Amanda Schwartz Ramirez

Regardless of how you feel about any of the politics of the folks involved, this is a fascinating and interesting read that quickly devolved into airing of corporate dirty laundry, first between John Carmack and Andrew Bozworth, and then between Andrew Bozworth and Palmer Luckey. I don't shed any tears for Palmer's departure, but the process behind it is interesting to analyze. I can say having worked with John that he doesn't ever bring personal politics or personal beliefs into work. He doesn't discuss them. When he's at work, he's focused on work, and expected everyone else to be also. Our personal politics may not have aligned but we share an enduring love for the medium of games, the nascent technology of VR, and the potential of a future metaverse. As for this conversation on Twitter? I can imagine that there were PR folks trying to drag Andrew Bozworth's social media credentials away from him. Something like, "stop posting to Twitter dammit, you're just digging the grave deeper." This is like watching a mixed doubles tennis match. ----- UploadVR: "Palmer Luckey & John Carmack Argue With Meta CTO Over Luckey's Firing" (Ian hamilton) (April 15, 2024) “On Saturday I was out at a soccer field in Manhattan watching my kid play, relaxing like many of us do on the weekend, when I saw that former Oculus CTO John Carmack wrote “I regret not doing more to support and defend Palmer Luckey at Facebook. We were in different states and divisions, and I was largely out of the political loop, but when I became aware of the situation I should have made a clear and open statement of opposition to the witch hunt.” Twitter: John Carmack: https://lnkd.in/gYfU98Xr IanHamilton: https://lnkd.in/g7nmRXzU JohnCarmack: https://lnkd.in/gr58AWAM IanHamilton: https://lnkd.in/g_ai_ciJ JohnCarmack: https://lnkd.in/gfyG7ygG AndrewBozworth: https://lnkd.in/ghFvenWD AndrewBozworth: https://lnkd.in/gn_MqkmE JohnCarmack: https://lnkd.in/gs8d-RVi AndrewBozworth: https://lnkd.in/geUCd-5W Blair Renaud: https://lnkd.in/gPviA5Bc AndrewBozworth: https://lnkd.in/ggWCehvQ UploadVR: https://lnkd.in/gzqczb4A PalmerLuckey: https://lnkd.in/gkqaKVuN AndrewBozworth: https://lnkd.in/gG3xnj9W PalmerLuckey: https://lnkd.in/g5n2Eh95 AndrewBosworth: https://lnkd.in/gnDC2myH PalmerLuckey: https://lnkd.in/gH_aVtSY AndrewBozworth: https://lnkd.in/gd3RqKgZ AmandaWatson: https://lnkd.in/gx6bq95w #socialmedia #xr #twitterbeef #flamewar #twitter

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What do you do when a radical new technology puts your main product right in the crosshairs of disruption? Listen to David Okuniev — co-founder of Typeform | Ask awesomely — discuss the challenges of innovation within existing structures. David shared a game-changing insight: Radical innovation is really, really difficult to do inside your own product. He emphasized the need to break free from the constraints of familiarity and embrace change from outside the box. Henrik Werdelin and I have both seen our fair share of this in our respective careers. What struck us most was how David leveraged structure to overcome the innovator’s dilemma. By creating a culture of experimentation and providing space for bold ideas, he propelled Typeform beyond incremental improvements. What other hacks have you seen or employed to help your organization overcome the innovator’s dilemma? Share your stories below! 👇 And if you want to dive deeper into our conversation, click the link in the comments to catch the full podcast episode!

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I 💯agree with Oz Merchant on this topic. Some folks advise founders to pitch very selectively and 'pick your pitch' - you get one shot, choose it wisely? I'm 180 degrees opposite of that - be a promiscuous pitcher! - ABP - ALWAYS BE PITCHING. Because your pitch gets better with every no, take that feedback, learn, iterate. Right now it's taking 50-100 no's for Triangle co's to get funding, it's still tough out there, so get through the no's fast to get to a yes. Check out the event - also go see others pitch, it all helps you get better - pitching is like PMF - lots of iteration, tons of grinding to get through to the other side.

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What do you do when you don’t want to raise venture funding, or don’t have the option? Jive got started in 2001—my first day with the founders was September 11. We had no other choice but to bootstrap, which we did for five years. Eventually, we reached a crucible moment: We could stay independent and bootstrapped, or we could ride the social software trend to something much larger—but we’d have to raise money. I spoke with Lighter Capital CEO Melissa Widner about what it took to take Jive from a small open-source project to an IPO-ready SaaS business, and how it shaped my ideas on when and how to fund startups to optimize success. It’s not about funding versus bootstrapping, but about when and how much. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/gDQSmuFy #Entrepreneurship #Startups #VC #IPO #Reignition

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An interesting article below, that demonstrates out how San Diego is punching above its weight.  And how Connect's strategy and execution over time, contintues to be central to that success. The article describes the current state of the market in Seattle.  (And i love Seattle.) It's a market that we tend to track with relative to venture fundings.  They used to kick our butts, we outraised them each of the last three years.  This despite the fact they have 3x as many funds there, and 9x the amount of resident capital there. (per pitchbook) Some key takeaways:  * They continue to compare themselves to SIlicon Valley. Instead, we leverage our proximity. *They whine there's not enough local investors (see note above - they have more than us). We bring over 200 VCs to SD annually! * They say founders are not connected with one another. We bring CEOs together regularly, in a variety of ways - private dinners and through our Springboard program. * They say they need to elevate their image on a national & international stage. Why we created and continue to build Five.Ten.Thirty (aka Inno Day).  * And the last paragraph - they need to concentrate on making their region a great place to live. Our mantra: "It's about Better, not Bigger." (See XEO, TL Fund). THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT. WE ARE ON A MISSION TOGETHER!!!  (Comments, whining, suggestions on SD always welcome.) https://lnkd.in/g6Rq_f2Y

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💯 agree with this viewpoint Today there are hundreds of products in every vertical that should really be features not products 🤯 Who actually enjoys having 20+ software applications to run a business? I’ve yet to meet a degenerate who does 😂 Building a compound startup or true system of record is not for the faint hearted. Everything is harder. Navigating through the complexity and the breadth vs depth conundrum is agonising 🛣️ 🧟‍♂️ But if you can stick the course and execute on this strategy successfully to build the ‘one stop shop for X’ both the customer and the software provider get incredible rewards 🏆🏆 #compound #startup

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Many people have asked that I share the keynote presentation from Coatue’s East Meets West conference from this past June. This gives a great perspective on both public and private markets and how we see the impact on investing. #coatue #venturecapital

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Today's Boring Biz (# 102): Children's Entertainment Center - $300K Cashflow - California Note: We do not represent this deal, highlighting for informational purposes only for viewers What does the company do? 1. Indoor playspace and party center 2. Birthday party hosting 3. Established franchise location Investment highlights 1. 17+ years in operation 2. Diverse revenue streams 3. Located in high-traffic shopping mall Investment risks/concerns 1. High local competition 2. Liability and injury insurance 3. Limitations from franchise network #SMB #ETA #finance #Cashflow #investing #search #searchfund #privateequity #microprivateequity #smallbusiness #venturecapital #vc #entrepreneur #business #businessowner #children #entertainment #center #california Disclaimer: Hypothetical and illustrative only. Please do your own research (DYOR) or work with tax and legal professionals before making a decision. This video are intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice, nor should be construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any security by SMB PE LLC or any third party.

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I'm excited to announce that Mindset Care, the platform designed to simplify the application process for Social Security Disability benefits for individuals with mental illnesses and their caregivers, has raised $13 million. Science led the latest funding round and has backed the company since it launched from Science Inc.’s startup studio. We are thrilled to have Wellington Management (Van Jones, Jackson Cummings), Tubbs Ventures, Enable Ventures (Regina "Gina" Kline, Margaret Knowles), XYZ, and LivEdge Capital on board to enable Mindset to meet the growing demand for disability assistance. 17 million Americans live with a serious mental illness and qualify for disability benefits. Yet, it is estimated that about 65% of initial disability applications are denied, often due to errors or incomplete information​. This financing will enable Mindset Care to expand into partnerships with community and large-scale organizations, including local mental health nonprofits, government agencies, and homeless shelters. It has been a privilege to work with Darren Webb, Mindset’s co-founder and CEO, and see his passion and commitment to supporting people struggling with their mental health and their caregivers firsthand. Mindset Care’s community outreach teams work directly in homeless shelters, corrections facilities, veteran organizations, food drives, and rehab facilities to find and assist eligible applicants. Mindset’s platform utilizes AI to handle operational tasks, streamlining and automating the prequalification of prospective claimants and reducing the time required from weeks to less than an hour. At Science, we remain steadfast in our dedication to supporting companies as they strive to build a brighter tomorrow for society. Organizations like Mindset Care are deploying innovative solutions to some of the world’s greatest challenges, and we are honored to be part of their journey. We congratulate the entire Mindset Care team for their dedication and upward momentum. We are thrilled to continue working alongside Mindset Care and uplifting their critical role in addressing America’s mental health crisis. *Fun fact: I connected with Enable Ventures thru the Columbia Business School alum network. Grateful for their support. Link to announcement in comments below. #venturecapital #mentalhealth #digitalhealth #disabilityawareness

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Are we building too much supply side infrastructure for AI? Will revenue ever catch up? I discussed these questions and more with Laura Chau, partner at Canaan, in episode 452 of The Full Ratchet. Tune in today to catch our full discussion. Link to the full episode is in the comment section below.

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❤️ I’ll never forget when I first met John Majeski. ThrowbackThursday 🛗 John was a judge at the Long Beach Accelerator Joy Fairbanks Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) Octane OC. 💥 Like a lot of startups over the past four years, fund raising has been difficult. 😷 I founded facil.ai April 2020. Right at the start of the COVID pandemic. 🦄 😎 🎼 🛡️💥😤🦄 I’m a seven time, serial entrepreneur, startup founder. This is the (backwards) startup playbook: FUND💰BUILD🛠️ GROW📈EXIT🦄 This works sometimes, but the reality is that you give up something for the ease afforded by raising millions of dollars of VC funding: 🪓You give up CONTROL. The reality is most startup founders are not at all in control of their own destiny.⛓️ It’s happened to me. 🔪 2x 💥😤 I learned that if you’re NOT: 1) The founding CEO AND 2) The majority shareholder 😬 “You’re just another person with an opinion!” 🤬 🌪️ So I came into facil.ai with a completely different mindset. 💣💥DISRUPTION #FMRebel 🗿🕹️And firmly in CONTROL of my own destiny! 😘Initially we were focused on a market which (I thought) I knew extremely well: 🛍️ Retailers With 200-2,000+ sites. But our solution wasn’t resonating with these customers. 👿 Now retailers don’t get MAD at me? I LOVE YA! ❤️ But reality only a few of you really seem interested in autonomous AI optimization! ✅💰Even though we’re saving retailers like you $250K+ a month! With enhanced comfort. 😬 So we started focusing on, and there’s really no other way to put this, “Everything BUT retail”. 😱 🎓 University 🖥️ Data Center 🩺 Hospitals 🛒 Grocery 🍔 Fast food QSR 🕋 Commercial/PropTech ⚡️ County/Municipal 😀 And it paid off. 👺 Some predicted we’d run out of money. 🤑 Happy to disappoint you! 😴💤🥱 Sorry. 🙏🏼 I digress. Back to my story about how I met John‼️ 🫣 With this pivot I’m worried because I’m thinking we’ve got to open up a pre-seed round of VC financing. 🆒 We had raised about $1.5M via family and friends. Now here I am pitching for $6M VC investment w/ a pre money valuation of $18M. 🦄➕💰💰🤑 🟰 😫 Doing the math, any experienced startup founder knows what this could mean?! 🥵😳 👥 John comes up and says "Hi Keith. Let's take a picture together.” 🚀 “Keith, you have a great company, and I’d write you a check, but I'd have to TAKE more of your company than you’d probably like. And that’s not a great outcome. For either of us! 👎🏼 So I’m going to pass! 🌈 But I encourage you to keep doing what you're doing. And let's connect in about a year from now.” 🦄 John Majeski was right ❤️ Our customers love us! He has joined our team as interim CTO and we’re thrilled to be in conversations with several large infrastructure companies as partners or acquirers. 🙏🏼 Thank you my friend! 🚀 facil.ai is proud to be a Portola Valley Partners portfolio company. BUILD🛠️GROW📈FUND💰EXIT🦄 [email protected] #venturecapital #innovation #future #technology #leadership

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Breaking down the Seattle Venture Ecosystem! Kudos to Jacob Laes and Nick Khormaei for shedding light on the often complex and opaque Seattle funding ecosystem with their comprehensive investor map. For founders, navigating the venture capital world can feel like a maze, but this map offers a much-needed clearer view of where Seattle’s investors are truly placing their bets. And you know me—data is everything! Data drives decisions and, in this case, holds the key to unlocking new opportunities for startups. This project covers 58 firms with insights on: Industry sector focus Investment stages Portfolio track records It’s a game-changer for founders looking to connect with the right investors more efficiently. Check out their breakdown for a detailed view, and feel free to reach out for the full data set! Evan Poncelet Jesse Posey #Startups #Entrepreneurship #VentureCapital #SeattleTech #Funding #TechInnovation #Investing #StartupCommunity #VentureEcosystem #FounderJourney #BusinessGrowth #SeattleStartups

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It is a great privledge to be backing Stella Garber for a second time, as well as her sensational co-founders Brian Schmidt and Justin Gallagher. It’s also great to working with Index Ventures again, too. One thing I have learned in my venture career is that humans are lazy, and software that does simple things can feel like magic. Hoop uses AI to automatically harvest to do items from all of your communication channels. Today it’s single player, and in the future it will be your whole team. Read more about why we invested: https://lnkd.in/geTy-kyZ

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I enjoyed going on Nick Telson-Sillett’s podcast, Pitch Deck by Forward Pursuit. Nick is a serial founder and investor (founded and exited DesignMyNight) so knows both sides of the table which always makes for an enriching chat. Some things we discussed: - The perceived power dynamic between VCs and founders can hinder productive conversations. - A compelling product demo can significantly influence investor interest. - Founders must focus on solving real customer problems to succeed. - Hiring standards are crucial for building a successful startup team. - Behavioural roadblocks can prevent the adoption of new solutions. - Validation from potential customers is key for pre-revenue startups. - The early-stage funding landscape has become more efficient and selective. - Pace of execution is a critical factor in attracting investment.

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We believe in extreme vetting of our founders. You can't build a unicorn if you spend time on silly stuff, like seeing family and friends. Grow up, and focus on investor returns. #vc #startups #investment

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California is convenient for many things: making wine, surfing waves, launching a startup — we could go on! But it’s not always a convenient forum for a lawsuit against your client. Where a case is heard can be as crucial as the case itself, depending on the factors at play. However, successfully extracting a case you believe was filed in an unsuitable forum will require a thorough understanding of California civil procedure. Specifically, we’re talking about the Code of Civil Procedure sections 410.30 and 418.10. Lucky for you, CEB has prepared a refresher on the process, which includes proposing a suitable alternative, considering the notions of substantial justice, weighing the choice between stay and dismissal, and following the guidelines for drafting your motion. Read on to find the critical considerations for filing a motion to dismiss or stay for inconvenient forum in California 👉 https://gag.gl/opmOvS

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The (Healthcare) Ground Beneath Our Feet… This year it is likely that over $10 billion will be invested in the digital health sector – a robust amount, no doubt, but inconsequential when compared to the amount of capital tied up in healthcare real estate assets, which is estimated to be $1.2 trillion by Jones Lang Lasalle. Of that amount, approximately $790 billion is in the hospital sector while the remaining $490 billion is in medical office assets. It is estimated that there are 48.6k facilities with 3.4 billion square feet of healthcare real estate, 42% of which are owned by REITs and another 33% held by other private investment vehicles. Much of the digital health investment is meant to make the physical healthcare infrastructure more productive: greater operating efficiencies, greater patient throughput, more relevant personalized care models with better outcomes. As the healthcare system is being pushed to be more distributed to lower cost sites of care, accelerated now by the rapid proliferation of automation and AI capabilities, the potential impact on healthcare infrastructure assets will be profound. Thoughts on what that might look like... https://lnkd.in/eTfAdUbS #digitalhealth Flare Capital Partners

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💰🎓VALUATION CAP💰🎓 Setting a valuation cap in fundraising is crucial as it limits the maximum valuation at which a SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) converts to equity. This helps founders manage equity dilution and provides investors with a clear understanding of their potential ownership percentage, ensuring informed decision-making during fundraising rounds. Source: Peter Walker Great post! #valuationcap #investors #founders #raisingcapital #safes #fundraising #womenshealth #femhealth #medtech

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