Michael Moritz

🌟Innovative VC Firm Overcomes Exits Drought with Secondary Sales🌟 ⛵Navigating a challenging landscape where exits are scarce, Santa Barbara Venture Partners (SBVP) has pioneered a novel approach to sustain its growth and attract investors for its second fund: secondary sales. Instead of waiting for traditional exits like IPOs or acquisitions, SBVP opted to sell shares of its portfolio companies, demonstrating its ability to generate returns for investors and stand out in a competitive market. 🎤According to Dan Engel, founder and managing partner of SBVP, these secondary transactions have been a game-changer, sparking investor interest and bolstering the firm's credibility. By leveraging its recent successes, including a lucrative stake in sports-betting company DraftKings Inc.' acquisition of digital lottery app Jackpocket, SBVP seized the opportunity to return profits to its limited partners (LPs) and pave the way for its second fund. 💡Engel highlighted the challenges faced by young VC firms in raising subsequent funds, particularly amid a downturn in exit activity and heightened investor scrutiny. With traditional exit routes becoming increasingly elusive, the pressure is on for firms to demonstrate tangible returns and establish a track record of success. ✨"For us, secondary sales have been a game-changer. They've helped us return profits to our LPs and attract investors for our second fund," said Dan Engel. 💰For SBVP, the decision to pursue secondary sales was driven by the need to provide liquidity to LPs and validate its investment thesis in the eyes of prospective investors. By strategically offloading portions of its holdings in high-performing portfolio companies like Bark Technologies and Rad AI, SBVP not only generated substantial returns but also bolstered investor confidence in its ability to deliver results. ⚠Despite the complexities and potential stigma associated with early share sales, Engel emphasized the importance of prioritizing investor returns and seizing opportunities to unlock value for stakeholders. With a focus on profitability and transparency, SBVP remains committed to its mission of delivering sustainable growth and maximizing returns for its LPs. 🔍 "Returning profits to our investors is our top priority. By strategically selling shares, we're proving our commitment to delivering results and driving value for our stakeholders," added Engel. As SBVP continues to explore secondary transactions and expand its investor base, the firm stands as a testament to innovation and resilience in the face of market challenges. 🚀 ✅ 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 #VCInnovation #SecondarySalesSuccess #InvestorReturns #ValueCreation 

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Earlier this year, we surveyed our fellow Los Angeles-based GPs to get a pulse check on the LA venture ecosystem. Here’s what we found: 💗 Deal flow is healthy, and most LA venture investors (68%) are seeing the same or more deal flow YoY. ✈ LA investors are spending time in a variety of markets, with NYC, Austin, and SF following closely on LA’s heels. 🔍 Innovation is concentrated in AI and machine learning, space, and commerce. 💸 Funding is happening, but it’s barbell-shaped, with deals concentrated at the early and late stages. Funding post-Series A has been challenging. 🚩 LA is differentiated, but not without its challenges. Key difficulties include not attracting enough AI talent (despite having the largest number of engineers graduating from our region over any other in the United States); talent relocated to more tax-friendly or less expensive locations; and the great SoCal / NoCal divide 🙏 Thank you to all our many respondents! I’m so glad to be part of a venture ecosystem that includes great minds like Anna Barber, Brent Murri, W. Christine Choi, Sarah Tomolonius, Rob Smith, Win Chevapravatdumrong, John Tabis, Jill Royster, Jesse Draper, Ashley Balla, Britt Danneman, Tram Lai, Carmen Palafox, Elaine Russell, Deborah Benton Amanda Schutzbank, Brian Lee, Petra Griffith, Minnie Ingersoll, Shamin Walsh, Gabe Greenbaum...wow, this list could go on forever...plus too many other exceptional humans to name. You know who you are! Explore our findings more deeply with our survey dashboard: https://bit.ly/3JsaLaB

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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

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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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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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Excited to join industry leaders in LA to explore the future of non-traditional investments. I’ll be speaking at the Private Wealth Southern California Forum, hosted by Markets Group, on 12 November. Together, we’ll discuss how innovations in alternative assets are reshaping the investment landscape. Thank you to Markets Group for providing the platform to explore these transformative developments. #PrivateEquity #Innovation #Technology #Entrepreneurship #VentureCapital #Investing #Finance #Alternatives #Startups #Speaker

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Check out the latest issue of my investor-focused newsletter Not From Concentrate!

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“Be quick, but don’t hurry.” John Wooden, the great UCLA basketball coach coined that phrase, and this week will offer interesting opportunities to watch pros applying it: the NBA Playoffs, yes, but also SF Climate Week. I’ve been thinking about how to apply the proper balance of patience and urgency to the climate fight. First, what does Wooden’s advice mean? Prolific basketball scorers will often talk about the need to “let the game come to you.” In other words be aggressive, move with purpose, probe for openings… but not to the point where you are hurrying into the teeth of the defense and in so doing making careless mistakes or missing the right play. The notion of patience also applies over time. Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers famously talked a few seasons ago (in a very impatient sports town) about trusting “The Process” in turning the league’s worst team into one of its enduring best. Back to climate. While hundreds of functional technologies/approaches are being deployed in thousands of ways across all industries to draw down emissions, it will take time we don’t really have — maybe a generation — to scale up these new methods enough to keep us under the warming levels above which really bad things happen. It can be depressing, and I’m certainly not alone in wanting to push harder. But it occurs to me that some of that urgency could qualify as hurrying in Coach Wooden’s sense. This (possibly contrarian?) perspective comes in part from an executive coach who once reflected that I sometimes struck him as having “both the gas and brake pushed down all the way.” He—and my team it turned out—experienced a grinding between my inner drive to quickly usher everything from decisions to workstreams through to conclusion and a desire to gather more information and make the perfect set of moves. Both “pedals” represented an exertion of control; and the solution to this inner tension was actually to practice patience by easing up with *both* feet. Point being this: amidst our ever-increasing incentives to ramp up velocity with decreasing margins for error, I wonder if being a bit more methodical each day could significantly improve the end result. In a realm as complex and fraught as climate, with so many entrenched defenses, could daily 1% improvements to our patience compound our effectiveness over time? Taking the extra breath to be more present in a conversation and learn more about another perspective. Sitting with the discomfort of ambiguity while waiting on more information. Trusting in the flow of things, the skills of colleagues, the angles that will appear and allow us to make outsized impact with more leverage than if we hadn’t allowed the game come to us. Think about it this week. As a hoops fans or climate warrior, a connector or caretaker — where and how could a little more patience help improve your part of the game? #ClimateChange #Sustainability #EarthDay #Improvement https://lnkd.in/gmyV3DYt

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🙏 Thanks to my friend and colleague, Keith Gipson for sharing this memory. It's been my ongoing pleasure supporting his mission! 📷 I feel like a celebrity being features in a Keith Gipson ThrowbackThursday 😎 ⚡When I met Keith, I instantly felt his "energy" - ironic that he's in the EnergyTech business. As we got to know a little abut each other, and hearing his story of being a 7-time founder, I was inspired. 📺 One of Keith's previous startups, a predicative crime solution, was actually featured on an episode of CSI LAs Vegas! ⏩ Today, Keith is RAPIDLY growing his newest company, facil.ai. Simply put, with NO new hardware, Keith's software runs securely in the cloud, and saves up to 50% in HVAC energy costs. Keith and team had an AI solution before AI was even a thing! This means that the system learns and gets even smarter over time. Over time utility bills lessen and building occupants are kept at the temps they want. Gone are the days of buildings that are too hot 🥵or too cold🥶. #innovation #technology #future #startups #leadership Portola Valley Partners

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Friends, Q2 was a quarter of progress and learning for us at HawkTower, where we invest in early-stage startups applying breakthrough computing technologies to maximize California's natural resource markets. Our focus is on technology-enabled interventions (e.g., AI-enabled geospatial radars for lithium-ion batteries in the waste stream) for critical, market-level imperatives (e.g., disaster prevention) that can drive rapid commercial adoption (e.g., placed on every recycling truck in the world). Our current investment priorities are: - Agricultural productivity and efficiency - Biomanufacturing - Labor and mobility automation - Waste stream optimization and decarbonization - Disaster prevention and management Here’s a snapshot of what we’ve been up to: Milestones and Investments: - In late April, we officially launched our fund, filing with the SEC. Yay. - By June, we completed our first fund close ahead of schedule, with backing from family offices, foundations, high-net-worth individuals, and organizations aligned with California's future. - Our portfolio now includes three early-stage investments (Farm-ng, Agriful Software, and Nexstera Tech). Strategic Partnerships: - We believe that startups operating closer to their customers and resources, especially in agriculture and biomanufacturing, have a strategic advantage. For instance, the Salinas Valley, a major agricultural hub, is less than an hour from Silicon Valley and serves as a center of thought leadership in the convergence of agriculture and AI (from Western Growers, Taylor Farms, and others). - Similarly, the North San Joaquin Valley is emerging as a biotech and agtech innovation hub, and we are proud to support BEAM Circular, a startup hub for the circular bioeconomy. Key Relationships: - Karen Warner, CEO of BEAM Circular, joined HawkTower as a strategic advisor. - Jackie Cruz, Ed. D. Cruz, Hartnell College’s VP of Advancement, advises on Salinas Valley and workforce development. - Ben Palone from Western Growers, with his technical background in agriculture, became a trusted advisor. - Matthew Hoffman from Driscoll's Global R&D team provides insights on global agriculture, product positioning, and investment strategy. - We collaborated with Monterey Bay DART for workforce development and automation in agtech. - Dominic Milano and the Milano Technical Group from Merced collaborated on key initiatives and advised us on investments. - HawkTower is participating in Santa Cruz Works's accelerator cohort as a mentor and advisor. Thank you Doug Erickson. - We published an overview of entrepreneurship across the UC system with input from across the University of California system. Moving into the fall, we remain deeply committed to supporting founders shaping California's future natural resource markets. Stay tuned and be in touch! : ) Db

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Today marks the launch of the AGM Studio. The AGM Studio is a collaboration between Alt Goes Mainstream and Broadhaven Ventures by Broadhaven Capital Partners to incubate, invest in, and help scale companies and funds in private markets. Alts going mainstream requires innovation in both technology and asset management. The distribution revolution goes hand-in-hand with the technology evolution in private markets market structure. But tech startups and funds purpose-built for private markets requires a different skillset, network, and content strategy to succeed. There are challenges unique to private markets that can make it difficult for an entrepreneur to build a business of consequence without the right ingredients. We launched the AGM Studio to help companies and funds meet those challenges. The AGM Studio is far from a factory. Just as Savile Row tailors like Ozwald Boateng put an immense amount of thought and care into every angle and every thread, so too will the AGM Studio provide the tailored experience required to navigate the challenges of private markets. The Studio is made to measure based on what’s required — and we believe that focus is what will create the most value for founders in private markets. Read here to learn more about: * The challenges of building in private markets. * Why a purpose-built, bespoke Studio can help address those challenges. * Who the AGM Studio works with. We already have 3 members of the AGM Studio: AltExchange, Cantilever Group, DealsPlus. And we've invested in a number of other private markets companies that are shaping the industry at Broadhaven Ventures like iCapital, Carta, Republic, Cantilever Group, 73 Strings, LemonEdge, AltExchange, bunch, Allocate, DealsPlus, Passthrough, and more. We are excited for the next phase of private markets — where innovation across technology and asset managers will unlock more access to private markets in a responsible and thoughtful way. Reach out if you're looking to build a company or fund in private markets! https://lnkd.in/eRH8WTz6

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Congratulations to Kern Venture Group portfolio company Cambium on being Named One of the Top 100 Venture Funded, Defense and Dual Use Start-ups by the Silicon Valley Defense Group. This annual ranking and report, sponsored by JPMorganChase's Aerospace & Defense Industry division, is SVDG's annual ranked list of the emerging US techno-security ecosystem of venture-backed companies. The ranking is the product of a proprietary, quantitative formula created by SVDG, in collaboration with Franklin Templeton and Balyasny Asset Management L.P., fortified by conversations with technology leaders across the US Government and allied partner governments, and categorized against the United States Department of Defense's 14 Critical Technology Areas. https://lnkd.in/gbCkssFy

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BIG ANNOUNCEMENT from the #Dirt #King Cliff Fetner. Extremely proud of my father for his continued devotion and dedication to helping aspiring entrepreneurs in the #ConstructionTech ecosystem. I especially agree with his thesis regarding a HUGE gap in the market for #international #ConTech startups seeking GTM advice and networks to successfully launch in the US. Check out Cliff's medium post and tag #founders & #CEOs who you think would benefit from engaging with him. #ConTech #Founders #GTM

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Thanks for inviting me TEN Capital Network and Hall T. Martin to talk about some of my favorite topics - climate tech investing and how we are building an energy transition economy in New Mexico.

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I am joining dynamic Victoria Yampolsky to talk about "Where's the Money for Women" funding their businesses. Join me today at noon EDT - registration below. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐅𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐢𝐚𝐬 🚀The current fundraising landscape is less favorable for female founders, but it doesn’t have to be this way. 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬: ➤ 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬: Female founders often spend 65-75% longer fundraising compared to male founders. ➤ 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝: Women-led startups typically secure less funding, limiting their growth potential. In 2023, women founders were the only group who raised less than $500K on average, according to the DocSend Report. ➤ 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐢𝐠: Female founders often set less ambitious goals, making their ventures less attractive to investors. When evaluating teams, VCs often make decisions based on intuition and subconscious biases rather than rationale. These obstacles can be disheartening, but many female founders succeed, and you can join their ranks by being prepared. 𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐞, 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐉𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮: “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 - 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐃𝐨 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐄𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐅𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬?” 📅 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬: 🗓️ 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞:June 27th 🕛 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞: 12 PM EST 📍 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Zoom (Link to be provided upon registration) 💡 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝? ➤ 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐮𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: Learn which questions investors ask to evaluate teams and what they are looking for, and leverage that knowledge to better navigate and counteract the subconscious biases. ➤ 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:Discover what you can do NOW to improve your chances of successful fundraising and building a great company. 🔥 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐨𝐰 - 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 3 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭!🔥 Don’t let these barriers hold you back. Secure your spot today and take control of your fundraising journey and the success of your venture. 🔗 𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 https://lu.ma/lse01zqw Let’s turn your vision into reality! 🌟

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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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🐺🚨🚀Three years ago, we launched Pack Fund I. Today, we launch Fund II with some big news from U.W.!🚨🚀🐺 We are now a Preferred Venture Partner of the University of Washington and CoMotion at University of Washington! After three years of hard work, during which we backed 29 startups, mentored on campus, and sponsored entrepreneurship clubs and competitions in the UW Foster School of Business and Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, we are thrilled to be taking our collaboration with U.W. to the next level! On the back of this news and early successes, we are hosting a webinar for accredited and interested L.P.s to learn about joining Fund II - https://lu.ma/pbwih7xa What Is the Latest On Fund I? - 26 companies backed in 3 years - 12 have raised additional funding at higher valuations - $135M+ in additional funding and grants - Invested alongside Madrona, FUSE, Khosla Ventures, Y Combinator, Pioneer Square Labs, Trilogy Equity Partners, Cercano, Washington Research Foundation, and dozens of other top investors. - Supported founders in Software, Life Sciences - Recognized as a top 5 most active life science investor in the PNW in 2022 - 80+ L.P.s supported our vision How is Pack Fund II Starting? - Ti Zhao joined full-time - let's go!!!! - Agreement (M.O.U) signed with U.W., making us a preferred venture partner - 2 investments alongside top VCs - 50+ L.P.s already joined - Fund II is larger than Fund I already - Hundreds of companies reviewed already See the news from U.W. here -https://lnkd.in/girhA3BM GeekWire and Taylor Soper covered our vision masterfully here - https://lnkd.in/gHYFAxzY Thanks to all of the Pack members and founders who have been on this journey with us!

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Should private markets look more like public markets? In this Citywire interview with the supremely knowledgeable Selin Bucak, we discuss the different angles of the private markets wealth push. Where should private markets and public markets intersect? I think it should intersect more in the execution and infrastructure than it should in trying to fit a "square peg in a round hole." "I'd almost want this space to think about looking more like public markets in the execution, where there's the ability to press a 'buy button' and then alternatives are a piece of a portfolio than have it look more like public markets from a product perspective where you're trying to combine private-public products, which I also think will happen." Listen to the entire interview on Citywire, link below. Alt Goes Mainstream https://lnkd.in/exKH3y3V

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Today, we had a productive gathering in San Francisco with top management from Five Star Bank - California and several of my VC colleagues to discuss current market challenges. It was an enriching conversation with a diverse group of individuals representing various types of funds, and the open-minded team from Five Star Bank. Here are a few key points from our discussion: - Inequality in Funding: We addressed the funding disparities between male and female founders. It's notably harder for female founders to raise funds, especially now as startup funding decreases. However, there are funds specifically targeting minority and underrepresented founders to support their innovative ideas and products. Our Vibranium Venture Capital team has always been dedicated to helping those in need, focusing on immigrant founders looking to relocate their businesses to the Bay Area. - Banking Challenges: A major topic was the situations with Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic Bank, which not only created gaps in specific banking products for startups and VC funds, but also led to serious trust issues. What our ecosystem is looking for in my couple of points?  - Banking Flexibility: Many banks lack flexibility, often requiring founders to be physically present and have extensive documentation to open accounts. This is why many immigrant founders, who are new to the U.S., turn to Neo Banks for their speed, flexibility, and simpler requirements.  - Trust Rebuilding: Trust can be rebuilt through personal relationships. Knowing there’s a person at the bank you can call to solve immediate issues like wire transfers or document retrievals can significantly enhance trust. - Use of Ai and Streamlining Due Diligence: We also touched on inefficiencies in the due diligence process between startups and VCs. I shared that we are developing an AI-powered platform INNOVERA.AI to streamline this process, enrich data, and synchronize founders and investors faster, thus increasing funding success through data-driven decisions. We agreed to meet again as this journey is just starting, and there are many opportunities to make this ecosystem more efficient. We aim for a win-win approach that allows founders to focus more on their companies and VCs on effective deal-making. We hope these meetings continue to bring ecosystem players closer together and further establish San Francisco and the Bay Area as the AI capital of the world. More updates to come! Was happy to see. James Beckwith, Brian💥 Sparkes , Irene Montalvo, Renzo Luján , Jennifer Vancini, and many others. Attn to: Daniel Kozlov, Kamran Elahian, Pedram Mokrian, Marilynn Ahern, Ella Shukho, Galina Dremova, Valentina Podgainaia (Pidgaina)

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