Ty Wolfe-Jones

Huge News...today, Contractor Commerce launched AI within the platform. That's right. We've been working behind the scenes for months to harness the power of AI to help contractors get EVEN MORE value from their online stores. Today we rolled out the first of several major AI enhancements with 5 awesome customers who wanted to pioneer this new layer of technology alongside us. Ecommerce for contractors is already working - turning website visitors into $$. But we're never satisfied. We wake up every day, listen to our customers, and invest in our platform to help contractors make more money and build thriving companies. We won't stop until every contractor has an online store....now powered by AI. If you want to learn more or supercharge your company website with AI-powered ecommerce, message me. https://lnkd.in/g2YzpAuc #AI #HVAC #ecommerce #contractors

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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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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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🔥Join Jessica Z., COO of Talentful, and Matt Bradburn, CEO of People Collective, for a workshop on designing people experiences like a product leader at Pando Horizons. Register here 👉 https://bit.ly/3V8U6yd Learn how to treat the development of your organization's culture and employee interactions as a product, applying business-side strategies and metrics to retain and optimize your talent. What You'll Learn:  ✔️ How-to apply product development principles to the employee lifecycle ✔️Tactics for aligning teams and programs to business metrics and outcomes ✔️Strategies to continuously improve your people experience programs #peopleops #hrevents #hrtech #agile #eltv #peoplestrategy

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Employee terminations: they're a topic no one wants to discuss but that every company has to navigate. Thankfully, Melanie Naranjo and wonderful Ethena advisor (& Gusto's former People Leader) Jess Yuen are tackling this tricky topic for the next Ethena webinar. Register if you want to learn more about these topics: How to pressure test whether or not termination is the right course of action Best practices for communicating termination decisions How to minimize risk and choose the best course of action when things get tricky Critical pitfalls to avoid

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💡Pitch Deck Insights - Your Hero Product 🦸🏼‍♂️ What's the one product you have that is your "killer app." The one that will get VC's excited? In preparation for the inaugural Pitch Deck Demolition live webinar later this week with pitch deck consultant Matt W Gore of OPTIO - Strategic Storytelling, we're going to share some clips from the exclusive video of his NYC Fundraising Summit Keynote "Pitch Decks That Raise Money." In this clip, Matt talks about your "hero" product. Many startups have a suite of products or services. But should your pitch deck include them all? Matt addresses that. If you want to see Matt in action, tune in later this week for the live webinar on Thursday, May 2 at 9:30 am pt/12:30 pm et, when he'll break down three real pitch decks. If you want access to this entire video (plus more than ten additional hours of exclusive video related to AI, sales, and fundraising), apply for the HubSpot for Startups program to unlock the Entrepreneur Power Pack.

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❤️ Kayla Dowd has been in and around insurance all her life. ❤️ As Hi Marley's first Customer Success Manager (and now Team Lead), she has been on the front lines of representing “simple, lovable communication” for this rapidly growing insurtech startup. Hi Marley has grown to 100+ employees and Kayla helps manage some of their largest & most complex accounts. She is most proud of creating a process to collect feature requests from customers and channel them internally to the appropriate teams for roadmap scheduling. Kayla is really passionate about what she does. Since you insure the things you love the most, if you’re in the claims process, you’re likely in an upset state. Kayla & the Hi Marley team constantly think about how customers can feel more loved & comforted through those really stressful times. They’re trying to change an industry. Here are 3 things Kayla has learned from her career.. 🏃‍♀️ Don’t Be Afraid to Take Chances – “Go out of your comfort zone. That is what I did to come to Hi Marley and I’ve never been happier professionally.” 🏄‍♀️ Be Confident & Just Do It – “Related to taking chances, raise your hand to do things that you know you’d be uncomfortable doing. If someone asks to present a slide at an all team meeting, and you know you hate presenting, do it. No one is judging you more than yourself. Take every opportunity you can to go outside your comfort zone.” 🤝 Build Your Network – “I still see people that I worked with at MMA. Our paths cross in the craziest of ways and I made so many strong relationships there. I love coming into the office so I can spend time with people that aren’t on my team to get to know them better. Making connections like that are so important because you never know where you could be in the future. Having connections and relationships are huge. I love being customer facing and working with people to build those relationships too”

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Greg Isenberg, the CEO behind the success of Late Checkout, Boring Marketer, Dispatch Design, and You Need a Robot, recently shared his hard-earned wisdom on being a founder after selling three companies. I've enjoyed listening to Greg in person at Founders, Inc. in SF. Here are his top tips: - Make things people love. Focus on unique, targeted products that solve real issues. - Grow a community. Engage your fans and create value through smaller groups. - Laser-focus on a niche. Dominate it with a specific approach. - Cheer every victory. Recognize your team's wins to boost spirits. - Tune out distractions. Focus on what matters most each day. - Pay bills quickly. People appreciate the respect. - Meet in person. Hop on a plane for your best chances. - Work with fun people. Enjoy the journey together. - Be on time. Send invites and do the little things right. - Fuel up and ship. Sometimes, you need caffeine and headphones to get it done. Greg reminds us that every company starts as an idea. With the right attitude, plan, and action, anything is possible. Find your special edge, gather supporters, and make things that make you proud. Which of Greg's lessons hit home for you? Share your thoughts below! #startuptips #entrepreneurmindset #founderplaybook

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In a recent Gusto report, we found that at least 22% of businesses created in the last year are using AI tools. ⏱️ One big reason? It saves them time, according to a report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. There are many tools out there to help you up-level your productivity game as an entrepreneur, but here are 13 that stood out to us: Mem Notion AI Zapier Motion ClickUp Clockwise Trevor AI Superhuman Mailbutler Storydoc Fireflies.ai Upmetrics https://lnkd.in/eevhGy7S

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I recently tuned into a great webinar on maximizing ROI from employee benefits programs. One key takeaway was distinguishing between “Protective” and “Pampering” employee benefits. Protective Benefits: These are the essentials like health, dental, and 401k that safeguard your employees' well-being. Pampering Benefits: These extras show employees you go the extra mile, such as gym memberships, pet insurance, and professional development opportunities. Both types are crucial for employee retention, but pampering benefits can feel a bit like throwing money at a problem if not managed wisely. Take massages, for instance. As much as I love them, free daily sessions would bankrupt the company, and probably not help my productivity. Plus, not everyone would value them the same way. That's why we created Work Perks. Our solution lets you set a monthly budget for each employee's pampering benefits, allowing them to choose what matters most to them without breaking the bank. Whether it’s pet perks or fitness classes, show your commitment to your employees in a way that fits everyone's needs.

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I'm not sure most people have wrapped their head around the impact AGI is going to have on insurance billing. All the crazy complex rules they design to make getting paid difficult are simple for LLMs to pick apart. I imagine their strategy for gatekeeping reimbursement etc. will need to shift. If you are doing any research in this space or are building this now let's connect, I find this topic incredibly interesting. #AGI #ArtificialIntelligence #InsuranceBilling #InsurTech #MachineLearning #AI #HealthcareBilling #TechInnovation #FutureOfInsurance #DataScience #Reimbursement #HealthcareTech #BillingSolutions #AIResearch #TechTrends #Innovation #StartupCommunity #Entrepreneurship

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There were a lot of interesting stories in the alts space this week.  Let’s jump in! Slide 1 - Terri Burns was the youngest partner at Google Ventures is opening her own VC firm that will focus on being a lead investor in the pre-seed and seed rounds of startups instead of waiting to see what everyone else is going to do.  https://lnkd.in/ewX3EGug Slide 2 - You have to have been under a rock to know about the protests on college campuses against Israel.  Well the call for endowments to divest investments that are connected to Israel isn’t that easy.  This article explains why.  https://lnkd.in/ex6kxNRJ Slide 3 - Real Estate billionaire is putting together a bid to buy TikTok.  The app is facing a ban in the US if they don’t sell within the year.  https://lnkd.in/eXb_VX6k Slide 4 - Private credit leaders are still going to the middle east to get some of their abundant capital.  We saw this happening with VC leaders last year.  I wonder how this will play out in this precarious geopolitical environment.  https://lnkd.in/edMkjZn8 Slide 5 - Regulators are starting to take notice of these insurance companies investing in private credit and are considering ways to mitigate those risks.  This is particularly important since private credit investment is expected to rise with increased mergers and acquisition activity.  https://lnkd.in/eAdJWdZg Follow @marginscapital for more content on wealth and alternative investments. #AlternativeInvestments #AllYouNeedToKnow #femalefounders #entrepreneurship #investing #whatsgoingon #weeklyrecap #altsnews #VentureCapital #PrivateEquity #PrivatePlacements #PrivateMarkets #PrivateDebt #PrivateCredit #CommercialRealEstate #IndependentSponsor #Alts #AltsSimplified #Alternatives #AlternativesSimplified #margins #marginscapital  #womenentrepreneurs #insurancecompanies #middleeastcapital #fixedincome #TerriBurns #TikToksale #divestingishard

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Ever thought about gamifying your SaaS or B2C product? It’s time to think outside the box. Loads of companies are upping their game with reward programs that use point systems, but there's more to it than just racking up points. Take learning courses or lecture series, for example. You can get users hooked by letting them earn points for finishing units and visually tracking their progress. It’s a neat way to keep them engaged and motivated. And here’s a twist: instead of the usual discounts or freebies at the end, how about offering a certificate of completion? It’s something tangible they can add to their resumes or use as proof of continuing education. It’s a win-win – your users get a sense of achievement and something valuable for their professional growth.

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Always fun to publish a practice case and then see that EXACT story in the headlines. If you’re prepping for consulting interviews right now, try our new practice case on GM’s transition to EVs (PDF is attached). Once you’re done you can “check your work” by reading recent articles on how GM is actually navigating the headwinds (I linked to a recent one in the comments). #consulting #interviewprep

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A few months ago someone told me they would never consider 'a fractional COO because it's basically a lazy VP Ops' 😂 I really appreciated the honesty! But let me clarify a few things: 1️⃣ A Fractional COO is 𝒏𝒐𝒕 for everyone. For example, if you have a very aligned, organized, and strategic founding team, or if your founding team has worked together successfully in the past. You may not need a COO as you are able to replicate what you did in the past to drive performance. 2️⃣ A Fractional COO is 𝒏𝒐𝒕 a COO or a VP Ops. For the most part, we don't work day-to-day in the business. We don't own responsibilities fully end-to-end (for the most part). We come in to solve a specific problem. For example, you just raised a big round and your investors want you to scale at the speed of light. A fractional COO may come in to design your hiring plan, implement a new tech stack, and map out more efficient workflows. 3️⃣ The title COO is very vague. It can mean so many different things, and that's the same with a fractional COO. Some focus more on optimizing your financials, others on structuring your GTM. For me, 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞. 4️⃣ The engagements vary as well. As mentioned above, we generally don't work in the business day-to-day, but sometimes that happens. We can be full-time, part-time, or project-based. Sometimes that changes over time as well. Many fractionals I know end up building very strong relationships with teams and join them full-time. But mostly, we're more than happy to hire our replacement and end the engagement. For some people, it's not ideal that the role of a fractional COO is so unstructured, but for others, that is exactly what they need. When you have a team full of people with defined roles and responsibilities, in times of growth it's ideal to have someone who can move around, be flexible, and slot in wherever is needed. I hope this helps clarify this a bit, and if you're interested in learning more about hiring a fractional COO, shoot me a DM 📩

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Building and scaling marketplace startups requires striking a delicate balance between supply and demand that can be tricky for even the most seasoned founders to navigate. Casey Winters has a legendary track record in this area. He’s advised some of the biggest marketplace startups like Airbnb, Whatnot and Faire on how to effectively build and scale products. He also started the marketing team at Grubhub, where he spearheaded its demand gen and retention strategies, taking the food delivery app from a $1 million Series A to a $7.3 billion acquisition. Until recently, he was the Chief Product Officer at Eventbrite, and has also led growth and product teams at Pinterest. He stops by the In Depth podcast to deliver a masterclass on building and scaling winning marketplaces. In today’s episode, we discuss: -What every marketplace founder should think about -Why marketplaces are different -Finding product market fit -Key ingredients to scaling a marketplace -Strategies for acquiring demand and supply -Much more Link to the full episode in the comments ✨

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Do you get health insurance through your company? Did you ever think about how your company decides what benefits to offer? Which vendors to go with? And how much to charge employees for those benefits? Your HR team hires a "benefits broker". It's a super old school industry (and has all the associated problems). This is the industry that we are transforming over at Nava Benefits. If you would like better health insurance, help understanding medical bills, and a better way to keep track of all of the benefits your company is paying for, then drop me a note. We're upgrading an entire industry, and we'd love to do that for you too. :)

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Now that we’ve delivered custom workforce management solutions for a few contractors in California, I’ve had a chance to really see the folks in the field and the management issues that trace back to the days when laptops were a luxury thing. (I’m talking about small to mid-sized organizations here.) It turned out to be quite a conservative vertical, with many still relying on outdated stuff. Challenges Faced by Field Service Businesses: A survey by Verizon Connect highlights the most challenging issues: - Customer satisfaction (56%) - Profit margins (48%) - Talent acquisition and retention (47%) Other challenges include: Technology Alignment: Many companies use multiple outdated technologies that don’t integrate whatsoever. Operational Cost Increase: Dispatches generate revenue but also generate crazy overhead. Talent Pool: Poor technology frustrates field staff, leading to higher turnover. When it comes to field service management, some industries are particularly notorious for poor management. The top five industries that struggle the most with FSM are: Telecommunications: Companies in this sector often face challenges with scheduling, dispatching, and maintaining the vast network infrastructure, leading to delays and inefficiencies​ Utilities: The management of services like electricity, water, and gas supply is complex, often plagued by outdated systems and equipment, leading to frequent service disruptions and customer dissatisfaction​ Healthcare: Field service in healthcare involves the maintenance and repair of critical medical equipment. Issues here can severely impact patient care and safety due to delays in service and equipment downtime​ Construction: Managing field services in construction is challenging due to the dynamic and fragmented nature of projects. Poor coordination and communication often result in project delays and increased costs​ Manufacturing: This industry deals with maintaining machinery and equipment both in-house and at customer sites. Ineffective FSM can lead to prolonged downtimes and significant productivity losses​ TBC

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Drop In Venture Funding To Black-Founded Startups Greatly Outpaces Market Decline Chris MetinkoGené Teare February 27, 2024 Venture funding to Black-founded U.S. startups last year totaled only $705 million — marking the first time since 2016 that the figure failed to even reach $1 billion, Crunchbase data shows. The decline in capital to Black-founded companies greatly outpaces the overall decline in startup funding. While total venture dollars in the U.S. fell 37% last year, funding to Black-founded startups dropped a staggering 71%, according to Crunchbase data. Last year’s total investment in Black-founded startups in the U.S. marks the lowest amount since such startups raised only $582 million in 2016. The drop in total dollars also meant Black-founded startups received their lowest share in the venture market since at least 2016, per Crunchbase. Black-founded startups received less than 0.5% of the $140.4 billion in venture funding all U.S.-based startups received last year. In 2021, Black-founded startups received 1.4% of all U.S. venture funding. In 2022, it was 1.1%.

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