Writing
Choose
Four Futures
Rebecca Kaden – Dec 18, 2024
We are in a moment where the future is both wildly exciting and highly uncertain. The acceleration of AI has created a new paradigm of possibilities but also fundamental questions we can’t yet answer. Will we continue speeding towards exponentially [...] Read more
USV Climate Fund
Albert Wenger – Jan 8, 2021
At USV we describe ourselves as a “thesis-driven venture capital firm.” For our core fund, we have been investing against Thesis 3.0 for some time. Over the last couple of years, we have been developing a separate Climate Thesis, including [...] Read more
USV Thesis 3.0
Rebecca Kaden – Apr 1, 2018
We believe we are still at the beginning of the opportunity to broaden access with the most critical implications ahead of us. As a result, we decided to revise our thesis into a third version: USV backs trusted brands that broaden access to knowledge, capital, and well-being by leveraging networks, platforms, and protocols. Read more
Addition by Subtraction
Andy Weissman – Feb 11, 2018
“Dangerfield eliminated everything from his act but the setups and punchlines” Alex Halberstadt’s essay on Rodney Dangerfield is a masterclass on how to improve by reduction. Dangerfield worked for decades as a comedian until he figured out the thing, his [...] Read more
USV Thesis 2.0
Andy Weissman – Dec 12, 2015
Union Square Ventures has always been a “thesis” driven firm. We maintain specific principles about the internet that guide our investment decisions. While other things like stage and to a lesser extent geography, also matter, our thesis or point of [...] Read more
Investment Thesis @USV
Andy Weissman – May 27, 2012
Venture firms operate a bunch of different ways. Some have a geographical focus, others have a sector focus, still others have a stage focus. Union Square Ventures' focus has evolved into what we call a "thesis" but is probably better [...] Read more
Early Stage Investing
Fred Wilson – Sep 19, 2006
I thought I'd lead off my series of posts on "other things we look for" with a discussion of our preference for early stage investing. Most of our investment approach is built on top of our foundation as early stage [...] Read more
Our Focus
Brad Burnham – Aug 6, 2006
A year ago when we first re-launched our web site as a blog, we did so because we felt that the environment was too volatile for a fixed investment thesis. Instead we suggested that our thesis evolves in a dialogue [...] Read more