Less is more? Sand Hill Road venture fund continues cuts
According to this Wall Street Journal story (subscription required), one of Sand Hill Road's preeminent funds has decided to cut back further by closing its Seattle and Reston, VA offices and an additional reduction in the size of its seventh fund as it celebrates its 20th anniversary.
Last January, MDV cut its $850 million Fund VII to about $650 million. Now the firm is cutting it by $200 million more. That means 53% of the original capital raised has been given back to investors.
Nancy Schoendorf, a general partner with the firm, says that after internal discussions, MDV, which focuses on early-stage deals, decided reducing the fund was the best way to guarantee investors a good bang for their buck. It was all "based on the math," Ms. Schoendorf said. Typically, she says, MDV makes 10 to 12 investments a year. It hopes to make a total of 35 for this fund. "We're looking at putting in $8 million to $12 million per company," she says. "That comes out to about $450 million."