Connie Loizos
The Latest from Connie Loizos
Meet Smash Ventures, the low-flying outfit that has quietly funded Epic Games among others
When in 2018, Smash Ventures showed up as an investor in a $1.25 billion round for Epic Games — reportedly the largest ever investment in a video game company at the time — it was the firs
Eat this, exercise now; new personalized software predicts and helps prevent blood sugar spikes
Not everyone has Type 2 diabetes, the disease that causes chronically high blood sugar levels, but many do. Around 9% of Americans are afflicted, and another 30% are at risk of developing it. Enter so
As the SPAC frenzy continues, questions arise about how much the market can absorb
Another week and the biggest story in a sea of big stories continues to center on SPACs, these special purpose acquisition companies that raise capital through IPOs expressly to acquire a privately he
Boldstart Ventures gets bigger thanks to Kustomer and other early bets on technical founders
Boldstart Ventures, a New York-based firm that started with a $1 million proof-of-concept fund in 2010, has just closed on $155 million in capital commitments for its fifth flagship fund and $75 milli
Onboard says it can help SaaS companies bring their new customers up to speed faster and better
While companies have embraced the offerings of software-as-a-service companies with growing vigor, getting those new offerings to work in a seamless way from the outset isn’t so easy, with some
01 Advisors, the venture firm of Dick Costolo and Adam Bain, has closed fund two with $325 million
Dick Costolo and Adam Bain, renowned early Twitter execs who served as the company’s CEO and its chief operating officer, respectively, have quietly closed a second venture fund just one-and-a-h
Tony Florence, the head of NEA’s tech practice, on building breakthrough brands
Tony Florence isn’t as well known to the public as other top investors like Bill Gurley or Marc Andreessen, but he’s someone who founders with SaaS and especially marketplace e-commerce co
Newly funded Maisonette is becoming a go-to brand for fashion-conscious families; here’s how
Maisonette, a four-year-old, New York-based company, has aimed from the outset to become a one-stop curated shop for everything a family might need for their young children. That plan appears to be wo
Investor Alexa von Tobel on the biggest driver of social media-fueled stock trading
Alexa von Tobel has always felt strongly that too many people are shut out of the stock market. She felt this as a 23-year-old who didn’t have $5,000 to open a brokerage account. She felt it whi
A former NEA partner and a former Uber exec just closed their $140 million debut VC fund
Dayna Grayson and Rachel Holt seemingly didn’t have the best timing. It was late in 2019 when the two, who met six years ago in Washington through a mutual acquaintance, decided to act on earlie
Two new efforts could widen the pool of people investing directly in venture funds
Venture funds have historically counted on several types of limited partners — or LPs — for their own investing capital. One of these groups is institutional investors — think pensio
This insurtech alleges its venture backer founded and funded a copycat: a founder’s ‘nightmare’
Relationships can be messy, including between startup founders and their venture investors. But in a case that takes messy to an extreme, an insurtech company in Santa Monica, California called Sure i
Could eyelash extensions become a huge market? This robotics startup thinks so
Eyelash extensions have taken off in recent years — particularly in Asia — but the audience is only so broad. Getting extensions — semi-permanent fibers that are attached to one̵
Kindred Ventures just closed its second fund with $100 million in capital commitments
Two years after launching its $56 million debut fund, Kindred Ventures, a San Francisco-based pre-seed and seed-stage venture fund founded by Steve Jang and Kanyi Maqubela, has closed its second fund
The biggest exit for this L.A. venture firm may wind up being . . . canned water
Earlier this week, Science Inc, the 10-year-old, L.A.-based incubator and venture firm, rolled out a blank-check company onto the Nasdaq, raising $310.5 million for what firm founders Peter Pham and M
Report: WeWork could be getting SPAC’d soon, too
According to a new report in the WSJ, WeWork, the co-working juggernaut that saw its attempt at a public offering blow up in spectacular fashion in the fall of 2019, might become a publicly traded com
GGV Capital just announced $2.52 billion across new funds for ‘entrepreneurs around the world’
GGV Capital, the now 20-year-old venture firm that has long invested primarily in the U.S. and China, just closed on a whopping $2.52 billion in fresh capital commitments across four new funds, it ann
Joanne Chen just became the first woman GP at Foundation Capital since founder Kathryn Gould
Joanne Chen just became the second female general partner in the history of the now 26-year-old, Silicon Valley venture firm, Foundation Capital. Were she still alive, Foundation’s founder, Kath
A look at the soaring valuations of Rivian and Cruise with transportation VC Reilly Brennan
Perhaps more than most, Reilly Brennan loves cars and trucks. The native Michigander happily did grunt work for an automotive magazine as an undergrad at the University of Michigan before landing a gi
Could giant SPACs be next?
While many deemed 2020 the year of SPAC, short for special purpose acquisition company, 2021 may well make last year look quaint in comparison. It’s probably not premature to be asking: is there