Uncertainty and Opportunity

With economic instability in China, public markets trending downwards, and precipitous price drops for notable tech companies like Twitter, 2016 is off to an uncertain start for founders and investors alike. It seems only a matter of time before these macro trends begin to materially impact the startup and venture capital scene, if they haven’t already.

But difficult times present opportunities as well, and the best approach to identify and capitalize on these opportunities is to be even more thoughtful, focused, and diligent. For both founders and investors, this begins with a process of deep, honest self-reflection. A founder should identify more clearly her company’s strengths and weaknesses, what metrics really matter and how the business measures against them, and what needs to get done and in what order. An investor should push his portfolio companies to do the same, and also define the milestones and metrics that really matter to him so that he can be disciplined about not just avoiding bad investments, but also finding the good ones and pursuing them aggressively despite the confusing economic environment.

In this week’s issue, Bilal Zuberi and Semil Shah provide sage advice for founders looking for funding in “Fundraising blues in 2016?” and”Navigating The Gap Between Seed And Series A.” Nic Brisbourne provides some sobering but practical guidance to would-be investors in”Why being a VC is more difficult than people think”: “Making consistent returns as a VC requires […] raising capital when nobody wants to invest in venture and having the vision, discipline and patience to build value in a portfolio over time.” We hope that this week’s articles will help you navigate, and find opportunities within, the present uncertainty.

-Teddy Lee, Contributing Editor