Yuvraj Singh Shergill

Looking forward to meeting women entrepreneurs who are on their journey to create some pathbreaking ideas and inspiring others to do the same. #advaitawomenentrepreneurs #womeninbusiness #entrepreneurship #womenentrepreneurs #EmpowerWomen #womenleaders #businesswomen

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This past week, I had an engaging conversation with Sanjoy Sanyal for Caspian Climate Conversations. We discussed my newest venture, Edhina Capital, and investment opportunities in IP-led businesses in EV and Energy sectors. CCC has captured a wealth of knowledge from various thinkers, doers, and innovators in climate technology over the last three years. It is an honour to join this formidable line-up. At Edhina Capital, our competitive strategy is rooted in Sector and Technology depth and painstaking Research for differentiated investment opportunities. Our mission is to provide vertical support to businesses. We help family offices with direct investment opportunities. Couple of arguments that formed the centre of my conversation with Sanjoy: 1. Traditional sectors of Mobility, Energy and Built Environment are transitioning to being climate resilient on the back of deep Science, Computing, Communication and Scale. These present significant investment opportunities in IP-led businesses that are disrupting the sector. 2. Nuanced understanding of the Sector, Technology and Product differentiation feeds a powerful investment strategy at Edhina that is capital efficient at Early stage as well as at the Growth stage, and renders itself to market competitive returns. Listen to the full episode for more: https://rb.gy/7fpmy8 #ClimateAction #CleanEnergy #EMobility #Sustainability #ImpactInvesting #ClimateTech #CaspianClimateConversations‍

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Don't miss the Apparel Impact Institute 2023 Impact Report. We’ve set the ambitious goals of enabling the reduction of 100 Mt of CO2e from the apparel supply chain and unlocking $2 billion in capital by 2030, and as you’ll see in this report, last year was a time of significant progress toward these milestones. We: * Expanded the reach of our Climate Action Approach to 31 regions and completed carbon reduction projects with 300 producers. Unlocked $37,951,454 in blended capital. * Deployed our first Climate Solutions Portfolio grants. The five awarded solutions are forecasted, on average, to save 1,922.2 tCO2e per producer, per year. A more in-depth update on the grantees and their progress is available in the next section of this newsletter. * Nearly quadrupled our GHG emissions reductions over useful life in 2023 (1,676,078.77 tonnes CO2e) as compared to 2022 (475,279.50 tonnes CO2e). * Remained affordable: The average cost of Aii-driven solutions came in at just under $23 per tCO2e. As always, I express my gratitude to the Aii team as well as our partners and supporters for your steadfast commitment to strategically executing this crucial work. These achievements underscore the strength of collaboration in addressing the most pressing environmental challenges facing the apparel and footwear industry. While the fight to decarbonize apparel and footwear is far from over, we are encouraged by our 2023 results and look forward to continuing to decarbonize the industry - together. https://lnkd.in/gt8pi3sz

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From Harvard to Keerai Kadai: Strategy Lessons for Founders During my time at Harvard University, while pursuing the Disruptive Strategy course, I came across a concept that truly reflected the journey of Keerai Kadai. It’s about “Two Processes of Strategy Formulation”, and I believe it’s something every startup founder can relate to. Let me break it down and share how it shaped our story. 1️⃣ Deliberate Strategies: These are the plans we meticulously design—based on market research, customer needs, competitor analysis, and growth projections. At Keerai Kadai, we had deliberate strategies for building innovative products like Dip Soups, herbal teas, and health drinks targeted at specific health needs. Example: Our focus on offering greens as easy-to-consume, value-added products for busy lifestyles was deliberate, informed by market trends and customer preferences. 2️⃣ Emergent Strategies: Here’s where it gets interesting. Not everything at Keerai Kadai was part of a grand plan. In fact, we began selling fresh greens directly to customers without any clear roadmap. The demand and customer feedback shaped the next steps of our journey, leading us to innovate products like Moringa Dip Soup and expand into wellness drinks and teas. Example: When customers started asking for healthier, more convenient options, we pivoted to offer greens in sachets and soups, which eventually became our core business model. 💡 Key Insight from Harvard: Your actual strategy is often a blend of deliberate and emergent approaches. This balance allows startups to stay focused while being flexible enough to capitalize on unexpected opportunities. 3️⃣ The Keerai Kadai Story: What began as a small initiative to supply fresh greens directly from farms evolved into a full-fledged agritech venture with value-added products. This wasn’t part of a detailed, deliberate plan—it was an emergent strategy. By listening to our customers, adapting to market needs, and staying flexible, we grew into the brand we are today. One of my favorite examples from the course: Sam Walton’s decision to open Wal-Mart’s second store in a small town wasn’t part of a grand strategy, but it eventually shaped the company’s iconic model of focusing on smaller towns. Similarly, Keerai Kadai’s initial focus on fresh greens opened doors to our innovative products that were shaped by emergent strategies. 📌 My Advice to Founders: • Start with a vision but stay open to change. • Pay close attention to what your customers are telling you—they often hold the key to your next big move. For me, this Harvard course validated our approach at Keerai Kadai and reinforced the importance of balancing planning with adaptability. Let’s keep sharing, learning, and growing together! #Strategy #Leadership #KeeraiKadai #Startups #EmergentStrategy #HarvardLearnings #DisruptiveStrategy Padmini Sekar Bargav R Mohan K Mohan LKN Manju Riya Palanisamy SATHISHKUMAR T M.K. Elango Hussain Ahmed - Cheran Academy

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It's been a year since I began exploring a career in venture capital (VC). Initially, I talked to people outside the industry, which didn't lead me anywhere. However, I soon started building meaningful connections with those who've successfully navigated this path. I made an invaluable connection with Maulik Mehta, a Senior Associate at Arc Ventures in New York. With his extensive experience in VC and a genuine passion for supporting innovative startups, Maulik has been a dynamic friend and mentor, guiding me with insights and advice on breaking into the VC world. This interview discusses how to break into the venture capital industry. We talk about what makes you stand out, share tips for getting started, and highlight the importance of internships. We address common challenges and offer advice for overcoming them, especially for those from non-traditional backgrounds. We explore the skills VC firms look for and the role of mentorship. We also touch on emerging trends in VC and share valuable lessons learned. Give it a listen; I hope it helps those navigating the VC journey: https://lnkd.in/e8aKTqWJ #venturecapital #careers #vc #startupinvesting

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Shantanu is one of the most perseverant, hard-working and determined candidates I've had the pleasure of mentoring at admitStreet. While his profile presented notable strengths: IIT pedigree, 665 GMAT FE score (94th percentile), UAE exposure, and experiences in building and scaling hyper-growth startups; it also presented some 'challenges': work-ex above the class average, and GMAT split skewed somewhat more towards Quant/ DI. What began as a candid feedback/ conversation on GMATClub gave Shantanu the confidence to work with me on his application journey. This set the stage for our intensive discussions, brainstorming sessions and essay reviews. We went well beyond the '3 iteration rule' of the industry, and did 10+ essay iterations until we were both satisfied with the final output. Yes, that's a record here at admitStreet! These were essential to showcase not just his achievements, but his personality and emotional side, which INSEAD highly values. I also connected him with INSEAD alum, particularly for his final mock interview, which helped him prepare holistically. Kudos to Shantanu for his dedication throughout the process. I'm fortunate that he placed his faith in me, particularly when we had to make the tough call to submit the application in Round-2. Although we had the essays 70% ready before the Round-1 deadline, I suggested more iterations to make them robust, rather than rushing it up in Round-1. Initially hesitant, he understood my reasoning and agreed. Was the journey enjoyable, yet intensive and sometimes exhausting? Absolutely! But Shantanu's smile in front of the INSEAD campus, where he'll be joining in January, makes it all worthwhile! Check out the link in comments for a deep-dive into Shantanu's success story, covering his candid insights and tips for MBA applicants. #mba #admissions #insead #gmat #essays #interviews

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Excited to share highlights from the first annual Yale University Supply Chain Workshop at the Yale Tobin Center for Economic Policy. Supply chains are like a giant iceberg: They mostly sit under the surface, undetected and overlooked. This conference shined a spotlight on the academic fields of inquiry, including the roots of supply supply chain shortages during COVID, as well as practical solutions. Looking forward to continuing this collaboration between academia and business in supply chain! https://lnkd.in/eZ6fEZK9

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From IIT to Goldman Sachs to founding a Y Combinator-backed AI company—Sudipta’s entrepreneurial journey is filled with valuable lessons. In this unscripted conversation, I sit down with Sudipta Biswas, co-founder of Floworks, to dive into his story: 👉🏻 IIT Days: How his time at IIT Kharagpur shaped his entrepreneurial mindset and prepared him to take on bigger challenges. 👉🏻 From Goldman Sachs to Entrepreneurship: What drove him to leave a stable role at Goldman Sachs to launch Umpire’s View, and how the failure of that startup taught him resilience and the importance of pivoting. 👉🏻 Founding Floworks: Sudipta shares how he identified a real customer pain point, secured funding, and built Floworks, an AI-driven sales automation platform that’s solving key problems for businesses. 👉🏻 The Y Combinator Experience: How YC helped sharpen his vision and refine his product-market fit, turning Floworks into a success story. 👉🏻 The Future of AI: Sudipta’s take on how AI will evolve to tackle even more complex challenges, transforming industries and boosting productivity. Packed with actionable insights, from market research to securing funding, this episode is a must-watch for anyone interested in entrepreneurship, AI, and innovation. YouTube 👉🏻 https://lnkd.in/g5drCQaw Thank you, Srishti M. Manthan Sehgal, for all the support. #AIStartups #GoldmanSachs #IIT #YCombinator

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Excited to announce the launch of Bracket by BoldCap 🚀 India's first Go-To-Market platform for entrepreneurs building global AI companies. For the past year, Bracket has been exclusively supporting our portfolio founders to tackle the complexities of scaling AI-native products in the global market, especially North America. Today, I am excited to launch Bracket; to provide all AI builders with the same GTM accessibility.. 🎯 The new landscape shift has made it absolutely clear that traditional SaaS playbooks no longer fit the bill for AI-native products. We are redefining this through Bracket – our closely curated community of 50+ GTM operators across North America and Europe who offer the resources, networks, and the new-age playbooks that founders need in their $0-$1M journey of building an AI company from India to the world. 🌍 We work with some of the smartest minds in GTM globally– from the Revenue director at Clari, Pricing leader at DocuSign, GTM leader at Databricks, Sales leader at Outreach to Growth Leader at Snowflake and many more– all exceptionally talented operators who have built multiple GTM motions from scratch and are now committed to support the upcoming generation of entrepreneurs along with us. We deeply believe this is what our ecosystem needs: accessibility to the right leaders in the global market, and we aim to bridge this for Indian founders. Thanks to our early GTM partners Jyoti Swarnkar Samuel Sunderaraj Kiran Surapaneni Merritt Baer Murali K Atul Sahai Ramana Narayanam Sara Archer Sara Jones Shiv Sundar Stan Rymkiewicz Andreas Drakos Andres Lozano Sanudo Ashwath M. Brant W. Cody Harris Connor Williams Daniil Krets Jake Haselden Jeff de Ruyter Karthik Ramamoorthy Kevin Flitcroft Laura Handy LeeRon Yahalomi Paul McGhee Shane O'Neill (and the list goes on.... unfortunately not able to tag more) who shaped Bracket into a powerful community along with us. Big shout out to Aditi Gera for all her effort on putting this together and to the rest of the BoldCap team Shiv Tayal Pratham Chadha Kevin D'Souza. Thank you Bhuvana Kamath and YourStory Media for this exclusive coverage - https://lnkd.in/gZBXTsmv If you're founder in the AI software space, we are excited to work with you! BoldCap

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Silicon Valley, London, Tallinn, or Bengaluru—these are the prominent tech hubs that have predictably produced global technology giants over the decades. Leveraging an established startup ecosystem, access to capital, and a deep talent pool, entrepreneurs from these regions have relatively smoother pathways to tech dominance. Bangladesh, on the other hand, lacks those traditional advantages. A nascent tech ecosystem, perceived risks around an emerging market, and limited exposure have made it an unlikely launchpad for building a globally successful tech enterprise. Overcoming these challenges to put Bangladesh on the world's tech map has been an uphill battle. Yet a new force is rising from this South Asian nation—a small but growing batch of tech companies looking to make a mark on the global stage. One of these rising companies is the fast-growing tech conglomerate Startise which is scripting an inspirational story. Started as a small WordPress plugin team, Startise Group has rapidly transformed into a global giant, serving over 6 million customers across 5 distinct technology companies. The remarkable journey from humble beginnings in Dhaka has defied conventional wisdom. Along the way, Startise has overcome misperceptions and developed a radical new approach to product development and organizational culture. Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/gkYGfhFv

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From Failure to Anti-Fragile :  My 5-Year Journey to Entrepreneurial Success It began with a conversation that ignited a fire within me. My friend Salman Faris shared his vision of life as a CEO, and I was hooked. , fueling my imagination. The Early Days In college (Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT)), I launched Studayipp with friends Sunith Vs, Rohit TP, Salman Faris, and steve george. Though it remained in the ideation phase, it sparked a passion for entrepreneurship. Notime: My First Startup Muhammed Rinshad S., THRISHA KANNAN and I founded NoTime, offering web development courses. Initial success was exhilarating, but soon, the flame dwindled. We tried gamification, but it didn't work. Exams and academics took priority. Reigniting the Spark Muhammed Rinshad S.'s question - "What would you do to restart Notime if money weren't a problem?" - reignited the spark. I connected with one of my alumni through LinkedIn's Power Morning it was introduced by Najid Navas he is working in Cisco now and got that alumni as a mentor MrEFY Online Education Our online education startup, MrEFY was born. We launched ten courses, but only Voice Mastery succeeded. Aria Skills: Innovative Approach I joined Aria Skills, founded by my brother-in-law. Our innovative approach: learn for free, pay only upon achieving results. Lessons Learned To fellow entrepreneurs, I offer three key takeaways: 1. Develop a remarkable product, backed by effective marketing, sales funnels, and customer satisfaction. 2. Surround yourself with innovators who inspire and challenge you. 3. Solve personal problems; tackle challenges you understand and are passionate about. The Journey Continues Today, I balance Aria Skills and Notime, focusing on strategy, marketing, sales, and growth hacking. Stay resilient, keep learning, and remember that success is a marathon. #StartupJourney #Entrepreneurship #LessonsLearned #Innovation #Resilience

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Two Stanford dropouts cracked the 10-minute delivery code & founded a $3.6 billion startup (Rs. 3,00,63,30,26,400) by just focusing on 4 key things! 💸😱👏 At just 19 years old, best friends Aadit Palicha & Kaivalya V. made the gutsy decision to drop out of Stanford University to launch Zepto with a bold vision: to revolutionize the #grocerydelivery space by guaranteeing deliveries in under 10 minutes during the pandemic. They saw a massive #opportunity in quick grocery delivery as people were confined to their homes. What strikes me most about Aadit and Kaivalya's story: 💡Thinking big from day one: As Aadit said, "The chance of getting into Stanford is 1% but the chance of building a generational company is 0.001%...if you want to achieve serious greatness - you have to be obsessed." 💡Speed Matters: In the world of on-demand services, speed is crucial. Zepto’s promise of ultra-fast deliveries shows their commitment to efficiency. They optimized their operations to make sure they could deliver on that promise. This is a valuable lesson for LaundroKart. By streamlining our processes and cutting down turnaround times, we always try to boost #CustomerSatisfaction & stand out in a competitive market. 💡The power of identifying real customer pain points: As former merchants themselves, they intimately understood the frustrations around payments and built a solution to address that. They continually gather #feedback, & adapt their services accordingly. This customer-centric approach is something I am passionate about implementing at LaundroKart. 💡Surround Yourself with Talent: As Zepto has grown, the founders have brought on experienced leaders like Vinay Dhanani (President), Ramesh Bafna (CFO), and Vikas Sharma (COO) to strengthen the team & prepare for an eventual #IPO. Now, Zepto is reportedly in talks to raise an additional $400 million at a post-money valuation of $5 billion. It's a reminder that with the right idea, team, & relentless execution, incredible #growth is possible. I'm always inspired by stories of young #entrepreneurs who take bold risks to pursue their vision. As I continue building LaundroKart, I'm inspired to think bigger, move faster, and stay laser-focused on delighting our customers. What lessons do you take away from Zepto's meteoric rise?🤔 #startups #OnDemandDelivery #funding #founders #entrepreneurship

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This has to be one of the most entertaining Investment Memos I've ever seen! Excited to see what lies ahead for Schmooze. Kudos to the Elevation Capital team, Krishna Veera Vanamali Y thanks for sharing. Quick FYI: Investment Memos are documents prepared by the team in a venture capital fund to present to their Investment Committee for approval to invest. (Yes, we need permission from someone to invest, it isn't up to us!) #venturecapital #funding #investmentmemo #funny #startup

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"Health is an investment, not an expense." — Anonymous Just a few days ago, our teams at DeVC and PeerCapital brought together an incredible group of entrepreneurs and enablers to explore the real investments and expenses in healthcare. On stage, we had the dynamic trio of Mayank Banerjee , Dilip Kumar and Tarun Bhambra, who combined their wit and wisdom to delve into: - The consumerization of healthcare, preventive vs. curative approaches, accessibility and affordability challenges, offline vs. online dynamics, and how founders can bridge skill gaps. - The evolving role of AI and tech in healthcare, and how founders are strategically allocating resources to build cutting-edge solutions. - Collaborating with doctors, aligning incentives across systems and how ambitious change starts with robust foundational systems (think CAC's and LTV's). The conversations were raw, experiential, and refreshingly honest. If it weren’t for the ticking clock and the rainy day, we might still be chatting! It was inspiring to engage with so many passionate builders committed to reshaping India's #healthcare future. Let’s keep the dialogue alive. We invite more of your participation and views. Together, we are investing in the future of health. #healthtech #investing #founders

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What an incredible honour it was to attend The Entrepreneurs Network's Advisers’ Meetup with Growth Hub Global at LSE IDEAS, surrounded by thought leaders and innovators. The speeches by Philip Salter, Rohan Mukherjee, and Kajal S. were nothing short of thought-provoking and captivating. #Internationalisation stands as the cornerstone of long-term business success. It's heartening to see many UK #startups embracing this vision, while others are on the brink of this crucial realisation. However, navigating the complex geopolitical landscape poses significant challenges. The key question remains: how can we minimise risks and expand operations without compromising our core functions at home? This issue, among many others, was dissected and debated in the historic Shaw Library at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), a setting where the echoes of the past meet the aspirations of the future. The environment was perfect for such a forward-looking discussion, and the insights shared will undoubtedly shape strategic approaches in the coming years. As I reflect on these enriching experiences, I see a pivotal role for ETA Technologies in propelling the UK ecosystem forward. By leveraging psychometric testing with #AI, we can help entrepreneurs unlock their true potential. After all, as the saying goes, investors invest in people. Just imagine the heights we could reach if sophisticated, quantifiable data about teams were accessible to all... Matt Smith Martina Meyer zu Selhausen Shujing (Amber) Liang Shuyeb Muquit Dr. Eren Kocyigit Eliot Anthony - Global Expansion Tanya Popeau Fabio Bianchi Robert Stuttaford Martin Sherwood Neil Marshall Daniel Hurst

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J-PAL North America, a regional office of MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), will significantly expand its work to conduct rigorous research and strengthen evidence-based policymaking due to a new grant from long-time supporter and collaborator Arnold Ventures.  With Arnold Ventures’ new eight-figure grant over seven years, J-PAL North America aims to:substantially expand the evidence base on effective solutions to poverty;build the capacity and increase the diversity of its network of over 265 expert researchers;institutionalize the use of evidence among nonprofits and policymakers; andaccelerate the rate and scale at which evidence influences policy. Furthermore, J-PA ...

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The original concept for Brij crashed and burned   Before becoming a founder, I spent 10 years getting intimately acquainted with the retail space as an investor.    It was there where I got a front seat for the evolution of consumer brands and gained perspective about omnichannel and the future of retail.    I learned that retail (& Amazon!), which is a HUGE part of a brand’s distribution, is literally a black box. Brands know almost NOTHING about their customers - and they certainly don’t have a way to contact them.   As a consumer, I experienced these brands across various channels - online, social media, in-store, but my experience with the brand was different, fragmented and inconsistent across these channels.    Sitting on the sidelines as an investor I was jealous of all the founders I was investing in and the cool brands they were building. I wanted to be in their shoes.     So I went back to business school to explore entrepreneurship.    That’s where I met my co-founder, Zack Morrison, while pitching an idea at a startup bootcamp    He approached me with some cool ideas around QR codes and we ended up starting a business together (that was not Brij).    COVID crushed that business, but in failure, we found a massive opportunity.   The pandemic fueled mainstream adoption of the QR code.   We pivoted the business to solving the problem of brands losing access to the customer relationship and related data.    Today, we are more committed than ever to the mission of helping brands create amazing customer experiences that connect the offline and online.   This connected experience helps brands capture 1st party data, provides new visibility into customer behavior and opens the door for amazing education, loyalty, retention, and upsell opportunities.    Which in turn generates a happier, more engaged and more profitable customer.    #foundersjourney #startuplife

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I had a lot of fun recording a podcast episode with Shiva Singh Sangwan. We discussed the evolution of Humba Ventures & Susa Ventures; tips for raising and building a fund; how to improve investment sourcing & picking; the role of luck in investing, and so on. https://lnkd.in/eiqsStej

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Optimising for survival vs valaution During my previous startup journey My Dream Store we grew from 3cr annualRevenue to 30cr annual Revenue in 24 months and we were on look out for series A of 5Mn usd , Talked to almost every VC in town by that time we have only raise an angel round of 300k usd only. Everything was green we were super ambitious , stayed in market for 3 months could not close . During this time there were few Angel groups who could write 500k to 1mn cheques but we thought it would be too small for our ambitions. We went back to building again - our growth began to drop and became flattish at 2cr monthly revenue , we went back to market to raise 2Mn after 1yr to market to a different set of VCs - very hard to raise on back of degrowth, we were willing to dilute more but yes could not close. Lesson learnt always raise when you are going to peak in the next 3-6 months. As founders we would be focused on growth during that cycle but it’s better to put more money in war chest. Back to story one more year passed on flattish growth, we did some working capital solves , cut expenses we de grew to 1.5cr monthly revenue . Was again out in market this time looking for Angels founder angels or syndicates to raise 500k to 2Mn to build back. I was almost on verge of giving up but then Sujayath Ali wrote a small cheque gave us hope to rethink and started building Nobero. Only a founder can truly understand the grit and struggle. Now Nobero is a rocket ship we are super excited along side strong partner like TMRW House of Brands . From my journey of fundraising failures here are something’s that other founders / people who want to start can pick up 1. Always raise when you are on the raise 2. Do not be finicky about valuation pick best of what you are getting and go back to building 3. Like you see in my essay I moved down from 5Mn to 2Mn to 500k , very foolish . In hindsight had I picked the 500k to 1Mn cheque when we were at 30cr the story would have been totally different . Pick whatever you can at best price you can close fast. The art is to close deal fast and move from position to position strongly on back of good metrics 4. Small cheques get large cheques , you are no longer alone in journey. It’s in interest of all parties to protect org and do what is right for org to grow 5. Fundraising is sales , be very strategic of what you offer -if you are degrowing offer a larger share, create phased offers milestone led - 500k to x size and if I hit X follow on with 2Mn if I do not grow to X be willing to take more hit on equity. Always offer what others cannot 6. Have some founders on your cap table who have been part of these , it’s millions saved #fundraising #startup #lessonsbuildingnobero

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