Forget using Facebook to hook up with random girls or guys. Venture fund Charles River Ventures is using it to find a hot startup or two. Eagle-eyed reader Rishi Mandal saw the ad to the left today, which says “Running a hot startup? Learn more about Charles River Ventures and how we can help you. We are actively investing in great entrepreneurs and big ideas.”
Usually VCs get way more business plans in their inbox than they can even read. But CRV, which is a traditional venture fund (meaning they tend to make larger investments than most very young startups need), also has a “Quick Start” program where they invest smaller amounts in very early startups. Some of those investments have done well, which explains why they’re trolling Facebook for more. I expect their competition will be there shortly as well.
Sometimes sticking a fishing pole in the water to catch a big fish works better than sticking a big net in the water and waiting for a big fish to be caught.
We just hope it’s in a real ocean we’re fishing in, and not in someone’s pool in the backyard.
not gonna happen.
they need to troll TC or Vator.tv and they would have better luck, excuse me i mean skill.
hopefully they are not looking for another twitter, videosite, adnetwork, socialsite, ipone app or any other style of hype startups that exists out there.
why not have a pillar site that all there investments channel off. all of there investments should be in working for each other in a cohesive fashion. its called “value-added” integration.
internet startups as we know them today will begin to evaporate over the next 5 years. “Startins” will take over where users gravitate to the best established niche offering players.
KillerLocator.com – easy prey
they need to troll TC or Vator.tv and they would have better luck, excuse me i mean skill.
startups are gonna evaporate over the next five years. “Startins” will take over where users position themselves with the major established niche players.
KillerLocator.com – easy prey
CRV should troll TC or Vator.tv and they would have better luck, excuse me i mean skill.
startups are gonna evaporate over the next five years. “Startins” will take over where users position themselves with the major established niche players.
KillerLocator.com – easy prey
This is a complete role reversal. It’s good to see
V Cs reaching out to new start ups.
Hopefully they connect to a good company that way. Would definitely say a lot about facebook if a couple hundred/thousand dollars on fbook flyers led to a large scale investment from a VC.
hmmm… not bad, not bad at all.
Just a little skeptical about the strings involved though.
Smaller fish have less displacement in the waters of money that the VCs pour into them, as a result, I am pretty sure their terms won’t be as generous as for much larger start-ups.
That being said, from a VC perspective, the earlier you get in, the larger the potential windfall when you leave.
Jon
http://WoodMarvels.com – Create Unique Memories
We just took seed funding from a similar valley VC firm. who is also starting to get into the early/smaller investments. I think it’s a great model, and the main advantage for entrepreneurs: a few hundred thousand is nothing for these guys, so they cut the check without being a pain. For us, the ease of the pitch and the quick yes was invaluable. Also, our investment came with NO strings attached.
Shafqat, how much equity did the VC take from ur company? What were the conditions?
Heads up, don’t be a victim of identiy theft – Panda Internet Security 2009 is selling for $20
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http://www.tinyurl.com/a3cyw6
eagle eyed locator dude spots spammer on tc.
Bored TC reader spots self promotion marketing wannabe spotting another similar promolocator.com animal and is shocked that he doesn’t realize he is looking at a mirror image of himself.
So what exactly is the locator dude’s business? Link farming?
you know the economy sucks when….
All the ads on facebook are strange…
CRV tries to eavesdrop on what is hot in FB to find the next big star?
Their ’submit a plan’ email shoots back an auto-reply saying they no longer accept business plans at that email.
I agree – its very nice to see the VC’s reaching out to the startups. It seems similar to the car companies wanted to let the public know there is still financing available right now – just because people are freaking out. Same concept here – VC’s want people to know they still have money to invest.
I, for one, am going to send them my business plan – why not right?
The comments are even funnier than the initiative.
You have to be kidding me!
What do you guys about creating some sort of a “social conscious” fund similar to Digg that could invest in a startup, turn it around, then sell it or go public with it?
Do you think the masses of people could make the right decisions in executing the plan? Or will they lack the required knowledge to run the company?
This is what I have been trying with my group on facebook:
http://www.face...gid=42683713693
Ciprian
I wish there was a Canadian VC version of CRV of Quickstart.
Depending on what you are doing, there are Canadian versions.
If you are in the mobile space, the JLA/RBC/Blackberry Fund has what they call the ‘JumpStart Program’, though I don’t know the link for it.
I’m sure there are other similar programs too.
interesting, just when we thought the vc game had to take a break.
imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Well wish them luck. I do however get the feeling that facebook is becoming more useful by the day.
The hardest part in pitching an idea to VC looks like writing the pitch. Any good resources for structuring the initial pitches?
Or is that a terrible idea and I should just hire a consultant?
I’ve been reading “Innovation: The Five Disciplines for Creating What Customers Want”, and the first section is all about defining customer value, etc. A really good source to get you through defining the pitch.
I wouldn’t farm it out to a consultant, if you don’t know your business well enough to do it yourself, (with the help of resources), then you aren’t going to be able to get somebody else to do it for you.
You’ll learn a ton in going through the process of just getting ready to meet with VCs.
There’s nothing about a NDA in Charles River QuickStart website and it’s not a good way to talk to a VC without a NDA.
have never seen a vc willing to sign an nda. at least not for the first couple of conversations. A firm receives 1000s of ideas/concepts/pitches, across a wide set of partners, often across multiple offices scattered across the country if not the world.
Completely impratical. Maybe an individual angel or very, very small firm might go there, but in general, it just doesn’t happen. And certainly wouldn’t happen through a program where you send your plan in without any pre-conversation (exactly what would they be signing — “we won’t share anything about the idea you’ve told us nothing about … even though we may have already talked to or invested in companies doing similar things…”?)
all of that said, most VCs aren’t out to take your idea and drop into one of their existing portfolio companies or build a new team with their people around your idea. in fact, most VCs will pass or at least tell you up front if they have anything competitive in their portfolios (though you can probably figure that out w/ 15 mins worth of work)
Im with Jerrell on this – if they liked your idea enough to “steal” your idea – they would fund you, and if you sucked they would replace you – if you didn’t they would keep you. Also – its not the horse – its the jockey, so if they didnt like you – they wouldn’t fund you. And they have enough ideas thrown at them where yours will get lost in the spree.
Finally – NDA’s mean nothing. Just so you know. Ask a lawyer
Bou-ha-ha!
Hot startups already have VCs lined up at their doors to invest in them. Hot startups actively seek funds if they need them and don’t wait to be found.
Sure enough, every entrepreneur thinks that his/her startup is hot even if it’s worth squat, but really hot ones (the ones that everyone knows about in a couple of months after launch) are already on many VC radars, so CRV’s move is a long shot…
It depends on if CRV has the ability to see a few stars out of the 1000’s of executive summaries they shift through.
There are many new ideas and start-ups that will drive the innovation and profits of tomorrow, VCs have the money to accelerate this and should openly recruit new ideas like other companies offer open job postings.
I guess if the amount of money VCs are able to raise decreases, that means that they’ll be able to invest into smaller companies. Its all about return on investment. It would be nice if all VCs have a sort of penny portfolio section.
Are those comments fetched from a different post? Or i do i need a sleep?
This is a good option for startups that want to remain low-key and spend their time building a prototype rather than finding money. I hope more VCs pick up on this.
Up to $250K at 6% is great. If you have a grand idea (and VCs are willing to try LOTS of things not so grand ideas) go for it. It’ll only cost you a 6% loan.
I thought would add to the discussion, that I submitted a plan to the Quickstart program last summer. CRV replied with this:
Hi James,
Thanks for your interest in Charles River Ventures.
We think this idea is creative. We’ve seen a number of iPhone (smartphone) app business plans in the last few months. We’re really looking for one that has a working demo/live and has a user base. If/when things begin to take off with iTrainer, please get back in touch with us.
Best,
The QuickStart Team
I am going ahead and building a protype with my own funds. However, I was under the impression that the Quickstart program was for exactly that, building a prototype. Rather, it sounds like CRV wants to get in a little after seed, like at “germination.”
Are those comments fetched from a different post? Or i do i need a sleep