Aida Lutaj

Three biggest learnings from a fundraising journey. Shared by Rainer Märkle, General Partner at HV Capital at EUVC 1/ Have a time box with a deadline attached. Have a defined horizon & create a clear plan. Have some urgency to get things done at some point. Execute very transparently and reliably. 2/ Stick to your narrative. But don't do it blindly. Tweak it when necessary. Adapt it. Don't let yourself be surprised by major changes. Keep focusing on delivering according to your strategy & plan. 3/ Fundraising is a marathon with many sprints. There are moments when you'll ask yourself - Why do I do this? Is it gonna work out? But don't get too negative during the down phases. Adapting and pivoting is part of our job. As it is for the founder of a company. How about you? What fundraising lessons have you learned? Join the conversation. 🔽 #venturecapital #angelinvesting #startupfunding #europe

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As investors, it’s always tough to say no to founders, especially when you have taken time for diligence. An additional challenge when it comes to feedback: choosing between being frank or being "nice." Founders also often feel that VC feedback lacks specificity or adds little value. After spending some time as an investor, I made a conscious decision to take the harder route of being blunt, even if it risked making founders feel bad. In hindsight, I believe it’s been the right choice. Most founders appreciate the candor, feel heard, and have gone on to become long-term friends of the fund. So, I’m taking the liberty of sharing a few of those difficult conversations we’ve had over time: 1. Declining due to lack of customer insight: We recently passed on a couple of high pedigree teams because they hadn’t spent enough time talking to their customers to understand the problem to be solved. 2. Lack of key skills on the team: In some cases, we declined based on the absence of specific key skills in the team, like GTM or strong business thinking. 3. Team chemistry: In one case, we told the CEO — who was a new addition to the 3 member founding team — that it would be difficult for him to gel with the other two co-founders. 4. Failure to unlearn from past successes: In another case, we passed because the founders weren’t showing signs of unlearning from their past successful ventures. 5. Role of co-founders: We once had to tell a two-founder team that their roles should be reversed — that the CEO should actually be the COO, and vice versa. Imagine us telling founders how to structure their roles 🙂 6. And the hardest one: We had to decline a founder we really liked because we didn’t believe in their thesis. This one hurt because we knew how much the team matters in the early stages. At the same time, if we invested, the debate was: a) Will we be able to support the founder on the board if we don't agree with their thesis?, b) If we don’t see eye-to-eye by the next round, will we be able to continue funding the company? As always, founders time and again prove us wrong. I’m sure this will be true in many of the above cases. But my strong preference is to share what I conclude (no matter how shallow my thinking might be) rather than fake a reason.

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Series A Engineering: How does Dreamcraft Ventures support startups towards a successful Series A? 🚀 Find out in our Bits & Pretzels Masterclass in Munich on 30 Sep, which will be hosted by Nico, Founder Enablement Partner, and yours truly 🙌 We will cover how we invest and support portfolio companies. Using Hiber as a case study, I will talk about our collaboration with Michael and his team, and give you insights into how they raised their $15m Series A led by EQT Ventures 🤩 Nico will do a deep dive into crucial building blocks for early-stage startups. Based on his +15 years of experience from VC-backed startups like Trustpilot and Platypus, which he co-founded, Nico will provide hands-on advice for hiring, creating structural trust, retaining talent and building a performance culture 💪🔥 Are you going to Bits & Pretzels? Then join our Masterclass or reach out to myself, Nico or our colleague, Mads, if you want to meet up elsewhere! 💬 #Bits24 #venturecapital #vc #startup

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🔍 Seeking Input: What Do You Want to Know About Angel Investing? 💡   As an angel investor, I have the privilege to partner with innovative startups and brilliant entrepreneurs. Each investment journey has taught me invaluable lessons.   I want to give back by sharing my experiences and insights. But I need your help.   What topics around angel investing would you find most interesting or beneficial? What questions do you have about the world of angel investing?   Please share your thoughts, questions, and suggestions in the comments below.   #AngelInvesting #StartupFunding #VentureCapital #Entrepreneurship #Innovation

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You’re in corporate innovation and you’ve built a venture that cannibalized the core business. Should you get fired? 🙀 What if your venture took longer and more investment than expected to generate revenue? should you get fired then? 😮 Unfortunately, as Georg Baumgartner has outlined in his recent post, innovation (and venturing) activities are rarely closely aligned with the corporate strategy 😕 - The missing link is called innovation strategy and it helps in not getting fired for doing venture building! 💪 😁 In my course at WU (Vienna University of Economics and Business), I just outlined to the students why an innovation strategy is crucial for targeted venture building - and the arguments hold for innovation professionals as well: 🎓 - A good strategy defines clear objectives and thus fosters a discussion of what you want to achieve with venturing: cultural change? diversification? additional revenue? - Unified Goals: A venturing strategy ensures that objectives of all the ventures are aligned and there are no conflicting goals - which is particularly important if you follow a portfolio approach - Resources: A good strategy outlines the way to get to the goal, including necessary budgets, team capacity and so forth. In the worst case, you see that your goal is not achievable with the resources you have - but i’d rather know that sooner than later - Management Support: A good strategy is an effective tool to obtain top management commitment and a great framework for communication and status updates - Room for “crazy ideas” and a defined playing field: An innovation strategy should provide enough freedom for creative thinking while also limiting the horizon in a way that productively limits the options - Finally: Venture Building might not be the right tool for all your innovation goals and a solid strategy will help you in defining what should be tackled with venture building and where other instruments are better suited 🤔 As a venture builder who has seen more than one venture fail because of a lack of strategy: By developing a comprehensive innovation strategy, you maximize the chances of success! And yes, venturing is a numbers game… 🔣 #Innovation #VentureBuilding #Strategy #CorporateInnovation #InnovationStrategy Picture: On my way to the lecture hall...

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Today’s read asks the big question on everyone’s minds again: can #AI technology replace my job? In this case, can AI replace legitimate human #VC investors? Well, the short answer is no. The role of a VC requires a lot of knowledge, prior experience, and #intuition that AI technology at this moment cannot replicate in a way that’s helpful. But b2venture did put AI to the test in three different experiments related to things that #investors like me do on an everyday basis. For example, Python Coding #GPT4 was used to generate investment memos, typically written when VCs have interest in a company and want to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of a potential startup. The final product was very much a rough first draft, but did produce results in five minutes versus the several hours it would take to do the task otherwise. GPT-4 was also put to use for market analysis and intro writing, to various #mixed results. GPT-4 has its strengths. It’s really great at summarizing text, extracting information efficiently, and superficially finding patterns. But with all of those useful things come with large shortcomings such as data “hallucinations.” Basically, while these tools have promise and well on their way to keep improving, it will take a while for technology to evolve from being demonstrative #gimmick to something used in a #daily context. What do you think? Are you someone that uses #AI to help with your job? Does it work with you and your workflow?

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As a founder I remember the most impactful thing - by far - an investor could do for me is a warm introduction to an ideal customer with an even more ideal budget As an investor now, nothing makes me happier to connect our founders with the same ⚡ https://lnkd.in/eq-TmSzu

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I had the privilege to sit down with William Carbone, who you may already know from his work as CEO and co-founder of Evalify (under Nobody Studios), as well as his role at The Adjacent Possible. For the last 14+ years, William has been a significant innovator in the technology and entrepreneurship space. He has also been a substantial contributor to AI, Aerospace, and Quantum Computing back at IBM. William has been honored with two Stevie Awards for his contributions to business technology and sales/customer service, and recognized in competitions like ESA Nordic Launch 2022, Kiuas Accelerator 2021, and Peter Drucker Forum Challenge finalist. He holds a leadership role at the Rome Business School as a Program Director for the Master in AI, and currently lives a globetrotting lifestyle, shaping innovation ecosystems worldwide. In his downtime he plays piano (he's a self-taught concert pianist), music fuels his creativity and complements his professional endeavours. Evalify is an AI-driven platform designed to assist startups, investors, and legal professionals in assessing intellectual property (IP) risks. The platform analyzes nearly 200 million global patent documents across over 170 jurisdictions to provide a "Freedom-to-Operate" (FTO) score. This score helps users identify potential patent infringements and other IP-related risks quickly, often within minutes, by simply uploading a pitch deck or a product brief. The platform is particularly valuable for early-stage startups, venture capitalists, and legal departments, as it allows them to evaluate the originality of a startup idea, assess competitors, and identify potential legal challenges without the need for traditional, time-consuming, and costly IP analysis. Evalify's AI-powered analysis is designed to be fast, scalable, and cost-effective, making it accessible even for startups that may not have large budgets for extensive legal services​ at their early stage. In a recent collab, Evalify shared their comprehensive reports with some of the members of PTH Venture Studio, and it was highly appreciated by the founders! Mushtaq Ansari Jeremy Barr Maria Pienaar Zeeshan Shahid Zeeshan Shamsi Tahir Ahmed Joshua T. Russell Taylor Khalid Boulhala Ahsan Tariq A.R. Nasir Qureshi Yawar Abbas Charletta Jean-Louis #Evalify #startups #startsuccess #IP #IntellectualProperty #intellectualpropertyrights #DDOA

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Imagine pouring your heart into a startup, only to find your co-founder taking a significant chunk of equity while contributing little. That’s exactly what happened to Robin Chase of Zipcar. Robin Chase and her co-founder, Antje Danielson, started Zipcar with a 50/50 equity split. However, as the company grew, tensions developed because Danielson didn’t contribute as expected, ultimately leading to her removal from the company. How to prevent it? Founders MUST have vesting schedules. Think you get all of your equity right away when you incorporate your startup? Think again. Here’s why a vesting schedule is the right decision for your startup’s future: 🚀 Investor Expectations: Investors are watching closely. Without a vesting schedule already in place, they'll demand founders add one before closing a priced round financing, like your Series A. VCs need assurance that you and your co-founders are committed for the long haul and won’t walk away with a hefty equity stake after the financing round closes. It’s all about aligning incentives for the company’s growth for the long-term. 💥 Protect Against Founder Breakups and Disputes: Imagine pouring your heart into a startup, only to find your co-founder taking a significant chunk of equity while contributing little. 🔑 The Takeaway: A vesting schedule isn’t just a formality—it’s essential for aligning the interests of your founding team and the company’s success, can protect against potential founder disputes and will show investors you are serious about building your startup into a success story in the next several years. Don’t let a simple oversight jeopardize your startup’s future. Have questions about founder equity? Let’s connect to keep your equity grants and cap table on track! #startuplawyer #startupfounder #vestingschedule #founderequity

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Just finished reading "The Next Giant Leap" by Space Capital - a pioneering VC investing in the emerging Space Economy. The report speaks to how SpaceX’s Starship is more than just the most powerful rocket ever built—it is poised to reshape the global space economy in profound ways. With its immense payload capacity, reusable design, and lower cost per launch, Starship will unlock entirely new industries and transform existing business models. But how should industries and businesses evolve to align with this paradigm shift? 📈 Rethinking Business Strategies & Supply Chains - For businesses, Starship represents an era of mass-production over precision engineering. This means moving away from the focus on mass efficiency toward cost-effective, redundant, and scalable production. - In terms of supply chains, this opens opportunities for new players in manufacturing, materials, and space components. The demand for off-the-shelf parts and non-aerospace suppliers will rise dramatically. 💡 New Use Cases & Opportunities   The opportunities Starship unlocks go beyond launching satellites. - In-space manufacturing of high-value products like pharmaceuticals and advanced materials that cannot be created on Earth. - Mega-constellations of satellites for global broadband, expanding on what Starlink has already begun. - In-orbit assembly and servicing, allowing for larger space structures like telescopes or even habitats to be built in orbit, radically reducing costs. - Lunar infrastructure and resource extraction will become more viable, paving the way for sustainable human presence on the Moon and, eventually, Mars. 📊 What Should Businesses Do Now?   1. Embrace Redundancy & Scale – Instead of focusing on one-off, high-cost solutions, businesses should embrace redundancy and mass production.    2. Simplify Design – With Starship’s payload capacity, there is less pressure to optimize for mass efficiency. Simplified, scalable designs will allow for faster production and iteration cycles, akin to how SpaceX rapidly tests and evolves Starship itself. 3. Develop Strategic Partnerships – Collaborating with forward-thinking space startups, suppliers, and even non-aerospace sectors will be essential to capitalize on the opportunities Starship provides. 🌌 A New Era of Innovation   Starship will democratize access to space, lowering the barriers for businesses to create and scale. The next decade will witness breakthroughs in scientific exploration, energy production, and in-space transportation that we can only begin to imagine today. #SpaceEconomy #Starship #Innovation #SupplyChain #Manufacturing #SpaceTech #Entrepreneurship #FutureOfSpace https://lnkd.in/gNdbwXdq

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Founders who have raised VC funding I need your advice on a potentially tricky situation with an investor. I was engaging with what I thought was a VC firm based in Berlin to learn more about their thesis and investment categories. When I asked if they had their own fund or were an intermediary, They responded: "No, we do not have our own fund but we know investors that invest and as a result for the investment round of £1M we will ask for 10% ownership." This response raised some red flags for me. I'd greatly appreciate your thoughts on: 1. Is it common for intermediaries to request equity in exchange for connecting founders to investors? 2. Does a 10% ownership stake for a £1M round seem reasonable or excessive? 3. What potential risks or pitfalls should I be aware of when dealing with intermediaries rather than direct VCs? Your insights and experiences would be incredibly helpful as I navigate this situation. Thank you in advance for your guidance! #startup #venturecapital #fundraising #founderadvice

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Honoured to be featured in the latest Tech Funding News article discussing Germany’s role as a leading tech hub. 🚀 I’m also proud to see standout companies from the Earlybird Venture Capital portfolio—N26, Marvel Fusion, Isar Aerospace, and others—highlighted alongside my alma mater, Technical University of Munich, which is another key driver of innovation in the country. While Germany is often dubbed the ‘Silicon Valley of Europe,’ there’s still much to do, such as overcoming regulatory challenges and channeling more growth funding into promising startups. My advice for those navigating the Central European startup landscape: Leverage government-backed funding, connect with business angels, and build relationships with established companies. Do not wait to build a global network early on. Together we can strengthen this ecosystem so that one day it can truly live up to its nickname. Read more by Sofia Chesnokova here: https://bit.ly/404yyXr Cc: Dr. Hendrik Brandis, Paula Wehmeyer, Mario Kohle, Filip Lukac, Benjamin Berényi, Elisheva Marcus #Innovation #DeepTech #VentureCapital #GermanyTech

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Next one up, Glide! In an attempt to demystify some of the non-obvious elements we found when we first met the founders of our fastest growing portfolio companies at 186 Ventures, here is the third edition of the "idiosyncratic phenomenon". This highlight will be on Gautam A., Sameer Kapur, and Vishnu Chakroborty and their journey building Glide to bring world class, unparalleled enterprise grade infrastructure to the much overlooked market of credit unions and community banks-- some of the most important financial institutions across virtually every community in the US. Since we invested in their Winter, 2021 seed round, the company has built an incredible technology stack and has outpaced revenue projections by multiple orders of magnitude. This story is a *fantastic* reminder that it takes time to build incredible product and technology; the Glide story is a quintessential example of this startup proverb, in almost every regard. https://lnkd.in/e8b32CR2

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💡Benchmarks in the investment industry serve as a standard for measuring the performance of securities, mutual funds, or investment managers. They provide a reference point for analyzing allocation, risk, and return of a portfolio, enabling investors to make informed decisions. Thanks Peter Walker for keeping us all informed!! Can’t wait for this!! Follow and get on the waitlist for this one! #benchmarks #fundraising #Capitalraise #founders #womenshealth #femhealth #medtech #wellness

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Founder Mode. "There are currently at least 2 #founders who do this effectively - Elon and Jensen. I have heard/ read almost all their interviews over past 4 years and there are many tangible principles they have explicitly mentioned: * They have deep technical expertise in their domain and are hands on with the most complex parts. They are engineers first and managers second. * They believe in micro management and often nano management. They are control freaks. They believe in flat hierarchy and assembly world class small focussed teams. * They work 24x7 and expect everyone in their company to do the same. They don’t believe in work life balance and are always in a rush to accomplish things. * They build things purely based on conviction and can see far out in the future. Often decades. They never do customer surveys, customer feedback coz they believe customers don’t know what they want and it’s their job to provide them that. * They believe in building unique world class products / services and don’t feel the need for marketing and advertising. They never play the competitive game and truly believe competition is for losers. * You will never ever hear them use a single business jargon. They often say and describe complex things in the simplest words that a layman would understand. They are masters at simplifying complex things to the most basic form. * They are super experts at first principle thinking and every decision and action is based on that. * They often operate alone without a cofounder coz they need to make high conviction bets and don’t want anyone second guessing them. * They run hundreds of experiments and some of them are huge. They don’t mind if their huge bets spectacularly fail in public since they give zero thought to what others think and how they perceive them. * They are extremely independent-minded and do not conform to standard norms especially related to management and business. * They are experts at spotting and predicting big trends and capitalize by betting on them way early in the cycle. * They are usually obsessed and possessed about few key things which they believe are sacrosanct and high impact variables in their vision and business strategy. * Their ideas are so contrarian and they are so early in the space that when inflection occurs they tend to become monopolies with no competition in sight. * Another positive side effect of being super early and being obsessed with high quality is they end up building entire vertically integrated stack further solidifying their moat in the long run. * The vertical stack also helps build huge platform base and spin new products on regular basis for very long." Via @techprimitives on X commenting on: https://lnkd.in/dxu6yyC3 #entrepreneurship #startups #leadership

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Here’s a question investors are often asked: When evaluating early stage companies, how much time do you spend on due diligence around future exits? It’s not surprising we hear this question a lot. Also not surprising: it’s got a wide range of answers depending on the firm. Some don’t spend much time here at all. Others make it a point to put meaningful time in as part of their process. Our current thinking: take the time to do the work on public market comps. At Alpaca VC, we spend significant time understanding how public market investors will  realistically value a business based on margin profile, product, business model & TAM. In short, we want to know: how will this company be valued at scale when we get taken out? Yes, we can acknowledge that the journey toward exit is a windy road and that there may be pivots along the way, but there are still public market companies that have a business model similar to the early stage company you're evaluating. And you can always look at gross profit multiples if you think the margin profile will change over time. So we still do the work on the comps. Quantitative metrics we look at when making the comparison to public market comps include EBITDA multiple, revenue multiple, Gross Profit multiple or all of the above. As part of this process, it’s also important to factor in the public market company’s year-over-year revenue growth as this will also significantly impact the multiple it trades at. Simple example: if you have two public market companies with similar business models and similar margin profiles, but one's growing 100% year over year, and one's growing 50% year over year, then obviously the DCF (discounted cash flow) analysis is going to spit out a very different valuation for the one that's growing faster. Why this matters: When you take all of that information into account as you evaluate an early stage business, you can begin to create a realistic picture of how this company will be valued in the public markets at exit - or how an acquirer will value the company for an acquisition. Strategic acquirers may, of course, pay a premium, but we won’t underwrite for that. This allows us, for example, to form conviction around valuation based on revenue and gross profit predictions. If we think they can do $100M of revenue five years from now, we use this diligence process to form a thesis about whether the characteristics above (product, margin, business model, etc.) will cause the company to be valued at $200M vs. $500M vs. $1B at exit. Curious how other early stage investors think about underwriting an exit and how much time they’re spending on public market comps even though these companies are in their infancy.

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It’s been a year since we officially launched the fund, and I am beyond thrilled to share that GrowthCap Ventures has been featured in Outlook Money! In the fast-paced world of startups, choosing the right venture capital partner can make all the difference. At GrowthCap Ventures, we’re not just about providing capital to founders—we’re about empowering early-stage startups in 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵, 𝗦𝗮𝗮𝗦, and 𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 with strategic guidance, mentorship, and invaluable industry connections. We’re proud to be an 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿-𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱, working hand-in-hand with our portfolio companies to ensure their success. Our goal is to support 10-12 early-stage companies through this maiden fund, helping them scale with not just money but a full spectrum of support. This coverage includes insights from our LPs and founders on what sets GCV apart and how we are building an operator fund from the ground up. This journey wouldn't be possible without our incredible backers who bring a wealth of experience and industry access to enrich our portfolio companies. To our amazing team— Jenny Mehta, Sakshi Vora, Jash Shah, our investee 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, and everyone who has been part of this journey—thank you for believing in our vision. Together, we’re navigating the startup seas with seasoned expertise, creating and scaling the next generation of innovators. If you're building something exciting, we would love to hear about it! Reach out to us and let’s explore how GrowthCap can help it grow. Here's to building the future, one startup at a time! Link to the full article - https://lnkd.in/d3zwer7T Ravi Shankar, Kapil Garg, Shankar Vailaya, Jayant Kumar, Dr Ritesh Jain, Beerud Sheth, Gaurav Bhojak, Naresh Naik, Ankur Jain, CFA Sanjit Nagarkatti, Pankaj Poddar, Deepak Sharma, Ram Naresh, Gaurav Duggal Mohit Jalan #GrowthCapVentures #StartupSuccess #VentureCapital #Fintech #SaaS #Deeptech #Innovation #Mentorship #StrategicGuidance

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Impressive!!! Thanks for this great report, Gianmaria Sbetta! 🏆🏆🏆 Google should make it more public - in the past, it was under scrutiny for raising salary, rent, and real estate prices in #zurich, but this shows clear and significant contribution to the #startup scene, culture of #innovation and #economy. Roi Y. Tavor Christine Antlanger-Winter BTW, at ellipsis we ♥️♥️LOVE♥️♥️ working with #xoogler founders - from Zurich and elsewhere, and we help them with their first steps as entrepreneurs.

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🚨 Red Alert for Germany’s Startup Ecosystem: A 30% Drop in Active Investors – How Can We Keep the Innovation Engine Running? A recent article from Handelsblatt (link in comments) points out that early-stage startups are especially at risk during this downturn since they depend on venture capital to scale. The expanding funding gap will further stifle growth in areas where innovation is most needed. Yet, within this challenge lies opportunity: 🌱 Resilient Sectors Lead the Way Sectors like #GreenTech and #AI are still drawing investment, showing their potential to drive innovation. These industries highlight where Germany can have the most significant impact. 🏠 Family Offices as Growth Catalysts As traditional investors pull back, family offices can step up. By leveraging patient capital, they can empower promising startups and lay the foundation for long-term success. 🤝 Venture Clienting as a Key to Co-Innovation Strategic partnerships between startups and established businesses bridge the funding gap. These alliances not only drive digital transformation but also deliver mutual value and foster innovation. At D11Z. Ventures, we believe Germany’s competitive edge depends on collaboration. That's why we invest in high-potential startups and create co-innovation opportunities with family offices and industry leaders. Together, we're fostering an ecosystem that drives innovation and supports long-term growth. 🚀 💬 How can family offices and industry leaders support the next wave of startup innovation? Share your ideas below! #D11ZVentures #Innovation #StartupEcosystem #VentureCapital #InnovationLeadership #FamilyOffices #CoInnovation #ArtificialIntelligence

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