In conjunction with our Q2 Venture Financing Report, Stephen Kraus from Bessemer Venture Partners discusses his take on the state of venture capital investing.
A few highlights
On deal terms: Generally, the terms have been company and entrepreneur favorable for a long time now, and they continue to remain that way.
On the proliferation of late-stage investors: It’s created this downward movement on stage of financing, and therefore upward pressure on what a normal Seed or Series A round looks like.
On Bessemer’s response to the influx of capital: We’re doing a lot more earlier-stage investing. The key to moving earlier is to know when to double down on your winners.
On fewer IPOs: There’s a lot more talk about companies staying private, and I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing … by definition if you have more time to mature, you should be more predictable and stable in your growth profile and earnings potential, which is generally more attractive to public market investors over the long term.