Benjamin Conant

Hot take…it’s not like getting into YC is your automatic ticket to success. But there are a few things about it that made a huge difference. 1. It steps up your company’s pace. They push you to move fast, iterate quickly, and constantly validate your assumptions. This creates a sense of urgency that permeates the entire company. This is worth more than you’d think. 2. The advice is top notch. Double is my 2nd startup - I founded Jetfuel in 2016 which was eventually acquired. I wish I’d had all the YC advice the first time around. 3. Raising money is significantly easier. The brand of YC means it’s significantly easier to raise a round than without YC. It’s still hard and stressful, but it is undoubtedly one of the perks of YC. At the end of the day, you gotta do the work yourself. But YC gives you a big leg up.

71

1 Comment

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

44

5 Comments

🚀 AlleyCorp Closes $250M Fund to Fuel Tech Innovation in NYC and Beyond🗽 🌟 Founded by NYC internet entrepreneur Kevin Ryan, AlleyCorp incubates and invests in transformative companies across diverse verticals including Diversified Technology, Healthcare, Robotics, and Impact. 💡💰 🤝 The fund, backed by a select group of LPs, supports AlleyCorp's mission to originate ideas, hire teams, provide initial funding, and maintain integral leadership throughout the company’s lifecycle. 🌱🔍 💼 With about 20–30 new investments and 5–8 incubations per year, AlleyCorp has a track record of nurturing early-stage tech pioneers. 📈🌐 🦄 Notable investments include MongoDB (NASDAQ: MDB), Business Insider, Gilt Groupe, Zola, and Nomad Health, shaping the landscape of tech innovation in NYC. 🌆🌟 🔬 AlleyCorp also announces the incubation of Radical AI, pioneering AI-driven materials design, and Conduce Health, revolutionizing access to personalized healthcare specialists. 💻🏥 ✅ Looking to raise capital for your #fund and increase the international pool of your LP #investors?   🤝 Need warm #LP introductions?   📝 Selling #secondaries to increase liquidity?   🧐 Looking for co-investments?   ▶ G+QUANT's link for inquiries and fund decks: https://lnkd.in/gjC_EuTE #VentureCapital #TechInnovation #NYCTech #StartupInvestment #Incubation #AlleyCorp #ImpactInvesting #HealthTech #AI #Robotics #DiversifiedTechnology #InvestmentStrategy

1

Dan Primack had some pointed criticism for #VC yesterday in his Axios Pro Rata newsletter (a daily must read IMO 😤). In short, the model doesn't work if it can't produce exits for LPs. Don't blame public markets (which are at all-time highs) for the lack of liquidity either. 📈 💸 Instead, this is a "liquidity drought of your making" where "...swinging for the fences on every pitch, rather than taking the single or double that's available" is the only way out when you invest at "sky high valuations." 😰 "A whopping 37% of "unicorns" are being held for at least nine years by VC funds, including 13% that are past the 12-year mark." 😳 ⌛ Is he right? Is VC at a dire inflection point? Or is Primack prematurely hitting the panic button? 🚨 https://lnkd.in/dts92pXr

2

We've released the latest edition of our EQ/IQ Crypto Newsletter, and it's packed with key industry developments. Here are my top three takeaways: 1️⃣ U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis officially introduced the BITCOIN Act in the U.S. Senate, proposing to pay down the national debt through the creation of a strategic Bitcoin reserve. 2️⃣ Historic levels of volatility swept across broader markets as the VIX reached levels we've only seen a handful of times in the past two decades. 3️⃣ U.S. presidential candidates are increasingly signaling a pro-crypto stance in an effort to capture tens of millions of "crypto votes." We cover all of these topics and more in our weekly newsletter. Stay up-to-date on this rapidly evolving market by downloading your copy today. 🤝

5

1 Comment

Seed VCs are turning to new ‘pro rata’ funds that help them compete with the big firms Alpha Partners, SignalRank and now SaaS Ventures help seed VCs pay for shares when big VCs try to price — or push — them out Lee Edwards, partner at Root VC, has a saying at his firm that “pro rata rights are earned, not given.” That may be a bit of a stretch since pro rata refers to a term that VCs put in their term sheets that gives them the right to buy more shares in a portfolio company during consequent funding rounds to maintain an ownership percentage and avoid dilution. Still, while these rights are not exactly “earned,” they can be expensive. One of the latest trends in VC investing these days are funds dedicated to helping seed VCs exercise their pro rata rights. https://lnkd.in/dRM3RvdA By Christine Hall

13

Are you having doubts about raising capital in today's market? 💡Join our friends at Philly Tech Entrepreneurs for an exclusive event featuring Josh Devon, an entrepreneur who secured millions from top VCs, and David Luk, a veteran investor turned "rescue capital" provider at Palm Venture Studios. They'll be dishing the REAL on fundraising: 📌Pros & Cons of raising from VCs, strategics, angels & more! 📌Unveiling lessons learned from their experiences. 📌Decoding the current market and its impact on fundraising. Open forum Q&A to follow - get your burning questions answered! Don't miss this chance to gain valuable insights! Register here: https://lnkd.in/dZAciMfy

6

1 Comment

Subscribe to Fund/Build/Scale now to make sure you'll be notified when my interview with Code Power CEO Aaron Hall is available in a few weeks. We covered a lot of ground, including: - Code Power's #investment model and how it works alongside their #development services - How the company evolved from his experience as a foiunder - Determining whether a company is too early or too late for them to work with - How they address common #outsourcing challenges - Aaron's candid advice for non-technical #founders F/B/S is available on all major platforms! 🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/gpQJzKgc 🎧 Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gC5dHzek Follow Fund/Build/Scale on Substack: https://lnkd.in/gJiiAPcg #earlystage #tech #seed #accelerator #500global #seedstage

6

AUM up over 400% this year. This $5 billion isn't our money, of course. It's our clients. Amidst so many options, we're grateful to investors choosing to entrust us to manage it and work every day to earn that trust — and have for seven years. Bitwise is 85 people now. It's an incredible group. Why do we all chose to work in this space, vs somewhere else [that's easier]? We believe Bitcoin & public blockchains are one of the most important contributions to humanity underway now. New apolitical monetary assets. Incorruptible applications. Permissionless platforms. We think these things are important — on a historic scale — and will make the 21st century better than the last. We're motivated to help more people understand, to help clients safely participate in the opportunity, and to be a good actor supporting the ecosystem developing into its potential. We're proud and grateful for the trust this $5 billion milestone represents. It enables us to contribute more. We've never been more focused and excited about the work ahead. Thank you again to our clients, partners, and friends. Cheers to what's to come —

236

24 Comments

I couldn't be more excited to have Luis Berruga — Managing Partner at LBS Capital & former CEO of Global X — joining Bitwise as an advisor. Very few have accomplished what Luis has. Luis helped build a large firm from scratch in the 21st century. At Global X, Luis served as CEO for several years, scaling from $8B to over $40B AUM. They pioneered a new category of investment opportunities: thematic. And they had to do the work of helping investors build understanding that new category. At Bitwise, we're attempting to do much of the same, now with Bitcoin & crypto. We want Bitwise to be a firm investors can rely on for decades. As we cross $5B in AUM, grateful to have him advising us.

10

3 Comments

Been thinking about this a lot recently: the J-curve for gaming investments. Takes more capital and more time to launch a game compared to a consumer app or LLM-wrapper. This is more similar to biotech or hardtech investing but with less moats (no patents, no capex, Tencent/Netease might fast follow you). A few ideas to ease the curve: - Move faster with AI-enabled production (sfx, vfx, code, 2d assets, video) - Bootstrap to more before raising - Earlier liquidity through pre-sales (kickstarter or NFTs) - Go after high-leverage, multiplayer genres - Playtest earlier to get to retention earlier What else?

120

35 Comments

We've released the latest edition of our EQ/IQ Crypto Newsletter, and it's packed with key industry developments. Here are my top three takeaways: 1️⃣ Stablecoins: Transaction volumes, revenues, and operating profits for stablecoins such as Tether.io are starting to rival those of traditional payment giants like Visa. 2️⃣ DeFi: BitGo announced plans to transition its WBTC business to a multi-jurisdictional, multi-institutional custody structure, moving beyond its current U.S.-centric custody and cold storage solutions. 3️⃣ Macro: U.S. #inflation came in below 3% for the month of July, marking the first time in three years that year-over-year inflation measures have fallen below 3%. We cover all of these topics and more in our weekly newsletter. Stay up-to-date on this rapidly evolving market by downloading your copy today. 🤝

8

1 Comment

BitGo 🤝 LayerZero Labs WBTC is one of the longest living, most utilized assets in DeFi with a $9B+ market cap. Thanks to BitGo, the industry has had a trusted and secure way to put their Bitcoin assets to work in the Ethereum ecosystem for many years. Now, via our strategic partnership, the asset is truly omnichain, powered by the LayerZero OFT Standard. Listen in to how it all works and why it matters below. Bryan Pellegrino Mike Belshe

75

🚨 NYC Tech Startups: Are You Ready for the Commercial Rent Tax (CRT)? If you're operating south of 96th Street and paying over $250K in annual rent, you could be subject to NYC's Commercial Rent Tax. For startups that just closed a Seed or Series A round, missing these filings can lead to penalties that cut into your hard-earned capital. Don’t let tax compliance slip through the cracks! Read our latest blog to learn how to stay compliant, avoid penalties, and make sure your growth isn't hindered by unexpected expenses. 🔗 https://bit.ly/3XSHRYZ #NYCTech #Startups #CommercialRentTax #SeedFunding #SeriesA #TechCompliance #ShayCPA #cpafirm #techaccountants #startupaccountants #techstartup #techcompany

3

1 Comment

You may have seen this chart going around over the past six months or so... It purports to show that global stablecoin volume is "catching up" with the Visa network, and is poised to overtake it The chart is from Nic Carter, partner of Castle Island Ventures and co-founder of Coinmetrics Carter is a Bitcoin and stablecoin promoter with a following of 380,000 on X, which helped to make the chart to go viral Visa recently responded with its own study, showing that when you exclude stablecoin transfers that are "inorganic" or conducted by bots, the total volume falls dramatically According to Visa, 90% of $2.65 trillion stablecoin volume (over the last 30 days) can be attributed to bots "Taken at face value, it’s an interesting chart," said Visa's head of crypto Cuy Sheffield. "But I’d argue that this comparison doesn’t really tell the full story." https://lnkd.in/eiAhcdQJ

10

11 Comments

The state of venture capital is wild right now. We are witnessing a surge of innovation across the spectrum: - Funds merging - VC doing PE - PE doing VC - Secondary funds - Buyout funds - Spin-out funds - Debt funds - Continuation funds - Infrastructure funds - GP turnover - Hard Tech surging - Family Office uptick

60

8 Comments

While building infrastructure for Trust Wallet and Coinbase, we discovered something surprising: major crypto companies are running their treasuries through hardware wallets. CFOs personally approving every transaction. Founders losing nights to manual operations. We had a strong infrastructure business. But we saw a fundamental problem that needed solving. Read why we changed course: https://lnkd.in/gFXKvA79

21

1 Comment

Stablecoins 💰 ⬆ LLMs are a new tool. ppl are figuring out how to use them. and new use cases are being discovered seemingly daily. as more use cases are discovered, we all get excited about how they can reshape the world. Stablecoins are in a similar position. they're a new tool. ppl are figuring how to use them. and new use cases are being discovered frequently. as more uses cases are discovered, ppl get excited about how they can reshape the world. However, fintech moves slowly - a big company can experiment with an llm in a day. stablecoins might require board and bank approval. as a result, the impact is harder to see - its more diffuse. but in 2-3 years, it will be obvious. We're building Bridge (http://bridge.xyz) to pull this transition forward and make it easier for any company to experiment with this new set of tools.

238

6 Comments

“Once you take on VC money, you have to go big and build something that’s going to impact the entire industry” Cameron McCarthy, CEO & Co-founder at WeStock, recently joined us for a Laconia Founder Spotlight 🙌 Cameron shares WeStock’s story, including what drives him, why he had to start WeStock, and the impact of VC Investment. Check it out below 👇

5