The Biggest Mistake Founders Make When Raising VC Funding, According to Insight Partners’ Ryan Hinkle
Weak financial infrastructure keeps startups from big VC rounds. Here’s what to fix.
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The Biggest Mistake Founders Make When Raising VC Funding, According to Insight Partners’ Ryan Hinkle
Given how much money VCs are pouring into AI startups these days, it may seem like VCs have decided: If it’s not AI, they won’t write a big check. Image:Ryan Hinkle But that’s not exactly what’s happening. Dealmaking at the moment is more nuanced, said VC Insight Partners managing director Ryan Hinkle during a recent Equity podcast. With $90 billion in assets under management, Insight Partners invests at all stages. It’s known to both write huge checks itself and pile into huge rounds. For instance, Insight co-led Databricks’ $10 billion deal in December; participated in Abnormal Security’s $250 million series D in August (led by Wellington Management); and co-led the $4.4 billion PE take-private deal for Alteryx at the end of 2023 with Clearlake. Hinkle, who started as an intern in 2003 when the company was 10 years old, explained how the firm’s check-writing pace has grown. “When I joined Insight, we had raised a cumulative $1.2 billion ever, across four funds. We had put only $750 milli…
