Let's Start Up Issue 20 | When you see something, say something 🗣
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 On My Mind 💭
I’ve been thinking…
Honestly, I don't have anything motivational or thoughtful to share this week. I've been closely following all of the news about the attacks on the Asian community and my heart is breaking. My Asian friends have dealt with microaggressions their whole lives and now seeing it translate to this form of hate is devastating. When you see something, say something. The real pandemic is racism.
What I’ve Been Working On 💁🏻♀️
Things I care about that I want to share
Newsletter Spring Break
The Let's Start Up team is unplugging and taking a two-week Spring Break. I'll be off the grid exploring nature and getting away from screens. I encourage founders and investors to take a break soon to recharge. Taking some time off will alleviate stress and help you return to your project more refreshed. Follow my lead and hit the trails, watch a good movie, or do whatever it is that you find relaxing.
More Projects in the Works
I am getting more and more excited to share the things I've been working on with Let's Start Up subscribers. I've been staying quiet about these new projects, but I promise you that they're worth the wait! In the coming months, you'll learn all about the ways my team is helping overlooked founders. Keep following along for more!
Recently Hit the Stands 📰
Things in the news you should check out
Gen Z Angels: How A Younger Generation Of Investors Is Getting In On Deals
Generation Z are the next emerging group of investors you need to watch. This younger group of investors are born after 1996, but their age hasn't stopped them from getting in on the deals. Now that the barriers to entry for angel investing are lowered with syndicates, AngelList, and rolling funds. Gen Z's are taking advantage of the opportunities and can invest small amounts of between $500 and $2,000 to get into the game.
How Remote Work Is Reshaping America’s Urban Geography
We are a year into the pandemic, and many of us are no longer strangers to remote work. Before COVID-19, only about 10% of the American population were working from home, but that percentage has dramatically increased. A quarter of American workers are expected to remain working from home, and this is leading professionals to move outside of the city. Smaller cities and rural towns are offering incentives to attract young professionals, and the economy is being affected by remote work and relocation.
Writing Helper Copy.ai raises 2.9M in a round led by Craft Ventures
On Wednesday, Copy.ai just announced the closing of $2.9M. Copy.ai ends writer's block by helping you create marketing copy with artificial intelligence. The tool was founded by Paul Yacoubian, who is openly building the product on Twitter. Copy.ai is a notable startup and is growing at a rapid rate to help copywriters everywhere.
After Going The VC Route, Gumroad Takes A Different Path In New Fundraising
Gumroad, an online creator marketplace, is turning to new forms of funding in light of new Securities and Exchange Commission regulations on crowdfunding. Previously, Gumroad raised $1 million from individual investors and hopes to raise an additional $5 million through crowdfunding, where individuals will invest anywhere between $100 and $1,000.
Venture capital is still a boys' club
According to a new Axios analysis, only 14.2% of decision-makers at VC firms are women. This number was around a 2% increase from last year, and while the figures are going in a positive direction, the growth is still slow. While venture capital is doing much better, the industry still has a long way to go.
Succeeding in Venture Capital as an Introvert
Being a venture capitalist involves a lot of meetings, and if you're an introvert they can become exhausting. Venture capitalists can be introverts and be successful. Introverts don't necessarily dislike being around people or striking conversations, it's just that they need ample alone time to recharge since being around people exhausts them. You can still make it as a successful venture capitalist, despite being an introvert, with tips from HunterWalk.
A Little Birdie Told Me 🐦
Tweet of the week - How we all feel right now
Walk the Walk 💰
Investors putting their money where their mouth is
The Pre-Seed Round in 2021: New Investor Priorities Emerge
DocSend, a platform that allows you to securely send documents, released their Startup Index report. The Startup Index includes trends in the pre-seed fundraising process. To gather data on funding amounts, length of the round, successful pitch decks, and more, DocSend analyzed data from pre-seed stage startups.
Creating a Diverse Dealflow Pipeline
Mac the VC, Managing Partner at RareBreed VC, is hosting an event to teach investors how to find overlooked and underrepresented founders and teams. This event will involve tactical advice from Mac and all attendees will have a chance to ask tons of questions.
Workchew Raises $2.5M to Drive the Future of Flexible Work
Workchew turns your city's restaurants and hotels into coworking spaces. The company just raised $2.5 million in an oversubscribed round led by Harlem Capital. Founded by Maisha Burt in 2018, Workchew lets any remote worker book coworking space on-demand.
Founders You Should Follow 👀
Founders making moves
Sevetri Wilson, Resilia
Sevetri Wilson is the Founder & CEO of Resilia, a tech platform that helps nonprofit organizations. She is building tech for good in addition to being a serial entrepreneur, author, speaker, change agent, and wealth creator. Her company Resilia is powering people to change the world by increasing nonprofit capacity and enabling them to scale. Sevetri was named one of 2019's top 100 Female Founders by Forbes and is recognized as an innovator.
Rachel Rodgers, HelloSeven
Business coach and intellectual property attorney Rachel Rodgers founded Hello Seven, a women-run company that specializes in business, marketing, financial, and legal training. Rachel and Hello Seven help women build million-dollar businesses. She is also a mom, and published author who believes that generational wealth is the move. You can pre-order her first book We Should All Be Millionaires, which will be released in less than 2 months!
What Founders Need to Know 🤔
Advice and resources you didn't know you needed.
The 30 Best Pieces of Advice for Entrepreneurs in 2020
First Round Review released 30 tips for startup founders from some of the most knowledgeable and experienced leaders in the industry.
All VC firms by thesis. Radically free and open.
OpenVC is a directory of venture capitalists operating all around the world. Founders can filter by country, industry, focus, check size, and even more. The directory also includes instructions on how to submit a deck to each firm.
7 Leadership Lessons Men Can Learn from Women
Statistically, most leadership positions are held by men. But that doesn't mean there is a lack of competent women. There are a lot of things men can learn from women leaders like empathizing and elevating others.
Get rid of your feat of public speaking
I heard about this app from my friend Saba Karim on Pitch Practice the other night and I downloaded it to work on my public speaking and I'm amazed at how well it works. It really is like a public speaking coach in my pocket. If you're looking to cut "ums" and "ahs", slow your speaking pace, or give a little more energy to your talks, give it a try!
Deadline to Apply 📅
Apple's Impact Accelerator is now open - deadline to apply is April 30. It is designed for Black, Latina, and Indigenous-owned businesses that provide environmental solutions. This is best-suited for late-stage startups or mature companies.
Visa She's Next Grant Program for Black women-owned businesses is accepting applications. Visa is continuing to take action and remove the disproportionate barriers faced by Black women founders by offering $10,000 and a one-year IFundWomen Annual Coaching Membership to 60 Black women-owned businesses across six (6) key cities in the U.S. Applications are open through April 16, 2021.
GSV Cup for EdTech Founders is a pitch competition with $1 million in cash and Google Cloud Credits. Sponsored by Google Cloud, Holon IQ, HubSpot for Startups, and GSV Ventures, the GSV cup is for pre-seed and seed-stage EdTech entrepreneurs. The application closes on March 31st - don't forget to apply.
Clubhouse Creator First: Clubhouse is launching their first creator accelerator program, Clubhouse Creator First. They will support and equip 20 creators with the resources they need to bring their ideas and creativity to life. The deadline for applications will be March 31, 2021.
The Morning Brew is holding an accelerator, which is an 8-week program designed to accelerate the career of top-performing professionals. The application deadline is April 16th, and the program runs May 3 - June 25. During the 8 weeks, you'll learn a broad set of new skills.
Thanks for reading! I’ll catch you next time. And don’t forget to share Let’s Start Up with your community!