Origins - Inside Venture Capital, Hosted by a GP and an LP

Q4 Market Predictions w/ Ed Sim (Boldstart) & Seyonne Kang (StepStone)

Oct 3, 2023

Ed Sim, founder of Boldstart, and Seyonne Kang, Partner at StepStone, join the hosts to discuss Q4 market predictions. They cover topics such as the challenges faced by venture firms, the impact of current market conditions on VC fundraising, factors affecting DPI for older funds, challenges faced by companies in the Q4 VC market, geography and concentration of startup funding, and predictions for Q4 market including uncertainties in startup companies and predictions of failures and markdowns.

01:04:18

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Episode guests

Seyonne Kang

Ed Sim

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Q4 fundraising expected to be active with increased activity and meetings in the venture capital space, but also anticipating a rise in failures and challenges for companies lacking traction.

Pre-Series A round market remains robust with smaller rounds for early-stage founders and larger rounds for experienced founders, but companies funded at the seed stage without necessary traction may face difficulties.

LPs facing liquidity challenges, making fundraising more difficult, leading to consolidation of manager roster and selective investments; differentiation in venture capital landscape will come from investment judgment and ability to identify unique opportunities.

Deep dives

Market Conditions for Q4 and Beyond

The podcast episode discusses the current market conditions going into Q4 and provides insights into what to expect in the coming months. The discussion highlights that despite the challenges faced during Q3, there is optimism for Q4. The panelists believe that there will be a lot of activity and meetings in the venture capital space. However, they also anticipate an increase in failures and challenges for companies that have not achieved the necessary traction. The conversation emphasizes the importance for founders and investors to make strategic decisions and find creative solutions to navigate the changing landscape.

Introduction

2min

Excitement for Q4 and Contrarian Take on the Market

9min

Market Conditions, GP-led Restructurings, and LP Tenders - Impact on VC Fundraising

3min

Factors Affecting DPI and Challenges for Older Funds

3min

Challenges and Predictions for Q4 VC Market

15min

Geography and Concentration of Startup Funding

24min

Predictions for Q4 Market

8min

In this episode of Origins, Nicholas Chirls (Notation) and Beezer Clarkson (Sapphire Partners) host Ed Sim, founder of Boldstart and Seyonne Kang, Partner at StepStone.

Ed is the founder of boldstart ventures, a day-one partner and true believer for developer first, enterprise infra, & SaaS founders. He is currently a board member/observer of Snyk, Blockdaemon, Kustomer (sold to Meta), BigID, Protect AI, Env0, among many others.

Seyonne is a member of the private equity team, focusing on venture capital and growth equity investments. Prior to StepStone, she was a partner with Greenspring Associates, a venture capital and growth equity investment firm that merged with StepStone in 2021.

We cover a wide range of topics, including our predictions for Q4 fundraising, when the market will bottom (if it hasn't already), what happens to multi-stage firms, AI (and other) hype cycles, and how VCs can and should think about liquidity in a market like this. Enjoy!

Links to articles discussed:

Best startup locations in the US

Raise Less, Build More

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