Sputnik ATX VC

Gosh, Austin’s weather is amazing again. Sadly, the sun is still shining. We regret to inform you that it’s warm outside, and you can totally wear shorts. We’re heartbroken and doing our best to summon some holiday vibes. Okay, all jokes aside, we absolutely love Austin weather. It’s pretty awesome to soak up the sun in the winter. But I wasn’t kidding about the holiday spirit - we really are working on creating it ourselves. Just yesterday, we had an art workshop with an incredible artist and academic. What started as a professional class turned into a creative meditation session - pure relaxation therapy for anyone who needs art to quiet the noise in their head. Sometimes, you really just need to unwind and reset. And, I mean, check out these cute little Christmas trees!

Hey there! Have you already been swept up in the whirlwind of Christmas parties? We’re just getting started, but this holiday season is shaping up to be busier than ever. Stay tuned and check out the videos from our festive get-togethers coming soon!

The whole Sputnik ATX VC team is super proud of our portfolio companies! And when one of them hits a huge milestone - like the incredible success the African language learning app NKENNE just achieved - it’s just another reminder that we’re doing something meaningful and heading in the right direction. We’re so happy to be part of this journey! Michael Odokara (Michael O.), we’re so proud of you! Thank you for everything you’re doing. We’re absolutely thrilled for you. Keep up the amazing work and don’t let any challenges stop you! NKENNE, a leading African language learning and AI translation platform, is proud to announce the prestigious $1 million National Science Foundation (NSF) Phase 2 Grant. The NSF, an United States Federal agency that supports groundbreaking research and innovation, awarded the grant to NKENE to accelerate the development of NKENNE's groundbreaking multilingual, tonally sensitive AI Translations Database, set to launch in 2025. This achievement marks NKENNE as one of the few Black-owned startups to receive such recognition, highlighting its transformative impact in education and technology. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gWQWVSUd

Happy to share that Oksana Malysheva's Priceless Tay Podcast episode is now live! What Will You Learn In This Episode? Oksana’s Journey to Venture Capital Hear how Oksana discovered her passion for investing in groundbreaking ideas and the steps she took to carve her path in this competitive field. Creating a Career + Life Plan Oksana shares actionable advice on aligning your personal goals with your professional aspirations to build a fulfilling career. What Exactly Is a Venture Capitalist? For anyone curious about how venture capital works, Oksana breaks it down - explaining the role, responsibilities, and impact of venture capitalists. Pushing Through Roadblocks in a Male-Dominated Industry Oksana reflects on the challenges she faced as a woman in venture capital and how she overcame them to build a successful career. Check it out https://lnkd.in/g9SUym_V #vc #venturecapital #womeninvc #vcaustin #vctexas #austintx #atx

We will be in Barcelona for the Smart City Expo World Congress from tomorrow until the 7th November 2024. Who should we meet there? We want to meet Energy Utilities, Charge Point Operators and Investors there, so I am asking the support of my network to connect to the right people in the best way 😊 Voltaage will be there as both Exhibitor and speaker. For anyone visiting, we'll be at stand 69 in hall 3 and as a speaker we'll present our latest technologies the 7th at 1:45PM at the Innovation Playground room. #electricvehicles #charging #smartcharging #cpo #fleetelectrification #startup

Best on the Thinking Behind Money and Investing: "The Psychology of Money" This breezy book takes the reader on a journey across 19 short chapters, which spell out the sometimes odd ways that people think about money and the behavioral psychology surrounding it, then suggest ways to become more financially secure. One example: Author Morgan Housel recommends staying wealthy, as opposed to getting wealthy. To illustrate the point, he draws on the life and work of Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett, who began investing as a child and simply loves to make money, while he famously shuns the modern trappings of wealth. We don’t agree with every idea of the book, but it definitely made us approach money in a more thoughtful way.

So proud of you Jake Deleon!

Imagine how hard it is to convince a teenager of anything, right? Today at Sputnik ATX VC’s office, we had an event where the S24 cohort founders tried to score investments from kids by explaining just how cool, important, and useful their startups are. The kids had play money - each bill worth $100,000. After each presentation, they made their investments. The winner racked up $1 million from the toughest, most skeptical, but also the most genuine, cool, and interesting investors they might ever meet. Special thanks to Austin Tennis Academy! KIDS PITCH event wouldn't have possible without you!

We had an awesome time with our founders from the S24 cohort on a regular weekday evening. Enjoying some delicious tacos, drinks, and great conversations. On top of all that, we learned to dream, which means we were shaping our plans for the future. After all, any dream can turn into a goal if you put in enough effort💪🏽 Oksana Malysheva Joe Merrill Amanda Eakin Austin LongoriaEthan Hansen Mary (Masha) Krainov Nnamdi Okafor Omar Abusalim Osama Shoman Semih Secer

Every season, our founders pitch their startups to children! This is an incredibly engaging event for both sides, and we'll be sharing more about it this Friday. Don't miss it! In the meantime, check out the book "Money skills for teens" our team recommends for everyone! We like to give this book to the young adults in our life to remind them on how to get a handle on their personal finances. Budgeting, saving and investing are not natural to most, and sadly not taught in schools. "This book is helpful and not judgy” was the feedback we got from the teens on the receiving end. #personalfinance #financialliteracy #youngadults #budgeting #saving #investing #education #parenting #rolemodels #books #reading #teens #financialeducation #moneytips #lifeskills