Lisbeth Kaufman

Not all of the investments that Kindred Capital VC makes can be a 13 year sourcing process.... but... this is one of those very fortunate moments in which a relationship that started over a decade ago in the Bay Area where the brilliant A-H. Hleileh and I overlapped has now turned into an incredibly exciting opportunity for Kindred to lead his and Ron Holifield's first institutional round at Civic Marketplace. We believe: 1. Local government procurement is one of the most underserved areas in technology today, and has failed to keep pace with the private sector. They deserve better. 2. This is a huge opportunity, with US local governments spending alone amounting to over $1.5 trillion in annual spend, which is only going in one direction... 3. As the brilliant Kip Harkness shared with me in our diligence phase, "this industry moves at the speed of trust." And this is a unique founding team with A-H. Hleileh and Ron Holifield at the helm who bring together two critical ingredients: 1) decades of trust-building within this domain, and 2) a team who can build beautiful and scalable technology platforms. Onwards!! 🚀

56

3 Comments

Check out my recent post on why President Trump is the forcing function for us to solve the “Missing Middle” and catch the industrial Tsunami of onshoring coming to the US!

83

9 Comments

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!

1

1 Comment

Summary: Defense tech startups have raised almost $3 billion in funding so far in 2024, surpassing the previous record of $2.6 billion in 2022. The increase in funding is driven by a few large rounds and the growth of the European defense tech scene. Key takeaways: Defense tech funding has reached a new high in 2024, surpassing the previous record from 2022. The increase in funding is driven by a few large rounds, including a $1.5 billion Series F raised by weapons manufacturer Anduril. The European defense tech scene has also seen significant growth, with large rounds raised by companies like Helsing and an increase in new venture firms. Counter arguments: Some may argue that the increase in funding for defense tech startups is concerning, as it suggests a growing need for new technologies in the face of an increasingly dangerous world. Others may argue that this trend could lead to a proliferation of companies focused on developing weapons and surveillance tech, rather than addressing underlying issues that contribute to global conflicts. #defensetech #startups #venturecapital #fundraising

9

1 Comment

One month left to apply!!!! Apply to NETI's Climate Tech Bootcamp Cohort 3.0, a pre-accelerator program powered by Riffle Ventures, Climate Tech Bootcamp, OHUB and Greater New Orleans, Inc. – GNO, Inc. part of H2TheFuture, a Build Back Better Regional Challenge of The Economic Development Administration. This bootcamp is a 10-week pre-accelerator program for climate tech and new energy entrepreneurs in the United States that have an interest in building in or expanding to South Louisiana. ‍ Five (5) founders from the program will pitch for a $100,000 (US) investment on the terms of their current round. Application is in the comments and here's a quick overview as well: - 📆 When: September 3 - October 31, 2024 - ⏰ Deadline to Apply: August 27, 2024 - 💻 Location: Virtual - 🆓 Cost: Free. The $5,000 per person fee is waived thanks to GNO, Inc. and The Economic Development Administration's Build Back Better Regional Challenge. - 💰 Funding: Up to $100,000 US (equity investment) in current round to the top startup selected at the end of the cohort. - 🈺 Cohort Size: 25-30 entrepreneurs - 🌍 Cohort Geography: United States - 📈 Stage: We welcome applicants from multiple stages, though having a minimum viable product is ideal.

77

2 Comments

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!

47

And my second investment at defy is in 🐶 zeroETL puppies 🐶... I mean PuppyGraph, which is all the beauty of a graph database, none of the data migration or continuous upkeep of a graph database. Sounds like magic? So are puppies 🐶 . Puppygraph is NOT a graph or a database. It is graph analytics engine that answers graph questions on your existing data warehouses, whether that is a Databricks datalake, Google BigQuery or postgres. Compared to SQL, it's faster, handles way more complexity, scales and has almost no upkeep. How did I get to conviction? 1. Tailwinds - 🌊 Lakehouses 🌊 have helped enterprises put all their data in one place, enabling Puppygraph to unlock insights previously unavailable. - 📚 LLMs! 📚AI and RAG cannot easily traverse fragmented data. Puppygraph's Graph RAG unlocks insights with their Knowledge Graph and spoonfeeds to the LLMs. 2. 👯 Team 👯 We have graph experts from Google, LinkedIn, Databricks, Tigergraph, and Instacart who are uniquely able to build this solution. 3. 💸 Customers 💸 . My alma mater Coinbase is a proud user. The feedback from my former colleagues was off the charts! A blockchain is very much a graph database and Puppygraph tracks down fraudulent transactions that go through mixers and helps identify patterns. Huge congrats to Weimo Liu Danfeng Xu Lei Huang Zhenni Wu Gary Hagmueller, defy.vc is proud to be an investor!!

27

3 Comments

Have a story to tell... Use Narratize AI Co-Authoring platform to tell your stories in an impactful manner. Katie Trauth Taylor, PhD and the entire team is committed to helping you in becoming amazing storytellers. Check out their impressive work at https://lnkd.in/gnNYHSSX Start telling your stories with Narratize AI as your co-author. #generativeai #storytelling #innovation #aicoauthoring #innovators #researchers #impactstories #startups #problemsolvers #AI #AIStartup

3

1 Comment

#TechConSocal2024 #BuildingOutsideSiliconValley Spark Growth Ventures is committed to helping support top-tier founders from across the nation as well as internationally. Out of the 25 portfolio companies that we have partnered with in the last ~3.5 yrs, the pre-dominant majority are neither in SV nor in NYC (the top two hubs for startup funding in the US), but are in emerging hubs such as Nashville, Columbus, Cleveland and Sacramento: • 6 are HQ-/Co-HQ-ed across San Diego, Sacramento and LA metros • 4 in the Midwest • 4 with HQs/co-HQs in Europe and Asia • 2 in the DC Metro area • 2 in Pacific Northwest • 1 in the South • 1 in the Mountain West Even though there're significant ecosystem benefits from being in large hubs (SV/ NYC/ Boston etc), we think that top-tier innovation and teams with proper distributed support, especially in the post-COVID era, can be successful from most places – there are some additional hurdles but nothing that’s insurmountable. In addition, several benefits of being in the emerging/small hubs vs. the traditional centers. On the personal side also, I grew up in tier-2/3 cities and towns of India (Kota, Ratlam, Jallandhar, Kapurthala, Meerut, NE States etc.) and similarly, built my early foundation in the US in small MidWestern towns/cities, and finally made a conscious decision to create a life out of a mid-sized city in the US. So, I can personally relate to & in fact, support pursuing one’s dreams from just about anywhere, not just large obvious places. Therefore, given our mindset and philosophy, I am really excited to be part of the "Challenges and Opportunities of Creating a Prosperous Venture Outside of Silicon Valley" panel being moderated by Zamir Shukho, MBA (General Partner at Vibranium Venture Capital), alongside my dear friend and classmate Paul Yeh (Founding Partner at Conductive Ventures), Brad Greenwald (Managing Partner at Hilltop Venture Partners) and Howard Ko (Partner at Morpheus Ventures). We will most likely start around 2 pm PST in case you would like to hear our combined perspectives. Lastly, #TechConSoCal is shaping to be one of the largest innovation conferences in #SanDiego, with hundreds of VCs, founders, startup professionals and innovation enthusiasts attending. If you are able to make it to San Diego for a day or even swing by for a few hours, it will definitely be worth the price of admission. Thanks Faisal Mushtaq, Serhat Pala, Neal Bloom and many others for helping organize this invaluable event right here in San Diego and for making a huge contribution to the local ecosystem.   Spark Growth Ventures, Safa Mahzari, Alessio Sanfilippo, Gaurav Bhatia, Jaikaran Sawhny, Jeffrey Haux, Kimberly Davis King, Marcos Rivera, Pooja Skogstad, Raj Pudipeddi, Rohit Gulati, Vittal Kadapakkam, TIE San Diego, Orange County OC Startup Council, The Brink SBDC, EvoNexus, UC San Diego, SDSU College of Sciences, Wharton Alumni Angels, NuFund Venture Group, Jonah Peake, Fred Grier, Pankaj Kedia

103

10 Comments

I’m thrilled to be announcing that Notion Capital is leading the $15m Series A investment in Cogna today. In the industry, we like to think that software has been eating the world. But when you look at the data a better description would be more of a nibble. Depending on what source you look at the software industry represents between 5-8% of global GDP. Contrast that with the services industry that represents between 60-70% of GDP and worth around $25 trillion on a global basis. Most services have been out of reach for the software industry. They have either been too complex or too specialized for off the shelf software to access in any economically viable way. But that’s beginnning to change with GenAI leading to the emergence of ‘service as a software.’ Cogna is at the forefront of this opportunity - building precision software at scale and delivering huge productivity gains for traditional industries. We know Ben Peters & Lars Mennen well having backed their previous company Five AI that was acquired by Bosch in 2022. And we’re very excited to be backing them again together with Hoxton Ventures & Chalfen Ventures Read my full blog post on why we invested here. Radu Bozga Ben Peters Lars Mennen Bryan G. Mike Chalfen Hussein Kanji Kirsten Connell https://lnkd.in/eh8mhcJb

201

13 Comments

The 2024 Kapor Capital impact report is out! The team is redefining equity-driven, gap closing, social impact investing for the field. The decreases in capital devoted to finding and supporting founders of color from geographies across the globe has been one major disappointment of the "VC slump" in many sectors since 2022. The lack of founder diversity in most investors portfolio's as documented in this excellent report--especially among Latine and Black leaders--is deeply disturbing. The team Kapor Capital and their partners have a different view of the marketplace that is notable and--I believe--on tremendously solid ground. In the long run the founders in their Fund 3, including Lirvana Labs, Maker of Yeti Confetti Kids, Meet Maro, Numerade, Workmaps, Daivergent, Safer Management (YC S21) and others will be adding so much more value than most other investment funds that are not prioritizing both returns and social impact. Hats off to the entire team led by Brian Dixon, Brandon Boros, Uriridiakoghene (Ulili) Onovakpuri, Cliff Worley, Aya Spencer, Tesheia van der Horst and founders Dr. Freada Kapor Klein and Mitch Kapor. #impact #investments #deib #values #venture

16

I'm excited to announce that Canapi Ventures has led OpenYield's seed round. OpenYield is redefining how bonds are traded and who gets to trade them. Despite being one of the largest global asset classes, fixed income has long lagged behind equities in terms of innovation. Outdated systems, fragmented liquidity, and barriers to access have made bond trading inefficient, opaque, and inaccessible to many, particularly retail investors.   OpenYield is changing that. By delivering an equity-like trading experience for bonds, the platform transforms the fixed income market into a space defined by transparency, efficiency, and access. With real-time pricing, seamless execution, and intuitive workflows, OpenYield is making bond trading easier and more effective for institutional players, market makers, and retail investors alike. This progress wouldn’t be possible without the exceptional leadership of Jonathan Birnbaum and Hilton Lipschitz, whose decades of experience in capital markets and fintech have earned them the right to build a category leader in this market. Also hard to believe that meeting Jonathan over 20 years ago led to this partnership today!   For Canapi’s network of financial institution LPs, OpenYield represents an exciting opportunity to enhance wealth platforms, attract new client assets, and deepen advisor relationships. As the competition for wealth clients intensifies, access to efficient fixed income trading will be a critical differentiator, delivering real value for customers and strengthening client loyalty. Thrilled to be partnering with Ben Savage and Ned Daoro at Clocktower Ventures. Shoutout to Harrison Kioko. More thoughts on our investment thesis here:

169

6 Comments

Apply now to get a coveted spot for the Venture Lane B2B Pitch Night Event! 🚀 🥇 On November 19th, Venture Lane | Startup Hub is hosting our exclusive Pitch Night 👉 - a rare opportunity for Boston's B2B tech founders to tune their pitch and get in front of awesome mentors, investors, and industry leaders. ⏰ Apply by November 1st to secure your spot! 📲 Find the application link in the comments below. #B2BTech #Startups #Fundraising #BostonStartups #PitchNight #VentureLaneStudio

22

2 Comments

Who will be the next supply chain consolidator? From 2011 to 2021, XPO scaled up from $70M to $20B, fueled by a combination of organic growth and 18 acquisitions. The model was extremely successful. But the supply chain ecosystem remains extremely fragmented. There is plenty of room for new consolidators to emerge as winners. In the food supply chain software arena, one emerging acquiror is GrubMarket Inc. They have built a network model to help food suppliers automate their relationships with their customers. GrubMarket has acquired over 100 companies to date. They are expecting to exceed $2B in annualized revenue. And they just announced their latest purchase: Butter 🧈, a SaaS platform to automate food distribution. Kudos to Mike Xu, Winston C., and all involved! #logistics #supplychain #consolidation https://lnkd.in/emY4wpsy

59

9 Comments

🚀 R3i Planet43 Call for Corporate, Family Office, and Government Co-Investment Partners 🌍 Are you a corporate innovator or an economic development leader passionate about driving sustainable, impactful change? R3i Planet43 is on a mission to scale game-changing deep-tech solutions in climate action, healthcare, and smart cities, and we’re seeking open innovation and co-investment partners to join forces with us! By partnering with R3i Planet43, you’ll have the unique opportunity to collaborate with visionary scaleup entrepreneurs, accelerating the commercialization of cutting-edge technologies and making a tangible difference in the communities and industries you serve. Together, we can unlock new market opportunities, diversify supply chains, and drive transformative ESG outcomes. 📢 Calling all corporate innovation leaders, government innovators, and economic development champions: this is your chance to be part of a global movement to power the future of applied AI and emerging technologies! 🔗 Share this post with those ready to fuel the next wave of innovation and sustainable growth. Let’s build the future, together. 🌱 Planet43 #CoInvestment #CorporateInnovation #EconomicDevelopment #ESG #SustainableGrowth #DeepTech #AppliedAI #CriticalInfrastructure #Climateresilience #Impact

7

Let's finally get rid off the "VC alphabet song" and redo the system to become more founder friendly. "The benchmarks set by funding stages are often arbitrary and not necessarily aligned with the actual development needs of individual startups." #vc #venturecapital #founder #fundraising #startups #fundingstages #funding #fundingrounds #pitchbook

5

Over the past two years, Integral Labs had the privilege of contributing to the creation of the Polkadot Community Foundation. Polkadot has already pioneered one of the most active and robust DAO governance systems to date, including tokenholder management of a nine-figure treasury. As the DAO continues to mature, the need to represent and serve tokenholders’ interests off-chain has become increasingly apparent. That’s where the Polkadot Community Foundation comes in. Designing the corporate structure, governance, and operating model, Integral Labs joined a working group led by our friends at Actum Node with a mission to extend the reach of Polkadot's onchain governance into the offchain world. This project was a first in the industry, with a novel design that stands apart from traditional DAO "wrapper" structures. Unlike foundations that subsume treasury assets and delegate limited powers back to the DAO, the Polkadot Community Foundation works as an optional, unopinionated side-car entity that any DAO member may utilize in their proposals. This ensures the DAO retains full autonomy and control of its treasury while enabling offchain activities such as holding real world assets, entering commercial agreements, making fiat payments, owning IP, and more—all for the benefit of, and under the explicit direction of, the tokenholders. The governing documents and bylaws are open source and available for future use by Polkadot or other DAOs. We hope is that this modular design becomes a blueprint for a future constellation of real-world businesses to permissionlessly cooperate and compete to serve DAOs by extending their existing onchain governance systems. The Polakdot community voted with over 98% support to establish the Polkadot Community Foundation. Now incorporated, community members have begun to publish treasury proposals that utilize the foundation, including the creation of what will be the first mobile app owned by an open community, and increasing accountability for vendors and service providers in the ecosystem. You can read more here: https://lnkd.in/ebCJKsjD Integral Labs is proud to have contributed to this project alongside Michael D'Alto of Actum Node, James Hutchings, ACA, CFA, Theo Louw, Michael Preston, and Kevin Foster-Archibald CA(SA) of Autonomous, Edward Noyons of Marfire, Matthew Shaw and Gregory Peacock of Webslinger Advisors, Glenn Kennedy of Leeward Management Limited, Jonathan Bain of Bridgestream, Ignatius N., Jonathan Hernandez, and David Manadom (formerly) of Fenwick & West, Melissa Lim and Justin Wretham of Walkers, Björn Wagner, Raul Ignacio Romanutti, Dieter Fishbein, and the Polkadot community.

38

1 Comment

These insightful founders' observations highlight that TCA VG provides entrepreneurs with high level of added value compared to other angel investors and groups. This substantiated by their IRR.

3

Excited to announce that Unusual Ventures is leading GovSignals' $5.5M Seed Round! GovSignals is transforming government contracting by launching the first AI platform that fully automates 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀. We’re thrilled to lead their $5.5M seed round at Unusual Ventures as they revolutionize the government procurement space! Congrats to the exceptional GovSignals team - Derek, Ethan, Jeremy, and Conner bring deep technical and execution expertise in government, government contracting, and AI from Palantir, Amazon, the DIA, DOE, Stanford, Harvard, and more! To learn more about GovSignals, check out the press coverage below 👇

206

9 Comments