immersionED’s Post

"We all fail. My first start was against Seattle and I threw two interceptions that were run back for touchdowns.” National Football League (NFL) Hall of Famer Joe Montana stopped by for a "Lunch and Learn" with our interns and team. The legendary San Francisco 49ers quarterback-turned-investor and managing partner at Liquid 2 Ventures discussed his impressive venture capital career and portfolio, which includes over 20 unicorns and investments in Gitlab, Rappi, and Anduril. Most importantly (to us 🙂), Joe is an early investor in REGENT – and he shared some invaluable insights with the team, including: • the critical role of team dynamics in investing • investing in people over sectors • how to tackle difficult challenges in new life ventures Joe shared: "REGENT is on the edge, you're taking a technology and turning it into something useful for moving people around.” The entire team at REGENT is so grateful for the time, advice, and support we receive from Joe and Liquid 2 Ventures. #lifeatREGENT #leadership #VentureCapital

Wondered..What catches the eye of legendary VCs like Sequoia Capital (investors in Airbnb, PayPal, YouTube)? They recently shared a valuable blueprint for founders seeking funding. It's packed with insights you can use to craft a winning pitch. Here's a key takeaway : - Tip 1: Focus on a Massive Market. - Tip 2: Demonstrate a Strong Founding Team. - Tip 3: Build a Defensible Moat. - Tip 4: Show Traction and Growth. Interested in learning more? Follow Rahul Rawat. Stay tuned!

The 1st cohort of our Better Tomorrow Ventures fintech-focused accelerator, The Mint, wrapped in October w/ 7 companies, and was a huge success... so we're prepping to do it again in March! Curious about The Mint? A little background on why we decided to launch an accelerator & what it is: The Mint is a 3 month long, in-person, structured “choose your own adventure” program. With resources curated for each company in the cohort, we offer a weekly focus on things core to company building, such as product, GTM, and building a killer team. We have regular cohort-wide talks, learning sessions, fireside chats, and weekly 1:1 IRL work time with mentors and the BTV team. We encourage founders to take what they need - everything is optional; spend time on what your business needs most that day. The 1st cohort (Spearmint!) featured off-the-record fireside chats with CEOs of prolific companies like NerdWallet, Dropbox, Flexport, Mercury, Albert, and Ramp + 1:1 office hours with seasoned operators from companies such as Affirm, Airbnb, Google, Plaid, and Square. Each of the companies was paired with a seasoned fintech operator who served as their mentor throughout the program. Mentors met the teams 1:1 every week & helped set ambitious targets & held them accountable for their progress. 3 insights we emphasize: 1) The importance of an execution-oriented mindset. 2) The value of being + staying super-scrappy. 3) The power of community; the companies got a lot from each other and continue to rely on each other. Why did we do this? - Past success: We ran 5 cohorts of an accelerator from '16-'18; of 35 companies, 3 cos became unicorns in <5 yrs - We felt like there was a gap in the market for a fintech specialist offering hands-on IRL experience - We simply love this stuff. It's SO fun to work w/ founders at the earliest stages. We want to be a magnet for fintech talent & the 1st call for people thinking of starting fintech companies. The accelerator gives us the chance to work side-by-side with founders at the earliest stages to improve their odds. It's been our internal mission for a while: We’re already planning and accepting applications for the next cohort, which starts in early March. Send us your favorite pre-seed founders, you can learn more + apply at our website. http://themint.vc

A founder's ability to hone in on their ICP and build value and solve a problem for a very specific customer segment is crucial. 🎯 One insight I took away from Parker Gilbert's journey building his company Numeric is not only their ability to do this effectively, but to elect to work with a focused customer segment where the value of the partnership compounds over time (i.e go-to-market, integration). 🥞 For Numeric that's incredible finance customers and partners like Mercury, Plaid, Wealthfront, Betterment. 💜 Not to mention the traction that led to raising their $10M round from top firms like Founders Fund, Menlo Ventures, and 8VC. 💸 🚀 🎙 🎙 Check out the entire interview with Parker here: https://bit.ly/numeric-br

2024 started off fast (in a good way) and I am so happy to say that Green Book Global was recently accepted into the “Future of Tech is Inclusive” program sponsored by Goodie Nation and Amex Ventures In just one week I learned so much about the amazing work that Joey Womack and Goodie Nation is doing to help close the “Relationship Gap” with diverse founders and also the impact and history that Amex Ventures has had across various segments. Specifically in the travel space, did you you know that American Express invented the first travelers check? When our speaker mentioned that during one of our sessions, I immediately went to Google to confirm (you know I like to fact check) and sure enough, there was American Express as the inventor (specifically Marcellus Flemming Berry who was an employee of Amex). American Express also started travel and tour services back in the early 1900s (had no idea!) Also, just by Day 4 of the program, we were already able to test our investor readiness by doing a mock pitch to Amex Ventures. It was super helpful to receive feedback from a VC lens but also to confirm if what I am pitching/saying is being received as intended. There is also this tool that Goodie Nation uses to score your progress as a founder after that investor readiness session that is just 🙌🏾 🤯 And this was just the first week! As a FYI, being part of the “Future of Tech is Inclusive” program doesn’t gurantee investment or partnership with Amex Ventures (also doesn’t rule it out). However, what it does gurantee is knowledge and ability to better equipped to know how to work with large brands like Amex. And that in itself is super powerful!! So super excited and grateful to the Amex Ventures team (Jennifer Cozen Ope Runsewe Oliver Ginns Mona Pezeshki Alyssa Smith Kevin Weber ) and Goodie Nation for this opportunity and looking forward to more to come! PS: got another post about Goodie Nation coming because it is 🔥🔥🔥 and too much to discuss in one post!

I’ve been so pleased to see the BankTech Ventures team share many of their key lessons learned in 2023 on here. I’m particularly proud of our positive learning culture and the encouragement of each other to explore and share. And while I feel like I get to learn new things every day, here are a few things I’ve reflected on more than others this year: 1. When you can create a true win-win-win situation, a virtuous cycle is possible, and it can continue to improve over time. That’s what we believed was possible with BankTech Ventures when we started it, and we’ve seen it happen. By bringing community banks together to learn and access the best new banking tech companies, and helping those companies better serve community banks, everyone wins. And with this virtuous cycle it compounds value for everyone. I’ve learned that’s it’s not just an idea or ideal - it’s possible. 2. Many still hold a very negative view of Sales, both as a business operating culture and as prospects and customers of a business that sells to it. What I’ve learned is that for industries in transition and disruption, Sales is actually more important, as it serves on the front lines of uncovering opportunities, explaining value to the market, and advising customers toward decisions that may be new or different for them. Negative perceptions of Sales may recall high pressure transactional engagements as why they dislike it. Today’s best Sales approaches are more educated and assured advisory, investing in stronger, aligned relationships. And more of that is needed in a dynamically changing world. 3. We’re on the verge of big breakthroughs in longevity, and we’ll likely see some of those benefits in my lifetime. Until then, though, I still find much of aging is in our mind and how we adapt, learn, and embrace new things, or don’t. Finding new lessons to learn, reconsidering old ones, and allowing new ideas and inputs in have all been great ways for me to try to maintain a youthful approach to life. And having a younger, energetic team around me definitely helps, too! May everyone in my LinkedIn network have blessed, joyous holidays. I look forward to learning and growing together in 2024! Katie Quilligan Kaitlyn Shevlin Samantha Malloy Brandon Oliver Sarah Hovde Jake Fuchs Pam Kaur

Glancing back at 2023, I can assertively affirm that it was an exceptionally noteworthy year for me, marked by crucial milestones and substantial personal development. At First, with my friend and I encountered numerous challenges and setbacks in establishing Square Bull Fintech Private Limited, our startup venture. My entrepreneurial journey commenced in early April with a modest concept that expanded and flourished into something remarkable. A pivotal moment arrived on July 13 when we secured approval for our company's name, marking a significant achievement. Maneuvering through the unique obstacles of the financial industry entailed a range of struggles, from company registration to the intricacies of content creation within a fast-paced environment. Overcoming these hurdles demanded both unwavering determination and industry expertise. Secondly, I also paid some attention on the relatively new sector that is cryptocurrencies, which provided me with a wealth of challenging experiences. Although I also accomplished a few life goals, such as purchasing my first car, which was an another milestone. At the same time, I truly appreciative of everyone that stood along with me, My friends and a hearthy thanks to my dad who gave a supported in everything. When I come back to the present quickly, I aim to have attained even greater success in my personal and professional life by the year 2024. Undoubtedly, the knowledge and insights gained in 2023 will provide a strong base for the upcoming challenges and accomplishments.

Most early stage VCs are not price disciplined. Here’s why. 1. Rely on other funds to share deals. 2. Rely on accelerators 3. Get the scraps at the end of the round at higher caps. 4. They co-invest with tier 1 funds at crazy caps. When your an early stage fund 99% of the deals you should be sourcing. Reaching out to founders when they don’t even know what they even want to build. Building that relationship with them over time. So instead Get on LinkedIn and uncover the diamonds Build relationships with founders and angels daily. If you can source well everything else will fall into place. If YC can invest at a 2.5m cap Why can’t you? 🇮🇳🚀

“Everyone is genuinely rooting for you” Hear from Freya Mahal who has completed 12 months on our accelerator program! NatWest have the longest standing, fully funded Accelerator programme and our applications are currently open for for our March 2024 cohort! Want to join us? Hit the link in the comments to apply NOW 🚀 #accelerator #business #growth #accountability

Want to know how I turned a tiny startup into a global team of more than 200?🏁 Here are the keys to success from my 27-year journey: 👉🏼Start with Passion: My career began with a love for trading at Merrill Lynch Futures, one of Wall Street’s finest. Passion drives perseverance. 👉🏼Adapt and Evolve: From the open outcry markets at the Chicago Board of Trade to the digital screens of Schonfeld Securities, adapting to change is crucial. 👉🏼Take Bold Steps: Founding Tradeview was a leap fueled by a vision of a perfect brokerage firm—built by traders, for traders. 👉🏼Build a Strong Team: Success isn’t solo. Our global team of 200+ is the backbone of Tradeview’s growth. 👉🏼Never Stop Learning: Each experience, from NYC to the world, has been a stepping stone. Continuous learning and innovation are non-negotiable. 👉🏼Stay Connected: Whether it’s engaging with clients or supporting my team, connections are key. These principles have shaped Tradeview Markets into the thriving community it is today and might help you too. #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneur #CEO #finance #startup #success