Carta’s Post

The Q2 2024 State of Private Markets report from Carta provides deep insights into the evolving landscape of private investments. As highlighted in the report, "deal volume may be down, but valuations remain resilient, showing the continued strength of well-positioned startups." This is essential reading for anyone tracking the pulse of private markets. #PrivateEquity #Startups #InvestmentTrends #StartupProtection #StartupInsurance

Does Q2 2024 data suggest better days ahead for U.S. #startups? Maybe, per Peter Walker of Carta's analysis below. Highlights: "●Positive signs in venture activity: The number of rounds and total cash raised by startups both increased this quarter. ●Primary round valuations rose at all stages except for Series A; steady. ●More founder-friendly environment: The rate of down rounds fell to a six-quarter low, and it is less common for deals to include structured terms that favor investors. ●Northeastern recovery: Startups based in the Northeast increased their share of VC cash to 25%, at the expense of the West and Midwest census regions." See the post below and full report for more insights. #Venture #GlobalBusiness https://lnkd.in/gzehpgRE

Are we finally over the worst of the startup downturn? 🤔 In normal times, about 10% of funding rounds tend to be down rounds, according to Carta. But the past few years have been anything but normal. 📉 2020: The pandemic spiked down rounds in Q2. 💥 2021-2022: A startup boom made them almost disappear. ⏳ 2023: The harsh reality hit, and down rounds made a comeback. Fortunately, we’re seeing signs of improvement. Carta’s data shows that the percentage of down rounds for Series A-D dropped from Q1 to Q2 this year, and Seed and Series A rounds have also been trending down since their peak in 2022. Why does this matter? Down rounds are often viewed as a correction following periods of market overexuberance. As the startup fundraising landscape stabilizes, we anticipate down rounds to normalize back to their historical average of around 10%. 🎯 Key takeaways: 1️⃣ Companies that took a down round are now regrouping and moving forward.🚀 2️⃣ Companies that couldn’t raise may be facing serious challenges. 💡 🌍 Ready to Explore and Invest in Global Startup Deals? Join me in unlocking exclusive opportunities by becoming an angel investor. Sign up now and gain access to high-potential deals around the world through our syndicate: https://lnkd.in/eMzyPbgA Credit to Carta Inc. #venturecapital #angelinvesting #angelinvestors #syndicate #australianinvestors

Some good news (hopefully) for the Southeast Asia Venture Capital scene. The best description I've heard about VC in Asia came from Fionn Hyndman "Regional VC is like an elastic band. When markets are bad it stretches out slowly, but when the signals are right, it snaps right back". Here's hoping for a #SnapBack in Q3. #SoutheastAsia #VentureCapital #DryPowder #ShowMeTheMoney

For most of us, Justifying the crazy valuations of startups (especially the loss making ones) to our Dads/other elders is just impossible. Some valuable lessons I have learnt from my past generations' experiences include: → Bubble fears arise when valuations soar without profitability for a long time without clear prospects of future, hinting at risky ventures. → Sustainability hinges on more than investor funds; doubts loom over startups prioritizing growth over profits → Changing tides challenge startups with no revenue model; adaptability determines survival especially when investor interest wanes or funding dries up It's absolutely crucial to recognize the distinct dynamics and objectives of startups when assessing their performance and prospects and High valuation without immediate #profitability doesn't necessarily denote failure, as startups frequently prioritize growth and market expansion over short-term profits which requires reinvesting capital to scale operations and capture market share, but as the current time has shown, its always good to vicariously learn from the past generation. Not a one size fit all concept, but at the end of day "Profitability is the ultimate bedrock of business"

Last week, I shared a data set from Carta that indicated we may be through the depths of the tech investment winter, with early signs of optimism... PitchBook this week highlighted that in Q1, 37 startups crossed the billion-dollar valuation mark—the highest quarterly figure in a year. And more than half of these were from Europe & Asia, which has been a growing trend. Alongside this, it's expected the IPO market will show signs of life in the back half of 2024. But what does this mean for early-mid stage? That's still TBC, but it's got to be seen as a positive and a changing of the tides. Globally, there's a significant amount of capital that needs to be deployed across all stages. What is clear, is founders are being required to raise funds with clear plans for a longer runway. Business fundamentals are critical and revenue plays a key role at the early stage and has become an anchor to an investor’s interests. Revenue, especially early revenue, tends to be cheap and frequently the most sustainable form of operating capital. This means that categories with steady, though perhaps not explosive, returns are now looking better than they have in years. In short, B2B SaaS companies are the investments of choice! We're not out of the woods, but, by all indicators, we are moving in the right direction. #vc #venturecapital #globalexpansion #gtmstrategy #capitalraising #startup #scaleup

Does Q2 2024 data suggest better days ahead for U.S. #startups? Maybe, per Peter Walker of Carta's analysis below. Highlights: "●Positive signs in venture activity: The number of rounds and total cash raised by startups both increased this quarter. ●Primary round valuations rose at all stages except for Series A; steady. ●More founder-friendly environment: The rate of down rounds fell to a six-quarter low, and it is less common for deals to include structured terms that favor investors. ●Northeastern recovery: Startups based in the Northeast increased their share of VC cash to 25%, at the expense of the West and Midwest census regions." See the post below and full report for more insights. #Venture #GlobalBusiness _____________________________ What actionable international insights do you need to grow your revenues globally? Hello, we are The NewComm Global Group, Inc., "Global Business Success From the Inside Out" (sm). If you're ready to #GrowGlobal, please DM here or complete our go-to-market assessment today for a free consultation. Let's get started!

Velocity Cohort 9 launches 🚀 From FinTech solutions streamlining financial wisdom to collaborative decision-making platforms, these startups are tackling fascinating problems in some of the most important industries in Alberta: education, finance, energy, and transportation. Velocity is tailored for founders whose products or services are already generating recurring revenue, are gearing up to scale operations, and become investment-ready. Over the next eight weeks these entrepreneurs will develop plans to scale their business, serve more customers, and attract potential investors to fuel growth. 💪 Dive into their stories on our blog https://loom.ly/qxUcgps Akinê Inc. BCLOUDER DecisionHub Egistix™ Corporation One Dragon Technology Low End Nation Penseum Pocket Finance TheLocal.ai 🙌 Platform Calgary Edmonton Unlimited Alberta Innovates #albertacatalyzer #startupsuccess #startupfoundations #velocity #ABScaleupGAP #Alberta #entrepreneurs #tech #gotomarket #fintech #edtech #transportation #quantumcomputing #artificialintelligence

One area where analysts anticipate an immediate positive impact from the first rate cuts in four years: M&A. We all know this has been a challenging time for exits. Here are a few newfound reasons to be optimistic: -Even before the rate cuts, M&A was buoyed by a major uptick in VC-backed startups buying VC-backed startups. Crunchbase found 39% of all M&A deals in 2024 fit this bill — the highest % in at least a decade. -An analysis by Tomasz Tunguz found that rate cuts increase exit activity for U.S. VC-backed software startups by 10–65%. -Major European banks cut rates in Q2, which PitchBook found helped increase M&A deal value in Europe by 17% QoQ. A positive sign of what’s to come here. Smaller M&A deals are expected to flow more freely first, but there’s every reason to believe everyone in the startup/VC ecosystem will benefit soon enough from a lower-rate environment. #Startups #VentureCapital #VC

Decoding VC speak is often tough - many founders will hear a combo of “Come back to us when you have more revenue” or “Let me know once you have a lead investor” Much of this means “Tell me when it’s safe enough for me to make a decision because someone else has done the hard work” I talk about this and more in an article for our friends at Startup Daily https://lnkd.in/gnFvGFy8