Catherine Diffley’s Post

AlleyCorp has already incubated MongoDB, Gilt Groupe, Business Insider, and Zola. But the firm, led by longtime serial entrepreneur Kevin Ryan, aspires to more. “The role model for us is actually a Venrock or a Bessemer,” Ryan told Fortune's Allie Garfinkle. “Very established VC firms, yes, but people forget they were originally family offices. Then, to make it more sustainable and long-term, they started taking outside investors every three to four years.” And AlleyCorp is exactly at that moment right now, taking on outside investors for the first time. AlleyCorp has raised a new fund of about $250 million, Fortune has exclusively learned. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e99JiNgt

At Unify Ventures we love micro-VCs. By love, I mean that through our Fund of Funds model, we specialise in Australian micro-VCs, so we are constantly interacting with managers- some of whom are cautious about labelling themselves as "micro-VCs". My advice to them: own it! Doing so opens the door to driving the narrative of fund size as a strategy, supported by examples such as this and published information showing micro-VCs' dominance amongst top-quartile VC funds. And to the concern of predictability, oftentimes there are early indications and track record 😉

#Founders, gearing up for fundraising this autumn? 🍂 It’s a different game out there. VCs are back from the summer lull, inboxes are packed, and the bar is higher than ever. Most VCs have no patience for the unprepared. One key insight from Anne Sraders: Be ready for deeper due diligence — post-summer, investors are laser-focused on your financials, customer acquisition costs, and runway. 📊 Knowing your numbers inside out is non-negotiable. 💪 Check out the rest of her must-know tips below: https://lnkd.in/gp3GGaeK #startupdevelopment

Forget the Fortune 500. Here's the list that really matters for startup funding in 2024: Top 10 US Family Offices. 💰🚀 After my last post on family offices being the new kingmakers, many of you asked for specifics. Well, here's the data that'll blow your mind: Walton Enterprises (Walmart heirs): $224.5B Cascade Investment Fund (Bill Gates): $170B Bezos Expeditions: $108B Bayshore Global Ventures: $100B Mousse Partners (Chanel family): $89B The Ballmer Group: $85B Waycrosse, Inc: $65B DFO Management, LLC (Gap founders): $31B Soros Fund Management Family Office: $30B Emerson Collective (Laurene Powell Jobs): $28B That's over $930B in play. Let that sink in. This isn't just a wealth list. It's a roadmap to the future of strategic, patient capital. At 888vc, we're not just sharing lists. We're actively building bridges to these powerhouses. Why? Because that's where game-changing investments happen. I hope this helps! If I missed a fund, tell me in the comments. #FamilyOffice #StartupFunding #VentureCapital #WealthManagement

My job as a VC is pretty cut & dry: invest in great companies and be relentless advocates for all 640 Oxford founders. In a job where success is measured in decades, the ability to generate momentum for founders is how I measure myself daily. It's humbling to be recognized by founders in Forum Ventures "List of the top NYC Founder-First Investors" as being able to deliver this value. Thanks to all the founders who allow me to help and this is just the beginning. https://lnkd.in/erG_b8EZ

Hey all — Rusty and Jay Patil here with some exciting news! We’re thrilled to announce that Swell VC has officially closed Fund II with $11.5 million in commitments. This milestone reflects the trust our investors have placed in what we’re building, and we’re incredibly grateful for their continued support. Our investors include founders, family offices across tech, finance, and real estate, as well as prominent NYC tech investors and Fortune 500 executives. We’re honored to continue growing alongside them. Our Approach: High Conviction, Concentrated Portfolio, and Hands-on GP Involvement At Swell VC, we take a different approach. Instead of spreading small bets across many companies in a "spray and pray" style, we focus on placing larger, meaningful investments into fewer companies. This lets us build deep relationships with founders and be there for the long haul—offering not just capital, but hands-on recruiting and growth support. In Fund I, this led to major wins like ScienceIO’s $140M acquisition, Loft Orbital’s $100M+ in revenue, and Crisp’s 6,000+ customers and $72M Series B. Few VCs highlight their judgment in picking winners or DPI (Distributions to Paid-In Capital) because both are often lacking in a low-conviction world. We've made excelling in both areas our obsession. With Fund II, we’re doubling down on this strategy, backing founders building category-defining companies in AI, space tech, B2B infrastructure, healthcare, and commerce. What Sets Us Apart: A Founder-First Mentality & Focus on Building Elite Teams For us, investing goes beyond writing checks. Jay and I have personally recruited over 50 key hires for our portfolio companies, knowing that the right team leads to success. We see ourselves as true partners to our portfolio co founders, helping them unlock growth and tackle their toughest challenges. What’s Next We’re proud of Fund I’s top-decile performance and excited about the companies in our portfolio, like Loft Orbital, Crisp, and Credal.ai. Swell companies have attracted follow-on investments from top-tier firms like Union Square Ventures, FirstMark, and Spark Capital, and they’re delivering results with long-term potential. We’ve made eight investments from Fund II and can’t wait to share more. We’re building a venture franchise that works with the best founders on the planet, driving meaningful returns to our LPs. If you’re interested in learning more about our journey or potential opportunities, let’s connect. You can read more about us here: https://lnkd.in/gc23gC4r Thank you to our investors, founders, and partners—we wouldn’t be here without you, and we’re excited for what’s ahead! Rusty Ralston & Jay Patil Swell VC, Co-Founders & GPs

The following quote from Peter Livingston's Unpopular Ventures quarterly update perfectly summarizes why I love angel investing, (next to proving my master thesis 😁 ). "A separate aspect of this that I love is that I get to be a small participant in an entrepreneur’s life’s work. She spent 10 years to get here, and might spend another 10 taking it to scale, maybe even longer. A simple action 10 years ago, combined with patience and positive support, has enabled me to ride along as a small part of her journey." Link to the full update: https://lnkd.in/gEWXh_4U

How do you turn $40,000 into $1,900,000 in under 90 days? 🚀 I'm so excited to announce that we have raised $1.9m in funding to three hardware technology ventures through our newly supported Birchal First Angel Syndicate, backed by LaunchVic...that's a 47x return back to the Victorian ecosystem 😳 Dovetail Electric Aviation Volt Solar Tile cormagna, take a bow 👏 We're trying to build our syndicate as much in the public eye of our +12,000 wholesale investors as possible, so I'd love to share some insight and learnings below 👇 🤝 there are 100s of investors across Australia, who have been either shut out (not deliberately) or lack awareness in the routes to funding private companies - we've focused on removing barriers and reducing any intimidation for investors. When we say 100s, we mean 100s. 🔑 angel investors, both seasoned and new, need to have multiple routes to communication of new opportunities. Just like some of us are visual learners vs reading learners, some investors prefer webinars and organised forums while others enjoy a more personal touch 💪 merging one of the major benefits of crowd-sourced funding (efficiency) with a traditional angel syndicate process, has allowed founders and Investors to operate to a set timeline & process, realising all expectations. 📧 our largest angel cheque came from showcasing the same opportunity in three variations - we continue to look at all of our investors, retail and wholesale, through the lens of a consumer first before investor and it's been instrumental in dictating our communication strategy. 👀 founders, just because your idea wont return a fund, doesn't mean your not investible! Investors are all investing for different reasons with different expectations and this can't be more true than in angel investing. We're now taking all of learnings and improving on the syndicate to enter 2025 with a bang! I'm stoked to announce a new partner in crime, Will Anderson, who brings a wealth of experience with investors and founders from around the world, now leading the charge with the Birchal First Syndicate and beyond. If you'd like to know more about the Syndicate or how you can get involved as we look to grow out a new area of the platform (working name - Birchal Private), we'd love to connect. Comment below and we'll link up! 🚀 We truly believe we can be a critical piece of financial infrastructure in Australia and be an aggregator of capital for the founders of tomorrow, in hardware and beyond!

Meet Silicon Valley’s shrewdest talent spotters An elite group of early-stage investors make supersized returns TRAC reckons that 28% of Mr Altman’s 322 early-stage investments have made at least ten times the original stake, and 27 have become unicorns, with valuations over $1bn. Mr Sacks’ hit rate is just as good. Of his 92 bets monitored by TRAC, 27% have produced more than ten-fold returns, and 17 have become unicorns.

💰I find that early first time startup founders are often very naive about their financial presence — they know they need to file as a Delaware C Corp so they can receive investment smoothly, ... and that's about it. Eventually they learn the hard way, but could it be easier? 🔥Jonathan Speed has been a banker, startup advisor, investor, business development leader and CFO. We've asked him to join us at our Fireside Chat with Click, the Startup Accelerator for Corporate Partnership, on July 16, 2024 at 10 Pacific, 1 Eastern, 7 CET to share the full picture of what early founders need to think about from a financial point of view, in addition to getting that C-Corp set up. We always leave time for questions & we'll ask Jonathan to dig into valuation, debt, choosing investors, accounting, accounts, or whatever else is on your mind. Some of this stuff is pretty counter-intuitive, especially when you're talking about corporate partners, so come get clarity! 🔗 Visit https://lnkd.in/gRaVHkcH to register and learn more about how we help startups prepare for corporate partnership. #fractionalCFO #startupfinance Margarita Quihuis Corentin Cremet