Is it time to rethink the healthcare marketplace model?
It’s been a year since we published our series on digital healthcare which I co-wrote with Jonathan Libov of Union Square Ventures. The reception was overwhelmingly positive (we’re thankful to all of you who gave us feedback) and opened up the floodgates to patients, medical professionals, entrepreneurs, and investors who still reach out to us with their pains, […]
Unlocking new value: adding the sixth factor in our marketplace criteria
We are often asked what we look for when evaluating marketplaces. Typically, we list out five main factors: High fragmentation: a lot of suppliers and buyers A “playing the field” relationship between buyer and seller, as opposed to monogamy where the seller doesn’t have any need to visit the marketplace after the first time High […]
Raising Capital for Marketplaces in 2016
A question we’re often asked during conversations with early-stage entrepreneurs is “What do investors look for when considering a Seed or Series A startup?” At some point, this question might be followed by “What does it take to get to Series B?” The expected trajectory takes a startup from Seed to Series A, Series A […]
Announcing our newest investment, Trim: A money-saving robot for the 99%
Last week, in our blog post “Is Social Dead?”, we wrote about the excitement surrounding messaging as a platform/conversational commerce. But, we also cautioned that messaging isn’t always the optimal way to get things done. One of the big unknowns is if the command line (or chat bubble) of a chat app is going to offer […]
Is social dead?
At Version One, we’ve centered our investment thesis around companies that leverage network effects. We have talked at great lengths about them in marketplaces and in artificial intelligence and machine learning startups. Social platforms can have incredibly strong network effects, but we’ve been relatively quiet on the subject. And, we’re not alone. It seems like a long […]