Let’s Start Up! - Issue 42 | Focus on what's important 🌱
POV: You're a founder building a startup
Hi there 👋 Welcome to Let’s Start Up a newsletter, curated by me, Janine Sickmeyer, a tech founder turned investor. Follow me as I share startup tips, industry news, founders you should know, and investors putting their money where their mouth is.
What's In This Issue 🗞
A brief look into what you'll be reading about
Taking it easy
Women in tech you should follow
Founder (and investor) tips
So many podcasts to listen to
What's On My Mind 💭
I’ve been thinking…
It’s Friday night, and I ordered grilled cheese and tomato soup carry-out and turned on Virgin River - so that’s the kind of week I’ve had.
I’ve been very open and transparent about being a mom, wife, entrepreneur, and investor. It sounds like a lot, and I can confirm that it really is. Admitting that I struggle sometimes doesn’t mean I can’t handle all of these things at once; rather, it simply means that I’m human.
Life has been piling things on me lately. It happens to all of us at certain periods, and the best we can do is focus on what’s important. And I mean what’s REALLY important. I don’t have a lot of uplifting things to say this week other than: take time for yourself and don’t let your giving nature drain you.
Enjoy this issue, and I encourage you to focus on what’s important, whatever that is.
Recently Hit the Stands 📰
Things in the news you should check out
Bandwagon’s Experience-Tech Ignites Cultural Capital In $38 Billion Market
The cost to retain a customer is 25% lower than the cost of acquiring a new customer. Harold Hughes is using this information to grow his business Bandwagon, an experience technology company. Bandwagon develops solutions to elevate the experience of fans and event attendees. See how Harold Hughes & Bandwagon are tapping into the $38B market.
Lower Valuations, Shut-Downs, Investment Pause. What’s A Founder To Do? Eight Investors Weigh In
Founders are concerned about how to handle the slowdown. Forbes gathered insights from accelerators and investors on how to weather the economic downturn. These professionals share their perspectives, on how valuations are being affected, and how to allocate resources and raise money during this time.
**Serena Williams on venture funding and the hottest startup trend for investing**
Serena Williams took the stage at Black Tech Week as the conference’s keynote speaker. A tennis professional and investor, Serena Williams is the managing partner at San Francisco-based Serena Ventures. Interviewed by Lightship Foundation founder and CEO Candice Matthews Brackeen hit the stage to talk about how she became an investor.
Most Active Investors Not Slowing Despite Downturn
Although we keep hearing about investment slowdowns, many investors are still deploying capital. The 40 most active global venture capital firms are still investing in this environment despite industry perception.
In VC market slowdown, alternative financing emerges as a path to funding
In a bear market, startups are being assigned lower valuations and are facing more stringent deal terms. Founders are turning to non-dilutive options and revenue-based financing to get funding for their startups. PitchBook explores this funding option for founders and why it might help them avoid down runs.
Meet the First Indigenous Woman to Close a Series A. Her Startup Is Worth $40 Million
Bobbie Racette is the founder of Virtual Gurus, a company that pairs staffers with companies that want to outsource bookkeeping and other administrative tasks. The first indigenous woman to close a Series A round, Bobbie’s company is now worth $40 million. Bobbie Racette started the company with $300 and a landing page.
Fintech Guava raises $2.4M to provide banking services to Black small-business owners
Guava, founded by Kelly Ifill, is a banking and networking platform that aims to narrow the racial wealth gap by providing financial services to Black small businesses and creators. Launching next year, Guava has closed a $2.4 million pre-seed round led by Heron Rock. The platform will allow business owners to check expenses, budget, transfer money, track growth, and connect with other entrepreneurs looking to scale their businesses.
VCs and founders alike say investors should fold reproductive rights into ESG standards
Few market investors and companies have adopted environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) standards. Founders and investors alike believe that the definition of ESG investing should expand to incorporate human rights issues and reproductive health.
Who are the most active VC investors in femtech?
Femtech startups are pressing pain points for women's health, including those creating smart sanitary pads, cordless breast pumps, and access to emergency contraception. So far in 2022, VC funding for femtech companies has reached $840 million. PitchBook lists out the investors that are the most active in femtech.
A Little Birdie Told Me 🐦
Tweet of the moment
Hot Take of the Week 🔥
Somebody had to say it
Founders You Should Follow 👀
Women in tech edition!
Lizelle van Vuuren, Women Who Startup
Lizelle van Vuuren is a Founder, CMO, and Community Builder. Previously Founder in Residence at Wefunder and Co-founder/CMO at UndockHQ, Lizelle is well-versed in the worlds of startups and funding. Currently, Lizelle is the Founder of Women Who Startup, a global community of women entrepreneurs and innovators, and Mile High Tech, a Colorado startup + tech community. Lizelle also has a design lab, which started as a fashion apparel brand, where she tinkers with ideas, startups, design, projects, brands, and collaborations. Lizelle is based in Denver, Colorado.
Jeanine Suah, Brex
Jeanine Suah is an entrepreneur, future of work geek, and investor. As the X in Residence (XIR) at Brex, Jeanine builds communities and connects people in the startup industry, plus a whole lot more. In addition to working at Brex, Jeanine is an investor and Founding Partner at Rezilyent Capital, which backs early-stage founders building in Future of Work and Community. Jeanine was born to Jamaican parents and is a global citizen that speaks three languages. She also dances salsa and samba!
New Funds Announced 🚀
Recently launched venture funds
Rex Salisbury announced the launch of Cambrian’s inaugural fund which will back fintech founders at the angel, pre-seed & seed with checks up to $500k focused on the US.
Seedstars International Ventures II (SIV) has announced its second fund with the first close of $20 million. The firm will invest in pre-seed and seed-stage startups in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.
House Capital is an early-stage venture fund investing ~100K checks into up to 100 companies inside (and outside!) the Launch House community. The fund is led by Brett Goldstein and Houck.
Animo announced the raise of its $78M Fund II which will write $500k-$2.5m in companies raising their first $500k-$5m in the US. So far, the firm has led investments in 26 early-stage enterprise and consumer startups.
Contrary Capital launched a new program, Contrary Sabbatical, where they will invest up to $250,000 for founders who want to take time off from work or school to build something great.
VC3 is a new investment model for professional venture capital based on the principles of decentralization. 150+ professional VCs from 28 countries came together to test if decentralized venture capital can improve deal flow, decision making, and returns.
Deadline to Apply 📆
Opportunities for you
Launch House Female Founder Residency
An IRL co-living, co-working accelerator, the Launch House Female Founder Residency is accepting 30 founders for its one-month program for the most ambitious entrepreneurs on the planet. The program runs from August 28th-September 23rd. Apply here.
Long Time Listener 🎧
Audio & video you won’t want to miss
If you’re searching for a tech & startup podcast, look no further. The TechCrunch Equity podcast is about the business of startups and releases new episodes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The hosts include Alex Wilhelm, Natasha Mascarenhas, and Mary Ann Azevedo, who dive into the hottest stories in business, tech, and venture capital.
Your pediatrician is One Click away
CEO and Co-Founder of Summer Health, a messaging platform for parents to contact pediatricians, joined Emily Chang of Bloomberg to share how she secured investment from major venture capital firms and her views on digital health care in a post-Roe world. Summer Health recently launched with a $7.5M pre-seed round led by Lux Capital.
How To Pick Startup Winners With Jason Calacanis
On the Where it Happens podcast, hosts Sahil Bloom and Greg Isenberg chat with Jason Calacanis about the secret to creating long-term wealth, how to become a “sophisticated” investor, and the downsides of crypto.
20VC: Forerunner’s Kirsten Green
Harry Stebbings, the host of the 20VC, interviews Kirsten Green of Forerunner on the biggest challenges scaling both teams and AUM, high performance in fund management & why parenting and relationships are an enabler to your best work.
Nik Sharma and Moiz Ali started a new DTC podcast called Limited Supply, where they cut through the fluff. The two share how they scaled their brands and sold one for $10,000,000, their business model, tapping into Gen Z, and landing page wins.
Founder Tips
What you need to know
Being persuasive is helpful for pitching, marketing, and other founder tasks. Katelyn Bourgoin shares 7 ways to be more persuasive.
Investors ask a lot of questions when you’re pitching. Here’s what they actually mean by their questions.
Looking for the best pitch deck framework? Here’s Sequoia’s for free.
Zero click content is how you can beat social platforms and search engines at their own game.
Every single founder struggles on their journey. Jason Chen shares the four struggles he has seen the most among founders.
Shout out to startup CEOs juggling it all. But don’t forget to look after your emotional and mental health.
Avoiding getting into the empty chair problem during a downturn, as explained by James Wise.
Don’t just show the data without an explanation. If you want people to come to a conclusion, spell it out.
Justin Gordon asked for founders to share one tweet that would get a VC to invest in their startups. Read the replies.
Storytelling is one of the most important skills that you’ve never been taught. Nathan Baugh shares 10 easy tips to teach storytelling.
Ways to stand out when investors get so many pitches!
People aren’t going to stumble across your product. Someone needs to market and sell it.
For Investors 💰
Advice & thoughts for aspirational, new, or seasoned investors
The Weekend Fund’s Ryan Hoover and Vedika Jain started the Signature Block newsletter, which offers advice for new fund managers. This first issue shares how to raise from limited partners.
Automation is useful for fund managers, especially if you do it with the right tools. Erica Wenger asked Twitter for the best tools to create more automation in a fund.
Angel List is doubling down on its scout infrastructure. Here’s how.
15 images every investor needs to memorize, put together by Brian Feroldi.
Early-stage fund managers: this thread from Mac Conwell explains full rachet.
Before You Go 🚪
What you might have missed.
Lower Carbon Capital put together a wishlist of carbon removal ideas that they need ambitious founders to try!
WeAreLATech Summer Series kicked off with a connective Sunset Gathering luxury beach picnic style. Talk about goals.
Putting emojis next to everything brings meaning to life.
The urge to bring your computer with you everywhere, even on the weekends & vacations.
Play the Financial Times Climate Game to see if you can cut emissions to zero by 2050.
A question for VC Twitter…
Here are the ideas that founders are working on that will fundamentally change the way an industry operates.
Congratulations to Kimberly at Ville and Ezinne at SKNMUSE (featured as founders you should follow) for being chosen for a16z’s Talent x Opportunity Founders.