Nicholas Ellenoff

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with and learning from several software execs from our portfolio companies and industry experts during Thoma Bravo's AI Summit in Miami. It was great to share our insights into trends and practices we see in our portfolio and how we manage opportunities and risks. At TB, we have a long history of guiding enterprise software companies through digital transformation, and we’re already navigating the transition driven by generative AI. Our focus is on managing this new innovation by absorbing the technology to bring meaningful benefits to our portfolio companies and indirectly to their customers. And it’s evolving fast! We see our portfolio companies today using gen AI in generally three ways: first, to create new products and provide customers with incremental use cases. Second, to defend against cyber attacks that have become much more sophisticated by bad actors. And third, as an enabler of talent to make business operations run more efficient and productive. In our view, AI presents a significant growth opportunity, but we also believe that to really maximize that potential, companies should carefully evaluate the risks and be thoughtful about governance, trust, security and data privacy. AI is poised to accelerate innovation and it’s hard to predict the full, transformative potential of AI, but we are confident that some of the advantages of incumbent knowledge and data will be key to unlocking its value.

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TL;DR - 1) Mario & team at Oscar are testing (and writing about) LLMs in real-world healthcare applications and their blog is a good read for the AI-curious. 2) o1, even in preview format, is a must-try to address complex problems where 4o might not have delivered consistent results. Hopefully folks are starting to set up AI-sandboxes with test data and tinkering!

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On this week's Andreessen Horowitz Raising Health podcast, Vijay Pande, PhD and I interviewed Tom Hale, CEO of ŌURA. Our conversation spans lots of fun topics, including: -- Our love for our Oura rings, despite them being literal “buzz kills” in revealing the ruinous effect of alcohol on sleep  -- How the worlds of consumer and healthcare are merging, as consumers essentially now have access to clinical-grade wearable devices  -- How AI algorithms are deployed in wearable devices & what wearables might look like 20 years from now (implanted into our bodies and clothes)  -- How the sexiest people sleep in earplugs and eye masks Check it out! https://lnkd.in/eTAsX_sY

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ANNOUNCEMENT- I’m delighted to share that Asset Class has partnered with Palantir Technologies to bring AI to the Alternatives and Private Capital Markets. At Asset Class we will integrate the AIP platform and Foundry capabilities of Palantir with our Fund Operating System (Fund OS). We will work with the AIP Platform and Palantir's Foundry Ontology to support highly complex tasks / co-pilot features that will allow us to leverage the FULL dataset that comes with the Asset Class Platform. By linking EVERY step of the Investor and Fund journey on a SINGLE platform, we have a uniquely complete dataset that can inform our AI actions. Over time we will integrate this as part of our Asset Class Network. This will continue to ensure Asset Class is a far more powerful system than any other in the market. We are a platform - not just an app. In the near future, we will be an AI Enabled, Networked Platform I cannot wait to bring the power of AI to our platform to enable our clients to super-charge their investment in our platform. See announcement here: https://lnkd.in/eCSy5Tnu

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Big things on the horizon, we are motivated and blessed to be at the dawn of a new age for the internet. Read more about our journey below or listen to the podcast: https://lnkd.in/eJeNhvVa

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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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Congratulations to Bem on their $3.7M seed round! Bem’s API transforms any input, structured or unstructured, into any data shape, revolutionizing how companies handle data. Here's to supporting innovative solutions that drive efficiency and growth! #AI #DataIntegration #Startup #UncorkCapital

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Series A or B wondering when to bring in a VP of Finance or CFO? It’s a crucial decision that can shape the future of your company. At this stage, financial leadership is not just about managing numbers but also scaling processes, securing funding, and driving strategic growth. My colleague Paul breaks down key signs that it’s time to hire and indicators for choosing between VP of Finance and a CFO #FinanceLeadership #CFO #StartupGrowth #SeriesA #SeriesB #NextGenLeadership

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Abby Levy talks about venture's role in US healthcare and what we can expect to see as technology impacts the space on TFR. Check out the rest of the conversation with Abby & Alan Patricof of Primetime Partners on Episode 433.

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The new quarterly review is live! Each quarter, I dive into the latest trends and shifts in the venture capital market, covering both the broader macro perspective and the unique insights we’re seeing at Florida Funders. Check out my latest article to stay informed on what’s shaping the VC landscape and how we're navigating it at FF. Always eager to hear your thoughts – let’s keep the conversation going! #VentureCapital #FloridaFunders #MarketInsights

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Happy news from one of our Fund I portfolio companies (which willl hopefully make our investors happy, DPI baby!): https://lnkd.in/e5bPu5qx Personal Thoughts: - My great admiration for the Biocatch team, I've witnessed your achievements and ultimate interim payoff - Bold move from Permira, you got yourselves a strong asset - Constantly reading aggregated data from the VC industry, which is good, but also very misleading. Why? Because as in the economy, even in a bear market, the good and healthy companies will ultimately thrive. Don't rely on aggregated data only

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Worth checking out for any companies at the right stage.

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ONE MORE TIME FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK  Ed Zimmerman, Co-Founder of First Close Partners, and direct & indirect investor in 1,000+ startups shares his feedback in what to optimize for — as a founder — getting from launch to liquidity.  If you need a TLDR: optimize for someone who understands you and or your sector where they’re going to be reasonable and predictable to deal with… as opposed to optimizing for brand equity.” AKA Don’t shop purely for resume; shop for relationship!

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Next week, our 2024 Summer Analyst class starts. It’s always a special time for me as I joined Insight as a Summer Analyst over two decades ago. It’s a good moment to resurface the outstanding work of Allie Garfinkle that was published recently. I also had the chance to share these career learnings with Insight’s investment analysts at our recent Sourcing Summit, a day of workshops and hands-on learning sessions specially curated to help our analysts (aka our Sourcing Engine) build relationships inside and outside the firm. Here’s a quick overview of what I shared: 1. Prioritize people to enjoy the work: Focus on finding a workplace where you genuinely enjoy the people and connecting with colleagues. 2. Find your passion: We can equip you with everything you need reach out and connect with founders, but it’s up to the individual to find what drives them. 3. Be able (and willing) to be adaptable: Success in VC isn’t about following a prescribed path or list of to-dos. It’s about navigating unpredictable situations with grace and maximum impact. 4. Embrace rejection through passion: Whether your phone call goes unreturned and/or you lose a deal narrowly that you thought you had won, you will face rejection. And you’ll face it often. This is why it’s critical to find your passion for the work, to help you persevere through the not-so-great times. 5. Leverage your unique strengths: Find what you uniquely bring to the table and embrace it. The importance of diverse skillsets cannot be overstated in today’s ever-evolving tech ecosystem. Allie Garfinkle at Fortune—she captured these well and painted a picture of our firm’s culture that I am especially proud of. My biggest piece of advice no matter where you are is to find a workplace where you like the people and can make an impact. At Insight, the bonds you will form manifest themselves in a variety of ways: the ability to persevere through hard-fought wins and tough losses, getting asked to work on another team’s deal because you are more familiar with the market, participating in book clubs (Team Hinkle just read Everyday Business Storytelling)...and these are just a few examples. Interpersonal bonds are the cornerstone of Insight’s culture, and they make possible all of the other qualities you need to be successful in VC. Welcome Insight Summer Analyst Class of 2024. I look forward to watching you thrive.

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This week Mikal Ventures brings you a 4-week breakdown of the non-US capital market with an emphasis on the Mikal verticals. Over the 4-week period ending May 29, a total of 1,545 new companies were added, with 101,688 companies included in the non-US Health Tech, Med Tech, Fin Tech, AI Tech, and Ed Tech verticals. The non-US AI Tech saw the greatest percentage growth in new companies for the period, weighing in at a notable 27%, nearly two times the overall vertical average of 15%. The non-US Heath Tech vertical led the group in transactions. Non-US Med Tech vertical lead in both 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.

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I’ve aggregated a list of 50+ VC roles in one spreadsheet. It’s updated weekly and can be filtered by location, position, firm, etc. Check out the latest list here (as of June 24th) 👇 https://lnkd.in/dRC3XtjS Tag someone who needs this in the comments 💭 — Want a quick snapshot? Here are a few of my favorite postings: Associate, M12, Microsoft's Venture Fund Link: https://lnkd.in/eNFaaSBy Associate & Principal, Wischoff Ventures Link: https://lnkd.in/gu6Mun7p Consumer Investor, Stripes Link: https://lnkd.in/eZdRk6jV Venture Lead, Struck Studio Link: https://lnkd.in/exGcNHJ5 New Ventures Associate, Live Nation Entertainment Link: https://lnkd.in/e3mBYGCt — I’m creating more tools, guides, and other free resources for Junior VCs to (1) 2x their network and (2) carve their path to partner. If you found this helpful, check out the Venture House website for more 👇 https://venturehouse.xyz/ #venturecapital #startup #recruiting #hiring

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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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