Paul Hlatky

September is a crazy month for #climatetech #FOAK themed events. Some I'd like to shout out from the first half: ✅ A FOAK-themed dinner Tim Franklin-Hensler, Charlie Nelson, Dev Motiram, and I hosted, sponsored by Jordan Kellerman (Peachtree Group) and Robert Sarfatis (Polsinelli) during the inaugural #HoustonClimateWeek ✅ A FOAK panel at the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship's Energy Tech Venture Forum, also during HCW, moderated by Tim Franklin-Hensler with panelists Charlie Nelson, Laureen Meroueh, PhD, Mac Hatch, and Janice Tran. Topics included adapting rapidly to delays in timing, managing cost runovers, balancing the myriad of KPIs for FOAK, learning to be smarter about how to talk to customers, and how market uncertainty can dramatically affect FOAK projects ✅ A 4-hour "pilotathon" hosted by the Energy Tech Nexus, where different startups got to pitch their pilots. SUCH a good idea, Jason Ethier, Nada Ahmed, Juliana Garaizar, and the rest of the ETN team! ✅ A FOAK panel during Decarb Connect's TechInvest that I got to moderate with panelists Claude Vachet, Jeff Johnson, Francis O'Sullivan, and David Yeh. Topics included using corporate and DOE dollars in FOAK deals, encouraging communication between different investor classes, the 10,000 hours of experience needed to be a good developer, educating companies on project development, and the need for everyone across the climate universe to stretch their roles & take a bit more risk ✅ A generally FOAK-themed set of talks at Decarb TechInvest, expertly curated by Alex Cameron and her team, which included (among others): - a fascinating fireside chat with Rob Day and Matt Lucas moderated by Wim Reyntiens that touched on how critical it is to have accurate cost forecasting, how ROFRs can block additional access to capital, evaluating offtake risk beyond just the ideal, the folly of up rounds for the sake of up rounds, and why one shouldn't obsess over scale up factors and number of operating hours - a talk by Chris Creed that outlined the LPO's strategy around FOAK deployment loans - a FOAK success panel moderated by Kerri Fox that included Leah Ellis, Martin Keighley, and Shreya Dave, which talked about using a carbon price to incentivize corporate action, choosing the right cooperative FOAK partner, creating new offtake agreements in markets that haven't had traditional offtake (like cement<>concrete or CDR), and using job growth to incentivize growth vs. decarbonization. AND ⭐TOMORROW⭐ is the second annual Cleantech Day at Denver Startup Week hosted by Colorado Cleantech. I'm moderating a panel on FOAK successes in Colorado with Eric Davis, Johanna O., Carling Spelhaug, and Kimberly Purdy. Shoutout to Ken Carlson, Laura Hickernell, Joseph P., and Jack Fritzinger for their help & hard work. REGISTER BELOW!!

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🚩 Revenue Leaders: Where does your sales enablement live? 🚩 Here’s the thing—many teams are shifting core sales enablement outside the primary CRM (Salesforce) to tools like Apollo.io Salesloft and Outreach But here’s my question: When these tools don’t sync their data back, is your middle-of-the-funnel effectively flying blind? Consider this: With sales enablement siloed in external tools, SDR data often lives outside the CRM. Without syncing, core insights are fragmented—leading to missed handoffs and less visibility. A central CRM keeps data aligned. Every touchpoint, every interaction visible in one place. If demand gen leaders want a clear path from top to bottom of the funnel, shouldn’t sales enablement live in the same ecosystem? If you’re using multiple tools, it’s time to ask: Is the benefit worth the data blind spots? Curious—are you seeing enablement sit within the CRM, or scattered across SaaS tools? Let’s discuss 👇 #sales #revenue #crm #salesenablement

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Founders and investors: This is the easiest way to pay less taxes 🤠 Put your shares / carried interest into a 𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐝𝐚 𝐧𝐨𝐧-𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐃𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭. *you don’t need to live in Nevada to do this. You just need a Nevada trustee. With this setup you can eliminate millions in potential taxes: ➡️ ZERO estate tax for up to 365 years (40%) ➡️ ZERO state taxes ➡️ ZERO federal taxes (when qsbs is applicable) Plus you get bulletproof asset protection (Nevada is ranked #1 for asset protection). If you are interested, shoot me a message. or check us out at Dynasty!

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Related to my last post, these are the 4 main categories I think cities looking to attract/retain founders should focus on. If you're in econ dev in a city, hit me up if you want to talk about any of this in more detail. 1. Customers - make it easy for founders to connect with potential sources of revenue. Chambers of commerce can come in handy here, but you'll need someone dedicated to this particular activity full time. 2. Capital - develop a vibrant angel community and engage local/regional CDCs & CDFIs - tap into local university resources, and take advantage of government and philanthropic grants. Create an investing arm for the city if it doesn't already have one, which will eventually be part of a basic income program (more on that in another post). VCs will come later. 3. Shared Services - develop a shared services platform for back-office admin (e.g. https://startupok.org) to give founders heavily discounted access to these services, with as many of them being provided locally as possible. This should be a non-profit. 4. Place - build/expand a walkable live/work/play part of town where people actually want to live (e.g. Ponce City Market in Atlanta, Main St in Greenville, Arts District in Tulsa). Bonus points, build/expand socially acceptable mass transit BEFORE you actually need it because if you do all this, you will sooner than anyone expects.

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Sometimes a founder comes along and you have to back them … it’s a simple as that. Ricardo Regalado is that kind of founder and that’s why we at Evergreen Mountain Equity Partners were thrilled to recently invest in Route. The commercial cleaning industry is almost $90b in the US alone. There are thousands of companies ranging from mom and pop to large, publicly traded companies. But, unless you're one of the really big players, there isn’t a lot of software to help you operate your business efficiently and close more revenue. Enter Route. Route understands the cleaning industry better than anyone and they built advanced technology and data analytics to help their customers … → Win more business → Respond to proposals faster → Streamline their operations “I’m not building a software company. I’m building a community of cleaners.” That community is staying true to their Company Northstar: “To Improve the Business of Cleaning by connecting the entire industry through tech and community.” That’s what Ricardo told me the first time we spoke. And he is doing just that. Want to hear more about Ricardo’s approach to building his business by building a community? Check out our recent interview on The Founder’s Journey Podcast. At EMEP, we invest strictly in Future of Work technology. There are 4 core pillars to this thesis: → The AUTOMATION of work systems and processes → The transformational impact of AI on the way we will work → The GLOBALIZATION and MOBILIZATION of the workforce → The shift to the FREELANCE and GIG economy Route will have a long term impact on the Automation of the commercial cleaning business as well as start delivering AI based analytics to a traditional non-tech industry. Ira Grossman and I are honored to be an extended part of the Route team! Here is a bit more from Ricardo: https://loom.ly/tApHEZs 📌 If you are an accredited investor and interested in more about what we are doing at EMEP, DM me and we can discuss.

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More work to be done, but tons of opportunity in the “Valley of the Sun”! “In Phoenix, employment grew at a rate of 5.6% over the last 12 months. That’s tied for the fifth-highest rate on our list. Not much can grow in the desert, but Phoenix is fertile ground for startups. Once seen as an area with limited investment dollars, the metro secured more than $1.2 billion in venture capital funding from 2015 to 2020. Labor costs can be a major expense for growing businesses, but Phoenix has some of the most affordable employees, whose annual salary ($51,851) is 18% less than the studied city average ($63,363). Such low operation costs allow funding to last longer, giving businesses more time to get off the ground. The local community supports small businesses through the Arizona Founders Fund, and there are more than 40 coworking spaces and accelerators to help founders expand their networks.” Proud to be a native Phoenician. Join us!!! The Journey Venture Studio Ten Figures

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In this video I discuss 5 Ways to Find Investors for Your SMB Acquisition in 2024 https://lnkd.in/equZPg5t

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Episode #9: Jim Kolchin, Founder of iWallet 🎙️ Hi friends, this is Victor from R136 Ventures! In episode #9 of our "Ventures from Valley" podcast series, I was joined by Jim Kolchin (https://lnkd.in/dsqaxJyA), founder of iWallet (https://iwallet.com/). https://lnkd.in/ddmQxhZ5 From a Soviet childhood to Silicon Valley, Jim’s entrepreneurial journey is as fascinating as it is informative. He shares his path from building hardware, scaling a bootstrapped SaaS empire, and pivoting toward sustainable business growth – all without outside funding. Listen on Spotify, YouTube or Apple Podcasts In this episode, they discussed: - Building on a Budget: The path to bootstrapping iWallet to multimillion-dollar revenue - The Power of Pivoting: Why Jim moved away from hardware and what he learned about scalability and margins. - Staying Default Alive: Jim’s thoughts on scaling sustainably and keeping options open - Attracting the Right Investors: Tips on selecting investors who bring more than just capital - If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe. For more relevant VC content from "the Valley", follow us on X and LinkedIn. Stay tuned!

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A birthday ode to my partner Scott Paul, Utah startup scene's court jester. Scott's been one of my closest friends for over a decade. Scott is simply the most unique person we have in our ecosystem. My favorite way that I've had him explained is "you can't describe Scott, you have to experience him". Scott's a weird human and that's my highest compliment. People who aren't outliers are dull to me. That's why I've chosen to spend my career around crazy founders and big dreamers. Scott centers his life around the next novelty and experience. His favorite kind of novelty is learning about the humans of this earth, how they tick, and what makes them who they are. This is his endless and tireless search, and when he finds ones whose energy and ambition are inspiring to him, he backs them. Prior to us starting Convoi, he did that with his own money as an angel investor 70 times. He did it as an advisor, formally and informally probably thousands of times. I was on a call with a founder of a series A Utah startup and he told me that he and his co-founder connected because of a Scott Paul LinkedIn post. Scott, of course, was the first angel check. Scott is one of the greatest sources for good in our ecosystem. He's countless people's First Believer. He was my first angel check on my first business and in many times of my life, my first believer. One of the biggest mistakes I see people make is to write off Scott as just a wig wearing, inappropriate email sending, get kicked off LinkedIn-ing dude. He's truly one of the most selfless people that gets his greatest pleasure from helping others succeed. I'm sure there are many that will see this that can say they owe a large part of their career to Scott. Scott's one of the best we have in Utah. In a outlier business, there's no greater advantage than having the ultimate outlier as your partner. Love ya, Scotty P. Love building with you.

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Calling all PE port-co CXOs / VPs. We’re assembling a group of 20 (hard cap) of you who want to raise your game as a leader, and grow in your career. Putting together a PE-grade leadership accelerator with the help of Thoughium–the Michael Jordan’s of leadership development. FEATURES: → Cohort of other driven PE leaders to learn from & share with → Highly experiential, uber-practical, and super fun + challenging → Focused on the skills & tools most important to leading within a PE environment BENEFITS: → Lead more effectively → Get noticed more easily → Grow your leadership career more quickly Check out the details in the comments. Comment or DM me if interested, or if you think someone(s) on your team would be a good fit.

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I'm excited to announce our newest product💥 💥 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐝𝐚 𝐃𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 **You do not need to live in Nevada to use this trust. You just need a licensed Nevada trustee. This product works best for: ▶ Startup founders and execs ▶ VC and PE investors The benefits of this trust include: ---> ZERO state capital gains tax (Nevada is a 0 tax state) ---> Bulletproof asset protection (better than a prenup) ---> Unlimited QSBS potential (you can stack trusts to eliminate federal taxes) My cofounders and I started Dynasty 2 years ago specifically to bring this product to market 🤠 We were 1st employees at Carta and were fortunate enough to take some money off the table. But we paid enormous taxes (over 50%)! On the flip side we met a serial founder who leveraged Dynasty trusts and paid ZERO taxes on over $50m in capital gains 😮 The second we heard about this, we knew we needed to start Dynasty so this product could be available to everyone... So if you are a founder, investor, or anyone with high growth assets - check us out!

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Matt Sharrers emphasizes the critical role of vulnerability and humility for founders: 🌟 Being a great founder doesn’t mean you’re automatically a great board member or talent picker. 🌟 Ask for help—seek objectivity from experts who can guide you. 🌟 Focus on what’s right, not who’s right—it’s about the best decision for the business. 🌟 Embracing humility allows you to see the bigger picture and make better choices. "Success isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about knowing when to ask for help." 🎧 Watch the full conversation: https://loom.ly/sUc4-T0

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Reality Engagement —— I started PHX Ventures because I want to help founders in Arizona build high-growth software companies that achieve venture scale. I can handle the good, bad, and ugly of company building. I’ve lived it. I can handle losing money. I don’t like it, but I can handle it. I can handle bad news and disappointment. Company building is a roller coaster. I can handle a changing market and new competitors. Market opportunity and market dynamism go hand in hand. I can handle co-founder breakups and key team member departures. It’s not great but it’s fairly normal. I can handle bad quarters and product problems. Stuff happens in startups. What I can’t handle is a lack of engagement with reality. Willful ignorance or disregard for data won’t make your business better. If the math of your business is telling you something is broken then it means something is broken. Let’s just fix it. And let’s fix it right now. Let's at least try. I love optimism. But I love realism even more. Broken things tend not to fix themselves. In my experience, the best founders have the highest engagement with reality. Just tell me what about your current reality is giving you angst. Tell me the problems in the business. Just tell me. Don’t sell me. Tell me. I can handle it. And maybe I can help. #founders #startups #b2b #saas

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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!

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A few spots left for this awesome workshop with Justin Gray of In Revenue Capital. Every successful founder I know learns to develop and maintain high performing relationships. This is a skill like anything else and can be developed. Founders, if you want to build a high-growth company, learn to build high-performing relationships. This workshop will help you do that. Hope you can join us.

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Today's Boring Biz (#92): Outdoor Adventures Business - $1.7M Revenue - $588K Cashflow - Nevada Note: We do not represent this deal, highlighting for informational purposes only for viewers What does the company do? 1. Outdoor Adventures 2. Rafting + Kayaking Rentals 3. Guided River + Hiking tours Investment highlights 1. Includes FF&E valued at $445K 2. Less 1 Hour From Las Vegas 3. Profitable business Investment risks/concerns 1. Seasonal fluctuations in tour demand 2. Local competitive landscape 3. Regulatory + permit regulations #SMB #ETA #finance #Cashflow #investing #search #searchfund #privateequity #microprivateequity #smallbusiness #venturecapital #vc #entrepreneur #business #businessowner #outdoor #adventures #kayaking #rafting #nevada Disclaimer: Hypothetical and illustrative only. Please do your own research (DYOR) or work with tax and legal professionals before making a decision. This video are intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice, nor should be construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any security by SMB PE LLC or any third party.

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PE investors / operators: have "hire additional sales capacity" on your VCP or annual plan? HIRING new reps is only half the battle. For the ROI math to math, gotta then make 'em productive. As quickly as possible. But when it comes to making reps productive quickly, B2B companies face two big challenges: →The average tenure of a B2B sales rep is less than two years, YET... → Reps hit their peak performance two to three years in. Translation: Most reps leave before they’ve reached max productivity. Eek. In many cases, weak sales onboarding is to blame. But taking a more intentional approach to sales onboarding has a bevy of obvious benefits: • Reducing sales turnover • Shortening time-to-revenue • Higher odds of achieving your rev targets Hit on this in the book in Winning Move #32, but check out the vid below for a deeper dive on the P's and Q's of sales onboarding ▶️ * * * * * Found this helpful? Plenty more where that came from. Check out the Winning Moves Platform: the ambitious PE leader's toolkit for accelerating value creation. ↳ A digital arsenal of resources, how-to's, and tools to help private equity leaders make value-generating Winning Moves with confidence. Link in the comments below. ⤵️

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Today's Boring Biz: Pool Leak Detection Company - $2.3M Revenue - $610K Cashflow - South Carolina - Day 39 of "50 States In 50 Days" Note: We do not represent this deal, highlighting for informational purposes only for viewers What do they do? 1. Leak detection services 2. Electronic detection equipment 3. Pool inspections Investment Highlights 1. Strong market demand 2. Established reputation 3. Business systems in place Investment risks/concerns 1. What is the competition 2. Customer concentration 3. Length of contracts #SMB #ETA #finance #Cashflow #investing #search #searchfund #privateequity #microprivateequity #smallbusiness #venturecapital #vc #entrepreneur #business #businessowner #pool #leakdetection #southcarolina #servicecompany Disclaimer: Hypothetical and illustrative only. Please do your own research (DYOR) or work with tax and legal professionals before making a decision. This video are intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice, nor should be construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any security by SMB PE LLC or any third party

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