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
Apps that are bringing us back to the basics
New venture funds you need to take a look at
Two entrepreneurs propelling their industries forward
What's On My Mind 💭
I’ve been thinking…
Next month will be the quarantineversary for many of us. One full year since we walked out of our office with a keyboard under our arms, a bag full of desk supplies, and waved goodbye to our plants, not knowing when we would return again. I'm an extrovert and thrive off of connections and conversations so the first few months of the pandemic were not easy. But then, something magical started to happen: I turned strangers on the internet into friends IRL. Of course, crisis breeds innovation so we've seen the rise of community-focused apps using this time to build and grow their audience to unite people remotely using technology. Win!
The drop-in audio app Clubhouse made its debut at the perfect time — a few months into the pandemic when everyone was still stuck inside but longing for connections to the outside world. I got on Clubhouse in August and within a few weeks, made friends that I had never seen before in person. I took these new relationships to Twitter and began communicating there. Before long, we were texting and meeting over video chats.
When Dispo popped up in my Twitter feed, I knew I had to get into the beta to test it out. My love for film photography and making friends was the perfect combination to use the app. Within a week, the community of Dispo fans who were part of the beta created a Slack group to discuss features, bugs, roll ideas, and more. As soon as I joined that group, I knew it was where I was meant to be.
I've learned a lot this past year about the power of community through technology and how it looks much different than we once thought. In fact, it looks like something we've already seen. To quote my recent Medium article:
"With Clubhouse taking over the old-school radio waves, and Dispo capturing that retro camera vibe, we can ask what other moments in time will we see replaced by a consumer app? I’d say whatever it will be better launch during the pandemic as we’ve seen ground-breaking interest in beta testers while everyone is stuck inside but to some, the elite status of invite-only is enough to turn them away.
Or maybe when we all go back into the office, we'll be sending faxes, making mixtapes for each other, and doing pitches on an overhead projector.
What I’ve Been Working On 💁🏻♀️
Things I care about that I want to share
Nostalgia and delayed gratification are making a come back with Dispo, a photo app created by David Dobrik. The app takes us back to what photography used to be like by imitating a disposable camera. Use the app to take pictures “develop” at 9:00 am the next morning so that you must wait in anticipation, wondering how your shots will turn out. Say goodbye to influencers and highly filtered photos with Dispo, which has even launched a social feature (and it's still pretty hard to get into). Trust me, the wait is worth it, especially for those of you who are missing authentic photography.
Every Tuesday night at 8 PM ET, myself and a few other VC’s & investors hit the Clubhouse stage for Pitch Practice. Founders join the event to give a 2-minute pitch in front of an audience of ~3,000 people, and the panel gives valuable and insightful feedback. I just want to emphasize how low-stress this is - all are welcome. It is a time to get in front of people, share your idea, and pitch your startup. But make sure you always have an ASK at the end! To pitch, sign up here!
In 2019, I started offering founder mentoring calls! Over the past few months, I've connected with some amazing entrepreneurs through Superpeer. I can go over everything from bootstrapping ideas to startup marketing to pitch deck reviews. Take a look at my Superpeer profile to learn more, and schedule a time for us to chat.
Recently Hit the Stands 📰
Things in the news you should check out
4 reasons why hiring disabled workers is good for your business
As a result of the pandemic, a million U.S. workers with disabilities lost their work, with the unemployment rate for the community reaching 12.3%. It's no surprise that diverse teams bring more revenue to a company. In fact, teams who have a disabled worker can increase revenue by 19%. It's time for us to be more inclusive, and big tech giants like IBM, Google, and Microsoft are already making moves to do so. Ready why your company needs to start removing exclusionary behaviors and start broadening its applicant pool.
Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome
Talisa Lavarry, who works at a corporate event management company, led a high profile event that involved many long nights and weekends of work. Needless to say, she was burning out. She was an expert on event logistics, but that didn't mean much to her collegues, who constantly scrutinized her for not knowing the game of office politics. Although the client was pleased with her work, she was eventually demoted. All of this chipped away at her confidence and made her feel like a fraud. But it wasn't her inability to do the job or lack of self-confidence that made things difficult, it was the systematic racism and bias.
Baby monitor maker Owlet hatches $1.4 billion blank-check deal to go public
If you've ever been in the market for a baby monitor, you might have heard of Owlet. Owlet baby Care Inc is now going public with a firm backed by Sandbridge Capital. Fidelity Management & Research LLC, Neuberger Berman Funds, and a few other investors a part of this $130 million investment. Unlike other baby monitors, Owlet tracks heart rate, oxygen lvels, and sleep patterns of babies with pulse-oximetry technology.
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
Google for Startups: Black Founders Fund Europe
Less than .5% VC funds go to Black-led startups, and Google is pledging a total of $2M to give Black founders access to networks and capital. $100,000 in non-dilutive cash awards and $220,000 Google Ads and Cloud credits will be received by founders. If you're located in Europe, this is an incredible opportunity!
Li Jin launches Atelier Ventures, her debut fund to invest in the passion economy
The new year means a new fund for Li Jin, who just announced Atelier Ventures. This firm is unique in that it invests in the passion economy, defined by Li Jin as people "who build audiences at scale and turn their passions into livelihoods." The $13 million fund will give check sizes from $100,000 to $300,000 to companies investing in the future of work and ones with human-centered vision of the future of work.
Nathan Latka raised $10M to fund bootstrapped software founders
Nathan Latka of Founderpath.com turned to Twitter to announce his $10 million fund exclusively for bootstrapped software founders. He is focused on investing in hustling SaaS founders like UseTopic, an SEO tool, and many others. Drop your recommendations in his Twitter thread so that Nathan can drop them a check.
Commsor raises $16M to build a community-led future.
Having a community behind you is invaluable. Commsor understands this well, just look at their core product Community Operating System that ties data together. The company just shared news of a $16M Series A round led by Felicis Ventures, Seven Seven Six, and even more members from a growing community of investors.
Founders You Should Follow 👀
Founders making moves
Bea Arthur, Difference AI
Startup founder and psychotherapist, Bea Arthur works with high-performance individuals and focuses in the intersection between psychology and technology. Her company the Difference is Amazon's mental health Alexa Skill. The Difference offers Amazon Alexa device holders therapy with artificial intelligence. Emotional expert, Bea is making strides in the mental health field with this tool, which makes it easy for you to get safe and immediate therapy sessions.
Mandela Schumacher-Hodge Dixon, Founder Gym
Mandela Schumacher-Hodge Dixon is the Founder & CEO of Founder Gym, an online training platform made for underrepresented entrepreneurs. Their program helps these founders raise venture capital and even grow their startups. Mandela is also a business coach and investor and named one of Entrepreneur's 100 Powerful Women. We are so amazed at what her company is doing so much for overlooked founders. P.S. - March 5th is the deadline to apply for Founder Gym Cohort 16.
What Founders Need to Know 🤔
Advice and resources you didn't know you needed.
Clubhouse registration numbers are much higher than Zoom because they remove the friction associated with webinars.
If people aren't telling you that you're sending too many marketing emails, then you probably aren't sending enough.
Building an email list sounds like a daunting task, but there's a sound method out there for growing it. Creators, you need to see this email list hack.
Are you optimizing how you spend your time? Founders have limited time as it is, so make the most out of it with these tips from Matteo Franceschetti.
Let's face it, many of us are overthinkers. But you can make better and faster decisions by tuning into your intuition and leaving perfectionism behind.
Make your product go viral with seven tips from Lenny Rachitsky, including nurturing WOM and generating shareable content.
Long Time Listener 🎧
Drop-in audio rooms and podcasts you need to know about
A Kids Book About: The Podcast
This new podcast just dropped, and it's essential for those with kids, or people who just want to get down to the basics. Some of the things covered include Racism, Body Image, and Belonging. The dialog is honest and important for families and acts as a great way to start the conversation about these relevant topics. The first episode features Jelani, the founder of A Kids Book About, discussing racism and identifying it based on your feelings.
Founder Fridays on Clubhouse with Janine, Jaime & Amanda Goetz
Another Friday means another session with me, Amanda Goetz, and Jaime Schmidt. Hosted in Startup Club on Clubhouse, Founder Fridays are a fun way to end the week. We all chat openly and honestly about entrepreneurship, bootstrapping, marketing, and a lot more. Make sure to mark it on your calendar - Founder Fridays happen every other Friday at 11am PT / 2pm ET.
Before you go 🚪
Check out what you might have missed
Get the perfect Clubhouse bio with this generator.
We're missing the company of women.
Team em dash here!
Thanks for reading! I’ll catch you next time. And don’t forget to share Let’s Start Up with your community!