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1.7 
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Dismissed Pre Revenue Venture
Fund: Startup Capital Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-08-18
As of August, 2007, apparently they no longer even take a look at interesting ventures unless they have demonstrated revenue. Catherine Ngo said that they typically fund only post-revenue companies and that's their model. So don't waste your time unless you've got paying customers.
PRIVATE: Members Only (57 Characters)Great Group of Folks
Fund: Startup Capital Ventures
Posted by venkats2000 on 2010-03-30
I have worked with them for more than a year now. ( Got introduced to them when I was the COO of Dyyno). I have nothing but very high praise for John, Catherine, Bob Rees and Tim. Whenever I introduce companies to them they always spend the time to understand the pitch give very good feedback and relevant introductions (whether they invest or not). I recently introduced a company to them. Though it was outside their sweet spot John and Bob spent enormous amount of time (even meeting over the weekend) helping this company with the right strategy for funding and introduced them to several other VCs.
Great group of folks. I strongly recommend them.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyAbout Face
Fund: Startup Capital Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-11-20
Met with John and the crew in what seemingly started as a great meeting. We were right up their alley on all points; they had already reviewed our deal and were interested. About half-way through John does an about-face and all of a sudden is no longer interested. The other guys shrug shoulders with what I can best describe as, oh well, he's the boss. Left a sour taste in my mouth. Boo Hoo!
PRIVATE: Members Only (194 Characters)Good Connections
Fund: Startup Capital Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-08-14
I forgot to mention on the previous comment that Startup did a good job of introducing us to some relevant industry experts to help with their diligence. These connections were a useful value-add to the conversation, even though they didn't invest.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyDon't Bother if Your Pre Money Valuation Exceeds $3 M
Fund: Startup Capital Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-08-14
These are great folks to work with, very likable, friendly, approachable, and of high integrity (as far as our experience). But they were only interested in a deal if the pre-money was under around $3M, so unless you're still very early stage, look elsewhere. I found the low valuation expectations seemed unrealistic, given the fairly high bar they wanted to set on how mature the business ought to be.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyLike Your Banker
Fund: Startup Capital Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2008-10-05
They appreciate a low-risk deal with quick profitability. Innovations that can be big but take a few years and larger amounts of capital may not fit. You'll need to bring outside investor validation or someone connected to the fund who's validation they'll value.
PRIVATE: Members Only (30 Characters)No Deal but Positive Experience
Fund: Startup Capital Ventures
Posted by jmb on 2007-08-14
Good, honest people. John Dean is connected, and Bob Reese plays point on operations and process.
They have a small fund, so they usually like to partner with a larger fund (for follow-on funding). The team needs more experience together.
Bottom line-- they do what they say they are going to do.
I would recommend them very strongly where (a) a small initial funding round is sought, and (b) they can identify another appropriate VC partner to join the round.
PRIVATE: Members Only (192 Characters)Danny Lui / Startup Capital Ventures
Fund: Startup Capital Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-06-06
We met with Danny Lui, founder of Legend (now Lenovo). He was polite, responsive, asked insightful questions. Provided quick turn down. If you have a software deal that does not provide a large first round of funding, this group is worthy of consideration (especially if there is a Asia strategy).
PRIVATE: Members Only