Sara Coyne

Calling all #Founders: Venture Capital Association of Alberta (VCAA)’s Deal Flow Calls represent a great opportunity for #PreSeed to #SeriesA companies to gain exposure to some of the countries most active Venture Capital #investors. If your company is raising equity capital, I strongly encourage you to check out the link below!

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To all #founders and #entrepreneurs out there, our intro meetings are conversational and easy going. Feel free to message me to setup a call. Learn what Pioneera Ventures can do for you!

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Abby Levy talks about venture's role in US healthcare and what we can expect to see as technology impacts the space on TFR. Check out the rest of the conversation with Abby & Alan Patricof of Primetime Partners on Episode 433.

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Cost-effective geothermal energy has the ability to fully transition and decarbonize our grids and industrial systems - in the near term! We believe the team and technology at XGS Energy will realize this vision and we couldn't be happier to be working with them on a geothermal-powered reality.

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As lenders to late and growth-stage companies, we're often asked: “What exactly do you look for in potential borrowers?" In my 30 years of experience working in the venture ecosystem, I’ve seen what qualifies some businesses to get the financing they need. Here is what we typically look for: ✔ Proven Business Model: Those with validated product-market fit, recurring revenue streams, and predictable cash flow are typically less risky and more likely to succeed in repaying their debt obligations. ✔ Stable and Diverse Customer Base: Borrowers with a stable and diverse customer base demonstrate a reduction in concentration risk and lower dependency on a single revenue source. ✔ Strong Management Team: At Runway, we look for entrepreneurs with a track record of success, industry expertise, and a clear ability to execute a business plan. A strong management team signals confidence to the lender that the business will be able to navigate challenges and drive business growth. ✔ Capital Efficiency: Startups that have effectively managed their capital resources, are clear on how the funding will be used, have minimized burn rate, and achieved meaningful milestones are strong candidates to utilize debt financing. ✔ Equity Backing: Previous equity financing by an established VC can provide additional validation of a company’s business model, market opportunity, and growth prospects. ✔ Exit Strategy: Those with a clear path to profitability and viable exit (such as through an initial public offering or strategic acquisition) provide assurance that the debt will be repaid in a timely manner. If you’re thinking about how to grow your business, and exploring debt as an option, keep this in mind!

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NY Tech Week has been exhilarating, dynamic, diverse, and inspiring! So many organic connections were made between investors, founders, and rising change-makers, and we learned so much about the current landscape and the future of innovation. The Fourth Effect, in partnership with EisnerAmper, hosted a vibrant panel discussion "Let's Talk About Boards" at Savills with uplifting expert speakers Mina E. Black and Caroline McCaffery. The Fourth Effect founders Breen Sullivan and Katrin de Haën are on a mission to empower female & minority executives to advise on governance boards and contribute their wealth of knowledge to the world by connecting them with startups seeking to establish boards and scale. So many founders in particular attended this event, and from the lively discussion afterwards, it's clear we all walked away thinking a whole lot more about the importance of proactivity, diversity & inclusion, and expertise when establishing company boards. AcceleratorCON, New York City Economic Development Corporation, and Civic Hall co-hosted the panel "Reimagining Accelerators for Tomorrow's Startups." Especial focus was given to tailoring accelerator programming to the startup cohort's unique skills and needs, peer-to-peer learning, intentional considerations to engage diverse founders, industry-agnostic accelerators, follow-on support and investor networks, as well as the rise of pre-accelerator accelerators. So much great info was shared at this event! My friends at Kaplak Ventures hosted a climate tech demo night at Brown Rudnick LLP on Times Square, where we heard enthusiastic pitch presentations from a diverse cohort of startups, from deep tech to arts-based solutions, including aich2, carbogenics, TeamStack.ai, Tesleon LLC, and Tolam Earth. Copenhagen-based Kaplak Ventures just partnered with New Haven-based climate incubator ClimateHaven to host the 3-month ReGen Accelerator program for seed-stage startups addressing the climate issues of today. I was especially touched by Kaplak's "Dreams & Details" model of leadership coaching and presentation, and am continually inspired by all the great work happening in the climate innovation ecosystem from Boston to New Haven to NYC. #NYTechWeek #NYC #NewHaven #Innovation #InnovationEcosystem #Startup #VentureCapital #Boards #Advisors #Accelerators #Climate #ClimateTech #TechWeek

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The healthcare landscape is rapidly evolving, driven by advancements in technology and a deeper understanding of patient care. I had the pleasure of speaking with Ambar Bhattacharyya, Co-Managing Partner at Maverick Ventures, on the latest episode of The Full Ratchet. Ambar has partnered with numerous billion-dollar companies like hims & hers, Cityblock Health, Devoted Health, and ConcertAI. His unique journey from rural America to becoming a prominent figure in venture capital offers invaluable insights into the future of healthcare and technology. We discuss his investment strategy at Maverick Ventures, the megatrends shaping healthcare, the impact of AI on the industry, and the importance of integrated care. Ambar also shares his thoughts on the challenges and opportunities in healthcare investment, offering a comprehensive view of what lies ahead. Check out TFR Episode 438 to catch our conversation. You'll be glad you listened.

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Startup founders, you don't have to do it alone! Apply now to join the Techstars Boston Accelerator and gain access to our extensive network! We are looking to select 12 high-growth startups to participate in our 13-week Techstars Boston accelerator program kicking off in September -- apply now or tag a founder below who you think might be a good fit!  https://lnkd.in/gbi3hAGi #startups #founders #entrepreneurs #boston 

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We took the pulse of emerging fund managers about what it's been like for them during these post-ZERP, venture-capital-winter years. #venturecapital #veteranventures

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Today, Last Money In Media is excited to share a guest post from one of our colleagues Phil Nadel, who leads Forefront Venture Partners. Phil wrote a piece title "The Misaligned Syndicate Incentive Structure" to provide a viewpoint on syndicates doing high volume deals versus those that are more concentrated. (link to full post in comments) Forefront Venture Partners formed one of the first syndicates about 12 years ago. They have invested in more than 200 rounds in over 100 companies since then. Additionally, they started a rolling fund about 3 years ago. Given Phil’s experience across models (SPVs/Funds) and having seen the evolution of the syndicate ecosystem over the last decade, Phil has offered to share his unique perspective with Last Money In Media readers in our article published today. In this Last Money In Media article, Phil discusses: - His POV on the incentive structure in the SPV ecosystem - The landscape shift to some higher volume syndicate GPs - Why Rolling Funds may be a better alternative for some LPs - And more The full article is in the comments for further reading. Powered by Sydecar, Last Money In Media is the most actionable venture capital newsletter. Written by Zachary Ginsburg and Alex Pattis who have deployed > $200M across 700+ SPVs.

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⚡ Massachusetts is paving the way for breakthrough technologies in the climate and energy sector! A quick pitchbook search reveals that in 2024, Massachusetts based companies raised almost 30% of all VC dollars in climatetech/cleantech in the US, outperforming any other US state. The Commonwealth aims to invest $1.3B to cement Massachusetts’ position as the leading climate innovation lab for the world. The administration is right to stress that - next to addressing our greatest global challenge – this will catalyze $16.3B of economic benefits and create 6670 jobs: https://lnkd.in/eB3Vx72K The initiative lists ‘ecosystem builders’ as a key part of Massachusetts’ secret sauce, and I couldn’t agree more. There are so many organizations dedicated to convening and strengthening this ecosystem, collaboratively and across disciplines. Many supported the initiative, which is part of the Mass Leads Act, through this coordinated effort: https://lnkd.in/ePeHduib I'm also impressed by MIT's dedication to this cause, most recently emphasized by the launch of its climate project, an ambitious plan to research, develop, deploy, and scale up solutions to help change the planet’s climate trajectory: https://lnkd.in/eABAJqic 👀 I’m curious how much of the investments in Massachusetts based companies could be categorized as deeptech, as I suspect it’s a high percentage compared to other regions! 

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When the big deals dry up, Wall Street adjusts and digs deeper into the middle market. The headline story over the last few years is the significant decrease in funding and deal activity - particularly in the earlier stage VC and the later stage PE mega-deals. However, deals in the middle-market space have remained surprisingly robust, as detailed in this The Wall Street Journal article. From the story: "Middle-market deals made up a record 74% of private-equity buyouts by count in 2023, outpacing the previous high of nearly 72% set in 2019, according to PitchBook." It's important to remember that success in every industry comes down to the strength of relationships. Finance is no different. The upside to the big banks of getting involved with smaller companies is the opportunity to build those banking relationships earlier in the business maturation process. Without question those relationships will bear fruit down the road for the banks as those companies grow. Endeavor Colorado #privateequity #venturecapital #investing #innovation #entrepreneurship #Founders #startups #finance https://lnkd.in/gkqmUnRU

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I recently had the pleasure of speaking with and learning from several software execs from our portfolio companies and industry experts during Thoma Bravo's AI Summit in Miami. It was great to share our insights into trends and practices we see in our portfolio and how we manage opportunities and risks. At TB, we have a long history of guiding enterprise software companies through digital transformation, and we’re already navigating the transition driven by generative AI. Our focus is on managing this new innovation by absorbing the technology to bring meaningful benefits to our portfolio companies and indirectly to their customers. And it’s evolving fast! We see our portfolio companies today using gen AI in generally three ways: first, to create new products and provide customers with incremental use cases. Second, to defend against cyber attacks that have become much more sophisticated by bad actors. And third, as an enabler of talent to make business operations run more efficient and productive. In our view, AI presents a significant growth opportunity, but we also believe that to really maximize that potential, companies should carefully evaluate the risks and be thoughtful about governance, trust, security and data privacy. AI is poised to accelerate innovation and it’s hard to predict the full, transformative potential of AI, but we are confident that some of the advantages of incumbent knowledge and data will be key to unlocking it’s value.

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this is my favorite blog post in describing the process of pattern matching that VCs use to evaluate fund-returning opportunities: in search of narrative violations. a narrative violation is a contrarian take against conventional wisdom. it is an intentional disregard of the wisdom of the crowds in favor of ideas that are just crazy enough that they might work. the best venture deals have been ones where it wasn't an oversubscribed round; it didn't fall into the secular trends of the market cycle; it was an unpopular opinion that inadvertently led to category creation; and contributed a significant portion of DPI to LPs. all of these narrative violations seem to have 3 things in common: outlier founding teams, a positive inflection in market timing, and an ability to anticipate widespread product adoption in the mid-to-long-term time horizons since company inception. pls pls pls have a read - you won't regret it :)

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Large, motivated and differentiated networks are the way

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Super helpful article and accompanying doc with a #Startup #Equity Calculator to determine the equity for early hires, thanks to Pear VC head of talent Matt Birnbaum! Thanks for sharing Pejman Nozad! 🙏🏼 You can read more here How to structure startup equity for early hires: https://lnkd.in/ggmpT5-Y Google Doc: https://lnkd.in/gjsvths6

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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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A few Friday thoughts... After several days in Chicago surrounded by 200+ LPs at the ILPA Members' Conference covering everything from AI to NAV facilities, I'm headed into the weekend energized by what's to come. That may come at a surprise after the week we've had as an industry. The decision from the U.S. Fifth Circuit on the SEC's Private Fund Advisers rules was handed down just moments before we kicked off ILPA’s AGM on Wednesday. All along, ILPA has viewed the PFA as addressing areas that pose risks to both LPs and the industry around transparency, governance and alignment of interest. It was disappointing—albeit not a shock—to see the PFA vacated. But ILPA is choosing to turn our energy to the compelling opportunity before us as an industry. Together, we can chart the path for how we'll work better together, on our own terms. Particularly around transparency. Just days prior to the ruling, we had debuted the next evolution of ILPA reporting templates on fees and expenses and performance for industry feedback. The templates were developed by a broad industry coalition over a three-month period, partly to comply with the PFA quarterly statements rule implementation deadline, but largely because this work needed to be done. We've temporarily paused the comment period. Now we have the benefit of more time to ensure that these minimum reporting standards have cross-industry buy-in to ensure wide support and adoption. Will you join us in this effort, in paving the way forward as an industry? https://lnkd.in/e-6hspU4

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