Linda L.

🔥 Simple and practical advice for founders looking to raise VC

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We joined forces with TechCrunch today to announce our $6M Series A, led by Adjacent! This will fuel our mission, helping us raise the next generation of creative thinkers with healthy, non-addictive digital play and learning for kids. ✨ Read the full scoop about what we're doing with all of this money, why building a diverse cap table is hard and what's next for Pok Pok. And if you want to know what it's like trying to get a smidge of that 2.2% of global VC dollars allotted to women founders, keep reading... Nico Wittenborn from Adjacent is awesome. He has incredible expertise and we're so glad to have him lead this round. Plus, he's unlike any other VC I've met (that's a compliment). Perhaps just as important, with him comes the expertise from his kids, too! His daughter has been playing with Pok Pok for over two years, and has an opinion just as important as her dad's. 😉 Same goes for Turner Novak's daughter at Banana Capital. And Brandon Leonardo's family. And all of the kids at Metalab — shout out to Luke Des Cotes and David Tapp! We're also thrilled to have the folks at Konvoy participating again too, and just love that with every passing year, more kids (and future playtesters) are being born into the Konvoy klan. The TLDR: we are so grateful to have a bunch of amazing investors be part of Pok Pok. But, we had a really tough time finding female investors for this round, something that was not the case in the past. It turns out that way fewer women VCs invest beyond Seed stage. After all that pitching, we found ourselves at a tipping point. We were so thrilled to have some really awesome investors in our corner, but it just didn't sit right to close without a single woman on the cap table (especially given our product and customer)! So we paused. Esther Huybreghts and I debriefed, allocated a chunk of capital and vowed to prioritize women investors in a second close. We were grateful to have had the unwavering support of our board and Nico in this decision. It took more time, but we found some incredible women like Michelle Kennedy, Mengting Bönsch (Gao), Julie McGill, CA•CBV, ICD.D and Ekaterina Damer, PhD. These women are strategic, valuable and simply awesome. I’m sharing this story to hopefully inspire even just one woman to start investing and one founder to push a little bit harder for a diverse cap table. And maybe in 2024 we can make that 2.2% a 3% and finally quantify how many female investors there really are out there so we can add more! Now, back to building! 💪 https://lnkd.in/gzKJSGDB

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As someone who is in the middle of two early stage startups, I found this to be a good article framing the importance of Product-Market Fit (PMF). "Hair on Fire", "Hard Fact" and "Future Vision" are the three different archetypes noted and, for a startup, important to figure out up front (along with founder-market fit). However, chances are somewhere else in the world someone is or wants to launch something similar as your startup so ruthless execution is paramount in order to generate the velocity needed to stay ahead of everyone else. #productmarketfit

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Consumer founders in SF come check out our event next week and register below

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An interesting article below, that demonstrates out how San Diego is punching above its weight.  And how Connect's strategy and execution over time, contintues to be central to that success. The article describes the current state of the market in Seattle.  (And i love Seattle.) It's a market that we tend to track with relative to venture fundings.  They used to kick our butts, we outraised them each of the last three years.  This despite the fact they have 3x as many funds there, and 9x the amount of resident capital there. (per pitchbook) Some key takeaways:  * They continue to compare themselves to SIlicon Valley. Instead, we leverage our proximity. *They whine there's not enough local investors (see note above - they have more than us). We bring over 200 VCs to SD annually! * They say founders are not connected with one another. We bring CEOs together regularly, in a variety of ways - private dinners and through our Springboard program. * They say they need to elevate their image on a national & international stage. Why we created and continue to build Five.Ten.Thirty (aka Inno Day).  * And the last paragraph - they need to concentrate on making their region a great place to live. Our mantra: "It's about Better, not Bigger." (See XEO, TL Fund). THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT. WE ARE ON A MISSION TOGETHER!!!  (Comments, whining, suggestions on SD always welcome.) https://lnkd.in/g6Rq_f2Y

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Prime Coalition has long taken a different tack to climate finance compared to its for-profit brethren. It makes the usual venture-style investments in startups through Azolla Ventures and also helps philanthropists direct their money to climate-related projects that it deems high impact. Trellis Climate follows the latter model with a focus on middle stages, where capital has grown scarce. #climatetech #climateVC #climatefinance

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We love seeing founders be able to keep their equity and take advantage of non-dilutive funding sources⚒️. We're excited to collaborate with Stacy Chin, PhD leader of KeepYourEquity.co, who has secured over $15M in SBIR/STTR grants for startups across various sectors. She's written a guest blog post sharing her insights on navigating the competitive landscape of grant funding 💰. Some highlights: ❇️ Understanding SBIR/STTR: A lifeline for startups, offering up to $2 million in non-dilutive funding! ⏺️ Learning how to overcome hurdles and capitalize on the golden opportunity. ❇️ Gaining essential tips on outlining your go-to-market strategy, choosing the right program, and preparing thoroughly. ⏺️ Benefiting from Stacy Chin's 10+ years of grant writing experience and her extensive track record in securing funding for startups. Read More in the blog post linked in the comment below 👇🏾 #SBIR #STTR #GrantFunding #StartupSuccess #SmallBusiness #KeepYourEquityCo #ShayCPA #cpafirm #techaccountants #startupaccountants #techstartup #techcompany #nondilutivefunding

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I echo and a firm believer of Laurel Mintz take on Diversity - "Diversity in thought, diversity in boards, diversity in public companies, diversity in all of this is what creates a better culture. It's what creates better outcomes, both financially and emotionally. Ultimately, it's just a better approach to creating a more well-rounded society.” #ImpactInvesting #VentureCapital #PurposeDrivenInvestors

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Check out the latest issue of my investor-focused newsletter Not From Concentrate!

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Excited to share my convo with Nadia Boujarwah, Founder/CEO of Dia & Co (raised $120M+), the leading marketplace for plus-size clothing. Nadia stepped up to corner a multi-billion market that other fashion retailers weren’t considering. It was awesome hosting her, alongside my co-host & brother Alejandro Garcia-Amaya, on our Unicorn Web Series (sponsored by ILUMA: The AI Chief of Staff for CEOs - Bad news delivered directly to you, everyday). There are many strategies on how to make marketplaces grow into billion dollar companies, Nadia’s preferred strategy was growth-through-acquisition. Instead of increasing supply by slowly adding up brands to their catalog one by one, Nadia decided to acquire companies that were already offering a multitude of brands. This made them unique in the space and allowed them to grow faster. Her experience acquiring companies taught her that closing the deal is not the most difficult stage… “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘥𝘴… 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.” Watch the full conversation here: https://lnkd.in/gV6CUaWJ  or listen to the podcast: https://lnkd.in/g52_m4uW   #Startups #Leadership #CEO #acquisitions #startupadvice #ILUMA #Founders #CEOInsights

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A few weeks back, the JSA team attended VidCon Anaheim, the preeminent conference for the creator economy. While we gathered dozens of insights and chatted about plenty of new trends, we wanted to share three core takeaways we found especially compelling for everyone in the creator ecosystem, from investors and brands to creators themselves. The Creator Economy is All Grown Up 🏆 A core discussion point at VidCon, the creator economy has reached a new level of maturity. The past few years have seen massive spikes and dips in investment, a symptom of the space being a relatively new category. But it’s no longer a cottage industry – it has found its footing as creators have proven their ability to draw and engage audiences, and more traditional investors and businesses have taken note. Case in point, Coca-Cola has allocated nearly half of its $5 billion marketing budget to TikTok creators alone. DTC Creator Commerce for Monetization 💰 As companies like MrBeast’s Feastables and Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS have become North Stars for social-first brands, owned, sustainable DTC commerce has become the new goal for creators rather than focusing on chasing endorsements and brand deals. To sustain monetization in the long term, creators need to shift to an entrepreneurial mindset and build brands that resonate with their followers in a meaningful way. Opting for ‘consumables’ (i.e. items that can be re-purchased) over ‘collectibles’ (i.e. a one-time purchase) was another key takeaway in paving the way for long-term monetization. CTV is a Critical Space for YouTube-First Content 📺 As YouTube remains the social platform with arguably the greatest monetization potential, YouTubers and brands now need to optimize their content for connected TVs. Despite rampant cord-cutting and the demise of linear television, roughly 70% of YouTube’s creator content is consumed on TVs. Prioritizing YouTube’s CTV dominance is equally important for legacy media companies. Disney, for example, started posting free episodes of old series on the platform, which serves as a testing ground for shows to reboot for Disney+. Despite past concerns over the ‘Creator Economy Winter,’ this year’s VidCon left us feeling more confident and hopeful than ever that the creator economy has a bright future ahead. #VidCon #creators #creatoreconomy

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A stroll through San Diego led me to Geppetto's, where a life-sized puppet and friendly staff turned me into an unexpected customer. 🌟This IS the magic of independent retail. 🌟 With consumer spending down, small businesses need innovative strategies beyond discounting to thrive without sacrificing profitability. Curious about how #indieretailers are navigating these challenges? Check out my latest article in Total Retail. #Retail #SmallBusiness #CustomerExperience #Innovation #IndependentRetail #SMB #boutiqueowner #retailer #fashion

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Ritesh Patel THANK YOU for introducing me to Sherie Zhou at your Curry Club Dinner. I've set my sights on at least 5 new Co-Hosts from that delicious meal 😂 (Martin Lange, Norma A. Padrón, Ph.D., Jamil Ellis, I'm looking at you!) An amazing deal. Delicious curry, great conversations and easy pickins for brilliant folks to introduce to the TechWalk community. It wasn't hard to convince Sherie Zhou, Senior Manager, Commercial Strategy, Viz.ai to join us as a guest speaker. In our prep conversations she said, “In my mind, #TechWalk is pretty near a perfect networking event. The combination of being outdoors, enjoying fresh air, and doing a light physical activity – I think this structure is comfortable, accessible, and cultivates more openness vs. that of a “traditional” networking gathering” 😍 And when she requested that the walk focused on HealthTech - even better! Plus she recruited all her Co-Hosts. Win, win, win! Sherie works at the intersection of health systems and life sciences to improve patient diagnoses and outcomes at Viz.ai which has pioneered integrating AI-driven disease detection into clinical workflows. During our 5.8 walk, Sherie is interested in chatting with walk participants about: 🌳 Software as Medical Devices - developing them, getting regulatory clearance for them, commercializing them, and scaling adoption of them 🌳 Transitioning from consulting to start-ups - things to consider when selecting target companies, tips for doing your due diligence, how to compare offers, etc. Joining Sherie on this week's #HEALTHTechWalk are Ioana Calcev, Strategy and Operations Consultant, and Niha Jain, Principal Investor, Redwood Pacific Management LLC. Our registrations are looking really strong. I think folks understand what a great opportunity this will be to explore lots of interesting topics in the healthtech space. Ready to join us? Registrations will be open until 11 AM ET on 5/8 https://lnkd.in/eEbJnm52 Happy Walking! #TechWalk #HealthTech #NetworkingEvent #Innovation #AIinHealthcare #TechInnovations #NetworkingTips #HealthcareInnovation #StayCurious #OpenMind

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Incredible energy in SF last night at the Patron x Intuition consumer founder meet up! Fun to partner again with fellow community builder Hugo Amsellem to gather founders who share the same love that we do for building consumer products. From next gen social to new ways to learn, trade, shop or stay fit. The SF consumer ecosystem is under the radar, but thriving.🔥 💡 consumer founders top acquisition tips? Influencers still work but hit or miss. LinkedIn is surprisingly effective. Community initiatives drive retention. Change your buy now/download button to the Apple Pay button. Waitlists still work with social proof. College ambassador programs. Give users a starting checklist in your app and they might actually do it. If you’re a founder building something that aligns with Patron’s thesis, come say hey 👋 we’d love to meet. #consumer #founders #gaming #startups #sf

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NY friends! Please come see me at Tech Day on my panel discussing the future of the NY tech ecosystem and what I hope to bring to it!

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Graduation day 🎉 In addition to our work at The Veteran Fund, I'm honored to lead the Southern California chapter of the world's largest startup accelerator. Congratulations to the great founders graduating from our program today! Join us for the virtual graduation starting shortly: http://fi.co/e/341508 Nikkea Devida, Speaker, Air Force Veteran, USC Master of Business for Veterans, MBV - MindSonix, software platform to help overcome the effects of trauma using neuroscience and biofeedback. Zack Koehler - Ante Up, a FinTech smart phone app for use by competitive people and charity organizations through daily social challenges. Joseph Naumann - Hemp3D, eco-friendly alternatives for eyewear and everyday items to create a more sustainable world. Nicko Trataris - AI Assistants, to help companies provide answers to questions and training to staff and customers. Joe Watler - Path of Heroes, an AI powered online service that helps Military Veterans create personalized wellness paths to civilian life. Peighton Woodard - Luna Leaf, an app designed to revolutionize women's wellness by aligning lifestyle choices with menstrual cycles. Sami Lei - Instant Expert, a hybrid AI tool and business consulting service to help early stage entrepreneurs get the answers they need, now. Joe Guzman - Space Cowboy ADR, removes space debris from Low Earth Orbit to make space a safer place to do business. Ryan Johnson - Bugle, a community engagement platform that is changing the world of volunteering and increasing transparency in charitable giving. Mickey W. - CarryLug, a peer-to-peer shipping platform that connects travelers with extra luggage space to individuals seeking affordable shipping solutions. Charles Masters Rodriguez - Autoket, an online B2B marketplace that helps purchasing managers at auto repair shops buy quality parts. Bray Wilcock - Bloomy, empowers people to proactively take care of their mental and physical wellbeing. Art Salindong, D.Eng. - SEPP Networks, developing a device-to-device networking capability, to enable communication in remote or disaster areas without cellular infrastructure. David Cianci - Greetings, providing modern, well-furnished, smart homes to traveling millennial professionals. Stephan Aarstol - Mangrov, a new kind of eCommerce store that sells nothing, but instead helps shopper discover the “top 3” products in any category in 10 seconds and then buy direct. Brett Lanier and Geoff Doyle - Bettor Vision, a mobile app that allows sports fans to connect all their fantasy, daily fantasy, and sports betting accounts in one place. Troy Reihsen - TITAN Simulation, making the most realistic anatomic models for medical education and skills training to reduce medical error with sensors and data collection. Zoia Comarova - MyEduPath, personalized career guidance and networking solutions for students.

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May is Members' Month at the Wealthing VC Club and I get very excited to talk about about the many avenues of Angel Investing. Please join us on a Discovery Series. Wednesdays 5-5:30pm PST (that means California time) to share latest trends about #AngelInvesting and learn from our successes and failures. With so much disinformation and misinformation, not wonder people are confused. Take a seat, bring a friend, bring your kids! #wealthingvcclub #WVCC Angel Investing as an Asset Class in a Smart Portfolio. May 8th, 5pm PST Early-stage Investing: Solo Angels, Angel Groups, LPs, Crowdfunding, Syndicates, and more. (Tip: never invest alone) May 15th, 5pm PST The Wealthing VC Club's Operational Framework. May 22nd, 5pm PST The Wealthing VC Club’s Portfolio. May 29th, 5pm PST https://lnkd.in/gJWap7-c

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[New podcast alert] I'm happy to finally share something that I have been working on pretty much since the start of the year, and that's FoodNavigator-USA's new monthly podcast series the Founders' Fundamental podcast — your soon-to-be number one resource for the ins and outs of building a food and beverage brand! Since I started at FoodNavigator-USA, I kept hearing founders talk about either "focusing on the fundamentals" or "returning to the fundamentals," following the capital crunch of the last several years. So, I thought an in-depth discussion of those fundamentals would make for a great podcast topic. In this podcast series, I plan to interview investors, brokers, distributors, consultants, lawyers, founders who have been there before and anyone involved in making your brand the best it can be. No marketing fluff — just straightforward advice and insight that can help you navigate the challenges of starting and growing a food and beverage brand in today's market. For episode one, I interview someone who needs no introduction: Seth Goldman. Seth is the co-founder and chief change officer at Eat the Change, where he has been busy growing the brand's organic tea line Just Ice Tea. During the pod, we talk about his fundamentals, connecting with consumers, knowing when to exit the market and much more. I always appreciate Seth's great insight, and I hope you enjoy the first episode. New episodes will air in the middle of each month, so stay tuned for more! #FoodandBeverageIndustry #BusinessPodcast #CPGbrands #FoodPodcast #BeverageBusiness #BrandGrowth #Organic #Startup

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Financial details and exact figures were not disclosed by A24 and Thrive Capital, but sources confirm to Variety the investment from Thrive Capital gives it a valuation of about $3.5 billion — a 40% increase since A24’s most recent round of funding in 2022, which was $225 million at a $2.5 billion valuation. Kushner’s New York-based investment firm has previously backed Instagram, Spotify, Stripe and other companies, and together with his wife, Karlie Kloss, leads Bedford Media (which owns i-D Magazine and is planning to relaunch LIFE magazine). He is younger brother of Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and former White House adviser. In addition to Thrive Capital’s investment, A24 has also received “increased support” from existing investors who participated in the previous round of funding, per the studio. Founded in New York in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges, A24 boasts a catalog of 150 films and 50 TV series and has garnered 16 Oscars, 14 Golden Globes and 18 Emmys. A24’s business also includes 2AM, Half Magic and the Cherry Lane theater. In 2021, A24 explored a sale with a floated asking price of $2.5 billion to $3 billion. Source: Variety

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