Stephen Bailey

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 best parts of my work as an early-stage investor and board member is having broad and deep conversations with entrepreneurs I admire. Even better: putting those conversations on the record so we can share them far and wide! Today on 10/10 GTM (Accord’s podcast for revenue leaders), Ross Rich and I dig into how we work together on Accord’s board, what I look for as early indicators of a revenue leader’s impact and potential, and how product and revenue leaders can work hand in hand. It’s all right here →

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Recently, I had a great chat with Eliot Horowitz, the CEO and Founder of Viam (and the Founder and brain behind MongoDB with a $27.5bil Market-Cap in 2023), about his new startup. It’s incredible how his journey began with a simple cat-feeding robot (I will share it later in another post) and evolved into Viam, an open-source platform that makes hardware more flexible, scalable, and developer-friendly and makes a bridge between software and machines. which is practically being used by The Whale and Vessel Safety Task Force (@WAVS). In today’s fast-paced world, the blend of AI and edge computing is unlocking amazing possibilities across industries. These technologies enable real-time decision-making, helping businesses operate more efficiently and save costs. I’ve explored this further in my latest Forbes article: 'Harnessing The Power Of AI At The Edge: Transforming Predictive Maintenance And Automation.' I’d love for you to check it out!" https://lnkd.in/gkmRbHaS

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We’re in the era of lifelong learning. 💡 I had an incredible time diving deep into this and more on the latest episode of the future foHRward's Fohrsight podcast with Mark Edgar. Curious about the evolution of leadership and what today's leaders crave from their development providers? 🤔 Want to know how HR teams can ensure program success?  🎯 Eager to learn how we’re revolutionizing leadership growth and performance at Monark ? 🌱 Tune in wherever you get your podcasts to hear my take!

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Building on the success of Rocket Studio with Simon Kirby and Pivotal with Dominic Joseph we decided to merge with Impact Counsel, led by the awesomely talented John D., Erim Jones and Robert Fok earlier this year. We’ve combined our significant and complimentary skills, experience and passion for growing amazing businesses to create a new breed of VC - Creative Capital Ventures Group (CCV). Fund 1 is focused on Sports, Media & Entertainment. Joining us on this exciting journey is media titan Tom Rogers (ex CEO Tivo & CNBC). We have also assembled a mighty team of Venture Partners bringing their expertise into our team, with the legendary Harvey Goldsmith leading our Immersive Entertainment category, and Cam Blackwood (Platinum award winning record producer) and his team at Rezonate heading up Music Rights acquisition. Creative Capital Ventures is designed to disrupt traditional VC models and accelerate the growth of innovative start-ups. We’ve already secured €18 million in commitments and are raising €35 million in total to fuel the next generation of game-changing businesses. What makes CCV different? •⁠ ⁠Founder-Led Expertise: Our team comprises serial entrepreneurs and operators who have built, scaled, and exited successful companies. We know what it takes to drive rapid growth. •⁠ ⁠Speed Scaler: Through our unique venture studio model, we’re not just funding companies—we’re actively accelerating their growth, shrinking the timeline from seed to exit. •⁠ ⁠Industry Focus: CCV focuses on high-growth sectors like Sports, Media, Entertainment, and Lifestyle, with a unique emphasis on IP acquisition to drive returns in stable asset classes. If you're interested in learning more about how CCV is reshaping the venture capital landscape, let’s connect!  More updates to follow! #VentureCapital #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #Startups #ScalingFast #CreativeCapitalVentures https://lnkd.in/eiuWVtvT

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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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This is just the tip of the iceberg . As you can see from this EdTech Insiders map of GenAI in education, the wave isn’t just coming – it has arrived 🌊 . At Equal Opportunity Ventures, we’re seeing AI enabled products across the spectrum in EdTech: tools that help teachers save time on grading, tutors and individualized support, analysis of student skill deficiencies, assessment of school district expenditures and how to drive better resource allocation. GenAI brings promise and massive potential. But is it hitting the mark 🎯 ? So here are my questions for teachers and educators in my network: What are we missing? What problems are these current solutions/products NOT addressing? What gaps do we still need to fill? EdTech investors and founders want to hear from educators in the field whether or not these technology tools are solving your biggest pain points and challenges.  Weigh in!

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It’s no surprise to see leading VC firms investing in AI and parenting. As a parent of a 3- and 4-year-old, having tools that support our family’s needs is critical. Leveraging LLMs to reduce the time spent on tasks that might otherwise consume hours—like sorting through social media for advice—has been a game changer. On average, families have two kids that are close in age and are also often balancing caregiving responsibilities for other family members. It’s a lot to manage, especially for parents of teens and within the healthcare landscape.

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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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We rise to the expecations that others have of us. I've spent the last year researching and writing a practitioner article that I think will change the way that startups sell. Last week I flew to Boston to get feedback on the most recent draft from my mentor at HBS, and this was one of his (many) comments: "Good thinking, less good writing." It took me a few hours to digest it all, check my ego, and recalibrate on what to do next, and what I arrived at was this: How incredible is it that I have a mentor who will take the time to review my writing, critique my thinking, and give me honest feedback? Receiving (and giving) real, honest feedback is not easy. And it's the best way to get better.

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Rupen Desai is recognized as one of the world's most influential CMOs. By co-founding The Shed 28 (TS/28), he advocates for businesses to take responsibility not just for shareholders, but also for the well-being of people and the planet. Currently serving as the CMO and Venture Partner at Una Terra, Rupen is responsible for amplifying the fund's impact and advancing initiatives to combat climate change and biodiversity loss. Previously, he held the position of outside-in global CMO at Dole Sunshine Co., where he led a transformation that placed sustainability at the core of the company's business model. Rupen will participate in the Global Marketing Summit & Exhibition 2024 in the session titled "Is Marketing Walking the Talk on Sustainability — Or Just Talking?" where he will share his insights on sustainability in marketing. #SustainableGrowth #GlobalMarketingSummit2024 #Marketing #SustainableBusiness #SustainableWorld #Leadership #FutureandDigital #Brand #Creativity #Sustainability #DigitalMarketing #KREAMICE #KREADigital #CMOCircle #RupenDesai

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After the first deep dive discussion w/ founders I often hear a comment "I wish I had heard about this alternative [to all-in must-become-a-unicorn] way to build a startup earlier as I have wasted years in pursuing the wrong thing". Our mission is that no founder would ever need to say that again as it is such a waste. Us preaching the gospel 1:1 just doesn't scale, hence we use mass media to multiply our efforts - that's how Gorillacast came to be. The 1st episode is out, featuring yours truly. "How can you know what food you like unless you taste everything" said a chef. How can founders make informed choices about the best strategy for them to follow unless they know of all alternatives? This might not be of interest to you but pls spread the word so that the founders who should hear it can find it. I have a dream!

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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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Smart investors double-down on women; smart women double-down on themselves. I recently attended the Show Her the Money viewing and panel discussion https://lnkd.in/epB3Ump5 hosted by CED (Council for Entrepreneurial Development) and xElle Ventures. Listening to industry experts like the ones on this Milton Institute panel https://lnkd.in/ePN4Yxeg, helped reaffirm some key takeaways: 1) Investing in women is not only business for good, it is good business. Why? First, women are consumers, representing 51% of the population and making 85% of household spending decisions. Secondly, women have money. “Feminization of wealth’ is a trend, and there is a wealth transfer in the realm of $80 trillion from baby boomers to their spouses before going to the children. Having strong women leaders in all aspects of business makes business sense.   2) Women can benefit from being more exposed to and comfortable with asset classes such as angel and venture capital, besides mutual funds and the stock market. That would help us unlock the power of compounding and the Power Law, and to support and influence early-stage organizations. That’s why I’ve joined like-minded leaders and started Ladies Investing Local Angels (Lila) https://lnkd.in/eUSvHFbu. Please join us and our events!   3) Smart women double down on ourselves as founders, investors, advisors and board members – with faith in our capabilities and potential. It’s poignant in the panel discussions, ‘imposter syndrome’ kept coming up - it seems to be a shared affliction even, or especially, amongst most successful women.   On my journey as an angel and VC investor and advisor, I have had to overcome periodic doubts like ‘I’m not a serial entrepreneur’ or ‘I’m not from the bioscience industry’… The positive feedback that I received from founders and investors helped me appreciate the merit of my strengths – being a serial ‘intrapreneur’ in global companies requires highly relevant talents and skills; my expertise transcends industries in building business models and innovating Go-to-market. As on panelist put it aptly, “we don’t need to be empowered, we have the power.”   When we make these double 'double-downs,' we tilt the odds in our favor. #women investing #Angel #VC #female founders #leadership #entrepreneurship

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If you're at the NACD (National Association of Corporate Directors) Summit in DC next week, hit me up. Or come see my talk at 4 pm ET on Monday - I'm hitting on two topics: ☑️ Joining a new board of directors? Here's a set of quick hits for your first 90 days ☑️ 4 critical moments where you can add value to the company's strategy (while keeping your fingers out of the pot)

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🚀 Attention founders: Want to stretch your startup's runway? In our latest podcast, we uncover a financing strategy that could give you 6-8 extra months of cash. As a former VC and founder, I've seen firsthand how crucial this can be for growth and negotiations. Don't miss out - find the link to the full episode in Scott Orn, CFA original post. #StartupFinance

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Thank you Washington Business Journal & Nate Doughty for the Cove feature, we're a proud DC-based startup on this journey! (And recently learned from WBJ that headshots in general get more clicks for them so we're all stuck with the photo....) A special thank you to our newest partners Nuveen, a TIAA company. Jeanne Casey is a true thought-leader in the proptech space — we're fortunate to have her support and that of Dave Dyer, Brian Wallick, Skylar Huth, Christopher Horning, Charles C. Russo, Mikal Lewis & many more - we so appreciate your feedback & entrusting Cove as your tech partner to show value at an asset & portfolio level. Having Nuveen join existing investor and client Blackstone - including John Fitzpatrick, Stevi Petrelli, Pedro Celis - gives us great confidence to tackle what's next as we evolve the role of tech in real estate. Our platform consolidates yet enhances commercial real estate operations and experience all from one place — but that's only an output from an awesome Cove team in collaboration with our client partners who shape the products we create and the company we build, just ask early adopters Mikki Ward, Kyle Maurer, Stephen Evans, Reynolds Allen & others where you see their feedback in action. I'm surrounded by great partners and really smart & motivated teammates (including cofounder Jeremy Scott) who all deeply care, which makes for great days of company building. Lastly, including an incredible quote to show that value of team & partnership from a recent Commercial Observer article linked in the comments (thanks Philip Russo, always appreciated!): “Nuveen has evaluated and tested many products in the market, and we’ve become convinced that Cove’s superior technology and exceptional team offer the winning solution,” Jeanne Casey, global head of innovation and proptech for Nuveen, said. “Our investment demonstrates our conviction that Cove offers a best-in-class solution, capable of replacing disparate point solutions across large real estate portfolios like ours. We are committed to consolidating our systems, while simultaneously enhancing user experience and enabling continuous innovation across our assets.” Are you looking for a great technology partner? Join us and become part of the Cove community of owners & operators to define what's next in real estate & tech!

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Invest. In. Women. And real men out there, speak up for women, because they shouldn’t have to do this alone. Women know all of this already. Men need to listen and amplify, otherwise the algorithm won’t help. Please watch this whole interview with the inspirational Melinda French Gates who is leading the charge with Pivotal Ventures investing $1 billion over the next ten years to promote gender equality. And that is not nearly enough. Based on data from its widely-respected Global Gender Gap Index, the World Economic Forum estimates that it will take the United States another 208 years to reach gender equality. This is not surprising given women founders only receive less than 2% of venture funding. The gender pay gap has remained steady over the past 20 years. In 2021, women earned 84 cents for every dollar paid to men for full-time, year-round work. This gap is significant at every level of education, and women may need to earn an additional degree to earn the same as men with less education. The gap is also more pronounced for women of color, with Black women earning 64%, Hispanic women earning 57%, Native American women earning 59%, and Latinas earning 55% of what non-Hispanic white men earn. In 2018, there were more men named James running Fortune 500 companies than there were women. In 2019, only one CEO on that list of 500 was a woman of color. Women are 51 percent of the population but hold only 24 percent of the seats in Congress. "I hope that women and people of color see that you can lead differently and you can be at the top of your field and you can be a great human being, living your personal life the way you want to and be a leader in your sector," she added. "I think you get these industries where, when over time they become very male-dominated, then the guys expect that everybody's going to act the way they act. And when they don't see somebody leading or acting the way they are there, there's pushback.”

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Interesting news for parents 📣 I recently met a Y Combinator startup Ello's co-founder Elizabeth Adams, Ph.D. They are building an AI tool for children. Ello is your child’s read-along companion who listens, teaches, and transforms them into an enthusiastic reader. 1️⃣ Ello listens to your child read out loud 2️⃣ Ello coaches your child through tricky words and mistakes 3️⃣ Ello motivates your child with points, prizes, and adventures 4️⃣ Ello is powered by Adaptive Learn™, their proprietary AI engine that understands, adapts and responds to your child like a 1:1 instructor. If you are a parent, you should try it! https://lnkd.in/dMB3eUdy

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