Lilian Tham

Hiring alert! One of our newest MKT1 portfolio companies is hiring a founding marketer. nodaFi is vertical SaaS that understands a wedge-in strategy. The team is scrappy and values marketing--and really understands their ICP - facilities managers. If you're based in the Bay Area and interested in helping bring a tech-first approach to an industry that operates with pen & paper, take a look. The founders are awesome (cc Jacob Pandl & Michael Loyda) JD link in the comments.

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Hiring the right sales, marketing, and CX leaders is incredibly challenging, especially for early-stage startups. Check out our ElevenX Talent's Janine O'Neill (she/her) and Dan Hurwitz discuss all things GtM hiring in this awesome podcast. Some great wisdom nuggets in this one. Watch the full episode, now live at howtounfuckyourstartup.com

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Team San Diego! I though you may find this as surprising as I did...we are not alone. Read this quick article from Jon Prentice's (Silicon Valley Bank) interview with with James Newell (Voyager Capital), published in GeekWire on Seattle's innovation ecosystem....they lament the SAME issues as we do in San Diego: * Lack of angel investors, (Especially, it calls out, given the local giant tech co's) * "We need low-conviction check writers." * Lack of "cachet associated with being an angel investor" - We have similar efforts (as described in the article) to drum up angel activity: NuFund Venture Group and, Interlock Capital (read the article and you'll see why the Interlock effort is tops as relates to "paying back into the ecosystem") Connect.org strives to 'connect' innovative companies with investors of all types (angel, VC, PE...) - just see "Innovation Day". Their Springboard program provides another great way for experienced entrepreneurs to give back through mentorship...as for the companies going through Springboard: "Ask for advice, and you often get $$" Your thoughts on the article or San Diego innovation ecosystem? https://lnkd.in/gfwq6mfq

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Inspired by what we’re building at Build Momentum. We realized tech recruiting is broken—non-technical recruiters struggle to find and attract the best talent. That’s why we’ve flipped the script and developed a community-based recruiting approach: a trusted network of elite engineers, embedded within Latam’s top tech communities. The best engineers know the best engineers, and we tap into these deep, authentic connections to deliver top talent faster and with better fit. Want to see how we’re doing it differently? Check out our post

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🙋🏽‍♀️ 𝙄'𝙢 𝙞𝙣 𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩. 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙. Networking as a concept still causes my introverted spirit to shrivel up just a little bit inside. Cultivation is much easier but leveraging my amazing web of folx remains 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱.  I contrast my job seeking experiences during two pivotal moments in my career: 🎣 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝘆 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗝𝗼𝗯 When I was first trying to gain an entry point into tech, I had no network (and no connections in the tech industry) and applied to nearly 100 jobs before getting the first interview that changed the trajectory of my career. 💥 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗩𝗖 Years later when I was again at a career inflection point and felt in my bones a need for change, I resigned myself to the application slog once again. I had a network but I didn't know how to use it and I wouldn't have even considered VC. I couldn't imagine what I had no exposure to. Jerry Nemorin, my manager & CEO at the time, planted the VC seed for me. And then he went one further and recommended me to his investor. 💥 Thank you, Jerry 🙏🏽 . 👀 𝗠𝘆 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗼 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲 A series of chances. Yes, I worked my butt off, too. Timing played a big role. I committed to my growth and left roles that were no longer aligned and pursued roles that were. But I would not be here in VC collaborating on programming for startup job seekers without that referral and that is a privilege and a gift. 𝙒𝙝𝙤 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙆𝙣𝙤𝙬 & 𝙒𝙝𝙤 𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝙈𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 💗 Whether you are: 🤜🏽 trying to break into a new role or industry with a limited network 🤝  looking to nurture and grow your professional connections in meaningful ways 🕸 wondering how to call upon your web of connections to support you in your next career move 𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙨 💪🏽   Join me on 𝗪𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟱 at Initialized Capital's 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁 for some tactical advice on networking and so much more. 💫 In her talk, "𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙀𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩: 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨," Eleanor Morgan, founder & ceo, of a stealth social platform for job and talent matchmaking, will share insights for how to 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵.  🏋🏽‍♀️ 𝙒𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙪𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙗 🧗🏽‍♀️ This 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 is open to all SF Bay Area talent looking for their next job opportunity at an early stage startup. Sign up here 👉🏽 https://lnkd.in/g_nDPjWi Space is limited. #StartupJobs #JobSupport #StartupReadiness

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At last week’s ClimateTech Coffee 🚲 Bryan White and I were joined by Kimberly Gilbert, PhD to hear about her work on Carbon Neutralization and Ocean Storage (CNOS) through her company pHathom. Here’s a recap: The ocean naturally absorbs CO2 over time, but we’ve added so much that the ocean has become increasingly acidic. Ocean pH has dropped from 8.2 to 8.1 globally over the last hundred years, and as pH drops it becomes harder for coral-based organisms to form shells. To combat this, Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE) is an intervention that both reverses ocean acidification and removes CO2 from the atmosphere. Challenges with traditional OAE: - When you add the alkalinity into the ocean, it spreads out. It’s hard to measure the change in pH. - You don’t know exactly when the extra CO2 will be absorbed. Modeling and measurement companies are trying to help with this problem. Advantages of CNOS: - Co2 is captured directly at a coastal power plant or refinery, and then the concentrated Co2 is pumped into water that has limestone (and/or other alkaline materials) in it.  - This means the Co2 is dissolved onsite and the pH can be equilibrated onsite, which makes accurate measurement more feasible. Factors that affect progress:  - We’ll start seeing more companies enter in this space as the chemistry and its impacts are better understood and seen as safe  - Local and national permitting are a huge bottleneck - On the international permitting level, the London Protocol has a blanket ban on ocean geoengineering for anything except for research. There were good reasons for doing that, but it’s unclear who decides when that can change and the circumstances under which the ban is lifted. (Note: pHathom is not doing geoengineering; it’s doing water treatment on-site and releasing it back as ocean water) Open questions for the category/technology: - Can they come up with enough low-cost alkalinity sources, and get them in a way that doesn’t cause additional environmental damage or Co2 emissions?  - This approach will require pumping a lot of water. How much will that cost and how can the cost be driven down?  - Putting 100 plants’ worth of bicarbonate into the ocean is likely fine for ocean health relative to the climate benefit, but what is the point where the tradeoffs cross over? Some groups doing good work in this space:  [C]Worthy Carbon to Sea Initiative  University Research: UC Santa Barbara, University of Tasmania, GEOMAR, Dalhousie University, Scripps Join us for the next one in May! Details coming soon, and you can get updates by subscribing to the series page here: https://lnkd.in/g7DTGm2V

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I just got early access to "The Seismic CMO" by Christa Richards! If you're looking to master AI in your marketing strategies, this book is a must-read. Available for free for the next 24 hours! Get your copy here: https://lnkd.in/ebABtCEx #TheSeismicCMO #AIinMarketing #B2Bmarketing #TechMarketing #FreeBook

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Today, GTMfund’s is excited to announce to launch of Operator, its first incubated company. Max Altschuler (founder of GTMfund) teamed up with co-founder Adam M. (design engineer and 0-1 builder) and co-founder Mark Kosoglow (Outreach employee #1 and former SVP of Global Sales) to create Operator.ai alongside an insanely talented team Pleasant Middelhof, Jeremy Jonas, Carl Gunderson. We've entered a period called “The Great Ignore”. Spam and irrelevant, poorly-automated outbound campaigns are running rampant.   Operator gives you an easy-to-use Growth Engineer that allows you to build and enrich lists with accurate data, and run experiments and queries using AI to generate highly targeted outreach.    Check out their website to get updates, early access, and see how they are taking the world back to 2 touches meant to attract buyers into conversations that convert, instead of 20 touches meant to make sure you hit your activity number: https://www.operator.ai/

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As a Techstars mentor, venture partner at Pioneer Fund, and YC founder, I have access to thousands of high-growth companies with exceptionally talented operators. The best companies I know are all: - hiring less full-time, US-based talent - hiring more remote-first talent overseas - leveraging offshore talent as well as AI to increase efficiency And the results are staggering. I’m biased, but companies like Spotify, HubSpot, and Automattic use Arc daily to meet highly vetted, English-speaking candidates globally at ~50% of the salary you’d give someone in the US to do the same work. Not only that, but in a world of efficiency, hiring remotely can be faster than hiring for in-office roles as well. Are you operating your business like a founder of the future? Or will someone in Techstars, YC, and similar communities eat your lunch when you’re forcing your employees to #returntooffice because you think it’s a competitive advantage (when it’s not)? Comment below with your thoughts… And repost if you agree. Finally, follow me Weiting Liu for more posts like this on hiring remotely.

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(NEW EPISODE) In the ever-evolving landscape of entrepreneurship, few have experienced the full spectrum of highs and lows like Zvi Schreiber. His journey from software engineer to successful serial founder offers invaluable insights into the trials and triumphs of building and scaling companies. In this exclusive interview, Zvi talks about his experiences selling a company to IBM, taking another company public, and fundraising. He has had a series of successful acquisitions and fire sales. #entrepreneurs #entrepreneurship #entrepreneur #business #success #venture #venturecapital #investment #invest #investors #tech #technology #innovation #leanstartup #leanstartups #inspiration #startup #startups https://lnkd.in/ein5Ny7M

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Excited to host a 30-minute panel at Andreessen Horowitz Tech Week in SF on Wednesday, October 9. If you're a founder or sales leader at a high-growth startup who predominantly sells into the enterprise, you won't want to miss this discussion. Our expert panelists will share invaluable insights on: - Breaking through to key decision-makers - Structuring an efficient sales process - Proven techniques for closing high-value deals

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Insightful breakdown from my great Partner Omri Amirav-Drory on the simple factors that really separate the top 1% of investors from the rest, and how more operators should become investors! https://lnkd.in/gEiZdT2h

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Looking forward to discussing how changing demographics and culture norms are affecting investment opportunities in longevity, health and well-being at The Care Summit today Alongside Cake Ventures' Monique Woodard, Ziegler's Dan Hermann, Oak HC/FT's Billy Deitch and JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s Jennifer Edwards, we’ll dive into the trends shaping how we are investing in the space: - Last year marked one of the most significant social and economic moments in modern times: The number of older adults—those aged 50 and over- surpassed the number of children under the age of 15 for the first time. - In 2020 the 50 plus population contributed $45 trillion to global GDP, or 34% of the total. That equates to about 3x the revenue of the world’s 100 highest- earning companies in 2020. - The U.S. population grew by 24.5 million from 2010 to 2022, and Hispanics accounted for 53% of this increase – a greater share than any other racial or ethnic group. - Women around the world and across all ages drive 64% of consumer spending

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A stroll through San Diego led me to Geppetto's, where a life-sized puppet and friendly staff turned me into an unexpected customer. 🌟This IS the magic of independent retail. 🌟 With consumer spending down, small businesses need innovative strategies beyond discounting to thrive without sacrificing profitability. Curious about how #indieretailers are navigating these challenges? Check out my latest article in Total Retail. #Retail #SmallBusiness #CustomerExperience #Innovation #IndependentRetail #SMB #boutiqueowner #retailer #fashion

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Employee terminations: they're a topic no one wants to discuss but that every company has to navigate. Thankfully, Melanie Naranjo and wonderful Ethena advisor (& Gusto's former People Leader) Jess Yuen are tackling this tricky topic for the next Ethena webinar. Register if you want to learn more about these topics: How to pressure test whether or not termination is the right course of action Best practices for communicating termination decisions How to minimize risk and choose the best course of action when things get tricky Critical pitfalls to avoid

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Origins is a good podcast series for us venture nerds to dig into. This one featuring Wesley Chan in convo with Elizabeth "Beezer" Clarkson + Nicholas Chirls had the following 3 takeaways for me: 1/ For the great founders, Steve Jobs, Page + Brin etc., it is not a as much about priving someone wrong so much as proving you are right! "Larry and Sergey never felt they had to go fight the man, even though a lot of people doubted them at the beginning. They felt they had to go change the world, right? And like prove themselves that there was something better if Google existed than if it didn't, right?" 2/ Timing / why now is an important aspect to their evaluation process. Wesley: “we ask the question, why now? Or why does this make sense now? Why not start it at 10 years from now? And usually, the founders who understand why now, they thought about their whole lives or like, no, this is the one moment in time. They have a really wonderful answer for it, which is these are the things, these are the tailwinds that are blowing." This resonated with me, because in my writings on PMF, the first part of PMF is getting 'the pick' or problem space right, and one of the three elements of 'the pick' is why now (others are founder problem fit or why you) and large attackable market). Increasingly I am incorporating 'why now' into my evaluation process of startup pitches as well. 3/ Doesnt believe in platform; says the best founders dont need recruiting help. Wesley: “A lot of people mistake Venture Capital for being some sort of tuition check for like training and helping founder learn on the job, and while we're willing to help them learn, in fact, we provide a lot of help with coaching, especially through our coach and founders network, but the best founders don't need their VCs to do the work for them.”

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💼 Dive into the world of venture capital with our curated list of **270 VC firms in #SanFrancisco**! From firm details to portfolio links, we’ve got you covered. Explore the possibilities: https://lnkd.in/dqizhN92 #startup #startups #venturecapital #funding #vc #managementconsulting

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Three takeaways from this panel: 1. Embedded is the future of payroll! Business owners want all-in-one platforms to run their business, and Check empowers those platforms to solve the payroll pain point. 2. Lindsey Martin is a badass! 👏 👏 👏 We're so fortunate to have Lindsey and a whole cadre of incredible women leading Check. 3. It was fun to have Check share the stage with the leaders of Gusto and Remote. Those companies did a great job pioneering the last decade of payroll for SMBs. Check is powering the platforms that will define the next decade.

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