Idan Levy

Hard work conquers everything. Venture Capital, Startups, Technology, Innovation.

[Nick Davidov @Nick_Davidov]

You invested $100K via a 3-layer Anthropic SPV at $380B valuation.
Third layer takes 15% management/set up fees and no carry
Second layer takes 10/20
First layer takes 10/20

So your real investment is 100*0.85*0.9*0.9=$68.85K. Given nobody scammed anyone in the matryoshka

An exit at $1.4T IPO gets you a MOIC of ~2.8x after dilution. That’s $192K on the first layer.

The first layer takes 20% carry, you have $167K left
The second layer takes 20% carry ($36.4k), you have $130.6k left

So you have made a $30K return on a $100K investment in a year.

So layered SPV investment got you a 68% Anthropic exposure. Buying Google stock gets you 14% and Amazon - 18%. AND a multiple on all the money Anthropic spends on compute (most of their money). AND exposure to a money-printing business with a strong AI component that rivals Anthropic. AND no scam risk. While the 32% lost in SPV fees just fund someone’s coke habit in Miami.
Same $100K put in AMZN and GOOG over the same time period would also get you the 30% return. You’re welcome.

[Lorimer Ventures @LorimerVentures]

🦾Great to convene friends and investors in LA for @MilkenInstitute Global Conference for our event "A Candid Conversation on Robotics and Physical AI with @samanfarid from @goformic". We are proud early investors in @goFormic which operates the largest independent robotic fleet in the US and created the robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) category.

Huge thank you to our partners Deep Acre for hosting with us! @SJCizmar, @peteschork & @A__Keith

[Idan Levy @_idanlevy_]

On My Mind: Idan's Thought of the Week

***AUTOMATION & ROBOTICS ARE HERE***

Trying out a different format instead of just a timeline post. What do you prefer? Check it out here: https://t.co/z9OSeL8FKR

[hari raghavan @haridigresses]

Put together a quick analysis of the Brex exit based on an analysis of their cap table.

Done relatively quickly, so pardon any errors! Funding history sourced from @CaplightData.

Overall, it's a pretty big win.
— The company probably minted well in excess of 100 millionaires.
— Everyone who joined or invested in 2018 or earlier is probably pretty happy, some even ecstatic.
— Those who invested / joined in 2020-21 probably aren't but that is a story that is true of almost every employee or investor in that period (private / public market).
— Those who joined in late 2022 through today is probably doing reasonably fine.

Common Stock TL;DR — liquidation Preference took a bit of a bite, but only for those who joined in 2021-22. Everyone else either did fine or really well.
- Founders did very well (~$1B in total). There was a decent bit of dilution, particularly from healthy option pools over the course of 8-9 years.
- Employees joining 2023-2025 would probably be roughly breakeven — they probably received RSUs priced in the $4-6B.
- Employees joining 2021-2022 got stock at the peak. These would have been underwater RSUs or options. Most companies issued additional make-whole shares to those who stuck around. I'm sure Brex did this. However, those who joined then and left after a couple of years probably lost most of the value to their equity.
- Employees joining 2020 did okay -- slightly above where they joined. Not commensurate with the risk, but honestly way better than most companies who raised at peak valuations in the COVID era.
- Employees joining earlier did VERY well. I'd estimate 3-10x if they joined in 2018-19; and 10-100x if they joined in 2017-18.

Investor TL;DR
- Series D/D+ investors in 2021-21 (Tiger, Greenoaks) get money back but 0% IRR. TBH this is a win since most late stage investments in that vintage are tough.
- Series C+ investors in 2020 (Kleiner, DST) get a modest return (1.3x) but suboptimal IRR (4%). Again, tough vintage.
- Series C investors in 2018 (DST) get a decent return (2.75x) and 15% IRR.
- Series B investors in 2018 (YC Continuity) gets an excellent return (12x) and IRR (39%)
- Series A investors in 2017 (Ribbit) did fantastic (80x and 64% IRR)
- YC worth calling out — the regular YC check probably netted out close to $100M, on an (I think) $120K check at the time. 800x in 9 years = 110% IRR ain't half bad. If you bake in YC continuity, a total of $600M on probably ~$40M invested.

[Idan Levy @_idanlevy_]

On My Mind: Idan's Thought of the Week

***TOP THOUGHTS 2025***

With the end of 2025 in sight, pinning some of the top thoughts from the year.

1. FORMIDABLE FOUNDER TRAITS 🧠 :
https://t.co/v9ET5aMpDF

2. MECHANICS OF CAPITALIZATION ⚙️ :
https://t.co/ljcwvqMO5j

3. AI-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT 🤖 :
https://t.co/Pp0wiulVGB

4. SPORTS IN BUSINESS 🏀 :
https://t.co/3FgZmTVIA8

5. VALUATION MULTIPLES ✖️ :
https://t.co/0FBWzSDkak

6. HARD WORK CONQUERS ALL 🏋 :
https://t.co/I3KbYhoTHh

7. LEADERSHIP AND DECISION-MAKING 👔 :
https://t.co/RrtTfJ2ul4

8. BEST PRACTICES FOR BUSINESS TRAVEL ✈️ :
https://t.co/UHNrZf3WFy

9. IDENTIFYING INVESTABLE ATTRIBUTES 🤝 :
https://t.co/VaXVK7YEdA

10. BUSINESS FUNDAMENTALS OVER HYPE 🧱 :
https://t.co/SCeYt1Z515

11. BUILDING MOMENTUM IN SLOWER SEASONS 📈 :
https://t.co/yMeFIDtzaJ

12. IPOS AND EXITS 💰 :
https://t.co/Bywk33fTdd

Any topics you would like to see in 2026? Comment below and looking forward to connecting!

(Week 50/52)

#venturecapital #vc #startups #entrepreneurship #investing #finance #onmymind #topthoughts #highlights #2025

[Idan Levy @_idanlevy_]

(3/3) So what happens if a team reaches the end of year with surplus budget? They look to spend it!

For B2B businesses selling to enterprises, Q4 is often one of the strongest selling quarters where they convert their biggest deals. We see it time and time again across our portfolio companies.

So for those selling right now, it is a critical time to be engaged and pushing deals. Good luck to all of those putting together RFPs and negotiating final details! 📜

Hope you finish strong and get to enjoy the holidays knowing you surpassed your target sales. 💰

(Week 48/52)

#venturecapital #vc #startups #entrepreneurship #investing #finance #endofyear #enterprise #b2b #sales #enterprisesales #q4 #budgeting

[Idan Levy @_idanlevy_]

(1/3) On My Mind: Idan's Thought of the Week

***ENTERPRISE SELLING IN Q4 / END OF YEAR***

This week's post is most relevant to enterprise sales, but also applies to other categories.

I started my career working at big, giant, public companies. Companies with 100k+ employees and billions in revenue every year.

In such large organizations, there are sub-organizations and hierarchies. Every 6-12 months there would be some type of re-org where they would move teams around, form new teams, etc. (NOTE TO SELF: make a different post about that topic!).

At the end of the fiscal year, we would go through budgeting exercises. Every team and organization leader in the stack would put together their budget for the following year and go to bat for their team.

[Idan Levy @_idanlevy_]

(2/3) There's a saying: "If you don't use it, you lose it." which applies comedically well to enterprise budgeting.

Ambitious leaders grow their teams and expand their scope, all of which requires budget. RESULT: Leaders want more budget next year. 📈

However, sometimes your team is efficient and you don't use all of your budget. The unfortunate result* is a perception that that team doesn't need as much budget. RESULT: Team gets less budget next year. 📉

*as with everything, there are exceptions and not always the case.*

[Idan Levy @_idanlevy_]

I apply this to all aspects of my life, from sports to business to relationships.

What are some of your personal and internal motivating adages?

(Week 47/52)

#venturecapital #vc #startups #entrepreneurship #investing #finance #endofyear #motivation #focus #winning

[Idan Levy @_idanlevy_]

On My Mind: Idan's Thought of the Week

***START STRONG, FINISH STRONG***

One of my personal adages. It is pretty simple but it is a powerful mindset. 👇

[Idan Levy @_idanlevy_]

👟 START STRONG: Set the tone right out the gates, which will carry forward through the year/project/game/etc. When you start strong, people take note.

🛣️ THE MIDDLE: Full of ups and downs, wins and losses, hits and misses. It's a journey, just focus on doing your best and trusting the process.

🎯 FINISH STRONG: (This is where we are for 2025) Final push, put in that extra effort and be hyper-focused on the ultimate goal. Every extra inch is the difference between winning and losing.

[Idan Levy @_idanlevy_]

7/ What’s your take — excited about streaming consolidation or worried about it?

https://t.co/F3f14VBTUk

(Week 46/52)

#venturecapital #vc #startups #entrepreneurship #investing #finance #m&a #mergers #acquisitions #bigdeal #netflix #hbo #warnerbros #wb #media #transaction

[Idan Levy @_idanlevy_]

On My Mind: Idan's Thought of the Week

***DEAL OF THE WEEK (YEAR?): NETFLIX ACQUIRES WARNER BROS***

I usually use this space to riff on early-stage venture concepts, but this week's news is too big to ignore.

In (arguably) the biggest deal of the year, Warner Bros—home to HBO, major franchises, and a deep content library—has agreed to be acquired by Netflix. (Note: WB is spinning off its cable networks, which aren’t included.)

[Idan Levy @_idanlevy_]

6/ ⏳ This is a 10+ year swing
Could be another Instagram/WhatsApp-for-Meta moment…
Or an AOL–Time Warner-style warning for future case studies.

[Idan Levy @_idanlevy_]

🏡 ORIGINS: What experience does the founder have in the category? Why is the founder doing this? How did the founding team come together?

❓ PROBLEM-SOLUTION: What is the problem they are solving? Why is their solution needed and better than alternatives?

💵 BUSINESS MODEL: How does the company make money? Who are their customers?

💼 INVESTMENT: How much are they looking to raise? What's the valuation? What is the capitalization history?

Interested in a career in investing and venture capital? Let's chat!

(Week 44/52)

#venturecapital #vc #startups #entrepreneurship #investing #career #investable #founders #business #investor #origins #capitalization

[Idan Levy @_idanlevy_]

On My Mind: Idan's Thought of the Week

***FIRST MEETINGS AS AN INVESTOR***

Over the past two weeks I have visited university campuses twice and interviewed a dozen of aspiring venture capitalists for our next cohort of Ventureship Scholars 📚.

[Idan Levy @_idanlevy_]

I will forever continue to LEARN and ALWAYS look to sharpen & improve my perspective (evolve or die!). But here are a few key things to focus on when taking early meetings as an investor: