Dan Primack
Covering deals and deal-makers for Fortune
Discussion
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Dan Primack
@danprimack · Dan Primack, Fortune
Hi -- I'm Dan Primack, a senior editor at Fortune and circus master of Term Sheet, our daily email newsletter that covers financial deals from the seed-stage through mega-mergers. Before this I did something similar at Reuters, where I created peHUB and the peHUB Wire. Happy to chat anything from unicorns to unicorpses, private equity to (my beloved) Patriots).
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Ari Applbaum
@ariapplbaum · Director of Marketing, AnyClip
Do you see PR people as helping you do your job, a nuisance, necessary evil?
What's the best way to pitch you? What are the finest pitches you have received?
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Dan Primack
@danprimack · Dan Primack, Fortune
@ariapplbaum All of the above? Yes, I need them (particularly ones who really know their subject, as opposed to simply regurgitating a press release). Yes, they can be a nuisance (particularly if they have my phone number, since I work at home and will often answer because I think it's not work-related... yeah, i need a separate line). Not evil, per se. But some -- particularly in Silicon Valley -- don't view my job quite the same way I view my job.
Best way to pitch is via DM, since I get fewer of those. I also like to hear pitches from box seats at Fenway or over dinners at Journeyman in Somerville (jk... well, sort of)
Benedict Leung
@benedictleung
@danprimack - Thanks for doing this! Great to get your quick thoughts on these:
1/ [European Dry Capital]: In 2015, VC dry capital overhang was around 3.5x-4.0x higher in Europe vis-a-vis the US. Great to get your thoughts on this, since across all geographies, VC fundraising has been quite aggressive, no?
2/ [Avoiding France]: Since 2013, a lot of distressed European real estate funds haven't touched France with a 30 foot pole. Any thoughts as to why this is the case?
3/ [First Time Funds] Are there any first-time VC funds that have just finished raising, (or in the process of raising), that you are overweight on? If so, why?
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Dan Primack
@danprimack · Dan Primack, Fortune
@benedictleung Multi-part question. Okay, here we go:
1. Makes sense to me that the European overhang is larger, because we haven't seen as many mega-rounds in Europe as we have in the U.S. or Asia. Moreover, U.S. firms seem to have an easier time playing opportunistically in Europe than Europe firms seem able to play opportunistically in the U.S.
2. Not a clue. Real estate falls outside my area of expertise (save for home prices in my zip code)
3. None in particular, since they don't yet have a track record. That said, in VC, first-time funds tend to outperform the market. Will be interesting to see if that persists when we see 3/5-year returns from the 2014/2015 vintage, given the unicorn phenomenon.
Nathan Guo
@nathan_yg · VC Intern at Lux Capital
@danprimack @benedictleung is 3. just a reflection of survivorship bias? or are VC funds that have failed to raise further funds included?
Chris
@coolbearcjs · CEO
Dan what are your feelings on Title III and letting anyone invest in startups like www.nvstor.co is doing?
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Dan Primack
@danprimack · Dan Primack, Fortune
@coolbearcjs My basic feeling, candidly, is that I've done a pretty lousy job researching and covering the entire crowdfunding market (save for breaking news on the original JOBS Act plans). My big concern remains fraud.
Josh B
@joshb2016
@danprimack thanks for taking the time to answer our questions.
With Twitters recent acquisition of Periscope, how would you feel if Twitter went into Live News? For example, partnerships with Media Publishers such as CNN, Vice, Vox, etc.
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Dan Primack
@danprimack · Dan Primack, Fortune
@joshb2016 I think it makes sense for Twitter, just as it made sense for Snapchat. For publishers, however, I continue to be wary of giving up the primary means of distribution. If media orgs get too tied into social media companies (Twitter, SC, FB, etc), they can eventually get extorted. The press is only free if you own the (now figurative) press.
Ryan Hoover
@rrhoover · Founder, Product Hunt
Welcome, Dan! If you could put all your money into one technology startup (public or not), which one would it be?
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Dan Primack
@danprimack · Dan Primack, Fortune
@rrhoover I don't invest... and certainly not all my money:)
Harry Stebbings
@harrystebbings · Podcast Host @ The Twenty Minute VC
@danprimack thanks so much for joining us today, I feel like I know you from all the VCs on @twentyminutevc saying you are their must read newsletter! I would love to hear which VC you, the king of the industry, most respect and admire and why? Are there any up and coming VCs that you have been impressed by? P.S Would love to have you on @twentyminutevc and share your story!
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Dan Primack
@danprimack · Dan Primack, Fortune
@harrystebbings I respect a lot of VCs -- even some who may be insufferable as human beings (although, in actuality, most of the folks I deal with seem quite down to earth). Some of my respect is simply for returns. Folks like Jim Goetz and Jim Breyer and John Doerr, who have just made a fortune for their LPs (which really is the job, and I care about the LPs more than the GPs). Others who have really tried to innovate in the industry. Folks like Josh Kopelman would fit that bill. Then there are the crazy smart ones. The famous nemeses Gurley and Andreessen, but also so many of the biotech and energy folks whose knowledge is so many Ph.D levels beyond mine.
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Dan Primack
@danprimack · Dan Primack, Fortune
@kydos_labs nothing official yet. but just got off the phone about something very, very similar.
Craig Hunter
@craighunter_ · General Manager, Ritual
@danprimack @craighunter_ For a start, the Series G price you posted on Twitter.
Alex Finkielsztein
@alfink92
Hey @danprimack thanks for doing this. Two questions for you: 1) what impact do you think GE's relocation to Boston will have on the local tech economy? 2) what's your predication for the Pats-Chiefs game?
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Dan Primack
@danprimack · Dan Primack, Fortune
@alfink92 Hey Alex. There is this school of thought -- led by Google Ventures' Rich Miner -- that the Boston tech ecosystem will be best-served by having large Silicon Valley companies (Google, FB, etc.) open satellite offices here, so that we'll have local engineers who will spin out to launch new companies. This isn't exactly equivalent -- since GE is mostly planning to house corporate execs in Boston instead of engineers -- but it could have a quasi-similar effect. At the very least, it's a huge boon to the tax base and helps solidify the Innovation District as something that won't become a ghost town if the Nasdaq drops another 20%.
Pats. Always Pats.