Barak Kaufman’s Post

🚀 As I step into my new role as Vice President of Sales at MetaGrowth Ventures, I'm reminded of this quote by Jordan B. Peterson. Over the years, I've learned that the gap between intention and action can sometimes be vast. At MetaGrowth, we’re committed to narrowing that gap for startups. We don’t just talk about building world-class sales teams; we act on it — 80 sales teams launched, 40,000 applicants processed, and 700 salespeople hired and counting! It’s one thing to articulate your values, but the real testament comes in the tangible steps you take. So, whether you're leading a sales team or any other initiative, remember to measure yourself not just by what you say, but by what you do. #MetaGrowthVentures #SalesLeadership #ActionOverWords #JordanBPeterson #SalesSuccess

I’m very happy to share that Everlab has closed its $3m pre-seed round led by b2venture and joined by AfterWork Ventures, TEN13, Flying Fox Ventures, Playbook Ventures and others. They're backing our mission to build the operating system for human health. Time to buckle up 🎢 This announcement, while an important milestone for the company, and for me personally (my first time raising a venture round), is still just like a starter pistol going off at the start of a very marathon. That doesn't stop me from throwing caution to the wind and sprinting everyday. But that’s just startup life - one mad dash after another while you hang on and keep telling yourself “If we just get over this one problem, things will get easier,” even though you know you’re lying to yourself and things always just get harder. That’s what we’ve signed up for - but as I said in my last post, nothing better than a shot of adrenalin in the morning (or afternoon, or evening for that matter). 😅 If you’d like to join us and support our mission, you can do so by signing up to our waitlist, or helping us find the next couple of Everlab employees. We’ve got two roles going at the moment (Growth Manager and Senior Software Engineer). DM if you’re a good fit or know someone who might be. Waitlist link in the comments below.

Yesterday I had posted a question on which is the most satisfying thing in the life of start-up founders? So here's my takeaways... The most satisfying thing for start-up founders could be seeing his company recognized in the global platform and being appreciated and also the most important is that seeing that it solving a millions of people problems which really gives a satisfying outcome to the start-up founders... But the thing I also wanted to tell which is really true that is not every founders wants to solve problems but every start-up founders wants to make million dollars which is a good thing coz they deserve that after failing 100th times... And one thing which I personally know and wanted that is that they want their name to be listed in the Forbes list and even searched as their companies name.. Let me know your thoughts on this.

Startups have always been close to my heart and thus a little announcement for my new role as Head of Partnerships at GreenStitch.io. My journey as an Ex-Founder of two ventures—one by choice and one by chance—has been nothing short of transformative. These experiences have reshaped my perspective, honed my skills, and redefined my aspirations in ways I never imagined. As I move forward, I carry with me the wisdom, growth, and clarity gained from these experiences, which will undoubtedly serve as a strong foundation in any journey I pursue. Here's to the next chapter with Narendra Makwana and Arpit Samdani. ✌

We’re fully deployed out of MKT1 Capital, fund 1! So what’s next? Over the course of the last 4 years, I’m so proud of what we’ve built at MKT1. We started advising early stage founders & marketers on how to build their marketing team and strategy. From there, we saw a huge gap in the market—most founders don’t know marketing and most investors don’t know marketing. To build a massive company, you have to be able to win on both product AND go-to-market. We built a fund on the thesis that the best product isn’t enough—you need marketing advantages, things innate within the business that will help you grow faster (think network effects, a wedge in, founder/market fit story, etc). We’ve invested in 34 companies who fit this mold and are excited to support them as they grow. A few months back, we started talking about the next chapter for MKT1. The past 4 years have shown us what we love to do—for me, that is investing in and working with the best founders. I’m excited to continue investing in early stage companies as a partner on the investment team at Pear VC. Why Pear? I’ve known Pejman and Mar for many years and have long admired what they’ve built. There are a lot of similarities in the ways Pear supports founders with an in-house talent team that helps founders make their first few hires and an in-house GTM team that helps founders go from zero to 1 on the GTM side. They have built a strong track record and team to support founders in the early stages of building a company and I’m excited to be part of this next chapter of the firm. Thank you! Finally, a huge thank you to the founders who took a bet on us as a new fund- we are so happy to be on this journey with you. And to our LPs who put their faith in us as first time fund managers to pick great companies (and make you money!). What does this mean for MKT1? We will continue supporting our portfolio founders. I will move to Pear to keep investing and Emily will continue writing the MKT1 Newsletter and will advise growth to late stage companies on marketing. 

Happy post Derby week! 🚨 I spent the weekend preparing for this week's Venture Connectors and as I think about the value I want to bring through this panel conversation my questions just don't feel as solid and helpful as I'd like them to be. 🗣 SO, I NEED YOUR HELP....As a founder who is, has, or will be transitioning from working a traditional 9-5 to being a full-time founder, what questions would you want answered from founders who have already transitioned? Or what questions do you wish you had answers to before you transitioned? Put your questions in the comments! And if you have yet to register for this weeks Venture Connectors you can do so below.

Next time your family eats out at a restaurant, try this 20 minute exercise while you’re waiting for your meal to be served. Instructions: "Using our last name, add descriptive words that begin with the letters that best describe our family." For most of my career, I spent a ton of time and energy defining and operationalizing values at early stage startups. As Davis Smith (former CEO of Cotopaxi) points out: "Values determine behaviors, behaviors determine culture, and culture determines outcomes." Having been part of multiple startup exits including an IPO and $830M acquisition that have been life changing, organizational values done right actually work! Thanks to Davis' inspiration, we created v1 of our family values during spring break last week. https://lnkd.in/gvhZWpRS -------------------------------------- Join us for a pop-up workshop on May 8th where busy dads come together to figure out how to get just as intentional about connecting with our kids, as we are about our careers. Registration link: https://lnkd.in/gGdB2JH6 #workingdads

Attention Founders and Co-founders! Starting and growing your idea is tough....damn tough at times. There's nothing worse than feeling alone, confused, isolated, anxious, depressed, searching for answers, and desperate to talk with people who have been where you are and finding few. If you have felt this way, WELCOME to Startup Grind Maryland's Founders Forums.   Think about a group of founders and co-founders gathering regularly to connect, let your hair down, relax, take a load off, open up, share problems, ask questions, share experiences, struggles and celebrate wins, while making new friends and partners, get educated, inspired, and connected with the people and resources you need to take that next step on your founders' journey. https://lnkd.in/g4uiv6Fq

He started Thrillist Ran & Sold Group Nine Media to Vox Media Now is a Managing Partner at Lerer Hippeau It was a delight to chat with Ben Lerer from Lerer Hippeau. Lerer Hippeau was one of the first venture capital funds based in New York. Their portfolio includes Warby Parker, Casper, Resy, Chubbies Shorts, Cotopaxi, The Black Tux We discuss: • Why he ended up selling Group Nine Media • His transition to VC full time • Why Lerer Hippeau started off as only investing in consumer • How NYC’s startup scene has evolved • What’s the current bar investing in consumer businesses • Why his goal is for his companies not to have to raise later rounds • Can an investor kill a company if they don’t exercise their pro-rata rights & more Big thank you to our sponsor Propeller Industries. Propeller Industries is the leading strategic finance and accounting partner for venture-stage companies. Thinking about profitability, extending your runway, and improving efficiency in your operations? Propeller’s fractional model offers a dynamic solution that provides a cost-effective alternative to hiring full-time finance talent. 🎧 Listen now and subscribe for more insights: https://lnkd.in/gk7U7EWP

Check out these Vision and Values Sprints from the Sherwood Fellows, the fellows that did my incredible branding and helped me align my environmental and Catholic brand messaging when I decided to take the leap out of full-time work! 🌊 Excited to see how these sprints impact purpose-driven leaders around the world! 👀 #purposedriven #valuesbasedleadership