Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) have raised $1.5B in 2017 (through 8/30) and this new fundraising mechanism has generated significant buzz and excitement from mainstream media and investors alike. ICOs’ evasion of financial and legal regulation thus far has allowed for investors to come from all backgrounds including institutional investors, angel investors, consumers, and cryptocurrency miners.…
We rely on specialists and generalists on a daily basis. When remodeling a bathroom, a general contractor with some experience in carpentry, plumbing and electrical work is important to get the project planned. When it comes to the execution of each task (laying new tile, wiring vanity lights, installing new plumbing) it’s important to call…
The evolution of early stage VC ecosystem has led to the proliferation of many new venture funds started by former angels, operators, and existing VCs. According to Pitchbook, since 2014, there have been nearly 100 first-time funds which raised a total of $7.3B. As many of these funds come back to market, the micro VC…
There is a lot of news of late about women in the venture capital industry. Top Tier Capital Partners (“TTCP”) has long been a proponent of diversity – and that is apparent if you look at our team. Our culture of inclusion and diversity is by design and comes from the top. No two of…
While many in the venture capital industry are talking about the future promise of AI/Machine Learning, VR/AR, Big Data, IoT (Internet of Things), autonomous vehicles and drones, there is a lesser known transformative opportunity in the biotech sector that we are following – the Human Microbiome. While Genomics as a whole is experiencing explosive growth,…
The Pareto principle states that when thinking of cause and effect, 80% of the effect is driven by 20% of the cause. In our industry, this can be translated to 80% of the returns are driven by 20% of the funds or companies. As part of our portfolio construction efforts at Top Tier, we set out to…
After talking to CEOs, LPs and consultants during several recent annual meetings, it has become clear that liquidity is the hot topic. CEOs who have been running companies over 5+ years said more than half of their investors are pushing them to be IPO ready or think seriously about the eventual sale of the business.…
With Snap’s IPO looming, speculation on its success is rampant. As one of our portfolio companies, we too are watching closely. In the last two years, 50 tech companies have listed on U.S. exchanges. Of those, 80% have closed higher than the IPO price at the end of the first day, achieving an average “IPO…
As a Fund of Funds manager, we at Top Tier focus on constructing our portfolios with what we believe are the right types of managers (healthcare/tech), investing in the right stage (seed, series A-C, Growth), in the right geography (New York, San Francisco, LA, other) for the current market. We also consider our manager’s ability…
Another year has flown by, and it’s time once again to search for ‘Best Gifts For Him/Her’ or ‘Unique Swap Gifts’ as you attempt to get that special gift for everyone on your list. In order to help alleviate the stress commonly associated with holiday shopping, we have pulled together some of our favorite products…