Somina Lee

How do you find Limited Partners and get them over the line? Find out in this webinar next week!

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🚀 How do you get a pre-seed or seed round done *quickly* in NYC? ✅ Assemble a list of over 80 of the earliest-stage fund and angel investors in town ✅ Curate a dozen or so of them based on relevancy ✅ Break bread together. That's what nextNYC is doing with Checkwriters--and applications are OPEN. We're looking for pre-seed and seed NYC founders to pitch at our dinner next Wednesday night. The only criteria is that you have to have at least one *professional* investor committed to a currently open round--be it a fund, angel, scout, etc. 🗓 Applications are due *this Thursday*: https://lnkd.in/epJjny4P 🤝 Shoutout to the folks at Orrick Tech and Rho for helping to make this happen: Orrick is a tech-focused law firm passionate about helping entrepreneurs, innovators and investors push boundaries. Through our extensive client portfolio, deal volume, and relationships in the ecosystem, we provide commercial insight to each client’s strategy. From financing to protecting IP to retaining talent to advocating for innovation-friendly public policy, we offer a holistic solution across the tech & venture lifecycle. Rho is the business banking platform with everything founders need to manage their company cash and grow their business. See how they are supporting founders in NYC (https://lnkd.in/ef7uzDQv) – and earn rewards for switching your operating account to Rho.

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At the #SEENSummit2024 in NYC, I had the privilege of joining The New VC Playbook panel with Gabby Cazeau (Harlem Capital), Morgan Blumberg (M13), and Desiree Almodovar (AlleyCorp). One of the biggest takeaways from our conversation was how tough it really is out there for entrepreneurs right now. With interest rates persisting, tighter funding, and investors playing it safe, it’s a grind to even get a foot in the door—especially if you don’t have the right connections. The reality is, the bar is higher, and the road to securing capital is getting longer and harder. We talked about how to keep pushing through, strategies to get funding, and why it’s critical to support founders who’ve been overlooked for too long. It’s tough, but the drive to change the game is what keeps us going. Shoutout to Tech:NYC, Visible Hands, and everyone who showed up and made this summit an honest, energizing conversation about what it really takes to make things happen. #Entrepreneurship #Growth #Innovation #Startups #VC

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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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Forum Ventures' The Midnight Text shares our POV on the early stage journey, for founders by people that get it. The most recent newsletter hones in on a topic I live and breathe every day - the importance of the founding team. Here's a highlight: "A lot of founders over-index on presenting the business, but you are just as important to the story." Don't miss out. 👉🏻 https://lnkd.in/gfgnZDUU

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🎃 Ready to carve out your path to Product-Market Fit?🎃 Join Companyon Ventures’ Behind the Curtain roundtable tomorrow (Oct 30) with Michael Ho, Firas Raouf, Eric Morgan, and Hersh Tapadia as they 'exorcise' the mysteries of PMF. Don’t ghost us—RSVP in the comments 👻 https://lnkd.in/emCJcn4w #emergingmanager #venturecapital #productmarketfit

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💜 Hue. has been awarded a $150K equity-free grant from the Google for Startups Founders Fund! 🎉 Funding Black founders is crucial, here’s why ⬇ I recently spoke with a founder—let’s call him David—who needed fundraising advice. David’s startup is gaining traction, and he’s been advised to raise a #friendsandfamilyround to boost product development. Sadly, he feels discouraged. David is the first in his family to graduate college, and at 21, he earned more than anyone else in his family in his entry-level job. Now in their late twenties, him and his friends are still in their growth era and don’t have extra cash to invest. David feels stuck. 🚫 His network can’t fund his venture, and he has too little traction to raise a formal round. This is a common experience for many underrepresented founders—Black, Latino, low-income, women, and more. ✨ Grant programs like the Google for Startups Founders Fund provide essential capital to level the playing field. ✨ The Hue team is incredibly grateful for Google’s support for underrepresented founders and its commitment to uplifting startups pushing boundaries in AI. ❓ Does David’s experience resonate with you? Have you raised a friends and family round? What advice would you give other founders? ❓ Comment below ⬇ Check out to the other Black & Latino founders in my Google for Founders cohort! Sherisse Hawkins Nana Wilberforce Ph.D Seke Ballard Megan Nunes Manny S. Kene Anoliefo Tiffany Ricks George Holmes, PhD Rocio Frej Vitalle Rocio Frej Vitalle Florian Pestoni Darren Riley Eitan Winer Darryl Keeton Constanza Gomez Sergio Suarez Jr. Gerald Kierce Iturrioz #GoogleForStartups #FoundersFund #poweredbyhue #beautymarketing #huecommunity #hiring #fundraising

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Now that I’m a pre-seed founder with no income, I’ve downgraded my commute from Uber to the MTA Bus. It’s humbling but also taught me a lot so I decided to share the biggest lessons I’ve learned from eating this humble pie. 🌟**What Taking the Bus in NYC Taught Me About Enterprise Sales**🌟 Ah, the New York City bus. A beacon of efficiency and comfort. No delays, always on time, and the perfect place to learn about enterprise sales! 🚌💼 1. **Patience is a Virtue:** Just like waiting for that elusive client decision, waiting for the bus teaches you that time is just a construct. Why rush when you can enjoy the scenic view of the same block for 20 minutes? ⏳ 2. **Building Relationships:** Every bus ride is a networking opportunity. Whether it’s the person sharing their life story with you or the one falling asleep on your shoulder, these encounters are invaluable for honing your people skills. 🤝 3. **Handling Rejection:** When the bus doors close right in your face, it’s just like losing a deal you were certain you’d win. Brush it off, wait for the next one, and hope for a better outcome. 🚪❌ 4. **Strategic Planning:** Navigating the bus system requires a level of strategic thinking akin to planning a multi-million dollar sales pitch. One wrong move and you end up in Staten Island. 🗺️ 5. **Optimism:** The sheer optimism of believing the bus will come on time, despite all evidence to the contrary, mirrors the unwavering belief in closing that impossible deal. 🌈 So next time you're frustrated with your sales pipeline, just hop on a bus. It's basically a masterclass in enterprise sales. 🚍📈 #SalesLessons #EnterpriseSales #NYCBus #LinkedInInfluencer #TotallySeriousPost

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Ever since we launched SHAKTI, every quarter we write a letter to our LPs = Each letter includes an update on the portfolios, the GP's (our) view on the zeitgeist, an interview with a portfolio CEO and an interview with a TITAN = So far, we have 16 such letters = it's been on our "to do" list to share these publicly (i am lazy) = then Google comes along to save lazy people like me (thank you NotebookLLM) = here's a 10 min podcast summarizing our journey since Dec/2020 with the 16 LP letters as source = if you wanted to know what we are about, this is a pretty good place to start = https://lnkd.in/db7K2TrT cc SHAKTI

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I love YC Demo Day season. It’s an insane concentration of driven founders building something they deeply believe in at the frontier of tech. I know it's more trendy for VCs to complain about YC. But I believe Garry Tan when he says 5-10% of companies become worth a billion dollars. Maven’s hit rate from YC is even higher: 16% have had $B+ exits, and we’re trending toward a 40% graduation rate from Seed to Unicorn with investments we’ve made alongside YC. Since Maven’s founding in 2013, we’ve funded 12 YC startups out of the 66 companies we’ve invested in. Here are a few: Cruise: acquired by GM for $1B+ Embark: $4B SPAC, acquired by Applied Intuition Chariot: acquired by Ford before Series A May Mobility: raised $300M+ in follow on funding, including from Toyota Carrot Fertility: raised $100M+ in follow on funding, including from CRV and USVP Daybreak Health: Series A from Lightspeed, Series B from USV Moment Robotics: acquired by Cruise founder Kyle Vogt’s new company, The Bot Co (Maven is an investor) Our strategy differs from other YC investors. Many funds build a YC “index fund”, investing in many startups per batch. It’s not a bad move. But we focus on concentration, meeting all the companies in our thesis area and investing in one or two. Gratefully, I think every company from the list above can point to Maven as one of their most trusted partners that made a difference: intros to customers, closing follow-on funding from top VCs, connecting key hires, and offering genuine care and advice in both the best and toughest of moments. What are we looking for in a YC investment? 1) Team - a technical product team with startup DNA and hustle that can achieve a bold vision. Brilliant, determined founders no one would bet against who are ambitious enough to build an iconic company. 2) Vision worth fighting for - what are you bringing into the world that is worth all the time, effort and money required for success? Why aren’t existing solutions good enough? Are we proud to help bring this idea to the world? 3) Massive market - because of the valuation premium YC demands, even a $B outcome may not return today’s average Seed fund. Honestly, that math sucks. In order to pay the premium, we have to believe that if we’re right, we’ll be wildly successful. 4) Consumer trend - Maven invests in tech companies addressing emerging consumer trends. Even if some investments are B2B or B2B2C, they are always grounded in a consumer insight: autonomous vehicles in 2014, fertility care in 2017, mental health in 2020. Today, we’re looking at consumer applications of AI and frontier consumer health. Many successful companies we fund are outside of YC as well – like Zoom, Hello Heart, Epic!, Class, Wildtype. So we match YC’s Unicorn % across the rest of our portfolio, too 💪 YC founders in consumer tech and digital health: if you want to build an iconic company that delivers a positive impact for millions of consumers - I can’t wait to talk to you!

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I echo and a firm believer of Laurel Mintz take on Diversity - "Diversity in thought, diversity in boards, diversity in public companies, diversity in all of this is what creates a better culture. It's what creates better outcomes, both financially and emotionally. Ultimately, it's just a better approach to creating a more well-rounded society.” #ImpactInvesting #VentureCapital #PurposeDrivenInvestors

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📣 A Friday shout out to several people who truly are going above and beyond to support their peers, professionalize a function, and raise awareness of #VCplatform. Not only are these leaders devoting their time and energy (beyond their day jobs) to creating content and sharing knowledge with our cohort, but they are setting powerful examples of how to successfully build community and leverage the knowledge and experience of others (which translates into meaningful lessons and tactical tips platform leaders can apply in their jobs). There has never been a better time to be building (and learning!) in platform with this network that is growing and increasingly becoming more savvy and sophisticated, not only in our own respective roles, but in how the broader community communicates and the quality of resources available to help each one of us excel at our own VC shops. 📈 🚀 💡 Thank you to Olivia O'Sullivan with Platform Shift, Allie Mullen with #SoYouWantToWorkInPlatform, Cory Bolotsky’s new killer newsletter, Beck Bamberger, PhD with VC Comms, and Kristen Ostro w/Let's Talk Ops. #vcplatform #whatsnext

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Our fireside chat with investor and creator Sahil Bloom is almost at capacity. Thanks to your demand and feedback, we're going to open it up to everyone. Previously, we had reserved spots for founders and future founders, but it turns out a lot of people in NYC read Sahil's Curiosity Chronicle newsletter. If you want to come, RSVP link is in the comments. We'll discuss how Sahil reached >800,000 subscribers for his quickly growing newsletter, The Curiosity Chronicle. Here's what else we'll talk about: - How to transform your voice into a business asset - How to build systems to build an online audience - How to execute your strategy over long periods of time - The Pillar Method: How, when, and what to post - How to write a compelling hook - What kind of content to create - Best newsletter strategies - The future of the creator economy

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Can startup accelerators truly “accelerate” your growth? We recently had the chance to find out as part of Techstars New York Spring 2024 batch. Having launched Engagespot nearly a year before joining Techstars, we’d been seeing steady, organic growth through SEO and early customer acquisition. But when KJ Singh and Christine Lu Hong asked us if we were ready to move to New York for the program, it felt like a dream come true, especially for us—founders based in India building a SaaS company in the US. The past three months have been transformative. We've been plugged into a vast network of mentors and alumni from standout companies like DigitalOcean and Veho. It's clear from our growth charts: our Google search impressions, signups, product usage, and revenues (which increased 5x) all surged during the accelerator period. So, what drove this growth? Here’s what I believe: * Direct entry into the US startup ecosystem. * Access to an extensive network of mentors and alumni, including unicorns. * Exposure to a new startup and business culture. * Valuable referrals and introductions. * Insightful feedback from peers and mentors. So, yes, joining an accelerator did amazing things for us, especially the opportunity to be part of the NY startup community! Excited to return to New York later this year and continue building on this momentum!

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From our very first conversation with Dor and Anton, their unique vision for SaaS pricing and monetization immediately set them apart. Their innovative perspective, sharp market insights, and fearless ambition were truly inspiring. 🌟 We’re at a pivotal moment for disruption in this field. With AI reshaping the way software companies monetize, there’s never been a better time to challenge the status quo. Stigg is leading the charge—empowering SaaS businesses to embrace flexible, scalable pricing models that align with today’s dynamic demands. 🔥 Proud to be partnering with the team and can’t wait to see what’s next! 🚀 Link to the full article in the first comment Red Dot Capital Partners Redseed Unusual Ventures Emerge Ventures Cerca Partners | Atad Peled Daniel Benjamin Sandhya Hegde Dovi Ollech

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Want a front-row seat to the frontier of tech? We’ve got the role (or two) for you! We’re expanding our frontier-tech team at Blackbird by hiring a Frontier Tech Investments Associate and Foundry Fellows! Got questions? We've got answers... 1️⃣ What are the roles? 🧪 Associate = a full-time VC investment gig in our Blackbird Investments team, working directly with me. We’re looking for someone with a science and/or engineering background and more curiosity than they can handle. You’ll grow your own investment brand and practice, support our portfolio founders, and will help build Foundry, our early-stage frontier-tech accelerator. ✨ Foundry Fellow = a casual/contract gig in our Blackbird Investments team, ~15h per week for 3 months. The Fellowship is ideal for PhD students and ECRs who want to learn more about startups and VC. You’ll go deep on emerging areas relevant to your expertise (or curiosity!), get a front-row seat to groundbreaking companies in those areas, build out your non-academic network, and develop a solid writing practice. 2️⃣ Why are you hiring? We love frontier tech, and we’re ready to grow our team. 3️⃣ Wow, it’s so great that you’re starting to look at deep tech! Look, we get it: we don’t make a lot of noise about our frontier tech investing. Buuuut we’ve been deep-tech investors since we backed Tim Kentley-Klay to found Zoox back in 2014—we’ve been on incredible journeys with PsiQuantum (building the world's first utility-scale quantum computer right here in Australia!), Inventia Life Science (transforming drug discovery with high-fidelity cell models), Remedy Robotics (surgical robots for remote endovascular procedures), Opto Biosystems (minimally-invasive neural implants to treat cancer), and more. We believe that frontier technologies, and great frontier-tech investing, will be part of the solutions to the greatest problems humanity faces today. 4️⃣ When do applications close? May 31st at 11:59pm AEST. 5️⃣ I have more questions! I’m sure you do! Clare Birch and I are hosting an AMA to answer any and all questions about these roles. Want to know what a week in the life of our team looks like? What’s keeping us up at night? What our ideal candidate looks like? Come along and find out - registration link in the comments 👇 Apply for these roles: Associate - https://lnkd.in/gCfj4EUJ Foundry Fellowships - https://lnkd.in/gj6ATZVZ If you know anyone that we should meet, send me their details! Cameron Elise Ben Andrew Robin Joseph Adelaide James Olivia Lucinda Raghav Jesse Christie Mohamed Tom Amee Pablo Haya Loong Hon Joshua Benjamin Megan Harry Denzil Matthew Diana Daniel Tom Deanna Justin Amar Lilly Stone Thomas

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I am excited to announce an additional $8.5M investment into Bandana (Bandana.com), led by General Catalyst, with follow-on investments from Craft Ventures and Triple Impact Capital. The promise of America 🇺🇸 has always been one of opportunity. From the early settlers seeking new lives to immigrants arriving with dreams of a better future and the rise of millions out of poverty during the Industrial Revolution, America's history is rich with stories of hope and progress. The Civil Rights Movement further solidified this promise, ensuring that opportunities were available to all, regardless of race or background. However, today, many still find the path to prosperity challenging, with barriers of inequity and privilege seeming more formidable than ever. At Bandana, we believe that the American Dream — the idea that hard work leads to success — should be within everyone's reach. Our mission is to empower hourly and entry-level workers through transparency and trust, by building tools that improve their livelihoods. By leveling the playing field with transparent information and providing reliable support, we aim to help everyday Americans achieve their dreams and create brighter futures for themselves and their families. Since January 2024, we've helped over 150,000 New Yorkers find better jobs, proving that our efforts are just the beginning of what we can accomplish together. We will continue to accelerate our growth and support even more Americans. Our focus remains on building the best platform for finding better jobs with comprehensive benefits and maximum transparency while also expanding into New Jersey, the rest of New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. This is just the first step in our broader vision to improve livelihoods and reignite the belief in the American Dream. A special shout out to my co-founders Caleb Lee and Larry Z. and to our incredible team here Vicky Xu, Elana Shen, Yong Li (Emily) Dich, Paulo Makalinao, Adrian Abeijon, Brian Qian, and Rudy Ramnath. Thank you to the investors who have believed in us from day one and continue to double down, specifically Niko Bonatsos, Max Rimpel, Lainy Painter Singh, Bennett Thomas, and Justin Smithline. Read more - https://lnkd.in/e7n3pjnM Techcrunch - https://lnkd.in/engU9bTD For the People, Timothy Makalinao

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