Gurman Mudahar

Angelina Ly founder of fireflyslime and a University of Washington Bothell alum shared how she launched one of the top selling slime companies! 🎇 Time Management is Key: Doing it all on your own is possible if you use your time wisely. Tools like Google Calendar can help streamline responsibilities and keep you on track. consistent work ethic makes a difference. 🎇 Embrace E-Commerce Opportunities: Starting a business through e-commerce is possible. Platforms like Shopify are user-friendly and perfect for taking the first step into an online business. 🎇 Passion Drives Success: Your hobbies and passions can become a thriving business. Age or experience isn't a barrier and in fact can be an advantage. 🎇 Small Ideas Can Become Big: Whether it’s a simple idea or an accidental discovery, with experimentation and social media marketing, your business can grow organically.

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For those of you still doubting Artificial Intelligence....wake the f$%& up!!! Go walk around downtown San Francisco and maybe all of Google's Waymo driverless cars on the streets may be a wake up call for you. If you need more proof take a look at Y Combinator's current cohort of companies as well as all the AI and AI-Enabled companies in the MedTech Innovator current cohort of companies or the ones pitching at LSI and LSI Europe!

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Two weeks ago I spent 3 days with brilliant human beings discussing the state of AI investment with other angel syndicate leads, angel investors and VCs at Hustle Fund's #camphustle in Los Gatos. It was brilliant. Truly awesome to learn so much from insanely accomplished investors. But was so clear to me again is that the US and the UK are two countries divided by separate languages of ambition. Aspiration and ambition underlined by the cluster effect of successful exits, incredible talent and venture capital driven by operators and founders rather than accountants. But one reason why the US often trumps (pun not intended) the UK is they learn from failure. Run a startup that didn't reach the dizzying heights of venture-scale returns? Learn, reset and go again. What they certainly do not do is look at failure with glee and an "I told you so" attitude. Which is what I sense when I read most of the narrative around the failure of Cazoo. Alex Chesterman swung and missed. The business was flawed, unit economics didn't add up and in reality - there was very little innovation outside the vertical alignment of a well-understood business. But when we look down upon what he tried to do and 💩 💩 it all we're doing is making it harder for someone else to be equally as ambitious. Focus on what went wrong. Focus on the fundamental underlying business models that drive efficient use of capital and the push for profitability. But let's celebrate people shooting their shot and not celebrate the failures.

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"You can’t be truly successful without being true to yourself." I had the pleasure of hearing Kara Swisher speak at the Dean’s Speaker Series at University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business a couple weeks ago, and this quote really stuck with me. Kara was incredibly candid about her journey covering the tech world for decades, but it was her advice on authenticity that truly hit home. After the event, I asked her about her thoughts on navigating the entrepreneurship space as a founder from an underrepresented background. I’ve often found myself code-switching or "cosplaying" to fit into certain professional spaces, and I’ve been torn about whether that’s necessary in the exclusive world of venture-backed startups. Kara’s response? Focus on building the best product and staying true to the mission that drives you. That advice resonated deeply, especially as I work on building a product that addresses some of the hardest and most meaningful problems in healthcare and nutrition—areas that have personal significance for me. If you're as passionate about advancing health and nutrition through AI as I am, or if you’re building in these spaces, let’s connect. I’d love to continue this conversation and explore how we can make real impact together. #Entrepreneurship #Authenticity #HealthcareInnovation #AI #NutritionTech #FounderLife

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I filmed on my old #iPhone wen Jason Calacanis answered to Ibrahim Ajami About Great #Founders. Inspired by Gaurav Sachddeva Short Video by Chief Visionary Officer Aleksei Dolgikh. Scout Venture Capitalists, Private Equity & Family Offices 🥹 Thanks Gaurav, Jason is really inspired and change my perspective about struggling, those times I thought 💭 something wrong with us… but now it’s just part of the progress 😁 with Glocal SEO Platform 2024 | EN.Gloc.al International Search Engine Optimization & SEO For Startups x crunch/DUBAI – Dubai's StartUPs and people & Crunch/RIYADH - Riyadh's StartUPs and People | #RiyadhTech #Vision2030 #RiyadhExpo2030 & Crunch/LATAM - CrunchLatAm.com StartUPs and People. Olga Nayda , Michael Rashid , Hasan Dayoub , Adil Tariq , Kiryl Martynenko , Pavel Afonin “Just finished Angel by Jason Calacanis and wow, what a brutally honest and eye-opening read! For anyone stepping into angel investing or even founders looking for insights, this book is a must-read. Jason might come across as a bit blunt, but his hard-earned wisdom is invaluable. Here are some standout takeaways: 1. Angel Investing vs. Lottery: “I buy lottery tickets for a living,” but with a chance to hit the top 1%. 2. Risk Equals Reward: “Take risks intelligently,” and you might just make your own luck. 3. The Role of Angels: “We come to a founder’s rescue,” offering money, time, network, and expertise. 4. Hidden Deals: The best opportunities often never make it to platforms like AngelList. 5. Founders Over Ideas: “I don’t need to know if your idea will succeed,” just if you will. Jason’s insights remind us that angel investing isn’t just about funding ideas but backing people who can turn those ideas into reality. As he puts it, “You don’t pick billion-dollar companies; you pick billion-dollar founders.” And let’s not forget, “If you are an #Angelinvestor in #SiliconValley, you are starting every hand with an ace of spades.” The right mindset and approach can make all the difference! For new angel investors, I love the strategy of starting with $1,000 investments in your first 10 deals as part of a #syndicate. Then, ramp up to $25,000 bets on the next 20 deals and invest $100,000 each in your top 5 startups. This approach helps you build experience while scaling your #investments wisely.” What’s Glocal SEO Platform 2024 | EN.Gloc.al International Search Engine Optimization & SEO For Startups it’s enabler of languages on website performance in currencies: #English 🇺🇸 #USA — #USD 🇬🇧 #UK — #GBP 🇦🇺 #Australia — #AUD 🇨🇦 #Canada — #CAD #Mandarin 🇨🇳 #China — #CNY 🇹🇼 #Taiwan — #TWD #Hindi 🇮🇳 #India — #INR #Spanish 🇲🇽 #Mexico — #MXN 🇪🇸 #Spain — #EUR 🇦🇷 #Argentina — #ARS 🇨🇴 #Colombia — #COP #French 🇫🇷 #France — #EUR 🇨🇦 #Canada — #CAD 🇧🇪 #Belgium — #EUR 🇨🇲 #Cameroon — #XAF #Arabic 🇸🇦 #SaudiArabia — #SAR 🇪🇬 #Egypt — #EGP 🇦🇪 #UAE — #AED 🇲🇦 #Morocco — #MAD #Bengali 🇧🇩 #Bangladesh — #BDT 🇮🇳 #India — #INR

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Excited to share some news: Abdul Al Ali has joined Decasonic as a Web3 Venture Investor. I'm always honored when top people join me along this journey to invest in early stage disruptive technologies. It's a volatile journey filled with heart breaking setbacks and tipping point induced euphoria that our founders face through financial and adoption cycles. It's always on, 24/7, globally competitive. It's a grind. It's a relentless journey of intellectual thoughtfulness to drive strategic growth at our companies and the resulting investment alpha in early stage venture capital. Most of the time, it results in failure, embarrassment and pivots. It's not easy. But at the end of the day, it's a rewarding journey to see how our founders shape society with transformative technology products. It's a generational impact. Abdul impressed us through our interview process: the many rounds of virtual meetings, deep reflective personality assessments, in-person debates, investment case studies, on-chain dashboards and written token insights. His journey from the middle east to Notre Dame to Chicago traverses the multi-culturalism needed for global technology investing. He's a founder at heart and this founder mindset relates to the other top people in our ecosystem. It requires a special sharp thinking to succeed as a founder or an early stage venture investor. Abdul is a sharp thinker. In this volatile world filled with noise, he consistently filters out distractions to focus on the core fundamentals that drive success. I value our ability to match the relentless execution speed of our founders - Abdul undoubtedly represents the best of responsiveness, urgency and speed, with the clarity and conviction needed to manage through volatility. He showcased his ability to drive strategic partnership with founders, offering expertise that is more than just capital — he aligns with our aspirations at Decasonic to be "enhancement capital." His ability to deeply empathize and clearly communicate drives our ecosystem of LPs, co-investors and founders moving toward positive sum outcomes. Very much look forward to partnering with Abdul - big things to come...

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🧠 A Must-Read from Paul Graham Founder of Y Combinator: Rethinking How Founders Should Run Companies Last week at a YC event, Brian Chesky delivered a talk that left everyone in awe, especially the founders in the room. He challenged the conventional wisdom of how to run a growing company, drawing lessons from his experience at Airbnb and the legendary Steve Jobs. Here are the key takeaways: Conventional Wisdom Fails: Many founders have been advised to "hire good people and give them room to do their jobs." However, Brian's experience—and that of many others—proves that this advice can lead to disastrous results. The Discovery of "Founder Mode": The difference between how founders should run their companies vs. professional managers is stark. Founders have unique instincts and abilities that traditional management theories overlook. Gaslighting in the Startup World: Founders often feel gaslit—pressured to manage like traditional CEOs, only to see their companies suffer. It's crucial to trust your gut as a founder. Traditional CEO practices, like engaging only with direct reports, may not work for founders. "Skip-level" meetings and unique retreats, like those Steve Jobs held at Apple, could be key to maintaining a startup culture in larger companies. While founders can't manage a large company the same way they did when it was small, they need a different approach than the one-size-fits-all manager mode. It’s more complex, but it works better. The journey from founder to leader of a scaling company isn't about following a manual; it's about discovering and trusting your unique path. Read the full Article at : https://lnkd.in/diXZNiTc #FounderMode #Leadership #Startups #PaulGraham #BrianChesky #YC

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Building on the data shared by Peter Walker, I've compiled a list of top VC firms and investors in CA to approach for funding your SaaS startup: 1. Accel Focuses on Seed to Growth Stage Ventures Sector: Enterprise IT, Fintech, Hardware, Healthcare, Media, Security, Services, Consumer, Cloud/SAAS, AI Notable Portfolio: Slack, Dropbox, and UiPath 2. 500 Global Startups Focuses on Pre-seed, Seed, and Early Stage Ventures Sector: 3D Printing, AI/Machine Learning, Accounting, AdTech Notable Portfolio: GitHub, Canva, and Udemy 3. Sapphire Ventures Focuses on Growth-Stage Ventures Sector: Enterprise, Sport, Consumer Notable Portfolio: DocuSign, Alteryx, and Monday.com 4. Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Focuses on Seed to Growth Stage Ventures Sector: Consumer, enterprise, bio, healthcare, crypto, fintech and games Notable Portfolio: Asana, Okta, and GitHub 5. Scale Venture Partners Focuses on Early-Stage Ventures Sector: AI apps, Fintech, Infrastructure, Productivity, SaaS, Security, Verticals Notable Portfolio: Box, DocuSign, and HubSpot 6. Menlo Ventures Focuses on Seed to Growth-Stage Ventures Sector: AI, Bio + Healthcare, Consumer, Cloud Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, Fintech, SaaS, Supply Chain + Automation Notable Portfolio: Benchling, Carta, and Scout RFP 7. IVP (Institutional Venture Partners) Focuses on Late-stage (Series B to IPO) Ventures Sector: AI, Consumer, Health, Fintech & Crypto, Enterprise Infrastructure, Gaming, SAAS  Notable Portfolio: Dropbox, Slack, and Mindbody 8. Greylock Partners Focuses on Pre-Seed, Seed, and Series A Ventures Sector: AI, Consumer, Cybersecurity, Fintech & Crypto, Infrastructure, Marketplace & Commerce, SaaS Notable Portfolio: Workday, Cloudera, and ServiceNow 9. Redpoint Ventures Focuses on Seed, Series A, Series B and Series C+ Ventures Sector: AI, Application, Blockchain, Consumer, Fintech, Healthcare, Infrastructure Notable Portfolio: Twilio, Looker, and Stripe 10. Storm Ventures Focuses on Seed and Early-Stage Ventures B2B Software Notable Portfolio: Marketo, Talkdesk, and Algolia Stay tuned for the NY list. Looking to connect with the right investor for your SaaS startup? Drop a “LIST” in the comments, and we’ll send you a link to a personalized investor lineup. Know a top SaaS investor or VC firm we missed? Share in the comments! At Thunder.vc, we excel in pairing your startup with venture capital firms that align with your specific sector, growth phase, and objectives. #SaaS #startups #VC

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Arenas, defined by high growth and dynamism, are set to reshape the global economy with 18 potential future arenas projected to generate $29 trillion to $48 trillion in revenues by 2040. From AI to robotics, these arenas could yield $2 trillion to $6 trillion in profit, increasing their collective share of global GDP from 4% to 10-16% by 2040. Twelve current arenas, including e-commerce and biopharma, exhibited remarkable growth from 2005 to 2020, with a revenue CAGR of 10% and market cap CAGR of 16%, tripling their global GDP share to 9%. In contrast, non-arenas only saw a 4% revenue CAGR and 6% market cap CAGR over the same period. The significant differences between current arenas and non-arenas inform the understanding of future arenas, showcasing higher profits, more global giants, and strong opportunities for new entrants. The "arena-creation potion" combines business model changes, escalatory investments, and a large addressable market, fostering competitive escalation and driving innovation and growth in these dynamic sectors.

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One of my favorite things is to have a conversation with builders & founders about the personal experience and complexity of working to bring new deep tech to the point where it makes a real difference in our world. So looking forward to this!

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Having a Cars and Capital event tomorrow in Southern California with Oren Klaff. If you want to join message me. https://lnkd.in/gDQ4D39u Oren Klaff Bridger Pennington #InvestorEvent #FamilyOffice #InvestmentOpportunity #CarlsbadEvent #PrivateEquity #WealthManagement #InvestmentConference #CapitalRaising #NetworkingEvent #IndustryLeaders #FinancialGrowth #InvestorsMeetup #WealthBuilding #BusinessGrowth #InvestmentForum

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Newest meme stock NVIDIA!The AI chip craze of Broadcom, Meta, Alphabet Inc. Apple and Microsoft will retrace itself back to normal levels once CNBC and their cheerleaders report facts instead of hype. Never saw a media company promoting countdown clocks and tickers for the next multi-trillion dollar company without any real analysis other than “lots of cash on the sidelines” investing in this sector. While NVIDIA has done an amazing job growing revenues and profitability, now we need to see practical applications that solve real problems and leverage these chips. Too much hype, not enough tangible and relative reporting (Cisco was once in the hype cycle in the 1990’s, then a sector correction became reality). Great Barn Ventures

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The REAL high EV (expected value) exit may not be working at #bayarea #vc #startups it is being a #whistleblower at them :) https://lnkd.in/esWrjGds

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Anthropic and Menlo Ventures Launch $100 Million Anthology Fund for AI - AI research firm Anthropic and venture capital firm Menlo Ventures have jointly launched the $100 million Anthology Fund to propel advancements in artificial intelligence. - The fund will focus on investing in startups and projects that are at the forefront of AI development, emphasizing safety and ethical considerations. - This initiative aims to foster innovation while addressing the potential risks and societal impacts associated with AI technology. - The collaboration between Anthropic and Menlo Ventures highlights the growing importance of responsible AI investment and development. #AIInvestment #VentureCapital #ArtificialIntelligence Read more: [https://buff.ly/4cIcvJz]

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Innovation AND execution exemplified....but why did Tesla succeed? EV's are everywhere and there is so much demand. There is Rivian, Lucid and multiple others... At the end of the day, this is why many great ideas in VC ultimately fail...execution and lack to a path of profitability. Here is why Tesla succeeded vs Ford but many others are struggling: 1. First Mover Advantage: Tesla has been producing EVs at scale for over a decade, giving it a head start in refining manufacturing processes, supply chain management, and cost reduction. - Economies of Scale: With a significantly larger production volume than newer competitors, Tesla benefits from lower per-unit costs. 2. Control Over Supply Chain: Tesla designs and produces many of its components in-house, including batteries and software. This reduces reliance on third parties and allows better cost control and faster innovation. 3. Manufacturing Innovations: Gigafactories: Tesla’s Gigafactories are designed for scale and efficiency, incorporating automation, innovative production lines, and co-location of battery production. Gigapress: Tesla uses massive casting machines (Gigapresses) to produce large, single-piece components, reducing assembly complexity and costs. Focus on Simplicity: Tesla's designs emphasize simplicity, using fewer components and standardizing across models, which reduces manufacturing complexity. 4. Scale: Lucid and Rivian are producing at much lower volumes, leading to higher per-unit costs. At the end of day, Tesla makes $9,264 per vehicle (profit) while Rivian loses $38,784 per vehicle and Lucid loses $137,150 per vehicle. Same idea, right? Just done very differently... #venturecapital #endowments #familyoffices

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As we get prepared for our Angel Conference program, we run workshops to help get things lined up for the right conversations between investors and early pre-seed startups. We have a deadline coming up on August 27th for startups. One of the places that we see companies having a bit of trouble is on the customer discovery side of things. So we have a couple of workshops on that early customer discovery and associated efforts to get traction early before your MVP. As Angel Investors, we need to think with a portfolio mindset instead of investing in one or two companies to "see how it goes". We have a panel of SAC alumni talking about their perspectives on their portfolio of companies. We also know that startups don't practice pitching enough. So we we have workshops for improving pitches before people pitch for real. You can see the upcoming workshops here: AI+Lean  Building automated content experiments for customer discovery Tuesday, August 6, 2024 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM PDT https://lnkd.in/gJMiyQZC Building Your Angel Investment Portfolio Tuesday, August 6, 2024 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM PDT https://lnkd.in/gD9ATSyG Pitch Deconstruction and Review Thursday, August 8, 2024 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM PDT https://lnkd.in/g-RRajrX Finding your first paying customers Tuesday, August 13, 2024 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM PDT https://lnkd.in/gN-DaRJ8 Angel Investing and Taxes Thursday, August 15, 2024 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM PDT https://lnkd.in/gjs9cQfy Solving Real Problems: The Key to Market Success Tuesday, August 20, 2024 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM PDT https://lnkd.in/gYkJFD-X Structuring a Pitch Deck That Engages Investors Thursday, August 22, 2024 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM PDT https://lnkd.in/geyYR4wB Seattle Angel Conference (SAC 26) Application Deadline Tuesday, August 27, 2024 9:00 PM to 9:05 PM PDT  (But REALLY … Apply early)  https://lnkd.in/gM_fSmbZ  Companies need to apply here - https://lnkd.in/gWbtkAaf Please let the folks around you know about these workshops.

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