Nik Talreja

This is quite interesting advice and also quite a non-consensus view in the B2B software world. Cross-border founders who are considering the US vs International incorporation question should consider this as valuable input.

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September 17 2024 – 5 Notable Articles To Read Article: Five Point Energy Banks $1.4B for Infrastructure-Development Bets Takeaway: The Houston-based private equity firm closed Five Point Energy Fund IV, surpassing its $1.25B target. The firm has already made at least one investment from the new fund, supporting Deep Blue Midland Basin last year. This joint venture with Diamondback Energy operates over 800 miles of pipelines used for transporting water, a byproduct of oil and gas wells. Source: The Wall Street Journal Link: https://lnkd.in/dKi5pUXi Article: Lufthansa Said to Weigh Investment in airBaltic Before IPO Takeaway: Acquiring a stake in AirBaltic aligns with Lufthansa's broader strategy of investing in national flag carriers, with the potential to increase ownership over time. Earlier this year, Lufthansa received approval to acquire a 41% stake in Italy's ITA Airways, the successor to Alitalia, further expanding its portfolio of investments in airlines based in Switzerland, Belgium, and Austria. Source: Bloomberg Link: https://lnkd.in/de8uJYug Article: Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. Alums Get €400M of Commitments for Debut PE Fund Takeaway: The fund completed a second closing over the summer with institutional investors and family offices, securing more than €125M in additional commitments for Sienna Private Equity Fund I. It has already invested in two portfolio companies, EIGHT ADVISORY and ECT Group, and is in exclusive talks for additional transactions that could be finalized by the end of the year. Source: Bloomberg News Link: https://lnkd.in/d6YCjT25 Article: UBS Has an AI Tool That Can Scan 300,000 Firms in 20 Seconds Takeaway: UBS Group AG has created an artificial intelligence tool designed to assist in presenting potential M&A deals to clients, capable of analyzing a database of more than 300,000 companies in under 30 seconds. Source: Bloomberg Link: https://lnkd.in/d5DRBKEz Article: Crypto Fraud Increased 45% Last Year to $5.6 Billion, FBI Says Takeaway: The FBI received over 69,000 complaints from users, with the majority of financial losses occurring in investment scams, according to their findings. Source: Bloomberg News Link: https://lnkd.in/de5DBZ5B #news #business #research #ai

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Great summary of the differences.

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📈🏢 Aby Rosen's RFR Holding is facing a staggering $2.5B debt bill as defaults pile up! 💥 🔎 According to a recent Bisnow article, RFR Holding, a prominent NYC real estate firm, is grappling with mounting debt and defaults. The company, led by billionaire Aby Rosen, has a portfolio of high-profile properties, including the iconic Seagram Building and Lever House. 🏢🏦 📊 The firm's debt load has surged to a whopping $2.5B, with $1.1B in loans maturing this year alone. 💸 The pandemic has hit the commercial real estate market hard, causing defaults to skyrocket. RFR Holding is no exception, with defaults on several properties, including the $200M mortgage on the Seagram Building. 📉 🗣️ "The pandemic has created a perfect storm for commercial real estate," said one industry expert. "Companies like RFR Holding are facing unprecedented challenges as they navigate this difficult time." 🌪️ 🔜 So, what's next for RFR Holding? The company is reportedly exploring options to refinance its debt and avoid further defaults. 💡 With the commercial real estate market showing signs of recovery, there's hope that RFR Holding can weather this storm. 🌞 Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story! 📰🔔 #RFRHolding #CommercialRealEstate #Debt #Defaults #NYCRealEstate

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The Information just broke the news of the incredible $8B+ #fundraising haul, with General Catalyst nearly doubling its last total. Fund breakdowns include $4.5B for "core venture funds," $1.5B for their "core creation team," and $2B for "multiple accounts." This was a 33% oversubscription to their $6B fundraising target, which surfaced in April 2024 by the Financial Times. While this is great news for the #entrepreneurial founders, the key question /challenge for General Catalyst will be where to place the newly closed funds to deliver the returns expected by their #limitedpartners that entrust them with their hard-earned capital. What do you think? #management #venturecapital #privateequity #capitalmarkets

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(New Post) The Compound 2023 Annual Letter This is a barely redacted version of the annual letter we sent our LPs. It covers our thoughts on: - AI, Robotics, Bio, & Crypto investment frameworks and industry views - The lack of durable consensus in venture - Building Compound as a firm And a whole lot more. This is a 16-page piece that is probably overwritten that is an inside look on a lot of the things bouncing around in our firm's head over the past 16 months. https://lnkd.in/e5SYwwWA

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I recently saw this metric from Carta’s 1Q24 VC Fund Report, which is very concerning. DPI... is nowhere to be found in earlier vintages that probably should start showing DPI. Funding early-stage projects is great, but ultimately, these venture dollars need to exit their investments and pay back their limited partners. That’s where the metric Distributed to Paid-In Capital (DPI) comes in. While managing a fund, we get interim measures during the life of the fund (e.g. IRR, MOIC), but ultimately, “you can’t eat IRR.” If you want to build a lasting venture capital organization, you need to start showing DPI for your fund. Keep in mind that this is traditional VC data from Carta, and is not strictly crypto venture. Crypto venture tends to get liquidity earlier (tokens) and things tend to go parabolic sooner (faster, more unicorns) - but I’d wager that the data here is somewhat similar for Crypto VCs… Not as much DPI as there should be from these earlier vintages. Read the full article, as well as a recap of all the crypto fundraising rounds for August, here: https://lnkd.in/g3eVJ-iF

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I'm excited to announce that Canapi Ventures has led OpenYield's seed round. OpenYield is redefining how bonds are traded and who gets to trade them. Despite being one of the largest global asset classes, fixed income has long lagged behind equities in terms of innovation. Outdated systems, fragmented liquidity, and barriers to access have made bond trading inefficient, opaque, and inaccessible to many, particularly retail investors.   OpenYield is changing that. By delivering an equity-like trading experience for bonds, the platform transforms the fixed income market into a space defined by transparency, efficiency, and access. With real-time pricing, seamless execution, and intuitive workflows, OpenYield is making bond trading easier and more effective for institutional players, market makers, and retail investors alike. This progress wouldn’t be possible without the exceptional leadership of Jonathan Birnbaum and Hilton Lipschitz, whose decades of experience in capital markets and fintech have earned them the right to build a category leader in this market. Also hard to believe that meeting Jonathan over 20 years ago led to this partnership today!   For Canapi’s network of financial institution LPs, OpenYield represents an exciting opportunity to enhance wealth platforms, attract new client assets, and deepen advisor relationships. As the competition for wealth clients intensifies, access to efficient fixed income trading will be a critical differentiator, delivering real value for customers and strengthening client loyalty. Thrilled to be partnering with Ben Savage and Ned Daoro at Clocktower Ventures. Shoutout to Harrison Kioko. More thoughts on our investment thesis here:

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Great points !! The dynamics of selling a SaaS business, especially to Private Equity (PE), can be complex and emotionally challenging. When considering this path, founders need to evaluate their role, ownership, and influence in the company post-sale. Here’s my take: 1️⃣ If you’re the **majority holder** and believe in the business’s future, continue as CEO to maintain influence and control over the direction. Retain enough "skin in the game" to drive results and keep a hand on the wheel. 2️⃣ If you’re a **minority holder**, with a new PE-appointed CEO, it may be wiser to take a substantial payout and invest in a new venture. In this situation, you often lose decision-making power, risking becoming a spectator in a company you helped build. 🔑 **What’s crucial?** If you still have meaningful equity, you should have a say in the direction. When you’re not in the driver’s seat, it’s often better to start fresh, investing your energy and passion into something new where you’re not just "cheering from the sidelines." Selling is a monumental decision; make sure it aligns with your values and vision for your future. #SaaSFounders #ExitStrategy #PrivateEquity #BusinessOwnership #EntrepreneurJourney #Leadership

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VC world can be cruel and unforgiving. With LPs more and more pushing for distribution and liquidity, fund managers in the mid-tenure of their fund with zero DPI and TVPI around 1.0 would have much more difficulty to raise new fund. The ability to fundraise is one of the crucial indications and validation of the job for VCs. Key highlights from the article below: Thirteen percent of venture General Partners (GPs) no longer plan to raise another fund due to LP pullback. This rate has doubled since H1 2023 when only 6% of GPs had no plans for another fund. Nearly 44% of venture firms surveyed in mid-2023 had previously postponed their fundraising plans due to concerns about overexposure to the asset class. Many emerging managers entered venture capital in 2019 or 2020 when the LP market supported more funds. However, slow exits in the first half of 2024 have led to challenges in raising second funds without significant cash distributions to LPs. Some venture GPs are now actively participating in the secondaries market to demonstrate returns. Despite the challenges, GPs who secured fresh capital remain optimistic. They expect the 2023 and 2024 vintages to be the strongest return years since 2019. 🚀📈 #VC #VentureCapital #Fundraising #LPs #EmergingManagers #TechInvestment #MarketTrends #CountdownCapital #IndustryInsights #JetVentures #JetInvestment‍‍‍‍‍‍

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Big things on the horizon, we are motivated and blessed to be at the dawn of a new age for the internet. Read more about our journey below or listen to the podcast: https://lnkd.in/eJeNhvVa

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Happy news from one of our Fund I portfolio companies (which willl hopefully make our investors happy, DPI baby!): https://lnkd.in/e5bPu5qx Personal Thoughts: - My great admiration for the Biocatch team, I've witnessed your achievements and ultimate interim payoff - Bold move from Permira, you got yourselves a strong asset - Constantly reading aggregated data from the VC industry, which is good, but also very misleading. Why? Because as in the economy, even in a bear market, the good and healthy companies will ultimately thrive. Don't rely on aggregated data only

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Presenting an article by Serendipity Fund Advisors, addressing some salient aspects of the drawdown process - and the challenges one might face. A big thanks to Tiasha Guha Neogy, Senior Manager - Finance and Fund Operations at Lumikai Fund, for reviewing the article and for her valuable inputs. Do share your experiences and thoughts! #SerendipityFundAdvisors #FinancialServices #VC #PE #CFO #Consulting #CapitalDrawdown

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2024 Halftime – Complicated VC Landscape… There are two important considerations that will frame the venture capital narrative for the remainder of the year: the elections and financial condition of the country. According to Bank of America, 2024 will see national elections in countries that account for 60% of the global GDP and 40% of the world’s population, with the U.S. election arguably being the most seminal. The U.S. election is in 119 days and our national debt is increasing approximately $1.0 trillion every 100 days… Thoughts on what to expect in 2H24… https://lnkd.in/e-5tAPF6 Flare Capital Partners #digitalhealth

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Valuable insights on VC fund performance from Peter Walker at Carta accompanied by sharp commentary from seasoned VC Fund investor David Clark, offering key guidance on interpreting the numbers and evaluating fund performance. 1. Current market conditions present a strong opportunity for investing in VC funds. 2. Fund performance typically follows a J-curve, meaning it takes time before metrics like IRR and TVPI accurately reflect the fund’s potential. Worth a read👇

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