Christopher Lyons

Catch another episode of This Week in Startups where Upfront Managing Partner Mark Suster interviews Max Altman and Ben Braverman, two of the three co-founders of Saga Ventures. With Saga’s new $125 million fund, the trio talk about: ➡ Fundraising challenges the co-founders faced as a first-time fund and the playbook of how referrals can be the best leads for increasing the chances of success ➡ Nuances of determining a fund size to maintain competitive advantages in deal strategies ➡ Ben’s learnings from working with Ryan Peterson at Flexport as well as Max’s experience and unique advantages working with his brothers Jack and Sam Here's a short clip below about the attributes of successful founders that they look for, including those willing to take unconventional risks 👇

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Mike Preuss, founder and CEO of Visible.vc, started his company in a venture studio...before venture studios were even a thing. Today, his platform serves founders with tools for fundraising, investor updates, and tracking KPI's, while simultaneously helping investors with their decision making. Listen below to hear why he chose not to go with VC, and instead used Lighter Capital to help him scale his platform. #entrepreneurship #bootstrapped #podcast https://lnkd.in/d9ccysUU

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OpenSky Ventures isn't your typical venture capital fund. We are a strategic partnership that combines the expertise of Josh Resnick, founder of Sugarfina USA LLC, and Josh Payne, founder of StackCommerce and Onward. Our $10 million fund is strategically focused on two verticals: 1. E-commerce Infrastructure (⅔ of our current portfolio) 2. Consumer Brands (⅓ of our current portfolio) What differentiates us in the VC landscape? We are not just investors; we're active operators in the industries we invest in. We understand the challenges you face because we have encountered them ourselves. Partnering with OpenSky grants you and your startup access to a robust network of connections, resources, and guidance that can move your business to new heights. As an OpenSky portfolio company, we will connect you with the most suitable SaaS solutions, provide data-driven strategic guidance, and offer unmatched growth support that can only come from fellow entrepreneurs who have walked in your shoes. If you are a founder ready to take your brand to the next level, it's time to connect with us. Let's build something incredible together.

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Last Wednesday, Alex Davisson moderated a Foodtech VC Panel with Jenn Burka from FTW Ventures, Cam Crowder from Redstick Ventures, and Felicity Meyer from BoxOne Ventures. Throughout the hour, our startups were given a valuable glimpse into how VCs evaluate startups, foodtech trends, and more. Thanks again to our panelists for their valuable insights and advice to our startups on venture capital and sources of funding! #foodtech #VCfunding #VC

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OPEN DEALS Homepage for Founders and Investors - Irvine, CA - A platform for investors to meet founders and for founders to grow their businesses with access to high-value community members, vendors, securitization tools, and capital. (Seed) _______________________ Looking to invest? Let us know if you want a warm intro —> invest@thetech.buzz Raising for your startup? Send us your Open Round —> invest@thetech.buzz #opendeals #startupinvestment #venturecapital #angelinvesting #seedround #investorplatform #foundercommunity #capitalraising #startupnetwork #investmentopportunity #seedfunding

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Are you actively investing in emerging managers in venture capital? Or are you interested in exploring this part of the ecosystem? If so, you won't want to miss the inaugural Recast Capital Summit, this June in Sonoma, CA!   Since Recast’s founding in 2020, we’ve supported 113 amazing emerging venture fund managers. Our team is planning our first Summit, bringing together the GPs in our community and the LPs (Limited Partners, e.g., high net worth individuals, family offices, wealth advisors, foundations, endowments, etc.) that actively invest - or want to actively invest - in this part of the venture market. The Summit will be held from June 11 - 13th in Sonoma, CA. 💫 We care deeply about inclusivity and accessibility at Recast - so while our Summit is invite-only, we've reserved a portion of our LP slots for those new to our network. 💫   ➡️ If you or an LP you know would be interested in attending, please share your information with us using the form linked below and we'll reach out with more details. We’re looking forward to creating more authentic connections in the space! Sara Zulkosky Courtney Russell McCrea Ava Alemazkoor Caroline Fernandez Ethan Finkelstein #venturecapital #emergingmanagers #diversityequityinclusion https://lnkd.in/d2tYUQ65

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"My First..." is a monthly series by Jennifer Wolf about the critical early decisions in startups that can make or break a company's chances of success. Each month, Jen Wolf talks to founders from our portfolio about their first experiences in hiring, product development, customers, and more. Just in time for #PrideMonth, Jen sat down with Robyn Exton (she / her), founder of HER Social, a sapphic dating and community app, to talk about her first experiences in building a product that is now used by over 14M users. HER prioritizes unique experiences through features like IRL event discovery and community connections. 🌈 Key takeaways from their conversation include: • The rebranding of the app from 'Dattch' to 'HER’. • Emphasizing user-centric product design. • The importance of continuous user engagement to enable over 300M matches. “Truly, from where I first started, I didn't understand the concept of product design and how our branding comes from the position of having a belief and delivering that through everything you do. Now, I think designing products comes from observing user behavior, determining what will provide the most value, and building for that. There’s a lot of intuition in reading between the tea leaves to find where the value sits.” Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gYmhjg27

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It's a 🐔&🥚 thing: you need to show product success metrics to raise capital, but you need capital to actually *get* those metrics. So, how does anyone possibly kick-off that cycle? Our CEO, David Barlev, has the answers: https://lnkd.in/gfSwgb8D #startup #seriesa #seriesb #seed #fundraising #productdevelopment

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🌱 Scaling Your Startup with Insight and Innovation 🌱 Attention startups and small business owners! 🚀 Are you keeping tabs on the pace of technology and innovation in your industry? If not, you might be missing out on transformative opportunities and growth strategies. A recent development in the plant-based food tech sector demonstrates how incorporating advanced technology can propel a business into new markets and opportunities. 📈 Case Study: Tender Food Inc. 📈 - Innovation: Using fiber-spinning techniques, similar to how cotton candy is made, to create realistic plant-based meats. - Growth: Secured a prominent contract and expanded into multiple venues, demonstrating practical market adoption. - Investment: Recently bolstered by an $11M funding round to increase product development and scale operations. 👁️ Why It Matters 👁️ This narrative isn’t just about a company growing; it's a playbook on how adapting new technologies can meet escalating market demands efficiently. Startups, especially in tech, can glean that: - Innovating processes can carve out significant competitive edges. - Early and strategic investments in technology can lead to rapid scale and adoption. - Diverse product applications can open multiple revenue streams. For deeper insights into how Tender Food Inc. is leveraging technological innovation to disrupt the food industry, their full journey is detailed at https://lnkd.in/eE2vPC9f. #TechInnovation #Startups #GrowthStrategy This post was generated by an AI. Please contact us for more information.

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Venture investing is key to driving widespread adoption of the Tezos ecosystem. Trilitech supports startups building on Tezos at every level: 👉 Incubate 👉 Accelerate 👉 Sustain Listen to VC lead Amar Odedra discuss what’s happening at Trilitech. 👇

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Startup Spotlights: a new series of chains (collaborative memos) highlighting founders and their startups. Each will feature founder(s) sharing their company's story *and* investors sharing what makes this founder / startup special and why they invested in them. Episode #1 coming next week. Want to be featured? Let us know! [Video: featuring Memo's founder/CEO, Isaac Saldana]

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Ron Miller from TechCrunch has hit it out of the park in his latest article covering Loft, vCluster, and our $24M Series A funding led by Khosla Ventures. "Investors have traditionally liked startups built on top of popular open source projects because they provide a ready top-of-sales funnel. But such startups must come up with a way to monetize that popularity. Loft Labs has done both." Since we released the open source version of the product, #vCluster, in 2021, it has surpassed 40 million image pulls which suggests that a lot of people are interested in this concept and we released vCluster Pro to monetize the idea in a novel way. Link to the full article in the comment below. #kubernetes #platformengineering #Growth #Innovation #SeriesAFunding #DevPod #gpu #gpus #ai #genai

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Los Angeles is buzzing with venture capital activity, ready to back the boldest entrepreneurs across industries like tech, fintech, and biotech. If you're aiming to elevate your startup in LA, here's where you might find your perfect investor match. Leading LA Venture Capital Firms: ✅ Mucker Capital - Big on software startups, investing in companies like AuditBoard and Honey. 🚀 ✅ Upfront Ventures - Specializes in ecommerce and healthcare, with investments in GOAT Group and Parachute Home. 🏪 ✅ Baroda Ventures - Eyes on consumer internet and SaaS markets, backing firms like Amplify. 💡 ✅ ScOp Venture Capital - Focus on SaaS, helping companies scale with investments in Cloverleaf. 🌐 ✅ Crosscut Ventures - Largest seed-stage VC in LA, invested in Boosted and Inspire. 🌱 ✅ Anthem Venture Partners - Biotech and fintech enthusiasts, with investments in TrueCar. 🔬💳 ✅ Arena Ventures - Backing consumer and fintech disruptors like CityMall and Aaptiv. 🚀 ✅ Canyon Creek Capital - Supports technology firms showing market traction like HoneyBook. 💻 ✅ Frontier Venture Capital - Investing in media and tech that enhance global well-being, like Syndio. 🌍 ✅ Karlin Ventures - Funds innovative solutions in software and ecommerce like StrikeAd and Wallaby. 🛒 🔗 Discover the full list here: https://lnkd.in/dtxqpiRy Explore opportunities, connect with industry leaders, and start your journey in LA’s thriving startup ecosystem today! 🚀 #VentureCapital #Startups #LosAngeles #Innovation #Entrepreneurship

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Surviving the SaaS startup rollercoaster? 🎢 Check out Kat Kennedy's feature on the SaaS Therapy podcast episode with hosts 🗺️ Todd Kirk and Casey Trujillo.   Their conversation focused on the challenges and opportunities in the world of SaaS. Tune in to hear Kat share different growth stages of a SaaS company, the essential roles needed to succeed at each stage, and why it is important to stay dedicated to your vision and to believe in what you’re building—no matter the stage!   👉Tune into the episode here: https://lnkd.in/gD4j9hdk #SaaSTherapy #TechTalks #SaaS

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In our newest blog post, Nine Four Ventures General Partner Kurt Ramirez shares some of his thoughts on the current environment of startup shutdowns and valuation resets, and if these are natural consequences of an earlier period of frothy investment and easy money. Some key points are around how:  ·        Startup failures are common and expected, especially after a period of high funding.  ·        The recent increase in shutdowns should be viewed relative to the outsized number of startups funded in the boom years of 2020 and 2021 and reaching their make-or-break moment now.  ·        Some of these startups may have been funded based on unrealistic expectations of future growth, leading to valuation drops. Read the full post on our site, Substack, or by clicking below to learn more. Please reach out with any questions or comments on trends, companies, or anything else. https://lnkd.in/dZm6vfis Cc Jeffrey Elowe, Kurt Ramirez, Paul La Londe, Sophia Ghadamian Kier, Avi Pradhan #VentureCapital #Startup #Valuation #Tech

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Engineers are experiencing a seismic shift driven by market volatility, the rise of GenAI, and new approaches to quantifying engineering impact. But there's a disconnect between business leaders and the engineers building their products. 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗯𝘆 Jellyfish 🔗 https://bit.ly/3Vt3lcO 📉 71% of execs at large enterprises believe productivity decreased, while only 40% of engineers agree. 🤷‍♂️ 43% of engineers feel that leadership at their company is out of the loop regarding engineering challenges, compared to 92% of executives 😩 46% of engineers report their teams are experiencing burnout, compared to 34% of executives. This chasm between perception and reality can breed mistrust, misalignment, and missed opportunities. 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹, 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻: ✨ Foster psychological safety for open dialogue 🤝 Build trust through active listening and empathy 💡 Inspire teams by painting a compelling vision 🧭 Provide clarity amidst ambiguity and change By complementing hard metrics with soft skills, leaders can create an environment where engineers thrive and innovation flourishes. 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻? #Leadership #EmotionalIntelligence #Engineering

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Early stage founders run into this all the time: So much to do and not enough resources. The best advice: 1) pause; 2) think through the what, the why, and the how. That’s how you’ll achieve your goals. In our newest episode, Bryan Karas and guest Catherine Donaldson, startup and Go-To-Market leader, dive into the Go-To-Market landscape and the common challenges that early-stage founders face at different inflection points. Are you at an inflection point? Tune in and you’ll find out. Link in the comments.

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Yesterday, Underscore Partner Lily Lyman joined TechCrunch Early Stage to share tactical advice on how founders can effectively build relationships with the right investors. Importantly, she shares the nuance between the "nurture phase" and the "actively raising phase" of fundraising. Turns out fundraising has a lot of parallels to the 2000s romcom "He's Just Not That Into You" - So we were sure to have some fun drawing out the similarities! Explore the deck here by swiping right *pun intended*:

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