Our Blog

Clockwork Perspectives

Clockwork Perspectives

Diligence Series: Exploring Exits

For better or for worse, contemplating exit opportunities starts to widen one’s eyes. Big ticket hallmark exits making front pages of media publications are part of the foundational allure that made the venture capital industry what it is today. This post of the Diligence Series takes a look at evaluating exit opportunities from a more grounded perspective. Let’s dive in.

Clockwork Perspectives

Diligence Series: Breaking Apart the Business Model

We’re back again with another installment of the Diligence Series. Today we’re here to talk about the Business Model. Let’s have a little fun and look at a car as a metaphor for a moment. If the Value Proposition is the destination, the team is the Driver, and the Market Context is the combination of the weather, traffic, and terrain, the Business Model is most certainly the engine and motive components.

Clockwork Perspectives

Do Private Markets Earn Their Keep? Part I: Buyout Funds

Time to answer the debate once and for all: are private equity markets worth it? Also, which private markets should I invest in? Also, is paying a premium for top-tier managers worth it? Also, what are the primary drivers of return? Also, what about buyout vs. growth equity vs. VC? Wait, what is the debate again?

Clockwork Perspectives

An Engineer’s Introduction to Private Investing

As a recently graduated mechanical engineer, with limited background in private investments, working at Clockwork for the past few months has been an enlightening experience.

Clockwork Perspectives

Diligence Series: Contextualizing the Market

If you’ve followed us this far along on our Diligence Series, by now you have a basic sense of what a company is building, and who’s behind it.

Clockwork Perspectives

Venture Backed in Latin America: A Booming Ecosystem

As the Venture Capital (VC) ecosystem continues to experience strong growth globally, even despite the pandemic, it is important to call attention to a new promising player, LatAm.

Clockwork Perspectives

Preferred Equity: An Overview

As a follow up to our most recent instrument publication on common equity, this piece is meant to provide a brief overview of preferred equity, specifically as it pertains to and is commonly used in early-stage financing.

Clockwork Perspectives

Diligence Series: Meeting the Team

If you’ve gathered a solid understanding of what exactly a particular business venture seeks to accomplish, the next questions that probably need addressing are “who’s building it?” and “who’s behind it?” Here, we embark on a journey to examine the legitimacy of the leaders seeking to bring their vision to fruition.

Clockwork Perspectives

The New Startup Cities

While traditional hubs such as the Bay Area and New York City continue to be popular choices for launching new companies, numerous other US cities can boast of vibrant entrepreneurial communities.

Clockwork Perspectives

Diligence Series: Weighing the Value Proposition

The first due diligence questions you will likely ask about any business are “what is it?”, “what does it do?”, “why does it exist?”, and, maybe, “who cares?” And it’s not difficult to see why.

Clockwork Perspectives

What a recession would mean to startups

Unfortunately, we are currently experiencing a global economic recession. COVID-19 has taken a huge toll on businesses and economics around the world and most countries are struggling with rising unemployment, business bankruptcy and a significant reduction in aggregate demand.

Clockwork Perspectives

Introducing the Diligence Series: Applying a Simple Framework

When analyzing a new private investment opportunity, you may ask yourself “where do I begin?” While gut feeling, personal interests, pre-existing relationships, and capital availability are all important factors, it is best practice to honor a standard, objective approach to your assessment framework which adds clarity to the benefits, risks, and red flags of any opportunity crossing your plate. This article marks the beginning of a multi-post series on due diligence.

Clockwork Perspectives

Common Equity: An Overview

Unlike many of the more complicated transaction types often associated with private investments, common equity is about as straightforward as it gets. The very same type of instrument as the public stocks you trade (probably far too frequently) in your brokerage account, at its most fundamental level common equity simply represents ownership of a company.

Clockwork Perspectives

Decentralized Finance: New Paradigms on How We Business

You might feel like if you’re just hearing about the surge of crypto industry that you are late to the party. Perhaps you’re right on time, we may just be getting started.

Clockwork Perspectives

Should you join an accelerator? 3 Big Questions to Ask

The decision to join an accelerator can be a difficult one, especially for first-time founders who are new to the startup world.

Clockwork Perspectives

Convertible Notes: An Overview

Convertible notes are the investor-friendly version of SAFEs, with the addition of features designed to enhance investor interests like maturity dates and interest rates.

Clockwork Perspectives

Greasing the Sales Engine with Metrics

Broadly speaking, when it comes to tracking sales or business development related metrics it makes sense to break it down into two summary groups, 1) activities and 2) results.

Clockwork Perspectives

Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE): An Overview

Simple Agreements for Future Equity (SAFEs) are one of the simplest and most common forms of fundraising employed by early-stage founders.

Clockwork Perspectives

The Flippening: Founders vs Funds as Lead Investors

Is the age of institutional venture capital dwindling away? There might be a case to make as access to private capital expands across the fat tail of the private investment market among family offices and angels.

Clockwork Perspectives

Key Performance Indicators: What Are They And Why Do They Matter?

Across nearly every vertical of the investment industry investors and funds focus on a few key performance and return-oriented metrics, such as IRR and MOIC, to gauge the success of their work. But while these metrics are useful to investors, they provide little meaning to portfolio company founders.

Clockwork Perspectives

Performance Metrics: How Are Your Investors Judging You?

Established or nascent, public or private, a fundamental truism to businesses is that they require capital (in some form) to grow. Especially in the early stages of a company’s lifecycle, choosing...

Clockwork Perspectives

The Building Blocks Of Successful Investor Reporting

When sitting down to build your next investor update, consider beginning by identifying the thematic areas you plan to address with your audience. Distilling your update into smaller, topic-based segments will make for a more approachable letter with a narrative that sticks. Ideally the structure stays consistent over time.

Clockwork Perspectives

Striking The Balance: Investor Communications DOs And DON’Ts

As a founder, it is important to think about your investor relations strategy holistically. Take a step back from the individual updates, and consider how you can maximize both your effectiveness as a communicator and the value-add to your business over time. Before setting out to write your next investor letter, pause to consider some key opportu

Clockwork Perspectives

An Honest Approach To Investor Relations

Established or nascent, public or private, a fundamental truism to businesses is that they require capital (in some form) to grow. Especially in the early stages of a company’s lifecycle, choosing...

Clockwork Investor Series

Short and sweet profiles on a unique cast of global private market investors. Interested in a profile? Reach out at investorseries@clockwork.app.