Kabila Ventures

We are so excited to support founder mental health this way.

We are excited to have this conversation.

Knowing how to tell your story is an important skill to have.

Is this you? Founder fundraising in 2025? Carta just dropped their latest benchmarks for 2025. Insights from Amanda Zhu: 1/ SAFEs aren’t "cheaper". They just delay the dilution hit. - A $10M SAFE cap doesn’t mean you locked in a $10M valuation. - When SAFEs convert at Series A, dilution can be way worse than founders expect. - If you stack too many SAFEs, you’re probably giving up more equity than you realize. 2/ Series A is shifting. $12M raised is the median, but traction expectations are way higher. - Raising on just vision is nearly dead. - If you’re raising $12M+ at $58.9M, expect serious scrutiny on revenue, burn, and GTM. 3/ Valuations are high, but so is investor pickiness. - AI startups skew these medians up. - If you're not an AI-first startup, your valuation multiple might look different. - VCs still have capital, but they’re writing fewer, bigger checks. 4/ Raising bigger isn’t always better. - The dilution difference between Seed and Series A is small (~20%). - But Series A expectations are way higher. Team size, traction, and retention must be locked. - If you can stretch Seed to true product-market fit, do it. These benchmarks are baselines, not rules. The best founders use market data to inform, not dictate, their raise. What are you seeing in the market? If you’re fundraising now, let’s compare notes.

🗣 BREAKING: FREE MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT FOR FOUNDERS! Startup life is tough. The pressure, isolation, and uncertainty take a toll. 72% of founders struggle with mental health, yet many can’t afford the help they need. That’s why I’m beyond excited to announce The Kabila Founder Mental Health Fund—a new initiative providing free therapy for founders in my Kabila community and, soon, my portfolio company founders through Kabila Ventures. I’m deeply grateful to my friend and Techstars co-founder, Brad Feld, and his wife, Amy, for their generous grant that made this possible. 🙏 Over the past four years, working with the ParentPreneur Foundation, we funded 400+ therapy sessions for parent entrepreneurs. The impact was life-changing—for founders, their families, and their businesses. I know this firsthand. When I launched my first startup, I was functionally depressed. It failed. I wish I had access to a resource like this back then—maybe my startup’s story would’ve been different. 💙 Let’s change that for today’s founders. Watch the video below. If you believe founders deserve mental health support, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. 🔗 Website link in the comments! #FounderWellness #StartupMentalHealth #GiveBack #Entrepreneurship #MentalHealthMatters #GiveFirst

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Join us for a powerful conversation on how emerging fund managers, founders, and advisors are reshaping venture capital. Backing underrepresented fund managers isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s a smart investment. These investors identify overlooked, high-potential founders building the next wave of disruptive companies, unlocking new markets, fresh perspectives, and untapped innovation. What You’ll Gain from This Event: 🔥 Meet Emerging Black Fund Managers James Oliver, Jr. and Brahm Rhodes – Learn how they evaluate founders and what they look for in leadership teams. 💡 Understand the Power of Advisors – Learn from Katrin de Haën how strategic advisors add credibility and boost investability. 🚀 Hear from a Trailblazing Founder Veronica Woodruff – Get firsthand insights on fundraising challenges and breaking through barriers. Hope to see you there! #VentureCapital #DiverseInvesting #BreakingBarriers

🤬 Tyrone is BIG MAD I might have just committed the ultimate betrayal… 👀 See, Tyrone is the Managing Director of the Startech (not Techstars) decelerator program and his whole mission is to DEcelerate startups—keep founders second-guessing, overthinking, and ideally… failing. And what did I do? I set up Kabila Customer Connections to help founders in our community get—wait for it—CUSTOMERS. 😱 📆 On Wednesday, Feb 12th at 12:30 PM ET, we’re featuring Tamara Vrooman Lucas, CEO of My Panda to connect her to possible customers out here on LinkedIn. 💰 Tamara will share how you can offload your to-dos so you can focus on what matters most to you. Tyrone? He’s not happy about it. Watch this video and see why for yourself. 😂 RSVP to meet Tamara 👇🏾 https://lnkd.in/eKbXw2WY If you're a founder looking for a community that will do things like help you get customers, and pay for free founder mental therapy, join our Kabila community today. 🔗 to join the community is in comments. Tag a founder who needs this! Let’s help more startups accelerate, no matter what Tyrone says! #startups #founders #customers #growth #startuphumor #ATL

🗣 Founders: Ready to take your startup to the next level with $100K? The Northwestern Mutual Black Founder Accelerator, powered by gener8tor, is now accepting applications! 🔥 Join me for an exclusive conversation with Managing Director, Mfoniso Ekong, where we’ll break down: ✅ What makes a strong application ✅ How this accelerator can fuel your growth ✅ Live Q&A to get your questions answered 💡 Don’t miss this chance to secure $100K in funding and other invaluable resources! 📅 RSVP now! Link in comments👇🏾 #BlackFounders #StartupFunding #Accelerator #Entrepreneurship #VentureCapital #Gener8tor #NorthwesternMutual #Founders

🎉 Excited to announce The Smart Bet: Investing in Overlooked Founders & the Fund Managers Who Back Them! 🔥 Join us for an important conversation about the future of diverse venture investing and how backing underrepresented new/emerging fund managers can unlock untapped innovation and new markets. Event Highlights: ✅ Meet New/Emerging Black Fund Managers – Learn how they evaluate deals and what they look for in great founders ✅ The Power of Advisors – Understand how strategic advisors enhance startup credibility & value ✅ Founder Spotlight – Hear firsthand from a seasoned founder on navigating fundraising challenges 🎙 Speakers and moderators: Me – Managing Partner, Kabila Ventures Katrin de Haën – Co-Founder, The Fourth Effect Brahm Rhodes – General Partner, Malaika Ventures Veronica Woodruff – CEO & Founder, Travelsist This event is for angel investors, VCs, founders, and LPs who want to rethink capital allocation and back the next wave of high-growth companies! 📅 Date & Time: Feb 18th 12 - 1pm ET 📍 Location: Google Meet 👉 RSVP now:https://lu.ma/9kunn43r Who's coming? 🙋🏾♂️ #VentureCapital #AngelInvesting #EmergingFundManagers #StartupInnovation #VC