OpenVC Blog

Two of my angel investments hit $10M ARR - With Francis Santora

This is episode 1 of The OpenVC podcast. In this episode, Francis Santora, a full-time angel investor, shares his journey of backing high-growth startups, with four of his investments reaching $10M in ARR. He discusses his approach to B2B SaaS and consumer subscription investments, common mistakes angels make, and what founders can do to impress investor.

Posted by Harrison Faull Francis Santora | June 4, 2024

How Jeff Durso built and sold 2 startups in a row

American entrepreneur Jeff Durso got his first web startup acquired right before the burst of the dotcom bubble. Then, he went on to build and exit a second startup. Today we discuss his founder journey so that you can better navigate your own.

Posted by Shaun Gold | May 27, 2024

Patents as a strategic tool for early-stage investments

A crucial part of tech investing, sometimes not given enough attention, is the role of patents. Patents protecting a startup’s unique ideas and products, while showing investors how innovative and strong a startup could be in the market.

Posted by Nick Sgobba | May 20, 2024

VCs aren't your friends

As founder-friendly as VCs claim to be, they remain investment professionals. Many first-time founders are oblivious to this nuance, and are in for a rude awakening when they start their raise.

Posted by Stéphane Nasser | May 15, 2024

How to prove Product-Market Fit to Investors

Investors want to see Product-Market Fit. But how exactly do you prove that you have it? Here's the answer.

Posted by James White | April 7, 2024

Data-driven VC: where to start your journey

This post is the 1st of a series on Data-Driven VC. It will give you a base understanding of the framework and tools that compose data-driven investing.

Posted by Silvan Cloud Rath | March 4, 2024

How to identify Fintech opportunities in Climate and Sustainability

FinTech is the last mile before transforming our economies to be carbon neutral. While we've made significant strides in renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and emissions reduction, without the financial mechanisms to scale these innovations, we're merely scratching the surface of their potential impact.

Posted by Vijay Rajendran | February 29, 2024

Seed stage is about picking winners

Early stage investing is more collaborative. The key to success for early stage VC is to pick winners based on limited information. So what's the optimal VC strategy to pick winners at seed?

Posted by Jonah Probell | February 12, 2024

Why video games are the perfect VC category

As a gaming founder who spoke with 50+ VCs, I wanted to share my findings on why games are a stellar VC category, and why you should consider it in your fund or angel portfolio.

Posted by Pavel Afanasiev | February 6, 2024