Sabrina Chueh Ellis

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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The Stoke Space team in Seattle has built a rocket company faster than many people can build software. Morgan Beller breaks down how this is helping them capture a huge opportunity: https://lnkd.in/gc5jv2-c 

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Last night's Technology Association of Oregon panel discussion on raising capital for AI ventures was full of interesting takeaways. The event brought together leading PNW VCs, CEOs, and funders to share their perspectives and best practices. Here's what you need to know: ➡ The AI/ML space is rapidly evolving, presenting huge opportunities for startups tackling real business problems. VCs are actively seeking out the most ambitious and disruptive companies in this domain. ➡ Having an "unfair advantage" is key - whether that's proprietary data sets, unique domain expertise, or unparalleled access to customers. AI ventures need strong differentiation to stand out. ➡ Build relationships early with VCs, even before you're ready to raise. Their insights and connections can accelerate your journey. The PNW venture ecosystem is highly collaborative and accessible. ➡ Don't be deterred by the perceived lack of local funding. Great companies with compelling visions will get funded, period. Leverage the PNW's strengths in developer/engineering talent. ➡ Recognize and proactively address the potential downsides of AI - from data privacy to model bias. Building responsibly is both an obligation and an opportunity. ➡ Move fast, be bold. Raising capital is always hard, but fortune favors the brave in this space. With the right team, tech and traction, you can build a world-changing business here in the PNW. Thanks to the fantastic panelists Diane Fraiman (Voyager Capital), Geoff Harris (Flying Fish), Jon Maroney (OVF), Chris Sestito (Hidden Layer), Jon Turow (Madrona) for sharing their insights, and to Kristy Edwards for moderating!

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This week the San Francisco Chronicle and The San Francisco Standard both featured stories about the turnaround at OpenTable. For anyone who enjoys going to the hottest restaurants, you know that OpenTable hasn't been relevant for a long time now. Upstarts like Resy, previously Reserve, and Tock cherry-picked all of the best restaurants in each city. If a restaurant was on OpenTable, it meant that they weren't good enough to make it on one of those other discerning platforms. A Michelin-star chef wouldn't be caught dead using OpenTable. But that has changed. Because of the dynamic leadership of Debby Soo, Amy Wei and Susan Lee, a trio of Asian American C-suite female executives, OpenTable is finally relevant again after a decade of obsolescence in the food scene. Through initiatives like the OpenTable Icons and partnerships with Visa to create the Visa Dining Collection, their team has enticed the hottest restaurants to reconsider. When I go to book a reservation at the hottest restaurants in San Francisco like Saison or State Bird Provisions or Four Kings (the hottest table in SF), I have to book with OpenTable. If you know these women like I do, you've seen them hustling and traveling all around the country non-stop to meet with these top chefs and build the trust required to win them over. I was tired just seeing Debby's travel schedule and itinerary, even running into her at JFK one morning and having an impromptu breakfast with her. These women were relentless in their pursuit of making OpenTable THE destination for dining and it is paying off. They are generating shareholder value for Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG). The work is not done yet, but clearly I'm not the only one who has noticed the shift, and I'm glad that the media is recognizing them for their efforts. Congrats to these three hard-working women for moving mountains. How an unexpected power player in restaurant reservations has wooed top Bay Area chefs (The San Francisco Chronicle) https://lnkd.in/dbrx-8pC The hottest restaurants in SF are moving over to … OpenTable? (The San Francisco Standard) https://lnkd.in/dAmWShae

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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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Very impressed with the Wevo Energy story and I share those feelings. It is never easy facing all challenges and complexities. #Podcast #StartupJourney #SolarEnergy #Entrepreneurship #WEVO #SolarEdge #Acquisition

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Leaders, ask not what your reports can do for you but what you can do for your reports. Maximize your impact by fostering environments where people can do their best work. Great post from John Cutler about shifting a reactive perspective and getting clarity on how to respond when things seem too complex. #Leadership #ProductDevelopment #PeopleFirst #Empathy

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Today, Upshift is reinventing car ownership. This is the day I’ve been looking forward to for years. Today, Upshift is reinventing car ownership with a PERSONALIZED fractional car subscription. Now you can create your own plan uniquely tailored to your needs. Choose 4, 8 or 12 days/month. Pick 250, 500, or 750 miles per month. Opt-in for delivery - or pick it up yourself from a central San Francisco lot. It's all up to you now! And we have a new signup flow that helps you choose what’s best for you. Best part? Plans now start at just $149/month for 4 days/month of car access! That's HALF the price of our former plans! Perfect for a hybrid work commuter driving into the office 1-3 days/week or a weekend warrior getting out of the city regularly. With Upshift car subscriptions, everything is included in one monthly plan - even insurance. We do everything for you- we refuel, clean and handle service and repairs. And we guarantee availability. Your car can be conveniently delivered and parked near your home- clean, gassed, and ready when you are. Unlock and drive via our app. When done, park legally anywhere in our San Francisco service zone. We eliminate the worries of car ownership and leave you truly free to enjoy the ride. Imagine having a hybrid Toyota Corolla or AWD Honda CRV hybrid SUV that appears when you need one and disappears whenever you're done. Now stop imagining. Click here to build your personalized fractional car subscription and have your new car at your doorstep today! #carsubscription #carleasing #carrental #carshare #mobility #transportation #EV #AV #autonomousvehicles #autotech #startups #vc #venturecapital #climatetech #insurtech

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This partnership opportunity with #meta reality labs is so deeply rooted in Cornerstone OnDemand's purpose to power people and organizational potential to thrive in a changing world. Couple that purpose with the exhilarating innovation happening around us in a thriving ecosystem, democratization of xR and AI, we have a real opportunity to reimagine Skilling: personalized, adaptive, multi-modal, immersive, collaborative.  Alicia M. phrases it best: experiences aren’t just tools but catalysts for deep, transformative learning. That's why Kyle and I are thrilled to speak at @Meta's Innovation Day: Quest 3s & Meta for Work, focusing on how enterprises and higher education leverage VR and MR to enhance productivity and engagement. Cornerstone OnDemand and Talespin by Cornerstone will showcase efforts to reshape learning and collaboration, including the launch of Immerse Companion, Cornerstone's new generative AI solution that provides real-time experiences with virtual human companions. Attendees will also enjoy hands-on experience with Meta’s new Quest 3s Mixed Reality headset, exploring various work applications through live demos. https://lnkd.in/gMN84SXX Learn more and register today: https://lnkd.in/gMh4kV6S

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Should we prioritize people, or tech innovation in our large-scale development projects? The strategy's slowly shifting to people. And that’s exactly how California Forever CEO Jan Sramek wins over skeptics like Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway. Not bad. “There’s a lot of baggage that tech has created in building new cities that, unfortunately, we are at the receiving end of”, explains Sramek. So smart cities and tech libertarian network states aren't the focus here. Quite the contrary. He calls the project (in this context) “really, really boring.” The focus: ∙ More housing ∙ Walkable cities ∙ Affordable by design* ∙ Improving the country for residents *(housing prices to start at $400k) I recently covered California Forever, dubbing it a future ‘Tech Utopia’ given its massive Silicon Valley backing. So it’s exciting to see Sramek's positioning and skillful handling of the grilling. Is the era of the smart city over due to its 'baggage'? Time will tell. More on California Forever and other visionaries designing new cities from scratch here: https://lnkd.in/e9-i386q Full interview: https://lnkd.in/eMnT8QhU #futureofcities #urbandevelopment

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Ever wondered where the perfect balance between tranquility and innovation lies? For me, it’s Seattle. Unlike the Bay, Seattle has a more serene environment that’s perfect for focusing on building products and businesses. The city’s vibe encourages deep work and creative thinking, free from the overwhelming hustle. But let’s be honest, Seattle’s founder and investor communities aren’t as vibrant as those in SF. Yet, this city holds a special place in my heart – a blend of my love for startups and the charm of Seattle. I believe in Seattle’s potential and I’m on a mission to help ignite its startup community. From connecting with fellow founders to engaging investors, let’s come together to build something extraordinary here. Seattle has all the ingredients to be a startup hub – talent, innovation, and a supportive ecosystem. What it needs is a spark. Let’s be that spark.

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Big news from WeaveGrid! We are excited to announce that we have raised $28M in strategic funding led by Woven Capital, Toyota's Growth Fund. I came to WeaveGrid three years ago with the goal of building a real ecosystem of OEM partners to create a more efficient grid full of EVs. Today we're taking that one step further in announcing investment from the world's largest automaker, Toyota Motor Corporation. With this strategic round fundraise, I look forward to continuing to scale our solutions across brands, utilities, and geographies, allowing us to support grid resilience and enable widespread EV adoption. Consider the grid… WOVEN 🪡 ⚡ 🚘 Woven Capital 🤝WeaveGrid = #WovenGrid #electricvehicles #ElectricFabric #climatetech #sustainability #energy

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🚨👀 Charm Team MRV is HIRING 👀🚨 We're scaling up carbon removal at Charm Industrial...which means LOTS more verified credits of CDR for customers like Google, Stripe & Shopify This is such a cool role. We're looking to bring someone on to join me, "Max-RV" Max Lavine & MRV 🧪 Saumya Jain in defining the future of carbon accounting in industrial manufacturing and setting the standard for Monitoring, Reporting & Verification (MRV) in carbon removal Do your friends describe you as... data hungry? wildly driven? despises catastrophic wildfires & worst effects of climate change? big fan of ambiguity? "love to collab with 'em" with (bonus) experience in industrial manufacturing; carbon accounting; or operating in high-compliance environments?? If so, let's talk https://lnkd.in/gVX9QfBH

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Triangle startup ecosystem - first thanks for the incredible generosity that you showed over the last 2wks to help folks impacted by Helene. Here's a last update on our Hurricane Helene relief efforts with a final 'how can you help' ask. The TL;DR - our nascent effort has matured and morphed into the WCEN. The most urgent need has moved from supplies to funding the teams out on the ground that need specialty items like gas, oxygen tanks, starlinks, etc. There's a gofundme, this is a certified 501(c)(3) here-> https://lnkd.in/e4NdxuW8 What is the WCEN you ask?!.... o There were several operating groups that were able to grassroots consolidate efforts under the Western Carolina Emergency Network (WCEN) umbrella and they have a website up that is improving every day: https://lnkd.in/ePYP6_JJ o WCEN's goal is to provide services to survivors until temporary infrastructure can be re-built. There are over 1m people in Western NC without shelter and basic necessities. o WCEN is providing: -> Reconnaissance -> Search + Rescue ( + Recovery) -> Rapid Supply Response / Air Support -> Medical Care o WCEN has these network partners: -> Operation Airdrop Inc- Air support including planes and helicopters -> Carolina Calvary - Coordinator for Operation Airdrop -> Razor Nation - ATV support -> Restoration Church @restoration church - Josh Brown and Ryan Honeycutt- supply collection sites and delivery -> Apex Defense - Search and Rescue, Security -> Lincoln County Airport - Pilot coordinator -> AJ - Heavy Lift Drone support -> GSDF team - C&C logistics, Special Forces team coordinator -> Reagan Madison Inc. team- Back office, infrastructure, and fundraising,FOB coordination (Crystal Suazo, CPA - who looped this together and we connected with here on LI!) -> WRTE, Inc - Legal, tax, fiduciary support -> Christina Marie Noel - Christina Noel + volunteers - Strategic marketing & communications -> United National Weather Team - Medical support with ATV abilities if anyone, especially corps would like to donate $, volunteers, trucks, etc. please contact William McGuire (on the ground items), Rebecca Ross / Jess Porta (Triangle-based corp donations/logistics). We're getting the last truck of items at Raleigh Founded out and future donations should be made at: Electric Supply Co 207 Bickett Blvd Raleigh NC, 27608 Want more ideas on how to have an impact? https://lnkd.in/euNxS8kd Thanks again everyone!

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Being a founder means being 100% in it, all the time, especially through the lows. It was fun to run down memory lane with Sequoia and discuss how DoorDash navigated moments of uncertainty to empower local commerce on a global scale. Check out the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/gxmx2nhy

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I funded an important study by Dr. Ashley Mason at UCSF that involves sticking thermometers up people’s rectums. ​ ​Sorry, that was the only way I could guarantee to keep you reading. But seriously, keep reading, this is really cool. ​ If you’re a Tech Bro™ type or have ever listened to Huberman Lab or Dr. Rhonda Patrick, then you’re well versed in the benefits of saunas and cold plunge, but it turns out that high temperature saunas may treat severe treatment resistant depression. ​ Researchers have long known that depression is often accompanied by a slight but consistent increase in body temperature. The question that intrigued scientists was whether changing that temperature could, in turn, alter the course of the depression. ​ Enter the sauna. Anecdotal evidence has suggested for years that regular sauna use can boost well-being, but only recently have researchers begun to look seriously at its potential to treat depression. ​ In the study, for 8 weeks, participants with major depressive disorder were fitted with a rectal thermometers (unfortunately the most accurate way to measure body temperature when in a sauna) and exposed to extremely long (140 minute) weekly sauna sessions that raised their body temperature to a feverish temperature of 101.3 F. ​ What was incredible was that participants saw their symptoms significantly improve after just a few weeks of regular heat sessions. The effect was so pronounced that nearly all of them no longer met the criteria for major depressive disorder at the end of the trial. ​ This isn’t to say that saunas are a silver bullet for depression—far from it. The studies so far have been small, and much more research is needed to confirm the results and understand the mechanisms at play. But the early findings are promising enough that researchers are calling for more attention and funding to explore this avenue further. ​ To date, we have committed over half a million dollars to this project, with more to come. If you’re interested in donating alongside us, please donate here (and make sure you specify you want the money to go to Dr. Ashley Mason): https://lnkd.in/dRHPvdej ​ ​If you’re curious to learn more, check out: - Interview on Found My Fitness‍: https://lnkd.in/dcqQCBG9 ​- Talk at BrainMind Summit: https://lnkd.in/dutdhHQg

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Shout-out to founders. Shout-out to the teams and individuals that commit to and push founder-led businesses forward. Building something meaningful is hard. Sometimes you have to play a role that does not come naturally because that’s what the business requires at the moment in time. Other times you have to make decisions that come with uncertainty and the best you can do is just figure it out…quickly. We’ve built RevBoss for 10 years, but we are in the process of re-building it for the 3rd time because that is what is required of us to deliver value to our clients. Will it be hard? Yes. Will it come with a bunch of bumps and bruises? Yes.   Will everything be okay at the end of the day? Absolutely. RevBoss exists to grow B2B founder-led businesses. I’m gearing up to talk with Adam Robinson, CEO of a founder-led business, RB2B, who also is in the business of helping B2B businesses grow. Join us on Aug 13th as we’ll be chatting about growth at founder-led companies and how to build a growth engine that works: https://lnkd.in/eVyJQjpC PS - excited to share our RevBoss journey more publicly, so feel free to follow along if you're interested.

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Insightful look into bioplatform strategy, and what it takes to raise a Series A from my partner, Omri Amirav-Drory: https://lnkd.in/dFv7GbF6

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Did you see the news? Excited to have TechCrunch announce that in addition to acquiring three new companies, Capacity is continuing our transformational growth with a Series D round. I sat down with TechCrunch to give a little more insight on our roadmap: “Our growth strategy reflects what our customers are asking for: an all-in-one AI platform that delivers across all communication channels.” As we keep pursuing our goals, we’ll keep expanding our AI offerings and growing our team to become a leading provider of AI-powered support solutions. Read the full interview with TechCrunch -> https://lnkd.in/gTWagawR #supportautomation #artificialintelligence #customersupport #automation

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