davemc500hats

35 ms·

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by davemc500hats 10y ago
here's a rough summary of my track record (personal / professional) 1) my angel investments ($300K portfolio, 2004-2008 vintage): 3 exits (Mint, Mashery, SlideShare) @ $100M+ out of 13 -- roughly 3.5X cash on cash in ~8 years 2) m
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by davemc500hats 12y ago
we believe we are performing far above average, actually... both in IRR, exits, black swans, and other areas. that said, we are less than 5 years old and most VC funds don't have much measurable results until 4-8 years in. our first fu
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by davemc500hats 13y ago
i will defer to PG & YC in terms of their data on valuation/caps post-demo day, however our experience is that they probably reached a local max sometime last year, and they are certainly softer this year. in general, most companie
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by davemc500hats 13y ago
completely agree with PG -- acqui-hires aren't a big source of capital returns at all , especially anything below $10M.
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by davemc500hats 13y ago
... and similarly, it's in YC's best interest for valuations (of YC co's) at Series A to go up ;)
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by davemc500hats 14y ago
indeed there will be some further dilution, but typically there is not dramatic liquidation preference on winners, at least that we have seen thus far. if you like, you can double the exit targets I mentioned, but regardless we are looking
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by davemc500hats 14y ago
as noted above, 500 has invested in ~50 YC companies over the past 3 years. we are likely the 2nd-most active investor in YC after the Start Fund / SV Angel / A16Z / NEA group... however, we pick selectively rather than indexing (altho inde
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by davemc500hats 14y ago
Thomas Korte has done a terrific job with AngelPad, and I'd rank it as highly as 500 or TechStars, perhaps even higher. but it's true we are all chasing YC's tail currently.
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by davemc500hats 14y ago
quotable: "We try harder!" - Avis (and, 500 ;)
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by davemc500hats 14y ago
500 has invested in ~50 YC companies to date. I believe there are about 30 or so in our first fund. YC has invested in 2 companies that went thru 500 accelerator first (9GAG and Vayable), and also a few others where we invested at around th
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by davemc500hats 14y ago
actually, the founders of IconFinder made it possible... we were quite fortunate to be investors rather recently.
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by davemc500hats 14y ago
actually yes, many of our companies generate revenue, and a good number are profitable. in fact we probably have a slight bias for revenue over growth. btw, our initial investment at accelerator or seed is more like $50-100k, and follow-on
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by davemc500hats 14y ago
yes it does depend on context; probably diff solutions for diff types of restaurants. that said, can't see how more efficient systems / process would be an inappropriate benefit for almost any of them... even at the high-end, some systems w
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by davemc500hats 14y ago
yes, and they are probably the best example i'm aware of so far, however i'm not a big fan of their menus... or at least the way they're laid out. like a big selection of movies to choose from, i get hungry/anxious just trying to make a dec
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by davemc500hats 14y ago
>>Of course, the "unnecessary" waiting: for a table, for a waiter's attention, etc. are suboptimal yes, they're very suboptimal. and whether or not it's an iPad that's used to fix the problem, it's probably some type of basic tech.
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by davemc500hats 14y ago
great summary of the process, very helpful / educational. also interesting to hear about AngelList / SecondMarket opportunity.
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by davemc500hats 14y ago
more efficient ordering / reduced turnover time / increased ticket size are good for almost all of the categories above. while reduced turnover time might not seem to be what Ruth's Chris is looking for, if they're full to capacity, and peo
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by davemc500hats 14y ago
thanks
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by davemc500hats 14y ago
seriously. and the world needs like, maybe 5 computers total.
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by davemc500hats 14y ago
trustworthy, high-quality pictures lead to conversion. untrustworthy, high-quality pictures lead to customer dissatisfaction. regardless of my arguments, i suggest restaurants not lie to people, either by NOT including photos, or including
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by davemc500hats 14y ago
>> "He's in a rush, doesn't like making decisions, can't do research on his own, wants to minimize interaction with restaurant staff, is afraid to ask questions" i think you just described: 1) most moms, 2) most people who work day
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by davemc500hats 14y ago
>> unfamiliar items >> semi-forced interactions with people >> long periods of time spent without "electronic distractions" -- ie, the ability to pay when i want, and call a waiter when i want so just to confirm here
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by davemc500hats 14y ago
look dude, i get your argument, but again i'm not friggin retarded about an industry i've spent a half-decade investing in/around, and in fact made my first restaurant investment over 10 years ago. get off your high horse, i've got a clue a
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by davemc500hats 14y ago
>> "Being able to sit and eat with a group of friends and not have a waiter interrupt your conversation can be a plus" but that's exactly my point. without useful methods of communication with waiters, they will likely interrupt,
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by davemc500hats 14y ago
>> "Efficiency is not what I want from a restaurant." umm, pretty sure that there IS a very large market of people who DO want efficiency as one of the attributes of restaurant customer service, even at the absolute high-end. in fac
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by davemc500hats 14y ago
this could have been so much more fun at $42 instead of $37 or $50... #justsayin
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by davemc500hats 14y ago
oh, the LULZ! ;)
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by davemc500hats 14y ago
thanks, that's a good summary of our approach. however, we will also invest in a few stories without clear path to revenue if growth is strong. but admittedly this isn't our favorite strategy. we certainly prefer strong business model over
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by davemc500hats 14y ago
I think the lesson is to focus on consumer & small biz opportunities with clear path to revenue. if you don't have clear path to revenue, then you better have tremendous traction.
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by davemc500hats 14y ago
both areas have tons of opportunity. however, there is plenty of growth in consumer spending and particularly in online ecommerce all over the world. while I won't disagree corporations are also sitting on lots of cash, it's certainly not t

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