Payal Patel

Yet more wonderful practical advice that I humbly suggest is a must read for any software founder considering outbound sales. To say that it's a superb distillation of decades of experience and best practice from my two wonderful Crane Venture Partners colleagues Rav Dhaliwal and Ben Wright would not do them justice! #cranefoundations #vc #founders #gtm #saassales

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What does the future hold? 🤔 According to top VC Vinod Khosla, it's looking optimistic! In a recent article, Vinod Khosla at Khosla Ventures shared his views on our plausible futures in 2035-2049, and it's a nice counterbalance against the too-pessimistic doom thinking out there. ⚡ Khosla believes that entrepreneurs, with passion for a vision, invent the future they want. And if we allow it to happen, abundant, awesome, technology-based, “possible tomorrows” are likely ⚡ ----------------------- Are you interested in building the future with/ for your company? Take the first step here 📆 https://lnkd.in/e6kjakzF Let's make the future happen! 🚀 #Future #Venturing #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #Technology #Possibilities

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I had a lot of fun recording a podcast episode with Shiva Singh Sangwan. We discussed the evolution of Humba Ventures & Susa Ventures; tips for raising and building a fund; how to improve investment sourcing & picking; the role of luck in investing, and so on. https://lnkd.in/eiqsStej

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A venture studio inside of a scale-up? That’s basically the playbook Sword Health has followed on its path to a $3B valuation. Per Nikhil Krishnan, “Sword Health has an interesting org structure where they essentially hire GMs for a new business line, give them an internal "seed round" and then they need to use that money to recruit people internally”. “At least half of Sword’s valuation comes from this strategy” says Sword Health CEO Virgílio (“V”) Bento : “What we do is we hire a GM, so a strong generalist past founder or that wants to be a founder; we hire a GM and we give that person $1 million to put a team and to execute and get to product market fit 12 months, that's your seed round. And of course then you are able to accelerate much faster because you have access to finance and legal and HR. You don't need to spend your time or focus thinking on that. Then you have also an engineering team that you can recruit, but by the way you pay, it costs you money. So part of the $1 million is going to pay that allocation for the engineering team if you are just launching your startup. So we want to replicate that scarcity mindset and then if when after 12 months we discuss was there product market fit or not -- if there was you do your series A, which means that you get more money, you get to accelerate faster. If it doesn't, then we kill the solution. If you go to product market fit before the 12 months, you are able to raise your internal series A faster and then you expand. And one example Bloom, I can tell you Bloom was our second solution that we launched and that's the pelvic health solution. We are going to do as much revenue with Bloom in 2024 that we did with Sword all together in 2022.“

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Want to learn more from pioneers in the Angel and Venture Cap field? Check out the How Women Invest event next month with the talented Nancy Hayes.

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Here’s an interesting read/concept to consider from TechCrunch! AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT are incredible innovations that are worth being excited about — but it’s important to also remember that we haven’t perfected these platforms yet. When it comes to chatbot technology and inclusivity, there are still multiple obvious shortcomings. #ChatGPT and other AI tools of the same vein currently struggle to read cultural nuance, and the algorithms that power these services mostly approach things from a Eurocentric/Western lens. Basically, one of the most popular and widespread AI platforms we have today was not built with the perspectives of #POC #BIPOC in mind. As a result, we’re starting to see alternative chatbots/modifications of ChatGPT in an attempt to create #PersonalizedAI such as John Pasmore’s Latimer.AI, an AI language model that tailors its answers to the experiences of Black and brown people. See also Erin Reddick’s beta ChatBlackGPT, which adjusts the harsher language and rhetoric regarding Black historical events, was trained by Black authors, writings, and philosophers. So, do you think #culturallyspecific AI models are a good solution? Or eventually, should broader companies that own ChatGPT/chatbots have a responibility to make them as inclusive as possible? Could that even be achieved with the structural racism and persistent inequalities that prevail in the tech ecosystem today? I want your takes.

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Wei D. (Founder and CEO of unicorn Clipboard Health) dropped some major 💎 gems of wisdom during her fireside chat with PearX founders at Pear VC SF Studio yesterday. These really resonated: 💎 PMF isn't something you achieve once - staying relevant to your market is an ongoing pursuit 💯 (Wei shared that to date she still LOVES talking with customers and - even at 1000+ employees and with all the success already achieved - she continues to chase unlocks for the business and recently obtained her nursing assistant certification in order to stay close to users and unlock new insights with them 🥇) 💎 If you're scared of sales, don't think of it as sales -- you're just talking to someone who you're trying to help. Approach your customers with care and listen to them as you would a friend. The moment it's an actual conversation with a friend, that's probably where you're going to get your first sale. If it feels "salesy" you're probably not doing it the right way. 🤝 💎 Do whatever it takes to get in front of your customers! (For Wei this meant driving around at 8 months pregnant and walking up to DMs at nursing homes!) 🚗 💎 The users you speak with in your market will give you the key jargon you need to use to speak back to your market. Listen intently and adopt their language! 🗣 💎 There is little you decide that can't be undone. Be smart, make calculated decisions, but don't overthink things --- err on the side of action and quick decision making. 🏃‍♀️ 💎 Iterate until your users feel passionately about what you're doing (ie. they get angry when the product is down or doesn't work). You want your users to care A LOT about the problem you're solving. 😡 Wei's resilience, grit and work ethic are off the charts. What an inspiration! 👏 #femalefounders #inspiration #techfounder #unicornfounder #hero

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john waller Jeff Bocan - this might be a new podcast y'all might really enjoy! Summary coverage from the most recent 3 shows: In recent episodes of the BG2Pod podcast, hosts Bill Gurley and Brad Gerstner explore the evolving landscape of tech investments and innovation. They discuss the changing dynamics of the pre-IPO market, with larger funds and increased capital affecting company behavior and IPO timelines. The hosts analyze the impact of AI advancements, including OpenAI's ChatGPT-4 and Google's Astra, on various industries and debate the potential for AI to disrupt or enhance existing software companies. They also examine the challenges faced by private unicorn companies in achieving liquidity events and the factors contributing to the current dearth of IPOs. Additionally, the podcast touches on broader themes such as the role of capitalism and immigration in driving innovation, the debate around AI regulation, and the implications of recent tech earnings and market conditions. CC Kim Burgaard #podcasts #ai #investing #vc

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🚨 Pitch Deck Alert: Are you making this critical mistake? 🚨 In a recent episode of Kruze Consulting's Founder & Friends podcast, I sat down with Haje Kamps, TechCrunch author and former investor, to dissect the most common pitfalls founders face when crafting their pitch decks. 📉 And the #1 mistake might surprise you... 😯 Haje reveals that founders often fail to clearly articulate how they plan to use the funds they're raising. 💸 "The whole purpose of building a pitch deck is to raise money, and with that money, you're going to do something," Haje explains. "The amount of times that founders fail to tell investors what they're actually planning to do with the money just boggles my mind." Watch the excerpt to hear Haje's expert advice on how to avoid this critical error and set your pitch deck up for success. 🚀 Like what you see? Catch the full episode for even more game-changing insights from Haje and Healy, including: 📌 The key elements of a winning pitch deck 📌 How to make your startup stand out in a crowded market 📌 The biggest red flags VCs look out for Don't miss out! 🧠💎

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According to Morning Brew, $12.2 billion in venture capital went into AI-related startups in the first three months of the year. According to SomosVC, Latina/os accounted for only 2% of all venture capital funding. Based on last year's numbers, that's roughly $3.4 billion. In other words, in the first three months of the year, AI has received almost four times as much capital as the entire Latina/o entrepreneurship demographic did in a whole year. Let that sink in.

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The OG Next Live Q&A Forum is popping!! OG Next is for emerging operators (below Director) - this is an immense resource I wish I had early in my career transition from Wall Street to Operating (CFO, COO). Here are some recent brain hive discussions in OG Next: 1️⃣ 𝗪𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲: Covering how OpenAI’s finance team uses their own product, key takeaways included automating repetitive tasks, using ChatGPT for coding, training AI on company-specific guidelines, and troubleshooting error messages with AI. 2️⃣ 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: A member explored better tools to automate data collection from partners, transitioning from Smartsheet to potentially more effective solutions. 3️⃣ 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀: A discussion on KPIs for implementing a SaaS product for a federal customer, focusing on metrics like on-time, on-quality, and on-budget percentages to measure success. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗯𝗮𝗱𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿, 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 OG Next - 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 👉https://hubs.la/Q02q1w4d0 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 - Operators Guild 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲. 👉https://lnkd.in/gxwfBaKA #OGNext #TechCommunity #Collaboration #KnowledgeSharing

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If a basketball player drop kicks a ball during play, people wouldn't blame basketball for not allowing kicking...they'd question the players understanding. Founders (Players) can hate the VC fundraising (Game). Blaming Opaque processes or Nepo style allocation, but quite often these are excuses not the reason. The misspent energy of founding teams chasing the same Midas list everyone else has or simply not having a business appropriate for Venture rails; means they are setting themselves up for failure. There are well over 10,000 funds out there, with many interested at the early stage. And yes we do need a better way to raise relevance which is a core mission of OpenRound; but even if you could click a button and have a termsheet pop up to you (be nice wouldn't it?)...would you know the demands that cash is coming with? VC's are playing a version of the same game founders are, they have investors (LP's) who make up the fund, a VC needs to pick winners to return that fund with a multiple attached. So Founders need to think before signing a termsheet, not just the terms in front of them, what will they need to achieve to return the whole fund as a value back to that VC. Because thats the unspoken pressure that adds noise to all decisions as you scale. Founders need a better experience - that is without doubt. But founders need to know what they are signing up for before spending weeks kicking balls in the wrong sport. and now...this (IFYKYK) #Tuesdaytake #fundraising #investorrelations

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Join me as I share the secrets to gaining Angel Investment (being ESIC is one) and help you land your pitch and get your message across. I'm joined by experienced founders who can share their experiences and help you develop your own (survive the) Chasm Plan.

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A good datapoint for pre-seed founders looking to onboard advisors. Data shows only 1 in 10 pre-seed advisors get more than 1% equity, highlighting the need for careful allocation. Thanks Peter Walker for the insights to help align grants with the industry & preserve equity for growth. #Advisors #Equity #Founders

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🌶🌶 Category creation has been all the rage. 🌶🌶 Kyle Poyar's post from James Evans is gold on this topic. My TAKEAWAYS: 1️⃣ Category creation = playing the game on HARD mode 2️⃣ Before & after narratives = critical 3️⃣ Repositioning > Pivoting I feel like I've been waiting for years for someone to call out category creation like this. Category creation seems great. It sounds so bold. So "Blue Ocean." Very "Alpha." We don't play by other people's rules... we make up our own rules! But being so novel nobody "gets" what you are? That's hard. Hard for customers. Hard for investors, Hard for employees. If you loved the book "Play Bigger"—the latest darling of category creation—this is the counterpoint to round out the topic. Locally, Qualtrics was the poster child for category creation. They hired the authors of "Play Bigger." But “experience management?” Really? What does that even mean? Are they an app for travel agencies? When’s the last time you took a survey and felt like you were having an experience? Never made sense to me. ... also if you need further proof that I know what I'm talking about and that Qualtrics is up in the night...well, I’m still working for a living and Ryan Smith owns the Jazz after scratching $8 Billion on a napkin while playing basketball. 🤷🏼‍♂️ 😜 😱 Win some, lose some. P.S. IMHO, "Play Bigger" is an "also ran" to the O.G. and much more practical "Positioning: the Battle for Your Mind" Don't believe me? 🤔 Never heard of Positioning: the Battle for Your Mind? 😕 That's okay. FYI Play Bigger was a best seller with over 150,000 copies sold world wide. It only needs to sell 3,850,000 more copies to catch up to Positioning. 😁 #cmozen #positioning #categorycreation

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All #entrepreneurs hit a fundraising plateau. It's the founders who push through that plateau that see fundraising spikes at the end of their #RegCF campaigns. Here are 3 tips to help you break through and keep the momentum going: 1. Engage Your Community: Keep your current and potential investors excited and informed. Regular updates, behind-the-scenes content, and interactive Q&A sessions can reignite interest and drive further investment. Authentic engagement builds trust and encourages your supporters to spread the word. 2. Leverage Strategic Partnerships: Collaborate with influencers, industry experts, or complementary businesses to expand your reach. A strategic partner can introduce your campaign to a new, engaged audience, providing the boost you need to overcome a plateau. 3. Optimize Your Marketing Efforts: Reevaluate and refine your marketing strategy. Analyze what’s working and what’s not. Use targeted ads, compelling storytelling, and strong calls-to-action to attract new investors. Sometimes, a fresh approach can make all the difference. Breaking through a plateau requires persistence, so don't give up! Stay proactive and keep pushing forward!

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I recently sat down with Michael Batko, CEO at Startmate and Founder of Puddle Pod for Episode 11 of Insane Ambition. Startmate has invested in 230+ startups, much of it under Michael's leadership, and now has $3.5b in value across its portfolio companies. In this episode, we discussed: - Michael's journey from consulting, then living in the Amazon rainforest, to leading Australia's biggest startup accelerator - The future of Australia's startup ecosystem - The labour government's very stupid plan to make it harder for people to qualify as sophisticated investors (now thankfully shelved) - Startmate City! Startmate's plan to build Australia's first startup city. Probably the most ambitious idea I've ever heard from a startup accelerator. - The balance between visionary thinking and traditional startup advice (think Elon Musk's plan to colonise Mars, vs Y Combinator's problem/customer obsession) - "The Courage to Be Disliked", and its influence on Michael's approach to life and business. Links in the description below 👇

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