Nnamdi Okike

🎙️ On the latest episode of Embracing Erosion, Devon was joined by Alex Pattis, General Partner at Riverside Ventures and founding team member of Hampton. Alex is also the co-founder of Last Money In Media, a leading VC newsletter that explores Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) within the Venture Capital ecosystem. As a prominent advocate for the SPV investment format over the traditional VC fund model, Alex brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table. This episode dives deep into: 🌟 How to scale a company from concept to a 9-figure exit 🔄 Breaking away from the traditional consulting model and applying product approaches ⏩ The importance of iterating quickly and often with messaging 💸📈 Key signals to watch when investing in startups Don't miss this insightful conversation. Listen now 👉 https://lnkd.in/gEKv5ghE #VentureCapital #SPVs #StartupInvesting #ProductMarketing

4

It is a great privledge to be backing Stella Garber for a second time, as well as her sensational co-founders Brian Schmidt and Justin Gallagher. It’s also great to working with Index Ventures again, too. One thing I have learned in my venture career is that humans are lazy, and software that does simple things can feel like magic. Hoop uses AI to automatically harvest to do items from all of your communication channels. Today it’s single player, and in the future it will be your whole team. Read more about why we invested: https://lnkd.in/geTy-kyZ

20

13 Comments

Great time on the Embracing Erosion podcast w/Devon O'Rourke! We talked about: 🚀 How to scale a company from concept to 9-figure exit 🔄 How to break away from the traditional consulting model and apply product approaches ⏩ Why it’s important to iterate quickly and often with messaging 💸📈What signals are important to pay attention to when investing in startups and much more!

1

1 Comment

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

13

What are the key questions entrepreneurs should ask themselves when considering raising outside capital? RAC’s Christian Stein sat down with the Made IT Podcast back in May to share his thoughts: https://lnkd.in/dRwxXeCb #GrowthCapital #Entrepreneurship

15

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 👇

20

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.

35

4 Comments

Great analysis by the AGC team on SaaS public company comps. It's worth a look as we recalibrate mid-way through earnings season. The analysis aligns with the broader Nasdaq equity performance, where the Mag 7 (or fab 4 now :-)) have shown more resilience than the rest of the market. #AGC #SaaS #EarningsSeason #Nasdaq #EquityPerformance

9

A few spots left for this awesome workshop with Justin Gray of In Revenue Capital. Every successful founder I know learns to develop and maintain high performing relationships. This is a skill like anything else and can be developed. Founders, if you want to build a high-growth company, learn to build high-performing relationships. This workshop will help you do that. Hope you can join us.

15

Dive into our latest blog where we explore the complexities of warrants—a critical tool in venture deals. From strategic advantages to potential pitfalls, learn how warrants can both propel and complicate investment scenarios. Learn more. https://lnkd.in/g3zWY9ER #VCWarrants #VCDeals #VentureSuccess #SaaSGrowth

10

It was a real honor to interview Brad Burnham co-founder of Union Square Ventures and partner Placeholder on the history of hype cycles in technology and the value they bring to capital and market formation. Brad has had tremendous success across decades investing at the frontier - when it was the frontier/ before it was obvious. Crypto is still the underdog and his views on the opportunity and its nuances are prescient. Specifically it is both a technical and financial innovation which can lead to excess volatility and a unique muscle as it relates to being a venture manager. But the returns are real. And the innovation is real despite some of the the common narratives. No one debates the breakthrough applications in AI at M13 we have been very active. It is also very clear that incumbents have massive data and distribution advantages which can make it challenging to find the right pockets to invest. AI is on its own hype cycle and as always the best teams (typically with contrarian takes) win. Very exciting times to be a venture investor.

39

Wei D. (Founder and CEO of unicorn Clipboard Health) dropped some major 💎 gems of wisdom during her fireside chat with PearX founders at Pear VC SF Studio yesterday. These really resonated: 💎 PMF isn't something you achieve once - staying relevant to your market is an ongoing pursuit 💯 (Wei shared that to date she still LOVES talking with customers and - even at 1000+ employees and with all the success already achieved - she continues to chase unlocks for the business and recently obtained her nursing assistant certification in order to stay close to users and unlock new insights with them 🥇) 💎 If you're scared of sales, don't think of it as sales -- you're just talking to someone who you're trying to help. Approach your customers with care and listen to them as you would a friend. The moment it's an actual conversation with a friend, that's probably where you're going to get your first sale. If it feels "salesy" you're probably not doing it the right way. 🤝 💎 Do whatever it takes to get in front of your customers! (For Wei this meant driving around at 8 months pregnant and walking up to DMs at nursing homes!) 🚗 💎 The users you speak with in your market will give you the key jargon you need to use to speak back to your market. Listen intently and adopt their language! 🗣 💎 There is little you decide that can't be undone. Be smart, make calculated decisions, but don't overthink things --- err on the side of action and quick decision making. 🏃‍♀️ 💎 Iterate until your users feel passionately about what you're doing (ie. they get angry when the product is down or doesn't work). You want your users to care A LOT about the problem you're solving. 😡 Wei's resilience, grit and work ethic are off the charts. What an inspiration! 👏 #femalefounders #inspiration #techfounder #unicornfounder #hero

33

3 Comments

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. 👇

8

13 years ago when I switched career from banking to VC, the book Venture Deals was one of the most valuable resource to understand common terms used in transactions. I love how they translate the Legalese to plain English! I believe the old blog posts that were the base of the book are also still accessible online (blog? What's that, ask the GenZs) This online course should be a great one, judging from past materials by the same guys (Brad & Jason). Highly recommended for entrepreneurs!

14

2 Comments

As a startup founder, scaling your business is hard enough without the added pressure of a high-interest rate environment. While the challenges are significant, there is an upside. 🔺 Burkland Fractional CFO Daniel Rosenbaum outlines the strategies founders can use to turn high interest rates into an advantage, earning returns that extend your runway and support sustainable growth. https://lnkd.in/g5WmcaNw #TreasuryManagement #startups #CashRunway #StartupFinance

8

The best fundraising intros come from portfolio companies Portfolio introductions are a powerful tool for standing out in fundraising. They provide credibility and relevance, as portfolio companies can vouch for startups and align them with investors' interests. Learn why and how to easily find them

23

Our revamped newsletter, The Angle by Angular Ventures, officially launched today! We hope this new format will make it easier to read, share, and subscribe. Back to it, in this week's column, Gil Dibner covered the spirit of risk-taking that inspired Angular to venture into unusual spaces. While, of course, we invest in AI and SaaS, as of late, we have been investing in more and more contrarian spaces - from quantum, to spacetech, to energy, etc. in search of the supposedly impossible - the truly contrarian. Read the full column via the link.

17

Is your startup is considering a Series A round? Our founder Jeff Burkland explores the 7️⃣ critical factors to consider to ensure the best possible outcome. Burkland helps startups navigate critical fundraising milestones with expert guidance and strategic financial planning. Get in touch to learn more about how we can support your startup’s next investment round. https://lnkd.in/gQnCTaf3 #startups #venturecapital #seriesA #startupfinance

7