Cross Ocean Ventures

🎄🎶 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈! 🎶 🎄 This year, Cross Ocean Ventures and LaunchUSA wanted to spread some holiday cheer in a unique way. So, we’ve written a special 𝐕𝐂 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐲 of the classic Christmas song It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas—reimagined as It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Funding! 🎵 From term sheets to wild valuations, this tune is for all the founders, investors, and startup dreamers working their magic this season. 🎁 Happy Holidays from all of us! P.S. No autotune was used 🤭

🚀 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙖 𝘽𝙤𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝘽𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝘽𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙐.𝙎. 𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 Savvy entrepreneurs know that a strong board can provide the “𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖’𝘀” every company needs to succeed in the U.S.: 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀, 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗵—but not all C’s are created equal. Yesterday, I had the privilege of interviewing Bill Eigner, Partner and Attorney-at-Law at Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP, one of the leading U.S. law firms. We dove deep into a topic every founder expanding to the U.S. should master: building an effective Board of Advisors. From best practices and compensation structures to the do’s and don’ts of keeping advisors engaged, Bill shared invaluable insights. We also busted a major myth: the idea that advisors can be compensated solely based on the capital they help raise. Spoiler: That’s not allowed under U.S. securities law! 💡 Whether you're a startup founder or advisor, you’ll find actionable tips in this conversation to level up your U.S. strategy. 👉 Catch the full interview or check out the key takeaways now on LaunchUSA 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘳: 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭, 𝘵𝘢𝘹, 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦. 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. https://lnkd.in/e_vMEDSk

🚀 LaunchUSA: What a Start! Here's what we've achieved so far: ✨ Almost 100 members have joined us on this journey. 👀 Over 60k impressions across posts, sparking countless meetings with founders, LPs, and more (yes, still catching up on those emails and LinkedIn messages!). 🎙️ Two amazing webinars hosted on topics like immigration to the US and scaling to your first $1 million ARR. 🎧 Released the first episode of US Startup Talk for Foreign Founders—a podcast that dives into the challenges and opportunities of expanding to the US, featuring expert insights and actionable advice! 📍 Began initial conversations for physical meetups—stay tuned for updates on this! We’re thrilled about the progress so far and even more excited about what’s ahead. A huge thank you to everyone who has joined, supported, and engaged with us—you’re making this community what it is. If you're a founder looking to expand to the US and want to access the resources, insights, and connections that can accelerate your journey, now’s the perfect time to join us. Link in the comments #LaunchUSA #StartupCommunity #USExpansion

The first episode of US Startup Talk for foreign founders is out now 🎉 📻 Serhat Pala and I are launching a weekly podcast called US Startup Talk for Foreign Founders, which is dedicated to helping foreign entrepreneurs expand into the U.S. 🇺🇸 Each week, we team up with a variety of guests to discuss the latest updates from our network of investors and founders in the U.S., sharing valuable insights into current market trends, trending stories, cultural differences, and plenty of laughs along the way, at least we think so ;-) 🦃 In this first episode, we talk about last Thanksgiving, the Trump presidency’s effect on foreign founders, another (allegedly***) Forbes 30 under 30 fraud case (whoops..), and Figure robots!! YouTube link below or if you'd rather listen via Spotify: https://lnkd.in/eibTXxui https://lnkd.in/eAjhKwK4

I’m excited about the upcoming webinar with my friend Joshua Amrani! A lot of European founders expanding to the US assume that selling in the States is just like selling in Europe, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Americans aren’t just English-speaking, country-music-loving Europeans—they have a very different approach to business. In this session, Joshua will share key strategies, best practices (spoiler: there are smarter ways to enter the US market than just hiring a $150k AE and hoping for the best), and valuable lessons from his extensive career in US GTM. Join us on December 4th at 19:00 CET // 10:00 AM PST. Register here: https://lu.ma/agxhxwi1

When helping European founders expand to the U.S., one question often catches them off guard: "What’s your visa strategy?" It’s not just a formality—it’s the foundation for building, pitching, and growing in the U.S. As a VC fund manager, I’ve seen the stress and missed opportunities when this step is overlooked, which is why I’ve made it a priority to help founders navigate the maze of immigration. Join me and top immigration attorney Milo Poplar of Eldison for the How Not to Get Deported Webinar. We’ll cover visa options, common pitfalls, and how to prepare for U.S. expansion. 📅 Join us tomorrow (the 27th) at 19:00 CET / 10:00 PST! 🔗 https://lu.ma/20ulvl2r

🌟 Exciting times for international founders! We at Cross Ocean Ventures are incredibly proud of our team for launching LaunchUSA—a game-changing community for bold, global founders looking to succeed in the U.S. market. 🚀 🌟This initiative embodies the very essence of what we stand for: empowering visionary entrepreneurs with the knowledge, networks, and support they need to thrive. From founder stories and in-person meetups to expert-led courses, LaunchUSA is a powerhouse of resources! Here’s to building impactful journeys together! 💼🌎

We're very excited to announce the LaunchUSA community! Join here: www.launchusa.eu

Why Private Equity Secondaries Are Here to Stay 📈 When I saw StepStone Group’s $7.4B raise for a private equity secondaries fund, I wanted to understand what was driving such growth. After looking into it, the findings are clear: secondaries are becoming a major player in private equity. In 2024, the secondary market reached a record $72B in transaction volume, marking a 67% increase from the previous year. By year-end, it’s expected to exceed $140B. This growth is fueled by LPs seeking liquidity, a rise in mid-sized deals, and a wave of new investors entering the market. With structures like GP-led deals and semi-liquid “evergreen” funds, secondaries are now more accessible and flexible. As high-growth sectors like technology and renewables gain traction, secondaries are evolving from a simple liquidity tool to a strategic asset for long-term portfolio management.

The Bay Area is still way ahead of anything even close to it... New York City has definitely made strides over the past year, but it can’t match the sheer scale of investments happening in Silicon Valley. Just for perspective: all of Europe invested around €63 billion in venture capital in 2023—a bit more than the Bay Area alone. And that’s Europe (European Union) with a population of 448 million versus the Bay Area’s 7.7 million.