By Greg Sands on behalf of the Costanoa Team “Best Supporting Actor.” Likely not necessarily the award most people dream about. But at Costanoa we think it’s a venture firm’s highest aspiration. We are privileged to partner with and support the best people in the world as they innovate, build…

By Greg Sands on behalf of the Costanoa Team I’m beyond thrilled to announce that Amy Cheetham is now a Partner at Costanoa. (Truly, I’m dancing a little jig as I write.) Amy demonstrates the insight, drive, judgment and — above all — commitment to founders that are our hallmarks…

You might say that Propeller was ahead of its time. Long before the current global economic crisis, it had pursued a lean strategy and was fearless in reinventing itself to get ahead. Founded as a drone-focused company in 2014, it initially cast a wide net for customers before settling on…

Update: You can find all questions and answers covered in each session here. We will host live office hours to share best practices and tactical responses to emerging challenges. This series is free and open to any startup founder or team member who wants to know: How to raise a…

When most people think of a startup, they imagine a rapidly evolving company that finds product market fit and launches into the ether. But this doesn’t describe most enterprise startups. Not only do they tend to solve much more complex problems with market shifting concepts, the sales process and path…

It may sound obvious, but if you want to get noticed in a category, the clearest way is to do things in a radically different way. That doesn’t mean that you merely offer something that others don’t, but that you take a completely different approach to a problem. This is…

In the earliest stages of startup life, every founder’s central task is to find the right product market fit. They must find a real problem in the marketplace — and offer a solution that customers want to buy. Aquabyte is a young startup that has quickly found its niche by…

When startups approach a category, their goal is often to replace existing processes with something entirely new, digital, and better. But for some industries, this take-no-prisoners approach doesn’t work. When trying to disrupt the automotive retail industry, Roadster found a way to partner with car dealerships to improve the buying…

When many startups take on a funding round, their immediate instinct is to scale the business. Often, that involves massive digital and traditional advertising, as the company seeks to buy and then hopefully retain new customers. Quizlet took a different approach. In this exclusive interview, Quizlet founder Andrew Sutherland and…