A comment many founders hear is that their start-up may not be "venture scale." Ok, but what the hell does that mean? A simple rule of thumb for what makes an idea venture-scale is having a path to $100 million a year in revenue and hitting $1 billion+ valuation, in 10 years. Essentially, can you get big and profitable … Continue reading What does “Venture Scale” really mean?
Author: MartinGTobias
I ride my bike, surf, develop great software products, develop real estate and invest in great ideas.
RECAP OF: “Red Flags and Green Flags for Pre-Seed VCs”: A Conversation with Martin Tobias and Ihar Mahaniok
In a recent webinar, I had the pleasure of speaking with Ihar Iharouski, a fellow pre-seed or seed venture capitalist based in New York. As early-stage VCs, we delved into various aspects of venture capital, particularly focusing on what we look for in both red flags and green flags when evaluating pre-seed companies. Through our … Continue reading RECAP OF: “Red Flags and Green Flags for Pre-Seed VCs”: A Conversation with Martin Tobias and Ihar Mahaniok
RECAP OF “An American investing in LatAm with Ali Jamal”
In our latest discussion, I had the pleasure of speaking with Ali Jamal, a seasoned venture capitalist and founding partner at First Check Ventures. Known for his expertise in the Latin American market, Ali shared some valuable insights into the region's investment landscape, the transformation of his investing approach, and the opportunities and challenges that … Continue reading RECAP OF “An American investing in LatAm with Ali Jamal”
RECAP OF “How I lost $500M and still won, lessons from a CEO and a VC”
How I Lost $500M and Still Won: Lessons from a Serial Entrepreneur and Venture Capitalist https://youtu.be/3FcT2a3Ocv8?si=lGCSk_Lk5DNWIug2 Hello, friends! My name is Martin, and today, I'm going to share a fascinating story with you. It's all about how I lost a LOT of money but learned some super important lessons that helped me become even better … Continue reading RECAP OF “How I lost $500M and still won, lessons from a CEO and a VC”
AI is eating B2b software (in a good way)
This morning, I woke up remembering Archimedes: “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.” The software technology has been built with technology breakthrough levers pivoting on the ever-growing fulcrum of overall technology capacity. Each lever allows the industry to lift ever greater … Continue reading AI is eating B2b software (in a good way)
How to Prepare for Your first meeting with Incisive Ventures
You received an email about your first pitch meeting with us. Congratulations! Here is what to expect and how to prepare. Make sure you have read our About Incisive Ventures page. We have already read your deck and likely have many questions, so we would rather have a conversation than walk through it. We respect … Continue reading How to Prepare for Your first meeting with Incisive Ventures
Recap of “An American Investing in Africa” a conversation with Bunmi Akinyemiju.
In April of 2024, I had a conversation with Bunmi Akinyemiju, GP at GreenHouse Capital who has been a long time venture investor and builder in the Africa ecosystem. We had a wide ranging discussion about the opportunity across Africa, sectors of interest and what is special about that ecosystem versus the rest of the … Continue reading Recap of “An American Investing in Africa” a conversation with Bunmi Akinyemiju.
Recap of “An American Investing in India” a conversation with Hershel Mehta.
In March of 2024, I had an conversation with Hershel Mehta, GP at 2AM Ventures who I have co-invested often. I am also an LP in their fund as my strategy to be a US investor internationally is to partner with local pre-seed VCs to understand the market. We had a wide ranging discussion around … Continue reading Recap of “An American Investing in India” a conversation with Hershel Mehta.
Recap from webinar “How I picked 6 Unicorns in 4 years.”
On Feb. 15, 2024, I held a webinar with over 100 investors and founders to discuss my approach to identifying unicorn companies in the Pre-seed. The next day, Signalrank, a Series B venture investor with a large database of investors, published their top 10 most capital-efficient VCs for picking Unicorns. Incisive Ventures is proud to … Continue reading Recap from webinar “How I picked 6 Unicorns in 4 years.”
Thoughts on a syndicate strategy for venture funds sub $50M
When I started investing as an Angel, I rarely had the opportunity or capital to follow on and invest in future rounds. As a Venture Partner at Ignition Partners, I learned about pro-rata rights (the opportunity) and reserves (the funds) to follow out of a $300M fund. Now as a small VC with < $50M … Continue reading Thoughts on a syndicate strategy for venture funds sub $50M