Bridgette L. Smith 🦋
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Explore more posts
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Damir Ibrahimagic Kopinic
🌟Innovative VC Firm Overcomes Exits Drought with Secondary Sales🌟 ⛵Navigating a challenging landscape where exits are scarce, Santa Barbara Venture Partners (SBVP) has pioneered a novel approach to sustain its growth and attract investors for its second fund: secondary sales. Instead of waiting for traditional exits like IPOs or acquisitions, SBVP opted to sell shares of its portfolio companies, demonstrating its ability to generate returns for investors and stand out in a competitive market. 🎤According to Dan Engel, founder and managing partner of SBVP, these secondary transactions have been a game-changer, sparking investor interest and bolstering the firm's credibility. By leveraging its recent successes, including a lucrative stake in sports-betting company DraftKings Inc.' acquisition of digital lottery app Jackpocket, SBVP seized the opportunity to return profits to its limited partners (LPs) and pave the way for its second fund. 💡Engel highlighted the challenges faced by young VC firms in raising subsequent funds, particularly amid a downturn in exit activity and heightened investor scrutiny. With traditional exit routes becoming increasingly elusive, the pressure is on for firms to demonstrate tangible returns and establish a track record of success. ✨"For us, secondary sales have been a game-changer. They've helped us return profits to our LPs and attract investors for our second fund," said Dan Engel. 💰For SBVP, the decision to pursue secondary sales was driven by the need to provide liquidity to LPs and validate its investment thesis in the eyes of prospective investors. By strategically offloading portions of its holdings in high-performing portfolio companies like Bark Technologies and Rad AI, SBVP not only generated substantial returns but also bolstered investor confidence in its ability to deliver results. ⚠Despite the complexities and potential stigma associated with early share sales, Engel emphasized the importance of prioritizing investor returns and seizing opportunities to unlock value for stakeholders. With a focus on profitability and transparency, SBVP remains committed to its mission of delivering sustainable growth and maximizing returns for its LPs. 🔍 "Returning profits to our investors is our top priority. By strategically selling shares, we're proving our commitment to delivering results and driving value for our stakeholders," added Engel. As SBVP continues to explore secondary transactions and expand its investor base, the firm stands as a testament to innovation and resilience in the face of market challenges. 🚀 ✅ Looking to raise capital for your #fund and increase the international pool of your LP #investors? 🤝 Need warm #LP introductions? 📝 Selling #secondaries to increase liquidity? 🧐 Looking for co-investments? ▶ G+QUANT's link for inquiries and fund decks: https://lnkd.in/gjC_EuTE #VCInnovation #SecondarySalesSuccess #InvestorReturns #ValueCreation
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Paul Hsu
For your weekend reflection: The generosity of advice deepens relationships. In a fantastic podcast episode, Jennifer Prosek delves into key insights essential for private investors and leaders alike: 1. The necessity of consumer branding for private investors. 2. The significance of crafting a unique narrative. 3. The empowerment that comes from bringing people together. 4. The rising trend of branding within private markets. 5. The democratization of access to alternative investments. 6. How to maximize relationships at conferences. 7. Leadership strategies to inspire and motivate talent. 8. The importance of thought leadership on LinkedIn Narratives are powerful in driving connections, for innovators and investors, everywhere.
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Ravinder (Ravi) Singh
Future (proof) #universities will cultivate abilities in their students to shape the #Mind of the #Machine. Artificial intelligence is no longer the stuff of #science #fiction. It permeates our lives, from the algorithms powering our #socialmedia to anything in #motion. However, with this incredible potential comes immense responsibility. The future of #AI, and its impact on #society, hinges on the shoulders of those who develop and deploy it. This is where universities have a unique and pivotal opportunity – to shape the future of AI by educating the next generation of developers and thinkers. AI development shouldn't exist in a vacuum. Courses that encourage collaboration with philosophers, sociologists, and legal scholars will ensure AI is developed with consideration for human #values and societal context. Imagine AI developers working alongside ethicists and philosophers, ensuring technology serves humanity and aligns with our values. Black box nature of some AI models can be concerning. Universities should introduce students to explainable AI techniques, enabling them to build #models that are not just accurate but also allow humans to understand how decisions are made. Imagine AI systems that can explain their reasoning, fostering trust & collaboration between humans & machines. By ensuring transparency & responsible development, universities can help build public trust in AI, encouraging wider adoption and maximizing its benefits. Imagine a future where people embrace AI not with fear, but with confidence, knowing it has been developed with #ethical considerations at its core. By encouraging students to consider the #social #impact of AI, universities can become a beacon of responsible AI research and development. Imagine university research labs setting the standard for ethical practices, influencing the entire AI industry. By educating #students and fostering open discussions about AI's implications,universities can shape public discourse and build a #society that embraces AI responsibly. Imagine informed public debates about the use of AI in various sectors, ensuring #technology serves humanity's best interests. Universities have a great opportunity to play crucial role in shaping the future of AI. By moving beyond technical skills training and prioritizing ethical considerations, universities can equip the next generation of AI #developers with the #knowledge and #values needed to create a #future where AI serves as a powerful tool for progress – a Future where AI isn't just intelligent, but also ethical, responsible, and beneficial to all. It's in the #classrooms of universities that the ethical foundation for a better #tomorrow with AI will be being built. We (Sahil & Team) at Rishihood University under the guidance of Suresh Prabhu Ji are building the cradle of India’s #political and #entrepreneurial #leadership https://lnkd.in/geMZqRNZ Dataquest
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Jon Stoddard
Why Buying Your First Business is the hardest & Financing The Fear is Being seen as too risky by lenders and investors. The Solution: Prepare a solid business plan with detailed financial projections. Work with a financial advisor to enhance your credibility. Consider alternative financing options like SBA loans or seller financing.
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Damir Ibrahimagic Kopinic
🚀 Navigating the Future: Challenges & Opportunities for Emerging VCs 🚀 🤦♂️"Despite strong performance, the future of this space favors larger firms than mine," remarks Jai Malik, founder of Countdown Capital, reflecting on the tumultuous start to 2024. Emerging managers face a daunting landscape, with market forces and LP dynamics shaping their fate. 📉"In 2023, debut US VC funds raised 72% of what was raised in 2022," observes Ali Hamed, Co-founder of CoVenture and Crossbeam Venture Partners VC, highlighting a nuanced picture amidst adversity. Yet, the path to success remains uncertain, with LP appetite shifting towards established players. 💡"The fundraising picture for first-time fund managers isn't all bleak," acknowledges Aakar Vachhani, Partner at Fairview Capital, noting exceptions like CalSTRS' partnership with Sapphire Ventures. However, concerns over underperformance persist, casting a shadow over emerging managers' prospects. The fund count for both emerging and overall VCs dropped off by more than 60%, according to PitchBook data. 🚩In this LP "pick 'n' mix" scenario, LPs wield significant influence over fund terms and allocations, demanding transparency and favorable terms. As GPs navigate fundraising complexities, strategies like extensions, side letters, and secondary stake sales become commonplace. However, the specter of total shutdowns looms, a fate avoided by many but feared by all. “I just got an email this morning from a GP wanting to extend their fundraise for another six months,” said Vachhani, adding that the firm had already secured several prominent LPs and needed more time only to wrap up its raise. 🌪Amidst uncertainty, emerging VCs must navigate a changing landscape, adapting strategies to secure funding and ensure longevity. While challenges abound, opportunities for growth and innovation persist, offering hope for those willing to evolve with the times. As the VC ecosystem continues to evolve, only time will tell which emerging managers will emerge as the industry's future leaders. 🌱 “I’d be surprised if there were tons more OpenView announcements,” Hamed said. “Most people are pretty good at finding very quiet ways to be unsuccessful and very loud ways to be successful.” ✅ Looking to raise capital for your #fund and increase the international pool of your LP #investors? 🤝 Need warm #LP introductions? 📝 Selling #secondaries to increase liquidity? 🧐 Looking for co-investments? ▶ G+QUANT's link for inquiries and fund decks: https://lnkd.in/gjC_EuTE #VentureCapital #EmergingManagers #LPInvestment #Fundraising #VCPerformance #InvestmentStrategy #MarketTrends #VCShutdowns #StartupInvesting #GrowthStrategies #FutureLeadership
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David Levine🎗️
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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Dr. Michael G. Kollo
One of the best podcasts that you will hear. Eric Weinstein, an accomplished business / hedge fund manager and just amazing thinker holds a master class in how to reason through a set of complex conversations. Some context here: Terrence Howard (yes the actor) came on Joe Rogan a little while ago, and did some very elaborate 'matching'. He very much comes across as a visionary, self-taught, self-reasoned through many complex ideas, bringing it all together with a vast web of historic scientific knowledge. Terrance launches into a set of core assumptions within the sciences, mathematics, physics and related topics. He tumbles through multitude of ideas from frequency, to energy, to wave theory, all very difficult to follow... but extremely compelling. Encyclopaedic knowledge, but a flow that is so rapid, and often superficial. For many casual 'scientists' and social media followers, it was like a red flag to a bull: and confirmed a narrative that 'they' (the scientific, trusted community) is lying to us, that they are not telling us something. That 'their' assumptions are wrong, but that there is a cartel of universities and institutions that is protecting it, and protecting their dominion over the sciences. This fed into Joe's common narrative that the modern scientific understanding of the world is incomplete and lacking: but more importantly that the institutions who guard this knowledge are themselves filled with political bias, making them fallible, and ultimate not trusted as much as they should be. (A lot of 'they' say this, or that.. not sure who 'they' are, except that they only have bad characteristics.) Enter Eric Weinstein, an accomplished thinker and just a superb communicator, takes Terrance through his own maze of ideas, and links between ideas, one at a time, carefully dissection the arguments. He leads this 'visionary' through his errors and discoveries,'What Terrance is doing here is... ' and sometimes he points out errors in reasoning, sometimes provides clarification, sometimes asks for clarification, but is always respectful, always careful, always thoughtful. He gives Terrance a lot of credit for his thinking, but also shapes and moulds it carefully. "You have a lot of desire to understand what it means. But before you think about it, you have to ask what it is" He delivers a masterclass in how to handle this kind of back-of-the-envelope science, that is so prominent in social media now. Terrance is in awe of him, as was I. This is where you see just an amazing capability of the human mind to reason through multiple avenues (often strange manifestation, with partial truths, and incomplete relationships), to question, to reason, to give room for each other in a very humane way. One of the best displays of human capability: both academic and the best humane characteristics, I have ever seen. #joerogan #podcasts #reasoning #human #conversation #rogan #weinstein #terrancehoward Eric Weinstein Joe Rogan
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Damir Ibrahimagic Kopinic
🚀 "Corporate Venture Capital: Navigating the New Normal" 📈 🌟"More than 70 new CVC units started in 2023, and the number of corporate venture capital organizations grew 10x over the last decade," shares Sneha Sanghrajka Shah, EVP at SEI, highlighting the rapid expansion of corporate venture capital (CVC). 📈From unexpected players like Anheuser-Busch, General Motors, to tech giants, CVCs are reshaping the startup ecosystem, with as many as 2,000 active units worldwide—a tenfold increase over the last decade. 🌪Yet, as Patrick Eggen, founding partner at Counterpart Ventures, points out, the CVC terrain isn't without its challenges. While AI investments surge, CVCs face a mixed environment, with some scaling back while others forge ahead. "As interest rates remain high and economic volatility persists, a corporate parent supporting a CVC right now might be hesitant to experiment or take risks," says Eggen.🔮 🎯However, seasoned investors like Matt Sueoka of Amex Ventures remain optimistic, foreseeing continued growth and evolution in the sector. In a landscape marked by change and opportunity, CVCs are poised to play a pivotal role in driving innovation and shaping the future of entrepreneurship. 💼🚀 ✅ Looking to raise capital for your #fund and increase the international pool of your LP #investors? 🤝 Need warm #LP introductions? 📝 Selling #secondaries to increase liquidity? 🧐 Looking for co-investments? ▶ G+QUANT's link for inquiries and fund decks: https://lnkd.in/gjC_EuTE #CorporateVentureCapital #Innovation #StartupEcosystem #AIInvestments #BusinessStrategy 🌍💡
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Arman Kassym
That's why it's often very difficult to recognize new leaders – their ideas go beyond the conventional frameworks we're accustomed to. Keep your mind open. Don't let yesterday's templates define your future. #Leadership, #Innovation, #OpenMind, #FutureThinking, #venturethinking, https://lnkd.in/eASPGsuu
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Robin Zucker
"Life in Motion" There is no set it and forget it. It’s a constant balancing act, shaped by our choices, challenges, and dreams. That’s what this new feature from UCLA Anderson Women "Life in Motion" is all about. We'll explore the insights and stories of some of the most accomplished women in our alumni community. Their reflections on everything from defining success to navigating leadership and life are inspiring. Listen to Satiya Witzer's perspective on "What is Success?" 👇 📌 Follow us at UCLA Anderson Women for more and to join the conversation. #LifeInMotion #AndersonWomen #Leadership #MBA #SuccessStories
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Tony Clemendor
I clearly have a startup obsession!😍 EVERYTHING feels like a startup lesson or comparison to me.🤔 I realized I had a problem this past weekend when I ran the San Jose Rock & Roll half marathon. Everywhere I looked, I saw something that felt startup related. Even when looked at the long lines waiting to use the Port-o-Potties, all I could think of was "Clearly they have Product/Market fit". Then I thought about the fact that the people in line were the users, not actually the customers... and it spiraled from there. But when I was actually running, I thought of some things to share with the founders who follow me... Before I became a distance runner, the idea of becoming a distance runner had never crossed my mind. ✖️ I was old(ish) ✖️ I was overweight ✖️ I had never been any type of athlete ✖️ I was not able to run 2 miles without needing a serious nap ✖️ It didn't strike me as something I would succeed at because I didn't have whatever it was that runners have It's not that I didn't have any interest in the benefits of running. I was just content to dwell on the reasons that I either: a) Shouldn't try b) Was not likely to succeed c) The excuses I could use if I didn't succeed Then one year I committed to trying, and ran my first 26.2 mile marathon 4 months later (with the help of a coach and training community) So what's the startup connection? I see founders doing what I did... ➡️ They focus on reasons why things won't work (e.g. validation interviews, fundraising) ➡️ They think there are things they can't overcome that are to blame for their inability to get funding ➡️ They think they might be too old ➡️ They compare themselves to others and come up short (usually comparing themselves to the visible examples of success) If I didn't ignore my excuses, I would not have become a distance runner. If founders hang on to reasons they might fail, they will likely double their chances of actually failing. ❗We drive where we look❗ Focus on what can be, not on "why it's not worth your full commitment." Launching a startup means doing things without a guarantee, but taking a chance. It's about doing things where you might fail. Commit anyway. Don't half-ass it! If, like me, you decide the effort might go faster with a coach and support, you know where to reach me. Even it you don't, stop giving explanations for failure as a reason why you shouldn't try. When you do, the results will surprise you (in a good way) If it doesn't succeed, you've learned something useful.👍 What challenges have you taken on after letting go of your excuses? Drop a victory below!👇 #EarlyStage #StartupLife #Founders #LeanStartup #TheFoundersForge
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Ken Horenstein
Awesome new initiative Aviel Ginzburg!! When Sean Sternbach and I launched Venture Out, Aviel and Pablo Brown-Rodriguez were silent cofounders. Aviel freely shared his words of wisdom from years of building community in Seattle. He and Chris DeVore were the first money into our community, followed quickly by Flying Fish Partners, Liquid 2 Ventures, M12, Microsoft's Venture Fund, and a huge list of Seattle angels. After growing to 1200+ members in <3 years, running multiple pre-preseed accelerators, a few learnings about building great community and the Seattle Founder Ecosystem: In the early days, no one knows what they are doing. Seek outside advice and guidance from people just ahead of you. Unicorn founders and tech moguls have great stories, but the woman who left amazon six months ago, launched an MVP, and crashed through her first 2 dozen investor discussions will have golden advice. Be open, honest, and vulnerable. Our best events and discussions happened when people let their guard down. No one will spend their life (which a startup requires) to build your idea. They might build something similar and tackle the same problem, but only your life experience and decision-making will make the difference. Share ideas often. Give first. As a ~10 year Techstars mentor, I saw this as the best part of the community. In my opinion, they have lost this completely. Don't come into a community and take. Give all you can, even when it feels counterproductive. Something might eventually come back that changes your life and direction. Even if it never does, you will 1000% feel great about the decision. Play long-term games with long-term people. Naval Ravikant was the first person I heard say this. Surround yourself with committed doers, makers, and visionaries. There are a lot of want-entrepreneurs in the world (which is a good thing; we need more people to take risks), but spend the most time with people in the ring, putting their time behind what they are doing. Learn how to give advice and direction without being evangelical, condescending, or a jerk. Learn to be direct but helpful. It's what you want on your journey, so invest in being a great thought partner for others. A final few notes: 1) No, you likely will never get paid the same amount or make as much money as a founder as you would as an L7/L8 at Amazon. If that is why you are starting a company, you're already in trouble. But knowing Aviel, he is already filtering for this 😂 2) You will likely learn in 6-18 months in the ring as a founder, than the rest of your life combined. Start to write, share your experience, find a therapist, and get ready to unpack a LOT as you go. The only way to make space for new information is to process it, store it, and then let it go. 3) The relationships are the most important part of the journey. I will always remember meetings with Matt Ehrlichman, Asha Sharma, Kyle Sandburg, and Matthew Neagle and the rest of the Porch Group team. Go Aviel!!!
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Karl G. Schlegel III
I am pleased to share that I have recently become a member of the OpenExO Community formed by Salim Ismail. Peter H. Diamandis, Michael S. Malone, and Salim Ismail lay out a compelling playbook for 10X Growth and Impact in their book, Exponential Organizations ExO 2.0 and the results are staggering. Between 2014 and 2021, the top 10 ExO-friendly companies in the Fortune 100 blew away the bottom 10 (least ExO-friendly) in the following areas: 🔥 Revenue Growth: 2.6x higher 🔥 Profitablity: 6.8x higher 🔥 Return on Assets: 11.7x higher 🔥 Total Shareholder Return (CAGR): 40x higher On Startups: Salim worked with 160 ExO experts across 45 countries grading startups and scale-ups founded after 2005. The top 100 accomplished the following: 💹 80% generated positive shareholder returns 💹 26% average annualized growth in valuation (2x the S&P 500 for the same time period) 💹 46.6% jump in valuation for startups and scale-ups We are excited to explore how our work curating #strategicpartnerships in alignment with the IDEAS SCALE model from ExO 2.0 can lead to greater wins along with new market creation and leadership opportunities for those that we are working with. Stay tuned for the Renovatio cognitive digital twin strategic partnership solution which will be released soon. Thanks to Tom Bilyeu and others who are highlighting the power of a MTP - Massive Transformative Purpose central to the ExO approach. #business #strategicpartnerships #startups #venture #partnerships #data #renovatioglobal
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Damir Ibrahimagic Kopinic
💰Contour Venture Partners Raises $42M for Fifth Fund 💼 Introduction: Contour Venture Partners, a New York-based seed investor known for early investments in companies like Datadog and Movable Ink, has raised $42 million for its fifth fund. The firm is targeting $90 million for this flagship fund and has been actively fundraising since May 2023. 💡Key Points: - **Fundraising Progress**: The firm closed on $42 million from 64 backers, aiming for a total of $90 million. It had previously raised $20 million as part of a parallel fund. - **Market Context**: Fundraising has been challenging for venture funds recently, with overall venture fundraising down more than 50% last year compared to 2022’s record-breaking numbers. 📝Investment Strategy: - **Check Sizes and Focus**: Contour writes checks between $500,000 and $1.5 million, primarily leading rounds in seed and early-stage companies. It focuses on sectors like SaaS, digital media, and financial services, with a preference for companies based in New York or the Northeast. - **Track Record**: Despite not having a massive war chest, Contour has a strong investment track record. Notable successes include: - Datadog: Early investment in 2011, which IPO'd in 2019 with a $7.8 billion valuation. - OnDeck: Invested in 2006, went public in 2014 with a $1.3 billion valuation. -Pendo: Active portfolio company, raised over $460 million, valued at $2.6 billion. - Movable Ink: Content personalization startup, raised nearly $100 million, valued at $1.3 billion. 👩👩👧👦Firm Background: - **Founders and Leadership**: Contour was founded in 2005 by Matt G. and Bob Greene, who continue to lead the firm. - **Capital Raised**: Over its nearly 20-year history, the firm has raised more than $370 million across four flagship funds and three opportunity funds. 🕯Conclusion: Contour Venture Partners continues to make significant strides with its fifth fund, demonstrating resilience and strategic prowess in a challenging fundraising environment reported TechCrunch. ✅ Looking to raise capital for your #VCfund and increase the international pool of your LP #investors? 🤝 Need warm #LP introductions? 📝 Selling #secondaries to increase liquidity? 🧐 Looking for co-investments (Series A/Series B)? ▶ G+QUANT's link for inquiries and fund decks: https://lnkd.in/gjC_EuTE #VentureCapital #ContourVenturePartners #StartupFunding #Datadog #MovableInk #InvestmentStrategy #SeedFunding #TechInvesting
1 Comment -
Andy Walsh
VCs have a playbook... But it’s not about trends. It’s about fundamentals. Here’s what they’re looking for: 1) Strong Founders Passion, resilience, and vision win every time. 2) Innovative Products Solve real problems and have a unique edge. 3) Market Potential Show there’s a large, growing market to capture. 4) Sustainable Revenue Prove you’re built for long-term growth. 5) Scalability Can you grow fast and keep up with demand? Founders who understand this are ahead of the game. Focus on these 5 elements, and VCs will notice.
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Ayori ‘Selfpreneur’ Selassie
I GIVE BLCK because the future deserves a surge of Black Wealth Transfer events, the future requires Black Fund Managers, and the future needs Black Founders supported by Black investors. We’re raising $100k to keep BLCK VC going. Chip in to something that is shifting the odds in our favor with capital management. #BVI #BVIMAFIA #BVI2 #GIVEBLCK
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Lauren Tracy☀️
I'm building my second startup. Why? I had a panic attack at my first. I spent a few years and so much of my own money figuring out how to learn the skills to come down from high stress situations, clear my head, stay happy, and (as a result) make great decisions. It's a journey every busy human goes through. After building those skills (an ever evolving journey), I have built a world-class team to help me bring an everyday solution to busy women: smart Moodrings (Moodring Tech). I took the Founder Mental Health Pledge because I know, first hand, what needs to be done on the individual's level to care for themself. It's not affordable and it's time consuming. We have to test solutions for ourselves inch by inch and we have to build solutions to make it easier and, even, feasible to care for ourselves. Join me...
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Mike Krenn
118 VCs (one hundred eighteen!) are gathering in San Diego next week - to meet with 30 SD startups. But it's so MUCH bigger than just those 30 co's. It brings VCs back - when they see quality companies. It helps those who are next-in-line and adjacent. It enables us to send deal flow all year 'round. It attracts talent and other companies. It inspires entrepreneurship. Connect is working for SD. Together, we're building the best damn innovation ecosystem on the planet. Year over year. Five.Ten.Thirty.
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Michael Tolo
Want a front-row seat to the frontier of tech? We’ve got the role (or two) for you! We’re expanding our frontier-tech team at Blackbird by hiring a Frontier Tech Investments Associate and Foundry Fellows! Got questions? We've got answers... 1️⃣ What are the roles? 🧪 Associate = a full-time VC investment gig in our Blackbird Investments team, working directly with me. We’re looking for someone with a science and/or engineering background and more curiosity than they can handle. You’ll grow your own investment brand and practice, support our portfolio founders, and will help build Foundry, our early-stage frontier-tech accelerator. ✨ Foundry Fellow = a casual/contract gig in our Blackbird Investments team, ~15h per week for 3 months. The Fellowship is ideal for PhD students and ECRs who want to learn more about startups and VC. You’ll go deep on emerging areas relevant to your expertise (or curiosity!), get a front-row seat to groundbreaking companies in those areas, build out your non-academic network, and develop a solid writing practice. 2️⃣ Why are you hiring? We love frontier tech, and we’re ready to grow our team. 3️⃣ Wow, it’s so great that you’re starting to look at deep tech! Look, we get it: we don’t make a lot of noise about our frontier tech investing. Buuuut we’ve been deep-tech investors since we backed Tim Kentley-Klay to found Zoox back in 2014—we’ve been on incredible journeys with PsiQuantum (building the world's first utility-scale quantum computer right here in Australia!), Inventia Life Science (transforming drug discovery with high-fidelity cell models), Remedy Robotics (surgical robots for remote endovascular procedures), Opto Biosystems (minimally-invasive neural implants to treat cancer), and more. We believe that frontier technologies, and great frontier-tech investing, will be part of the solutions to the greatest problems humanity faces today. 4️⃣ When do applications close? May 31st at 11:59pm AEST. 5️⃣ I have more questions! I’m sure you do! Clare Birch and I are hosting an AMA to answer any and all questions about these roles. Want to know what a week in the life of our team looks like? What’s keeping us up at night? What our ideal candidate looks like? Come along and find out - registration link in the comments 👇 Apply for these roles: Associate - https://lnkd.in/gCfj4EUJ Foundry Fellowships - https://lnkd.in/gj6ATZVZ If you know anyone that we should meet, send me their details! Cameron Elise Ben Andrew Robin Joseph Adelaide James Olivia Lucinda Raghav Jesse Christie Mohamed Tom Amee Pablo Haya Loong Hon Joshua Benjamin Megan Harry Denzil Matthew Diana Daniel Tom Deanna Justin Amar Lilly Stone Thomas
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John Majeski
🙏 Thanks to my friend and colleague, Keith Gipson for sharing this memory. It's been my ongoing pleasure supporting his mission! 📷 I feel like a celebrity being features in a Keith Gipson ThrowbackThursday 😎 ⚡When I met Keith, I instantly felt his "energy" - ironic that he's in the EnergyTech business. As we got to know a little abut each other, and hearing his story of being a 7-time founder, I was inspired. 📺 One of Keith's previous startups, a predicative crime solution, was actually featured on an episode of CSI LAs Vegas! ⏩ Today, Keith is RAPIDLY growing his newest company, facil.ai. Simply put, with NO new hardware, Keith's software runs securely in the cloud, and saves up to 50% in HVAC energy costs. Keith and team had an AI solution before AI was even a thing! This means that the system learns and gets even smarter over time. Over time utility bills lessen and building occupants are kept at the temps they want. Gone are the days of buildings that are too hot 🥵or too cold🥶. #innovation #technology #future #startups #leadership Portola Valley Partners
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