Brent Grinna

Wing Venture Capital's Founder Docs project is a unique collection of startup wisdom, by founders, for founders. The authors of the docs are talented founders themselves, sharing their experience on the topics they are most passionate about. I'd like to highlight the contributions of Edo Liberty, founder / CEO of Pinecone. Edo writes about the special opportunities for the scientist / founder (and he is one of the best of this breed!), as well as some of the risks and challenges they face. I got a lot out of reading Edo's stuff and I suspect you will too! https://lnkd.in/g_wyRMiE

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In today’s Expert Contributor, Gabriel Alejandro Garza Caro, Co-Founder and Managing Director at DocTour, highlights the critical role of edtech in improving health literacy for younger generations, particularly in underserved communities. Don't miss 'Edtech and Health Literacy: Preparing Future Generations': Article Link: https://ow.ly/o0Gz50UfpMG Audio Link: https://ow.ly/3Yuo50UfpMF Out now! #MBN #MexicoBusiness #ExpertOpinion #AudioArticle

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Investor rejection is a gift. Santiago (Santi) Jaramillo shared this positive reframe for founders facing fundraising challenges, encouraging them to treat every ‘no’ as a mentoring session. He suggests creating an investor gratitude journal. After every pitch, write down what you learned and what you're grateful for from that investor. This helps you see rejections as valuable feedback about your business, team, market, or financials. It forces you to take a discouraging experience and turn it into a tool for getting better. By engaging in this practice, founders can make sure they’re getting value from every interaction, regardless of the outcome. — How do you handle rejection in your entrepreneurial journey? Share your tips below! Watch the full episode with Santi Jaramillo, entrepreneur and executive coach, right here: https://lnkd.in/e-fMWDuS

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Congrats to Mairon Sandoval, Manuel Cangas & Team OCN (onecarnow.com) on the successful $86M round of funding (debt and equity), Co-Led by Great North Ventures! OCN, provides a car subscription (rental) service for gig workers in Mexico that provides the strongest financing coupled with a myriad of other services to benefit the driver and their riders. They raised $86 million in equity and debt to fund growth in Mexico as well expand internationally. The Series A round for the company was led by Brazil’s Caravela Capital, Collide Capital, and Great North Ventures on the equity side. New York-based i80 Group led the debt portion of the raise. The proceeds of the round will be used to grow the company’s tech infrastructure, hire numerous positions including bolstering executive team, and of course to finance quite a few more cars. Great North Ventures invested in the earlier Seed round and has watched the company grow very quickly over the past 12 mos. See link for more details about OCN and this round including a link to the coverage from Bloomberg. Nate Pierotti Nick Moran J.R. Moran Brian Hollins Edward Goldstein Rodrigo Basil Andersen Brunna Zogbi Ivan Montoya https://lnkd.in/gg28Cssg

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What a day at the inaugural Alpaca VC Capital Cup! 🏌️‍♂️☀️ Yesterday, we brought together 20 of South Florida's most incredible VCs, founders, and allocators at The Park in West Palm Beach for an afternoon that was about more than just golf. It was about starting the New Year by getting outside, connecting in-person and continuing to build the South Florida tech ecosystem. And for our team’s David Goldberg, it was about getting out of the sand in a pretty spectacular way – at least ESPN thought so (see ~45 seconds into the clip below, and you’ll get it!).   Since making South Florida my home, I've become increasingly convinced that the future of our tech ecosystem is made stronger when we step away from our screens and spend time together in person. The golf course isn't just about the green or the game – it's about the conversations, collaborations and unexpected outcomes that happen along the way. Huge thanks to our partners Escalon Services, LLC (thank you Zack Mellin) and First Circle Law (thank you Drew Morris) for supporting this vision of ecosystem building. And an even bigger thanks to everyone who showed up, swung a club and helped be a part of what’s happening here in the region: Jonathan Beda of Connexa Capital, Eric Helitzer, LEED AP of SubBase, Patrick Miller and Rob Cousin of J.P. Morgan, Steven Himmel of HighPost Capital, Harry Hurst of Protagonist, Jacob Slevin of FuseProp, Chris Wallace of Dunbar Capital, Paget S. of Gemini, Henri Pierre-Jacques of Harlem Capital, Blake Hatten of CEAS Investments, Howie Diamond of Pure Ventures, Luba Lesiva of Palumni VC, Nicki Berlyn Katz of Related Ross, Rob Hayden of Renew. These are the moments that make our South Florida tech landscape one I’m glad to be a part of. Who's ready for the next gathering? 🤝 #SouthFloridaTech #VentureCapital https://lnkd.in/eZWkqChP

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There has never been a more ideal time for an entrepreneur to initiate and develop a startup. Costs of creating and operating a startup continue to decrease. Access to resources and the ability to be a founder is increasingly more democratized. Currently, a founder raising money has many more options than ten years ago. The Founders VC blog is focused on educating the reader how does the founder evaluate the myriad opportunities and maximize the result. The knowledge that will be conveyed in the Founders VC blog will save those interested in entrepreneurship and VC much time and money in the journey of navigating being a founder or VC.

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NFX is amazing. I love this pre-seed and seed funding team because they are the rare VC firm that provides innovative thought leadership in addition to financing. "NfX" stands for network effects, and they are particularly interested in partnering with startups and visionary teams that understand and center network effects in their products and services. The latest thought leadership article by NfX is titled "Why Great Bioplatforms Will Always Win." The key insight is that "a platform built on stellar IP and backed by a sharp business strategy is always “cool” because great platforms should make great assets. Full stop. It’s about balancing platform and asset development strategically. One should fuel the other and vice versa." You can find a link to the article in the comments. * the image below is from the NfX site

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With Guillermo Campoamor, we lived in the same city (Philadelphia, or Phila for me) for quite some time but never managed to grab a coffee in person. We found some time to chat on #StartupSounds by Draper House Americas & Draper Startup House about his story and Meep, and I'm meeting him first-time in person this Friday in NYC during the #DraperFoundersProgram. Full conversation on these links: Youtube: https://lnkd.in/dtNSAugF Spotify: https://lnkd.in/dcX2EnJf 🌟 Exploring Mobility with Guillermo Campoamor of Meep His company is revolutionizing urban mobility by integrating multiple transport modes into one seamless app. From tackling inefficiencies to building a $2M ARR platform, Guillermo shared his inspiring journey and vision for the future of connected cities. Don’t miss it! 🌍 From Wine to Wheels: Guillermo’s Global Journey Guillermo’s path from working in the wine industry to founding Meep is nothing short of fascinating. His international experiences—from Ukraine to Brazil—sparked a deep understanding of urban mobility challenges, inspiring him to build solutions that make getting around cities easier. 🚀 The Meep Story: Overcoming Challenges in the Mobility Space Startups are never easy, especially in regulated industries like mobility. Guillermo opens up about the hurdles he faced growing Meep and how those challenges shaped the company. For anyone building in tough markets, this conversation is packed with valuable insights. 📲 Digital Disruption in Transportation with Meep Guillermo and his team are reshaping the way we move by connecting transport options in one app. From QR-code solutions during the pandemic to cashless innovations, Meep is leading the way in creating sustainable, connected mobility ecosystems. 🌟 Building Mobility Ecosystems Across Continents Expanding Meep from Europe to the U.S. is no small feat. Guillermo shared his perspective on the differences between these markets, the gaps in U.S. infrastructure, and how Meep is adapting its solutions to fit each unique environment. 🎯 Simple Solutions, Big Impact: Meep’s Strategy for Success Not every innovation needs to be rocket science. Guillermo explains how simplicity has been the key to Meep’s growth, making urban mobility more efficient and accessible. A great reminder that the simplest ideas are often the most impactful. 💼 Navigating Public and Private Sectors in Mobility Innovation Guillermo shared what it’s like working with both public and private partners in the mobility space. From public procurement challenges to partnering with innovative private operators, his perspective offers a masterclass in building relationships that drive change.

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Today's guest on Business Podcast by Roohi is the first repeat guest on the podcast Had a super interesting discussion with Juan Abundes: Solo GP at Aito Capital In this podcast we cover: 1. GP’s leaving to start their own funds 2. Creative ways of liquidity Thanks to Ana Maury Aguilar for making the intro to Juan! Link to listen to the episode- in the replies

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2 active fund offerings from the Echelon Fund team who have been killing it ever since their cohort at The Fund School. https://lnkd.in/gVd-dhfY sidecarportfoliofund.com This presentation of Echelon Fund, LLC and Sidecar Portfolio Fund (the “Company”) is for information only and shall not constitute an offer to buy, sell, issue or subscribe for, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, sell or issue, or subscribe for any securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice and is based on publicly-available information, internally developed data, third party information and other sources. The third party information has not been independently verified. While the Company may not have verified the third party information, nevertheless, it believes that it obtained the information from reliable sources and has no reason to believe it is not accurate in all material respects.

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Coming back from my first meeting at the White House. A group of Latinx investors was invited to engage in practical conversation with several federal agencies working on entrepreneurship. My take away is that there have been several great programs created at the federal level to help entrepreneurs and investors, in general, and underrepresented entrepreneurs and investors in particular. Among them are the new SBIC and SSBCI programs, the Chips and Science Act, Regional Innovation Clusters, Regional Innovation Engines, Opportunity Zones, The Growth Accelerator Fund Competition, etc. However, sometimes these programs fail to achieve their full potential and fall short. Large amounts of money are provided, but the rules put in place to dole them out get in the way of equitable access and efficient distribution. There is little or no coordination across programs, therefore the problem gets compounded and goals become harder to reach. Sometimes it feels that allocations of funding to different sectors and different regions of the country are done without sufficient thought and planning. We have a significant opportunity to help push further up many vibrant communities throughout the entire country. Many great federal programs are already in place and, with a little coordination, they can have a greater impact. State pension funds have an opportunity to generate alpha and help their regional communities. A little more organization, creativity and coordination will go a long way to do this in a more impactful way. The dollars that entrepreneurs need to make a significant impact in the economy are minimal compared to the economy as a whole. This is a very worthwhile investment. Other participants in the conversation included: Tom Perez, Taylor Wright, Janis Bowdler, Bailey DeVries, Justina Gallegos, Marcelo Claure, Nina Vaca, Beto Pallares, Tom Soto, Dr. Mariela Salas,Noramay Cadena, Arturo Sneider, Adrian Mendoza, Senofer Mendoza, Laura I. Maydón, Jorge M. Calderon, Vincent Cordero, Marcos Gonzalez, José Luis Silva Vázquez, Elian Savodivker, Milton Berlinski, Alejandro Guerrero, Adela Cepeda, Roman Leal, CFA, Pete Amaro, Danny Navarro, Lili Gangas, Antonio Tijerino, Herman Goihman

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One superpower I always look for in founders: Being a resource magnet. Few founders exemplify this better than Pamela Valdes Esteva, the founder of Beek.io Pamela doesn’t just network; she builds a strategic advantage by attracting world-class advisors who actively move the needle for her team. Here are a few examples: ▶️ Building subscription billing infrastructure? When Pamela needed to design a robust system, she reached out to experts at Disney and Netflix - people who tackle this at massive scale - and secured their direct advisory for her engineering team. ▶️ Perfecting growth strategies? She connected with Sam Altman (Open AI) and Dylan Field (Figma), Casey Winters (Pinterest) among others, bringing their insights into Beek.io’s strategic growth. ▶️ Creating engaging, sticky product features? She worked with Jorge Mazal, former CPO at Duolingo, who advised her product team bi-weekly to refine and optimize Beek’s offerings. Her ability to attract and engage top-tier advisors is a skill every founder should cultivate. But her process isn’t magic; it’s replicable: Step 1: Relentless Outreach: Pamela cold emails, DMs, or calls without hesitation - and doesn’t stop until she gets an answer. Step 2: Purpose-Driven Requests: She’s crystal clear about the expertise she needs and why each person is the right fit. Step 3: Shout Yourself Out: Successful people like helping the next up and coming successful person. Pamela has an incredible story and isn’t afraid to use it to show she’s someone worth getting to know. Step 4: Reflect Back Learnings: People like when they can see they’re being helpful. Pam and her team reflect back a quick command and fast grasp of new concepts. Pamela says “This last one is especially important. Advisors love to feel useful so if you come back with ‘we learned this and it changed our trajectory’ - it’s like their dopamine to keep helping you.” Take it from Pamela: Don’t just look for advice. Recruit excellence. Build your circle like it’s an extension of your team, and aim high. Resource Magnets magnetize advisors and are so compelling you can’t help but want to join their journey. Magnetize resources with precision. Be a Resource Magnet.

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I really enjoyed recording this episode of The Digital Industrial Podcast with Ty Findley. We talked about common misconceptions for deep tech, the "Why Now" for the category, and differences between investor diligence for deep tech and traditional tech. https://lnkd.in/eKtwjauu

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Last year, we were pleased to partner with John Andrews and Vivek Farias, Co-Founders of Cimulate, Inc., investing in a $5M seed round alongside SIERRA Ventures (Tim Guleri). We’re delighted to share that Spark Capital (Alex Finkelstein) led a $28M series A last month. Other new investors included LFX Venture Partners and Commerce Ventures. John hails from the Endeca mafia, having previously worked alongside Boston leaders including Steve Papa (Toast, Parallel Wireless), Jason Purcell (Salsify), Aman Narang (Toast) and fellow Pillar portfolio founders, Andrew Lau, David Gourley and Philip Braden (Jellyfish). Vivek is an MIT professor and reinforcement learning expert, and has the rare ability to translate very complex topics into digestible concepts. John and Vivek previously worked together at Celect, which they successfully sold to Nike. They are an absolute pleasure to work with – they bring complementary skillsets, are customer obsessed and efficient and they execute at light speed. Celect was a good outcome, a taste of what they now seek – to build a category defining company. That category is the Commerce Experience Server and their LLM approach, CustomerGPT, lets retailers deliver hyper-optimized content and context-aware search and discovery experiences, enabling faster, more relevant, and conversion-driven shopping interactions. Cimulate brings hard-to-believe value to customers in extremely aggressive timeframes – hence the decision to add capital and Spark’s expertise, even though most of the seed round funding was still in the bank. We're sad that they are no longer working out of our offices, but couldn’t be more proud to have Cimulate as part of our Pillar family. On to building an iconic company. 

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Entrepreneurship is life-changing! My journey as an angel investor has just begun, and I’m thrilled to have discovered negozee🚀—a game-changing platform that’s like LinkedIn meets Driven. Designed to empower Spanish-speaking Latino entrepreneurs to break barriers and thrive in the U.S. 🌎 This community-driven social media platform isn’t just about networking; it’s also about actionable resources and support—from IRS insights to hands-on events across the country to tech solutions, tax advisory, and experts from various verticals including tax, legal, insurance, real estate, capital, and others. With gatherings planned in Houston, Chicago, LA, Atlanta and New York, participants can engage with industry leaders and fellow entrepreneurs, fostering an environment rich in collaboration and learning. Join the platform at negozee.com towards a more inclusive entrepreneurial landscape! Albert Preciado #negozee #Entrepreneurship #LatinoBusiness #Networking #BusinessSuccess #InvestorInsights #Empowerment #CommunitySupport #FinancialLiteracy #MindsetMatters #Resilience #EmergentBusiness #BusinessStrategy #IRS #DrivenPodcast #Bloomstreet #BloomEnterprises #BloomAdvise

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Want to build wealth faster? Skip startups. Buy Boring Old Businesses. Here’s why: 1. They’re already making money. 2. They come with customers, systems, and momentum. 3. They’re undervalued – 2.5x profits is standard. 4. SBA loans or seller financing make them accessible. 5. Easy profit boosters: raise prices or add new products. 6. They’re easier to scale than startups. Startups fail 65% of the time within the first 5 years. But "boring" businesses? They’re built to last. Don’t build from scratch. Buy something proven. If you could buy a "boring" business, what type of business would you buy?

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🚀 Don’t miss out! Tomorrow, October 23rd, we’re hosting a masterclass: "Getting to the Business Goal Line: Walk with Others in Your Journey." 👥 This session will dive into how teamwork and leadership are key to hitting critical business milestones. It’s perfect for founders and leaders ready to take their teams to the next level. Last chance to register! 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gYuttyUE #Leadership #Entrepreneurship #TeamBuilding #Masterclass

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💡 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐚 $600 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐧𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭? As part of my second FemTech deep dive expert interviews, as a cohort member of Included VC (Class of '24), I had the privilege of interviewing Mayra Hurtado 🐝, Co-Founder of Hormony ® (Prelude Health), a pioneer addressing the critical gaps in midlife healthcare. We covered topics such as: 🚺 Why Women Matter as Decision Makers and Trendsetters: 🔷 Women drive 70-80% of household purchasing decisions, influencing over $15 trillion in global consumer spending annually (Frost & Sullivan, 2021; Rock Health, 2023). 🔷 Women spend 20% more on healthcare than men, yet their health needs remain underserved and stigmatized (Rock Health, 2023). Mayra shared: “You don’t need to be an athlete to design athlete shoes as long as you have the right sample mass.” Similarly, FemTech founders, on the other hand, are building based on firsthand experience with every challenge to build impactful solutions. 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐲’𝐬 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐦𝐚𝐬: By offering at-home hormone tests and AI-personalized health profiles, Hormony ® (Prelude Health) tackles perimenopause, a natural life-cycle evolution experienced by 1 billion women globally but still stigmatized as a “disease” in many societies. In the US, 47% of counties lack an OBGYN, with ratios as high as one doctor per 9,000 women in underserved areas (March of Dimes, 2023). Globally, especially in the Global South, these disparities are magnified (WHO, 2023). The numbers don't lie: 🔶 4 in 5 women suffer from hormonal imbalances. 🔶 9 Years average time to find a solution. 🔶 10 average doctor visits for a woman to get help. 🔶 4 in 5 women will have a chronic disease by the age of 50. 🔶 > $600 BILLION annually spent on trial-and-error solutions like prescriptions, screenings, doctor visits, treatments, and health products. Despite its potential, FemTech faces low valuations, receives less than 2.5% of health tech VC funding (PitchBook, 2023), often dismissed as a niche. Investors must adopt conviction-driven approaches to unlock this market’s full potential, addressing deep-seated biases in the VC checklist. The Global FemTech Ecosystem: ✅ US: Leads with 60% of FemTech startups, collectively raising $1.3 billion in 2023 across multiple funding rounds. Notable rounds include Clue’s Series B, raising $20 million, and Elvie’s Series C, which raised $42 million (CB Insights, 2023). ✅ Europe & UK: Accelerators like FemTech Lab are fostering growth, having supported over 30 startups, many securing significant investments. In 2023, Fertility Circle raised €10 million in a Series A, and Livia raised €7 million for their pain management device (Crunchbase, 2023). ✅ Singapore: A health tech leader addressing aging populations. 📊 Stay tuned.

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Tune in to the latest RBF Network podcast episode to hear Kristian Marquez, CFA’s entrepreneurial journey and how he helps startups get ready for fundraising at FinStrat Management, Inc. Kristian has built companies to IPO, raised capital, experienced success and failure, and navigated all of the twists and turns of entrepreneurship. In our conversation, he shares what he’s learned, why he decided to raise capital from Novel Capital, and what he advises entrepreneurs to do to successfully raise money and grow their companies. Here’s hoping you enjoy this conversation as much as I did! You can find the link in the comments! ⬇

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