The Future of Startup Funding

<img src="http://www.virtumundo.com/images/spacer.gif" height=15 width=1> Want to start a startup?

<img src="http://www.virtumundo.com/images/spacer.gif" height=15 width=1> 想要创业吗？

Get funded by Y Combinator .

获得 Y Combinator 的资助。

</td > August 2010 Two years ago I <a href="http://www.paulgraham.com/googles.html#next">wrote about what I called "<xa href="http://www.paulgraham.com/googles.html#next">a huge, unexploited opportunity in startup funding :" the growing disconnect between VCs, whose current business model requires them to invest large

</td> 2010 年 8 月 两年前，我<a href="http://www.paulgraham.com/googles.html#next">写了一篇我所说的“<xa href="http://www.paulgraham.com/googles.html#next">创业融资中一个巨大的、未开发的机会：”风投之间日益脱节，其当前的商业模式要求他们进行大量投资

amounts, and a large class of startups that need less than they used to.

数量，以及一大批初创公司的需求比以前要少。

Increasingly, startups want a couple hundred thousand dollars, not a couple million.

越来越多的初创公司想要几十万美元，而不是几百万美元。

[ 1 ] The opportunity is a lot less unexploited now.

[1] 现在未开发的机会已经少了很多。

Investors have poured into this territory from both directions.

投资者从两个方向涌入这个领域。

VCs are much more likely to make angel-sized investments than they were a year ago.

与一年前相比，风险投资公司更有可能进行天使规模的投资。

And meanwhile the past year has seen a dramatic increase in a new

与此同时，在过去的一年里，新的

type of investor: the super-angel, who operates like an angel, but using other people's money, like a VC.

投资者类型：超级天使，像天使一样运作，但使用别人的钱，就像风险投资一样。

Though a lot of investors are entering this territory, there is still room for more.

尽管许多投资者正在进入这一领域，但仍有更多的空间。

The distribution of investors should mirror the distribution of startups, which has the usual power law dropoff.

投资者的分布应该反映初创公司的分布，后者具有通常的幂律下降。

So there should be a lot more people investing tens or hundreds of thousands than millions.

因此，投资数万或数十万的人应该比数百万的人多得多。

[ 2 ]

[2]

In fact, it may be good for angels that there are more people doing angel-sized deals, because if angel rounds become more legitimate, then startups may start to opt for angel rounds even when they could, if they wanted, raise series A rounds from VCs.

事实上，更多的人进行天使规模的交易对天使投资来说可能是件好事，因为如果天使轮变得更加合法，那么初创公司可能会开始选择天使轮，即使他们可以（如果他们愿意）从风投那里筹集 A 轮融资。

One reason startups prefer series A rounds is that they're more prestigious.

初创公司更喜欢 A 轮融资的原因之一是它们更有声望。

But if angel investors become more active and better known, they'll increasingly be able to compete with VCs in brand.

但如果天使投资者变得更加活跃、知名度更高，他们将越来越有能力在品牌方面与风险投资公司竞争。

Of course, prestige isn't the main reason to prefer a series A round.

当然，声望并不是选择 A 轮融资的主要原因。

A startup will probably get more attention from investors in a series A round than an angel round.

与天使轮相比，初创公司在 A 轮融资中可能会得到更多投资者的关注。

So if a startup is choosing between an angel round and an A round from a good VC fund, I usually advise them to take the A round.

因此，如果一家初创公司在天使轮和来自优秀风险投资基金的 A 轮之间进行选择，我通常建议他们选择 A 轮。

[ 3

[ 3