Venture capital, startups, and tech industry trends by Turner Novak
Turner Novak: Family office approaches portfolio with 100-year perspective
Turner Novak said he met with a family office that takes a 100-year view in managing its portfolio. Novak described this as an example of what he called truly playing the long ...
Growth rounds now seen as more rational than seed rounds, Turner Novak notes
Turner Novak described a shift in market sentiment regarding funding rounds compared to 2021. According to Novak, seed rounds were previously considered rational while growth rounds and public ...
Turner Novak: Mega funds closing new rounds exceed first-time fundraising
Turner Novak points to a key trend in venture funding, highlighting that several large funds are currently raising or closing single rounds that surpass in size all the first-time fundraising ...
Anthropic tops list of in-demand secondary shares in Q3 2026, Turner Novak notes
Turner Novak highlights that Anthropic remains the most in-demand startup for secondary share trading in the third quarter of 2026, with OpenAI following closely in second place. Novak adds that ...
Turner Novak: Ring founder explained $1 million TV ad bet amid limited cash
Turner Novak shared an account of a conversation with Jamie Siminoff, the founder of Ring, who explained his decision to spend $1 million on television ads when the company had just $1 million in ...
Ring grows to $5B in revenue under Amazon, Turner Novak notes
Turner Novak highlights the growth of Ring, describing it as one of the most underrated consumer hardware products. Novak notes that Ring, which began as an invention in a garage, has reached ...
Turner Novak: Tim Cook anticipated major free cash flow after hardware focus
Turner Novak suggests that Tim Cook saw the potential for hundreds of billions in annual free cash flow following the company's successful hardware business and decided to step away. The comment ...
VCs promise to get in at $50 billion after missing first rounds, Turner Novak notes
Turner Novak comments on venture capitalists approaching limited partners about entering Instinct at a $50 billion valuation after missing the first four funding rounds due to summer vacations. ...
Turner Novak: LPs use fly brain to run venture capital fund with top decile returns
Turner Novak reports that limited partners are experimenting with training a fly brain to manage a venture capital fund. Early indications show that the fund is already achieving returns in the ...
FlexSuperApp launches global stablecoin for business accounts, Turner Novak notes
Turner Novak highlights that the average business owner prefers a single bank account to manage their finances. He notes that FlexSuperApp has introduced a new stablecoin, aiming to simplify ...
Turner Novak: Six investments made in three weeks using Instinct
Turner Novak reports a shift in his investment strategy after switching to Instinct three weeks ago. He states that he has completed six new investments during this period, with two occurring ...
Startup seeks $100 million using flag slides, Turner Novak notes
Turner Novak describes receiving a presentation consisting solely of ten slides featuring American flags. He goes on to state that the presenting team intends to raise $100 million by the end of ...
Turner Novak: New VCs advised to start with smaller funds
Turner Novak shares advice on fundraising for new venture capitalists, suggesting that starting with a smaller fund, such as $3 million or $5 million, is a better approach. Novak points out that ...
Electric sells $50 million ARR business to focus on AI, Turner Novak notes
Turner Novak shared an analysis of how Ryan and Electric decided to sell a $50 million ARR business in order to fully commit to artificial intelligence initiatives. The post highlights a ...
Turner Novak: Brex revenue scaled to $300 million with key early decisions
Turner Novak discusses a new episode of The Peel Podcast featuring an early employee at Brex. The conversation covers joining Brex in its early days, nearly leaving just before the official ...
Businesses spend $600 billion each year on accounting, Turner Novak notes
Turner Novak states that businesses spend $600 billion per year on accounting and tax. He suggests that in a verifiable market, the focus should be on outcomes, with payment contingent on the ...
Turner Novak: Meek Mill raised $100M from a16z and disappeared
Turner Novak questions what happened to Meek Mill, noting that he raised $100 million from a16z and then disappeared. The comment points to the abrupt rise and subsequent lack of visibility of ...
$1B+ inception rounds and AI market overcapitalization are discussed, Turner Novak notes
Turner Novak highlights a new podcast episode featuring Navin Chaddha, who leads Mayfield, a venture firm with a 56-year track record. According to Turner Novak, Mayfield is making a $3 billion ...
Turner Novak: Large funding rounds do not guarantee high revenue
Turner Novak observes that when a company announces a $100 million or larger funding round, it can be difficult to determine whether the business is already generating 9-figure revenue or if it ...
Startup allocates $250k for pet axolotls out of $6.5m round, Turner Novak notes
Turner Novak highlights an incident involving a recent YC startup that spent $250,000 on pet axolotls for its office. Novak, surprised by the expenditure, learned that the company had raised $6.5 ...
Turner Novak: Banana Capital gains $122 million pipeline from insights
Turner Novak shares an anecdote about meeting a founder who praised Banana Capital and The Peel Podcast for driving significant business outcomes. According to the founder, they successfully ...
