One day, things in the tech startup world are ticking along nicely. The next, investor Bill Gurley is calling private valuations “fake,” billion-dollar companies are losing their sheen, and venture capitalists are allegedly getting cursed out for passing on startups.
For those us based in the Bay Area, it’s hard to know what in the world is going on. You can probably imagine how confused many Europeans must be by our machinations.
It’s precisely why we’re very happy to announce that three top West Coast VCs — David Hornik, a longtime general partner at August Capital; Thomas Korte, the cofounder of Angelpad; and SoftTech VC venture partner Andy McLoughlin — will be joining TechCrunch at our upcoming Disrupt London conference.
Is Theranos being treated fairly? We’ll discuss it. Should Americans be buying IPO shares on the day of their debut? We’ll cover that, too. How much longer will the tech IPO window be shut, and what options do some late-stage startup teams have left? Those are also on our list of questions, all of which are designed to make better sense of today’s market.
Certainly, we couldn’t ask for better company to talk about the current environment. David Hornik, a Harvard lecturer, the founder and executive producer of the exclusive conference The Lobby, and a former litigator, has backed dozens of companies since joining August Capital in 2000. Hornik knows bubbles.
Thomas Korte, who spent eight years at Google before creating AngelPad with wife Carine Magescas, also has plenty of insights to share, having created one of the most highly effective accelerator programs in the U.S. (Graduates include Postmates, most recently valued at $500 million, and MoPub, acquired by Twitter in 2013 for a tidy sum.)
Meanwhile, Andy McLoughlin, who joined SoftTech VC earlier this year but is widely known as the cofounder of the venture-backed, team-collaboration software company Huddle, can share his perspective as an investor in today’s tumultuous market — and as a founder. (Did we mention he’ll be collecting an award from Queen Elizabeth the same week?)
We’re exceedingly happy to welcome each to Disrupt London, held at the Copper Box Arena in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park December 7th and 8th.
We hope to see you there, too.