David Zhou

I highly recommend SF local founders check out a free "Founder-Led Sales" lecture Peter Kazanjy is giving on Wednesday Dec 11th. The single biggest mistake I see founders make is abstracting themselves from sales prematurely. It hemorrhages cash, runway and founder and employee equity. They think the moment they leave their accelerator or raise capital that's the signal for others to take the reigns of sales sleigh. #error Pete demystifies much of what it takes get founder-led sales right. Book your place using the link in the comments. #sales #saas #startups #GTMdebt #venturecapital

15

5 Comments

🚀 **Unleashing the Future of Delivery: Nuro's Game-Changing Comeback!** 🚀 Nuro is back in the spotlight! 🌟 With fresh approval from the California DMV, they’re ready to test their advanced R3 autonomous delivery vehicle across four Bay Area cities. This pivotal moment is not just a victory; it’s an invitation to rethink the landscape of autonomous delivery! 🔍 **What does this mean for the industry?** Innovators can take inspiration from Nuro's resilience—facing setbacks and emerging stronger is part of the journey to success. How can YOU apply this tenacity in your own ventures? 🔑 **Key Takeaway:** Embrace challenges, innovate relentlessly, and explore untapped opportunities! 💬 **Thumbs up** if you see the future of delivery driven by autonomy! 👍 Or **thumbs down** if you think traditional methods still hold the edge! 👎 #AutonomousVehicles #Innovation #Nuro #Entrepreneurship #FutureOfWork #DeliverySystems #TechTrends #StartupSuccess #Resilience #GameChanger

2

1 Comment

Awesome new initiative Aviel Ginzburg!! When Sean Sternbach and I launched Venture Out, Aviel and Pablo Brown-Rodriguez were silent cofounders. Aviel freely shared his words of wisdom from years of building community in Seattle. He and Chris DeVore were the first money into our community, followed quickly by Flying Fish Partners, Liquid 2 Ventures, M12, Microsoft's Venture Fund, and a huge list of Seattle angels. After growing to 1200+ members in <3 years, running multiple pre-preseed accelerators, a few learnings about building great community and the Seattle Founder Ecosystem: In the early days, no one knows what they are doing. Seek outside advice and guidance from people just ahead of you. Unicorn founders and tech moguls have great stories, but the woman who left amazon six months ago, launched an MVP, and crashed through her first 2 dozen investor discussions will have golden advice. Be open, honest, and vulnerable. Our best events and discussions happened when people let their guard down. No one will spend their life (which a startup requires) to build your idea. They might build something similar and tackle the same problem, but only your life experience and decision-making will make the difference. Share ideas often. Give first. As a ~10 year Techstars mentor, I saw this as the best part of the community. In my opinion, they have lost this completely. Don't come into a community and take. Give all you can, even when it feels counterproductive. Something might eventually come back that changes your life and direction. Even if it never does, you will 1000% feel great about the decision. Play long-term games with long-term people. Naval Ravikant was the first person I heard say this. Surround yourself with committed doers, makers, and visionaries. There are a lot of want-entrepreneurs in the world (which is a good thing; we need more people to take risks), but spend the most time with people in the ring, putting their time behind what they are doing. Learn how to give advice and direction without being evangelical, condescending, or a jerk. Learn to be direct but helpful. It's what you want on your journey, so invest in being a great thought partner for others. A final few notes: 1) No, you likely will never get paid the same amount or make as much money as a founder as you would as an L7/L8 at Amazon. If that is why you are starting a company, you're already in trouble. But knowing Aviel, he is already filtering for this 😂 2) You will likely learn in 6-18 months in the ring as a founder, than the rest of your life combined. Start to write, share your experience, find a therapist, and get ready to unpack a LOT as you go. The only way to make space for new information is to process it, store it, and then let it go. 3) The relationships are the most important part of the journey. I will always remember meetings with Matt Ehrlichman, Asha Sharma, Kyle Sandburg, and Matthew Neagle and the rest of the Porch Group team. Go Aviel!!!

42

4 Comments

People ask all the time, "What was so special about that 2011 Techstars Seattle cohort that it produced 3 unicorns (Remitly, Outreach, and Zipline) out of only 10 participating companies?" Was it the people, the startup climate, the emergence of mobile and cloud, the magic of Techstars Seattle, or perhaps something in that 11:11 whiskey? It's probably a bit of all of those things, but what's more interesting is that there is one thing that 2 of them have common and one thing that all 3 of them do. And the latter is something that's extremely rare these days. Both Outreach and Zipline were pivots. In Outreach's case, I'd call it more of a travel than a pivot. They lifted both feet and walked down the court while Zipline found its way from an iPhone robot to drones. But the real differentiator IMO? The founding teams of each of these companies changed between the start of the program and demo day. Remitly added Josh Hug, and it's hard to imagine that company today without him. Zipline added Keller Rinaudo Cliffton, and it's even harder to imagine that company today without him. Outreach merged with Team Apart, adding Gordon Hempton and Wes Hather to the founding team. Fun fact, (and please don't kill me Manny Medina), but Manny didn't even give the pitch on demo day. None of these companies would have become what they are today without these changes and yet today the idea of an investor or accelerator managing director facilitating changes like this in a founding team is widely viewed as overreach and in some cases even toxic behavior. But that gets me back to that Techstars program. It was less of a program designed to accelerate 10 companies and more like a Manhattan Project where every part of the Seattle startup ecosystem (investors, mentors, founders, operators) all got together and worked backwards from the goal of building as many great companies as possible. Nothing was anathema. So why am I bringing this up now? Because it's the best way to explain what we're building at Foundations (https://lnkd.in/gr8MTrHN). And it's how I'm going to measure our success or failure. Stay tuned for more as we head towards a formal launch in September.

153

14 Comments

It all about networks and relationships!

2

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

109

10 Comments

Ever wondered what lies beneath the surface of your favorite online community? New research from the University of Washington illustrates the complexity and divergence of values within large communities. As communities expand, they develop intricate networks of subgroups, each with unique and conflicting motivations and beliefs. The study asked ~1,500 reddit community members from 600+ subcommunities to describe their community values. Nearly 50% identified "Quality of Content" as their top community value. While it seems everyone agrees, different groups mean different things by this term. Many researchers, executives, and even some experienced professionals overlook these differences, leading to misunderstanding of communities' needs and wants. Community members who prioritize "Quality of Content" have conflicting definitions of quality. Preferences vary widely: - Personal stories vs. articles - Novelty vs. familiarity - Education vs. entertainment - Spam-free content vs. other quality factors These preferences can differ between individuals and within the same person across different communities. The same applies to people who value “Community Engagement” or “Participation & Inclusion”. An even more striking example of conflicting values is evident among the 8% who ranked “size” as their top priority. This group was evenly divided between those who valued a small community and those who preferred a large one. This study illustrates that online communities are more complex than they appear. What works in one community might fail in another. Even within the same group, members often value different things. I also love how this paper shares their process in detail! This documentation gives community leaders useful examples for how to: - Discover what their community cares about. - Frame problems as clashes between values, not just technical issues. - Better understand and explain complex community dynamics By sharing their methods, the authors offer practical tips for seasoned community experts who understand the multidimensional puzzle of community values. Dive into the full paper “Making Online Communities ‘Better’: A Taxonomy of Community Values” linked below. How have you uncovered & managed conflicting values in your community?

100

22 Comments

A company's mission should drive product innovation. If not, those products will die resulting in that company becoming obsolete. Top Mission Statements: EA- Inspire the World to Play Figma- Make Designs Accessible to Everyone Tesla- To accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy Meta- Giving people the power to build community and bring the world closer together I can go on and on. Stop wasting your time building products and spend more time crafting your mission.

5

1 Comment

Could this be the biggest technological revolution, sparked from San Francisco’s chaotic time? 🚀 Is your business prepared for a shakeup as monumental as this?" Article Summary: Pull up a chair folks, because we've got one of the most substantial tech tales brewing right here in San Francisco! Amid an incredibly tumultuous period, an SF tech startup has inked its name in gold by wrapping up what is touted to be one of the largest fundraising rounds in U.S. history! 🇺🇸💵 In true underdog fashion, through immense adversity and upheaval came a spark that ignited into a wildfire of success. This revolutionary startup cashed in on the chaos storming around it and turned it into astonishing returns. This Silicon Valley gem remained resilient amidst great socio-economic setbacks to keep pushing boundaries and redefining technology's potential. This achievement just goes to show how even periods marked by turmoil can yield unexpected opportunities - all you need is big dreams powered by harder work. For fellow entrepreneurs out there – sit up straighter because learning from their grit may just reshape our future narratives! But wait...don't just take our word for it! Click on this link (https://lnkd.in/dYHUM72b) to read about their incredible journey for yourself! PS: Don’t forget that with empowerment comes responsibility. As we continue sparking conversations about innovation let's not forget about accountability and inclusivity in tech adoption 💪✨ #SFTechStartup #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #TechNews #FundingRound#Resilience #SiliconValley #BiggestFundraiser #DisruptionInTech #ChaosToOpportunity

1

1 Comment

Summer in SF means incubator season. Two years ago, it was me joining South Park Commons‎ with the idea of making enterprise API development easy — an idea that would later become Speakeasy‎ Below are 3 of the most valuable lessons I learned from being part of the SPC community 👇 1. Founders, even the ones at big companies, want to help other founders. You just need to take the step and reach out. 2. Take inspiration from the fellows in your batch, but be wary about building a product for just your batchmates. Make the extra effort to chat with people at bigger more established companies and discover their pain points. 3. Don’t innovate on the basics. Incorporation, equity structures, finances, legal. Stick to the well trodden path, and save your innovation tokens for your product. With points 1 & 2 in mind, if you’re a founder starting out at South Park Commons‎, Y Combinator‎ or any other incubator, please feel free to drop me a DM. We can grab a coffee at Golden Goat 🐐 ☕ ‎ take a few laps around South Park Commons, and I’ll answer whatever questions I can about the founder journey and building your business.

69

5 Comments

𝗥𝗲𝘃 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝟭 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗢𝗹𝗱... 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁? After graduating UCSB in 2023, I teamed up with Jesse Brodkin + Lucas Krall to co-found 𝗥𝗲𝘃 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 – a technology enabled delivery service designed around college campuses. This past September, we celebrated Rev’s 1-year anniversary. That same month, we hit another big milestone in our professional journey: our first business acquisition—the Duffl brand, a Series A-funded and Y Combinator graduate with 8+ locations. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗮 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲’𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼: • We moved to Seattle with the idea to start a hyperlocal delivery company serving the University of Washington community.✈️ • Built our fulfillment technology 👨‍💻 • Leased our first commercial space (in Bruce Lee’s old studio), purchased our first inventory, and started delivering orders to our customers in ten minutes or less, using electric scooters, for a delivery fee of $0.99. 🛴⚡️ • Lived in the back of our warehouse for months (ask about our homemade shower and kitchen setup). 😁 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻: • We’ve scaled to tens of thousands of unique monthly orders and over 100 employees by leveraging: Data-Driven Pricing and Products📊 Grassroots Marketing 🌱 Student Culture👥 • We acquired the Duffl brand– The OG of the hyperlocal delivery space with 20+ million in revenue under their belt. ✴️ 𝗦𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁? It’s time to grow even more.  We’re enabling other entrepreneurs to open their own Duffl / Rev stores at college campuses. If you (or any aspiring entrepreneur you know) want to explore owning your own 𝟳 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, powered by our tech, data, and experience – then let's talk. ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/gkRDAw8a https://duffl.com https://lnkd.in/gKgrFEN3 https://rev.delivery https://lnkd.in/gzBpff4k

81

10 Comments

What does access to capital mean to you? 💸 For me, it’s about leveling the playing field and creating opportunities for folks who have been historically marginalized. More financial literacy. More programs and grant funding to support female and underrepresented founders. Thank you to Derrick Tang at IBank California for the opportunity to share my experience and insights with the entire team at IBank for a half hour panel discussion with two other incredibly bright and successful leaders Lauren Faber O’Connor at Lowercarbon Capital and Sam Polk, CFA, CEO of Everytable. Special thanks to Shrina Kurani for recommending me!! We discussed where we have seen the impact/consequence of lack of access to capital and where there is need for greater access/investment. My biggest point of view that I emphatically communicated: More non-dilutive capital for early stage founders!! And within 20 years, I want to see a fully transformed energy grid. That’s not much to ask, is it?! #climate #founders #accesstocapital

75

12 Comments

I got a preview of this talk. It's going to be good. If you think we've reached the end of the gen AI opportunity, then you should listen to what Roman Shaposhnik and Tanya Dadasheva have to share about the future of transformer architecture for AI.

3

🚀 Headstarter Fellowship Update 🚀 We just wrapped up an exciting 1-hour group meeting where we discussed our contributions to open-source platforms, shared our skills, and learned from each other's experiences. 🌟 Key Takeaways: Open Source Contributions: Exploring how we can give back to the community. Skills and Expertise: Sharing our individual strengths and areas of focus. Personal Learnings: Gaining insights from each other's journeys. Next Steps: Learning Frameworks: We're diving into ReactJS and NextJS. Strategy and Goals: Short-term: Master the basics and start contributing to projects. Long-term: Work on larger projects and enhance our portfolios. hashtag #HeadstarterFellowship hashtag #OpenSource #ReactJS #NextJS #LearningJourney

5

🚀 #Founders - Are you venture scale? 🚀 If you are in Washington State and trying to figure out how to take your startup to the next level, consider making the largest technology association in North America part of your strategy. November 25th is the last day to apply for the WTIA Cohort 12. 📈 Educational curriculum through tracks related to growth, financing, product, and business fundamentals. 🗣 Individual mentorship and group coaching with experienced mentors and experts. 🤝 Peer mentoring and networking with fellow founders and relevant connections to investors, potential partners or customers, and local leaders. 💲 Free WTIA membership and associated benefits like $10k of AWS credits and discounts on tools like Carta, HubSpot, and more. Don't miss out - and please share with your network! #WTIA #Startup #BuildingBusiness #Technology #PNW #Seattle #Entrepreneurship #VentureScale #Innovation #DigitalTransformation University of Washington UW Foster School of Business Koki Sato Nick Ellingson

26

🚀 VSG Oceanside Chat: Is SBIR the Right Funding Path for Your Startup? 🌊 Join me THIS WEEK as USC Viterbi Startup Garage hosts an insightful discussion led by Juan Hodelin, Co-Founder and COO of Pasadena Digital and Strategic Advisor. With over 15 years of experience driving growth and innovation, Juan was instrumental in tripling Intellisense Systems revenue over 5 years by leading cross-functional teams and securing government funding for groundbreaking technologies. What to Expect: Juan will share his expertise on the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and how startups can leverage this funding opportunity. Topics include: 💡 How the SBIR program works 🏛️ Participating federal agencies 📋 Tips for submitting a strong SBIR proposal ⚖️ Pros and cons of SBIR funding 🔍 Key considerations for startups pursuing this path No prior SBIR experience is needed! This session is perfect for founders, startup leaders, and anyone interested in exploring government funding for R&D. 📅 When: Wednesday, October 30, 2024, at 12:00 PM PT 💡 Ready to take your startup to the next level? RSVP now and get the insights you need to determine if SBIR is the right path for you! RSVP Link: https://lnkd.in/gX9PB4NY #VSG #OceansideChat #SBIR #Startups #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #GovernmentFunding #TechLeadership

6

The startup ecosystem in San Francisco is ROBUST, my experience: I've explored various startup ecosystems lately, and each has its unique shine. In San Francisco, what stands out is the sheer volume of activity. Every day, there’s been at least one pitch event, networking mixer, or founders/investors gathering to attend. Here are some highlights: -I had the pleasure of listening to Christina founder of Vanta and Jeff Seibert founder of Digits share their startup journeys and tactics. It was incredible to get advice from them. I also had a great conversation with MG (if you're not a fan of accounting and you are building a startup, you should connect with MG). Benjamin brought lots of humor to our conversation with James who is building Duet, a SaaS startup providing mission control software for medical transport (he is raising atm). -Supply Pay won a pitch-off against nine other startups at a Startup Valley event. A huge thank you to my new friends Oleh and Dmytro for their willingness to be in front of the crowd—they helped me explain factoring by playing the roles of a farmer and importer. Tom and I swapped stories about building software in the medical space (founders in this space should connect with him). Special thanks to Andrew for recording the Supply Pay pitch—DM me if you want to see it. -Hyperbolic's event, “AI After Hours,” was a hit. I met Bradley and discovered a product that could be a game-changer for organic marketing. Imagine getting paid to promote and eat at your favorite pho spot—that’s just the start of what he’s building (going to test it out with my wife at our family restaurant soon). Following that event, I went to the Microsoft Reactor after-party, which turned out to be "Death by PowerPoint." Fortunately, Bradley read the room and led some cool people to a bar across the street, where I learned from my friends Fred and Christina how to locate free graduate/Ph.D.-level engineering talent 👀 (DM me for access to this). I also discovered the cool things happening at Hive—connect with Shrinidhi if you need models that understand your content! -The week ended with Founders Friday, an event hosted by Kyosuke and his team. For those building in fintech, be sure to connect with Steven—he is helping fintech startups manage their code better! Zakreya blew my mind with what's possible in nanorobotics and phototherapy—he’s building some truly sci-fi products that will make a huge impact in cancer detection and elimination. A big thank you to Ismael, who dropped many gems, especially on navigating my upcoming NYC trip. My new friend Paul also gave invaluable advice on how to prepare before heading to NYC (Paul is building effective anti-theft solutions for big retailers). Finally, I learned about an interesting accelerator opportunity from my new friend Pavel, who’s doing something exciting in the due diligence space for VCs & founders. It was a great first week in SF. I look forward to learning more from everyone here!

70

21 Comments

Last night's Technology Association of Oregon panel discussion on raising capital for AI ventures was full of interesting takeaways. The event brought together leading PNW VCs, CEOs, and funders to share their perspectives and best practices. Here's what you need to know: ➡ The AI/ML space is rapidly evolving, presenting huge opportunities for startups tackling real business problems. VCs are actively seeking out the most ambitious and disruptive companies in this domain. ➡ Having an "unfair advantage" is key - whether that's proprietary data sets, unique domain expertise, or unparalleled access to customers. AI ventures need strong differentiation to stand out. ➡ Build relationships early with VCs, even before you're ready to raise. Their insights and connections can accelerate your journey. The PNW venture ecosystem is highly collaborative and accessible. ➡ Don't be deterred by the perceived lack of local funding. Great companies with compelling visions will get funded, period. Leverage the PNW's strengths in developer/engineering talent. ➡ Recognize and proactively address the potential downsides of AI - from data privacy to model bias. Building responsibly is both an obligation and an opportunity. ➡ Move fast, be bold. Raising capital is always hard, but fortune favors the brave in this space. With the right team, tech and traction, you can build a world-changing business here in the PNW. Thanks to the fantastic panelists Diane Fraiman (Voyager Capital), Geoff Harris (Flying Fish), Jon Maroney (OVF), Chris Sestito (Hidden Layer), Jon Turow (Madrona) for sharing their insights, and to Kristy Edwards for moderating!

20

3 Comments

Early stage fundraising is convincing enough people with credibly + resources to believe that you're onto something big. Remember it is a bi-directional discovery process. And more often than not, a lot of people with not enough credibility or not enough resources will give you their opinion. If everyone was a believer, you wouldn't have a shot at 100x-ing your company. It's a feature not a bug. Remember that. If you're not careful that can drain energy. Incredibly important trap to avoid.

30

2 Comments