Sasha Orloff

In a startup's early days, founders often skip detailed compensation planning, instead choosing round numbers and moving on. This is an admirable sentiment. But over the long term, founder compensation design can matter a lot to the company, so it's worth taking some time to think this through. Here are some benchmarks and suggestions for founder compensation across: 1. Salary 2. Equity Split 3. Vesting https://lnkd.in/gcDXehXx

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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

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One of the things we see quite often at Grit Capital Partners, is a newly minted CEO. We see a big difference in the transition to CEO based upon the historical lane the CEO is coming from. There are different new muscles if you are coming from Product, Engineering, Finance, etc. In this article, we go deep on the CRO to CEO transition, which includes some thoughts from Rosie O'Meara, a particularly fine example of someone who has made the transition quite well. What were your biggest transition moments? https://lnkd.in/eEB-K2ZU

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I enjoyed going on Nick Telson-Sillett’s podcast, Pitch Deck by Forward Pursuit. Nick is a serial founder and investor (founded and exited DesignMyNight) so knows both sides of the table which always makes for an enriching chat. Some things we discussed: - The perceived power dynamic between VCs and founders can hinder productive conversations. - A compelling product demo can significantly influence investor interest. - Founders must focus on solving real customer problems to succeed. - Hiring standards are crucial for building a successful startup team. - Behavioural roadblocks can prevent the adoption of new solutions. - Validation from potential customers is key for pre-revenue startups. - The early-stage funding landscape has become more efficient and selective. - Pace of execution is a critical factor in attracting investment.

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💰 Women-Led VC Funds: Navigating 2024 Fundraising Landscape 💰 According to Venture Capital Journal, despite a strong start, women-led VC funds are feeling the impact of the industry-wide fundraising slowdown. As of November 30, 2024, women-led VC funds have raised $2.54 billion, which represents a 25% decrease from 2023's total of $3.43 billion. In comparison, global venture fundraising is down 13% YoY. While the numbers reflect challenges, there's still potential for growth: • Several funds typically file updates in December • These late submissions could help narrow the gap Let's continue supporting diversity in VC and monitor these trends as we approach year-end. #VentureCapital #WomenInVC #FundingTrends2024 La Creme de la STEM ™ - female founders support system Noshin Ahmed Lori Rodriguez Emilie Vallauri Craig Zapatka

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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!!

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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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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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Have you heard of #CapVC? It’s an application platform designed specifically for the use of #VC firms. Essentially, it’s a robust #AI-powered tool made to simplify the daily operations of managing a #fund. Isn’t that something, a VC funded start-up designed to help improve the productivity of VC funding! According to this article from TechCrunch, Cap VC is looking to become much more than just an ‘operating system’ — the company aims to be a simplified and extremely efficient way to run a VC firm: reducing digital clutter by turning PDF files, income statements and balance sheets into readable data, automating company suggestions based on the context of a VC’s portfolio, and more. Cap VC is currently developing native apps on Mac and Windows, alongside releasing an API so that developers can build on top of their foundations. So, are any of my fellow VCs interested in using this software? If not Cap VC, is there any interest for similar software to be created down the line? Are there downsides to using a third-party application like this? I want to know what you all think.

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I recently sat down with a group of Forum Ventures founders about to go out to fundraise and the topic of SAFE rounds came up. The context focused on the pros/cons of raising a priced vs a SAFE round and the conversation notably shifted toward the dilution implications of a SAFE round. Founders are keenly aware of the top line dilution of any funding round - ie selling 20% of their startup for $3M at a $15M cap - but very few fully grasp the implications of doing a SAFE round vs a priced round. The universal standard for institutional VC investors is a post money SAFE. This document essentially outlines ownership that an investor will have in a startup just prior to the execution of a priced round. Most importantly though, it is structured so that an investor in that SAFE will not be diluted by subsequent SAFE's that are issued. This is where founder education around the implications of this structure are not fully appreciated. In a situation where a founder continues to stack subsequent SAFEs, they don't actually convert until the first priced round and the net dilution they are taking is actually more than they realize. Here is a practical example - take a situation where a founder has already sold 15% of their business on a post money SAFE in a pre-seed round, and is now choosing to sell another 20% in a seed round. If the founder opts to raise this money on SAFEs, the dilution of that additional 20% will come entirely from common equity holders- meaning they will now own 65%. If SAFE holders were also diluted by that round, as they would be in a priced round, the founder would own 68%. This dynamic becomes more dramatic the more capital a founder raises on SAFEs. Note - this is a high level example and does not include an option pool carve out or other round nuances. Almost universally, when a founder raises their first priced round, there is some degree of sticker shock at the outright dilution on their cap table, particularly when options pools are factored in. This pain is even more acute when a founder has raised a fair amount of capital on SAFEs along the way. There are certainly benefits to raising SAFE round, mainly cash in hand 6-8 weeks faster and not having to decide on board seats too early, but I encourage all of our founders to run through cap table modeling and correctly account for the implications of SAFE rounds before they make fundraising decisions.

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If you live inside someone else's semantic landscape, you will undoubtedly lose. Thank you to Carl Franzen @ VentureBeat for letting me discuss how New Industry VC's Narrative Command thesis is applicable to elections. What is Narrative Command? Narrative Command is the concept that in every new market there is a startup that defines a vision of the future…which becomes the default future for that vertical. They define the language of the vertical, forcing everyone else to use that language. They define the seminal experience, and then give audiences or customers a taste of that experience. They boundary the discourse, forcing everyone into it. Once a company seizes Narrative Command in a new vertical, competitors — whether pre-existing or new — must live inside that narrative. Taken to its logical conclusion, Narrative Command becomes self-sustaining, where stakeholders, fans, customers, allies, investors — AND EVEN COMPETITORS — perpetuate the narrative. The best example of this is, of course, Tesla, which possesses Narrative Command of both electric and autonomous vehicles. NIVC invests in seed-stage Deep Tech startups with Narrative Command potential: www.nivc.us And if a startup just wants help with NC, my advisory firm is ready to help: www.johnson-roy.com

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After decades in venture capital, I’ve watched innovation cycles unfold—from the internet boom to the mobile era to today’s AI revolution. The thrill of transformation drives this industry, but only when things go sideways do we pause to consider what we might have done differently. That’s why I am launching The Ethics Edge. In today’s market, AI is reshaping the landscape at breakneck speed and overlooking ethical risks could mean missing out on insights that can drive both competitive edge and resilience. But how do you integrate ethics in a way that fuels growth, accelerates market leadership, and improves risk without slowing progress? Each week, I’ll break down real-world investments through an ethical lens, exploring questions we all face but rarely discuss. Can ethics be a strategic advantage? Where do they fit in board discussions and KPIs? And at what point in a company’s lifecycle do they start to matter? I am calling venture investors to join me on this journey—follow The Ethics Edge on Substack and join the LinkedIn Group. Jack Bixby Lucas Stephanie Sharron Anik Bose Elizabeth Meyer Chris Gillam Katherine M. Tassi Paul Clastre Elmer Huh Katharine T. Courtney Allen Weinstein #venturecapital #ethics #theethicsedge #innovation #investing

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"Bryce Roberts of Indie VC first highlighted the trend of “one-and-done” rounds back in 2017. Back then, it was something of a rarity, but these days a considerable number of founders are intentionally pursuing that path. At a broader level, the best founders today are raising fewer rounds with less dilution and/or skipping rounds altogether. And many VCs are struggling to come to terms with this. Firms with mediocre returns that don’t have much of a differentiator or positioning beyond “solid, inoffensive fund that’s a good fallback if you can’t raise from a top tier VC” are struggling to raise new funds or closing up shop entirely. Many individual investors who are later in their careers or who don’t have the inclination to reinvent themselves are opting out of venture capital as a career. Others who are refusing to adapt are being managed out by their firms." https://lnkd.in/gcNxKdzF

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Today marks a groundbreaking moment for BLCK VC and our fellow collaborators—Diversity VC, All Raise, 2Gether-International, SomosVC, StartOut, and VetsinTech—as we proudly announce the launch of the Diversity Data Alliance. This important alliance underscores our unwavering commitment to nurturing a venture capital and entrepreneurial ecosystem abundant in equity and inclusiveness. By standardizing and linking our data, we empower ourselves with the essential tools to track deeper trends that have, until now, eluded us to identify and fill funding gaps for historically excluded investors, founders, and operators. We can’t change what we do not measure, and now with the Diversity Data Alliance, we're now equipped to do both. Join us in this mission. Learn more and get involved: https://lnkd.in/eEZKdrac #DiversityDataAlliance #BLCKVC #VentureCapital #MeasureToChange

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I’m delighted to showcase a special guest blog from my Stanford colleague, Dr. Frederik G. Pferdt. Frederik is Google’s original Chief Innovation Evangelist, and just published his first book, “What’s Next Is Now.” *** Let’s face it: our minds are wired to crave certainty about the future. We scour the news, analyze trends, and even check our horoscopes—all in search of a glimpse into what’s coming next. But here’s the thing: that relentless hunt for predictions is a mistake! Why? Because the future isn’t something that happens to you. It’s something you actively shape. By obsessing over predictions, we become passive observers, waiting for the future to unfold. But what if we flipped the script? What if we stopped worrying about what might happen and started creating the future we want? I’m a future optimist because I believe in embracing the opportunities ahead rather than fearing uncertainty. The choices you make today are the building blocks of your future. The more intentional and varied your choices, the more opportunities you create for yourself. On the flip side, if you avoid stepping outside your comfort zone, someone else ends up making choices for you. Ever wonder how people find themselves in unfulfilling careers? It’s often because they stopped making intentional choices that could have led them down a different path. They become passengers in a car driven by fate, luck, or happenstance. But here’s the good news: You don’t have to be a passenger. You can be the driver. Imagination is your most powerful tool. By engaging with the possibilities of each moment, you start to see a different landscape for your future. (More insights at the link in comments below!)

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Every time Generative AI creates a new image or video of a person, it gets better at replicating real movements and voices. It has advanced to the point where manual oversight no longer works. If tech companies want to have less draconian regulation, they must take more responsibility and commit to a system of identification now. Either way, we need it, because hours or days to show that an imagine is "probably fake" just isn't going to cut it. AI has such promise and potential, but that's just as true of its nefarious uses as its positive ones, and good regulation and responsible business is how we benefit from the upside and limit the downside. #DeepFakes #GenerativeAI #AI

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👀 Founders who are the right fight for the Community VC forums and Iceberg 👀 The most successful founders—the top 0.1%—achieve remarkable outcomes by systematically building vast networks of investors and supporters, leveraging them for capital, promotion, and critical resources. Companies like Zeroco (raising $5m in 7 hours from 3082 supporters) and Superhuman (raising $75m off the back of a 50k person waitlist) are prime examples. However, most founders: 👉 Lack the experience, network, or structured approach to replicate this success 👉 Spend 10+ hours a week chasing support (emailing, booking meetings, having pointless conversations) with little predictability or payoff 👉 Leave untapped value on the table with their investors and advocates That’s why we’ve built Community VC as a growth engine and Iceberg, a supporter CRM designed to replicate Zeroco and Superhumans’ success by helping founders attract, nurture, and activate their first 10, 100, and 1,000 supporters. In the past 6 months we have supported 30+ companies in building their supporter base to close capital for less than 3 hours per week (compared to 10 normally) and we’re still improving. We have 100 founders working with us and 500 on our waitlist. Every week we are receiving 10+ new sign ups, with zero marketing spend so far. A recent example of ROI on 10 nurtured supporters through our ecosystem by a founder: ✅ 3 months ✅ 15 hours total spent nurturing ✅ 50 referred deals ✅ $24,500 revenue 💯 That’s $326 per hour per advocate nurtured in revenue 💯 Plus investment of $25,000 Imagine if a founder who was gearing up for a raise of any type had an army of 100 or 1000 people who could be activated at an even better ROI with an automated, personalised system... How? 👉Founders uncover investors through their own network, via Community VC and other channels by distributing their Iceberg profile links 👉The link collects supporter data and adds them to the systematised Supporter CRM 👉The founders are prompted with evolving best practice investor comms to nurture and engage the supporters for help and capital Not only are founders attracting more supporters than they ever were, they are closing capital faster and with more aligned people with Community VC and Iceberg. 🕐Why now? The future of outsized returns will come by supporting small teams who can achieve huge amounts in extremely niche sectors, with much less funding. They will achieve this through leveraging AI and leveraging their community.

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I like this a lot . . . and it is how I have always assumed we'll ultimately have to structure our teams at REFASHIOND Ventures: The Industrial Transformation Fund. For an early-stage venture fund; The team size of 3 people is the optimal size based on research I did some years ago. My June 2015 blog post: 6 Things I have Learned About Building High-Performing Teams https://lnkd.in/gdq9rx7c

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Latitude Media and Bianca Giacobone just published an interesting article covering Congruent Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank's 50 by 2050 list (https://lnkd.in/gRMaqMb8) with some insightful takeaways: 1. Software may be eating the world, but mitigating climate change needs atoms and bio in addition to to bits and bytes. 2. Climate VC harkens back to venture's roots. It's called *silicon* valley for a reason. But nearly every hardware company in the list has software and AI as a fundamental enabling component. It's here to stay. 3. There are a LOT of strong technologies that are transitioning to deployment and that we expect to be at scale before 2050. 4. The quality of entrepreneurship and teams in this space continues to grow and impress. Needless to say, we're feeling more bullish than ever. Onwards! https://lnkd.in/ggiYQvBC

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