Vision about early venture investment

Here's some highlights of the different strategies among these seed- to early-stage investors.

Dave McClure of 500 Startups: Strategy - "diversified." The fund looks to make up to 100 investments in a year, with the understanding that "most" companies will fail (as they typically do across the board). Not surprisingly, Dave has little time to spend with each company. Dave will look to invest about $50,000 to $100,000 to prove out a startup's thesis and reach milestones. He'll do follow-on rounds with companies that are hitting those miletsones. Dave focuses more on M&A exits, as opposed to big billion-dollar exits. To this end, he's not as worried about being diluted by later-stage funds getting in on the deals. He believes many founders will be inclined to sell their company for $25 million more often than not.

Jed Katz of Javelin Venture Partners: Strategy - "traditional." Javelin invests in about six deals a year, committing anywhere between $200,000 and $2 million. Javelin will only do seed investments if he and his partners are certain they will follow on with a Series A round. Unlike 500 Startups, Javelin's team spends "a lot" of time with their founders.

Manu Kumar of K-9 Ventures: Strategy - "selective." Manu makes four to five investments a year, and commits anywhere between $100,000 and $200,000. He's looking for home-runs. Because Manu is looking for big wins, he also doesn't invest in any company that's valued at $5 million.

Thomas Korte of AngelPad: Strategy - "incubator." The group invests in 40 companies a year and is always the first money in. Entrepreneurs spend three months with AngelPad. Those entering the program receive $20,000 from AngelPad and $100,000 from two un-named VCs who've backed AngelPad.
http://vator.tv/news/2011-11-02-which-early-stage-startup-strategy-is-the-best