SKU’s Post

🌟In the vibrant ecosystem of venture capital, these trailblazers are not just investing in ideas but are committed to nurturing black-owned businesses. Here are the venture capitalists making significant strides: - Monique Woodard 🌟: A venture partner at 500 Startups with notable investments in Blavity, Roho, and Win-Win. Woodard is dedicated to supporting black and Latino entrepreneurs, navigating through challenges with resilience and vision. - Marlon C. Nichols 🚀: General partner at Cross Culture Ventures, investing in LISNR, Hingeto, and Mayvenn. Nichols, alongside legends like Troy Carter and Suzy Woo, is shaping the future of diverse entrepreneurship. - Laurence Toney 💼: Partner at GV, with impactful investments in Walker and Co., AirTime, and LendUp. Toney's journey from Comcast Ventures to GV underscores his commitment to entrepreneurs of color. - Michael Seibel 💡: Partner at Y Combinator and CEO of its accelerator program. Seibel's portfolio includes Jopwell, Walker and Company, and Flip. From co-founding Justin.tv to guiding Twitch Interactive to success, Seibel's journey is inspirational. - Erik Moore ✨: Founder and managing director at Base Ventures, backing Pigeonly, Blavity, and Flip. Alongside Kirby Harris and with Michael Seibel as a venture partner, Moore is making significant contributions to the startup world. - Arlan Hamilton 🚀: Founder and managing partner of Backstage Capital, with investments in ShearShare, Blendoor, and On Second Thought. Hamilton's dedication to underrepresented founders is changing the investment landscape, with over $2M invested in 50+ companies. - Mitch Kapor 🌍: Founder of Kapor Capital and the Kapor Center for Social Impact, investing in Hingeto, Kairos, and Uncharted Play alongside Freada Kapor Klein. Their commitment to diversity is unwavering, choosing to invest in founders who prioritize it as well. These venture capitalists are not just funding businesses; they're fueling dreams. Full article here: https://lnkd.in/d4Dycpt5 #DiversityInTech #VentureCapital #InclusiveInvestment #Entrepreneurship

✨ Investing in People, Not Just Companies ✨ At a recent event Lowenstein Sandler LLP #venturecrush event with Scribble Ventures and 645 Ventures. Elizabeth Weil shared a profound insight into her incredibly successful angel investing approach. Out of her 100 angel investments, a staggering 24 have become unicorns. 🦄 Her secret? Investing in the people woven into the fabric of her own life. By backing founders she knows personally and believes in deeply, Elizabeth has achieved outsized returns while empowering those in her network to realize their dreams. 🚀 Her people-first philosophy is a powerful reminder that at the end of the day, it's the human element that drives success in the startup world. Relationships matter! #startups #venturecapital #investing #founders #unicorns

If you’re looking for an investor who knows exactly what you’re going through because they’ve been through it too… these investors are for you: ✨ The 81 Collection - “We built companies in un-sexy industries, and it was lonely when we started. Most early-stage investors said our industries were too capital intensive, low margin, or difficult to scale. We were outsiders.” ✨ Boston Seed Capital- “We are founders investing alongside founders who are striving to improve life, work, and play, through building innovative tech companies.” ✨ GreatPoint Ventures - “As entrepreneurs, we were grateful to have amazing investors and board members who helped us succeed… We founded GreatPoint to be this kind of partner to every team we back.” ✨ Serpentine Ventures - “As entrepreneurs and investors, we experienced many highs and lows over the years. We leverage these experiences to support our founders and investors on a daily basis.” 5 more here: https://lnkd.in/ds2en_yS #investors #founders #startups #venturecapital #fundraising

🌟 Black Investors Changing the VC Landscape Series: Part 39 - Sydney Thomas, Symphonic Capital🚀 Introducing Sydney Thomas, the dynamic investor at Symphonic Capital , making waves in the venture capital scene by backing pre-seed startups. Notable Investments: Guava , Aidaly , Carda (at Precursor Ventures) Investment Focus: Thomas specializes in supporting pre-seed startups, fostering innovation and driving progress in various industries. Why She's on the List: Sydney Thomas brings a wealth of experience from the public sector, large corporations, and startups to her role as a venture investor. Her journey into venture capital began at Precursor Ventures, where she was captivated by the opportunity to shape the future through strategic investments. For over six years, Thomas has dedicated herself to studying and investing in pre-seed stage companies. She is passionate about this stage because of its potential to catalyze new ideas and businesses that propel society forward. In 2022, Thomas embarked on a new chapter in her venture career by launching Symphonic Capital. With a vision to instill a long-term mindset in early-stage startups, Symphonic Capital is poised to make a lasting impact on the startup ecosystem. Through Symphonic Capital, Sydney Thomas is championing innovation and empowering entrepreneurs to realize their vision for a brighter future. ✨Connect with Sydney Paige Thomas https://lnkd.in/eeQbKke9 and Symphonic Capital to learn more about their mission and how they're shaping the future of venture capital. Stay tuned for more inspiring profiles of Black investors leading the charge in our daily series! Share your thoughts and other impactful investors in the comments below. #BlackInvestors #VentureCapital #DiversityInTech #startup #investor #Entrepreneurship #SymphonicCapital

As the year draws to a close, I extend heartfelt gratitude and a big shoutout to everyone building start-ups and shaping the Venture Capital world. Your hard work and ideas make the future exciting. 💪   🎉 Thought to celebrate this fruitful year with a touch of VC wisdom.  - A simple VC math on 1X Participating and 1X Non-Participating Liquidation Preference.   - For example, if a Start-up raises $2 million at a $2 million Pre-money Valuation ($4 million Post-money Valuation), then the VC owns 50% Equity post-investment. - Next, if the Start-up exits at $20 million and VC holds 1X Participating Preferred stock, its proceeds upon exit = $2 million (Participation) + 50%*(20-2) million= $11 million   - When VC holds 1X Non-Participating Preferred Stock, its proceeds upon exit would be either $2 million/ 50% of $20 million which is $10 million. The VC would choose the $10 million option.   That’s it.   🏆Cheers to a fantastic year behind us and a fresh one full of success and growth ahead!   I’m Fazlur Shah Click my name + follow + 🔔 ♻️ Reposts, Comments, and Likes Are Appreciated #startups #entrepreneurship #venturecapital #investing #fundraising

For an unproven founder, who has almost no chance to raise, the most important factor for your success is your runway. Can you sustain what you're doing for the next 2 years without any external cash injection? This is the most critical question here..

🌟In the vibrant ecosystem of venture capital, these trailblazers are not just investing in ideas but are committed to nurturing black-owned businesses. Here are the venture capitalists making significant strides: - Monique Woodard 🌟: A venture partner at 500 Global with notable investments in Blavity, Roho, and Win-Win. Woodard is dedicated to supporting black and Latino entrepreneurs, navigating through challenges with resilience and vision. - Marlon C. Nichols 🚀: General partner at Cross Culture Ventures, investing in LISNR, Hingeto, and Mayvenn. Nichols, alongside legends like Troy Carter and Suzy Woo, is shaping the future of diverse entrepreneurship. - Laurence Toney 💼: Partner at GV, with impactful investments in Walker and Co., AirTime, and LendUp. Toney's journey from Comcast Ventures to GV underscores his commitment to entrepreneurs of color. - Michael Seibel 💡: Partner at Y Combinator and CEO of its accelerator program. Seibel's portfolio includes Jopwell, Walker and Company, and Flip. From co-founding Justin.tv to guiding Twitch Interactive to success, Seibel's journey is inspirational. - Erik Moore ✨: Founder and managing director at Base Ventures, backing Pigeonly, Blavity, and Flip. Alongside Kirby Harris and with Michael Seibel as a venture partner, Moore is making significant contributions to the startup world. - Arlan Hamilton 🚀: Founder and managing partner of Backstage Capital, with investments in ShearShare, Blendoor, and On Second Thought. Hamilton's dedication to underrepresented founders is changing the investment landscape, with over $2M invested in 50+ companies. - Mitch Kapor 🌍: Founder of Kapor Capital and the Kapor Center for Social Impact, investing in Hingeto, Kairos, and Uncharted Play alongside Freada Kapor Klein. Their commitment to diversity is unwavering, choosing to invest in founders who prioritize it as well. These venture capitalists are not just funding businesses; they're fueling dreams. Full article here: https://lnkd.in/d4Dycpt5 #DiversityInTech #VentureCapital #InclusiveInvestment #Entrepreneurship #innovation

Check out our Managing Partner, Dana Guthrie's, interview with Tom Jenz at Shepherd Express, where she discusses what brought and kept her in Milwaukee and how education and transparency are key to building strong investor/founder relationships. "We understand that there is a natural misalignment between investor and the startup company, the founder. The investor has the upper hand because the founder needs the funds. As investors at Gateway Capital, we are transparent. We try to explain to the founder our return objectives and typical expectations of the industry. Venture capital has historically been very “black box.” I aim to do things differently." - Dana Guthrie

Pitch your start-up in 10 words or less 👇🏼 No photos. No decks. No links. Just 10 words. These prompts might get you started: - We help X do Y - The X for Y - X because of Y - X is broken Let's get some founder-investor conversations going 💪🏼 #founders #investment #startups #vc

In the spirit of #buildinginpublic, I want to share the ReFounders thesis and model in detail. This is our playbook. We've decided to do this for two main reasons: 1. To offer venture-backed DTC founders and investors the option to adopt our approach instead of exiting. Our goal is to empower purpose-driven businesses to not only survive but in time to thrive. We don't need to be owners or earn money to celebrate when this happens (though of course it’s our preference). 2. To address a common question: How can we love DTC brands while acknowledging that they are often poor investments for VCs? Full piece is linked in comments. #startups #DTC #venturecapital #MandA #EmployeeOwned #employeeownership