Listen to this articleLos Angeles-based Skyview Capital Ventures is the early stage investing arm of Skyview Capital. With years of industry experience in growth investment and acquisitions the company can offer a true partnership with the emerging startups primarily focusing on the US West Coast. Below is our interview with Matt Thompson, Senior Vice President of Skyview Capital Ventures:
Q: Matt, tell us something more about Skyview Capital Ventures?
A: Skyview Capital Ventures is the early stage investing arm of Skyview Capital. Skyview Capital Ventures is based in Los Angeles and targets industries where we have relevant expertise. We are focused on investments in the West Coast. Alex Soltani is the founder and Chairman of Skyview Capital. More information can be found at here.
Q: What can you do for startups?
A: Skyview Capital Ventures partners with entrepreneurs building disruptive business models. We provide both capital and operational scaling assistance. This includes introductions to our network of strategic partners, additional equity and debt providers, and other business advisors. We are very active in the Los Angeles startup ecosystem, having participated in startup events at Caltech, Pomona College, USC, UCLA this quarter.
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Q: How does Skyview Capital Ventures differ from other venture firms?
A: We have a bench of operators who can assist with legal, supply chain, sales, business development, and corporate finance advice. We also are able to invest across the capital structure throughout a startup’s life cycle. We are also able to evaluate and invest in deals very quickly using in-house resources.
Q: What are Skyview’s investment criteria and what target areas are the most interest to you?
A: We are primarily interested in companies that show some early customer and revenue traction in the sectors of technology, telecom, software, digital media, and biotechnology. We have had successful exits in cloud-based enterprise software, autonomous vehicles, EdTech, and mobile messaging, so we have industry knowledge and contacts that can be leveraged with our portfolio companies. Some key items that we look for include a large addressable market, a strong founding team, defensible intellectual property, interesting technology, and an ability for Skyview to provide an operational value-add. We currently see a lot of interesting businesses in the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and cloud-based services.
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Q: At what stage does Skyview invest?
A: Skyview Capital Ventures primarily invests in Seed through C-rounds.
Q: Do you have any particular advice for startups planning to raise capital?
A: Companies raising venture capital should start early and be realistic on valuation. Startups should also take slightly more than they think they need today to provide some additional cushion if the business plan changes. They should also be more focused today on a path to profitability. Entrepreneurs should also consider the value that their investors bring to the table in addition to the cash. We also recommend that startups look for additional non-dilutive sources of initial funding including government research grants, crowd-funding, and venture debt.
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