Late-stage VC market update + Terra Kaffe's Sahand Dilmaghani | E1891

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Late-Stage VC Funding and Exits

US VCs have a record $311 billion of "dry powder" available for investment, but the pace of exits has slowed down significantly in 2022 and 2023.
The average exit value from 2013 to 2023 was $185 billion per year, but excluding the 2021 boom year, the average drops to $125 billion per year.
The slowdown in exits has led to a situation where VCs are unable to return capital to LPs, which in turn affects the ability of VCs to raise new funds.
Some VC firms are exploring continuation funds as a way to provide liquidity to LPs by selling stakes in their portfolio companies to other investors.
The current market conditions are leading to down round IPOs, where companies are going public at valuations significantly lower than their last private market valuation.
LPs are becoming more cautious and may write smaller checks or stop investing altogether.

Terra Cafe is a direct-to-consumer super-automatic coffee machine that offers convenience, quality, and a modern design at a competitive price point.
The company has received over 10,000 units of demand in pre-orders alone and is expecting to ship the first units of the Terra Cafe 2 soon.
The V2 super-automatic espresso machine focuses on hardware design, software, and data to improve the user experience.
Investing in quality components, firmware, and thermal blocks ensures consistent quality over time.
The V2's durability and commercial viability make it suitable for various settings, including offices, retail showrooms, and universities.
Long-term software updates and data analysis aim to reduce product costs and enhance the user experience, building customer loyalty and goodwill.

The TKO2 is not ideal for offices as it is designed for small offices or locations with 10-20 people.
The TKO2 has a larger water tank, waste bin, and bean hopper compared to the TKO1, making it easier to clean and maintain.
The TKO2 features an automated and actuated grinder dial, allowing for true drip coffee and precise coarseness settings.
The TKO2 has separate espresso profiles and custom drink options, allowing users to create and save their preferred drinks.
The TKO2 can be upgraded through an app, allowing for customization and improvement over time.
The company has built a waste savings calculator into the app for the TKO2 to help users track their savings.

Nuts.com is a one-stop shop for freshly roasted nuts, dried fruits, sweets, and pantry staples, offering a wide variety of products and prioritizing quality.
New customers at Nuts.com can receive a free gift with every purchase and free shipping on orders of $29 or more.
The company is cautious about expanding into new channels to avoid sacrificing brand equity and reputation.
The company is considering offering buy now, pay later options through a partnership with Clara.

This Week in Startups is launching a new initiative called Founder Fridays Meetups.
These meetups are exclusively for founders and provide an intimate setting for founders to connect and share ideas.
There will be no service providers or passive speakers at these meetups.
The first Founder Friday meetup will be held on February 2nd, and they will be held on a rolling basis thereafter.
Founders can join existing meetups in their city or start their own.
River, a software platform, will be used to organize the meetups.
Hosts and attendees are already lined up in several cities, including San Francisco, New York City, Toronto, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, London, and India.