Independent rating of New Enterprise Associates VC fund
Overall rating:
5.0
(22)
Recommend to another founder: 100%
About New Enterprise Associates VC fund
Website:
Founded:
1977
Number of funds:
13
Number of investments:
1986
Number of exits:
541
Headquarters:
Organization type:
Venture Capital
How New Enterprise Associates VC fund invests
Rounds:
Average ticket size:
37.6M USD
Biggest investment:
214M USD
Would lead round:
Yes
Would coinvest:
Yes
Countries where invested:
Sectors of interest:
Health Care, Biotechnology, Health Insurance, Developer Platform, Wearables, Training, Therapeutics, Software, Psychology, Open Source, Neuroscience, Internet, Interior Design, Information Technology, Home Renovation, Genetics, Developer Tools, Developer APIs, Data Integration, Consumer Electronics, Construction, Artificial Intelligence, Architecture
Founders' reviews of New Enterprise Associates VC fund
Recommend to another founder 100%
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Jon Sakoda is a Good Guy
Pitched Jon Sakoda on a seed investment. He understood the pitch and made a quick decision.
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Good Experience Pitching to Paul Hsiao
Went to NEA offices to do the proverbial monkey dance. Their offices can be a little hard to find since they are in somewhat of a sprawling office park - suggest you go early just in case you get lost.
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Be Careful...Nea's Bala Balachandran Cannot Be Trusted
In our dealings with Bala Balachandran we found that she was not credible or transparent in her dealings and seemed to be mining us for data...........
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Great Experience with Helpful Comments
Met with Sujay (who woefully isn't listed in the Team Members!) and we sat down for a little over an hour. He was friendly, interested, and an absolute breeze to talk with.
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Met with Patrick Chung
Went through a warm introduction to Patrick Chung, great to speak to him and he stopped me beforehand to tell me he may have a potential conflict in his current portfolio.
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Very Helpful in Growing Company
We have been continuously impressed with NEA and the individual partners we are working with.
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Consistently Good Guy
I have had only good experiences with Pete. I have worked with him once.
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Weak
Four weeks after our third meeting with them, which four partners attended, they announced an investment in a competitor. Maybe they were in the final decision making process and truly considering us, but seems very unlikely that they turned around a term sheet, closed and got a press release out in four weeks with the other guys. So they probably already had the term sheet out when they met with me and drilled me on my business and deal pipeline. One of the partners who sat through my presentation appeared on the board of the competitive company they funded. Great stuff.
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Be Very Careful: Especially of Scott Sandell
We pitched a Series B deal to them a few years ago. Scott Sandell was the partner who spent a lot of time with us. They took our positioning plank and re-positioned one of their messed up recapitalized portfolio companies and positioned it identically in a week - with a lot of our content. Easy to look back today and say we told them too much (we probably did) but this was extremely blatant. Watch what you say - especially to Scott.
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Paul Hsiao
Paul Hsiao is a partner at NEA. When we met with him, he was relaxed, personable, and completely attentive. He's extremely smart but, you know, humble... like no ego, no arrogance.
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Professional
Got introduced to NEA through a referral. Got a quick response and sent them a company overview. They reviewed quickly and thought we might be too close to one of their portfolio companies. That's all I could ask for and it looks like others in this forum have had similar interactions.
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Re: Pete Sonsini
We pitched a Series B oportunity last year to Pete Sonsini. All I can say is that he is not the brightest tool in the shed. Obviously, the family name had a lot to do with him landing a job at the firm. Based on my interactions with him that is the only logical explanation I can support. He didn't understand our business proposition and didn't ask a relevant question that made any sense.
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Md Office: Harry Weller: Very Positive Experience
Got introduced to Harry through one of NEA's port. company CEOs. He got our business right away, asked very insightful questions and, even though we weren't a fit for them, he made some great intros for me at other funds. He also gave a very compelling pitch about why we should do business with NEA. Not only was this very refreshing, as many other VCs seem to think they don't need to sell you, or they wait until they have term sheet competitors to do so, whereas Harry did it in our first meeting. Additionally, it was apparent that he really believed in the NEA story and model, and he backed his claims up with data. Overall, I was very impressed.
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Kittu Not as Bad as Made Out to Be
Kittu has more of a real world perspective having recently come from the "real world" of managing a company. Also, he has a somewhat ironic sense of humor that may not jibe with all.
As such he may not be for a less confident entrepeneur at a seed level or series A, but is definitely a worthwile addition to a more substantiated company.
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Peter Barris
Peter is one of the finest venture investors in the industry. He brings a wealth of experience and intellect to every situation and he has a great deal of patience as well! I have had a chance to work with him for many years in more than one startup and have never felt that he is too busy to help or that any problem is too insignificant for him to guide me on.
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Patrick
Seems like the fund has a good rep - that's the word on the street from ppl I know in the valley - but the particular partner you work with is important too.
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Kittu's a Solid Citizen
There's a post in this thread that's pretty negative on Kittu... I disagree.
I found Kittu to be professional, bright and courteous. He didn't ultimately fund our company, but he was quick to engage, detailed and direct. No BS here and a smart guy to boot. I've seen many arrogant, not so smart VCs and Kittu does NOT fit that mold. He's a straight up guy. I also felt good about our interactions with others at NEA. All that said, he made a mistake by passing on our deal ;-)
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Excellent Experience
I've pitched to them ideas that they have not funded and ideas that they have funded. Regardless of the outcome - I always got great feedback and was treated with respect and honesty. Peter Barris is truly exceptional - one of the few managing partners with a strong operating track record.
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Nea is Extremely Professional
NEA is extremely professional from the top down; they take smart risks and walk the talk; they add significant value because of their breadth and contacts
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Tivo Founder Now on Board
NEA in Menlo just brought in the Tivo big dog as a venture partner. They have operators and are very up-front.
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Be Careful Who You Work With
A great firm with a great brand. Lots of good people there, but make sure you talk to the right person.