Mercury’s Post

When two VC firms with different fund sizes and investment strategies are co-investors in the same company, it yields a natural tension. The early-stage VC is typically looking to deploy less capital and the later-stage VC is typically looking to deploy more (e.g., through new product investments, international expansion, or acquisitions). So, the size of a VC fund really does matter. And, as an entrepreneur, you want to do all you can to find that “just right” fit. Book- Mastering the VC game By- Jeffrey Bussgang

Northstar Group, one of Southeast Asia’s longest-established private equity firms, is in discussions to sell its business to Ares Management Corporation. This development underscores Ares Management’s ongoing expansion into Asia’s private equity market, leveraging Northstar’s deep regional expertise. Talks remain at an early stage.   Historically, Ares Management has worked with Goldman Sachs, Latham & Watkins and Brunswick Group, according to MergerLinks data. #MergersAcquisitionsDivestitures #PrivateEquity #Investment

The Power of Early-Stage Investments 🚀 At McKenzie Shanahan, we believe that early-stage companies hold the key to transforming industries and driving innovation. That’s why our Early Stage Seeding Fund is designed to identify and support businesses with high growth potential and innovative solutions. Here’s what makes early-stage investing exciting for us: Innovation: Early-stage companies bring fresh ideas and disruptive technologies that can reshape markets and industries. Impact: By investing in the early stages, we have the unique opportunity to partner with visionary founders and create lasting change in the communities and sectors they serve. High Growth Potential: With a 5-year growth plan, our investments aim to generate significant returns while also positioning companies for IPO opportunities and long-term success. At McKenzie Shanahan VC, we’re proud to provide the capital and expertise that help early-stage companies thrive while offering our investors exposure to the next wave of innovation. Stay tuned as we continue to seek out and support tomorrow’s game-changers! #VentureCapital #EarlyStageInvesting #Innovation #SeedingFund #McKenzieShanahan #CapitalGrowth #StartupSuccess #IPO

Wall Street giant Ares Management is said to be leading the race to acquire a majority stake in Northstar Group, one of Southeast Asia’s oldest private equity firms.

Roundtable Discussion: Navigating the Investment Journey From Seed to Exit VC investments play a crucial role in fuelling the growth and success of start-ups. For that reason, understanding each of the different funding rounds is essential to effectively evaluate growth opportunities. Niccolo Manzoni, Managing Partner of Five Seasons Ventures, explores the subject further as he hosts one of our roundtable discussions at #FutureFoodTech London on October 2. Download the summit brochure to find out what else is in store: https://bit.ly/3XGijhG

All VCs are founder friendly – we all collectively understand that without founders, we don’t have a reason to exist. However, being founder friendly means a lot of different things. We at Touring Capital take pride in being the first call when founders need a second pair of eyes as they view us as non-judgmental board members who can problem solve together. We also look out for founders by preserving founder dilution and raising the right amount of capital needed for the business. We don’t force founders to take a specific amount of capital because of our fund size. In fact, capital efficient founders self-select us as we work with them to minimize dilution and preserve optionality. If they want to go all the way and build a massive business with a view to a public market exit, then more power to them. We have backed founders like Eric S. Yuan at Zoom and Johan Brand, FRSA at Kahoot! which were able to go public with significant founder ownership. However, if our founders decide to team up with a larger company earlier in their journey, they still own a large chunk of the company and are rewarded with a lifechanging financial outcome. Founders like Ankur Singla and Tasso Roumeliotis decided to partner with larger companies in their first forays and are now back in the game with their next acts, Exaforce and Numa respectively (and we are lucky to back them the second time around). It’s all about providing optionality for founders, not about our check size. Here's to a true partnership with the next generation of visionary founders at Touring Capital. Samir Kumar Priya Saiprasad Evan Wijaya

Day:14 The Business Fundraising Cycle 🚀 The journey of raising capital for a business is an exciting and evolving process. Here’s an overview of the fundraising stages: 1. Idea/Concept Stage: Personal savings or funds from family and friends. 2. Seed Stage: Initial capital raised from angel investors, crowdfunding, or early VC firms. 3. Early-Stage (Series A, B, C): Funds raised for growth, marketing, and scaling, primarily from venture capital. 4. Expansion Stage: Capital raised for rapid scaling, often from private equity or institutional investors. 5. Pre-IPO Stage: Preparing for an Initial Public Offering (IPO), including private placements or secondary offerings. 6. IPO: The company offers shares to the public for the first time, raising significant capital. 7. Post-IPO & M&A: Follow-up capital raising through offerings or mergers and acquisitions for continued growth. The fundraising journey involves different investor types at each stage, with the ultimate goal of growth, expansion, and going public. #Finance #BusinessFundraising #VentureCapital #PrivateEquity #IPO #StartupGrowth #CapitalRaising #BusinessStrategy #Entrepreneurship #Investment #Day14 - Manish Kumavat

For over 30 years, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside Venture Capitalists, Private Equity, and Founders whose investments or companies weren’t quite meeting expectations. They trusted me and my team to come in and change the trajectory of their businesses, and we’ve done just that. Through DSB & Associates (DSB Exit Strategy), we've successfully helped more than 17 companies scale and significantly increase their valuations. All of them sold for impressive returns. If you’re looking to make a lasting impact on your business and prepare for a successful exit, I’d love to talk about how we can help. #BusinessGrowth #ScalingSuccess #ExitStrategy #DSBManagementConsultants #PrivateEquity #VentureCapital

As successful exits like IPOs and large-scale mergers are becoming increasingly rare in the current #VentureCapital landscape, Touring Capital is taking a bold approach. With IPO timelines potentially stretching up to 15 years and regulatory barriers making billion-dollar exits harder to achieve, our focus has shifted to smaller, less dilutive #SeriesB rounds to offer startups a more sustainable path to growth. In Steve Rosenbush’s latest The Wall Street Journal article, our general partner, Nagraj Kashyap, emphasizes the impact of building relationships with founders early on and why we advise them to take smaller, more strategic funding rounds. By doing so, founders can retain more equity while preserving optionality for both M&A exits along the way or that long-term IPO exit with substantial returns. Touring Capital is reimagining traditional venture math and providing a solution to ensure founders and startups continue to grow and succeed long-term. To learn more about our model and vision for founders: https://lnkd.in/ec-kC4Tz 

Key takeaways from 20VC pod with Mark Suster: 1. The current market conditions are vastly different from the overvaluations seen in 2021, with a correction that is expected to take several more years. 2. Venture capitalists need to be disciplined about entry prices and valuations, as irrational pricing can lead to poor returns. Founders Fund's strategy of investing in the top companies regardless of price may not be replicable for all investors. 3. Reserves and follow-on funding are crucial, as they allow VCs to support promising companies that may take longer to gain traction. However, VCs should be cautious about over-investing in "rocket ship" companies without sufficient traction. 4. Investing in hard tech and infrastructure sectors like space can be promising, but VCs need specialized expertise in these areas to be successful, as they are fundamentally different from software investments. https://lnkd.in/gzzNgK27