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00:00OPTIONS. ACCORDING TO PEOPLE FAMILIAR WITH THE MATTER, SLING LEADS THE MARKET WITH 1.7 MILLION USERS. IN FUNDING NEWS, CANAAN PARTNERS CLOSED ITS LATEST FIND AT $800 MILLION. IT IS THE FIRM ' S 11TH FUND AND THE LARGEST IN ITS THIRD YEAR HISTORY.VENTURE FUNDING HAS BEEN BALLOONING THIS YEAR TO HIGHS NOT SEEN SINCE THE DOTCOM BUBBLE. THE SURPLUS OF CASH HELPED. HERE WITH US IS MAHA IBRAHIM, GENERAL PARTNER AT CANAAN PARTNERS. $800 MILLION, ENTHUSIASM IS HIGHH. YOU ACTUALLY TOPPED THE FUND. > > THAT ' S RIGHT. WE WERE WELL OVERSUBSCRIBED AND FORTUNATE. EMILY: IS THERE ENOUGH PLACES TO PUT ALL THE MONEY BEING RAISED? > > OUR FIRM IS A DIFFERENT -- DIVERSIFIED FUND. 40% AS HEALTH CARE AND 60% IS TECH. ON THE HEALTH CARE SIDE WE ' VE HAD AN INCREDIBLE RUN, LARGELY DUE TO THE FACT THAT WE HAVE BEEN DISCIPLINED. THE SAME GOES FOR TECH. EMILY: YOU HAVE BEEN AT CANAAN FOR MORE THAN A DECADE. YOUR MEMORY GOES BACK. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THESE COMPARATIVES TO THE DOTCOM ERA? > > THERE ARE SO MANY COMPANIES STILL AMASSING AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF REVENUE TRACTION.I DON ' T SEE THAT ENDING. I DON ' T SEE A CLIP LIKE WE SAW IN THE 2000 TO 2001 PERIOD. THERE ' S A TON OF MOMENTUM AND MONEY FLOWING INTO THE SYSTEM. EMILY: ON THE ONE HAND, COMPANIES ARE STAYING PRIVATE LONGER. ON THE OTHER HAND, YOU HAD THIRTYSOMETHING EXITS IN THE LAST THREE YEARS THREE TIMES THE AVERAGE. HOW IS THAT, POSSIBLE? > > IN ADDITION TO THAT, WHAT WE HAVE SEEN IS SOME COMPANIES HAVE BEEN EXITING A LOT FASTER THAN NORMALLY. OUR ADVANTAGE TIME -- AVERAGE TIME TO EXIT IS ABOUT LESS THAN FOUR YEARS. THIS IS IN BOTH TECH AND HEALTH CARE. WE THINK IT ' S BECAUSE THERE ' S A FRANCHISE APPROACH. THERE ARE AREAS WE GO VERY DEEP IN AND WE MINE THEM IN TERMS OF NETWORKING AND THESIS. EMILY: IF YOU GET THE SENSE THAT A COMPANY WOULD TAKE 10 YEARS TO GO PUBLIC OR EXIT, WOULD YOU STAY AWAY FROM THEM? > > KNOW, WE BELIEVE WE ARE BUILDING COMPANIES FOR THE LONG-TERM, BUT BECAUSE WE ARE TAKING A PIECE DISTURBING APPROACH -- THESIS DRIVEN APPROACH, WE ARE THINKING ABOUT WHAT COMPANIES WANT. THERE ARE SOME THAT TAKE 15 YEARS, AND THAT IS FINE. EMILY: WHAT AREAS ARE HOT WHERE YOU THINK THERE ARE BIG OPPORTUNITIES? WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO PUT THE MONEY TO WORK? > > FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS. WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN REAL ESTATE AND INSURANCE. A LOT OF TIME IN CLOUD. YOU WILL SEE US DO A FEW GAMING DEALS AND E-COMMERCE. ON THE HEALTH CARE SIDE, IMMUNO ONCOLOGY, BUT WE ARE VERY DISCIPLINED IN OUR APPROACH AS OPPOSED TO TAKING AN INDEX FUND. EMILY: CANAAN IS CELEBRATING 30 YEARS.AS A VC, YOU HAVE THREE GENERAL PARTNERS THAT ARE FEMALE, WHICH IS MUCH MORE COMPARED TO USUAL VENTURE CAPITALISTS OF FIRMS. I ' M CURIOUS ABOUT HOW THAT CHANGES THE CULTURE INSIDE THE FIRM AND THE INVESTMENTS YOU MAKE. > > I AM INCREDIBLY FORTUNATE TO BE EMPTY TABLE WITH EIGHT GENERAL PARTNERS AND THREE OF THEM BEING WOMEN. THE CONVERSATIONS WE FEEL ARE A LOT MORE INCLUSIVE. AS A FUND, WE FEEL LIKE WE ARE REFLECTIVE WITH -- OF WHAT THE TRUE ENTREPRENEURIAL POOL LOOKS LIKE. IF A WOMAN OR IMMIGRANT COMES IN THE DOOR, THEY ARE SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD SIMILAR EXPERIENCES, AND ARE MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE. EMILY: I KNOW YOU HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING THE SEXUAL HARASSMENT STORIES. SOME VC ' S HAVE RESIGNED OR LOST JOBS. ARE YOU SURPRISED I THIS? -- BY THIS? > > UNFORTUNATELY, I ' M NOT SURPRISED. I ' M SURPRISED AT THE HORRIFIC NATURE OF IT, BUT I ' M NOT SURPRISED IT ' S HAPPENING. IF THERE IS A POSITIVE SPIN ON THIS, IT IS THIS. SEXUAL HARASSMENT HAS HAPPENED. I ' M SURE THERE ARE MORE CARDS TO FALL, UNFORTUNATELY. BUT IT HAS WOKEN PEOPLE UP TO THE NEED FOR DIVERSITY INCLUSION. BOTH AT THE VENTURE AND SENIOR INVESTING TABLE, BUT ALSO FROM THE ENTREPRENEURIAL PROSPECTIVE. WE NEED TO BE BRINGING UP WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS, PEOPLE OF DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS, INTO INVESTING WORLD S SO THAT ALL ENTREPRENEURS FEEL WELCOME. EMILY: WHEN YOU SAY MORE CARDS TO FALL, I KNOW EVERYONE IS CALLING. WHAT CLOSER YOU GETTING? > > I ' M GETTING A LOT OF CALLS. I ' M SPENDING ABOUT ONE HOUR OR TWO TODAY TALKING WITH ENTREPRENEURS. THE NBCI IS TAKING A SERIOUS LOOK AT WHAT ' S GOING ON, AND THINKING ABOUT HOW TO APPROACH THIS IN A HOLISTIC WAY. I ' M TALKING WITH LIMITED PARTNERS. IT IS CERTAINLY TOP OF MIND. EMILY: TALKING ABOUT WHAT? > > THE FACT THAT IT IS HAPPENING, TALKING ABOUT WHAT WE CAN DO, CAN WE PUT NOTIONS INTO TERM SHEETS? CAN WE HAVE A MORE DIVERSE POOL OF INVESTING PROFESSIONALS AROUND THE TABLE? THERE ARE MANY THINGS LIKE HOTLINES. THERE ARE MANY NOTIONS BEING TALKED ABOUT. I HOPE WE CAN COME TOGETHER AND MAKE IT A MORE DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENT FOR VENTURE AND SPELLING INTO THE ENTREPRENEURIAL POOL. EMILY: I KNOW WOMEN COME TO YOU AND YOU HAVE BEEN AN ADVOCATE. HAVE YOU FOUND YOURSELF IN A POSITION WHERE YOU ARE A CO-INVESTOR, WHERE THERE IS BAD BEHAVIOR ALLEGED AGAINST THAT PERSON, BEFORE OR AFTER THE FACT? > > I HAVE BEEN VERY FORTUNATE FOR THAT NOT TO BE THE FACT, BUT I SEE FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS ON A DAILY BASIS, AND EACH ONE OF THEM HAS TOLD ME A BAD STORY. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR 17 YEARS OF MY CAREER BY NO MEANS IS THIS A NEW THING. ,, BUT WE HAVE TO PUT EFFORT INTO MAKING IT STOP. EMILY: WHAT ARE THE EFFORTS? SHOULDN ' T EVERYONE JUST BE DECENT? [LAUGHTER] > > IS AN INCREDIBLY LOW BAR, WE SHOULDN ' T NEED TO SIGN SOMETHING. I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT A HUGE PART OF THIS BAD BEHAVIOR STOPS WHEN YOU HAVE FEMALES AND MINORITIES AT THE INVESTING TABLE, AND SENIOR INVESTING ROLES. STUFF LIKE THAT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN. THEIR BEHAVIOR WOULD BE CHECKED. FROM A SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY STANDPOINT, I ' M GOING TO WANT TO INVEST IN PEOPLE THAT LOOK LIKE ME. AND MY FIRM, WE HAVE THREE INVESTING PROFESSIONALS AT THE GP ROLE THAT ARE FEMALE. 45% OF THE COMPANIES WE FUND ARE FUNDED BY WOMEN. IT ' S NOT A COINCIDENCE. EMILY: THE AVERAGE IS MORE LIKE

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Canaan's Ibrahim on VC Funding Environment, Gender Bias

Maha Ibrahim, Canaan Partners general partner, discusses the venture capital funding environment and gender bias in the industry with Bloomberg's Emily Chang on "Bloomberg Technology." (Source: Bloomberg)

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