aaron block

VC @MetaPropNYC. Author ( certified coach, speaker. Global real estate, technology, innovation (#PropTech) insights. @YPO. Dad.

[Pavel Prata @pavelprata]

I think this shift in seed valuations is starting to meaningfully impact portfolio construction and actually creates a new set of opportunities for EMs.

For me it feels less like “everything is getting more expensive” and more like the market quietly splitting into two different layers.

If you look at the chart, for most of the distribution not much has really changed – median quartile is moving, but not dramatically. What’s really happening is the top 5% completely detaching and pulling the headline numbers up.

A few deals (AI infra, hot teams, etc) are getting priced at $100–175M at seed, which starts to create the illusion that “this is the new normal,” even though it’s really just a very narrow slice of the market.

And that has a pretty direct impact on portfolio construction for smaller funds.

If you’re running a $30-50M fund and trying to play in that layer, you either don’t get into those deals at all, or you get in with a check that’s too small to matter – $500K–$1M into a $100M+ round quickly turns into sub-1% ownership, and after a few rounds of dilution it’s hard to see how that position moves the needle even in a good outcome.

So you end up in this awkward spot where you’re either overpaying for perceived quality or under-owning your winners, which is basically the worst combination for a small fund.

But the more interesting part is that for the rest of the market (probably 70–80% of it) the game hasn’t actually changed that much.

I think pre-seed and early seed in the $5-20M range still exist, and in some ways they’re even less competitive now because so much attention and capital is getting pulled into that top percentile.

So what looks like “expensive seed” is really the creation of a new asset class inside seed (call it pre-priced winners or early growth disguised as seed) – while the true early stage is still there, just slightly out of focus.

And ironically, that’s where the opportunity for emerging managers probably gets cleaner.

"Less" competition, more room for ownership, more ability to lean into non-consensus – which is still where most of the actual DPI for a small fund gets built.

[aaron block @aaronnblock]

In Defense of the Irish Goodbye. Vindicated. https://t.co/WGGQNw7yZe

[aaron block @aaronnblock]

I’m part of a small weekly group discussion that’s been surprisingly sticky.

Every Friday morning for 30 minutes:
1 ancient story
1 hard question
1 decision-ready takeaway

Adding a handful of new tech, real estate, construction, and energy execs.

https://t.co/hHz7VOuHkD

[MetaProp @MetaPropNYC]

📍MetaProp 2025 Annual General Meeting in NYC

[Moses Kagan @moseskagan]

A bit of business etiquette:

Before sending any document for e-signing, send an email explaining what the document is, why you need it signed, & attaching the document itself as a pdf.

[Moses Kagan @moseskagan]

Like, this isn't fooling around stuff.

For almost all of human history, in almost every place, people lived under the thumbs of tyrants of one type or another.

The few sparks of liberty that ignited (Athens, Rome, etc.) eventually died out.

And then, miraculously, one spark caught fire on the East Coast of North America, at a place and in a time where the leaders were educated and the opportunities were endless and the spark grew into a bonfire that engulfed the continent, strong enough to send sparks to light up other parts of the world.

That is our legacy as Americans.

And some of us want to throw that away and plunge ourselves and the rest of humanity back into darkness? For what, exactly?

It's insane.

[aaron block @aaronnblock]

@fortworthchris @DouglasDowellJD @fortworthchris I’d love for you to spend some time with CAIO Jeff at https://t.co/md6s2A9f2q. Would be a fun convo…

[Ryan DeMent @Ryan_DeMent]

Tough markets don't shrink opportunities—they just test who's willing to market like it's war. #EntrepreneurMindset #BusinessTips

[aaron block @aaronnblock]

@StuartBlitz Philly is better?

[StripMallGuy @realEstateTrent]

AI burnout. Wake me up when there’s less chatter and more actual products that work.

[aaron block @aaronnblock]

Way to go, @chicagoriver!! So proud of your tireless efforts. https://t.co/ycKtZX1bm3

[aaron block @aaronnblock]

@Itsjoeco @StubHub Similar experience last year for basketball at MSG. Had to fight with them for days to get my money back. Ruined my daughter’s week.

[aaron block @aaronnblock]

@StuartBlitz Fave

[Ken Ashley @kenashley]

Happy for my friend Chris Powers.

Scott Everett's S2 is acquiring Fort Capital's management company. The deal is for the management co firm, NOT the real estate. Chris will remain in charge of all the real estate and serve as GP.

Great win for the good leaders at Fort Capital. And welcome to the fold S2!

[aaron block @aaronnblock]

@nic_detommaso @MetaPropNYC

[Jackson Feder @jackson_feder]

Hosting a poker night alongside friends @schkolnick__ (@meow) and @asadighi (Venture Commercial) next Tuesday (7/15) for venture-backed founders of Seed to Series B startups.

Join us! 🃏

https://t.co/03Qy21BJjs

[Moses Kagan @moseskagan]

Busy executives silently divide their colleagues into two groups:

1. People to whom they give an instruction, then have to remember to follow up to make sure the instructions were followed

2. People so trustworthy & effective that giving them instructions means the task can safely be assumed completed (unless some unexpected complexity arises)

If you want to move up quickly, be in the second group.

[Jeff Lessard @jdlessard13]

Whenever I'm feeling discouraged with something at work, the best cure - really the only cure - is to roll up my sleeves and work harder. Never give up.

[aaron block @aaronnblock]

@moseskagan https://t.co/HaUjy000LN

[aaron block @aaronnblock]

Can’t wait to read this masterpiece! @andrewackerman