How to get super angel Jeff Clavier to invest

Top Silicon Valley investor in Mint, Ustream seeks to place 20 investments in 2010

Investor interview by Bambi Francisco Roizen
January 13, 2010 | Comments (3)
Short URL: http://vator.tv/n/d09

5

Despite the recession in 2009, Jeff Clavier, who was nominated a top angel investor at the Crunchies, invested in 21 companies. Suffice it to say, it was an active year, despite concerns it would be a nuclear winter.

"Entrepreneurship didn't stop, there were a lot of interesting opportunities popping up," Jeff said, in a recent interview about what types of investments he's looking to make in 2010. "Gradually through the year, things started picking up... the last quarter was extremely busy, I closed about eight investments."

Indeed, it was an active quarter for investments and liquidity events as M&A picked up in the final months of the year. To this end, Jeff, along with other investors, are excited about 2010 and the opportunities to invest. 

In this segment, Jeff talks about why 2010 looks like a promising year for investments, and what types of investments he's looking for. As he describes it, he's got "eclectic interests," but all in the consumer Internet space. He's big on gaming (having done 10 deals in gaming), payment, search and he also likes vertical services and communities, like Foodzie (which he invested in).

Typically, he invests in the seed stage, anywhere between $100,000 to $500,000 in a $1 million to $1.5 million round. What areas does he think are saturated? He says there are a lot of "me-too features on top of Facebook and Twitter" being built. "Twitter photo and Twitter video... it's difficult to differentiate from others he says. 

Jeff estimates that he'll make about 20 investments in 2010.

All told, Jeff has invested in 70 companies, such as Mint, Ustream, Rapleaf, Dogster, BrightRoll, and many more. He's had $300 million in exits, the bulk of which comes from Mint's sale to Intuit for $170 million last year.

 

Related companies, investors and entrepreneurs

Bio: Based in Palo Alto, California, Jean-Francois “Jeff” Clavier is the Founder and Managing Partner of SoftTech VC, one of ...

Related news


Comments

Kameko Oliver
Kameko Oliver, on January 13, 2010

Insightful interview! Hopefully we can be one of your investments in the near future. http://vator.tv/company/social-entertainment-shopping


Rick Falls
Rick Falls, on January 14, 2010

Hi Bambi,

This was very helpful.

Jeff seems like a heck of a nice guy and to actually hear
what he looks for was inspiring and extremely useful.

I know now that I'm really onto something because I have
"people" (starting with me and my passion for GREAT ideas)
and I definitely have "market" and i am in NO WAY "Me Too",
and I'm early in a game that is going to be huge.

My timing is perfect and I'm gaining spectacular positioning
and presence in my genre.

I could use a little "build it out of the box" (I love that) "help" to
coincide with my company and the multiple applications for
additional profits within my concept, which are really solid by the way.

Thanks a lot Bambi !

Take care,

Rick Falls


Bambi Francisco Roizen
Bambi Francisco Roizen, on January 14, 2010

Hi, Rick: Glad you enjoyed the interview. Looking forward to learning more about your company.


Jeremy Campbell
Jeremy Campbell, on January 15, 2010

Awesome interview with Jeff, he had lots of valuable things to say, no wonder he got a Crunchie and is a hot investor in Silicon Valley. UStream was a great investment of his, they are building a solid brand in the live online video space.

I agree that there are many many many me too companies in the online video space. That's expected because it's perhaps the most hyped space on the Internet right now, and with good reason because there is lots of potential going forward. I think some of the entrepreneurs in this space are chasing a trend and hot market, and not trying to be innovative like they should be.


blog comments powered by Disqus
Find your friends' startup new!
Vator is more valuable if you know who's here.
Discover who has a startup and help their success by following their progress!

Featured Stories

Latest company news bites on Vator

Cognitive Code Corporation - Mimi Chen (Co-Founder and President)
Crowdfunding is cool - pre-order SILVIA for your Android here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cogcode/silvia-for-android
See more
BuildingLayer - Nick Such (Co-founder and CEO)
BuildingLayer co-founder and Chief Scientist, John Kiffmeyer, is a Featured Engineer this week on EEWeb http://www.eeweb.com/spotlight/interview-with-john-p.-kiffmeyer
See more
AllowanceTree CEO named Today's Entrepreneur by Vator: http://vator.tv/news/2012-05-25-todays-entrepreneur-arnie-benn
See more
Cognitive Code Corporation - Mimi Chen (Co-Founder and President)