TheSumMeet’s Post

I have 6 hours left to deliver the pitch to raise 1 million dollars, to an investor I have not yet found, for a venture that is little more than a dream! We need your help! We need a warm intro to investors that care about the future of humanity. We're on to something big. I don't know what it is, but what happened this week with TheSumMeet is nothing short of a miracle. - Not because 100 strangers came together and built it in 24 hours, - Not because of what we released and the media attention we're getting! The magic of the story is the people that came together around this project. HOW and WHY the right people met, just when they needed to make this possible. The way we organised, trusting in the mission, trusting each other, complete strangers to deliver. What about the product, PMF and all the things a pitch should contain? There's a million directions we can take this, Or this platform on which I'm writing now could implement a better version in a day (Call me @Linkedin, I'll give you some tips). I don't care about the product. The power is in the culture of the organisation I want to build. Not in what we build. Give me a great team, a great culture and we'll turn any problem in a viable solution. It's just a matter of value and mission alignment. Personal and Organisational. Nothing has been conventional about this venture. And our fund raising won't be conventional either: What I hope to find today (and I am lifting every stone till I find it) is a #superhero purpose investor, family office, Jack Dorsey let’s reinvent social media type person who sees through all of that and gets on board because he sees how what we are starting has the power to impact humanity - and this has nothing to do with the product we have built in 24 hours! Today is not a day to cash queues, we don't even have a legal entity that could do that, and our CFO is too busy printing Tshirts! This is a day to find investors ready to back this venture if we decide to continue. My pitch, today at 6pm will be to the real seed investors, the community that made this project possible, to decide what’s next. 1 Week ago I asked social media "Who wants to build a startup in 24 hours" and it happened. Today I am asking social media "Who wants to back this mad guy in building a new way for people to organise, work together and demonstrate you can build a unicorn while being people and planet first". But I hope before I get on that podium that someone out there hears this call to action and says: "I'll back this crazy bunch of people that may just be onto something." Unicorn Factory Lisboa Startup Portugal

FOUNDERS: HOW TO FIND ANGEL INVESTORS WHO ARE FOUNDERS 🗣 Imma say this really loud for the founders in the back because I've talked about this before. 😡 I know it's hard raising dollars from VCs, especially if you're an overlooked founder. Just ask Dominic-Madori Davis who writes about this all the time over at TechCrunch. 🦄 And I know you keep hearing about these magical, mythical creatures called angel investors. 🔎 And you're like, "Where the heck do I find angels? 🤔 And you're also like, "Where the heck do I find angels investors who aren't glorified seed investors?!" I submit to you that you have a better chance to get funded from angels who are/were founders. Why? Because angels who are/were founders move with 3 things: - Speed 💨 - Empathy 🥰 - And conviction 💪🏾 Why? Because they know what it's like to be in your shoes. And if they like you and are aligned with your vision, they will move quickly to sign the docs and wire the money. But you have to build trust with founder angels like any other investor. You can't just roll up off the street and be like, "Yo, write me check!" That's not how that works. If the first time you meet an investor, you ask them for a check, YOU HAVE FAILED. 💰 Watch this clip of my conversation with Techstars CEO, David Cohen, about how to accelerate trust with mentors and turn them into sponsors and investors 👇🏾 https://lnkd.in/evsmGVDc I can see you. You're like, "Cool. But again, where do I find these unicorn people?" 💣 Check out gritt.io to find founders who are investors. The tool is affordable and watch my video below to see how easy it is to use the platform. At the end of the day, raising money is a numbers game. How many quality shots on goal can you get? And are you pitching the right people? No excuses. Let's go. You got this! As Tyrone says, "You're welcome!" And if you're like, "Who the heck is Tyrone?" Check him out, he's your friend. 👇🏾 https://lnkd.in/esP8meXf

I wrote this piece on how startup founders can and should create their own angel investors instead of bombarding the few who state that they angel invest 😇 https://lnkd.in/gw4kgsNn

An honor to be interviewed by Kieran Powell at Authority Magazine. When we say "Love the Ride" at Converge it's about the #entrepreneurial journey. As every entrepreneur knows, your co-founders and partners make all the difference. With huge gratitude to my partners Nilanjana Bhowmik, Anshu Agarwal, and James Falkoff on our #VC journey as we begin deploying Converge Fund III. "In venture investing, your partner helps you see what you might not see and emboldens you to take the informed risks that drive venture returns. It’s truly a team sport." #venture is the ultimate team sport and we have a mighty team! https://lnkd.in/g-iP3WaY

We're excited to unveil Opportuna, a venture secondaries fund designed to create new opportunities for founders, early startup employees, and investors. Our team, comprised of seasoned professionals Alban C., Christopher L.R. Chuffart, Jason Tran, and Robin Lauber is committed to delivering innovative solutions and unlocking hidden value in private markets. Opportuna focuses on direct secondaries and late-stage primaries primarily in the tech space, capitalizing on our deep expertise in private and public markets to uncover unique investment opportunities. Our goal is to foster long-term value creation, align incentives, and deliver exceptional returns. Find out more about what we are building here: https://lnkd.in/e_Uj8Qvw #venturecapital #secondaries #venturesecondaries

🚨 Breaking News! Masha Bucher’s Day One Ventures Raises $150M Fund III Day One Ventures, an early-stage VC firm, is bridging the gap between technology and society through art, storytelling, and culture. They focus on AI, climate, enterprise software, fintech/crypto, and deep tech. Here's how Masha did it: 🔢 Numbers Matter: “If you raise the third fund, numbers should say something.” And they do. Masha is an early investor in eight unicorns, with Day One Ventures boasting 22 exits, including one IPO. 💡 A Female Approach: “I have fully raised this fund with a very female energy and approach,” says Masha. “The problem is that women think they need to act like men to become successful. The reality is, I want to be myself.” 🤝  Community Power: “14 of our portfolio founders invested in us.” That’s the strength of a solid community! First Fund III investments include AstroForge, Rainmaker, Cradle, Layer N, and Affiniti. Thank you, Masha Bucher, for sharing your story with Forbes! 👏 Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/gyEgBu7v #Forbes Jenny Chao

Summary: Hannah Bronfman, a noted angel investor and content creator with over 1 million followers on social media, spoke at AfroTech and shared her journey as an investor and entrepreneur, as well as her future plans to become an institutional investor and create a Black-owned conglomerate for Black brands. Key takeaways: Bronfman learned valuable lessons as a founder, including how to handle co-founder fallouts, and now advises and invests in overlooked founders who receive less venture funding. She emphasized the importance of leveraging one's network for guidance and starting small when investing. Bronfman is looking to become an institutional investor and potentially raise a fund focused on Series A investments. Counter arguments: Some may argue that Bronfman's focus on overlooked founders excludes other marginalized groups. There may be concerns about potential conflicts of interest in her role as both an investor and content creator for the brands she invests in. #venturecapital #vc #startups

Do you need money for your startup/biz idea? Many businesses don't need Venture Capital, but maybe you do. I’ve never stepped inside a Venture Capital firm, or seen a pitch take place, but I’ve read and listened to a bunch about VC firms who will give businesses money to grow and build. But, I've consistently heard it's hard if you're aren't white and male to get access to this type of money. If you’re a founder looking for access to capital and advisement, these are some accessible firms with diversity in mind that I've come across. Follow their founders and employees, too, they often have good advice: Arlan Hamilton at Backstage Capital Mandy Potter at Misfit Ventures Sophia Amoruso at Trust Fund Mitch Kapor at Kapor Capital Kathryn Finney at Genius Guild Seven Seven Six 7️⃣7️⃣6️⃣ Female Founders Fund Have other ideas? Post/share in comments.

Another great #investcanada2024 conference last week. Congrats Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA) again and fantastic collaboration with Réseau Capital for curating + delivering such an important ecosystem event that brings together the who’s who in Canadian investing. It’s an interesting macro environment for both founders and emerging VC funds in 2024. The bar for fundraising is higher and the process is more difficult, but it’s an amazing time to build and fund startups. Over the years I’ve been asked what’s made me a successful investor given the number of exits & investor returns delivered. Beyond it being a full-time obsession for decades, one needs to constantly find ways to evolve to founder needs and deliver differentiated value. Earning the right to back and support the best founders is what delivers outsized investor returns. This is easy to say for many investors, but often many fall flat on the everyday execution for different controllable reasons. Reputations are built & lost fast in a more challenging market. Highline Beta's pre-seed VC & venture studio model continues to not only innovate, but also win predominantly because our core investment value is to always “earn the right on the cap table” with the founders that we support. It’s a complete team effort and after 8 years of building out Highline Beta’s foundation let’s us now grow via new vertical venture studios + funds. 🚀