best company, one of our investment, WPS, which is like the Kingsoft equivalent, or the Microsoft Office equivalent of the Western world, is the number one player in China. They are budget-based, right? Of course, you know, one could say they are SaaS. The…”
Lee: GGV reserves 50% of its early-stage fund for follow-on investments
“In our early stage fund, we do one-to-one, right? So, let's say our fund is five hundred million, we may, we will only plan to invest 250 half, and reserve the other half, you know, for subsequent support of the portfolio company.”