Michael Grinich

As a B2B SaaS VC 👩‍💻 and a huge data nerd 🤓, fewer things bring me more joy than a truly statistically significant analysis (600+ companies surveyed) of B2B SaaS metrics across early stage companies. Great work by our team at Emergence Capital! See comments for full report, and please let us know how we can make this better in the future!

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Insightful look into bioplatform strategy, and what it takes to raise a Series A from my partner, Omri Amirav-Drory: https://lnkd.in/dFv7GbF6

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Want a front-row seat to the frontier of tech? We’ve got the role (or two) for you! We’re expanding our frontier-tech team at Blackbird by hiring a Frontier Tech Investments Associate and Foundry Fellows! Got questions? We've got answers... 1️⃣ What are the roles? 🧪 Associate = a full-time VC investment gig in our Blackbird Investments team, working directly with me. We’re looking for someone with a science and/or engineering background and more curiosity than they can handle. You’ll grow your own investment brand and practice, support our portfolio founders, and will help build Foundry, our early-stage frontier-tech accelerator. ✨ Foundry Fellow = a casual/contract gig in our Blackbird Investments team, ~15h per week for 3 months. The Fellowship is ideal for PhD students and ECRs who want to learn more about startups and VC. You’ll go deep on emerging areas relevant to your expertise (or curiosity!), get a front-row seat to groundbreaking companies in those areas, build out your non-academic network, and develop a solid writing practice. 2️⃣ Why are you hiring? We love frontier tech, and we’re ready to grow our team. 3️⃣ Wow, it’s so great that you’re starting to look at deep tech! Look, we get it: we don’t make a lot of noise about our frontier tech investing. Buuuut we’ve been deep-tech investors since we backed Tim Kentley-Klay to found Zoox back in 2014—we’ve been on incredible journeys with PsiQuantum (building the world's first utility-scale quantum computer right here in Australia!), Inventia Life Science (transforming drug discovery with high-fidelity cell models), Remedy Robotics (surgical robots for remote endovascular procedures), Opto Biosystems (minimally-invasive neural implants to treat cancer), and more. We believe that frontier technologies, and great frontier-tech investing, will be part of the solutions to the greatest problems humanity faces today. 4️⃣ When do applications close? May 31st at 11:59pm AEST. 5️⃣ I have more questions! I’m sure you do! Clare Birch and I are hosting an AMA to answer any and all questions about these roles. Want to know what a week in the life of our team looks like? What’s keeping us up at night? What our ideal candidate looks like? Come along and find out - registration link in the comments 👇 Apply for these roles: Associate - https://lnkd.in/gCfj4EUJ Foundry Fellowships - https://lnkd.in/gj6ATZVZ If you know anyone that we should meet, send me their details! Cameron Elise Ben Andrew Robin Joseph Adelaide James Olivia Lucinda Raghav Jesse Christie Mohamed Tom Amee Pablo Haya Loong Hon Joshua Benjamin Megan Harry Denzil Matthew Diana Daniel Tom Deanna Justin Amar Lilly Stone Thomas

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I love YC Demo Day season. It’s an insane concentration of driven founders building something they deeply believe in at the frontier of tech. I know it's more trendy for VCs to complain about YC. But I believe Garry Tan when he says 5-10% of companies become worth a billion dollars. Maven’s hit rate from YC is even higher: 16% have had $B+ exits, and we’re trending toward a 40% graduation rate from Seed to Unicorn with investments we’ve made alongside YC. Since Maven’s founding in 2013, we’ve funded 12 YC startups out of the 66 companies we’ve invested in. Here are a few: Cruise: acquired by GM for $1B+ Embark: $4B SPAC, acquired by Applied Intuition Chariot: acquired by Ford before Series A May Mobility: raised $300M+ in follow on funding, including from Toyota Carrot Fertility: raised $100M+ in follow on funding, including from CRV and USVP Daybreak Health: Series A from Lightspeed, Series B from USV Moment Robotics: acquired by Cruise founder Kyle Vogt’s new company, The Bot Co (Maven is an investor) Our strategy differs from other YC investors. Many funds build a YC “index fund”, investing in many startups per batch. It’s not a bad move. But we focus on concentration, meeting all the companies in our thesis area and investing in one or two. Gratefully, I think every company from the list above can point to Maven as one of their most trusted partners that made a difference: intros to customers, closing follow-on funding from top VCs, connecting key hires, and offering genuine care and advice in both the best and toughest of moments. What are we looking for in a YC investment? 1) Team - a technical product team with startup DNA and hustle that can achieve a bold vision. Brilliant, determined founders no one would bet against who are ambitious enough to build an iconic company. 2) Vision worth fighting for - what are you bringing into the world that is worth all the time, effort and money required for success? Why aren’t existing solutions good enough? Are we proud to help bring this idea to the world? 3) Massive market - because of the valuation premium YC demands, even a $B outcome may not return today’s average Seed fund. Honestly, that math sucks. In order to pay the premium, we have to believe that if we’re right, we’ll be wildly successful. 4) Consumer trend - Maven invests in tech companies addressing emerging consumer trends. Even if some investments are B2B or B2B2C, they are always grounded in a consumer insight: autonomous vehicles in 2014, fertility care in 2017, mental health in 2020. Today, we’re looking at consumer applications of AI and frontier consumer health. Many successful companies we fund are outside of YC as well – like Zoom, Hello Heart, Epic!, Class, Wildtype. So we match YC’s Unicorn % across the rest of our portfolio, too 💪 YC founders in consumer tech and digital health: if you want to build an iconic company that delivers a positive impact for millions of consumers - I can’t wait to talk to you!

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Just shipped this week's Diaspora.nz podcast with Paul Copplestone, founder & CEO at Supabase. We talk about: ⚡️why open source is an unfair advantage — as a product development strategy, supercharging recruiting, and helping build customer community. ⚡️how they are building the end-to-end tech stack for AI startups — seeing many customers grow into the millions of users in just weeks, growing to be one of the most tagged products by makers on Product Hunt + most redeemed Y Combinator “perks.” ⚡️raising $116M, and scaling to ~80 people in 30+ countries over the past 4.5 years, operating as a distributed + asynchronous team. ⚡️building three startups over nearly a decade living in South East Asia. Subscribe + listen links in comments below👇 Subscribe at diaspora.nz for weekly episodes 🎧👈

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This is a must listen to for anyone B2B founder. How to figure out Product Market Fit. One of best frameworks I've seen in a while. https://lnkd.in/ghSmhVNB

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Many assumed that the industry would be well on its way to AGI or superintelligence before AI model builders’ efforts to take advantage of scaling laws might hit a wall. Recent headlines are chipping away at that assumption. One question I've been getting in my inbox: is this the era of diminishing returns for AI? We don't think so. Even if an avalanche of new clusters and synthetic data fail to deliver significantly better model performance, there are good reasons to believe that AI is still going to become orders of magnitude more powerful in the coming years — powering a new generation of startups and ultimately productivity growth and positive benefits for mankind. In fact, with agents and reasoning just beginning to scale and thousands of industry-specific models coming online, it's about to get really exciting. Read our latest blog post on the topic: https://lnkd.in/gFhniNX8

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As AI-powered software takes flight we're seeing stress emerge on SaaS business models. Outcomes > seats and the shift to services-as-software means we need more nimble ways to price, bill, and take payments. A few threads we're pulling on: 🔹 Software builders need more flexibility - it's a shame to build incredible software or have new tools at your disposal only to have pricing / business models restrict adoption and innovation. 🔹 As companies add AI features (often on top of OpenAI or other models) they need to fundamentally rethink pricing to ensure they maintain margins and don't have flat fee users scaling usage disproportionally. Unit economics are under threat. 🔹 This becomes even more crucial as we introduce AI agents into workflows as the volumes of automations will skyrocket. And, the multi-agent teaming economy will be fascinating (forget your smart fridge paying for groceries). More here: https://lnkd.in/ezYq-XPx 🔹 AI is making software more effective and employees more productive. Seat based pricing isn't set up to share in value creation, especially when companies can avoid having to hire new folks / can reduce headcount. 🔹 Modern database, data streaming, and unstructured data infrastructure is making it possible to power new models, make use of existing data, and for vendors to often know a company's data better than the company does. More here: https://lnkd.in/e5JpJiJH 🔹 Modern FP&A tooling is now capable of ingesting data at scale and reducing the headache on finance. More here: https://lnkd.in/ejrQGcun We're actively working on an Activant Capital Research report on usage based billing and would love to share learnings with anyone actively using or considering a shift to UBB. Please reach out to Richard and I if you want to chat --

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It's been just over 3 years since we announced Patron and our Fund 1. A lot has changed in both the startup ecosystem as well as the venture capital ecosystem in that time. 2021 was a year that saw an explosion of companies raising venture capital funding, and a record number of new venture capital firms raising initial funds. Even then it seemed clear that the venture market was bifurcating - you either needed to be a large multi-stage fund with the ability to lead rounds from Series A to pre-IPO, or you needed to go early and specialize at the pre-seed and seed rounds. The emerging manager ecosystem seemed to coalesce around the latter, and we were no different at Patron as we strived to build a leading seed-focused firm investing in the future of consumer. We were fortunate to have a handful of peers who were one fund ahead of us, managers like Rick Zullo at Equal Ventures and Nico Wittenborn at Adjacent were two of note who were generous with time and insights as we were first getting started. It was also clear that there was a market forming around the idea of organizing the emerging manager ecosystem and creating a stronger bridge connecting new managers with LPs interested in investing in them. I was glad to join my peers the last few weeks at 2 incredible events focusing precisely on this part of the venture world - the EMC Summit organized by the Equal Ventures team, and the RAISE Global Summit. The EMC Summit continues to be one of my favorite industry events I make time to attend each year in New York. It is the real life event built around an amazing online community which lives in Slack and has connected me with 100+ fellow founding GPs of emerging firms. It is the best opportunity to reconnect with peers and to share experiences, learnings, and ideas with people who are going through very similar experiences. It's also a great way to hear from and connect into larger institutional LPs who have been somewhat active in investing in emerging managers in recent years. That said, we haven't ever met any Patron institutional LPs there so my focus has always been spending time with my peers. This was the first time we've been accepted to participate in the RAISE Global Summit, and I had the privilege to share Patron's story with the attendees of the conference. Unlike the EMC Summit which feels more centered on the emerging managers themselves, Raise feels much more focused on being an LP centric event, with the aim of helping a broad array of LPs ranging from large institutions to individual family office investors learn about new managers. Given that we had recently raised and announced our Fund 2, it was nice to focus more on sharing about how positioning and focus as a firm, and less on actually trying to fundraise. We hope to continue to be an active part of the emerging manager community and ecosystem. We've certainly learned a lot in the last 3 years and hope that we can start to share more of these learnings as fund founders.

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Have you heard of #CapVC? It’s an application platform designed specifically for the use of #VC firms. Essentially, it’s a robust #AI-powered tool made to simplify the daily operations of managing a #fund. Isn’t that something, a VC funded start-up designed to help improve the productivity of VC funding! According to this article from TechCrunch, Cap VC is looking to become much more than just an ‘operating system’ — the company aims to be a simplified and extremely efficient way to run a VC firm: reducing digital clutter by turning PDF files, income statements and balance sheets into readable data, automating company suggestions based on the context of a VC’s portfolio, and more. Cap VC is currently developing native apps on Mac and Windows, alongside releasing an API so that developers can build on top of their foundations. So, are any of my fellow VCs interested in using this software? If not Cap VC, is there any interest for similar software to be created down the line? Are there downsides to using a third-party application like this? I want to know what you all think.

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🚀 Scaling New Heights: Cribl's Strategic Growth 🚀 In a remarkable stride within the competitive market of data infrastructure, San Francisco-based startup Cribl has recently clinched a substantial $319 million in its latest Series E funding. This momentous investment spearheaded by GV (Alphabet’s venture arm) pushes Cribl to a towering valuation of $3.5 billion. 🌟 🔍 Here's Why This Matters for Startups and Small Businesses: 🔹 Innovation and Expansion: Cribl's trajectory illuminates the potent impact of innovative solutions in data management amidst an ever-expanding corporate data environment. 🔹 Significant Growth Potential: With the company boasting an impressive portfolio including 25% of the Fortune 500, the journey reflects significant growth potential and scalability that startups can aspire to. 🔹 Strategic Partnerships: The involvement of heavyweight investors like GV and others underscores the importance of strategic partnerships in accelerating business growth. Key Takeaways: - 🌐 Adapting advanced data solutions is crucial in leveraging the voluminous data generated today. - 📈 Embrace growth by seeking impactful investments and forming strategic partnerships. - 🚀 Aim for scalability by continuously innovating and expanding your solution offerings. Stay updated, engage with current trends, and continuously seek to innovate. The path Cribl is carving out highlights the robust possibilities within tech and data management sectors. For a deeper dive into Cribl’s funding news: https://lnkd.in/gQhmrYUK #DataManagement #StartupGrowth #Innovation This post was generated by an AI. Please contact us for more information.

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How to pitch: The company has zero traction —> “We’re early” You only have 2 customers —> “We’re working with design partners” You currently have no revenue but hoping some pipeline finally closes —> “we’re on track to exit this year at $3M ARR” You’re in the natural kill zone of a FAANG —> “We view them as partners rather than competitors” There’s no way the tech can actually work —>“We’re manifesting the future” And of course: One of your developers uses Co-Pilot to write some front end code —> “We’re an AI company”

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Product for Engineers dropped another awesome post recently: How we decide what to build. It’s a beautiful building-in-public look at how PostHog goes about product development. There is so much to learn from this newsletter. I love it. https://lnkd.in/ewNBSpu4

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In case you missed it last week, one of my favorite SaaS benchmark reports was released. Thanks to High Alpha and OpenView for the work and having us as a partner! This thing is stuffed full of insights on everything from growth rates, net revenue retention, ARR per FTE, and more. You can't build a great SaaS business without it! https://lnkd.in/ghKT_tBY

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“People need to eat – apps don’t,” states Evan Alcala, an entrepreneur based in Los Angeles. TriYum couldn’t have come at a better time. The app offers a number of solutions to a wide variety of bigger problems. The struggle in the food delivery app industry is real. In mid-February, food delivery app drivers, along with on-demand app drivers, went on strike in cities across the USA and Canada, demanding better pay and better work conditions. To top it all off, restaurants in cities everywhere are now being more vocal than ever before, calling third-party delivery apps a disadvantage with their high commission fees. Many restaurants now even contend that most food delivery apps are hampering their businesses on many levels: loss of brand identity, less control over customer experience, data ownership issues, and reduced customer loyalty. Customers too, like food establishments, are also getting fed up with all the hidden fees. TriYum however will be a game-changer in the food delivery app industry, which is expected to reach $165 billion market size by 2029. The new app will offer subscription-based fees for both restaurants and drivers, and customers will be billed with a flat-rate delivery fee. The app will not include any hidden fees. Customers will also receive “true” restaurant pricing. #app #fooddelivery #innovation #eat #employment https://lnkd.in/g4Zx48j3

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A top 5 worst VC behavior.... VC wakes up and sees an article on X about a new competitor to a portfolio company. VC just copies the Techcrunch article and sends a text to founder simply saying "Have you seen this company yet? $5M seed round backed by A16Z" Please, don't be this type of VC. Instead, if you're sending a link about a competitor, provide a relevant insight to the founder For example, "seems like they're targeting SMBs and not enterprise," "different GTM than us, starting w/ a PLG motion" Founders are under enough stress. Don't add to it.

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I've received great advice while navigating the VC environment, so I wanted to return the favor and share some findings. To achieve a power-law outcome, I'm finding alignment with the right VC comes down to three priority areas: Team, Market, and Product. 1) A-Level TEAM: The optimal VC not only invests in our product, but gets to know our leadership team...how we solve tough problems, pivot when necessary, and execute relentlessly across product and GTM. My belief has always been: "A-players recruit A-players (they're fueled by excellence)...B-players recruit C-players (they're intimidated by excellence)." 2) Distribution in a Growing MARKET: Many VCs want to invest in AI disruptors, but the right VC for Base64 adds more than $...they add distribution to our innovation. In a data market where AI entrants can disrupt slow-moving incumbents, cracking distribution is invaluable. 3) Strong PRODUCT: The best VCs ask questions that stress-test our product's defensibility / moat. While we can't foresee every future turn, we need to have the mental agility to adapt faster than the competition. These conversations also hone our value proposition and deepen our moat. Bottom Line: In most instances the right VC doesn’t just invest $...they invest time, expertise, and belief in building sustainable value as a partner. This equally requires a management team to be humble enough to acknowledge that with the right VC they are 'better together'. I'm also learning to watch out for the 'yellow flags': 1) The “invest and rest” mentality, where support fades after the funding round closes. 2) The “seagull” approach, where they swoop in, create a mess, and off they go. One of the greats, Battery Ventures, recently released 'State of the OpenCloud 2024' report, which provides valuable insights on how AI is catalyzing a new technology supercycle, with the potential to disrupt core cloud industry dynamics. Definitely worth a read. https://lnkd.in/ekzdR8bS #BatteryVentures #VentureCapital #SustainableGrowth #Distribution #Leadership

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Converting PoCs to Contracts - A Lesson in Difficult Conversations Like going from dating to co-habitating, moving your first customer from pilot to contract is a Big Leap moment for early stage startups. Waiting too long to have the conversation is the most common mistake. You are afraid of rejection, so you never learn if your product is making life easier for your customer, let alone how much they will pay. The truth is, once your pilot is launched, you can't be too early in discussing what it will take to move to a contract. I just got off the phone with a startup CEO who told of countless meetings, waiving integration fees, hiring a dedicated employee and more all to get their first customer live. After several revised timelines and a reorg, the engagement was going sideways until he said "We can't do this for free anymore. We need to move to contract or we are done here." At first, the customer balked. But once they assessed the situation and realized how crucial the software was, they changed their mind. The startup is now on track to sign their first big deal. That wouldn't have happened without a difficult conversation. Early stage startups are fragile. Moving from pilot to contract is the first real test of so many things - your product value, your customer success, and the real competition. Unless you test your relationship by taking the leap, you'll never figure out if you've got something real.

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