How do we best help founders and their teams during the seed stage?

Strategy + Principles

V4.6

PLATFORM

About this deck:

•  This was originally an internal document created to guide our platform strategy (with far worse design).

•  We’re sharing publicly for transparency and accountability, but also to keep up the momentum behind supporting founders and startup teams in the tech world. Our industry only benefits.

•  This is intentionally aspirational. Some of it is already happening. Some of it is happening but needs work. Some of it has yet to happen.

About this deck:

PS: We are – high conviction, hands-on seed investors

(we invest in tech in the US, like to lead, and have offices in Boston & NYC)

•  This was originally an internal document created to guide our platform strategy (with far worse design).

•  We’re sharing publicly for transparency and accountability, but also to keep up the momentum behind supporting founders and startup teams in the tech world. Our industry only benefits.

•  This is intentionally aspirational. Some of it is already happening. Some of it is happening but needs work. Some of it has yet to happen.

So…what’s “platform” at a VC, anyway?

It’s been called many things: Value-Add. Support. Services. Community.

So…what’s “platform” at a VC, anyway?

It’s been called many things: Value-Add. Support. Services. Community.

And it comes in many forms: Content. Intros. Advice. Workshops. Networks. Apps.

So…what’s “platform” at a VC, anyway?

But when we asked founders for their input, they told us loud & clear:

Quote via Max Goldman, co-founder & CEO of Directr(Directr is a NextView company recently acquired by Google)

“It’s all about tactical help delivered in

timely ways.”

But when we asked founders for their input, they told us loud & clear:

So why should NextView, as a seed fund, dedicate resources to building a platform of support? Here’s what we believe…

Later stage firms are ill-equipped to support the needs of seed-stage companies and largely focus support elsewhere. Meanwhile, industry blogs perpetuate shortcut culture and (false) silver bullets, while much of the tech media idolizes (untrue) overnight success stories. But in reality?

Later stage firms are ill-equipped to support the needs of seed-stage companies and largely focus support elsewhere. Meanwhile, industry blogs perpetuate shortcut culture and (false) silver bullets, while much of the tech media idolizes (untrue) overnight success stories. But in reality?

It’s a grind.

Later stage firms are ill-equipped to support the needs of seed-stage companies and largely focus support elsewhere. Meanwhile, industry blogs perpetuate shortcut culture and (false) silver bullets, while much of the tech media idolizes (untrue) overnight success stories. But in reality?

It’s a grind. The seed stage is hard. It’s uncertain and unclear. So what can we do?

Help startups gain initial traction.

Later stage firms are ill-equipped to support the needs of seed-stage companies and largely focus support elsewhere. Meanwhile, industry blogs perpetuate shortcut culture and (false) silver bullets, while much of the tech media idolizes (untrue) overnight success stories. But in reality?

It’s a grind. The seed stage is hard. It’s uncertain and unclear. So what can we do?

Help startups gain initial traction.

Later stage firms are ill-equipped to support the needs of seed-stage companies and largely focus support elsewhere. Meanwhile, industry blogs perpetuate shortcut culture and (false) silver bullets, while much of the tech media idolizes (untrue) overnight success stories. But in reality?

It’s a grind. The seed stage is hard. It’s uncertain and unclear. So what can we do?

Help startups gain initial traction.

This is our platform’s sole focus, and as seed investors, it shouldn’t feel new. Our capital,

advice, and networks have always done this. Platform is a logical extension.

Note: early traction is about more than just growth or user acquisition. At the seed stage,

startups go from 0 to 1 in lots of things:

Hiring your early team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting initial team goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Finding your first lawyer or PR firm . . . . . . . . Raising Series A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing board meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Designing new products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leading effective management teams . . . . . . . Vetting technical talent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gaining traction in anything important . . . . . .

Traction Needed: NextView Initiative:

Talent ExchangeOKRs for Startups Workshop  Annual Service Provider ListShared VC CRM, Pitch Reviews  Deck Templates, Checklists  Product Manager Breakfasts  (Aspirational)  (Aspirational)  Blog, Podcast, Guides

Note: early traction is about more than just growth or user acquisition. At the seed stage,

startups go from 0 to 1 in lots of things:

…and many more

Hiring your early team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting initial team goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Finding your first lawyer or PR firm . . . . . . . . Raising Series A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing board meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Designing new products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leading effective management teams . . . . . . . Vetting technical talent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gaining traction in anything important . . . . . .

Traction Needed: NextView Initiative:

…and many more

Talent ExchangeOKRs for Startups Workshop  Annual Service Provider ListShared VC CRM, Pitch Reviews  Deck Templates, Checklists  Product Manager Breakfasts  (Aspirational)  (Aspirational)  Blog, Podcast, Guides

Note: early traction is about more than just growth or user acquisition. At the seed stage,

startups go from 0 to 1 in lots of things:

What other challenges should we address?Email us: platform@nextviewventures.com

So if that’s where we’re trying to go and why, how will we ensure we’re heading in the right direction?

We need some guardrails…

…which we refuse to cross.

for building the

5 Operating principles PLATFORM

1 2345

Focus on being great at ONE thing.

Behave like an invited guest.

Bring a deep bench of experts.

Ground all projects in founders’ reality.

Aim for usefulness, not reach.

1 Ground all projects in founders’ reality.

NextViewPlatform

To make sure our platform actually delivers tactical help in timely ways, we need to be careful about what we let influence our initiatives. For example…

NextViewPlatform

Startup CommunityNeeds

MarketTrends

OurMission

PortfolioNeeds

Strong influences

NextViewPlatform

PopularDialogue

OurInternal

Expertise

Our Investment Strategy

OurNetwork’sExpertise

OurGeography

Mild influences

NextViewPlatform

Should not influence platform

EgoCompetitors

“GoingViral”

Our!LPs

Press

What this means for our platform:

What this means for our platform:

We need to act like problem solvers, not just investors. And what do great problem solvers in tech do? A ton of customer development.

We’re lucky that our business necessitates discussions with our customers every single day. These are now valuable not just to understand companies, trends, and founders but to seek out problems and ways we can solve them.

What this means for our platform:

We need to act like problem solvers, not just investors. And what do great problem solvers in tech do? A ton of customer development.

We’re lucky that our business requires meeting with our customers every single day. These are now vital not only for understanding companies and founders but for understanding problems and ways we can address them.

2 Aim for usefulness, not reach.

This is all about out-helping the competition.

If we’re unsure about something going viral or generating PR opportunities, but we know it’ll be genuinely useful,

we should do it without hesitation!

This is all about out-helping the competition.

What this means for our platform:

What this means for our platform:

We should take the Ev Williams approach to innovation:Identify something founders need to do to gain initial traction, and use our platform to remove steps.

What this means for our platform:

“Here’s the formula if you want to build a billion-dollar internet company: Take a human desire,

preferably one that has been around for a really long time…Identify that desire and use modern

technology to take out steps.” (Source: Wired)

We should take the Ev Williams approach to innovation:Identify something founders need to do to gain initial traction, and use our platform to remove steps.

Founder Task: Hire Front-Line Operators

Source Vet Connect Hire

Source Vet Connect Hire

We can remove these steps and save founders time

Founder Task: Hire Front-Line Operators

Source Vet Connect HireX X X

“Finding good operators and managers is quite literally the most important thing to maintain and accelerate our growth. To get hand-picked and hand-delivered talent who are actively searching – and get direct intros to them – makes our process easier.” – Sam Clemens, Co-founder, InsightSquared

Founder Task: Hire Front-Line Operators

Design Arrange Add Data Present

Founder Task: Create a Workable Board Deck

Design Arrange Add Data Present

We can remove these steps and save founders time

Founder Task: Create a Workable Board Deck

Design Arrange Add Data PresentX X “You guys are terrific. Most involved VC. Really appreciate it! – Eric Groves, CEO, Alignable

Founder Task: Create a Workable Board Deck

Design Arrange Add Data PresentX X “You guys are terrific. Most involved VC. Really appreciate it! – Eric Groves, CEO, Alignable

Founder Task: Create a Workable Board Deck

How else should we get involved? Email us: platform@nextviewventures.com

Here’s the best part: Truly useful things tend to spread in

better ways than when you try to force “thought leadership.”

•  200K+ views (and growing)•  Syndicated to TechStars’ CEO list•  Selected by LinkedIn’s editors as

a Featured Resource•  Directly affected multiple

NextView-led seed rounds

3 Focus on being great at ONE thing.

We like to say we’re taking a craft brewer approach to venture capital.

(more thoughts on that here)

Craft brewers are highly focused. They care about being

great at one thing.

We like to say we’re taking a craft brewer approach to venture capital.

(more thoughts on that here)

Craft brewers are highly focused. They care about being

great at one thing.

As investors, the only and most important thing in the NextView world is seed. As a result…

What this means for our platform:

What this means for our platform:

We should maintain a similar, singular focus applicable to the seed stage:Helping founders and their teams gain initial traction in anything important to their business right now.

What this means for our platform:

We should maintain a similar, singular focus applicable to the seed stage:Helping founders and their teams gain initial traction in anything important to their business right now.

This is as much about deciding what we WON’T do as what we will. Take blogging as an example…

We Should Write… We Shouldn’t Write…

Why, how, and when should you hire a COO?

What do the best seed VC pitches look like?

Why Twitter should hire some friend of ours as CEO.

What does Uber’s future look like?

Here’s what a startup unicorn CEO says they did

right & wrong early on.

Here’s what my latest family trip can teach you

about startups.

We Should Write… We Shouldn’t Write…

Why, how, and when should you hire a COO?

What do the best seed VC pitches look like?

Why Twitter should hire some friend of ours as CEO.

What does Uber’s future look like?

Here’s what a startup unicorn CEO says they did

right & wrong early on.

Here’s what my latest family trip can teach you

about startups.

This isn’t always easy, and these posts are tempting.(Plus, we really love bragging about our families  J)  

4 Behave like an invited guest.

The way in which entrepreneurs build and fund their startups isn’t

changing. It already changed.

The way in which entrepreneurs build and fund their startups isn’t

changing. It already changed.

Our platform needs to live in THIS reality.(All VCs should, too.)

In a world where founders launch products by acting like this

And move at the speed of this

And face options for early funding as numerous as this

VCs can’t operate like this… Capital Partners

What this means for our platform:

We think it should look and feel much more like this…

We sit at the entrepreneur’s table. (Not vice versa.)

What this means for our platform:

All our initiatives should be on-demand, not demanding.

This is about serving others on their terms. As VCs, we’ve chosen to be the stage, not the star. We can’t forget that.

As a result, we need to be careful about requiring founders’ time. (Events are fun. Getting more tweets is fun. But there are better ways to deliver practical support while also respecting an entrepreneur’s schedule & inbox.)

Note to Selves

Dear Selves:

Note to Selves

Dear Selves:

Being an “invited guest” doesn’t mean being more liberal with meetings or investments. Just the opposite: If we really want to serve entrepreneurs better, then being a good invited guest means being more focused, strategic, and present in every interaction.

Sincerely,Ourselves

Note to Selves

Dear Selves:

Being an “invited guest” doesn’t mean being more liberal with meetings or investments. Just the opposite: If we really want to serve entrepreneurs better, then being a good invited guest means being more focused, strategic, and present in every interaction.

Sincerely,Ourselves

PS: We think you’re incredibly handsome.

Note to Selves

5 Bring a deep bench of experts.

Sometimes, we have the domain expertise in-house.

Sometimes, we have the domain expertise in-house.

Sometimes, we can use our position to find and share it.

Sometimes, we have the domain expertise in-house.

Sometimes, we can use our position to find and share it.

Sometimes, we should simply provide the forum for others to share knowledge and stories.

What this means for our platform:

What this means for our platform:

As a VC, we have a unique vantage point. We can more easily spot and solve problems across companies.Experts outside our firm must be a major part of that.This can’t just be the NextView team’s thoughts on a blog.

What this means for our platform:

What NextView

Knows

What Seed-Stage Founders Will Use

What Experts Know

What this means for our platform:

What NextView

Knows

What Experts Know

What Seed-Stage Founders Will Use

Magic

1 2 3 4 5

Focus on being great at ONE thing.

Behave like an invited guest.

Bring a deep bench of experts.

Ground all projects in founders’ reality.

Aim for usefulness, not reach.

These are our operating principles to create a world-class, genuinely useful platform of resources for startups.

1 2 3 4 5

Focus on being great at ONE thing.

Behave like an invited guest.

Bring a deep bench of experts.

Ground all projects in founders’ reality.

Aim for usefulness, not reach.

These are our operating principles to create a world-class, genuinely useful platform of resources for startups.

However

In the tech startup world, there’s no shortage of hand-waving…

In the tech startup world, there’s no shortage of hand-waving…

People who are “totally crushing it.”

We know these are just words on some slides. With this direction in place,

it’s now the execution that matters.

So let us know how we’re doing:platform@nextviewventures.com

We know these are just words on some slides. With this direction in place,

it’s now the execution that matters.

So let us know how we’re doing:platform@nextviewventures.com

And one more thing:

“If you’re going through hell, keep going! And maybe bring the NextView platform.”

– Winston Churchill

We know these are just words on some slides. With this direction in place,

it’s now the execution that matters.

So let us know how we’re doing:platform@nextviewventures.com

And one more thing:

“If you’re going through hell, keep going! And maybe bring the NextView platform.”

– Winston Churchill

(Okay, so we added that last part.)

We know these are just words on some slides. With this direction in place,

it’s now the execution that matters.

So let us know how we’re doing:platform@nextviewventures.com

And one more thing:

Thank you to the entire NextView portfolio and community, as well as the founders who helped review this deck:

Tamiz Ahmed, Matt Brand, Grant Burgess,Patrick Campbell, and Derek Haswell

Explore Our Platform

Created by:Jay Acunzo, NextView VP of Platform

@Jay_zo | linkedin.com/in/jayacunzo