Founders N' Funders’ Post

☕ This morning I was able to attend the "New to VC: Taking the Platform Route" hosted by nextNYC !! "New to VC is an educational series for a group of relatively new investors who want to be exposed to the best venture and startup thinking. Each event is attended by accredited investors and non-partner VCs that skew intentionally, but not exclusively, toward underrepresented backgrounds." 🎤 Charlie O'Donnell is a phenomenal moderator and brought the audience together to discuss the platform role in VC and the career paths around it with 3 venture professionals who have experience on both the investment and platform teams. 💸 The panel consisted of Olivia O'Sullivan, Partner at Forum Ventures, Cat Middleton, GP at The Venture Collective (TVC) and Lexi Quirk, Head of Product and Platform at 645 Ventures. 📓 It wouldn't be one of my event recaps without some takeaways right? ⬇ When discussing the importance of nurturing relationships in the ecosystem: “We ask ourselves, how do we get to know the people before they become the company?” When discussing what's the best way to move up from a platform role: "Have a very candid conversation with partners about growth early on." When discussing how to drive value to portfolio companies: "Try to be proactive... build a team and process that goes to the founders at onboarding and says 'here’s our playbook on X, here’s our playbook on Y' " 💥 And for my favorite - what to do to make sure you stand out to Partners? "You need to have skin in the game, and find a way to contribute to the bottom line as an operator." 💪 Be sure to follow nextNYC as well as these awesome professionals, especially if you're looking to learn from some of the brightest in NYC Venture Capital And stop if you've heard me say it before, Cooley LLP's NYC office is always so great to visit!! #VCplatform #venturecapital #nextnyc #newtoVC #femalefunders

💸 Are you a startup founder about to raise? 👀 We're seeking startup talent to pitch their groundbreaking ideas to our angel and VC investors. If you're at the MVP or early revenue stage and you're on the way to raising your pre-seed or seed round, and tick the below, we encourage you to apply to pitch. ✅ Have a clear business plan that showcases your company’s potential ✅ Have conducted thorough research to identify market demand for your product or service ✅ Have a well-defined vision that inspires and captivates ✅ Have an in-depth understanding of your target market, enabling strategic decision-making If selected, you’ll have the opportunity to pitch directly to our esteemed angel and VC investor members. This could be your chance to elevate your vision. 👉 Apply to pitch here: https://bit.ly/3OQGq8N 📷 Sten Pittet, Co-Founder of Tability, talking to investors following what would become a successful fundraising pitch for his company. #founders #pitchingfounders #pitch #techfounder #applytopitch #angelinvestors #vc #vcfunding #funding #seedstage #earlystage #innovationbay

I was at a very effective Techstars dinner with four companies and five investors a couple of weeks ago—a new format for the accelerator to help investors get to know the current cohort ahead of program graduation. (Thanks KJ Singh and Christine Lu Hong for hosting!) Among many things, we chatted about what high quality “relationship building” means in the context of startups and investors. Founders sometimes think that pre-existing rapport with an investor leads to a markedly better #fundraising experience. It can, if the alignment is genuine and the follow up is thoughtful. But a meaningful conversation or two with a #VC in a social setting isn’t always the fundraising hack you hope it is. That said, smaller gatherings unquestionably accelerate mutual fit assessment and facilitate higher value connection if the fit is there. As an active member of the New York #startup ecosystem, I attend and organize events designed to connect investors with founders in all formats: from large group settings, somewhat formal in nature, to curated dinners, and the smaller yet Capital Markets Tech Founder coffees I personally host. I am a big believer in the power of relationships and always prefer intimate group settings that can jumpstart trust building. But what’s really needed to close a funding round is urgency. My quick word of advice to #founders is: as you develop a VC relationship-building strategy, continuously ask yourself, what is it about me, the space I’m building in, or the company I’m creating that establishes this opportunity as an urgent one? Help the investors you’re nurturing a relationship with to understand those answers as this is where that established connection can really help: they can become a champion backer and can help turn the urgency in your storytelling into deal momentum by promoting the deal to their network and beyond. #venturecapital Altari Ventures

Fundraising in 2025 will continue to be a “tale of two cities”. 💸 In 2025, the best chance of getting venture funding will be to have solid business fundamentals. 💰 Startups need loyal, quality customers, not just high ARR, to catch VCs’ attention. 📉 AI funding is cooling as CIOs cut budgets, focusing on products with proven, lasting impact. “At the end of the day, what you’re trying to do is, one, build something that compounds. Then number two, you’re either going to be in a business that you run faster than the other people, or you do something that other people cannot replicate.” - Renata Quintini, co-founder of Renegade Partners. Learn more, and hear great insight from Corinne Marie Riley Partner at Greylock, Renata Quintini Co-founder & Managing Partner at Renegade Partners, Elizabeth Yin, Co-founder & General Partner at Hustle Fund, and Julie Bort, Venture Editor at TechCrunch 🔗 Link in the comments.

🚀Calling All #NYCFounders 🚀 Today, we are excited to launch the inaugural Founder-First Investor Award right here in the heart of New York City—a place that's grown from an emerging startup scene to a world-class tech hub over the last two decades. 🏆 Why nominate an #investor? This is more than just an award. It's your chance to publicly acknowledge an investor who has been instrumental in your journey—not just with capital, but with mentorship, introductions, and unwavering support. These are the investors who've helped you lead, scale, and build companies that define categories. If you have an investor on your cap-table who has gone above and beyond, make sure their contributions are celebrated. Nominate them for the NYC Founder-First Award using the link in the comments. Nominations close on May 16th. We can’t wait to hear your stories and celebrate the investors who make NYC’s startup ecosystem thrive.

*** Calling Founders, Angel Investors, SFOs, VCs, and other venture experts *** Now in its fourth year, this annual event brings together start-up founders (typically: pre-seed, seed, Series A), single family offices, angel investors, venture capitalists, and select service providers in an effort to jump-start ideation and funding for deserving ideas and founders. We receive many business plans/decks each year and capacity is limited at the venue, so founders are encouraged to note their interest ASAP. Founders must be a member of CAASA (cost is just $200 to be a member for 2024) and there is not additional cost for the event (except travel and other expenses, which are the responsibility of the founder). New member registration link here: https://lnkd.in/gFGnC29Q. We send all of the pitches (PDFs, videos, whatever media you like) to all of the investors in May and they choose whom they'd like to meet on the day. Due to space constraints, if a pitch is universally panned by the investors CAASA reserves the right to exclude them from the event. This event is the same week as Collision (https://collisionconf.com/) so out of town participants might want to book travel early - and maybe get a ticket to that conference as well!

𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: 𝐌𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 Yesterday, I had the chance to attend the 𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐕𝐂 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭—a unique opportunity for founders looking to raise VC funds. If you’re a founder and in the early stages of fundraising, events like these are an excellent place to start. Unlike traditional networking events, reverse pitches are highly curated, allowing you to directly align your product vision and stage with a VC’s investment thesis. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞: if there’s a match, you get the chance to introduce yourself and your company in a much warmer, value-driven setting. This approach may take a bit longer than cold emailing, but every interaction here holds significantly more weight and potential. So, if you’re on the fundraising path, keep an eye out for reverse pitch events. They can be a great starting point to build meaningful connections and find the right investment partner. Great to connect with many successful VCs in the Austin area. Thank you all. Austin Longoria of Sputnik ATX VC Michael Tian of Next Coast Ventures Addie Olsen Rasche of Silverton Partners Aaron Perman of S3 Ventures Cash Allred of Antler Sarah Romanko of Geek Ventures #VentureCapital hashtag#Startups hashtag#Founders hashtag#EarlyStage hashtag#Austin

📣 Are you a STARTUP founder RAISING IN 2024? Read on…. 🔍 We're seeking startup talent to pitch their groundbreaking ideas to our prestigious and active angel and VC investors. 🚀 If you're at the MVP or early revenue stage and you're on the way to raising your pre-seed or seed round, and tick the below, we'd love to receive your application. ✅ Have a clear business plan that showcases your company’s potential ✅ Have conducted thorough research to identify market demand for your product or service ✅ Have a well-defined vision that inspires and captivates ✅ Have an in-depth understanding of your target market, enabling strategic decision-making 😇 If selected, you’ll have the opportunity to pitch directly to our esteemed angel and VC investor members. This could be your chance to elevate your vision. 👉 Apply to pitch here: https://bit.ly/4dH3D8i 📷 Alex Birch, CEO & Co Founder of XY Sense pitching at a Sydney Horizon Inner Circle event. #founders #pitchingfounders #pitch #techfounder #applytopitch #angelinvestors #vc #vcfunding #funding #seedfunding #preseed #innovationbay

It was great pitching to the sharks at Go Global World 's GGW SHARK event. If you are an investor looking for some amazing opportunities to invest, check out this YouTube video where I had an opp to pitch EdMission . Learning everyday! #entrepreneurship #edtech #sharks #pitching