Amy Fisher

Los Angeles is buzzing with venture capital activity, ready to back the boldest entrepreneurs across industries like tech, fintech, and biotech. If you're aiming to elevate your startup in LA, here's where you might find your perfect investor match. Leading LA Venture Capital Firms: ✅ Mucker Capital - Big on software startups, investing in companies like AuditBoard and Honey. 🚀 ✅ Upfront Ventures - Specializes in ecommerce and healthcare, with investments in GOAT Group and Parachute Home. 🏪 ✅ Baroda Ventures - Eyes on consumer internet and SaaS markets, backing firms like Amplify. 💡 ✅ ScOp Venture Capital - Focus on SaaS, helping companies scale with investments in Cloverleaf. 🌐 ✅ Crosscut Ventures - Largest seed-stage VC in LA, invested in Boosted and Inspire. 🌱 ✅ Anthem Venture Partners - Biotech and fintech enthusiasts, with investments in TrueCar. 🔬💳 ✅ Arena Ventures - Backing consumer and fintech disruptors like CityMall and Aaptiv. 🚀 ✅ Canyon Creek Capital - Supports technology firms showing market traction like HoneyBook. 💻 ✅ Frontier Venture Capital - Investing in media and tech that enhance global well-being, like Syndio. 🌍 ✅ Karlin Ventures - Funds innovative solutions in software and ecommerce like StrikeAd and Wallaby. 🛒 🔗 Discover the full list here: https://lnkd.in/dtxqpiRy Explore opportunities, connect with industry leaders, and start your journey in LA’s thriving startup ecosystem today! 🚀 #VentureCapital #Startups #LosAngeles #Innovation #Entrepreneurship

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Coming soon on Aug 1: "Transformation to a Fresh Tomorrow." This is theme of our 3rd Annual Web3 Investor Day, as we welcome the innovators and investors convening in Chicago for these discussions around the next generation Internet. Our theme reflects the optimism, determination and commitment investors and innovators have solidified off the depths of the bear markets to drive success in the bull markets. Broader investor optimism suggests that fresh institutional funds into Web3 across both tokens and equity may endure.  Across adoption metrics, customer interest and developer activity, Web3 seems to have normalized. It’s refreshing to see the transformation and next evolution of Web3 and it’s refreshing to meet many of you on August 1.  And yet, even with the improved optimism from last year, there still remain open questions in the development and adoption of our next generation Internet:  1. the balance of speculative versus productive investor capital in this current cycle 2. the productive role of liquid trading capital in fostering Web3 innovation 3. the attractiveness of venture investments in follow on financings 4. the role of policy and regulation that may enhance innovation 5. the continued developer activity to improve the underlying infrastructure 6. other Web3 recovery characteristics in target customer use cases. We remain committed to navigating regulatory shifts, fostering investor optimism, and building the customer use cases for Web3.  Physical spaces enhance our innovation conversations.  In person relationships foster our collaboration.  Relationships drive breakthrough innovations.  Reach out to Rizza Torres at Decasonic if you would like to join us! #web3investorday #web3 #venturecapital

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And my second investment at defy is in 🐶 zeroETL puppies 🐶... I mean PuppyGraph, which is all the beauty of a graph database, none of the data migration or continuous upkeep of a graph database. Sounds like magic? So are puppies 🐶 . Puppygraph is NOT a graph or a database. It is graph analytics engine that answers graph questions on your existing data warehouses, whether that is a Databricks datalake, Google BigQuery or postgres. Compared to SQL, it's faster, handles way more complexity, scales and has almost no upkeep. How did I get to conviction? 1. Tailwinds - 🌊 Lakehouses 🌊 have helped enterprises put all their data in one place, enabling Puppygraph to unlock insights previously unavailable. - 📚 LLMs! 📚AI and RAG cannot easily traverse fragmented data. Puppygraph's Graph RAG unlocks insights with their Knowledge Graph and spoonfeeds to the LLMs. 2. 👯 Team 👯 We have graph experts from Google, LinkedIn, Databricks, Tigergraph, and Instacart who are uniquely able to build this solution. 3. 💸 Customers 💸 . My alma mater Coinbase is a proud user. The feedback from my former colleagues was off the charts! A blockchain is very much a graph database and Puppygraph tracks down fraudulent transactions that go through mixers and helps identify patterns. Huge congrats to Weimo Liu Danfeng Xu Lei Huang Zhenni Wu Gary Hagmueller, defy.vc is proud to be an investor!!

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645 Ventures’ first fund was a scrappy $8 million seed round announced in 2014. In late 2022 the firm raised its largest funds ever with $350 million across two; a $195 million fourth flagship fund and a select fund of $153 million. Seed- and early-stage venture is a network-driven business. However, what differentiates 645 Ventures is that it has also built its own software to source investments at the seed stage.

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Today is an inflection point for Breakout with the announcement of our $4.5m venture growth round led by the experienced team at RockawayX with participation from Mechanism, Round13, CSquared, IOBC, and Mentat Group. Operationally, we’ve accomplished one of the hardest feats — going zero to one. We currently have over 5,000 traders that have collectively traded over $12B in notional volume and we’re growing exponentially. It’s now time to take things to the next level with a stacked treasury that we can leverage to improve our product even further and get Breakout into the hands of tens of thousands of new traders across the globe. I often get asked what it’s like to run a startup and many times I don’t even know where to begin. Startups are HARD. I won’t get into the minutiae but after 4 startups and 16 years, the biggest takeaway for me has been that in order to succeed, you have to mentally overcome the fact that successful startups need to fall forward and constantly navigate unique obstacles without allowing any one of those obstacles to paralyze the company. This is a constant battle that is unachievable without a resilient team that all share the same mindset and entrepreneurial drive. Our team at Breakout is the best I’ve ever been a part of and our growth in such a short period of time could not have been achieved so far without each and every person involved. You know who you are, thank you. We’re going to continue to push the envelope and will have some really exciting news to share in the coming weeks on the product front. Stay tuned. https://lnkd.in/ezPs8pdE

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Another edition of VCs Doing Work: Slauson & Co. 🎉Congrats to raising $100M for your second fund continuing your mission to make a difference!🎉 Wait... What and who is Slauson and Co? Slauson & Co. is a Los Angeles-based venture capital firm focused on early-stage technology investments, founded by Austin Clements and Ajay Relan. The firm's mission centers on economic inclusion and democratizing access to entrepreneurship for underrepresented founders. Slauson & Co. primarily invests in: Preseed and seed SMB Tech (tools supporting small and medium businesses) Consumer technology The firm typically writes checks between $500,000 and $2 million, aiming to lead most rounds. Since its launch in 2020, Slauson & Co. has made significant strides: Raised a $75 million Fund I, exceeding its initial $50 million target Backed 38 companies, with a majority led by people of color and at least half by women Recently closed a $100 million Fund II, demonstrating continued investor interest in their inclusive approach The firm has garnered support from prominent investors and organizations, including: PayPal Ron Conway (veteran technology investor) Ashton Kutcher will.i.am True Capital Management Alpaca VC Slauson & Co. is just getting started! If you think you have a startup that fits their thesis and stage, reach out! #diversity #inclusion #venturecapital #consumer #smb Brittany Crockett #longla #losangeles #celebration #vcsdoingwork

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Los Angeles-based Fika Ventures recently closed its new B2B-focused early-stage fund. 💸 $160-million Fund IV 💡 Leading investments into #preseed and #seedrounds in B2B software companies across #SaaS, #fintech, #commerce enablement, #marketplaces and #healthcare, particularly those harnessing #artificialintelligence to drive innovation. $1-5M for an initial investment and reserves for follow-on rounds. 🌍 The #UnitedStates and #Canada. The VCs largest markets are #LA, #NY, and the #BayArea, but they have investments and spend time in #Seattle, #Toronto, #Chicago, #SaltLakeCity, #Denver, #Atlanta, #Miami, and more. 📈 Founded in 2016 and with over $350M aum, the VC has backed start-ups including BuildOps, Specright, Siro, Edge Impulse (enterprise); Papaya, Pipe, Payabli (fintech); Upwards, Chowbus, Atticus (marketplaces); and Zentist, Noyo (healthtech) 💭 “At Fika, venture capital isn’t just about writing checks – it’s about building real, lasting partnerships with extraordinary founders. With Fund IV, we are deepening our commitment to providing hands-on collaboration and unwavering support to entrepreneurs through every stage of the company building journey.” - Tianxiang (TX) Zhuo, general partner at Fika Ventures. “ 🗞️LA Times https://lnkd.in/eeur9Rvr, 👏 For the #AudaciousInvestors unleashing innovation and empowering tomorrow🚀 Tianxiang I John I Arteen I Matt I Gabriella I James I Olivia I Ju-Djuin I Natalie I Aaron I Tracy I Team Fika Ventures … #venturecapital #vc #funds #startups #entrepreneurs #funding #tech #ai #entrepreneurship #technology #innovation #LosAngeles #ai #usa #cali

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Team San Diego! I though you may find this as surprising as I did...we are not alone. Read this quick article from Jon Prentice's (Silicon Valley Bank) interview with with James Newell (Voyager Capital), published in GeekWire on Seattle's innovation ecosystem....they lament the SAME issues as we do in San Diego: * Lack of angel investors, (Especially, it calls out, given the local giant tech co's) * "We need low-conviction check writers." * Lack of "cachet associated with being an angel investor" - We have similar efforts (as described in the article) to drum up angel activity: NuFund Venture Group and, Interlock Capital (read the article and you'll see why the Interlock effort is tops as relates to "paying back into the ecosystem") Connect.org strives to 'connect' innovative companies with investors of all types (angel, VC, PE...) - just see "Innovation Day". Their Springboard program provides another great way for experienced entrepreneurs to give back through mentorship...as for the companies going through Springboard: "Ask for advice, and you often get $$" Your thoughts on the article or San Diego innovation ecosystem? https://lnkd.in/gfwq6mfq

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Summary: Crosscut Ventures, a venture capital firm in Los Angeles, is launching a $100 million fund focused on hardware-centric technologies, particularly in the areas of energy and power, space and underwater exploration, and advanced manufacturing. This shift in focus is driven by the emergence of talented entrepreneurs from companies like SpaceX and a recognition of the potential impact that hardware startups can have in solving big problems like climate change. Key takeaways: Crosscut Ventures is shifting its focus from solely investing in software startups to also including hardware startups, particularly those addressing frontier tech. The firm sees a growing number of talented entrepreneurs coming from companies like SpaceX and recognizes the potential impact of hardware startups in solving big problems like climate change. With the launch of the new hardware-centric fund, Crosscut is also bringing on a new partner with expertise in growth and project finance to help bridge the funding gap for hardware startups. Counter arguments: Some may argue that investing in hardware startups is riskier and more capital-intensive compared to software startups, making it a less attractive option for investors. Others may question the broad range of verticals that Crosscut Ventures is targeting with its new fund and the potential lack of specialization in any one area. #venturecapital #spacetech #vc

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📢 I have some exciting news to share - I’ve joined creative firm BABs as partner and global head of communications. In this new role, I will oversee and expand a rapidly growing team and roster of clients in #web3, #fintech, and #DeFi, sitting at the intersection of traditional and digital asset markets. Unlike others, I don’t think PR firms are dead, or dying - but they do need to meaningfully evolve. Media is but one spoke (albeit a rather important one) on a broader communications wheel that includes several other channels spanning events, marketing, influencers, web design, and more. We’ll have more details to share around our vision for how we see this business model moving forward in the coming weeks. I always said I’d never work for an agency again, and I meant it. BABs is a decentralized organization focused on helping founders and builders tell their stories and raise awareness of projects on a global, multi-channel scale. I’m joining an already thriving firm that has entrusted me with helping to take their business to the next level. Founders are right to question the motives of the press, but that does not mean reporters are out to get them, and we are here to help projects at all stages navigate sharing your story from launch to growth and beyond. If you’d like to collaborate with a true partner, invested on a personal level in meaningfully growing your business - we’d love to hear from you. Also, if you want to join a different kind of organization that is less agency and more collective - no bureaucracy or bullshit, just great work with amazing clients - don’t hesitate to reach out to myself or any other member of the team. Onward and upward. #digitalassets #crypto #DEX #CEX

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Introducing Stephan Little, a pioneer in entrepreneurship, investment, and mergers and acquisitions, who will be joining the AI Panel at the California Investment Forum in Anaheim, CA, on May 8-11. Steve's journey as a serial entrepreneur began at a young age, and he has since scaled six startups to private nine-figure acquisitions and raised over $2 billion in startup and growth funding for businesses across various industries. As the founder and managing director of Zero Limits Ventures and Zero Limits Capital, Steve has become renowned for generating accelerated value growth and delivering extraordinary acquisition value multiples for his portfolio companies and clients. With a keen eye for unique opportunities and a track record of identifying untapped potential, Steve has mastered the art of spotting valuation growth where others may not. In this introduction video, Steve highlighted the transformative power of AI in three distinct areas. Firstly, he touched on the creation and development of AI and generative tools, which are reshaping industries. Secondly, he delved into AI's practical applications within enterprises, emphasizing how integrating AI can dramatically enhance productivity and growth, ultimately increasing value for entrepreneurs. The third area Steve discussed was the middle ground of AI implementation, which presents an exciting opportunity for companies lacking in-house expertise. This gap in the market suggests a burgeoning demand for external AI knowledge and solutions, which can rapidly propel a company forward. AI is accelerating at an extraordinary pace and significantly impacting market dynamics. As an "older statesman" in the tech world, Steve expressed his excitement about being part of this "big bubble" of innovation. Join us at the California Investment Forum to hear Steve's insights and expertise on AI deployment, bridging the gap between generic AI models and task-specific enterprise applications. Learn how we can harness the power of AI to drive competitiveness, efficiency, and growth, improve productivity, and enhance business values in the next decade. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from one of the industry's most respected visionaries and game-changers. #AI #CIF Daniel Sieu Darlene Bryant (Chiu)

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AI as a topic is an active one at BankTech Ventures. Thanks to our team for helping me aggregate some community bank use cases and guiding principles for The Financial Revolutionist article.

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The biggest issue with the African tech ecosystem is the lack of funding. What little funding exists always seems to end up in the hands of people who are not even based in the communities they serve. Building a thriving start-up ecosystem requires alot of hand holding. Alot of risk. The rewards for this risk is tremendous. Its always amazing when people come to the continent and see the potential. Are willing to back it up with actions and not words. Africa needs investors, not a hand out. I look forwad to working with you towards this end.

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I recently discovered 11% of all seed investments in the United States have come out of Miami At the recent Primary Venture Partners Summit in New York, Keith Rabois, Managing Director of Khosla Ventures highlighted Miami’s potential as a rising tech hub. Despite the challenges such as high competition from other regions, Miami is emerging as a vibrant and safe city for innovators. With a push towards a robust tech ecosystem, there’s no doubt this city is set to become a major player in the tech world. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eb3t3wHn #Entrepreneurship #MiamiTech #Startup #Investment

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Excited to join industry leaders in LA to explore the future of non-traditional investments. I’ll be speaking at the Private Wealth Southern California Forum, hosted by Markets Group, on 12 November. Together, we’ll discuss how innovations in alternative assets are reshaping the investment landscape. Thank you to Markets Group for providing the platform to explore these transformative developments. #PrivateEquity #Innovation #Technology #Entrepreneurship #VentureCapital #Investing #Finance #Alternatives #Startups #Speaker

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Forerunner Ventures just closed a $500M fund, doubling down on consumer tech at a time when many VCs have pulled back. With nearly $3B in historical AUM, FV recently led rounds into AI-driven startups like Daydream, Pie, and Mindtrip, Inc., building on their success with popular brands (and exited investments) such as Glossier, Inc. and Warby Parker and Dollar Shave Club. Kristen Green said it best: “Today’s consumers expect more—better quality, personalization, and smarter solutions." Are we on the verge of the next big wave in consumer tech? Let me know your thoughts. #Consumer #VentureCapital #AI #Startups #Innovation https://lnkd.in/g7Db7UhU

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I spend a lot of time discussing #VentureStudios — often these are #investors (#angels, #LP's, #VC's, and #FamilyOffices), current and aspiring studio operators, and #startup #founders curious about how being part of a studio might benefit them. This is a relatively new asset class, so many of the questions I get come down to understanding the studio model itself (e.g., what exactly is—and isn’t—a studio). For me, the simplest way to explain it is this: a venture studio is a company that builds companies. They typically serve as founding or cofounding entities. While #incubators and #accelerators can offer similar support, they tend to work with businesses that are already up and running. What sets studios apart is their involvement from the very start.

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