Let's Start Up Issue 1 | I see you, early adopter 👀
A newsletter for founders, investors, and startup friends.
Hi there 👋 Welcome to the Let's Start Up newsletter, curated by me, Janine Sickmeyer. Let's Start Up is made for founders, investors, and friends who are interested in entrepreneurship, inclusivity and diversity, and tech. Let's start up. ✨
Hey all - welcome to the first issue of the Let's Start Up newsletter. You read that right, FIRST. Congratulations on being an early adopter! 🎉
I'll keep this introduction short so we can get into the good stuff, but since this is Let's Start Up's premiere issue I'd like to give you all a little background.
I started this newsletter for a lot of reasons, but the most important ones are, in no particular order:
celebrate overlooked founders
create a community of entrepreneurs, investors, and friends who support and encourage each other
keep you updated on the latest industry news, from my perspective
Without further ado: Let's Start Up Issue 1!
What's In This Issue 🗞
A brief look into what you'll be reading about.
What it's like to start a business
Meet two female founders disrupting their industries
My take on mental health for startup founders
What's On My Mind 💭
I’ve been thinking…
With Mental Health Awareness Week coming to an end, it's important to acknowledge your own mental health practices and prioritize yourself over your startup. I know that's hard when you're a bootstrapping builder, I get it! I literally have a playlist titled "2013 - Startup Hustle" full of songs by Drake, Jay Z, Twista, Nas, and everyone else who helped me get in my zone when I was learning to code. But gone are the days of bragging about how busy you are and how little sleep you got from pulling a solo hackathon all-nighter in your dorm room. This isn’t TheFacebook.com era. It's time to prioritize your mental health and brag about your meditation routine and therapy session.
Over 7 million people are working remotely right now in the U.S., largely due to the pandemic. Although this isn't news to anyone, we're starting to see the effects of burnout and boredom as we've realized that we aren't working from home but rather sleeping in our office. Let's face it, the luster has worn off and as we see numbers still rising in COVID cases, we all need to find ways to prepare a long term strategy for our own mental wellbeing. If you are not well (physically or mentally) then your startup will not be either.
Now let's do a little exercise that will help you lean into that which brings you joy.
Take out a piece of paper, put a line down the center & at the top put ENERGIZE | EXHAUST
For 1 week, notice things that energize you & drain you and write them down on the corresponding side
Lean in to the energizing tasks - that is where your strengths and passions lie.
Outsource the exhausting tasks (if you can). Or shuffle your day around to complete those first.
With your newfound freedom, give yourself time to do things you love and things that make you feel whole.
The key is to get to the point where you can do the things that energize you, do the things you love, and prioritize yourself WITHOUT feeling guilty. Imagine meditating without thinking about work, reading a book that isn't about startups, playing a musical instrument for fun, going on a long morning hike and not feeling pressure to check your phone. That is the goal. And although entrepreneurship is the pursuit of balance and freedom, you can find little ways to achieve that now by finding what energizes you and leaning into that.
What I’ve Been Working On 💁🏻♀️
Things I care about that I want to share
Black Lives Matter pledges, are they still relevant?
The lack of diversity in startups and the venture capital industry is alarming and is a problem we cannot ignore. Back in June, a few VC's, investors, and companies committed to funding Black and other minority founders but we have yet to see the checks come through. In this Medium article, I urge the industry to take action and to be actively anti-racist in funding, hiring, and even in the actual tech itself.
To give greater transparency into my angel investing, I created a public notion page that outlines everything from my startup story, investment portfolio breakdown, and what I'm involved in. I believe as funders, we have a responsibility to fellow investors and founders a look into where we're spending our money, and who and how we're spending it. See what I'm all about on my Notion page.
Recently Hit the Stands 📰
Things in the news I think you should check out
Indie.vc Applications are open
Indie.vc, a program designed to fund and support founders, is accepting applications for their V5 round! Their unique investment process puts you on a path to profitability and allows you to spend more time on growing your business. As an indie.vc scout, I can refer your company if I've already reviewed your pitch. What are you waiting for? Get your application in. The deadline is October 10th.
There's a new group in town, GenZ Mafia
GenZ is breaking into Silicon Valley, and they're doing it by ways of messaging platform Discord, where they can communicate with peers who are trying to make it in tech and VCs. Don't underestimate these builders, who have founded artificial intelligence companies and more, because of their age. Their mission is to be more inclusive than elitist Silicon Valley and support each other while getting out in front of investors.
Willow, the wearable breast pump, raised $55M
Femtech startup Willow is closing out 2020 with a large investment that will help them expand their product line. Many women say that "breastfeeding ruins their life," and Willow's mobile breast pump solves this problem. But Willow doesn't want to stop there, and with this fresh funding round they can bring even more technology and support to mothers.
A Little Birdie Told Me 🐦
Tweet of the week.
Walk the Walk 💰
Investors putting their money where their mouth is.
Google for Startups invested in 76 Black founded startups as a part of their Black Founders Fund. Founders were awarded $50,000-$100,000 in capital and will even receive hands-on support. Two of my startup friends, Harold Hughes at Bandwagon and Darren Buckner at Workfrom are part of this amazing group of founders. [CELEBRATE BLACK FOUNDERS! 🙌🎉]
This is huge! Claire Díaz-Ortiz joined the Latin American Investment group Magma Partners to lead investment efforts in parts of South America and launch a new initiative to invest in more womxn founders called the Brava Initiative. As a part of the Operator Network for Brava, I'm excited to work together and invest in womxn entrepreneurs in Latin America!
Lolita Taub just launched her newest fund, which invests in community-driven companies. Lolita, investor and founder, knows first-hand how successful companies that emphasize communities become. Take a look at everyone who is involved and apply to be a part of this great fund!
Founders You Should Follow 👀
Meet these founders who are making moves.
Onyekachi Amadi, Ebony Crown
Onyekachi Amadi co-founded Ebony Crown, a curated marketplace for black-owned hair and beauty brands, after struggling to find a place to buy the products she needed online during the pandemic. In just two weeks, she built the e-commerce platform and onboarded her first Black-owned beauty brand. Onyekachi and her company Ebony Crown are building awareness and community for Black entrepreneurs in this space, who only receive 15% of the Black hair and beauty market. I’ve known Onye for a while now and she continues to impress me as an entreprenuer but not only that, the way she builds in public is helpful for any founder starting a company. Onyekachi is a must-follow for founders and women looking for a role model in startups.
Tiyani Majoko, Anü
Former mining lawyer in South Africa, Tiyani Majoko moved to the United States to receive her LLM. Using her experience as a lawyer and entrepreneurial mindset, Tiyani co-founded Anü, a platform that connects startups with attorneys using artificial intelligence. These law firms help entrepreneurs find the best fit for legal services so that they can get their business off the ground without unnecessary costs. Tiyani is dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion in the legal industry. As a LegalTech founder myself, I connected with Tiyani and her vision immediately. She is driven and focused and I am in awe of how much she has accomplished in such a short period of time. Go follow along on Tiyani’s journey as she builds her company (bonus: she’s an indie.vc scout!)
Startup Bookshelf 📚
What our community is reading this week.
Lost and Founder by Rand Fishkin
Every startup story isn't glamorous (which I can attest to). In Lost and Founder, Rand Fishkin shares what it's really like to start a company. He dropped out of college, messed up a few times, and ran out of money. His company, Moz, wasn't a success in the blink of an eye. Lost and Founder exposes the difficulties of starting a company, and Rand Fishkin talks about what no one wants to talk about. If you're looking for an honest book to inspire you on your startup journey, this is it!
ICYMI 🤩
What's been going on online.
LinkedIn be like...
It's possible to build an app without a tech team.
Black female founders need access to capital.
Prioritizing yourself and your mental health over your startup.
You should have operating angels at your cap table. Here's why.
The future of work is literally in our hands with Guide. (more on this later!)
Thanks for reading! I’ll catch you next time. And don’t forget to share Let’s Start Up with your community!