Justin Dorfman

At most networking events… Business owners shake hands, exchange business cards, and go home. HumanX has a different approach. You’ll be paired together in 1:1 conversations with investors & AI startups. You’re not just adding people to your rolodex. Deals will be made.

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Rolling into another day of the Primary Summit. Hit me up if we should connect onsite. Kudos to the Primary Ventures team so far, as yesterday’s Pre-Seed Summit was on point. Mar Hershenson, Benjamin Sun, Chris Douvos, Zach Weinberg, and Graham Pingree all dropping helpful nuggets for fund managers. Some paraphrased highlights: - Chris Douvos (AHOY Capital) - Most fund decks are terrible. Start with your people (not your strategy) and know you have about 6 slides of his attention. - Zach Weinberg (Curie.Bio ) - beleives SF’s AI talent is a significant advantage over NY, wouldn’t build AI in NY. Also questions if VC exits can keep up with VC expansion (generally hilarious and smart Twitter follow) - Mar Hershenson (Pear VC) - VC is so much more competitive now. It’s not enough to be an ex-founder with a great network and domain expertise. Have a better “why you are different” or do something else! - Benjamin Sun (Primary Venture Partners)- still sees arbitrage in going long NY venture (vs. SF). Do the work to keep various influential networking nodes aware of what you’re doing and how you think.

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Great time on the Embracing Erosion podcast w/Devon O'Rourke! We talked about: 🚀 How to scale a company from concept to 9-figure exit 🔄 How to break away from the traditional consulting model and apply product approaches ⏩ Why it’s important to iterate quickly and often with messaging 💸📈What signals are important to pay attention to when investing in startups and much more!

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A recent chat with a portco founder reminded me that #B2Bsales 101 says you can’t sell your product to anyone - the customer has to buy it. Which means, the product you think you are selling is not necessarily what they are buying. A classic example would be a kitchen knife. Who buys a kitchen knife just to put it in a drawer? No one. People buy a way to chop vegetables. If it’s a knife, a sword or a lightsaber - doesn’t matter. They want their vegetables chopped. What are you really selling? A way to chop vegetables. That means your first task in a B2B sale is to find out: what does the customer think they are buying? What do they actually need? If it’s chopped vegetables, show them how neatly you can cut them; don’t spend time showing how amazingly long the knife is or how well the sun reflects off the blade. Or in the B2B context: hey Mr. Customer, what is the problem you’re trying to solve? Great, let me show you how my product solves it for you. Extra points: give your customer credit that they’ve tried other products. It’s perfectly valid to ask: “what have you tried so far? What is it you did not like about the other solutions? (=this is the unmet need. Focus on that and you increase the changes to close the deal)

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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

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KNOW YOUR REAL BUSINESS ECONOMICS • GAAP Revenue • Cash Flow • Cash • Contribution Margin • CAC • CAC Payback FUNDRAISING: PRESENT & SUBSTANTIATE FINANCIALS • Investor needs to know what your forecasts are • They need to believe them David Weiden, Khosla Ventures

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That's why it's often very difficult to recognize new leaders – their ideas go beyond the conventional frameworks we're accustomed to. Keep your mind open. Don't let yesterday's templates define your future. #Leadership, #Innovation, #OpenMind, #FutureThinking, #venturethinking,   https://lnkd.in/eASPGsuu

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We're launching the inaugural edition of Beyond Benchmarks, a deep dive into the metrics and trends observed across the early-stage enterprise cloud market. This is the first look at some of the business data around GenAI in SaaS. Some initial observations: 1) 60% of SaaS companies have already integrated GenAI into their offerings (60% of these as part of their current product and 40% as a new product), and an additional 20% are planning to do so this year. Almost half aren't monetizing these features. Those that are are primarily experimenting with both usage-based and flat fee pricing models. 2) Most companies are utilizing OpenAI as their primary LLM, but many are experimenting with multiple models - and we are noticing an early trend towards intelligently routing GenAI inference requests to different models based on cost, performance, and security. 3) Though we are in the initial innings of GenAI, we are seeing some positive signals - companies that implemented GenAI had 7% higher NDR than those that did not. Still early days, but we'll be doing this benchmarking report regularly to track and share how things progress in this new era. Link to report in comments.

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Building on the data shared by Peter Walker, I've compiled a list of top VC firms and investors in CA to approach for funding your SaaS startup: 1. Accel Focuses on Seed to Growth Stage Ventures Sector: Enterprise IT, Fintech, Hardware, Healthcare, Media, Security, Services, Consumer, Cloud/SAAS, AI Notable Portfolio: Slack, Dropbox, and UiPath 2. 500 Global Startups Focuses on Pre-seed, Seed, and Early Stage Ventures Sector: 3D Printing, AI/Machine Learning, Accounting, AdTech Notable Portfolio: GitHub, Canva, and Udemy 3. Sapphire Ventures Focuses on Growth-Stage Ventures Sector: Enterprise, Sport, Consumer Notable Portfolio: DocuSign, Alteryx, and Monday.com 4. Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Focuses on Seed to Growth Stage Ventures Sector: Consumer, enterprise, bio, healthcare, crypto, fintech and games Notable Portfolio: Asana, Okta, and GitHub 5. Scale Venture Partners Focuses on Early-Stage Ventures Sector: AI apps, Fintech, Infrastructure, Productivity, SaaS, Security, Verticals Notable Portfolio: Box, DocuSign, and HubSpot 6. Menlo Ventures Focuses on Seed to Growth-Stage Ventures Sector: AI, Bio + Healthcare, Consumer, Cloud Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, Fintech, SaaS, Supply Chain + Automation Notable Portfolio: Benchling, Carta, and Scout RFP 7. IVP (Institutional Venture Partners) Focuses on Late-stage (Series B to IPO) Ventures Sector: AI, Consumer, Health, Fintech & Crypto, Enterprise Infrastructure, Gaming, SAAS  Notable Portfolio: Dropbox, Slack, and Mindbody 8. Greylock Partners Focuses on Pre-Seed, Seed, and Series A Ventures Sector: AI, Consumer, Cybersecurity, Fintech & Crypto, Infrastructure, Marketplace & Commerce, SaaS Notable Portfolio: Workday, Cloudera, and ServiceNow 9. Redpoint Ventures Focuses on Seed, Series A, Series B and Series C+ Ventures Sector: AI, Application, Blockchain, Consumer, Fintech, Healthcare, Infrastructure Notable Portfolio: Twilio, Looker, and Stripe 10. Storm Ventures Focuses on Seed and Early-Stage Ventures B2B Software Notable Portfolio: Marketo, Talkdesk, and Algolia Stay tuned for the NY list. Looking to connect with the right investor for your SaaS startup? Drop a “LIST” in the comments, and we’ll send you a link to a personalized investor lineup. Know a top SaaS investor or VC firm we missed? Share in the comments! At Thunder.vc, we excel in pairing your startup with venture capital firms that align with your specific sector, growth phase, and objectives. #SaaS #startups #VC

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I always get a bit peeved hearing other VC's categorize AI-enabled companies as 'ChatGPT wrappers'. Your Defensibility? Your Moat? That's your business model and unique insights into your industry. It's Network Effects, and scrappy GTM's, and sticky features you build on top. In my opinion, LLM's are a core part of most tech stacks, the same way cloud compute or other infrastructure is. OpenAI and others have created one of the most profound advances in computing, and has made it publicly accessible for everyone to use. There's massive opportunity to build applications on top of it.

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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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Peak OS was developed after working with hundreds of VC-backed teams for 20 years... and that's too much info for a blog post, so I wrote a book. Check it out on Amazon. #venturebacked #vcbacked #venturecapital #leadership #ceo #founder #operatingsystem #peakOS

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🚨 Wiz walks away from a $23B acquisition deal with Google! 🚨 Wiz has turned down a $23 billion acquisition offer from Google, choosing to pursue an IPO instead and target $1 billion in annual recurring revenue. This decision comes after nearly doubling their $12 billion valuation. Founded in 2020, Wiz achieved $100 million in annual recurring revenue in just 18 months and $350 million last year. Their cloud security products have attracted major firms, helping Google compete with Microsoft. Wiz's decision to walk away from the deal is nothing short of shocking. This move could be incredibly savvy or a colossal mistake. Leaving nearly $13 billion on the table is a significant risk. 💡 What's your take on Wiz's bold move? #TechNews #CloudSecurity #Startup #IPO #BusinessStrategy #Wiz

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Having a Cars and Capital event tomorrow in Southern California with Oren Klaff. If you want to join message me. https://lnkd.in/gDQ4D39u Oren Klaff Bridger Pennington #InvestorEvent #FamilyOffice #InvestmentOpportunity #CarlsbadEvent #PrivateEquity #WealthManagement #InvestmentConference #CapitalRaising #NetworkingEvent #IndustryLeaders #FinancialGrowth #InvestorsMeetup #WealthBuilding #BusinessGrowth #InvestmentForum

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7 Days left! Gladly, we have over 90 VCs and Angel investors registered for MELT. Let me introduce 17 remarkable investors 👼 【💎VIP Sponsored By】 - Kyle Hudson, Founder of Stacks, Inc - Akash Saraf, Founder of ScaleGenAI - Iris Cheung , Founder of Orbiter Finance ☞ General Partner @ Black Sheep Ventures Industry: Cybersecurity, AR/VR, B2B, AI Focus Stage: Seed - Series A Investment Range: $500k - $1M 💎 Notable: Invested in 12 startups at NTT Group with 6 exits. ☞ Founding Partner @ Element14 Capital Industry: Fintech, AI, B2C, B2B, SaaS, E-commerce, Healthtech, Climate tech Focus Stage:Pre-seed - Pre-series A 💎 Notable: Exited YC company to Life360, then scaled them to $300M+ ARR with 2 IPOs !! ☞ Co-Founder and CEO @ Pario Ventures Industry: Fintech, Healthtech, Climate tech, Agtech, Spacetech, Gaming, Mobility, B2B Focus Stage: Pre-seed - Series B Investment Range: $30M - $100M 💎 Notable: Turning Pario into a $1.8B AUM ☞ Senior Principal @ Presidio Ventures Industry: SaaS, B2B, Robotics, Cybersecurity, AI Stage: Pre-series A - Series B Investment Range: $100M+ ☞ Senior Investment Director @ Sony Ventures Industry: Fintech, Web3, Cybersecurity, AI, SaaS, B2B, Mobility Stage: Seed - Series C Investment Range: $200k - $10M ☞ Principal @ Counterpart Ventures Industry: Fintech, Healthtech, Climate tech, Edtech, Proptech, Insurtech, Cybersecurity, AI, B2B, SaaS, E-commerce Stage: Seed - Series A Investment Range: $1M - $10M ☞ Principal @ Acorn Pacific Ventures Industry: Fintech, Biotech, Robotics, B2B, SaaS Stage: Seed - Series A Investment Range: $1M - $3M ☞ President @ Oridun Capital Management Industry: Proptech, Climate tech, AI Stage: Pre-seed, Seed Investment Range: $50k - $200k ☞ Managing Partner @ Aurelia Ventures Industry: B2B, SaaS, Fintech, Govtech, Cybersecurity, AI Stage: Pre-seed, Seed Investment Range: $50k - $100k ☞ Managing Partner @ Borusan Ventures Industry: Climate tech, Mobility, AI Stage: Seed - Series A Investment Range: $300k - $1M ☞ Managing Partner @ Actuate Ventures Industry: Various Stage: Pre-seed - Pre-series A Investment Range: $1M - $3M ☞ Manager @ Marubeni Corporation Industry: Healthtech, Climate tech, Retailtech, Biotech, Mobility, Robotics, Cybersecurity, B2B, SaaS, AI Stage: Pre-series A - Series D Investment Range: $500k - $10M ☞ LP @ Pioneer Fund Industry: Healthtech, Climate tech, Edtech, Agtech Stage: Pre-seed - Series A Investment Range: $50k - $100k ☞ General Manager @ Presidio Ventures Industry: Fintech, SaaS, B2B, Web3 Stage: Seed - Series B Investment Range: $1M - $3M ☞ General Partner @ Astera Ventures Industry: AI, B2C, B2B Stage: Seed, Pre-series A Investment Range: $200k - $500k ☞ Founding Partner & GP @ Actuate Ventures Industry: Biotech, Spacetech, Adtech, Robotics, Various Stage: Pre-seed Investment Range: $100k - $3M ☞ Founder & Managing Partner @ Niremia Collective Industry: Healthtech, AI, AR/VR, B2C, B2B, Various Stage: Pre-seed - Series A Investment Range: $200k - $300k

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Perfecting your product and GTM strategy are surely important. But Box CEO and co-founder Aaron Levie argues there's one factor that outweighs all others in startup success: recognizing and capitalizing on tech and macro tailwinds. Fighting against them? You're setting yourself up for failure. Our full conversation here: https://lnkd.in/gEAPFR-A

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How did CHEQ pioneer the go-to-market security category and become a unicorn on track to hit $100M ARR? Here's what I learned from my conversation with Guy Tytunovich: → CHEQ capitalized on unexpected tailwinds: Accidentally aligned with the rising importance of go-to-market roles, boosting their category creation efforts. → CHEQ prepared for a marathon, not a sprint: Recognized category creation as a multi-year process, facing doubt "about ten times a day, every single day" for the first four years. → CHEQ prioritized product excellence: Built intuitive, high-impact products that clearly demonstrated value, making market education easier. → CHEQ aligned their sales team: Ensured every salesperson delivered the same category story, crucial for educating the market. → CHEQ recognized the importance of analyst relations: Initially underinvested in relationships with firms like Gartner and Forrester, but planned to correct this to drive broader market awareness. For founders looking to create their own category, listen to CHEQ CEO Guy Tytunovich on Behind the Category. https://lnkd.in/epVaepxT

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