Data-Driven VC: May Roundup
Where venture capital and data intersect. Every week.
👋 Hi, I’m Andre and welcome to my weekly newsletter, Data-driven VC. Every Tuesday, I publish “Insights” to digest the most relevant startup research & reports, and every Thursday, I publish “Essays” that cover hands-on insights about data-driven innovation & AI in VC. Follow along to understand how startup investing becomes more data-driven, why it matters, and what it means for you.
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Data Engineering is no longer just a backstage player but is taking center stage in the VC space. It is about constructing and maintaining the architectures (think databases, large-scale processing systems) that allow for data availability - a cornerstone for insightful analysis and well-informed decisions.
Dive deeper into this video, where we break down the impact of data engineering on the VC industry. Turning raw data into usable outputs and insights has great use cases for deal sourcing, due diligence, or portfolio monitoring.
Welcome to our monthly wrap-up episode where we cover May’s most relevant content at the intersection of VC, startups, data, AI & productivity.
We read it all so you don’t need to - here we go👇
INTERESTING RESEARCH & REPORTS📈
How Many VC Meetings Do Startups Need to Raise Their Seed Round?
Dropbox analyzed several thousand Seed processes using a combination of pitch deck data and founder questionnaires. Adam Shuaib from Episode 1 summarized the results for us:
More VC meetings did NOT translate into raising more money
Founders who successfully raised had an average of 40 VCs in the funnel
Early-stage founders should aim to build relationships with the right VCs who fund companies in their sector and at their stage, rather than playing a high-volume numbers game
✈️ KEY TAKEAWAY
Pitching smarter rather than harder continues to be the optimal way to get your seed round away with on average around 40 investors in the funnel.
Plausible Tomorrow’s - Khosla’s Predictions About the Future
Vinod Khosla recently published the “Plausible Tomorrow’s” report with predictions about the future 2035-2049. Key insights: