Via NYT
He met with several top firms, but they all wanted a 20 percent stake in his start-up company, and he was hesitant to give an investor that much. When one of his board members advised him to visit Fred Wilson at Union Square Ventures in 2006, he went grudgingly, certain the meeting would turn out like the others.
Instead, Mr. Kalin was impressed when Mr. Wilson said he would settle for less than 5 percent of the company in the first round of fund-raising. Union Square Ventures has built its portfolio making small bets on young companies.
“We say, ‘Let’s go on this ride together,’ and if we do get great traction, we’ll try to invest in a second round as well,” said Brad Burnham, who co-founded the firm with Mr. Wilson.
As Mr. Kalin soon discovered, the small initial stake was not the only thing that distinguished Union Square from its competitors. Grounded in a philosophy of discipline and openness, the three-partner firm focuses on services that use the Web to change a market rather than simply make it more efficient.