Stephanie Alexis Smellie

Entering the Post-ZIRP, venture-capital-winter years. Thanks TechCrunch for this great summary of the macro economic context of #VC emerging managers.

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If you're building a fintech startup, you likely know of this investor, but just in case... This week's findfunding.vc spotlight is on Neil Kapur from TTV Capital. He: 🛫 Is based in SF & Atlanta 💲 Has spent time at Google in consumer-facing payments & at two fintech startups  🏔️ Loves alpine mountaineering and has climbed Kilimanjaro, Denali, Rainier, and more!! Amongst founders, Neil and the team at TTV Capital , including Gardiner Garrard, Mark Johnson, Sean Banks, Lizzie Guynn, and Laney Lewis are known for saying “lift, not lean.” They believe that their job as investors is not to create work for founders, but instead ask the right questions and help navigate to the best outcomes. Knowing Neil well personally, he's not only my go-to person for anything related to fintech but I can also highly recommend having him on your cap table - he's the kind of human you want to have in your corner during both good times and bad. Make sure to: ✉️ Pitch him at nkapur@ttvcapital.com ➡️ Follow TTV Capital on LinkedIn For more, check out our funder spotlight card below along with TTV Capital's profile on findfunding.vc (link in comments).

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Pretty excited about this one - a team with a remarkable track record across top DeFi protocols, propelled by a clear & effective go to market strategy. The result? Over $300 million in TVL and $2 billion in trading volume within just a few short months. ___________________________ As Blast was gearing up for its launch, the market was flooded with over a dozen different spot and perpetual DEXes seeking funding. At the time, Blast had already achieved over $2 billion in TVL and we anticipated they would launch various mainnet incentives to maintain liquidity within the protocol. Our aim was to identify the team most capable of capturing the majority of mindshare and swap volume from the $2 billion+ of captive liquidity in the ~3 months leading up to the Blast token generation event (TGE). Consequently, we engaged in several discussions and reviewed numerous pitches to better understand how the DEX competition might unfold. We were particularly impressed by the Thruster team and their strategy to attract early attention and liquidity through focused partnerships and integrations. ___________________________ At Futureproof, we invest our own capital, which can sometimes be seen as a limitation in the venture capital space. We do not write overly large checks and cannot invest in all the deals that come our way. However, this constraint sharpens our investment focus. Ultimately, it leads us to invest in those we believe are best positioned to dominate their respective niches, rather than just securing a competitive position. High conviction, high hit rate... betting on the fastest horse. Thruster is exactly that - winning, growing and showing zero signs of slowing down. We can't wait to support them as they staff up and double down on their winning formula to integrate Thruster products and liquidity into other top protocols across DeFi, NFTFi and beyond.

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Halle Kaplan-Allen and I will be chatting with Ali Hamed tomorrow about sourcing LPs. You can RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/edYZhKrA Ali wrote this excellent tactical piece on networking that is well worth a read for anyone networking their way to capital: https://lnkd.in/eZ_2f_4x This event is presented by Sydecar, a frictionless deal execution platform for venture capitalists. By pioneering a standardized approach to private investing, they enable capital allocators to identify and back entrepreneurs who are changing the world. Their platform reliably handles back-office operations, automating banking, compliance, contracts, tax, and reporting so that customers can focus on making deals and building relationships.

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NY friends! Please come see me at Tech Day on my panel discussing the future of the NY tech ecosystem and what I hope to bring to it!

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Dan Primack had some pointed criticism for #VC yesterday in his Axios Pro Rata newsletter (a daily must read IMO 😤). In short, the model doesn't work if it can't produce exits for LPs. Don't blame public markets (which are at all-time highs) for the lack of liquidity either. 📈 💸 Instead, this is a "liquidity drought of your making" where "...swinging for the fences on every pitch, rather than taking the single or double that's available" is the only way out when you invest at "sky high valuations." 😰 "A whopping 37% of "unicorns" are being held for at least nine years by VC funds, including 13% that are past the 12-year mark." 😳 ⌛ Is he right? Is VC at a dire inflection point? Or is Primack prematurely hitting the panic button? 🚨 https://lnkd.in/dts92pXr

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One of the most challenging parts of running a tech startup is raising investment. It takes patience, persistence, lots of phone/ zoom calls, and true belief in your product to build trust. If you're thinking about raising capital, here's a quick list of a few things that many VC’s and private investors look for: ·     A clear, concise pitch deck that both tells your story and paints a business case. ·     At least one builder founder, preferably an engineer, but UI/UX may be considered as well. ·     Traction including on-boarded clients, revenue and testimonials. ·     A strong team who has demonstrated past success.   If you’re an investor in the SaaS and/ or entertainment space, I’d love to connect with you to see what makes a project stand out in your eyes!

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Seed VCs are turning to new ‘pro rata’ funds that help them compete with the big firms Alpha Partners, SignalRank and now SaaS Ventures help seed VCs pay for shares when big VCs try to price — or push — them out Lee Edwards, partner at Root VC, has a saying at his firm that “pro rata rights are earned, not given.” That may be a bit of a stretch since pro rata refers to a term that VCs put in their term sheets that gives them the right to buy more shares in a portfolio company during consequent funding rounds to maintain an ownership percentage and avoid dilution. Still, while these rights are not exactly “earned,” they can be expensive. One of the latest trends in VC investing these days are funds dedicated to helping seed VCs exercise their pro rata rights. https://lnkd.in/dRM3RvdA By Christine Hall

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One of the best podcasts that you will hear. Eric Weinstein, an accomplished business / hedge fund manager and just amazing thinker holds a master class in how to reason through a set of complex conversations. Some context here: Terrence Howard (yes the actor) came on Joe Rogan a little while ago, and did some very elaborate 'matching'. He very much comes across as a visionary, self-taught, self-reasoned through many complex ideas, bringing it all together with a vast web of historic scientific knowledge. Terrance launches into a set of core assumptions within the sciences, mathematics, physics and related topics. He tumbles through multitude of ideas from frequency, to energy, to wave theory, all very difficult to follow... but extremely compelling. Encyclopaedic knowledge, but a flow that is so rapid, and often superficial. For many casual 'scientists' and social media followers, it was like a red flag to a bull: and confirmed a narrative that 'they' (the scientific, trusted community) is lying to us, that they are not telling us something. That 'their' assumptions are wrong, but that there is a cartel of universities and institutions that is protecting it, and protecting their dominion over the sciences. This fed into Joe's common narrative that the modern scientific understanding of the world is incomplete and lacking: but more importantly that the institutions who guard this knowledge are themselves filled with political bias, making them fallible, and ultimate not trusted as much as they should be. (A lot of 'they' say this, or that.. not sure who 'they' are, except that they only have bad characteristics.) Enter Eric Weinstein, an accomplished thinker and just a superb communicator, takes Terrance through his own maze of ideas, and links between ideas, one at a time, carefully dissection the arguments. He leads this 'visionary' through his errors and discoveries,'What Terrance is doing here is... ' and sometimes he points out errors in reasoning, sometimes provides clarification, sometimes asks for clarification, but is always respectful, always careful, always thoughtful. He gives Terrance a lot of credit for his thinking, but also shapes and moulds it carefully. "You have a lot of desire to understand what it means. But before you think about it, you have to ask what it is" He delivers a masterclass in how to handle this kind of back-of-the-envelope science, that is so prominent in social media now. Terrance is in awe of him, as was I. This is where you see just an amazing capability of the human mind to reason through multiple avenues (often strange manifestation, with partial truths, and incomplete relationships), to question, to reason, to give room for each other in a very humane way. One of the best displays of human capability: both academic and the best humane characteristics, I have ever seen. #joerogan #podcasts #reasoning #human #conversation #rogan #weinstein #terrancehoward Eric Weinstein Joe Rogan

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Breaking News: VC Investment into Black Founders is Down...Again We've seen the reports earlier in the year, but this report from Carta and Peter Walker adds a little bit to an already longstanding conversation. In reading the full report, I have 3 main takeaways as it relates to the downward trend for Blacks in startups. #1. As Bad As it Looks, It's Even Worse Carta's report only looks at startups on its platform. From that data set, they determined Black founders received just 1% of unpriced venture capital funds. However, in a wider study, Crunchbase reported that just $700m went to Black founders in 2023, down from $4.9b in 2021. That $700m represented just 0.5% of the total $140b that went to all U.S. startups last year. https://lnkd.in/eRDXkM7Q #2. It's Even Bad for Black Startup Employees One of the big things Carta can lend to this conversation that others can't is what it looks like for Black people getting jobs at venture-backed start-ups. Well, as you can imagine, it's not good. In 2021, despite being ~13.5% of the population, Black people were just 2.8% of the new hires to Carta-using startups. But it got even worse in 2023, with just 2.3% of new start-up hires being Black. #3. We're Dropping Out of the Game Perhaps even more scary, and likely a result of these first two takeaways, is that there are fewer Black founders entering the VC game than there were 2 years ago. Black founders represented 3.9% of newly incorporated Carta startups in 2021, but that dropped to just 2.7% in 2022—nearly a third less. That's a big problem. Deterred by a lack of funding when they do start, and getting fewer start-up employment opportunities, Black people are essentially dropping out of participating in VC. Of course, there are many other ways to make money in the world—some with higher expected returns than VC, especially for those privileged to consider VC a plausible choice. However, being left out of markets is not a good thing—especially when it's not really Black talent making that choice for themselves. We know that Tech is going to continue being a driving force in wealth creation, especially with AI sucking up so much of the market. Thus, for any semblance of equal opportunity at wealth creation, Black people have to get a fairer shake at participating in Venture Capital. But the problem is that smart people aren't going to sit around and wait to be treated fairly. On average, they're just going to find a better, more favorable opportunity, even if the ceiling isn't as high. And that's a problem. For both Black people and the rest of the economy. Every quality report out there suggests that the systemic prevention of Black people's full participation in all areas of the economy is costing our nation immensely. And given the crazy times we're in, I'm not sure we can afford to maintain that status quo.

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This weeks episode was excellent. NIA. https://lnkd.in/dCXpNZxe

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It is no secret that fundraising has been incredibly challenging for founders at all stages. According to Carta’s Q1 2024 State of Private Markets report, Seed stage deal count fell 33% from Q4 2023 and Series A deal count fell 36%. Additionally, total cash raised in the same period was 30% less at each stage suggesting rounds sizes are also getting smaller. In this next edition of Collaborative Fund's Founder Support Series, I get into the details of how to prepare to fundraise in a challenging environment. Have a read and let me know what you think: https://lnkd.in/gJjqhsCd

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Summary: Harlem Capital, a venture capital firm focused on backing diverse founders, is raising its largest fund to date of $150 million. This would be its third fund and is a testament to the industry's continued support for diverse communities. Key takeaways: Harlem Capital was founded in 2015 with the goal of supporting diverse founders. The firm has $174 million in assets under management and has made investments in over 80 companies. The successful raising of the $150 million fund would be a show of success for both Harlem Capital and the industry's continued focus on diversity and inclusion. #venturecapital #vc #venture #diversity #dei

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The #VentureStudio community is thriving and when two leaders from different studios get together it is always going to be a great conversation. This podcast is huge as two brilliant Venture Studio leaders Barry O'Reilly from Nobody Studios and Ben Yoskovitz from Highline Beta join to unpack the innovative world of venture studios and uncover the strategies that make startups thrive. In this episode, you will learn: 📈 The fundamentals of creating and scaling a venture studio 🛠️ Strategies for innovating with accelerators, incubators, and venture capital 💡 How to apply Lean Startup principles to build products people actually want 🤝 The importance of collaboration between founders, corporate partners, and investors 🔄 Insights into the specialization and future trends of venture studios Take a listen and learn from two masters.

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Is there a future for generative #AI in the #music industry? According to this article by MIT Technology Review, it might be too expensive to be worth pursuing. Last week, two major AI music startups, Suno and Udio were both sued by numerous major record labels under the claim that the companies’ #copyrighted music is used in the learning data “at an almost unimaginable scale,” giving the AI tools ability to imitate many copyrighted artists, and songs. YouTube is finding their own niche in the AI music market by offering incentive for users to add to their pool of music. The stakes are higher for AI music — music in the public domain is sparse and not exactly trendy to current listeners. I highly recommend the full article to get the most perspective, but in my opinion aside from the well discussed concerns about generative AI’s place in #artistic mediums, I don’t think Suno nor Udio have a case in their favor. These apps are much more “imitative” than generative, and don’t really have an ability yet to make music that is “new” or at least doesn’t heavily borrow from existing works. But what do you all take away from this case? Is this an honest mistake from two startups, or is all AI music bound to repeat the same mistakes? I’d be open to rear what the broad consensus is.

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Did you know that 68% of small businesses report having cash flow problems, and many small businesses rely on the owner's personal funds to stay afloat? Relay exists to solve this and the best part is it's actually working! Which makes this announcement even sweeter: We raised a USD $32.2 million Series B round. What does this mean? - More spend management tools to improve financial visibility - More products to give small business owners flexibility - More integrations to streamline operations - And ultimately more businesses making better and smarter financial decisions Exciting times ahead! PS We're hiring: https://lnkd.in/gMT2mN25

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20 hours in and Hoyo's formidable craftsmanship is on full display with ZZZ. ⭐1.0 release pool of 16 characters. Hoyo games have always prioritized quality over quantity, leaning instead on deep systems to enable diverse team comps / fun theorycrafting. Interestingly, Wuthering Waves also launched with the same # of characters in its 1.0 pool. I'm personally a big fan of this approach, and hope to see more games adopt it going forward. ⭐Female to male character ratio of 3:1. HSR currently stands at ~2:1 and Genshin at ~1.7:1. Every faction shown so far has only 1 male char. Surprising given Hoyo's recent titles have focused more on the "mainstream anime" audience instead of catering only to the core otaku audience. Very happy to see Hoyo honoring its roots here. They cooked and core fans are going to be very pleased with all of the fanservice (e.g. cinema artwork, main menu char selection, etc.). ⭐C6 / Cinema artwork is... IYKYK. They clearly tested it with HSR and are fully leaning into it with ZZZ. Congrats to all you Grace C6 havers. They knew exactly what they were doing. ⭐First Hoyo game with dedicated furries / anthropomorphic races. Ellen, Ben, and Von Lycaon are all very compelling characters. Wakayama Shion does such a fantastic job as Ellen's VA. Hoyo absolutely nailed the launch banner here. ⭐Just like other Hoyo games, ZZZ is more "casual" than it is "core." It doesn't demand much of your time as a single player live service title. For me it's the perfect side game that I can see myself spending 1-2 hours per week on. I don't expect everyone to like it (might be too "easy" for core gamers), but it's a winning formula that Hoyo has perfected for its target audience. ⭐One of Hoyo's underrated special talents is making "core" genres widely accessible from a gameplay standpoint across all platforms. ZZZ plays flawlessly on mobile, PC, and console without diluting the experience at all. Everything from the simplified switching system to the flat level design was intentional to make it incredibly accessible even for someone who has never played action games before. This is something really only Hoyo is capable of pulling off with such finesse. ⭐Really digging the comic / manga style storytelling. Glad to see Hoyo continue to innovate on how it delivers its stories and really looking forward to seeing more of this. ⭐Hoyo's investments into its music / animation departments are really paying off. The release trailer for ZZZ is Hoyo's best yet and their character drip marketing is perfected to the point where I'm basically forced to pull on every banner. In many ways, Hoyo is slowly becoming the Apple of the gaming industry, and their IPs are rapidly expanding the audience for gacha and anime on a global scale. I'm honestly humbled. Shut up and take my money... #zenlesszonezero

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Got a fundraising sea story for you . . . I've known Andrew Bialecki and Ed Hallen, Klaviyo co-founders, for >10 years. They personally helped me back when Klaviyo had ~10 employees. I was running marketing at a turnaround in Boston (Karmaloop--it had gone bankrupt). Klaviyo was a few doors down on Boylston street. Or Newbury. I can't quite remember. Our turnaround marketing team was FRUSTRATED. Karmaloop's email program was on some legacy platform (I won't mention it. . . we shouldn't speak ill of the dead). We couldn't do any of the lifecycle marketing we wanted to do . . . . . . and lifecycle marketing was critical to our turnaround thesis. It was the only way we were going to make it work. So after a particularly frustrating time trying to get a triggered email send to work, I threw up my hands, announced "I'm going next door," walked over to Klaviyo, and knocked on the door. Ed answered. Andrew waved--he was coding. "Hey, can your team help me migrate this beast onto your platform and make it sing? Like, this week?" Andrew and Ed bent over backwards for me and helped me get Karmaloop's 5M emails migrated and humming. It's not a stretch to say the turnaround (and the next ones) could only happen because of Klaviyo. I've stayed in touch with them ever since. They've given Michael Epstein and me advice over the years, been in our corner, and been a part of PostPilot journey. (PostPilot's original thesis was simple: "Klaviyo for direct mail." Now, it feels like the story's come full circle, because Andrew and Ed just invested in PostPilot's Series A. Like so many other things in my career, it all started with a turnaround. 

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