Dasha Shunina’s Post

We're excited to unveil Opportuna, a venture secondaries fund designed to create new opportunities for founders, early startup employees, and investors. Our team, comprised of seasoned professionals Alban C., Christopher L.R. Chuffart, Jason Tran, and Robin Lauber is committed to delivering innovative solutions and unlocking hidden value in private markets. Opportuna focuses on direct secondaries and late-stage primaries primarily in the tech space, capitalizing on our deep expertise in private and public markets to uncover unique investment opportunities. Our goal is to foster long-term value creation, align incentives, and deliver exceptional returns. Find out more about what we are building here: https://lnkd.in/e_Uj8Qvw #venturecapital #secondaries #venturesecondaries

🚀 Exciting News from Alpha Partners! 🚀 We're thrilled to announce that our Managing Partner, Steve Brotman, has been featured in TechCrunch's latest article discussing the growing trend of pro rata rights funds. 🎉 Maintaining your stake in a winning startup is more crucial than ever. Alpha Partners is leading the charge by helping early-stage VCs secure their pro rata rights and avoid dilution. With our new fund raising over $150 million, we're committed to empowering our partners to double down on their most promising investments. 💪 Check out the full article on TechCrunch to see how Alpha Partners and other industry leaders are changing the game for seed VCs: https://lnkd.in/etVc4vsF Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to innovate and support the venture capital community! 🌟 #VentureCapital #ProRataRights #AlphaPartners #TechCrunch #StartupInvesting #VC #Innovation #EarlyStageVC #InvestmentStrategy

Weave VC has officially closed fund I! 🎉 Approximately two years after launching our inaugural fund, Jeffrey Manner Marco Donadeo and I are excited to announce the final closing of Weave Ventures Fund I, LP, a $6M vehicle designed specifically to partner with pre-seed founders across Western Canada 🏔🇨🇦 Since launching in Q3 2022, we have partnered with 9 B2B software and deep tech businesses spanning various categories, including AI, fintech, hospitality, HR tech, sportstech, healthcare, and climate. We extend our heartfelt thanks to all our LPs who committed to this inaugural fund — a diverse group of family offices and successful entrepreneurs aligned with our mission of investing early and uplifting our local ecosystem. Your support plays a critical role in propelling the Western Canadian and Canadian economy forward. We've deployed ~50% of our fund and aim to add 6-8 more portfolio companies over the next 12 months. Our current focus centers on two key areas ⤵ 1️⃣ Highly capital-efficient vertical SaaS and B2B marketplaces addressing challenges within traditional and often fragmented industries such as financial services, real estate, and hospitality. Notable examples from our portfolio in this category include Levr.ai, ResVR, and RetreatsAndVenues.com. 2️⃣ Businesses tackling complex technical challenges in AI and deep tech, where commercialization may take time but can yield transformative outcomes. Wyvern is an example of this type of business in our portfolio. We are looking forward to connecting with many founders over the coming months as we continue to build our firm! https://lnkd.in/gVvXTqFh Coolwater Capital VC Lab Mike S. Winter Mead James Freeman, P.Eng. MBA FRCGS Sean Hodgins Jared Zhang Nathan McNeill Tim Miller Ryan Barrington-Foote, FCPA, FCA Omi Velasco Bryan Johnson Mark Benning Gary Gitelson Jason Baughen Dean Prodan Craig D'Cruze Chris Nelson Ryan Iverson Thomas Korpach Lorenzo Donadeo Prem Kalevar Shawn Hewat Kaylan Pepin Logan Fraser Christopher Robson Chenny Xia Arnav Mishra Mike Tan Andrew Kim Vancouver Tech Journal Calgary Tech Journal BetaKit

Venture Capital's Shifting Norms Unveiled In a candid conversation on the eve of the anniversary, Jeff Clavier, founder of Uncork Capital, and Andy McLoughlin, managing partner, shared their perspectives on the shifts that have reshaped the venture landscape. One notable change discussed was the acceptance of VCs investing their own funds in startups, a departure from the previous norm. Clavier highlighted the importance of transparency and conflict management in such situations, emphasizing the need for clear guidelines to navigate potential conflicts of interest. #technews #fundingnews

Today I'm launching Asylum Ventures, a new venture firm dedicated to the creative act of building companies. Asylum's first $55 million fund is an embodiment of my belief that founders are artists, not assets. In 2007, I was a trader at Lehman Brothers. It sucked. I didn’t know it then, but Lehman’s bankruptcy in ‘08 was a gift, and I left in search of a calling. A year later, I was fortunate to stumble upon a young, passionate group of creative misfits that folks were calling “founders.” Founders felt more like artists than assets, more obsessives than executives. I was in love with their fringe eccentricity, extraordinary craftsmanship, and wild ambition. For the next 15 years, I dedicated my life to founders in New York, first at betaworks, and then with three funds at Notation Capital with my partner Alex Lines. We did well serving founders. But a lot has changed. The startup ecosystem has gone from cottage industry outsider to institutional insider. Simultaneously, the creative act of making startups has turned into a credentialing factory, and the environment today feels eerily similar to the one I left on Wall Street. I’ve always believed the best founders have more in common with artists than executives. They’re obsessive about new and beautiful things, they're compelled to bring creation into the world, and they're often misunderstood for very long periods of time–even lifetimes. Our belief is that building businesses is its own form of creation–its own form of art. We look for founders that are building the unique, the misunderstood, and the courageous. When my partners Jonathan (Love) Wu, Mackenzie Regent and I sat down to think about what we stood for, we we tried to answer the question: What if we treated founders like artists rather than assets on a balance sheet? We think it means: A firm that’s small by design, making a handful of investments per year, eschewing board seats and administrative control. A team of partners moving mountains to help when asked and otherwise getting out of the way. A place where true craftspeople can tune out the noise and focus on making something truly great. A source of calm, trust, and support for founders manifesting beauty through one of the hardest things you can do: starting a company. The fund is raised and we're actively meeting founders. If this sounds appealing to you, reach out at [email protected] or from our website asylum.vc. Finally, we're hiring an analyst or associate who is obsessive about supporting founders. If you want to join a small team dedicated to the art of venture rather than the business of banking, contact us at [email protected]. Read Erin Griffith's coverage from the New York Times here: https://lnkd.in/eyy-xqMR

“Maybe you're feeling nervous, and you're not sure if you should keep being persistent, but in the absence of doing that, you're sending us a message that you're not really determined to make that business work” - Bryan Slauko, CFA, co founding partner Metiquity Ventures Getting in touch with a venture capital fund can be tricky business - that’s why Metiquity Ventures’ Bryan Slauko and Jacques LaPointe MBA, PEng have outlined the best ways to get your foot in the door with a company determined to guide the next generation of local, early-stage companies and founders in Alberta and across the Canadian Prairies. Read more via our blog: https://lnkd.in/gvVPtGgj #vcs #abtech #yyctech #albertatech #angelinvesting #yyc #yycliving #yycnow #techsector #calgary #yycbusiness #fundingrounds 

How do you find Limited Partners and get them over the line? Find out in this webinar next week!

Great lessons for anyone looking to build that 0-1 journey (0 to 1 bn! ) Excellent points; you can get to 1m by being focusing on yourself, to get to 1bn you have to focus on others. 🧑💻Christopher J. Sanjeev Addala

It's wild to see how much the scene has transformed over just a couple of decades. 🌟 From humble beginnings of writing six-figure checks to now overseeing billions in assets, it's been quite the journey for firms like Uncork Capital.📈 The discussion around VCs investing their own money in startups and the nuances of potential conflicts of interest definitely got me thinking. 💼💡It's crucial for transparency and trust in the industry. And let's not forget the lively debate on board seats. While some advocate for more hands-on involvement, others argue for a more hands-off approach. 🤔 Overall, a great read shedding light on the ever-changing dynamics of the VC world. #VentureCapital #StartupLife #IndustryInsights https://lnkd.in/ggXXGeMJ

In 2020, I started dipping my toes into angel investing—into companies like SpaceX, Carta, AngelList, LayerZero, and Anduril. 😮 But here’s the twist: I didn’t have to start with millions. I got in with as little as $1k. 🕹️ The secret? Syndicates. Syndicates allow investors to put their money into start-ups and invest on a deal-by-deal basis. Here’s how it works 👇 You apply to join different syndicates (many through AngelList). Once accepted, you start receiving curated startup investment opportunities in your inbox. You can then decide to invest on your terms, deal by deal. What’s the difference between joining a syndicate vs. a traditional VC fund? 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 - Syndicates: You control your choices on a deal-by-deal basis. - Funds: LPs contribute upfront, and the fund managers decide how to allocate across all deals. 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 - Syndicates: Flexibility to pick individual deals based on your interest and risk tolerance. - Funds: Diversifies automatically across a range of investments within a specific theme or sector. 𝗘𝘅𝗶𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 - Syndicate: Allows you to choose deals with different exit timelines—maybe you’re looking for a late-stage opportunity closer to IPO. - Fund: A set strategy for the entire portfolio, typically 7-10 years. 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝘀 - Syndicate: Often just a 20% carry-on deals, no annual fees unless a complicated structure / later-stage deal and requires legal involvement - Fund: Usually 20% carry plus a 2% management fee for 10 years. 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 - Syndicates: You can jump in with around $1k per deal. - Funds: Requires a larger upfront commitment with periodic capital calls. At Red Beard Ventures, we have two ways for investors to get in on the action: - Red Beard Ventures Fund: A web3-focused early-stage fund investing in blockchain, gaming, DeFi, and beyond, both in equity and tokens. - Red Beard Ventures Syndicate: A stage-agnostic syndicate investing in frontier tech— space, AI, climate tech, sports, and more. Interested in starting to grow your angel portfolio? You can apply here: https://lnkd.in/gW5GHB3j #AngelInvesting #Startups #VentureCapital #Syndicates #Investing --- Enjoy this? Follow Elana Gold for venture capital, angel investing, and startup insights