2019 in numbers - my second year as a VC

Last year I posted an article about my first year as a VC, in numbers. Since >300 people liked it, here is an update for 2019.  

I invested at a relatively fast pace in late 2017 and 2018. This year was more focused on helping my initial investments grow and raise subsequent rounds, in some cases very successfully.

• I did two new investments in 2019. In the summer I invested in Inkitt, the story-telling app, mostly because of the incredible Ali Albazaz. I just closed one new investment in December I can’t disclose just yet. I feel there would have been space for one more deal – let’s see about early 2020.
• There were a number of follow-on rounds in my portfolio. In Q2 HV led internal rounds in Scoutbee (Series A) and Freachly. In Q4 Upvest raised a Series A, with Notion and Partech joining. One of the companies I work with closed an exceptional Series B in December, which will be announced in 2020. HV also helped companies bridge a number of tight spots with convertibles.
• Maybe as a consequence of the above, I worked on less opportunities in 2019 (ca. 210 vs. 274 - I still need to finish updating our Salesforce to get the exact number). The ratio of founders I meet (or speak to) vs. incoming deals stayed remarkably flat vs. 2018, at ca. 35%.
• My opportunity to investment ratio dropped considerably, from 1.45% in 2018 to 0.95%. No idea if this is good or bad, time will tell how many opportunities I missed.
• One metric we track at HV is the time to decline deals, to be respectful with founder’s time. My average time to decline deals worsened slightly, from 18 days (in 2018) to 20 days (in 2019). This is despite last year’s resolution to be faster. I am below average among my colleagues, which annoys me.
• The two new deals I did took 83 and 32 days, between first contact and closing. No averages for n=2. This year both new deals came via our network. Angels, or founders who have been in contact with HV for some time.
• I feel the startup/VC market in Berlin is increasingly polarising. There are extremely hot deals which become competitive. Valuations and round sizes go up fast. On the other hand, many good companies struggle to raise follow-on funding. Fundraising is always hard, even in “bubbly” times.
• Last year I took 72 flights and was on the road 102 days. This year I flew less (60 flights) and was on the road less (75 days). My travel patterns also changed. Less day trips to our HQ in Munich, more time in e.g. London, Helsinki, Vienna. I am still anxiously awaiting an early fast train Berlin-Munich, to cut out more flights. Maybe in 2020. Still, we need to be thankful to our family and friends for putting up with us and our jobs.
• One thing I’ve done more is build our HV media channels through content. Linkedin reach grew (organically) 4x to over 6.000 followers, our newsletter subscribers have tripled (Thanks Said!) and we just got started on Twitter (no Instagram). With a general decline of earned media, you need to own it.

So, what’s happening in 2020? The funding environment will change. I don’t believe we’ll see a startup winter. But, to quote one of my colleagues, VCs are going from a “Fear Of Missing Out” to a “Fear Of Looking Stupid”. Stupid could mean one of two things: 1) overpaying or 2) missing out on a few key deals. I would expect more mega-rounds, but also more situations with down rounds, cap table restructurings and extensions. Still, for founders building great companies, things will always work out.

I hope you enjoy a few days off, here’s to 2020!