Lauren Elizabeth Pearl

We love seeing founders be able to keep their equity and take advantage of non-dilutive funding sources⚒️. We're excited to collaborate with Stacy Chin, PhD leader of KeepYourEquity.co, who has secured over $15M in SBIR/STTR grants for startups across various sectors. She's written a guest blog post sharing her insights on navigating the competitive landscape of grant funding 💰. Some highlights: ❇️ Understanding SBIR/STTR: A lifeline for startups, offering up to $2 million in non-dilutive funding! ⏺️ Learning how to overcome hurdles and capitalize on the golden opportunity. ❇️ Gaining essential tips on outlining your go-to-market strategy, choosing the right program, and preparing thoroughly. ⏺️ Benefiting from Stacy Chin's 10+ years of grant writing experience and her extensive track record in securing funding for startups. Read More in the blog post linked in the comment below 👇🏾 #SBIR #STTR #GrantFunding #StartupSuccess #SmallBusiness #KeepYourEquityCo #ShayCPA #cpafirm #techaccountants #startupaccountants #techstartup #techcompany #nondilutivefunding

12

1 Comment

VC Market Update: Riding Out the Post-Boom Bumps. 2021's high-flying valuations and growth have given way to a more complex reality. With longer private timelines, tough exit markets, and capital tightness, startups face unique challenges—but also fresh opportunities. For those navigating today’s VC landscape, strategic planning is key. Whether it's balancing growth with capital efficiency or exploring secondaries smartly, there’s a path forward. And with boosts from AI and future rate cuts, brighter days could be ahead!

21

2 Comments

First-Time Founders | Understanding Your Fundraising Journey we discuss why first-time founders should avoid comparing their fundraising experiences to those of veteran founders. We highlight the importance of credibility and track record in attracting investors.

8

Your fundraising materials aren’t just documents, -- they’re strategic tools in your fundraising journey. When viewed through the lens of game theory, fundraising becomes a dynamic, multi-stage game where information asymmetry is key. As a founder, your goal is to provide investors with just enough information to spark interest and advance to the next stage, all while maintaining leverage. Here’s how to navigate this: 1. Intro Request: Craft a compelling blurb that aligns your company with the fund’s investment thesis and hints at exciting opportunities ahead. This should be enough to get you on their radar. 2. First Meeting: Present a concise deck that positions your company as an outlier with all the essential bases covered. Avoid sharing your Data Room at this stage—you don’t want to give away too much too soon. You all should now by now that I hate when you share screen get into 'presenter mode' during a zoom meeting. 3. Second Meeting / Deep Dive: Only share your Data Room if there’s a meeting scheduled to discuss it in detail. This ensures that the information exchange is meaningful and keeps you in control. But here’s where it gets strategic: What comes after the Data Room? How can you continue to engage the fund and keep their analytical momentum high? Consider what additional insights or updates you can provide to maintain their interest without compromising your negotiating position. Recently, Mercedes Bent highlighted a growing trend of founders writing their own investment memos. I’m a big advocate for this practice. After all, founders are the primary investors in their ventures. By articulating the investment opportunity from a high-level perspective and demonstrating an understanding of the VC’s underwriting process, you position yourself as a savvy entrepreneur. This not only enhances your credibility but also adds significant value in the eyes of potential investors. At Oss, we will help you craft this document in a way that not only will boost your fundraising process, but will also help you to internally align with your team and investors about the opportunity at hand!

46

4 Comments

💰 Attn: Are you a founder or CEO prepping for fundraising? Or a GTM pro who works for one? You’ll want to check out our (2) new templates: 📚 Interactive fundraising deck: https://lnkd.in/eCECjnG5 📚 Executive summary: https://lnkd.in/e7SfggGf Even though AssetMule was designed to help GTM teams better engage prospects with interactive sales assets, we’ve started to see an influx of founders signing up to build their fundraising assets. And it makes total sense. Just like buyers, investors are overwhelmed with the amount of pitches coming their way and are harder to reach than ever before. Founders need new ways to rise above the noise and earn their attention. And that’s exactly what AssetMule is designed to do. Not only will these templates help you pull your core fundraising assets together in a fraction of the time & with less effort, but they’ll help you engage investors in a more meaningful way and book more pitch meetings. Check out Justin Dorfman's demo below & sign up for AssetMule to get started for free: https://lnkd.in/efkfwj7i #startups #ceos #founders #fundraising #saas

27

5 Comments

👀 Founders who are the right fight for the Community VC forums and Iceberg 👀 The most successful founders—the top 0.1%—achieve remarkable outcomes by systematically building vast networks of investors and supporters, leveraging them for capital, promotion, and critical resources. Companies like Zeroco (raising $5m in 7 hours from 3082 supporters) and Superhuman (raising $75m off the back of a 50k person waitlist) are prime examples. However, most founders: 👉 Lack the experience, network, or structured approach to replicate this success 👉 Spend 10+ hours a week chasing support (emailing, booking meetings, having pointless conversations) with little predictability or payoff 👉 Leave untapped value on the table with their investors and advocates That’s why we’ve built Community VC as a growth engine and Iceberg, a supporter CRM designed to replicate Zeroco and Superhumans’ success by helping founders attract, nurture, and activate their first 10, 100, and 1,000 supporters. In the past 6 months we have supported 30+ companies in building their supporter base to close capital for less than 3 hours per week (compared to 10 normally) and we’re still improving. We have 100 founders working with us and 500 on our waitlist. Every week we are receiving 10+ new sign ups, with zero marketing spend so far. A recent example of ROI on 10 nurtured supporters through our ecosystem by a founder: ✅ 3 months ✅ 15 hours total spent nurturing ✅ 50 referred deals ✅ $24,500 revenue 💯 That’s $326 per hour per advocate nurtured in revenue 💯 Plus investment of $25,000 Imagine if a founder who was gearing up for a raise of any type had an army of 100 or 1000 people who could be activated at an even better ROI with an automated, personalised system... How? 👉Founders uncover investors through their own network, via Community VC and other channels by distributing their Iceberg profile links 👉The link collects supporter data and adds them to the systematised Supporter CRM 👉The founders are prompted with evolving best practice investor comms to nurture and engage the supporters for help and capital Not only are founders attracting more supporters than they ever were, they are closing capital faster and with more aligned people with Community VC and Iceberg. 🕐Why now? The future of outsized returns will come by supporting small teams who can achieve huge amounts in extremely niche sectors, with much less funding. They will achieve this through leveraging AI and leveraging their community.

6

As I have more conversations with donors, I don’t always get the exact question but I know people want to hear: What’s the WHY? WHY should I donate to Fifth Star Funds? Why should we invest in your fund? Why should we invest in your company? Why should we buy your product? Why YOU to execute this vision? It’s the question we all have to face. The WHY…. Having the correct answers to these questions when speaking to donors, investors, or LPs is quintessential to receiving funding or not. I am working on making the value proposition as clear and simple as possible each meeting. What is Your Why? #Why #fundraising #philanthropy #venturecapital #lp #donors #valueprop

18

1 Comment

The General Partnership Pioneers ‘Sweat Equity’ Model with New $300 Million Fund The General Partnership (TheGP), a venture capital firm known for its innovative “sweat equity” approach, has successfully raised $300M for its second fund. This achievement is particularly noteworthy given the current challenging environment for emerging VC managers. TheGP’s distinct model combines traditional financial investment with hands-on operational support for its portfolio companies, bridging a gap that few firms in the venture capital space address so comprehensively. 💡Why It Matters? TheGP's innovative structure has garnered significant interest from LPs. “The goal has been to unbundle venture services from venture capital, because you're very limited in what you can do from fund fees,” said Daniel Portillo, co-founder of TheGP. This approach transforms what is often a cost center for VCs—support services for portfolio companies—into a potential profit center. ⏰How It Started and How It Works? The firm was founded in 2018 by Portillo, who developed a non-executive hiring group for Greylock’s portfolio companies, a function replicated across Silicon Valley. Portillo’s work at Greylock was recognized as a valuable innovation, and he was soon joined by Phin Barnes, a former partner at First Round Capital, in 2021. Together, they rebranded the firm and raised $240M for its first fund, successfully attracting a unique client base that benefits from its hands-on approach. TheGP’s latest fund builds upon this foundation, providing portfolio companies with both traditional financial backing and extensive operational support. The firm’s sweat equity contracts are carefully structured and come with specific statements of work, which range from recruitment to engineering and go-to-market strategy development. For early-stage companies, these agreements typically coincide with a fundraising round, offering both funding and support services upfront. However, with later-stage or “breakout” companies, TheGP’s services contract is usually initiated first—often at the most recent venture capital valuation—while a traditional capital infusion may follow. 🎯The Bottom Line According to Barnes, approximately 70% of TheGP’s portfolio companies benefit from both types of agreements. The firm’s approach has allowed it to differentiate itself from other VCs, providing deep operational expertise to companies on the brink of substantial growth while transforming support services into a significant asset rather than a cost.   ✅ Looking to raise capital for your #VCfund and increase the international pool of your LPs?   🤝 Need warm #LP introductions?   📝 Selling #secondaries to increase liquidity?   🧐 Looking for co-investments (Series A/Series B)?   ▶ Please use G+QUANT's link for inquiries and fund decks, or send an inquiry to [email protected] #VentureCapital #SweatEquity #VCInnovation #StartupFunding #GrowthCapital #TechInvesting #TheGeneralPartnership

1

🚀 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

Exciting news from the heart of Silicon Valley🌟 A powerhouse trio of seasoned venture capitalists, including Ethan Kurzweil from Bessemer Venture Partners, Kristina Shen from Andreessen Horowitz, and Mark Goldberg from Index Ventures, is teaming up to launch a cutting-edge early-stage investment firm, reshaping the landscape of enterprise tech innovation. 🚀💼 Amidst a backdrop of shifting dynamics in the venture capital ecosystem, the formation of this dynamic new firm underscores a strategic response to evolving market trends and opportunities. 💡🌐 The collaborative spirit among Kurzweil, Shen, and Goldberg is not new, as they bring a wealth of shared experiences and synergies to their collective endeavor. With past collaborations at renowned firms like Bessemer and interactions through mutual board affiliations, their partnership is founded on a solid foundation of mutual trust and shared vision. 🔍🤝 Kurzweil's departure from Bessemer marks the beginning of an exciting chapter, leveraging his extensive track record with notable investments in industry giants like Twitch, PagerDuty, and Dropcam. 📈💥 As these industry veterans join forces to embark on this thrilling new venture, the tech community eagerly anticipates the transformative impact their collective expertise will have on shaping the future of enterprise tech innovation. 🌟🔮 ✅ 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 #EnterpriseTech #Innovation #StartupEcosystem #SiliconValley #Collaboration #IndustryLeaders #NewBeginnings

4

💡 Buy vs. Build: The Tech Dilemma Every Founder Faces In my latest episode with Phillip McGlade, the CEO of Thérapie Clinic & Thérapie Fertility, we dove into a lesson every entrepreneur needs to hear: Phillip once decided to build a custom tech system for his business. The result? It didn’t work. His takeaway? 👉 Sometimes, it’s better (and cheaper) to buy proven solutions than to reinvent the wheel. "Stick to your zone of genius. Focus on what you do best and let the experts handle the rest." This one decision can save you time, money, and a whole lot of headaches. 🎧 Hear Phillip’s full story and learn why he now chooses to buy tech, not build - linked in comments below. #Founders #Entrepreneurship #TechStrategy #LessonsLearned

53

6 Comments

This week Mikal Ventures brings you a 4-week breakdown of the non-US capital market with an emphasis on the Mikal verticals. The 4-week period ending November 25 saw just over 1,300 new companies added, bringing the total to 112,141 companies included in the non-US Health Tech, Med Tech, AI Tech Fin Tech and Ed Tech verticals. Non-US AI Tech again saw the greatest percentage growth in new companies at 16%, vs. the vertical average of 12% for the period. Non-US HeathTech led the group in transactions. Non-US Med Tech led in SEC Filings and news articles.   Mikal Ventures publishes these stats on a rolling 4-week basis to provide a perspective on how the verticals and new startups move through time. We hope you find them informative and thought-provoking. VC Investors are always adjusting their "Play Book" with a variety of options for investing. Mikal Ventures is one of those alternatives, offering curated solutions to real world problems. Reach out if you have questions on how we can be of assistance and bookmark https://mikalventures.com/ for additional insights and information.

9

2 Comments

When you're in fundraising mode, your investor communication strategy needs to shift. Here's how: For existing investors: • Keep sending the core monthly update • Add a weekly fundraise update, even a live weekly meeting may pay dividends • Put together a target list for introductions and share • Share who you're meeting with and where you need back channel help - you never know who they might know! For potential investors: • Follow up if you haven't heard back in 7 days • Create a weekly update for funds in progress with: - A win for the week - Progress made - A current challenge • Customize this update for each investor Remember: If you don't follow up, you'll get lost in the shuffle. Founders, what's your strategy for keeping investors engaged during fundraising?

50

5 Comments

If you live inside someone else's semantic landscape, you will undoubtedly lose. Thank you to Carl Franzen @ VentureBeat for letting me discuss how New Industry VC's Narrative Command thesis is applicable to elections. What is Narrative Command? Narrative Command is the concept that in every new market there is a startup that defines a vision of the future…which becomes the default future for that vertical. They define the language of the vertical, forcing everyone else to use that language. They define the seminal experience, and then give audiences or customers a taste of that experience. They boundary the discourse, forcing everyone into it. Once a company seizes Narrative Command in a new vertical, competitors — whether pre-existing or new — must live inside that narrative. Taken to its logical conclusion, Narrative Command becomes self-sustaining, where stakeholders, fans, customers, allies, investors — AND EVEN COMPETITORS — perpetuate the narrative. The best example of this is, of course, Tesla, which possesses Narrative Command of both electric and autonomous vehicles. NIVC invests in seed-stage Deep Tech startups with Narrative Command potential: www.nivc.us And if a startup just wants help with NC, my advisory firm is ready to help: www.johnson-roy.com

16

4 Comments

I recently sat down with a group of Forum Ventures founders about to go out to fundraise and the topic of SAFE rounds came up. The context focused on the pros/cons of raising a priced vs a SAFE round and the conversation notably shifted toward the dilution implications of a SAFE round. Founders are keenly aware of the top line dilution of any funding round - ie selling 20% of their startup for $3M at a $15M cap - but very few fully grasp the implications of doing a SAFE round vs a priced round. The universal standard for institutional VC investors is a post money SAFE. This document essentially outlines ownership that an investor will have in a startup just prior to the execution of a priced round. Most importantly though, it is structured so that an investor in that SAFE will not be diluted by subsequent SAFE's that are issued. This is where founder education around the implications of this structure are not fully appreciated. In a situation where a founder continues to stack subsequent SAFEs, they don't actually convert until the first priced round and the net dilution they are taking is actually more than they realize. Here is a practical example - take a situation where a founder has already sold 15% of their business on a post money SAFE in a pre-seed round, and is now choosing to sell another 20% in a seed round. If the founder opts to raise this money on SAFEs, the dilution of that additional 20% will come entirely from common equity holders- meaning they will now own 65%. If SAFE holders were also diluted by that round, as they would be in a priced round, the founder would own 68%. This dynamic becomes more dramatic the more capital a founder raises on SAFEs. Note - this is a high level example and does not include an option pool carve out or other round nuances. Almost universally, when a founder raises their first priced round, there is some degree of sticker shock at the outright dilution on their cap table, particularly when options pools are factored in. This pain is even more acute when a founder has raised a fair amount of capital on SAFEs along the way. There are certainly benefits to raising SAFE round, mainly cash in hand 6-8 weeks faster and not having to decide on board seats too early, but I encourage all of our founders to run through cap table modeling and correctly account for the implications of SAFE rounds before they make fundraising decisions.

55

1 Comment

Understanding the importance of traction can change the game for startups looking to raise funds. Traction is not just about numbers—it’s about showing consistent growth and potential. Whether it’s user engagement, revenue increases, or strategic partnerships, highlighting these achievements can make your fundraising efforts more fruitful.💡 #TractionFirst

1

Founding Pachamama Ventures was not easy - and the hard work continues as we are just getting started! I am stoked about this event later today where I will share my unique perspective on becoming a VC coming from an untraditional background. It's not too late to join us. 👩🏽‍🎤 #venturecapital #emergingmanager #femaleinvestors

9

Demystifying the C-Suite… 🚀 Secret to successfully scaling your business I am always surprised at how confused management teams are about the role of each c-suite member. Ok, so the CFO may be more obvious - tracking the $$$ But what about the CEO vs COO??? Regardless of the size of a business, we like having both a CEO and COO. It’s the secret to successfully growing your business. 🚀 ❌ We have found that if the CEO is handling all operational issues, the business stagnates… As I like to say, the CEO should be working ON the business, while the COO is working IN the business. The CEO can't do both. So… ✅ CEO needs to focus on strategy, growth and clients ✅ COO makes sure the company is executing seamlessly - operations ✅ CFO makes sure we are making money! What does your management team look like? BTW, don’t forget about your CHRO, without the right people, you are sure to fail!

100

5 Comments

Fundraising Lessons ____ In the next week or two, we will complete the final close of PHX Ventures Fund II. It's been a successful process as we exceeded our fundraising target by 20% and will hit our goal of $30m. I've been contrasting my experiences raising VC funding as the Founder / CEO of CampusLogic to my experience raising a VC fund as the Founder / General Partner of PHX Ventures. Here are five similarities I have observed: - Founder Market Fit. Fund investors seemed drawn to our personal experience scaling VC-backed software companies. It would have been hard for us to raise money for a climate tech or biotech fund as we know nothing about those areas. Investors need to believe that a VC deeply understands the areas in which they invest. - Differentiation. We aren't the only B2B software investor in the world but we are differentiated. Our operating experience, concentrated portfolio, institutional mindset, diligence framework, community investments (i.e., PHX FWD), founder support model, and network of later-stage VC / PEs are unique. Investors value differentiation. - Track Record. The last year has not been the easiest time to raise a fund but thankfully the track record from our first fund is strong. That fund was fortunate to be an early investor in Virtuous, Trainual, Nectar, equipifi, Nurture Boss, and other winning software companies. These past investments provide valuable reference points to investors. - Skin In The Game. When I decided to start PHX Ventures, I committed to be the largest investor in every fund we raise. That has resonated with our new investors. We regularly hear that the percentage of dollars coming from us, the partners managing the fund, is 5X-10X higher than they have ever seen. Our investors feel aligned with us. - Cast A Wide Net. Like founders, VC firms must talk to myriad investors when raising a fund. Many investors passed on our fund for various reasons and some that we thought would come in fizzled out at the end. That's all normal, but next time we raise a fund I will likely cast an even wider net to ensure we get in front of the right investors at the right time. I'm excited about PHX Ventures Fund II. We have already made four investments including Soraban, Fluint, AudiencePlus, and Rivia Health. I love these founders and the high-growth companies they are busy building. Lastly, I am thankful for our investors who have joined our efforts to find, back, and support ambitious founders building high-growth software companies that will change the world for good. ____ #venturecapital, #b2b #software, #saas, #VC

70

10 Comments