# of active Corporate VCs hits high in Q1 (new report)

Silicon Valley VC deal sizes dwarf NY. Spark Capital-backed Timehop's ascent in the App Store ranks.

Angel investors & our "name-your-price" debacle

Hi there,

In our early days, we used to have angel investors reach out to and say things like:

"Love your product and data. Just wish your pricing worked for angel investors."

And we'd reply

"How much are you willing to pay?"

They'd throw out a number and as long as it wasn't insanely low, we'd send them a payment link within a day for the exact amount they said they'd pay.

Guess how many converted?

ZERO.

Out of 23 times we've done this, nada.

We remain hopeful that we'll find an angel investor who will buck the trend as we've seen data make the process of investment less art and more science.

If you're an angel investor and have some thoughts, I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks,
Anand
@asanwal

Visualizing Union Square Ventures' syndicate

This week, Sift Science raised an $18M Series B led by Spark Capital which their amigos at Union Square Ventures had previously invested in. And based on an analysis of USV's Business Social Graph, it's clear the two are officially syndicate BFFs.

VCs warm up to 3D printing

After a dismal 2012, VC deals to 3D printing companies grew nearly 88% in the last 12 months. Crowdfunding a la Kickstarter has also has become a popular source of funding for 3D printing startups.

Spark Capital-backed Timehop quickly climbs in the App Store

Today is #TBT, have you checked Timehop? The time capsule app is jumping in the App Store getting to as high as the top 40 in the overall U.S. ranking in May. See Timehop's notable rise.

CB Insider Posts

The following research is only available to paid subscribers with CB Insider access:

VC deal sizes in Silicon Valley dwarf New York

Over the past four quarters, Silicon Valley technology startups have raised over 55% more money per round on average than NY companies. Are NY investors more risk-averse than their Silicon Valley peers or are NY companies just better run and require less capital? See the data.

More corporate VCs, bigger checks

Q1 2014 marked a blowout quarter for funding activity with corporate venture participation, as funding hit $3.01B across 129 deals. See all the highlights from the full Q1 2014 Corporate Venture Capital Activity Report.

The Chart of the Day

Every day, we share a chart or visualization on Twitter. Here's a few of the most popular from the last week:

Insights on Startups

Interesting articles by or about startups and starting up.

The choices we make when we build startups. Buffer's Joel Gascoigne looks back at some of the key choices which have made a huge difference in how his business looks today.

When you hit your big f*king goal. Spark's Nabeel Hyatt on the excitement of hitting an ambitious goal as a startup.(see related Timehop post above)

Understanding SaaS. A16Z's Scott Kupor and Preethi Kasireddy drop some knowledge on SaaS.

Where's the money in the Internet of Things? Lux Capital's Shahin Farshchi gives his observations on the Internet of Things startup landscape.