Dave McClure’s 500 Startups last week became one of very few venture capital firms to begin generally soliciting capital for a new fund, based on rules established via the 2012 JOBS Act. The plan is to raise up to $100 million, which would be used to back seed-stage companies around the globe (despite its name, 500 Startups already has invested in around 800 companies).
McClure also hosted his second-annual PreMoney Conference in San Francisco last week, which mostly consisted of him firing questions at venture capitalists and institutional investors. But he also allowed the tables to be turned a bit, with me doing the asking. Below is our conversation, which touched on everything from the so-called accelerator bubble to YCombinator envy to if groups like 500 Startups should return equity to startups if the founders are dissatisfied with the ‘value-add.’ Don’t worry, the frenetic pace over the first few minutes settles down a bit…
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