Pascal Unger’s Post

🚀 Exciting News: Introducing Backable Ventures! 🚀 Excited to announce the official launch of Backable Ventures - a game-changing community for underestimated founders who are ready to secure the bag! 💼💰 Why Backable Ventures? We're not your average accelerator or incubator We've cracked the code on what makes founders irresistible to investors Our founders have already raised over $5 million in funding Our mission? To help diverse, early-stage founders become so backable that investors can't help but reach for their checkbooks. If you're: ✅ A founder ready to hustle for that fundraising gold ✅ Open to a fresh, contrarian approach to fundraising & scaling your startup ✅ Eager to join a community more valuable than a black book of VC contacts Then it's time to hop on the Backable express! We want to flip the script on traditional fundraising and show the world what happens when underestimated founders become unstoppable. Hop on the Backable Express & Join the Fam: https://lnkd.in/eQNqNT99

More LPs should invest in software-driven early-stage VCs. The majority of new fund managers are technical or have built startups before. Gives them an opportunity to grow their 1st or 2nd fund with tools built in-house driven by their thesis. We are seeing founders appreciate that more when it comes to pre-seed or seed stages. We are exactly doing this with Founders Committee Ventures. We have built sets of tools in-house for streamline what otherwise would have been thousands of dollars per year in SaaS subscriptions and CRMs.

The best VCs are the ones who have fought on death ground themselves. A startup community fights on death ground with the founder. Best VC is from community. 2nd best: death ground inst. VC. Easy upside sharing at the idea stage. That's Slyk IO

Checkout my video with Inhouse Ventures on how to prepare for a Technical DD when raising investment. If you're a venture fund or a startup looking to get technical DD done, talk to us at Ace Ventures.

Hot Off The Press: a new article on The Aussie Startup Capital Nerd Substack: 'Pre-Money vs Post-Money SAFE Notes in Australia: What Founders Need to Know.' Raising capital using SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) notes has become a go-to tool for Australian founders. SAFEs streamline the fundraising process by postponing valuation debates until a future funding round. However, understanding the distinction between pre-money and post-money SAFEs is critical, as it directly impacts founder dilution and investor ownership. Have a read of this brand new article by CapXcentric Founder Warwick D. (and share it around to a founder friend) - we’re breaking down what a SAFE note is, explain the differences between pre-money and post-money SAFEs, provide worked examples, and outline what founders should keep in mind when negotiating terms. Link in comments 👇

Great post on SAFEs by Zaz Floreani. I love SAFEs and we use them a lot at FirstMile Ventures. They work great for getting a pre-seed round done quickly and efficiently. When the next round is priced and the SAFEs convert, it's great, but getting a priced round done is not always feasible. Especially as the bar for Series A goes up and companies raise multiple seed rounds on convertibles with varying caps/discounts, it's easy to lose track of who is going to own what when all those convertibles finally convert to shares. Check out the post for some simple examples and tools to stay on top of that.

Join Forum Ventures and Brex for Pitches, Pivots & Pints in Seattle on Feb 4! 🍻 Grab a pint, relax, and join fellow entrepreneurs and VCs as they share their knowledge and insights about the pre-seed fundraising process. This is your chance to learn from seasoned founders and investors as we explore diverse approaches to financing and scaling startups. 💡Founders will walk away with an understanding of: ✅ How to navigate funding from pre-seed to acquisition. ✅ Creative ways to secure capital beyond traditional VC. ✅ The pros and cons of venture-backed vs. bootstrapped growth strategies. ✅ Key metrics and market signals that attract investors. 🗓 When: February 4, 2025 📍 Where: Seattle, WA 🎟️ This is an intimate, must-attend event for the Seattle startup community. Let's learn, connect, and grow together. Kevin Corliss, Nia Pryce   Link in comments to register!

🚀 Attention Angel Investors! Dive into a LemonRocks where every startup opportunity is not only promising but also pre-verified for potential. 🌟 📈 From real-time tracking of your investment growth to engaging with a vibrant community of fellow investors, LemonRocks offers tools designed to enhance your decision-making. Track startup progress across multiple platforms like GitHub and AppStore, and stay secure with our advanced LemonRocks Radar for compliance insights. 💥 Plus, don't miss our Round Impact Tracker, a game-changer for assessing the true impact of funding rounds on startup valuations and token prices.

I am thrilled to announce that I am joining Mucker Capital as a Venture Investor, spearheading our efforts in the Midwest region! One thing that truly sets Mucker apart is our dedication to supporting startups beyond Silicon Valley. We provide Pre-Seed and Seed capital to founders who might not have the Bay Area postcode but definitely have the drive and vision to make a difference. Speaking of Silicon Valley, let's talk about the bubble. As a Bay Area expat turned VC, I know firsthand that entrepreneurship there can sometimes feel like a closed club. It's often more about how much and who from you raise money than it is about what you're building. Mucker does things differently. We believe that where you live, where you went to school, or who led the last round shouldn't determine your success as a founder. We're all about leveling the playing field and giving every entrepreneur a fair shot. We're not interested in pedigree or proximity to power players. You don't need a Stanford degree or an invite to exclusive networking events to get our attention. We're all about traction, real problems, and founders who are true builders, not just promoters. We're interested in founders with grit, passion, and a laser focus on solving the problems of today. As for me, I'll be leading investments out of the Midwest, with a focus on pre-seed / seed SaaS. If this sounds like you, I'd love to chat. Here's what we offer at Mucker: • Pre-seed deals are invited into Mucker Labs - one the premier and most hands on accelerators in the country. • We invest and work with only 20-25 companies per year. • No three month bootcamps. No demo days. Just heads-down business building with investment and growth teams -- for however long it takes to reach the next set of business milestones. • Our boutique approach has allowed us to achieve extraordinary success rates and founder satisfaction scores. • 97% of all MuckerLab startups to date have raised outside capital, and the fund has grown from $50M to $450M in ten years as a result. So excited for this new chapter, and thanks to Decasonic for an amazing journey. #VentureCapital #StartupLife #MidwestTech #SaaS #Software #Entrepreneurship

I had an interesting thought this week. 4 years vesting has become pretty standard for founders. But isn’t it kind of dangerous for the company and the investor? The average time to exit or take a company to IPO is 7-10 years. Let’s dig deep. What if the founder leaves after 4 years with a lot of equity, and the startup is still in its nascent stages? It will be difficult for the company to raise more money, the remaining founders might have a lot of resentment, or they might lack motivation. There have been multiple scenarios where a startup has struggled to raise more money if a founder, who is not even working actively at the startup, has left. On the flip side, the board can throw out the founder too, so the founder has to be protected. Would a longer vesting period help solve this issue? What are your thoughts on extending vesting timelines? Would love to hear your them in the comments below!