The State of US Tech Funding

U.S. Technology Funding — What’s Going On? from a16z

I also agree strongly with Slide 39, that more smaller rounds are happening

With the companies I advise, I have seen more of them raising a higher quantity of rounds at the so called “seed” stage.  The synonyms and nomenclature behind these rounds are also changing.  What was before a seed round is now a friends and family round.  Some even call these activities genesys rounds, or pre-seed deals.  Whatever the language, they are happening more frequently at smaller amounts – to my knowledge.

I also agree that while creating and scaling a software business is getting cheaper, reaching a larger online market is a growing challenge.  There are more SaaS tools and mobile marketing programs to use to “make it easier” but these end up adding to the burn of these Companies.  I jokingly referred to this trend as a re-distribution of funding via expensed $20, $50, and $100+ monthly SaaS plans happening between each company (no, thats not really happening but it is on a very small scale).

Great presentation to dive into to get a nice comparison between now and then, and to form your own opinion.