Chris Howard

Having a Cars and Capital event tomorrow in Southern California with Oren Klaff. If you want to join message me. https://lnkd.in/gDQ4D39u Oren Klaff Bridger Pennington #InvestorEvent #FamilyOffice #InvestmentOpportunity #CarlsbadEvent #PrivateEquity #WealthManagement #InvestmentConference #CapitalRaising #NetworkingEvent #IndustryLeaders #FinancialGrowth #InvestorsMeetup #WealthBuilding #BusinessGrowth #InvestmentForum

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LP Tip #5 of #50: Spend time to anticipate what off-book references may say about you. ➡️ GPs should assume that professional LPs will reach out to their own network to learn more about them.  ➡️ High net-worth (HNW) individuals and operators are not likely to spend as much time on references than professional LPs. In fact, I know many cases where HNWs and operators didn’t even reference the manager. ➡️ Each LP has its own approach to conducting references. ➡️ Opinions are my own.    ❓ If LPs are back channeling you, what do you expect people will say about you as an investor and person? Fund managers control on-book references because they select who an LP speaks with. And, these references typically give an LP a positive perspective of a fund manager. In contrast GPs do not know who comprises an LPs trusted network. They also cannot control what the back channel reference will or will not say. Below are two things you can control which can impact the back channel. 1️⃣ Control possible negative flags -  If you anticipate something negative to come up during references that may be  perceived as a potential flag by an LP it is best that you bring it up first rather than having the LP bring it up. I would bring up the things that you envision could derail your funding and that you expect the LP to discover.  2️⃣ Control how you show up  - Unfortunately, some managers do a great job of undermining their own professional reputation which impacts how well they will back channel. For example, I was having a follow-up meeting with a talented manager and they started to trash talk another investor to me in a way that was unsettling. I believe in giving people grace as sometimes people have off days. But I was struck that the fund manager was emboldened to share with me because I was a relatively new connection. I then began to wonder if they acted like this with other LPs. Other LPs verified that they had a similar experience and felt it showed a lack of  judgment. If this new manager lacks judgment on professionalism then I start to question if they lack judgment on many other aspects of running a fund. 

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Surprising to see two mega mergers getting past antitrust: - The $53B Chevron-Hess merger - The DirecTV-Dish merger where AT&T is selling its stake in DirecTV for $7.6B to TPG and DirecTV buying Dish for $1 and taking on its $10B in debt What does it mean for consumers? And what does it mean for the M&A market? These approvals may signal a shift in antitrust policy. Looks like they're prioritizing global competitiveness over strict market share considerations. This might invite additional scrutiny on how these mergers impact innovation in bigtech. These mega mergers usually tend to have a strong impact on consumer choice and pricing. The industry dynamics will be closely watched by regulators and investors.

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Series A or B wondering when to bring in a VP of Finance or CFO? It’s a crucial decision that can shape the future of your company. At this stage, financial leadership is not just about managing numbers but also scaling processes, securing funding, and driving strategic growth. My colleague Paul breaks down key signs that it’s time to hire and indicators for choosing between VP of Finance and a CFO #FinanceLeadership #CFO #StartupGrowth #SeriesA #SeriesB #NextGenLeadership

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Great Article https://lnkd.in/gkSbT4Th Value Creation is Key: Validated value creation plans, combined with a meticulous and programmatic delivery approach, helps address the pressing concerns of cash-hungry LPs by demonstrating a commitment to generating cash returns and meeting current LP demands, while strengthening trust between GPs and LPs. Key Points - Net IRR was once the gold standard for measuring PE success. - LPs say DPI (Distributed to paid-in Capital) is now paramount - Distributed to paid-in capital, is the ratio of cash generated to what’s invested. - GPs are generating cash however they can. - Exits are likely to hit a five-year low this year and the average hold  time for a portfolio company has grown to almost six years (Preqin) - PE distributions at major firms have plummeted 49 percent over the last two years. - Private equity firms are motivated to distribute cash to enable LPs to commit to future funds. - GPs are responding to the demand with alternatives to exits: continuation funds, NAV loans,  subscription lines, cutting management fees.

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LP Tip #8 of #50: Your LP base should match your fund size. We are back with our regular programming. ➡️ Opinions are always my own and based on my experience.  ➡️ My focus for this post is on sub $200.0M funds. ➡️ The $ amounts I state below are guideposts never absolute rules.  ➡️ Some LPs want to have a certain % of the fund and size their investments in this way; others have set check sizes irrespective of fund size. I continue to be surprised at how much time new GPs waste with LPs that are unlikely to invest. I urge managers to better qualify LP leads and be extremely judicious with how they manage their time. In my experience there are 6 LP types that I consistently come across. See below. ▶️ Non- Institutional LPs:  1️⃣ High net worth individuals (HNWI) - There are different tiers of HNWI but assume that this is someone with at least $1.0M in net worth in liquid assets. In my experience they are the fastest to close and conduct limited diligence. I often see them investing $100K - $500K checks in funds. It is possible for a fund manager to close a $5.0M fund on entirely HNWIs. 2️⃣ Family Office - There are different types of family offices. For simplicity sake let us assume that this is a single-family office with an investment team and a set venture allocation. Keep in mind that family offices are hard to find because they do not want to be found. Typically, you find these via referrals from other GPs or your current LPs. I often see <=$50.0M funds composed of HNWI and family office LPs. I have seen a range of investment checks form family offices. 3️⃣ Corporate - I include banks in this category. Due to the market downturn these entities either halted or slowed pacing. In my experience I have seen corporates invest anywhere from $500K - $10.0M checks. This type of LP is often present in sub < $100M funds. ▶️ Institutional LPs:   4️⃣ Fund of Funds (FoFs) - Unlike the other LP types, FoFs need to raise from LPs. I have seen FoFs invest in fund sizes across the spectrum. Depending on the FoF they can invest in funds as small as $15.0M. 5️⃣ Foundations -  These are often investing to align with their mission. I would spend time understanding how you complement their programmatic work. I have seen foundations invest in $45.0M funds and above.  6️⃣ University Endowments - Endowments is where most new GPs waste time. It is important to ask if the university has an emerging manager program upfront. I have seen emerging manager programs invest in small funds ($25.0M - $65.0M). It also helps if the GP was an active alum of the university or had some unique relationship to the university.  If there is no emerging manager program I am often told that there should be a fund target on the low-end of anywhere b/w $150.0M - $200.0M to be considered.

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In a new op-ed I penned for Institutional Investor, I discuss the changing strategic buyer landscape for enterprise software companies. With software continuing to grow well in excess of GDP, and digital transformation at the top of C-suites’ agendas, the trend of multi-billion dollar software companies being acquired by non-traditional buyers should continue to accelerate. As always, all comments are welcome!

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Insightful breakdown from my great Partner Omri Amirav-Drory on the simple factors that really separate the top 1% of investors from the rest, and how more operators should become investors! https://lnkd.in/gEiZdT2h

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https://lnkd.in/gZeefZhX Private equity funds gathered $176.7 billion in the first quarter of 2024, a drop of roughly 10 percent from the $195.5 billion recorded in the same period last year, according to preliminary findings from PEI data. Interest rate uncertainty continues to weigh on buyout and exit activity, while record dry powder for the asset class remains stacked for 2024, the data found.

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🔎 A graph every VC manager should be following right now. PE's exit to investment ratio has hit a ten year low Most LPs invest a multiple of their VC allocation in PE. The less liquidity coming from larger buckets, the less divestments that can be made into the asset class 🔮 Similarly if this starts picking up, the allocation doors could start to re-open... #VC #venturecapital

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Emerging managers WIN: 73% of the best performing funds in the last ten years are emerging managers. The reasons are both qualitative (grit, no plan B, point to prove) and quantitative (smaller fund sizes). This is where LP/GP alignment is closest. Back the funds working for the 20, not the 2. If you aren't backing emerging managers, you are leaving performance on the table. #VC #venturecapital

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🎙 On today’s episode of the 10X Capital Podcast, Erin Harkless Moore, CFA, Senior Director Pivotal Ventures and I discuss Pivotal Ventures’ $1B Mission to Drive Equality and Returns, as well as: 1️⃣ How Pivotal Maximizes Impact and Returns 2️⃣ Why Melinda Gates Invests in Venture Capital 3️⃣ Alpha in VC Investing Thank you to our sponsor Deel! Video clip below - Sound on. Click “+ Follow” by my name to see more clips. P.S. Link to full episode in comments.   #VentureCapital #VC #Startups #OpenLP Turpentine 10X Capital

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This week Mikal Ventures brings you a 4-week breakdown of the US capital market with an emphasis on the Mikal verticals. Over the 4-week period ending August 19, about 960 new companies were added, resulting in just under 97,702 companies included in the US Health Tech, Med Tech, Fin Tech, AI Tech, and Ed Tech verticals. AI Tech maintained its most active status, seeing the greatest percentage of growth in both new companies and transactions. The US Fin Tech vertical led the way in SEC Filings and US Med Tech led in news articles. Mikal Ventures publishes these stats to provide a perspective on how the verticals and new startups move through time. We hope you find them informative and thought-provoking. VC Investors are always adjusting their "Play Book" with a variety of options for investing. Mikal Ventures is one of those alternatives, offering curated solutions to real world problems. Reach out if you have questions on how we can be of assistance and bookmark https://mikalventures.com/ for additional insights and information.

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Earlier this year, we surveyed our fellow Los Angeles-based GPs to get a pulse check on the LA venture ecosystem. Here’s what we found: 💗 Deal flow is healthy, and most LA venture investors (68%) are seeing the same or more deal flow YoY. ✈ LA investors are spending time in a variety of markets, with NYC, Austin, and SF following closely on LA’s heels. 🔍 Innovation is concentrated in AI and machine learning, space, and commerce. 💸 Funding is happening, but it’s barbell-shaped, with deals concentrated at the early and late stages. Funding post-Series A has been challenging. 🚩 LA is differentiated, but not without its challenges. Key difficulties include not attracting enough AI talent (despite having the largest number of engineers graduating from our region over any other in the United States); talent relocated to more tax-friendly or less expensive locations; and the great SoCal / NoCal divide 🙏 Thank you to all our many respondents! I’m so glad to be part of a venture ecosystem that includes great minds like Anna Barber, Brent Murri, W. Christine Choi, Sarah Tomolonius, Rob Smith, Win Chevapravatdumrong, John Tabis, Jill Royster, Jesse Draper, Ashley Balla, Britt Danneman, Tram Lai, Carmen Palafox, Elaine Russell, Deborah Benton Amanda Schutzbank, Brian Lee, Petra Griffith, Minnie Ingersoll, Shamin Walsh, Gabe Greenbaum...wow, this list could go on forever...plus too many other exceptional humans to name. You know who you are! Explore our findings more deeply with our survey dashboard: https://bit.ly/3JsaLaB

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Attention investors: you can now refer your portfolio companies for qualified small business stock (QSBS) attestations from Carta. The benefit? Potentially paying zero federal capital gains tax on your holdings in these companies, up to 10X of your investment when selling your shares. Plus, peace of mind knowing you can provide an attestation letter in the event of an audit. #investors #QSBS #portfoliocompanies #venturecapital #VCs More here: https://lnkd.in/eshMn_hS

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This week Mikal Ventures brings you a 4-week breakdown of the US capital market with an emphasis on the Mikal verticals. Over the 4-week period ending November 11, just under 725 new companies were added, resulting in 100,716 companies included in the US Health Tech, Med Tech, Fin Tech, AI Tech, and Ed Tech verticals. Although we are seeing a slowdown in overall activity, US AI Tech again saw the greatest percentage growth in new companies at 16%, vs. the vertical average of 7% for the period. AI Tech also led the group in news articles. US Fin Tech led in transactions, while US Med Tech led in SEC Filings. Mikal Ventures publishes these stats on a rolling 4-week basis to provide a perspective on how the verticals and new startups move through time. We hope you find them informative and thought-provoking. VC Investors are always adjusting their "Play Book" with a variety of options for investing. Mikal Ventures is one of those alternatives, offering curated solutions to real world problems. Reach out if you have questions on how we can be of assistance and bookmark https://mikalventures.com/ for additional insights and information.

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Fin Capital’s Fintech CEO Pulse Report is out! We surveyed over 50 CEOs and C-suite leaders of private companies from our portfolio and the broader fintech industry during June and July 2024 to get a quick pulse on what’s top of mind for fintech’s leaders. Here are some key takeaways: Optimism in the Air: More than 60% of CEOs reported being bullish or highly bullish on the fintech industry for the second half of 2024. Regulatory Changes on the Horizon: CEOs identified Cryptocurrency, Open Banking, and Buy Now Pay Later as the top three sectors likely to see increased regulation by the end of 2024. CEOs Want Business Development Support: Beyond capital and fundraising, business development support emerged as the top area where CEOs seek investor assistance.For more insights, including comments from my colleagues Ren Riley, Logan Allin, Matthew D. Mann, CFA, and Stephanie Perez, check out the full report here: https://lnkd.in/euHK8-9B

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