2014 Holiday Shopping Guide

As the holidays rapidly approach, the team at Top Tier Capital Partners (“TTCP”) would like to share with you gift ideas from our portfolio. Some are more expensive than others, so shop carefully! In 2014, we saw a noticeable increase in gadgets and service companies. As part of our due diligence, several of these products…

Top Tier Capital Partners’ Jessica Archibald

From Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp to Google’s purchase of Nest Labs, large US technology companies are increasingly using the ample cash on their balance sheets for M&A. Jessica Archibald, managing director at Top Tier Capital Partners, examines how this trend is likely to continue. The motivation is largely defensive, eliminating perceived competition while diversifying into…

The China Conundrum

Will the golden years get eclipsed by smog? Introduction What do air and water quality have to do with venture capital investments? Quite a bit, actually! Untitled18Many assume that investment decisions hinge solely on manager quality and historic performance, but other macro-factors can have an enormous effect on investment decisions, particularly international investment decisions. In…

The $13 Billion Delta

Einstein once said not everything that counts can be counted. At Top Tier Capital Partners, we often look towards the horizon to understand the long-term and peer at spreadsheets to analyze the short-term. And often, we find an interesting pattern that makes us wonder, what should be counted? The Delta: According to the National Venture…

2014 IPO Markets: Boom or Bust?

Will 2014 bring sustained momentum for venture-backed IPOs? Introduction Initial public offerings continued their rapid rise in 2013, aided by the strong performance of the U.S. public equity markets. Last year, 222 companies successfully completed their IPOs. Those IPOs included 82 venture-backed companies, such as the blockbuster debut of Twitter in November, and comprised the…

Reverting to the Mean

Venture Performance in the Era of Lean Startups and Continuing Innovation Introduction With the convergence of rapid innovation, right-sized amounts of capital, and improved liquidity, the venture industry has reverted to positive cash flow over the past two years. Returns are trending towards the mean of greater than 15% IRR (Internal Rate of Return) for…

Which Sectors Are Particularly Exciting at the Moment?

David York interviews Stephen Pagliuca of Bain Capital at SuperInvestor U.S. 2013 in San Francisco. Stephen Pagliuca (Managing Director, Bain Capital) interviewed by David A. York (CEO and Managing Director, Top Tier Capital Partners) at SuperInvestor U.S. 2013 in San Francisco. The U.S. is just coming out of a recession and but bright spots are…

Something Ventured: Movie Trailer

Top Tier Capital Partners is a proud sponsor of Something Ventured, a documentary film investigating the emergence of the venture capital industry. Something Ventured is a documentary film about the original venture capitalists and the companies they helped to start and grow–like Apple, Intel, Genentech, Cisco, Tandem and Atari.

Is Venture Over-Sold? The Outlook for Venture Capital

This article first featured in Preqin’s Private Equity Spotlight – March 2012 The days of the dot-com boom are now a distant memory to venture capitalists and the industry has been forced to evolve in the face of reduced performance. David York, CEO and Managing Director of Top Tier Capital Partners, looks at the current…