Kenneth Kashif Thomas

Every VC claims they have an edge, but from where I sit as an LP, it’s clear: the next generation of fund managers will need stronger arguments than 'working very hard' or 'being helpful for founders' to raise money. The best fund managers will set themselves apart with these three non-obvious skills: 1. Cultural fluency - Some of the best startups come from immigrant founders, but they’re navigating a system that isn’t always built for them. VCs who know how to build trust, understand their challenges, and support them where it matters will unlock incredible opportunities. 2. Downstream sales: There’s more money than ever chasing top founders, and the best deals are going to the VCs who founders actively want to work with. It’s not just about pitching; it’s about being the one they call first because they know you’ll add real value. 3. Value-add 2.0: Founders don’t need more generic advice. The best VCs create real pull by building opportunities—whether that’s connecting the right dots in their portfolio or unlocking new markets—that founders actually want and can’t find anywhere else. This is what LPs should focus on when backing funds—it’s what separates good from great. ---- Interested in investing in VCs & startups? let's connect.

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HNY! Hope everyone had a great break. Quiet on here as head down. Such a lot of exciting things coming up: - More Tools for all scaleups to improve their growth trajectory - More Founders using VenturePath to secure their Series A-B investment rounds - More VCs joining VenturePath's VC Network - More Events (including a VC dinner for 50 on the 22nd and SuperScalers female founders event on the 30th) - More Partners joining our scaleup support ecosystem - More Data to publish on 2024 VC trends for the UK ScaleUp Investment Mission Busy January! We'll share more on these when we have a minute... If you can play a part, as a founder, VC, investor, partner, sponsor, data provider etc., there's still room for a conversation or coffee with you though 😉

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✨ Breaking: Core Fund V and Opportunity Fund V Announces New Fund.- Core Fund V and Opportunity Fund V VC Airtree has launched a new venture capital investment fund, targeting $650 million. It consists of Core Fund V for early-stage startups at the Seed stage and Opportunity Fund V for backing Airtree's portfolio companies in later-stage, scale-up phases. They plan to invest in a dozen emerging startups annually. https://www.airtree.vc/ Please share to let other #Founders know For the ❤️ of Startups #Fusion42 #Startups#Venturecapital

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🚨 Fundraising Alert 🚨 Top tier companies raising Pre-Seed to Series A in the next 6 months should apply to Focal where they can pitch almost all their prospective investors at once. Demo day is on May 16th. ✅ Applying takes 7 mins ✅ Previous applicants raised from funds like Sequoia, Balderton, Episode 1, Lightspeed and GV. ✅ Even if you find fundraising easy, this is a way to build added momentum. You can apply here: https://lnkd.in/eTdTtSw7

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"Only 17% of venture funds larger than $750M have ever returned to limited partner investors more than 2.5x TVPI net of fees and expenses compared to 25% of funds smaller than $350M. Said differently, a smaller fund is roughly 50% more likely to return more than 2.5x than a large fund. An even larger performance gap exists when measured by cumulative IRR, which is 17.4% in funds smaller than $350M versus just 9.7% in funds larger than $750M." * Sante Health Ventures II LP Sante Health Ventures I Annex Fund LP PitchBook https://lnkd.in/gEC5tsX8 * Calculated for all U.S. Venture Funds raised from 1990-2018. As of May 2023. Includes funds larger than $10M.

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New Episode with Benjamin Ling, Founder and General Partner at Bling Capital is live! Ben is one impressive individual: - Founder & GP @ Bling Capital ($770M AUM early stage fund) - Early investor in 18x Unicorns including Lyft, Square, Airtable & Rippling - #5 Forbes 2024 Midas List Seed Investor - Former GP @ Khosla & Operator @ Google, Facebook & YouTube In this interview we cover: - How to spot billion dollar startups - How to assess and find founders with the "x" factor - Ben's advice on winning competitive deals - What separates the 1% from the .01% Full episode below 👇🏾 ---- If you enjoy the conversation, please leave a review & share with your friends!

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The fundraising market for VC funds is on track for its worst year since 2015. The shortage of IPOs has meant a lack of liquidity to LPs, causing less appetite for new fund commitments. The last two years have felt a bit like a "venture stalemate." Will it change in 2025? My latest article in Forbes includes predictions from leading Limited Partners (LPs) across the US and Europe, including institutions, fund of funds and family offices. Read below (link in comments) to see what they're expecting for venture capital in the year ahead. 🔮 Aakar Vachhani Fairview Capital Hana Yang Allocate Adam Marchick Akkadian Ventures Anu Adebajo Daryn Dodson Dominic Maier AVP Layne Johnson Screendoor Julie Pulda, CFA Ballentine Partners, LLC Albert Azout Level Ventures Charlotte Palmer Mark Schmitz equation January Ventures

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Summary: Bolt's CEO has threatened legal action against an investment bank involved in their recent fundraising efforts, claiming they signed a binding term sheet for $200 million but did not follow through. Key takeaways: Bolt's CEO believes there was miscommunication at Silverbear Capital, one of their lead investors, leading to confusion about the fundraising deal. A leaked term sheet showed Bolt trying to raise $200 million in equity and $250 million in marketing credits, with a unique pay-to-play structure. The involvement of Silverbear Capital and The London Fund in the deal remains unclear. Counter arguments: Silverbear Capital's partner insists there was no miscommunication and the deal was never discussed or approved. The London Fund has confirmed discussions with Bolt's management but denies any finalized transaction. #venturecapital

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Emerging GPs📢 We all know it is a difficult time to raise your first (or second) VC Fund.😟 But AlphaQ Venture Capital is here to help you with the Global Allocator Alliance Pitch events and invite-only GP and LP matching Discovery platform.🎌 With an incredible team of Jocke Martelius, Amina Bijedić, Zerina Zimić and Marius Weber, be sure you will get unmatched support when you most need it. Check how they supported our partner Vadim Balashov of US California-based Viaduct Ventures, raising their Fund II.👇 DM me for a warm intro.🤝 ✅ Looking to raise capital for your #VCfund and increase the international pool of your LPs?   🤝 Need warm #LP introductions?   📝 Selling #secondaries to increase liquidity?   🧐 Looking for co-investments (Series A/Series B)?   ▶ G+QUANT's link for inquiries and fund decks: https://lnkd.in/gjC_EuTE   #VentureCapital #VentureFunding #VentureDebt #Fundraising #Innovation #Technology 

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Seed VCs are turning to new ‘pro rata’ funds that help them compete with the big firms Alpha Partners, SignalRank and now SaaS Ventures help seed VCs pay for shares when big VCs try to price — or push — them out Lee Edwards, partner at Root VC, has a saying at his firm that “pro rata rights are earned, not given.” That may be a bit of a stretch since pro rata refers to a term that VCs put in their term sheets that gives them the right to buy more shares in a portfolio company during consequent funding rounds to maintain an ownership percentage and avoid dilution. Still, while these rights are not exactly “earned,” they can be expensive. One of the latest trends in VC investing these days are funds dedicated to helping seed VCs exercise their pro rata rights. https://lnkd.in/dRM3RvdA By Christine Hall

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Striking: Zenobē, a UK climate tech startup, raised £600m from KKR and £270m from Infracapital, bypassing VC entirely. Zenobe captures excess energy from wind farms to stabilize the grid and reduce gas power reliance. This means: Zenobe secured one of 2023's biggest startup fundraises — without any venture capital. #battery #fundraising #venturecapital #energystorage #infrastructure #growthinflection Sifted: https://lnkd.in/g8wF-xA5

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Balderton's €1.3bn raise for European startups sparks debate: Does a bigger VC fund lead to better outcomes? First, consider: 💲 Larger rounds demand bigger funds, but returns get harder at scale 💲 $100M fund needs $1bn exit at 10% ownership for a single 1x return 💲 Most early-stage VCs target 3x returns, investing in 30+ companies 💲Management fees (typically 2%) grow with fund size Plus, the current landscape: Giants like Balderton, Index, and Accel are raising massive funds, while smaller firms stick to sub-$200M and focus on early-stage startups. Many VCs have maintained their previous fund sizes, while others are downsizing or struggling to raise new funds (or even returning un-invested capital to investors, as CRV recently announced they will do). Thus, weigh up the trade-offs: Larger funds (≥$500M): 📈 More firepower, full-cycle support 📉 Risk: Pressure to deploy capital, potentially lower returns Smaller funds (≤$200M): 🔍Agility, focused support, higher potential multiples ❌ Limited late-stage participation The future of European VC may not be one-size-fits-all. As the ecosystem matures, perhaps there's room for both Davids and Goliaths. What's your take? Would you bet on a nimble $150M fund or the muscle of a €1B+ vehicle? Source: Sifted #EuropeanVC #FundStrategy #StartupInvesting PS 🔔 Follow me for strategies and resources for startups and VCs! There's a better, streamlined way to raise capital: 💸https://foundersuite.com/ for startups 💸https://fundingstack.com/ for VCs and investors

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SaaS Valuation Reality Check: Time to Face the Music? 🎶 Carlsquare, a leading mid-market M&A investment bank in the tech sector, just dropped their Fall 2024 Software sector report. Thought I'd take one of their slides and spruce it up a bit. Their report covers the broader software market, but it should be predominantly SaaS. ___ 🔑 Key takeaways: • Premium Valuations are elusive: If your SaaS business isn’t top-notch with solid numbers, don’t expect to command premium valuations of 7-8x or more. • Growth vs. Profitability: While the preference for growth over profitability has returned, acquirers - especially private equity firms - are being very cautious with companies that are cash-burning. • Focus on bottom line for low-growth companies: For businesses with growth of less than 10-20%, even with reasonable % of recurring revenues, investors are increasingly framing valuation around profit multiples. ___ While Carlsquare's average deal size is probably more around ~100M, micro-cap transactions <25M (saas.group's hunting area) may see slightly lower valuations compared to this framework. Still remember people's outrage when I posted a similar framework with lower valuations for companies <$5M ARR ~1y ago. Many accused me of promoting too low valuations out of self-interest. Reality is that most small, profitable SaaS companies with moderate growth trade somewhere between 1.5-4x revenue (not ARR!) - and profitability represents a key valuation factor. I'm not making the music - I'm just dancing to it.

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Why settle for outdated learning platforms offering generic education? At iYurek, we’re raising the bar with 2+ expert-led lessons every week, tailored for individual traders who want real results. 🚀 Our content is designed by professionals who understand the markets inside out—no fluff, just actionable insights. We help individual investors to start learning smarter. Let’s set the standard and leave the rest behind. 💼📈 Go to iYurek.com #iYurekLearning #ProfessionalGrowth #TradingEducation

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💣 Nearly HALF 5X+ VC funds are small funds sub $50m - I posted this last Christmas and tagged the 2 top emerging managers backing FoFs in Europe. Little would I know that by final closing time I'd be so fortunate and grateful for having both on board :) Data for the stats from Pattern Ventures, proving that emerging small funds smash larger, established funds. Now we just have to deliver and score a 5x+ pice of cake haha 😹 But hey, what would life be without a tough challenge 💪 #deeptech #europeantech #venturecapital #emergingmanagers Molten Ventures Multiple Capital

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📈💸 5 Deals this week… all at 10% carry This week we’ve got 5 deals going out via Deal Sheet as early as Seed Stage and as late at Pre-IPO ( $500M+ ARR). This weeks’ deals have been curated across 4 different of the top syndicate leads. Co-Investors include: - General Catalyst - Accel - Salesforce Ventures - Lightspeed - Samsung NEXT - Day One Ventures - Initialized Capital - & 3-5 More! **Link to sign up for Deal Sheet in the comments** As a reminder, Deal Sheet is a paid weekly newsletter that delivers the best (and actively investable) startup investment opportunities directly to your inbox. Deal Sheet provides unique deal access & discounted carry (10% carry versus standard 20%) to all Deal Sheet members. ***You can expect 100-200+ deals per year sent via Deal Sheet. These deals are being syndicated by many of the best and most active syndicate leads that we’ve worked with over the years. In April, 20 deals were sent to Deal Sheet subscribers! Additionally, we offer Deal Sheet subscribers select 0% carry opportunities. 

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TLDR: EIS should be scrapped as a fund structure but retained for Angel investments by individuals. Alex Chalmers has done all the work which in 10 years I've never got around to doing: why 95% of EIS/VCT funds are bad for our tech ecosystem, rip #startups off, and why as a Founder you should push back against their stupid fees or not take their money. https://lnkd.in/dnq9ZScS

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