2.6
2.8 
3.6 
2.8 
3.2 Early Stage, Management Friendly
Fund: New Atlantic Ventures
Posted by castriker on 2010-08-21
NAV has been a delight to have as an investor. Through a mutual acquaintaince, they found out about a small internal round we had decided to do in early 2009 after the financing market collapse in Q4 2008 made a large Series B undesirable. They did the fastest deep dive due diligence I've ever experienced as an entrepreneur. Within six weeks, they invested $1.5 million and accepted the same price and terms (except, of course, modifying the term sheet to secure a seat on our board) that we had negotiated with our insiders, which was nicely up from our seed. Their questions and data requests were very focused and involved just about all of their partners, as they each knew someone who would have perspectives on our market and business model. I'm sure this contributed to their quick investment, so I don't know whether that is the norm or not. The lead partner on our deal even flew across the country to attend a pitch to a prospective customer with our sales folks.
As an investor and board member, NAV has been very supportive. Each partner has had extensive operational/entrepreneurial experience, so they fully appreciate that progress isn't always as linear as one would like. They don't get easily spooked, certainly since they believe in our long term success. This is what you want in an early stage investor. They are much more active than most VCs I have worked with, perhaps because they limit the number of boards each partner participates on. They do a good job of helping us focus on strategic and operational priorities. I especially like the positive feedback when things go right. All too often, investors dwell on the negative. Not so with NAV.
NAV did their full pro rata in our recently completed B round. They probably would have done more if we had the room.
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