recently rated:

Rated by 10

4.2 4.2 4.0 2.6 4.1

3.8

Y Combinator

 

$$$$$ Mountain View, US West

top rated funds:

Rated by 40

3.1 2.6 3.1 2.7 2.6

2.8

MDV-Mohr Davidow Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 15

2.5 2.9 3.3 2.3 2.6

2.7

Fuse Capital

 

$$$$$ Palo Alto, US West

Rated by 10

3.1 2.6 2.5 2.6 2.9

2.7

Sequoia Capital India

 

$$$$$ Bangalore, Asia / Pacific

Rated by 11

2.9 3.1 2.5 2.4 2.8

2.7

SOFTBANK Capital

 

$$$$$ Newton Center, US East

Rated by 19

3.5 2.8 2.2 2.5 2.3

2.7

Norwest Venture Partners

Certified

$$$$$ Palo Alto, US West

Rated by 40

3.4 2.4 2.6 2.8 2.2

2.7

Benchmark Capital

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 35

3.1 2.8 2.6 2.3 2.7

2.7

Highland Capital Partners

Certified

$$$$$ Lexington, US East

Rated by 17

3.0 2.8 2.8 2.6 2.5

2.7

Advanced Technology Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ Waltham, US East

Rated by 11

2.6 2.7 2.9 2.6 2.0

2.6

Oak Investment Partners

 

$$$$$ Westport, US East

Rated by 21

2.4 2.1 3.8 2.0 2.5

2.6

Seraph Group

 

$$$$$ US East

Rated by 12

2.4 2.8 2.6 2.2 2.8

2.6

El Dorado Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 21

3.2 2.4 2.7 2.1 2.7

2.6

Austin Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ Austin, US Central

Rated by 11

2.6 2.8 3.2 2.5 2.2

2.6

Boulder Ventures

 

$$$$$ Boulder, US Central

Rated by 36

2.7 2.6 2.6 2.5 2.5

2.6

US Venture Partners (USVP)

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 26

2.7 2.6 2.9 2.6 2.4

2.6

Atlas Venture

Certified

$$$$$ Londond, Asia / Pacific

Rated by 21

2.6 2.3 2.9 2.8 2.2

2.6

Crosslink Capital

Certified

$$$$$ San Francisco, US West

Rated by 25

2.9 2.7 2.7 2.1 2.4

2.6

Edison Venture Fund

Certified

$$$$$ Lawrenceville, US East

Rated by 41

2.5 2.6 2.6 2.8 2.4

2.6

General Catalyst

 

$$$$$ Cambridge, US East

Rated by 10

3.0 2.3 2.1 1.8 3.2

2.5

Tallwood Venture Capital

 

$$$$$ Palo Alto, US West

Rated by 11

2.8 2.4 3.2 1.8 2.4

2.5

Arboretum Ventures

 

$$$$$ Ann Arbor, US Central

Rated by 12

2.8 2.5 2.3 2.2 2.5

2.5

Carmel Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ Herzliya, ME / Africa

Rated by 37

2.5 2.3 2.5 2.8 2.6

2.5

Lightspeed Venture Partners

Certified

$$$$$ Menlo Park, US West

Rated by 30

2.0 2.4 2.6 2.7 2.2

2.4

Ignition Partners

 

$$$$$ Bellevue, US West

Rated by 22

2.7 2.5 2.3 2.1 2.5

2.4

Giza Venture Capital

 

$$$$$ Tel Aviv, ME / Africa

Rated by 15

2.4 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.3

2.4

Maveron

Certified

$$$$$ Seattle, US West

Rated by 23

2.6 2.2 2.7 2.2 2.5

2.4

Alloy Ventures, Inc.

Certified

$$$$$ Palo Alto, US West

Rated by 10

2.2 2.1 2.2 2.6 2.5

2.3

Ariadne Capital

 

$$$$$ London, Europe

Rated by 14

2.4 2.3 1.9 2.5 2.3

2.3

The Angels Forum

 

$$$$$ Palo Alto, US West

Rated by 14

2.7 2.3 2.5 2.0 2.0

2.3

Greycroft

 

$$$$$ New York, US East

Rated by 16

2.3 2.0 2.6 2.4 1.9

2.2

Granite Ventures

Certified

$$$$$ San Francisco, US West

HomeShowcaseTermsAdviceOpenDiscussCoFound

Sign-upHelpFor VCsFor MediaAdvertiseTop VCsBanned VCs

very negative experience

By the book, straight shooters. Patient, supportive, focused on the right issues, very fair to management and common. Good in the board room. We worked with Jay Schmelter.

The fund has a nice brand, but as many of the reviews say these guys have a poor operational culture. I feel bad for their LPs.

These things about not showing up for meetings, arrogance, and ignorance are all true. I've met with Ryan Moore who is wholly unimpressive....

There are much better options around... Don't believe the hype.

Pitched Jo, he's a positive guy that made it from nothing to something. The fund seems to make only 4 new deals a year, so it's very exclusive. He relatively quick to take a pass, which is better than the funds who can't make a decision.

As you may or may not know, the Founder Institute, an entrepreneur training and startup launch program that I founded 4.5 years ago, was born through TheFunded.com. In fact, the inspiration to start the Institute came from observing the struggles of early-stage entrepreneurs on this site, and the original curriculum for the program was actually crowdsourced from TheFunded.com's members.

Today I have some exciting news to share on the state of the Founder Institute. With the recent graduations of the Summer 2013 Semesters, we have just eclipsed 1000 companies launched.

Anthony Ha covered the story on TechCrunch here.

In total, through chapters across 55 cities, 30 countries, and 6 continents, we have now launched 1,003 Graduate Companies with;

1. 1,114 Graduate Founders and Co-Founders
   
2. An estimated portfolio value in excess of $5 billion
   
3. Six exits or liquidity events (public exits include Shopalize and Gridblaze)
   
4. Over 10,000 jobs created
   
5. 89.5% Graduate companies still operating (versus 115 companies dissolved)
   
6. 73.5% Graduate companies operating at or ahead of schedule (versus 146 companies with Founders still employed or companies struggling)
   

But we are not stopping there. In just the last two weeks we launched chapters in Munich and Portland, we are currently accepting applications in over 20 cities, our pipeline is filled with potential new city launches (specifically Dublin, Tokyo, Nairobi, Bangkok, Baltimore, Seoul, Manila, and Tomsk), and we have several semesters currently in session as well.

Our goal?

To “Globalize Silicon Valley” and help promising entrepreneurs launch companies that will create over 20,000 new jobs per year by 2020.

If you want to help foster entrepreneurship on a global scale, then Launch a Founder Institute Chapter in your local city.

Or, if you want to join a growing network of global entrepreneurs and launch an enduring company through structured training courses, practical business-building assignments, and expert feedback from a large network of business mentors, then Apply to the Founder Institute today.

Did business with Jay in a prior life. Has no money and actually tried the 'borrow $50K, get ya 10% return, for 30 days' story on me. Be expecting some 'fees' to come along with any money. In other words...avoid.

A number of Maple Leaf Angels made an early-stage investment in Spartan, with a relatively quick due diligence process and without onerous terms. They have been supportive in various capacities over the years, with some members participating in subsequent financing rounds.

The former chairperson of Maple Leaf Angels, a chartered accountant and now CEO of a contract pharmaceuticals company, not only invested but also became a member of our board of directors. He has provided valuable advice and strategic insight in that capacity.

I have been working on my product for 4 years while employed full-time for another employer. I have invested more money than what some entrepreneurs are able to raise in Seed Funding, into building the product. But I have invested this money over a period of 4 years (70% of my monthly paycheck every month) and I continue to pay contractors on an ongoing basis to enhance the product. I am now looking to go to investors and start showcasing the product for Series-A funding.

Does anyone out here see any risks, because of the time and money that was spent on building the product. The same product could have been built in about 2 years of R&D, if the entire team including me was full-time.
Does it matter to the investors how much time it took to mature the product? Will the life of the company be seen as a negative?

Any comments or guidance based on your experience will be helpful.

Not a name-brand firm, but in Texas, Silver Creek is a stand-up firm with an excellent track record and high quality interactions. Easy to approach, easy to pitch, and very hard to get money from...like most smart VC's. If you do, you are lucky. They stick with you. They nurture. They push. But in an effective non-overbearing way.
MetroPCS is one such example. The first money in, Silver Creek initially found itself in a losing proposition that ended up in the ditch. They stuck by the team, the founder, and reinvested, reupped, and...well...a very nice exit.
I've pitched them several times, but no-go...yet. They are very clear with a not at this time, and have been clear with a pretty much never before. Great feedback. They take the time to tell you why, why they have reservations, what is not resonating. And lots of time to do that. It buys great goodwill.
I'd help these guys any time. And they will help most entrepreneurs.
What more can you ask?