Allied Venture Partners

Can you pitch your startup in ONE sentence? 🤔 Here's the formula: "My Company [name] is developing [defined offering] to help [defined audience] solve [problem] with [secret sauce]" Let's break it down 👇 - Defined offering: Keep it simple and clear (website, mobile app, hardware) - Defined audience: Know exactly who you're helping (specific demographic - or job function) - Clear problem: Something everyone can understand instantly - Secret sauce: Your unique approach that sets you apart

𝗘𝗹𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗸’𝘀 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗩𝗖 In 2006, Elon Musk had two VC options for Tesla’s Series C: - Kleiner Perkins at $50M - VantagePoint at $70M Musk preferred Kleiner but wanted John Doerr on the board, which didn’t materialize. So, he chose VantagePoint—a choice he later regretted. By 2007, VantagePoint tried to dilute Musk’s stake. In December 2008, with Tesla nearing bankruptcy, Musk raised $40M. VantagePoint initially agreed to match $20M but backed out, hinting at a takeover. Musk restructured the deal as debt, bypassing VantagePoint. The deal closed just in time for payroll, with Musk investing $12M personally. Key takeaway: Choose VCs as partners. Trust over valuation can save your company. PS. check out 🔔 for a winning pitch deck the template created by Silicon Valley legend, Peter Thiel https://lnkd.in/ea6QGvHt

🎁 Looking for the perfect Xmas gift for startup founders / operators / investors? Here are the books that fellow early-stage investors recommended as part of our findfunding.vc series: 📚 𝐌𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫: - The Upside of Stress by Kelly McGonigal 🧠 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 (𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬) - Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke (Hadley Harris, Gabby Contro) - Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows (Omar El-Ayatt) - Good to Great by Jim Collins (Julian Roeoes) - Great by Choice by Jim Collins (Zach Posner) - Zero to One by Peter Thiel (Arian Ghashghai) - Venture Deals by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson (Joshua B Siegel) - Radical Candor by Kim Scott (Julian Fialkow) 🌍 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 - Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely (Brett Calhoun) - Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl (Dominic Lau) - Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman (Nick Adams) - The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi (Mike Annunziata) - Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson (Kira Noodleman) - A Guide to the Good Life by William B. Irvine (Leo Polovets) - The Billionaire Who Wasn’t by Conor O’Clery (Amanda Herson) - The Alchemy of Air by Thomas Hager (Leshika Samarasinghe) - The Unsettling of America by Wendell Berry (Lucas Mann) 📖 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐒 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 - Shoe Dog by Phil Knight (Riley Rodgers, Neil Kapur) - Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (Adam Besvinick) - The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton (Sydney Paige Thomas) - The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson (Neil Devani) - Seveneves by Neal Stephenson (Victor Gutwein) - His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman (Joshua Posamentier) - Adrift by Steven Callahan (Kirby Winfield) 💼 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬 - Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell (Elizabeth Yin) - Essentialism by Greg McKeown (Matt Wilson) - Linchpin by Seth Godin (ethan austin) - Who by Geoff Smart and Randy Street (Liz (Cain) Christo) - Connect by David Bradford and Carole Robin (Lily Lyman) - Hidden Potential by Adam Grant (Noramay Cadena) - Good Inside by Dr. Becky Kennedy (Alex Norman) 🌳 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐠𝐢𝐜 - A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (Julian Counihan) - The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons (Shawn Merani) - The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (Arpan Punyani) - The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder (Jonathan Kerstein) - The Fish That Ate the Whale by Rich Cohen (Katelyn Donnelly) ✨ Have a favorite book to add? Drop it in the comments! Happy gifting and happy reading! 📚🎁

Founders - here is what real investor support looks like. 🔥 Paul Graham is the founder of Y Combinator. In 2009, he accepted Airbnb into YC's winter batch despite not believing in the founders' idea. At the time, Airbnb was struggling. Apart from YC's $20k check, the team couldn't secure any other investors. Most VCs would challenge the market opportunity and thought it would never work. That’s when Paul Graham stepped in. He sent personal introductions to other investors, including Fred Wilson at Union Square Ventures (read the emails below) and pushed really hard: → "So, invest in them! They're very capital efficient. They would make an investor's money go a long way." Founders - this is a reminder that great investors will support you through the ups and downs. The emails below are an example of what great investor support looks like. -------- Enjoy this? Follow me @Hugo Rauch for more VC stories.✌️

Founders looking to build an A+ team need to ask just 1 question: is this new hire better than my average employee? If yes, hire. If no, don't. Do that over and over and see what happens. You're building a world-class team that has to compete globally. Don't settle. #startups #venturecapital #founders

Looking to back bold founders with $25K to $100k checks—targeting 10+ startups over the next few months. Pre-seed and seed stage only. No degree? No problem. Failed before? Even better. DMs are open 🚀 Tag a founder building something amazing 👇

Just 2 days left to apply to Techstars spring accelerator programs! During each three-month program, we surround companies with the best mentors and an unrivaled network of corporate partners, investors, and alumni. We can’t wait to see your applications! Here’s a breakdown of what to expect while in program. ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/gc5-xz5g

Founders - here is how venture capital works. 🧠 Understanding how a VC firm operates is a great way to increase your chances of getting funded. Let's break it down: → 𝗟𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 (𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗖 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱) They are the source of capital. Without them, VCs don’t exist, that's why they earn (most of) the fund's returns. They are institutional investor, insurance company, large corporates, pension funds, or family offices. → 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿 (𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽) They’re the ones you think of when you say “VC". Their job? → allocate capital (i.e. investing in startups like yours) → 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲 GPs take ~2% of the total fund per year to finance salaries and operations. For example: → Fund life: 5-years → Fund size: $100M → Management fee: 2% → Management fee per year: $2M → Investable amount: $100M-($2M*5) = $90M → 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗚𝗣𝘀 Carry (~20%) is a bonus for returns above a certain threshold. LPs expect at least 12% yearly returns. If GPs beat that, they get 20% of the excess. → 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀? VCs are betting on you to make the math work. If you can show them how you’ll help them hit those returns, you'll get funding. 📍 For more startup stories, follow me @Hugo Rauch 📩 Subscribe to my newsletter at the link below my name

Congratulations to the entire team at Bavovna AI. Thank you for letting us be a part of your story! 🙌 🚀

The founders of Airbnb had no experience in travel. The founders of Uber no experience in transportation. The founders of SpaceX no experience in space travel. The founders of WhatsApp no experience in messaging. The founders of Dropbox no experience in cloud. The founders of Warby Parker no experience in eyewear. The founders of Tesla had no experience in electric cars. Startups are launched by generalist risk-takers and scaled by specialists. Don't forget that. #startups #entrepreneurship _____ Enjoy this? Follow Kevin Jurovich for daily startup & VC insights and the occasional meme. 🙌