Aileen Lee and Kirsty Nathoo at the Female Founders ConferenceAileen Lee is the founder of Cowboy Ventures. Kirsty Nathoo is CFO and a Partner at Y Combinator. [ YC Blog ] Q&A with YC Partners at the Female Founders ConferenceThis Q&A was recorded at our fourth annual Female Founders Conference.Partners: Kat Manalac, Jessica Livingston, Adora Cheung, Anu Hariharan, Carolynn Levy, and Kirsty Nathoo. The Decline Of Investment In San Francisco StartupsBloomberg published a post this weekend called San Francisco’s VC Boom is Over. The article pointed to the seeming collapse in the amount of venture capital raised by San Francisco startups relative to other regions. The slowing of venture investment more broadly across the US serves as a backdrop to San Francisco’s particularly strong correction. I was curious about the drivers of these trends, so I ran my own analysis. US venture capital at cruising speed [datagraphic]Penguin Holds Book by John Doerr and Startup CEO Amid Harassment SuitPenguin Random House has pulled plans to publish a book co-written by venture capitalist John Doerr and BetterWorks Systems Inc. Chief Executive Officer Kris Duggan following a sexual harassment and assault suit against Duggan. Beatrice Kim, a former employee at BetterWorks, last week sued Duggan and two other executives at the startup, alleging they created a hostile workplace for women. The suit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, includes allegations of sexual assault and harassment. [ Bloomberg ] VC OF THE YEAR: FORERUNNER’S KIRSTEN GREEN ON 2 $BN+ EXITS IN 1 YEAR, WHY WE ARE IN THE VERY EARLY INNINGS FOR COMMERCE & HOW BRAND HAS FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGED OVER THE LAST DECADE Kirsten Green is the Founding General Partner @ Forerunner Ventures, where she has raised over $250M from leading investors and has invested in more than 40 early-stage companies. Forerunner Ventures is the only VC firm to invest in both Dollar Shave Club and Jet.com, two of the biggest and highest-profile e-commerce exits in recent years, and counts Birchbox, Bonobos, Glossier, Hotel Tonight, Warby Parker and Zola among its portfolio companies. She’s been honored in Time’s 100 Most Influential People in 2017, named VC of the Year at TechCrunch’s 2017 Crunchies Awards, and is part of Forbes 2017 Midas List. [ 20 VC ] Steve Vassallo: From Designer to Venture Investor The Foundation Capital partner is at the head of a new generation of Silicon Valley VC’s who did not descend from the heights of finance, but rose through the ranks of design. And, he believes, we're entering the century of the designer-founder. [ 99u ] 5th Time’s a Charm. Happy Birthday to UsThis week, theSkimm turns five years old. That is a BFD for a lot of reasons. Most startups do not make it this far. 90% actually fail. And of those 10% that survive, only 50% make it to the 5-year mark. And we are here. We are still standing. Sometimes amidst the craziness, it’s easy to feel too busy to celebrate, or to think about the glass as half full, when you look at all that still has to get done. But this week is about us taking a moment and saying: We are really proud of ourselves and theSkimm. We’ll get into why in a bit. First… Here are 5 things we once thought were insurmountable: Watch: Kara Swisher talks to Megyn Kelly about Silicon Valley’s sexist bro cultureIn a series exploring what it’s like to be a woman in Silicon Valley, Megyn Kelly spoke to six female entrepreneurs who have alleged harassment from male investors such as 500 Startups’ founding partner Dave McClure and Binary Capital’s Justin Caldbeck — both of whom resigned from their positions after reports of claims of sexual harassment. Kelly also spoke to Recode Executive Editor Kara Swisher about the “bro culture” that is rampant in the tech industry. “It’s exactly what it sounds like,” Swisher told Kelly when asked what “bro culture” is. “It sounds like a fraternity, it sounds like idiotic juvenile behavior and that’s all part of it. ‘We’re just boys having fun’ and being toxic at the same time.” [ Recode ] I Only Have 7 Trips Left. On Managing Work / Life Balance, Love & Family - Mark SusterLike many people these days, I spent much of my 20’s and early 30’s thinking about work & fun and not too much about “the future.” Like characters from one of my favorite novels “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” life seemed very light. [ Mark Suster ] Uber rival Grab is reportedly raising up to $2 billion from SoftBank and DidiGrab, the Uber rival in Southeast Asia that operates across seven countries, is reportedly in talks to raise up to $2 billion from Japan-based SoftBank and China-based Didi Chuxing, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources. The funding would reportedly value Grab at more than $5 billion, which would make it the most valuable startup in Southeast Asia. SoftBank is the telecom giant that has become known for investing in any ride-hailing company other than Uber. SoftBank first invested in Grab in 2014, with a $250 million investment. That investment came just a couple of months after SoftBank put $210 million into India’s Ola ride-hailing startup. SoftBank also invested in 99, Uber’s rival in Brazil. [ Tech Crunch ] |