2018 was a historically good year for venture capital in the United States in terms of dollars invested by VC funds in U.S.
companies, dollars raised by VC funds and dollar value of exits by VC-backed companies, according to the Venture Monitor for Q4 2018 published by PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association. VC
“Third Time’s a Charm”: House Adopts JOBS Act 3.0 to Fix Earlier Capital Raising Reform Efforts
It’s not often that the House of Representatives votes nearly unanimously on anything noteworthy these days, but that’s exactly what the House did on July 17 in voting 406-4 for the “JOBS and Investor Confidence Act of 2018”, also known on the 
street as “JOBS Act 3.0”, which is the latest iteration of the effort
Good Choice: Important Capital Formation Reforms in Financial CHOICE Act of 2017 Passed by House
On June 8, 2017, the House of Representatives passed the Financial CHOICE Act of 2017 on a vote of 233-186. Congress loves acronyms, and here “CHOICE” stands for Creating Hope and Opportunity for Investors, Consumers and 
Entrepreneurs. Although the thrust of the bill is focused on repeal or modification of significant portions of the Dodd-Frank
Irredeemable: Delaware Case Will Make Redemption Rights Tougher to Enforce
Venture capital funds routinely negotiate for a right of redemption – the right to require the company to buy out their shares after a certain period of time if an exit has not occurred – as a key element of their exit strategy. But according to a recent case in Delaware, the VCs and the
Sellout: Why Control is Key in the Sale of VC-Backed Companies
Every founder of a growth startup dreams of a big, successful exit — a sale of the company for millions of dollars. But that dream could be shattered if the investors are able to cause the company to be sold prematurely with proceeds only equal to or barely exceeding the investors’ liquidation preferences, leaving little
The JOBS Act at Five: Congressional Hearing Highlights Need for Further Reform
On March 22, the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Securities, and Investment of the Financial Services Committee conducted a hearing entitled “The JOBS Act at Five: Examining Its Impact and Ensuring the Competitiveness of the U.S. Capital Markets”, focusing on the impact of the JOBS Act on the U.S. capital markets and its effect on capital
Valuation Disconnect Leads to 2016 IPO Drought
2016 turned out to be a terrible year for IPOs, both in terms of number of deals and aggregate proceeds.
According to Renaissance Capital’s U.S. IPO Market 2016 Annual Review, only 105 companies went public on U.S. exchanges in 2016, raising only $19 billion in aggregate proceeds. The deal count of 105 IPOs was
How Corporate Venture Capital Differs
Earlier this year, Union Square Ventures Managing Partner Fred Wilson famously referred to corporate VCs as “The Devil”, when he asserted that companies should not be investing in other companies, that they should be buying other companies but not taking minority positions in them, that the “access” rationale for corporate venture is a reason
Seed Round Model Structures, Part I: Equity
The cost of launching an Internet-based startup has fallen dramatically over the last 15 years. This democratization of internet-based entrepreneurship resulted primarily from two innovations: open source software and cloud computing. During the dot-com era, Internet-based startups had to build 
infrastructure by acquiring expensive servers and software licenses and hiring IT support staff. So the
Protecting Management from a Liquidation Preference Overhang
“The Founder of a $50 Million Startup Just Sold His Company — And He Didn’t Make a Dime”. Such was the provocative headline of the Business Insider article last year reporting the sad tale of young entrepreneur Lane Becker and how he and his management team received none of the acquisition proceeds on