Let's Start Up Issue 18 | Normal startup success 🦋
POV: You're a founder building a startup
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
My recent keynote
New investments
Founders to watch
Things you might have missed
What's On My Mind 💭
I’ve been thinking…
I can now add "Keynote Speaker" to my Clubhouse bio.
A few months ago, I was invited to speak at the University of California, Berkeley for their Newton Distinguished Innovator Lecture Series. Past keynotes included execs from Fortune 50 companies, Marissa Mayer, Ben Horowitz, Tony Hsieh, and more leaders in tech and VC. As I scroll through the list of past speakers I started to feel imposter syndrome. I thought: how could I possibly bring as much value as these people? And it wasn't lost on me that I didn’t have a 4-year degree and here I was being asked to present at this esteemed school. After a few days, I got out of my head and accepted. I figured that I should follow my own advice, "Tell your story, you don't know who needs to hear it."
This week I got on the (virtual) stage and did my keynote. I shared my unconventional startup story with a class of 500 students. I didn't hold back — I was transparent and honest and told them the highs and lows of my journey through entrepreneurship as a bootstrapping founder and I left them with a few pieces of advice. One being "You don't have to be a unicorn to be successful." I think hearing so many unicorn success stories, often sets new founders up for failure by thinking they have to get millions in funding before finding customers or they aren't successful if they don't IPO in the first X years. Every startup story looks different and I hope to share my story so people can see what a normal startup success can be.
(one of the slides from my presentation)
The next morning I woke up feeling refreshed and got on my Peloton for a ride but first, I picked up my phone to check my email and saw one from the school with feedback from my presentation with HUNDREDS of comments from the students. As I sat on my bike scrolling through the notes, tears started to roll down my face.
"I really loved the speaker's backstory of pushing against all odds. I really loved her hustle and belief in herself, even if the field seemed "weird" to other people."
"I really loved hearing about her rebellion against her parents, because it was that same rebellious attitude that led to her creating something new against the system."
"The main piece of advice I took away from the lecture was to be fearless in pursuing your endeavors and to reimagine the idea of hustle."
"I liked how the speaker was so candid about her struggles balancing building a family and a start-up at the same time".
"Based on Janine's story, it was inspirational to hear that she was able to get the foundation of technical skills to break into an industry she had no professional training in. This was a good reminder that it is never too late to learn new skills even after finishing college."
I still haven't had a chance to read them all because there are literally hundreds and I get choked up as I read them. I am just here to tell you that even though you're scared to do a speaking engagement or even if you don't think it's not the right opportunity for you, consider it anyway. You never know the impact that you can have on the lives of others. And if someone moves you, tell them. You never know how much they need to hear it.
Feel free to watch the lecture here:
What I’ve Been Working On 💁🏻♀️
Things I care about that I want to share
West Tenth (A New Addition to My Portfolio) is Helping Women Get Back into Business
Just announced a few days ago, West Tenth has secured $1.5 million in Series A funding for their new marketplace app that gives women a platform to promote and sell their goods and services. Founded by Lyn Johnson and Sara Sparhawk, West Tenth is showing women that they can take their skills and turn them into a business. And on the buyer's side, anyone can browse the app to find businesses to support in their neighborhood. I am so excited about West Tenth because their mission aligns so closely with mine, supporting women makers and small business owners and also providing a way for professional women and mothers to outsource tasks. Learn more about West Tenth in my Medium post!
Stagger's Women Making History
"March is our month." Chrissy Cowdrey of Stagger is publishing a blog series that celebrates women who are making history. I was on March 2nd as the first part of the series! I am so honored to have been featured and grateful to be working alongside Chrissy, who is making moves in the marketing tech space. Read this article to learn more about me, how Chrissy and I met, and don't forget to take a look around Stagger's website to see the amazing technology the team is building.
Reviewing Pitch Decks for Founders
Spring is almost here and now is a great time to freshen up your deck to get ready for Spring & Summer pitches. As a founder mentor, I review pitch decks for founders across all industries and markets. I'll run through your deck and provide valuable feedback and suggested action items and changes. Schedule a time for Pitch Deck Review using my Superpeer link.
Recently Hit the Stands 📰
Things in the news you should check out
Next-Gen founders talk racial equity in tech, and share insight on navigating the industry
When it comes to racial equality in tech, we've seen a lot of talk but has there been enough action? It's clear that Black, Latinx, and POC are not represented in VC as investors or on the funding side of things. Business Insider sat down with Realtime CEO and cofounder Vernon Coleman, Yac cofounder Jordan Walker, and Cashmere cofounder Urenna Okonkwo to discuss their journeys in entrepreneurship and raising capital as Black founders.
The Era of Audio Creators Has Arrived
The audio-only app Clubhouse has brought on a new era of digital creators, audio creators. Millions drop in weekly to chat about everything from startups to mental health and beyond. And these creators are gaining huge followings. With all of Clubhouse's popularity comes Audio Collective, which is offering event planning, brand consulting, and support and community for creators working in audio.
Maple Launches with $3.5 million in funding to become the SaaS backoffice for the family
It's no secret that life has changed because of the pandemic. There has been an increased reliance on technology, digital workspaces, and collaboration platforms for staying connected to coworkers and work. Maple, "the family tech platform" is introducing a similar solution for families. Founded by former Shopify executive and founder of Kit, Michael Perry created the app with Mike Taylor to help parents manage their family lives. Parents can use Maple to track responsibilities, ask for and give help to others, and celebrate the small wins.
Going Public: new original series that allows viewers to invest in IPOs
Watch TV and make an investment. Going Public is a new series by entrepreneurs that is giving companies the opportunity to participate and sell their Reg A+ IPO. And to make it even more exciting, my good friend Jaime Schmidt is a mentor in Season 1! The first company to be featured is Proven Skincare, founded by Ming Zhao and Dr. Amy Yuan.
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
Hustle Fund Raises $33.6 Million To Democratize Access To Pre-Seed Capital
Hustle Fund invests smaller amounts into early startups, an uncommon fund strategy in the VC world. Partners Eric Bahn, Elizabeth Yin, and Shiyan Koh are closing their second fund totaling $33.6 million to invest in around 200 new companies. The coolest part? This new round is 3x the size of their first!
Clubhouse Is Disrupting Another Industry: Charity Telethons
Harold Hughes led the charge to raise more than $140,000 on Clubhouse for Texans. A huge ice storm and the collapse of the state's electrical grid affected many Texans. Hughes was one of the lucky ones who still had power, and he used his circumstance to do good. So Hughes started a room on Clubhouse and the single fundraiser turned into a much bigger week-long fundraiser.
Avid Ventures Ready To Write Checks With Launch Of Debut $68M Fund
New York's Avid Ventures launched with its debut fund, and it's a big one. The newly-minted firm was founded by Addie Lerner, and plans on cutting $500,000 to $1 million checks to Series A raises. 40 percent of the limited partners at Avid Ventures are womxn, and their investments are also diverse.
Chicago Ventures raises $63M to back seed-stage startups located anywhere but Silicon Valley
Chicago Ventures shared the news of closing its third fund. At $63 million, Chicago Ventures plans on backing 23 startups with check sizes ranging from $1.5 million to $2 million. The venture firm focuses primarily on seed startups who are overlooked.
Kristen Sonday Announces LongJump VC
Tech entrepreneur and COO of Paladin Kristen Sonday is breaking into VC with her new firm, LongJump VC. Kristen was inspired to start the firm because of her personal experience of raising as a Latina founder of a social impact company. LongJump is a first-check, founder-led fund that is based in Chicago.
Founders You Should Follow 👀
Founders making moves
Ximena Aleman, Prometeo
Ximena Aleman is the co-founder of Prometeo, an open banking platform in Latin America. Promoteo is an API that connects you with the financial system in Latin America, and gives access to 50% of the banked users in the region. Clients can use the platform for business finance, personal finance, payments, and tons more! Ximena is moving the banking and financial industries forward in Latin America through technology and we admire her work. P.S. - I just invested in Prometeo.
Kristina T. Liburd, Viageur
Founder & CEO of Viageur, Kristina is creating safe travel itineraries using artificial intelligence. Travel planning can be exhausting, especially if you don't know much about the location and most likely have never been. Viageur is your digital travel agent, asking you questions about what you want to do and suggesting activities. The app simplifies hours of research and presents all of the best tips to you based on the location. Can't wait to use this once we start traveling again.
What Founders Need to Know 🤔
Advice and resources you didn't know you needed.
Elizabeth Yin of Hustle Fund comments on early-stage valuations in a frothy market in this Q&A article with the Cap Table.
Ownership doesn't matter for early-stage investing. Even though all VCs care about it. Here's why.
Don't listen to privileged garbage.
Don't turn away from crowdfunding options because you think investors think it's messy. Check out what these investors have to say.
Long Time Listener 🎧
Drop-in audio rooms and podcasts you need to know about
Brené with Dr. Yaba Blay onOne Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race
On the Brené Brown podcast, Brené chats with Dr. Yaba Blay, scholar-activist, public speaker, and cultural consultant. The two discuss Dr. Yaba Blay's new book, One Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race. This powerful episode includes an honest and open conversation about the topics of grief, transformation, and so much more.
Cleared for Takeoff 🚀
Startups launching soon
In 2020, becoming a parent got more complicated. Sit a Bit founder Carleen Haylett sprung into action to help other parents find a way for their kids to participate in extracurricular activities. Their platform is full of safe and enriching activities for children but doesn't claim to be a school or daycare service. The on-demand platform has tons of course options, ranging from topics on robotics to coding to acting. If you're looking for a way to keep your kids engaged during the pandemic, this is a great way to do it!
Before you go 🚪
Check out what you might have missed
Thank you Bryce for everything you did to change the narrative in VC.
Lan Xuezhao launched The Persistence, a community for impactful women leaders in tech
Be sure to pick your cofounder wisely.
I feel like this would normally be in SkyMall but since we're all home, you're welcome.
Thanks for reading! I’ll catch you next time. And don’t forget to share Let’s Start Up with your community!