Hi there 👋 Welcome to the Let's Start Up newsletter, curated by me, Janine Sickmeyer, a tech founder turned angel investor. Follow me as I share startup tips, industry news, founders you should know, and investors putting their money where their mouth is. Let’s Start Up, is a community of its own with an emphasis on the overlooked and underrepresented.
What's In This Issue 🗞
A brief look into what you'll be reading about
Finding community in the startup ecosystem
More ways we can support Black and womxn founders
Investors you should be paying attention to
So many great tips and pieces of advice for founders
What's On My Mind 💭
I’ve been thinking…
As a woman in tech building a company and a family, I never had much time for friends. I was hoping that my team would become my friends and that I could find community within the startup ecosystem and while I did meet a few close contacts that stuck with me through the ups and downs, I noticed that people who weren't in my position didn't quite understand the struggles I was facing. In general, startup founders spend most of their time fundraising, building the product, and acquiring customers. But let me tell you that there is a ton of value in forming relationships with fellow founders. I always say that peer mentorship is underrated.
Pitching to investors is most often a top priority, but have you ever thought about pitching to other founders? So many great entrepreneurs have been in the exact spot you're in right now, and a lot of them are eager to help in any way that they can. In fact, there's a show on the Clubhouse app every Tuesday night at 8 pm ET called Pitch Practice where 500+ people gather to listen to founders pitch their startups in 3 minutes. The moderators and judges are friendly, helpful, and honestly there to give valuable feedback on how to improve your pitch so that when you get out there to raise capital, you're equipped with all the gems. I wish I had Pitch Practice when I was fundraising!
Finding your community as a founder is just as important as finding your funds. How do you find friends as a founder? Well, connecting with other founders is a great place to start. Find someone who is just a little bit ahead of you in the startup journey so that they can give you honest advice AND connections. Working with other founders also means that you have a group of cheerleaders behind you for support and candid advice. If you're unsure of where to find this founder friend/mentor, I recommend hopping on Twitter and just start engaging with people you admire or look up to. You'd be surprised at how many people you can meet and how many friends you can make just by staying active on Startup Twitter and putting yourself out there. It will be weird at first like you're talking into an abyss and then you'll open the app every couple hours wondering if someone talked back but eventually, people will and you'll find your space, a community that you created. Startup Twitter, VC Twitter, Marketing Twitter... they're full of people just like you who are looking for connections, friends, and people to build with.
If you're looking for a mentor or guidance on a particular issue, check out Superpeer. The platform makes it easy to find people with specialized talents and skills in the specific areas you need help with like Product Hung launch, to bootstrap or not to bootstrap, crowdfunding, and the list goes on. You usually have to pay to meet with mentors on Superpeer but honestly, that's the best way to show that you value their time and work. After you set up a call or two, who knows, they might end up becoming your actual mentor, a customer, or even an investor.
First-time solo founders, you don't have to do this alone. I did for far too long and wish I would have found my community much sooner. Put yourself out there. The worst thing that can happen is you spend the time you should have been building, making new friends and that's just as important in the end.
What I’ve Been Working On 💁🏻♀️
Things I care about that I want to share
10 Days of Dealflow is in full swing
Monday was the first day of 10 Days of Dealflow, and after just a few days, we've already connected so many founders and investors. From consumer technology to personal health and beauty, we have over 100 startups to share and we're just getting started. Follow Let's Start Up on twitter for access to the deals, and make sure to RT and spread the news to your networks so we can get these founders funded! At the end of this event, we'll also be sending out a recap email in case you missed it.
Entrepreneur templates & guides
When you're a founder, there are so many documents to prepare for fundraising, marketing, business planning, and the list goes on. And to top it all off, finding guides and resources to help you through the process is difficult. I put together tons of downloadables for everything from a business model canvas to startup metrics, and SO much more. These guides, templates, and checklists were made for scrappy founders. Get them for free (or whatever you'd like to pay) on Gumroad.
Recently Hit the Stands 📰
Things in the news you should check out
Why the power to change the female-founder double standard rests with VCs
Over the last year, we've seen a lot of worker complaints, and as a result, many CEOs have stepped down. Some of these CEOs include Audrey Gelman of the Wing and Steph Korey of Away. However, complaints against other CEOs like Ben Silbermann and Brian Armstrong haven't led to resignations. Do you see the pattern? VCs are being too lenient with male founders, and it's up to them to get rid of this double standard.
Why I Used My Startup’s Techstars Demo Day To Advocate For Other Black Founders
Landing a spot at Techstars Demo Day is huge for a startup. In fact, it increases business and gets the attention of investors. Craig J. Lewis, founder, and CEO of Gig Wage, used his time at Techstars to amplify other Black founders since his company already hit its fundraising goals. Investors are missing out by not prioritizing Black founders, and Craig J. Lewis and his team at Gig Wage are working to help Black people prosper.
Yet Another Year of Venture Capital Being Really White
Black founders are still getting left out. Vern Howard, the founder of Hallo, has been at VC meetings where he's been mistaken for a deliveryman or an investor has joked about him "running off to Mexico with the money." Only 1 percent of Black founders are venture-backed. Even after the promises made to invest more money into underrepresented founders, VCs still aren't making as much change as we need to see.
Founder and VC Jaime Schmidt on finding purpose, using Clubhouse, and staying small
Jaime Schmidt is the founder of an all-natural deodorant brand that sold to Unilever and the author of Supermaker. Her book details her experience and lessons learned when starting a business. Now, she and her husband run a VC firm called Color, which invests in consumer product companies and womxn and people of color. In this article, Quartz and Jaime Schmidt talk about bootstrapping, running a company during a pandemic, and more.
Social media is an extension of white privilege in the office
What is considered professional in the workplace has changed over time. But the workplace continues to be unfair for people in marginalized groups, who are seen as tokens. And once you add in tech and social media, professionalism extends online. While those who are members of marginalized groups must watch what they post or say on social media, it is very apparent who has enough privilege to express their opinion online without worrying about the consequences.
4 ways to be an ally for female entrepreneurs
Being an ally requires more effort than a retweet. If you're serious about being an ally to womxn entrepreneurs, you need to mentor, counter microaggressions, and much more to help womxn excel. Many womxn founders are forced to shut down because they can't receive funding, despite their great companies. Learn how to be a true ally in this article.
Hot Take of the Week 🔥
Somebody had to say it
A Little Birdie Told Me 🐦
Tweet of the week
Walk the Walk 💰
Investors putting their money where their mouth is
My Path to Investing with The Community Fund
Sonia Sahney Nagar has had a career full of twists and turns that led her to becoming a general partner at The Community Fund. Community has been a big part of her life. Her parents, immigrants from India, built their own community, and she started surrounding herself with community since 5th grade. She recently joined The Community Fund with a focus on consumer & marketplaces and a strong personal interest in Midwest founders and womxn founders.
Is The First Black-Owned Tech Unicorn Finally Within Reach?
A unicorn, a term coined in the tech/startup space, is "given to a private company with a $1 billion valuation" like Uber, Airbnb, or Dropbox. It's no secret that it's harder to raise capital as a Black entrepreneur, let alone become a unicorn. But these 9 Black founders secured large amounts of venture capital and are on the way to become the next unicorn.
Hundreds of startups go public every year. Only 20 are founded and led by women.
Over 400 companies went public in 2020, but only a few were founded and/or led by womxn. If you take a look at companies that are currently publicly traded, "only about 20 women seem to have founded and led a company through to an IPO." Alyson Shontell believes that womxn need to blow up the corporate world and start the next Fortune 500s to level the playing field with men.
Investors You Should Follow 👀
Investor edition!
Marie Rocha, Realist Ventures
Marie Rocha is an investor and strong advocate for early-stage founders. Marie has invested in companies like Career Karma, Bandwagon Tickets, and even more SaaS, technology, and software companies. On top of investing, Marie is a mom of two and a member of The 99 Problems, a political action committee. She's such a positive and kind person who I am just so lucky to have met last year!
Shondra Washington, TBC-Capital
President and Founder of TBC-Capital, Shondra Washington is an emerging fund manager and on-demand CFO and strategist for early-stage companies. Shondra is very active on Clubhouse and brings a lot of value to founders and investors on the app. She hosts and moderates Pitch Practice, a room that cultivates a safe space for founders to practice their pitch before going out to investors. Shondra gives valuable and helpful feedback and always leads with empathy.
What Founders Need to Know 🤔
Advice and resources you didn't know you needed.
Julian Shapiro, a writer and founder of Demand Curve, is an expert on writing and clear thinking. During his career he's helped over 200 startups grow their newsletters. He put together email marketing tactics that you can use in this Twitter thread.
Starting a company is full of unknowns. But by meeting with and following investors, you can learn so much. Elizabeth Lin, a co-founder and GP at The Hustle Fund, turned to Twitter to ask entrepreneurs "What is 1 thing you wish you’d known when you started your first company?"
If you are struggling with anxiety, depression, or panic, you are not alone. Investor at Unusual Ventures Andy Johns shares what he learned about mental health so that he can help others.
Founders and emerging managers should care about capital calls. Elizabeth Yin explains why VCs basically have no cash on hand, and how capital calls work on Twitter.
What if I told you that you could find funding for your startup without giving up equity? Founder Grants is a website dedicated entirely to connecting early-stage founders with resources to fund their business. Anyone can search by grant value, region, and focus value.
Dealing with the competition is tricky, especially as a pre-seed startup. Jas, who is building Knowhere, asked for advice on how to handle competitors. Find tips for the competition in the replies to her Tweet.
Executive coach Jamie Kim is starting a new group coaching program for first-time womxn founders called The Third. Jamie is extremely passionate about social justice and is offering scholarships for women of color that are interested. The deadline to apply to the next cohort is Feb, 10 2021.
Public speaking can be intimidating. Abadesi gave almost 100 talks and keynotes in 2020, so she's picked up a thing or two about public speaking. Read her thread for advice.
Before you go 🚪
Check out what you might have missed
Here's a Market Map of software used by early-stage VCs.
Find information about seed investors from these websites and databases.
Discover the top and emerging startups in Africa on Startuplist.Africa.
Break into venture capital with this guide from Thea Knobel.
Waiting for a founder to respond to my cold email like (creds: Gaby Goldberg)
Are womxn in the startup world being unfairly targeted?
How to personally brand yourself, even if things are chaotic.
If you're home-schooling kids, make sure to add The Hill We Climb to the lesson plan
Thanks for reading! I’ll catch you next time. And don’t forget to share Let’s Start Up with your community!