Samuel Ulloa

✨ Breaking: BFM Fund Announces New Fund.- BFM Fund A seed-stage fund focusing on founders who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color, promoting diversity in venture capital. https://www.bfm.fund Please share to let other #Founders know For the ❤️ of Startups #Fusion42 #Startups#Venturecapital

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Over the years, we at GFR Fund have solidified our investment thesis, which is that we invest in "emerging digitally native communities." These communities can be built around games, social media, and any consumer applications. Now, founders have many easy-to-use tools to build user communities, such as Discord, X/twitter, Instagram, etc, and we believe the founders should start building communities even before they launch a product. The communities can help founders: - reach PMF faster - acquire users cheaper - retain and engage users longer - build better UX/UI, and - hire early employees Below, you can see how RTFKT and Omeda Studios built the community and then worked with them to create a product the users really wanted. We would love to talk to the founders who think the community is essential in building a product!

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Siran Cao from Mirza came in to University of Washington Bothell 470 (Business policy and strategy....it's fun to be teaching something in my day job) Setting a company strategy when there is a policy gap  🚀 Leverage expertise – Startups thrive when founders bring in experts and diverse perspectives rather than going it alone. Back decisions with data  🚀Tackle real problems – Sometimes this happens because of a market failure. Affordable childcare is a major issue in the U.S. Companies can benefit by providing childcare as an employee benefit  🚀Combine learning + Strategy – It’s okay to ask for help in areas you lack expertise. Combining learning with strategy with the right team will create impact #BusinessStrategy #BusinessPolicy #Leadership #Childcare #Startup

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RETHINKING RETIREMENT We've been investing in the Future of Work since we launched BBG Ventures, targeting underserved segments like deskless workers (Anthill, OX) and solopreneurs (Topline Pro). Over the summer we spent time digging into another deeply underserved segment of the workforce: Boomers. By the end of this decade, the entire generation will have hit retirement age and, for the first time, Americans 65+ will outnumber those under 18. This has huge implications for every aspect of society, and it mandates that we start thinking differently about retirement. The question for all of us is this: Can we re-focus healthy Americans 60+ on a new phase of productivity, a “third act” that enables them to keep learning, keep earning, keep socially-engaged and contributing to the nation’s economic growth? And what role can AI play in helping every senior identify their unique skill set and personal priorities — and connect them with the right opportunities? We have some thoughts on how to make this happen, and we'd love you to give it a read, add your feedback, forward it to a founder who's working in this arena (or who you think might be intrigued), and share it! AgeTech has been too focused on death and decay; it's time we embrace longevity and give older Americans a way to keep working -- on their terms. cc: Carol Magalhães Isaacs, CFA Nisha Dua, Claire Biernacki, Drew Silverman Fennessy

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💰Sharing a List of 80 Black-led VC funds (US based): About this list: I realized that I couldn’t find a current list of Black-led funds as of 2024 when a lot of new funds have launched over the last couple of years including GPs Sydney Paige Thomas, Terri Burns and more. I have been gathering a list of these funds in my network, and that I could find publicly over time so wanted to share with the ecosystem. Only 2% of VC funds are Black-led: I found 80 funds (maybe there’s more!). There are 3,417 VC firms in the US (according to NVCA). Founders - These funds invest from pre-seed through growth, some with a focus on diverse founders, others more broadly. ⅔ of them have OPEN funding applications that I’ve linked in the sheet. LPs - As mentioned, a number of these funds might not be in the databases used for tracking, so hope to get some more Black-led funds on your radar! VCs - maybe there are some funds you should get to know for deal sharing, etc 👉🏾Link to full list here: https://lnkd.in/gktBhY-W

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💜 Hue. has been awarded a $150K equity-free grant from the Google for Startups Founders Fund! 🎉 Funding Black founders is crucial, here’s why ⬇ I recently spoke with a founder—let’s call him David—who needed fundraising advice. David’s startup is gaining traction, and he’s been advised to raise a #friendsandfamilyround to boost product development. Sadly, he feels discouraged. David is the first in his family to graduate college, and at 21, he earned more than anyone else in his family in his entry-level job. Now in their late twenties, him and his friends are still in their growth era and don’t have extra cash to invest. David feels stuck. 🚫 His network can’t fund his venture, and he has too little traction to raise a formal round. This is a common experience for many underrepresented founders—Black, Latino, low-income, women, and more. ✨ Grant programs like the Google for Startups Founders Fund provide essential capital to level the playing field. ✨ The Hue team is incredibly grateful for Google’s support for underrepresented founders and its commitment to uplifting startups pushing boundaries in AI. ❓ Does David’s experience resonate with you? Have you raised a friends and family round? What advice would you give other founders? ❓ Comment below ⬇ Check out to the other Black & Latino founders in my Google for Founders cohort! Sherisse Hawkins Nana Wilberforce Ph.D Seke Ballard Megan Nunes Manny S. Kene Anoliefo Tiffany Ricks George Holmes, PhD Rocio Frej Vitalle Rocio Frej Vitalle Florian Pestoni Darren Riley Eitan Winer Darryl Keeton Constanza Gomez Sergio Suarez Jr. Gerald Kierce Iturrioz #GoogleForStartups #FoundersFund #poweredbyhue #beautymarketing #huecommunity #hiring #fundraising

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Participating in Cohort 14 of the VC Lab has been an energizing experience so far. I am learning so much about the ins and outs of being an emerging fund manager and how to succeed in this space. Today they hosted a panel for Women in VC that provided some real world advice from some fantastic panelists. The curriculum is rigorous for sure, but rewarding. If you are curious about why this is such an exciting area check out this article. #venturecapital #vc #investing https://lnkd.in/gMMM_mwp

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Team San Diego! I though you may find this as surprising as I did...we are not alone. Read this quick article from Jon Prentice's (Silicon Valley Bank) interview with with James Newell (Voyager Capital), published in GeekWire on Seattle's innovation ecosystem....they lament the SAME issues as we do in San Diego: * Lack of angel investors, (Especially, it calls out, given the local giant tech co's) * "We need low-conviction check writers." * Lack of "cachet associated with being an angel investor" - We have similar efforts (as described in the article) to drum up angel activity: NuFund Venture Group and, Interlock Capital (read the article and you'll see why the Interlock effort is tops as relates to "paying back into the ecosystem") Connect.org strives to 'connect' innovative companies with investors of all types (angel, VC, PE...) - just see "Innovation Day". Their Springboard program provides another great way for experienced entrepreneurs to give back through mentorship...as for the companies going through Springboard: "Ask for advice, and you often get $$" Your thoughts on the article or San Diego innovation ecosystem? https://lnkd.in/gfwq6mfq

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Inspired by Indra Nooyi: Transforming Leadership at Arise Ventures 🌟🚀 Indra Nooyi, the former CEO of PepsiCo, exemplifies transformative leadership and has been a profound source of inspiration. Her restructuring of PepsiCo’s product portfolio into “fun for you,” “better for you,” and “good for you” paved the way for healthier, more responsible consumer choices while fueling business growth. Through strategic acquisitions like Tropicana and Quaker Oats, Nooyi expanded PepsiCo's reach into the health-conscious market. Her “Performance with Purpose” initiative, which linked business strategy with social responsibility, reshaped PepsiCo's culture by fostering innovation, reducing waste, and driving talent development. She also championed diversity by promoting women and underrepresented groups into leadership roles, aligning with our mission at Arise Ventures to empower diverse founders who prioritize impact-driven growth. Key Takeaways from Indra Nooyi’s Leadership:  🔹 Strategic Growth: Her approach to aligning business goals with healthier consumer options reshaped PepsiCo.  🔹 Purpose-Driven Initiatives: Indra’s “Performance with Purpose” demonstrated that profit can go hand-in-hand with positive impact.  🔹 Empowering Diversity: Indra empowered diverse voices within PepsiCo, reinforcing the importance of inclusivity for driving innovation.  🔹 Long-Term Vision: Her focus on sustainable growth highlights the value of balancing short-term goals with long-term vision. At Arise Ventures, we are inspired by Indra Nooyi’s leadership as we invest in founders who are breaking new ground climate and sustainability across clean energy, advanced manufacturing, carbon data solutions and much more. At Arise Ventures our forward-thinking vision and mission is to accelerate entrepreneurs to create a future driven by purpose and progress. #InspiredByIndraNooyi #LeadershipExcellence #AriseVentures #InclusiveInnovation #PurposeDrivenLeadership #EmpoweringFounders

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Thanks to the ZIRP era, capital has become a commodity. Hence most VC funds try to differentiate themselves through their -content strategy, -thought leadership and -other auxiliary supports (hiring, etc) to their portfolio companies. These definitely play a role in differentiation In my limited, yet recent experience in raising funds for HashFame, I've seen one another major differentiating factor, COMMUNICATION Be it communicating what their investment thesis is (though this is common knowledge) or  Communicating the feedback for the call or  The time needed to respond back This very clearly sets apart the best from the rest

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"The majority of venture capital today is in the hands of men, specifically those from Caucasian or Asian backgrounds." This is on a Limited Partner website that explicitly excludes funding Asian male emerging managers. It is a false and harmfully inaccurate narrative. Despite the perception that there are many Asians in venture capital, the reality is that most are not in GP or fund ownership positions. Many are the workhorses that are associates and principals at funds, that may or may not ever get promoted to partnership. Here is some eye-opening research from AAAIM with the facts about Asians in venture capital: Only 3.3% of VC funds are AAPI owned. This low, single-digit percentage of representation is extremely lower than the common perception. Of these 3.3% AAPI-managed VC funds, it represents only 2.9% of total AUM. This mismatch makes even less sense when you look at the performance of AAPI-owned funds, which have a higher proportion of being top-performing funds: 52.6% of all AAPI-owned funds have been ranked in the top quartile for fund performance. AAPIs are often left out of DEI initiatives by LPs. Among the top 100 limited partners (LPs) that allocate to venture, we found an alarming fact: 19% explicitly exclude AAPIs from these critical DEI initiatives. Clearly, the incorrect perception that AAPI professionals are doing well in VC is resulting in AAPIs being excluded. Only 9% specifically include AAPIs in DEI initiatives and goals. The path to promotion and becoming an investing partner takes 41% longer for AAPIs. Before rising to become an investment partner, AAPI professionals worked in junior roles for an average of 3 years, 10 months. Non-AAPI professionals were able to be promoted in 2 years, 9 months. Even though AAPIs are more likely to have additional work experience before joining a VC (coming from prior roles as operators, in finance, or in consulting). More AAPIs with junior VC experience end up starting their own funds. Rather than waiting to be recognized inside their current firms, it appears that a difficult path to promotion could be leading more AAPIs with junior VC experience to start their own funds. Proportionally more AAPI partners with junior VC experience started their own fund (16.6%) compared to their non-AAPI (13.7%) counterparts. Despite proven track records of successful investments, the lack of AAPIs in investment partner roles means that future returns are capped. Previous AAAIM research quantified the excellent performance of AAPI-owned VC funds. In fact, 52.6% of these AAPI-owned funds delivered top-quartile performance, compared to 24.1% for non-AAPI funds of the same vintage year and strategy.

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Want a front-row seat to the frontier of tech? We’ve got the role (or two) for you! We’re expanding our frontier-tech team at Blackbird by hiring a Frontier Tech Investments Associate and Foundry Fellows! Got questions? We've got answers... 1️⃣ What are the roles? 🧪 Associate = a full-time VC investment gig in our Blackbird Investments team, working directly with me. We’re looking for someone with a science and/or engineering background and more curiosity than they can handle. You’ll grow your own investment brand and practice, support our portfolio founders, and will help build Foundry, our early-stage frontier-tech accelerator. ✨ Foundry Fellow = a casual/contract gig in our Blackbird Investments team, ~15h per week for 3 months. The Fellowship is ideal for PhD students and ECRs who want to learn more about startups and VC. You’ll go deep on emerging areas relevant to your expertise (or curiosity!), get a front-row seat to groundbreaking companies in those areas, build out your non-academic network, and develop a solid writing practice. 2️⃣ Why are you hiring? We love frontier tech, and we’re ready to grow our team. 3️⃣ Wow, it’s so great that you’re starting to look at deep tech! Look, we get it: we don’t make a lot of noise about our frontier tech investing. Buuuut we’ve been deep-tech investors since we backed Tim Kentley-Klay to found Zoox back in 2014—we’ve been on incredible journeys with PsiQuantum (building the world's first utility-scale quantum computer right here in Australia!), Inventia Life Science (transforming drug discovery with high-fidelity cell models), Remedy Robotics (surgical robots for remote endovascular procedures), Opto Biosystems (minimally-invasive neural implants to treat cancer), and more. We believe that frontier technologies, and great frontier-tech investing, will be part of the solutions to the greatest problems humanity faces today. 4️⃣ When do applications close? May 31st at 11:59pm AEST. 5️⃣ I have more questions! I’m sure you do! Clare Birch and I are hosting an AMA to answer any and all questions about these roles. Want to know what a week in the life of our team looks like? What’s keeping us up at night? What our ideal candidate looks like? Come along and find out - registration link in the comments 👇 Apply for these roles: Associate - https://lnkd.in/gCfj4EUJ Foundry Fellowships - https://lnkd.in/gj6ATZVZ If you know anyone that we should meet, send me their details! Cameron Elise Ben Andrew Robin Joseph Adelaide James Olivia Lucinda Raghav Jesse Christie Mohamed Tom Amee Pablo Haya Loong Hon Joshua Benjamin Megan Harry Denzil Matthew Diana Daniel Tom Deanna Justin Amar Lilly Stone Thomas

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Super helpful article and accompanying doc with a #Startup #Equity Calculator to determine the equity for early hires, thanks to Pear VC head of talent Matt Birnbaum! Thanks for sharing Pejman Nozad! 🙏🏼 You can read more here How to structure startup equity for early hires: https://lnkd.in/ggmpT5-Y Google Doc: https://lnkd.in/gjsvths6

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If you believe that #Diversity and #Inclusion matter, specifically in times like this, join us on October 30th. We will discuss the challenges and success stories of promoting Diversity in 2024. With me you will find industry leaders who were able to pull it off (!) 💥💥💥 Dorit Dor, Hasan Abasi, Vered Raviv Schwarz, Gal Shaul Guesty, Augury, HAAT Delivery, Check Point Software Power in Diversity Glilot Capital Partners Poalim Tech, Meitar | Law Offices, ESOP - Phoenix, Microsoft, Calcalist כלכליסט #nomatterwhat

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Scaling a startup is tough, but with careful planning and execution, it's possible to defy the odds. At H/L Ventures, we focus on investing in growth, impact, and diversity, and pioneering a model that aligns the interests of entrepreneurs, investors, and other stakeholders to create sustainable ventures. Our active engagement is our commitment to help entrepreneurs navigate the inevitable ups and downs of entrepreneurship journeys! #Entrepreneurship #VC #BusinessGrowth #ImpactInvesting

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Five years ago, my partner Nisha Dua and I left corporate life and formed BBG Ventures, convinced that a rising generation of founders from diverse communities and backgrounds were poised to build transformative companies in a rapidly changing America. Today we’re announcing a new $60M early-stage fund to continue that work, and releasing the research that informed our investment thesis: The Mind of Polycultural America: A Look at Identity, Priorities and Behaviors (https://lnkd.in/eGzP3f2r) We’ve always looked around corners to identify shifts in behavior and attitudes. But several years ago, Nisha began describing the changing face of the country as the American Polyculture; and last year we set out to better understand it. That research – a survey of 2000+ people, large enough to be statistically relevant across race, gender, age, income, political party, and geography – reveals a number of surprising insights. Americans today define their identities based on a unique perception of their place in the world, which will demand more nuance and personalization in the platforms and products we bring to market; but we have surprisingly common priorities, needs and concerns across nearly every age group, race and gender. The research also confirmed our belief that a diverse cross-section of founders who understand first-hand the challenges and opportunities in our polycultural future will have a competitive advantage in arenas that still need transformation: health, education, financial security, workforce support and climate safety. Thrilled to be on this journey with my partner of more than decade, Nisha Dua, plus the stellar BBGV team: Claire Biernacki, Carol Magalhães Isaacs, Drew Silverman Fennessy, Addison B. Marsh, Jr. If you know a founder transforming the way we live in one of these categories, send them our way. Thanks Leena Rao for the coverage on Business Insider! https://lnkd.in/eRb5Vv3R

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When deciding between SAFEs and priced equity, think about your startup’s current stage and future plans. SAFEs can offer flexibility for various funding amounts, making them a solid choice for different stages. Review your goals and funding needs to decide which option aligns best with your startup’s direction. #FundingOptions #StartupGrowth

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The second panel at our Startup Fundraising Summit featured advice from VC investors Ashwini Anburajan (Side Door Ventures), Sumeet Shah (VHS Ventures) and Jessie Lam (Alinea Ventures) about navigating the fundraising process. In this workshop, the audience asked about real life situations and our investor panel shared their thoughts Here’s their advice: 1. Clear & Simple Pitches Cold emails and decks should be concise and impactful to catch attention quickly. 2. Prioritize Stage & Sector Fit Focus on investors who understand your stage and sector rather than just big names. Early-stage founders benefit from “super angels” or small funds who get their space. 3. Tell Your Story Clearly outline your vision without overloading details, so investors can dive into feedback and questions. 4. Recognize Genuine Interest Phrases like “keep me updated” may signal low interest. Look for investors who ask detailed questions or reach out proactively. 5. Build Trust with Updates Keep investors engaged with regular, targeted updates. Relationships built now may lead to support or future investment. Fundraising is a journey. Share your progress, and think of it as building connections for long-term success. Full video below, if you were there share your insights in the comments.

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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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