Laura Mason

Summary: Keith Rabois, managing director of Khosla Ventures, is on a mission to turn Miami into the next Silicon Valley and has been actively promoting the city as a tech hub. Despite some challenges and opposition, Rabois remains optimistic about Miami's potential and the growth of its tech ecosystem. Key takeaways: Keith Rabois is determined to make Miami the next Silicon Valley and has seen progress with a growing number of seed investments in the city. Khosla Ventures, where Rabois works, has made multiple investments in Miami, including one into a startup aiming to "reinvent education." Rabois continues to split his time between Miami and San Francisco, but believes that Miami offers a better quality of life and potential for building a thriving tech community. Counter arguments: Some big name investors, such as Andreessen Horowitz, have pulled out of Miami, suggesting that the city does not offer the same opportunities as other established tech hubs. Miami still has a relatively small share of total U.S. seed investments (2.6%-3.5%) which may indicate a lack of resources and opportunities compared to other cities. #venturecapital

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Does the incoming administration adjust the landscape for VC in the South? Three trends for family offices and VC investors to consider: https://lnkd.in/dVhVvuND

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It's finally here! The first announcement of our equity investor raise in our operating solar assets 😎 We are so excited to be doing this capital raise with Plural Energy and Zorya Energy Advisors...and all of our friends, family, business partners, personal admirers, savvy financiers, impact investors, and everyone else who is excited about being part of financing the clean energy future 🌞 Go to plural.xyz to get the details on the equity offering!

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💰Sharing a List of 80 Black-led VC funds (US based): About this list: I realized that I couldn’t find a current list of Black-led funds as of 2024 when a lot of new funds have launched over the last couple of years including GPs Sydney Paige Thomas, Terri Burns and more. I have been gathering a list of these funds in my network, and that I could find publicly over time so wanted to share with the ecosystem. Only 2% of VC funds are Black-led: I found 80 funds (maybe there’s more!). There are 3,417 VC firms in the US (according to NVCA). Founders - These funds invest from pre-seed through growth, some with a focus on diverse founders, others more broadly. ⅔ of them have OPEN funding applications that I’ve linked in the sheet. LPs - As mentioned, a number of these funds might not be in the databases used for tracking, so hope to get some more Black-led funds on your radar! VCs - maybe there are some funds you should get to know for deal sharing, etc 👉🏾Link to full list here: https://lnkd.in/gktBhY-W

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The SomosVC 2023 Annual Report is out! Key findings of the report include: 👉 79% of venture funds over $100 in AUM have no Latino/a investment professionals at all. 👉 Latino/a's represent only 1.6% of all investment professionals at funds over $100M in AUM 💪 Latino/a led firms are more likely to invest in diverse founders - 48% of portfolio company founders identify as underrepresented people of color. 💪 Latino/a-led firms in the SomosVC community have played a pivotal role in job creation, with investments leading to an estimated 51,612 new jobs. Learn more about the report in this Axios piece! https://lnkd.in/e4d58sNd

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𝗔 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿: 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 🚀 After a decade in tech investing at Hellman & Friedman and Apax I’m thrilled to announce my journey as 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁 Heritage Holdings. Our mission? 𝗧𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀, founders, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵, superior portfolio construction and access to 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘀. 𝙰̲ ̲𝙷̲𝚎̲𝚊̲𝚛̲𝚝̲𝚏̲𝚎̲𝚕̲𝚝̲ ̲𝚃̲𝚑̲𝚊̲𝚗̲𝚔̲ ̲𝚈̲𝚘̲𝚞̲ My deepest gratitude to Apax and my partners Mark Beith Marcelo Gigliani Daniel O'Keefe. Building a leading EU growth equity platform together has been remarkable. Shoutout to Agostino Vikram Aurelia Shashwat Ela Chana Ishan Thore and Lucas You are rockstars. 🙏 Watching Tide Pricefx ClearBank and Faculty all grow from <$5M in revenue at the time of our first meeting, to combined >$500m in revenue, showed me the art of the possible. Dr. Oliver Prill Ronak Sheth Charles McManus Marcin Cichon Marc Warner — you are inspiring. 𝚆̲𝚑̲𝚢̲ ̲𝙷̲𝚎̲𝚛̲𝚒̲𝚝̲𝚊̲𝚐̲𝚎̲?̲ My journey began when, at the age of 22, after 4yrs learning the ropes as a software founder, I started working with big banks at McKinsey. I met extraordinary professionals, but was struck by profound problems of this legacy industry. A decade in fintech deepened this awareness: 1. Entrepreneurs spend a lifetime building a legacy, but 90%+ of these are gone by the 3rd gen 2. Wealth products are often sub par, and very expensive. Access to quality alternative assets is even worse. 3. Investing is complex, and only few really use proper portfolio construction. 4. Family offices build a lot in house that could be better/cheaper joining forces with others 5. Everyone talks about Tech/AI, but large organizations are very far behind. 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 This is a trillion-dollar industry with multiple tailwinds: 1. Increasing UHNWIs 2. Growing exposure to private markets by families 3. Unprecedented wealth shifts to next gens 4. New AI use cases for workflow automation Tech proposition have emerged for mass market, but nobody has really cracked the problem with a modern tech stack, for UHNWI, where needs are more complex. 𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 “𝟭𝟬𝘅 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿” 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀. I’m thrilled to partner with my cofounder Lucio Di Ciaccio, tech investing veteran and one of the sharpest minds I know, as well with an exceptional team of partners, with a unique level of grit and industry experience. We are grateful to be backed in this mission by some of the most prominent families globally. If you know someone interested in transforming this industry, 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗗𝗠 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁. Stay tuned.

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Fin Capital’s Fintech CEO Pulse Report is out! We surveyed over 50 CEOs and C-suite leaders of private companies from our portfolio and the broader fintech industry during June and July 2024 to get a quick pulse on what’s top of mind for fintech’s leaders. Here are some key takeaways: Optimism in the Air: More than 60% of CEOs reported being bullish or highly bullish on the fintech industry for the second half of 2024. Regulatory Changes on the Horizon: CEOs identified Cryptocurrency, Open Banking, and Buy Now Pay Later as the top three sectors likely to see increased regulation by the end of 2024. CEOs Want Business Development Support: Beyond capital and fundraising, business development support emerged as the top area where CEOs seek investor assistance.For more insights, including comments from my colleagues Ren Riley, Logan Allin, Matthew D. Mann, CFA, and Stephanie Perez, check out the full report here: https://lnkd.in/euHK8-9B

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Summary: The article discusses the current venture firm fundraising market and the success of emerging VC firm A* in raising $315 million for its oversubscribed Fund II. It highlights the firm's focus on early-stage investments and its experienced founding partners. Key takeaways: Venture firms raised $9.3 billion in Q1 and it is unlikely that 2023's record-breaking total of $81.8 billion will be surpassed. A* has been successful in fundraising due to its focus on seed rounds and backing breakout companies in its portfolio. The firm's founding partners have a strong track record and diverse experience in different industries. Counter arguments: The article mentions that emerging managers are feeling the frost in the fundraising market, suggesting that not all emerging VCs may be as successful as A*. While A* has found success in raising institutional investors for Fund II, this may not be the case for all emerging VCs. #venturecapital #vc #fundraising #startups #innovation

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Summary: Industry Ventures has raised a $900 million early-stage hybrid fund for investing in emerging managers and directly backing growth-stage companies. This is their seventh hybrid fund and is larger than their previous one. The fund will be split between backing VC funds, direct investments, and acquiring stakes from emerging managers. Key takeaways: Smaller, newer funds are finding it more difficult to raise capital, but this fund from Industry Ventures offers hope for emerging managers. The fund will be split between various investments, including backing VC funds and buying secondary interests. Industry Ventures may have an advantage due to their ability to invest in both emerging and more established managers. Counter arguments: Some may argue that it is still difficult for emerging managers to raise funds. The success of Industry Ventures may not be indicative of the overall climate for emerging managers. #venturecapital #venture #startups #fundraising

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Last month, Uncork Capital celebrated its 20th anniversary with a jubilant gathering attended by 420 guests, marking two decades of success in the venture capital realm. Over the years, the firm, alongside industry peers like First Round Capital and Felicis, has witnessed remarkable growth, now managing billions of dollars in assets. This expansion reflects the flourishing landscape of venture capital, with the industry experiencing exponential growth in investment. Moreover, positive shifts in VC norms, such as the evolving attitudes towards board seats, underscore a commitment to providing tailored support to startups, enhancing their growth prospects. Amidst discussions surrounding sectors like AI, optimism prevails, emphasizing a steadfast dedication to investing in innovative ventures with lasting impact. Read More Here: https://lnkd.in/efN6-Spd Branded Hospitality Ventures Jeff Clavier Susan Liu Ashley Cravens Tripp Jones Sarah Du Andy McLoughlin Amy Saper #innovation #technology #management #venturecapital #startup

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Pleased to share that Fin Capital’s Fintech CEO Pulse Report is out! Fin Capital surveyed over 50 CEOs and C-suite leaders of private companies from our portfolio and the broader fintech industry during June and July 2024 to get a quick pulse on what’s top of mind for fintech’s leaders. Here are some key takeaways: - Optimism in the Air: More than 60% of CEOs reported being bullish or highly bullish on the fintech industry for the second half of 2024. - Regulatory Changes on the Horizon: CEOs identified Cryptocurrency, Open Banking, and Buy Now Pay Later as the top three sectors likely to see increased regulation by the end of 2024. - Headwinds persist. Despite overall bullishness on fintech, CEOs report a weak IPO environment and flag that macroeconomic volatility, regulation, and high interest rates remain top challenges for their companies. However, with abating inflation, CEO’s believe we could see rate cuts begin in September, which could positively affect asset values and market buoyancy, including the IPO window. For more insights, including comments from Logan Allin, Christian Ostberg, Matthew D. Mann, CFA, and Stephanie Perez, check out the full report here: https://lnkd.in/gK6usfwM

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Building on the success of Rocket Studio with Simon Kirby and Pivotal with Dominic Joseph we decided to merge with Impact Counsel, led by the awesomely talented John D., Erim Jones and Robert Fok earlier this year. We’ve combined our significant and complimentary skills, experience and passion for growing amazing businesses to create a new breed of VC - Creative Capital Ventures Group (CCV). Fund 1 is focused on Sports, Media & Entertainment. Joining us on this exciting journey is media titan Tom Rogers (ex CEO Tivo & CNBC). We have also assembled a mighty team of Venture Partners bringing their expertise into our team, with the legendary Harvey Goldsmith leading our Immersive Entertainment category, and Cam Blackwood (Platinum award winning record producer) and his team at Rezonate heading up Music Rights acquisition. Creative Capital Ventures is designed to disrupt traditional VC models and accelerate the growth of innovative start-ups. We’ve already secured €18 million in commitments and are raising €35 million in total to fuel the next generation of game-changing businesses. What makes CCV different? •⁠ ⁠Founder-Led Expertise: Our team comprises serial entrepreneurs and operators who have built, scaled, and exited successful companies. We know what it takes to drive rapid growth. •⁠ ⁠Speed Scaler: Through our unique venture studio model, we’re not just funding companies—we’re actively accelerating their growth, shrinking the timeline from seed to exit. •⁠ ⁠Industry Focus: CCV focuses on high-growth sectors like Sports, Media, Entertainment, and Lifestyle, with a unique emphasis on IP acquisition to drive returns in stable asset classes. If you're interested in learning more about how CCV is reshaping the venture capital landscape, let’s connect!  More updates to follow! #VentureCapital #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #Startups #ScalingFast #CreativeCapitalVentures https://lnkd.in/eiuWVtvT

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NY friends! Please come see me at Tech Day on my panel discussing the future of the NY tech ecosystem and what I hope to bring to it!

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RETHINKING RETIREMENT We've been investing in the Future of Work since we launched BBG Ventures, targeting underserved segments like deskless workers (Anthill, OX) and solopreneurs (Topline Pro). Over the summer we spent time digging into another deeply underserved segment of the workforce: Boomers. By the end of this decade, the entire generation will have hit retirement age and, for the first time, Americans 65+ will outnumber those under 18. This has huge implications for every aspect of society, and it mandates that we start thinking differently about retirement. The question for all of us is this: Can we re-focus healthy Americans 60+ on a new phase of productivity, a “third act” that enables them to keep learning, keep earning, keep socially-engaged and contributing to the nation’s economic growth? And what role can AI play in helping every senior identify their unique skill set and personal priorities — and connect them with the right opportunities? We have some thoughts on how to make this happen, and we'd love you to give it a read, add your feedback, forward it to a founder who's working in this arena (or who you think might be intrigued), and share it! AgeTech has been too focused on death and decay; it's time we embrace longevity and give older Americans a way to keep working -- on their terms. cc: Carol Magalhães Isaacs, CFA Nisha Dua, Claire Biernacki, Drew Silverman Fennessy

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In recent weeks, several friends have reached out to ask about the most exciting innovation and investment trends for this year. I discussed my perspective on a podcast with Miguel A. (in Spanish) a few months back. Here are the top 5 categories I'm most enthusiastic about: 1. Verticalized AI Applications: Especially those that offer full-stack solutions or are focused on healthcare/lifesciences. 2. Web3, including digital and physical (DePIN) infrastructure. 3. GLP1 Economy, not the drugs but everything around it. 4. Defense Tech: with a focus on technologies that are reaching to consumers and businesses but not the DoD yet, including autonomy (air, land, and maritime), cyber, and VR. 5. Chips for AI: Covering everything from compute and memory to networking, new architectures, edge vs DC, training vs inference, power components, and copilots/EDA tools. Additionally, robotics (for health, bio, warehouses, ...), cell and gene therapy (tools), cyber security, and fintech infrastructure/apps continue to attract investments. On the flip side, there are categories where I'm less optimistic, primarily due to market saturation in the last 4+ years and tech maturity with no significant paradigm shifts ("why now" was also valid 5 years ago), scalability challenges, and the fast pace at which incumbents are catching up. These include Employee Benefits (mental health, HSA/FSA cards, wellness, education, 401k, ...), Telemedicine and most types of mobile/online access to health providers, Carbon Markets, Agtech, Future of Food, Mobility, Physical gadgets in the hands of consumers, digital tools for femtech, insurtech, proptech, AI for drug discovery, consumer brands requiring physical locations (coffee, sneakers, ...), spacetech, travel tech, logistics, data providers, at home health tests, diagnostics, detect and health prevention. Lastly, some areas may be better positioned for 2025+, particularly as new AI-driven platforms emerge. These include: - spatial computing (VR/AR with Apple as a catalyst) - new consumer apps with different UX (e.g., multimodal GenAI), and - gaming. You can listen to the full podcast (in Spanish) on Youtube, Apple podcasts, and Spotify

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Amongst the most successful VCs in consumer in the past decade has been Kirsten Green at Forerunner So I asked her all about how startups can navigate the 70% reduction in consumer investing & why now might be the best time for VCs to look harder at the category. I loved this discussion. I always learn something from Kirsten. Click below to watch / listen https://lnkd.in/g3kiMPD5

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WE DID IT! After 2 years of pushing through the biggest downturn in VC in decades, Matthew Stotts 🌐 and I made it to the finish line with Fund I! We couldn't have done this without One Small Planet (Will Peterffy and Jack Wielebinski 🙏), Regen Network and Regen Foundation (Austin Wade Smith Gregory Landua and Will Szal), and a dozen other family offices and angels who believed that we can build a nature-positive economy utilizing our eye for software and our history as founders from day 1 A shout out goes to all of our founders (only four announced today, but watch this space - there are multitudes!) who trusted us enough to give us a spot on their cap table for this 10-15 year journey. This is the best job in the world, and it's because we get to work with people like you who have weird ideas in the best possible way. Using Bitcoin as anchor base load to decarbonize residential housing in America's most expensive energy market? Make every complex supply chain legible to machines so we can find and eliminate deforestation in commodity supply chains? Build deeply liquid environmental asset markets to price ecosystem services, on a blockchain, that no one needs to know is a blockchain? I'm so excited to get to work on this stuff for the next 10-15 years minimum, and to see what we can accelerate with our tiny fund in the next 5-6 years as we approach 2030 Onward! https://lnkd.in/gy3B-DFe

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Over the years, we at GFR Fund have solidified our investment thesis, which is that we invest in "emerging digitally native communities." These communities can be built around games, social media, and any consumer applications. Now, founders have many easy-to-use tools to build user communities, such as Discord, X/twitter, Instagram, etc, and we believe the founders should start building communities even before they launch a product. The communities can help founders: - reach PMF faster - acquire users cheaper - retain and engage users longer - build better UX/UI, and - hire early employees Below, you can see how RTFKT and Omeda Studios built the community and then worked with them to create a product the users really wanted. We would love to talk to the founders who think the community is essential in building a product!

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