Carey Ransom

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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All #entrepreneurs hit a fundraising plateau. It's the founders who push through that plateau that see fundraising spikes at the end of their #RegCF campaigns. Here are 3 tips to help you break through and keep the momentum going: 1. Engage Your Community: Keep your current and potential investors excited and informed. Regular updates, behind-the-scenes content, and interactive Q&A sessions can reignite interest and drive further investment. Authentic engagement builds trust and encourages your supporters to spread the word. 2. Leverage Strategic Partnerships: Collaborate with influencers, industry experts, or complementary businesses to expand your reach. A strategic partner can introduce your campaign to a new, engaged audience, providing the boost you need to overcome a plateau. 3. Optimize Your Marketing Efforts: Reevaluate and refine your marketing strategy. Analyze what’s working and what’s not. Use targeted ads, compelling storytelling, and strong calls-to-action to attract new investors. Sometimes, a fresh approach can make all the difference. Breaking through a plateau requires persistence, so don't give up! Stay proactive and keep pushing forward!

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⛳ Emerging fund managers pulse check. PitchBook tracks over 10,000 funds that are raising money, with 45% being emerging fund managers (defined as firms with less than 3 funds). Despite a dip in available capital—down to 16% from the pre-pandemic 23%—these managers are finding creative ways to stay competitive, like partnering with larger firms. 💼 Joanna Drake (founder turned investor) shared how "wildly different" it is raising a fund versus for a startup. One key datapoint she shared on the fund side was how little feedback you get along the way (and the years you can wait for it). The “long-winded and challenging process to raise capital” inspired Drake and Ben Black to create RAISE Global, a community for emerging fund managers and the “forward-thinking LPs” who back them. (A decade later, several hundred emerging managers with AUM under $200m are on the platform) They've found the newest emerging managers are more diverse and geographically dispersed than Silicon valley, and more were able to crack the ceiling and raise larger $100m funds (although this is still a small % of the market, requiring partnership with larger funds at the late stage). ▶ And not a hugely surprising datapoint: A lot of action is in the sub $49 million range, where roughly 50% of emerging managers are raising. Theresa Sorrentino Hajer, Head of U.S. venture capital research at Cambridge Associates warns that past success isn't actually a strong indicator on it's own to assess emerging managers. We've had a valuation reset. And newer managers with investments during the 2019-2021 "party days", need to build relevant track record and play to their strengths. A lot of emerging managers are specializing (70% who applied for Raise had a thematic focus), and betting on getting in as early as possible in the startup's lifecycle (Raise: 31% at accelerator/ pre-seed stages, and 47% at seed stage). “Emerging managers have to compete on a different dimension,” Nick Moran from New Stack Ventures. You're no longer just dealing with capital. Emerging VC's need to be as innovative and nimble as the startups they invest in, having a unique thesis and insights. They also play a role at the top of the deal-flow funnel: helping larger firms find promising companies, so finding a thesis, sector or philosophy aligned partner at a larger firm is helpful. Onwards! #EmergingManager #Startups #VC

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If you're building a fintech startup, you likely know of this investor, but just in case... This week's findfunding.vc spotlight is on Neil Kapur from TTV Capital. He: 🛫 Is based in SF & Atlanta 💲 Has spent time at Google in consumer-facing payments & at two fintech startups  🏔️ Loves alpine mountaineering and has climbed Kilimanjaro, Denali, Rainier, and more!! Amongst founders, Neil and the team at TTV Capital , including Gardiner Garrard, Mark Johnson, Sean Banks, Lizzie Guynn, and Laney Lewis are known for saying “lift, not lean.” They believe that their job as investors is not to create work for founders, but instead ask the right questions and help navigate to the best outcomes. Knowing Neil well personally, he's not only my go-to person for anything related to fintech but I can also highly recommend having him on your cap table - he's the kind of human you want to have in your corner during both good times and bad. Make sure to: ✉️ Pitch him at nkapur@ttvcapital.com ➡️ Follow TTV Capital on LinkedIn For more, check out our funder spotlight card below along with TTV Capital's profile on findfunding.vc (link in comments).

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Overwhelmed by the back-and-forth negotiations and complexities of managing contracts when closing deals? Join me on this week's episode of The Lobster Talks Podcast by Lobster Capital as I chat with Jake Stein, co-founder and CEO of Common Paper, a company that's revolutionizing the way startups manage contracts! Jake, a seasoned entrepreneur with TWO successful exits, knows firsthand the frustrations of dealing with complicated agreements. He shares how he built Common Paper to streamline the entire process, from negotiation to payment, offering standardized contracts and powerful software that automates everything. In this insightful conversation, you'll discover: -The pain points of traditional contract management: Hear Jake's personal experiences and learn why he decided to build a better solution. -The power of standardization: Find out how Common Paper's open-source contracts simplify the agreement process and create a win-win for both parties. -Automation & APIs for efficiency: Discover how Common Paper's software integrates seamlessly with your business systems, automating tasks and saving you valuable time. -Building optionality in your startup: Jake shares his expert advice on fundraising, selling your business, and maximizing your leverage in negotiations. -The advantages of Y Combinator: Get a glimpse into the benefits of joining YC from a successful founder who credits the program for propelling his growth. Watch episode now and transform your approach to startup contracts - https://lnkd.in/ebRVUsuv #lobstertalks #startup #contracts #commonpaper #YC #entrepreneur #fundraising #exitstrategy #legaltech #business #podcast #innovation #automation

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When deciding between SAFEs and priced equity, think about your startup’s current stage and future plans. SAFEs can offer flexibility for various funding amounts, making them a solid choice for different stages. Review your goals and funding needs to decide which option aligns best with your startup’s direction. #FundingOptions #StartupGrowth

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Still feeling energized from last week's roundtable on building successful relationships with hospitals. We invited 7 portfolio companies and health system leaders from Mayo Clinic, Cedars-Sinai and UCLA Health. The founders shared their questions ranging from the strategic to the nuts and bolts of closing partnerships. For example, how do you determine what measures of effectiveness help drive alignment? And how do you get all the stakeholders together to actually drive a decision. Answer: put them all in a room for half a day! “I think we're in a pivotal moment regarding how we assess AI. There are numerous risks currently dominating AI discussions, particularly those concerning bias and other associated risks. However, there's a notable absence of focus on evaluating the proactive value of AI. We need to consider what AI actually offers and what we want it to offer. It's not solely about determining whether it will cause harm; people are apprehensive about how this technology will be implemented. One perspective gaining traction involves ensuring the product's validation process is robust enough to prevent risks to various populations.” -Vladimir Manuel, Medical Director at UCLA Health From Vlad's comments above to perspectives others shared, we heard a sense of excitement for the promise of #AI and other new technologies. But we're also in a unique moment where the risks are not well understood. Still much to do here.

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Some more insight into what we are building at Aerodome 📈🚀

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“Venture distribution cycles have elongated to the point that LPs now risk a decade of negative cash-flow on many of their VC relationships. That's not sustainable for institutions with large spend requirements, such as a university endowment.” A lack of liquidity in VC is proving to be a major issue for some endowments. There are plenty of medium sized endowments who went full in on the Yale model, but have a lot more concentration risk due to size. That’s a tough game to play when you have required outflows. https://lnkd.in/ewkhEDSi

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Climate tech funding is going industrial... Blackhorn Ventures closes $150M industrial impact fund Focus is seed and Series A stage investments into capital-efficient software solutions, vertical SaaS companies, and AI applications that address the urgent need for industrial resource efficiency and decarbonization at scale. Portfolio companies are targeting the $1.7 trillion industrial resource efficiency market and leveraging the $4.5 trillion needed for the global energy transition by 2030. The fund has new limited partnerships with Mitsubishi Electric, Westlake Corporation, Goldbeck GmbH and Mercuria Energy. 8090 Industries raised $100M+ for its 2nd fund to invest in industrial companies Focuses on decarbonization, synthetic biology, aerospace, artificial intelligence, energy, and infrastructure to transform the industrial complex with breakthrough, zero-carbon technologies and significant economic advantages. Partnered with over 20 global conglomerates. Ironspring Ventures raised $100M to invest in the industrial revolution Industry focus: manufacturing, construction, transportation and energy. Additional capital allows the firm to write bigger checks this time around, $2 million to $4 million, which will help them stay competitive as seed rounds have gotten larger. The firm’s LP base is comprised of operators in the industries they work in that own construction companies and manufacturing plants and can not only give guidance and advice to companies but also serve as potential customers too. Raised a $50M fourth Refactor Capital fund Investing in the areas of biotech, climate and hard tech startups. This new fund will continue to lead pre-seed and seed investments into startups working in areas including novel battery technologies, cancer therapies, IVF advancements and chemicals. Check sizes are typically $1 million to $2 million, and will be split between 20 and 25 companies over the next three years. More and more capital going to the less sexy parts of the ecosystem, where there is huge decarbonization and economic potential. Sources in comment as usual. #deeptech #climatetech #greentech #sustainability #venturecapital #startups

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This week Mikal Ventures brings you a 4-week breakdown of the US capital market with an emphasis on the Mikal verticals. Over the 4-week period ending April 15, just over 900 new companies were added, with 94,109 companies included in the US Health Tech, Med Tech, Fin Tech, AI Tech, and Ed Tech verticals. AI Tech again saw the greatest percentage of growth in new companies and transactions, weighing in at over double the vertical averages for the period. The US Fin Tech vertical again led the way in SEC Filings and news articles. Mikal Ventures publishes these stats on a rolling 4-week basis to provide a perspective on how the verticals and new startups move through time. We hope you find them informative and thought-provoking. VC Investors are always adjusting their "Play Book" with a variety of options for investing. Mikal Ventures is one of those alternatives, offering curated solutions to real world problems. Reach out if you have questions on how we can be of assistance and bookmark https://mikalventures.com/ for additional insights and information.

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Great time on the Embracing Erosion podcast w/Devon O'Rourke! We talked about: 🚀 How to scale a company from concept to 9-figure exit 🔄 How to break away from the traditional consulting model and apply product approaches ⏩ Why it’s important to iterate quickly and often with messaging 💸📈What signals are important to pay attention to when investing in startups and much more!

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A few spots left for this awesome workshop with Justin Gray of In Revenue Capital. Every successful founder I know learns to develop and maintain high performing relationships. This is a skill like anything else and can be developed. Founders, if you want to build a high-growth company, learn to build high-performing relationships. This workshop will help you do that. Hope you can join us.

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Missed posting climate tech funding updates on Friday... Nexamp nabs $520M to build community solar across the US Nexamp’s big-money infusion puts the company on a path to build community solar by the gigawatt, across 19 states. The funding round was led by insurance subsidiary Manulife Investment Management, along with existing investors Diamond Generating Corporation (a subsidiary of Mitsubishi) and Generate Capital. Wellington Management raises $385M for first private climate fund Expects to back 15-20 startups through its climate fund, writing initial checks ranging from $10 million to $25 million. It will target Series B through Series D rounds, typically as lead investor seeking board seats. The firm will chiefly focus on North America and Europe. Target industries span smart buildings and cities, food, agriculture, mobility, energy transition, and the enterprise and industrial sectors. Platform Science secures $125M to grow OEM partnerships Will help accelerate the launch of additional OEM partners and it will enable us to accelerate the number of on-vehicle applications and service partners we add to the vehicle ecosystem. Participating in this round are existing investors 8VC, NewRoad Capital Partners, and Prologis Ventures, joined by new backers Activant Capital, Manhattan Ventures Partners and BDT & MSD Partners. Great to see capital for growth stage climate tech companies - that's been a big gap recently. What else is happening out there? Links to sources in comments. #climatetech #sustainability #venturecapital #startups

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The state of venture capital is wild right now. We are witnessing a surge of innovation across the spectrum: - Funds merging - VC doing PE - PE doing VC - Secondary funds - Buyout funds - Spin-out funds - Debt funds - Continuation funds - Infrastructure funds - GP turnover - Hard Tech surging - Family Office uptick

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2,725 venture firms disappeared over the last two years. To be better than average, you need to be different than average. To make money, you need be right when others are wrong. The same applies to choosing fund managers, and understanding the fund models you’re investing in. Inception funds and pre-seed institutions are a different product for allocators than early stage VC funds. Different underlying math. Different nuances to understand. https://lnkd.in/eu5j4Dr4 #venturecapital #vc #familyofffice #fundoffunds Antler

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3 ways to get venture capital's attention... To successfully attract venture capital funding, focus on three key elements: clearly identifying a significant problem that resonates broadly, offering a simple yet effective solution to that problem, and defining a large market opportunity with credible research. This approach increases your chances of capturing VC interest and securing the necessary funding to grow your startup. To get more in depth on these solutions click this link -> https://lnkd.in/efUfd4Jd Branded Hospitality Ventures #innovation #technology #AI #venturecapital Matthew Lerner Noah Stern Ryan T. Melohn Coleman Clyde Stuart O'Keeffe

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One of the most critical aspects of fundraising is calculating valuation and understanding dilution. These are not static figures and must be reevaluated frequently to ensure strategic planning and optimal decision-making. To assist you in navigating this complex landscape, we've created a simple, user-friendly template with valuation benchmarks. Our analytics team has provided benchmarks to guide you, but you can also customize them to suit your specific needs. 💡 Our template is free and easy to use. Follow the link in the first comment to access it. #VC #Fundraising #Valuation #GingoPartners #Startu #InvestorRelations

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Great analysis of recent #vc trends. Thank you Kaela Roeder and Technical.ly for including my thoughts in the piece. My "expanded" two cents below for anyone curious... It is easy to get excited by what is happening in venture capital these days given the advent of AI. However, for early-stage startups, the numbers tell a more nuanced story. Early-stage deal volume in Q4-2023 was down 66% from the peak (Q4-2021) and a quarter of the deals were down rounds. In 2024, volumes stayed fairly flat relative to 2023 levels (signalizing a normalization to pre-pandemic VC activity) and 32% of deals were down rounds in Q1 (a worsening since year end). Early-stage valuations have spiked back up this year – a pleasant boon for some founders. But, this inflation is largely driven by the excitement around AI and strong demand for capital-efficient, high-growth companies. Many startups have tried to become “dot AI” businesses overnight; however, such tactics are not the “silver bullet” to fundraising challenges and growth. With limited time and capital, funds are on the hunt for companies with bulletproof fundamentals or those with exponential growth potential. If you don’t check one of these two boxes, the VC world looks fundamentally different for you. Locally, there are some positive tailwinds. The D.C. area has outpaced other metro areas in adding AI jobs due in large part to the defense industry and an increasing number of tech companies opening-up federal outposts. Over the long-term, this will be very positive for D.C. startup growth and talent.

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