Jillian Romero Chaves

An interesting article below, that demonstrates out how San Diego is punching above its weight.  And how Connect's strategy and execution over time, contintues to be central to that success. The article describes the current state of the market in Seattle.  (And i love Seattle.) It's a market that we tend to track with relative to venture fundings.  They used to kick our butts, we outraised them each of the last three years.  This despite the fact they have 3x as many funds there, and 9x the amount of resident capital there. (per pitchbook) Some key takeaways:  * They continue to compare themselves to SIlicon Valley. Instead, we leverage our proximity. *They whine there's not enough local investors (see note above - they have more than us). We bring over 200 VCs to SD annually! * They say founders are not connected with one another. We bring CEOs together regularly, in a variety of ways - private dinners and through our Springboard program. * They say they need to elevate their image on a national & international stage. Why we created and continue to build Five.Ten.Thirty (aka Inno Day).  * And the last paragraph - they need to concentrate on making their region a great place to live. Our mantra: "It's about Better, not Bigger." (See XEO, TL Fund). THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT. WE ARE ON A MISSION TOGETHER!!!  (Comments, whining, suggestions on SD always welcome.) https://lnkd.in/g6Rq_f2Y

109

10 Comments

Two weeks ago I spent 3 days with brilliant human beings discussing the state of AI investment with other angel syndicate leads, angel investors and VCs at Hustle Fund's #camphustle in Los Gatos. It was brilliant. Truly awesome to learn so much from insanely accomplished investors. But was so clear to me again is that the US and the UK are two countries divided by separate languages of ambition. Aspiration and ambition underlined by the cluster effect of successful exits, incredible talent and venture capital driven by operators and founders rather than accountants. But one reason why the US often trumps (pun not intended) the UK is they learn from failure. Run a startup that didn't reach the dizzying heights of venture-scale returns? Learn, reset and go again. What they certainly do not do is look at failure with glee and an "I told you so" attitude. Which is what I sense when I read most of the narrative around the failure of Cazoo. Alex Chesterman swung and missed. The business was flawed, unit economics didn't add up and in reality - there was very little innovation outside the vertical alignment of a well-understood business. But when we look down upon what he tried to do and 💩 💩 it all we're doing is making it harder for someone else to be equally as ambitious. Focus on what went wrong. Focus on the fundamental underlying business models that drive efficient use of capital and the push for profitability. But let's celebrate people shooting their shot and not celebrate the failures.

23

3 Comments

Reflecting on another fantastic StartupAZ retreat in Flagstaff last month! I’m grateful to be a part of this incredible community that continually supports technology founders in Arizona. StartupAZ is more than just a network; it’s a powerful ecosystem of founders, mentors, and seasoned entrepreneurs who come together to uplift and propel each other forward. The monthly cohort meetings provide the kind of support and mentorship that makes all the difference in launching and scaling a technology company. This organization has been a game-changer for me personally, connecting me with like-minded leaders and providing the resources needed to navigate the challenges of entrepreneurship. Being surrounded by other founders who are as passionate about innovation and growth as I am has been truly inspiring. Below is a video from our retreat, showcasing the spirit and energy of this incredible group of people dedicated to pushing the limits of what’s possible. Seeing how much we’ve grown and the impact we’ve had on Arizona’s tech landscape is both humbling and motivating. If you're a founder in Arizona or someone passionate about the startup ecosystem, I highly encourage you to get involved with StartupAZ. Let’s keep building, growing, and supporting the next wave of innovators right here in Arizona! #StartupAZ #FoundersSupportingFounders #ArizonaTech #Entrepreneurship #StartupCommunity #Innovation

78

3 Comments

Awesome new initiative Aviel Ginzburg!! When Sean Sternbach and I launched Venture Out, Aviel and Pablo Brown-Rodriguez were silent cofounders. Aviel freely shared his words of wisdom from years of building community in Seattle. He and Chris DeVore were the first money into our community, followed quickly by Flying Fish Partners, Liquid 2 Ventures, M12, Microsoft's Venture Fund, and a huge list of Seattle angels. After growing to 1200+ members in <3 years, running multiple pre-preseed accelerators, a few learnings about building great community and the Seattle Founder Ecosystem: In the early days, no one knows what they are doing. Seek outside advice and guidance from people just ahead of you. Unicorn founders and tech moguls have great stories, but the woman who left amazon six months ago, launched an MVP, and crashed through her first 2 dozen investor discussions will have golden advice. Be open, honest, and vulnerable. Our best events and discussions happened when people let their guard down. No one will spend their life (which a startup requires) to build your idea. They might build something similar and tackle the same problem, but only your life experience and decision-making will make the difference. Share ideas often. Give first. As a ~10 year Techstars mentor, I saw this as the best part of the community. In my opinion, they have lost this completely. Don't come into a community and take. Give all you can, even when it feels counterproductive. Something might eventually come back that changes your life and direction. Even if it never does, you will 1000% feel great about the decision. Play long-term games with long-term people. Naval Ravikant was the first person I heard say this. Surround yourself with committed doers, makers, and visionaries. There are a lot of want-entrepreneurs in the world (which is a good thing; we need more people to take risks), but spend the most time with people in the ring, putting their time behind what they are doing. Learn how to give advice and direction without being evangelical, condescending, or a jerk. Learn to be direct but helpful. It's what you want on your journey, so invest in being a great thought partner for others. A final few notes: 1) No, you likely will never get paid the same amount or make as much money as a founder as you would as an L7/L8 at Amazon. If that is why you are starting a company, you're already in trouble. But knowing Aviel, he is already filtering for this 😂 2) You will likely learn in 6-18 months in the ring as a founder, than the rest of your life combined. Start to write, share your experience, find a therapist, and get ready to unpack a LOT as you go. The only way to make space for new information is to process it, store it, and then let it go. 3) The relationships are the most important part of the journey. I will always remember meetings with Matt Ehrlichman, Asha Sharma, Kyle Sandburg, and Matthew Neagle and the rest of the Porch Group team. Go Aviel!!!

42

4 Comments

Having a Cars and Capital event tomorrow in Southern California with Oren Klaff. If you want to join message me. https://lnkd.in/gDQ4D39u Oren Klaff Bridger Pennington #InvestorEvent #FamilyOffice #InvestmentOpportunity #CarlsbadEvent #PrivateEquity #WealthManagement #InvestmentConference #CapitalRaising #NetworkingEvent #IndustryLeaders #FinancialGrowth #InvestorsMeetup #WealthBuilding #BusinessGrowth #InvestmentForum

24

1 Comment

118 VCs (one hundred eighteen!) are gathering in San Diego next week - to meet with 30 SD startups. But it's so MUCH bigger than just those 30 co's. It brings VCs back - when they see quality companies. It helps those who are next-in-line and adjacent. It enables us to send deal flow all year 'round. It attracts talent and other companies. It inspires entrepreneurship. Connect is working for SD. Together, we're building the best damn innovation ecosystem on the planet. Year over year. Five.Ten.Thirty.

263

25 Comments

🌟Innovative VC Firm Overcomes Exits Drought with Secondary Sales🌟 ⛵Navigating a challenging landscape where exits are scarce, Santa Barbara Venture Partners (SBVP) has pioneered a novel approach to sustain its growth and attract investors for its second fund: secondary sales. Instead of waiting for traditional exits like IPOs or acquisitions, SBVP opted to sell shares of its portfolio companies, demonstrating its ability to generate returns for investors and stand out in a competitive market. 🎤According to Dan Engel, founder and managing partner of SBVP, these secondary transactions have been a game-changer, sparking investor interest and bolstering the firm's credibility. By leveraging its recent successes, including a lucrative stake in sports-betting company DraftKings Inc.' acquisition of digital lottery app Jackpocket, SBVP seized the opportunity to return profits to its limited partners (LPs) and pave the way for its second fund. 💡Engel highlighted the challenges faced by young VC firms in raising subsequent funds, particularly amid a downturn in exit activity and heightened investor scrutiny. With traditional exit routes becoming increasingly elusive, the pressure is on for firms to demonstrate tangible returns and establish a track record of success. ✨"For us, secondary sales have been a game-changer. They've helped us return profits to our LPs and attract investors for our second fund," said Dan Engel. 💰For SBVP, the decision to pursue secondary sales was driven by the need to provide liquidity to LPs and validate its investment thesis in the eyes of prospective investors. By strategically offloading portions of its holdings in high-performing portfolio companies like Bark Technologies and Rad AI, SBVP not only generated substantial returns but also bolstered investor confidence in its ability to deliver results. ⚠Despite the complexities and potential stigma associated with early share sales, Engel emphasized the importance of prioritizing investor returns and seizing opportunities to unlock value for stakeholders. With a focus on profitability and transparency, SBVP remains committed to its mission of delivering sustainable growth and maximizing returns for its LPs. 🔍 "Returning profits to our investors is our top priority. By strategically selling shares, we're proving our commitment to delivering results and driving value for our stakeholders," added Engel. As SBVP continues to explore secondary transactions and expand its investor base, the firm stands as a testament to innovation and resilience in the face of market challenges. 🚀 ✅ Looking to raise capital for your #fund and increase the international pool of your LP #investors?   🤝 Need warm #LP introductions?   📝 Selling #secondaries to increase liquidity?   🧐 Looking for co-investments?   ▶ G+QUANT's link for inquiries and fund decks: https://lnkd.in/gjC_EuTE #VCInnovation #SecondarySalesSuccess #InvestorReturns #ValueCreation 

2

Team San Diego! I though you may find this as surprising as I did...we are not alone. Read this quick article from Jon Prentice's (Silicon Valley Bank) interview with with James Newell (Voyager Capital), published in GeekWire on Seattle's innovation ecosystem....they lament the SAME issues as we do in San Diego: * Lack of angel investors, (Especially, it calls out, given the local giant tech co's) * "We need low-conviction check writers." * Lack of "cachet associated with being an angel investor" - We have similar efforts (as described in the article) to drum up angel activity: NuFund Venture Group and, Interlock Capital (read the article and you'll see why the Interlock effort is tops as relates to "paying back into the ecosystem") Connect.org strives to 'connect' innovative companies with investors of all types (angel, VC, PE...) - just see "Innovation Day". Their Springboard program provides another great way for experienced entrepreneurs to give back through mentorship...as for the companies going through Springboard: "Ask for advice, and you often get $$" Your thoughts on the article or San Diego innovation ecosystem? https://lnkd.in/gfwq6mfq

61

3 Comments

If anyone is in North County San Diego, on Thursday May 2nd, we will be hosting a tech entrepreneur and investor meet up at 5:30pm. We’ll have a couple speakers, one of which is a fin-tech start-up raising a round, followed up by a presentation on the state of the stock & crypto market. We host these events quarterly and usually get a lot of founders and investors to attend. If anyone is interested, please message me and I can send you the details. LaunchPad San Diego #startups #startupincubator #entrepreneur #investing #crypto #meetup

30

1 Comment

🚀Exciting News! AGS LABS / ALES GREY™ has been invited to pitch at FoundersBoost LA’s spring cohort and the Alliance for Southern California Innovation SoCal Venture Pipeline program at Google! If you’re an investor, please join us on June 4th for an exclusive joint Demo Day by FoundersBoost LA & the Alliance for SoCal Innovation! 🌟 The Alliance and FoundersBoost are joining forces to showcase some of the top young companies in LA! In addition to hearing the amazing pitches, you’ll be able to network with other investors, incredible mentors, supporting partners, program leaders, and the startup founders. Refreshments will be served. 🍹 📌 IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a private invite event due to capacity constraints and to maintain a value-add atmosphere. Sign Up Link Below. https://lu.ma/lademoday Don’t miss this opportunity to discover and support the next big thing in innovation! 🌐 #FoundersBoost #DemoDay #Innovation #Startups #Investors #Networking #PitchEvent #AGSLABS #ALESGREY #SoCalInnovation #GoogleEvents

21

5 Comments

Spend five minutes on LinkedIn or Luma or Meetup and you will observe a dramatic growth in new events supporting the region's ever-expanding community of startup founder. At the Venture Mechanics Startup Incubator / Accelerator we alone hold over 200 events a year for early stage founders and investors. Quite candidly, many of the new events that we see popping up like weeds in Seattle are redundant and basic, if they were ever anything more than just another networking event in the guise of a hot topic. A lot of them are just "me too" events, that don't bring anything truly fresh and innovative to the venture community. It's not uncommon to see six or more events and rooftop parties in downtown Seattle in a single night, and we frequently hear from founders that they have no idea which ones they should attend; frustrated that many that they have attended turned out to be of little intrinsic value in return for the time and parking hassles. So with that backdrop, I'm thrilled to share the news of a new group that actually is truly fresh and exciting, that's bringing something completely different to our ecosystem. Court Lorenzini, founder of DocuSign (a $13B enterprise today) is one of the most successful tech founders in Seattle history, and now a prolific venture investor who also believes in giving back. He has created this new organization, FounderNexus, an invitation-only membership organization that serves the community of venture-scale founders. Launching initially in Seattle, the organization has global growth ambitions. Participants are expected to fill out an application and screening test to assure a top quality experience. The more previous startups under your belt, the better. I'm also thrilled to announce that Court will be the keynote speaker at our upcoming Venture Saturday event on September 7th (https://lnkd.in/gGc7GgGa). If you want to learn more about FounderNEXUS from Court himself, be sure not to miss his address at 10am on the 7th. For now, check out the FounderNexus website.

10

For all aspiring and current angel investors – take a look at this! #angelinvesting

9

1 Comment

A stroll through San Diego led me to Geppetto's, where a life-sized puppet and friendly staff turned me into an unexpected customer. 🌟This IS the magic of independent retail. 🌟 With consumer spending down, small businesses need innovative strategies beyond discounting to thrive without sacrificing profitability. Curious about how #indieretailers are navigating these challenges? Check out my latest article in Total Retail. #Retail #SmallBusiness #CustomerExperience #Innovation #IndependentRetail #SMB #boutiqueowner #retailer #fashion

43

2 Comments

Where should you build your startup? Last week, I attended LA Tech Week. For the first time since moving to Los Angeles three years ago, it felt like a real startup community with legitimate entrepreneurs. I met several founders who went through YC, several founders with exits, and many who came from strong LA backgrounds, including SpaceX, Riot Games, Google, Facebook, and more. For context, LA has struggled to build a startup scene until recently despite its size, proximity to Silicon Valley, presence of big tech, and access to great talent from top universities. So what changed? We all agreed that it was one thing. Access to capital. If you are an entrepreneur and you have the flexibility to choose your city, you optimize for two things. 1. Access to customers  2. Access to capital Before I moved to Silicon Valley 13 years ago, the LA venture scene was just a handful of firms and a handful of angels. Today, the tables have turned in favor of founders, and there is more capital than deals to invest in. What city will you build in?

50

8 Comments

What happened in mental health last week? ⏺ KHP Ventures announced the Innovations in Mental Health Fund, a £20m fund to invest in mental health startups ⏺ Amae Health raised $6m from Cedars-Sinai for psychiatrist-led integrated care and wraparound mental health services for severe mental illness ⏺ Warsaw-based Britenet, received a £1m grant from the EIT - European Institute of Innovation and Technology for Moodmon, an AI driven tool for management and treatment of chronic affective disorders ⏺ Pulvinar Neuro received FDA breakthrough device designation for its closed-loop transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) to treat major depressive disorder ⏺ Czech startup Elin.ai closed a €1m pre-seed round for a mental health app for Gen Z and Gen alpha users ⏺ MindMed announced that their first patient has been dosed in their phase 3 study for MM120, an optimised form of LSD for generalised anxiety disorder after being granted ‘breakthrough therapy’ status by the FDA in March ⏺ Isar Mazer from Tacklit and Jacinta Pollard from Caraniche published an intersting article on how to digitally transform mental health services ⏺ Autism therapy provider Proven Behavior Solutions, LLC acquired Prism Autism Education & Consultation Education and Consultation, expanding into a second state. ⏺ Redesign Health raised a $175m fund to back health-tech startups. Whilst not a mental health specific fund, Redesign have a track record of backing businesses in this space. (All links below) __ If you liked this and want insights on the mental health industry in your inbox every week, subscribe to The Hemingway Report newsletter and follow me Steve Duke 📩 #MentalHealth #BehavioralHealth

72

5 Comments

Ascend just released this new interview about why I love investing in Seattle/Pacific Northwest (PNW) startups at Ubiquity Ventures. Ascend is the most active pre-seed investor in the Pacific Northwest (Seattle, Portland, and more) and is run by Kirby Winfield. Thanks to Ascend's Nate Bek for the interview! Check it out the full interview: https://lnkd.in/giU2Wy3V A few snippets of what I said: ⭐️ On investing in Seattle (vs the Bay Area) "Companies like Auth0, Esper, Remitly, and others have demonstrated that they can start, grow, and thrive in Seattle. This is thanks to the continuous growth of hometown giants like Amazon and Microsoft, whose employees might outgrow the cultures at those companies." ⭐️ Why I fell in love with VC "First is about following new trends, nerding out on technologies, and getting inspired by new ideas .. resonates with the nerd engineer and the 5-year-old in me that used to love reading about new technologies ... [Next is] the innards of how companies are run, being in those pivotal meetings and discussions that change the direction of a company. These hard conversations about pivots, understanding metrics, and trying to separate the storytelling around startups from internal operations. That was the meat of building an exciting startup, which is quite different from just nerding out on cool new technologies. " And thank you to all the Pacific Northwest startups I've been privileged to invest in and work with: Eugenio P. and Jon Gelsey at Auth0 by Okta, Yadhu Gopalan at Esper, Fredrik Rydén at Olis Robotics, Claire Watts at ThruWave Inc., Adam Schoenfeld & Aviel Ginzburg at Simply Measured, Milkana Brace at Jargon, Yuriy Bulygin & Alex Bazhaniuk at Eclypsium, Inc. #seattle #seattletech #pacificnorthwest #pnwtech #portland

62

6 Comments

As we get prepared for our Angel Conference program, we run workshops to help get things lined up for the right conversations between investors and early pre-seed startups. We have a deadline coming up on August 27th for startups. One of the places that we see companies having a bit of trouble is on the customer discovery side of things. So we have a couple of workshops on that early customer discovery and associated efforts to get traction early before your MVP. As Angel Investors, we need to think with a portfolio mindset instead of investing in one or two companies to "see how it goes". We have a panel of SAC alumni talking about their perspectives on their portfolio of companies. We also know that startups don't practice pitching enough. So we we have workshops for improving pitches before people pitch for real. You can see the upcoming workshops here: AI+Lean  Building automated content experiments for customer discovery Tuesday, August 6, 2024 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM PDT https://lnkd.in/gJMiyQZC Building Your Angel Investment Portfolio Tuesday, August 6, 2024 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM PDT https://lnkd.in/gD9ATSyG Pitch Deconstruction and Review Thursday, August 8, 2024 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM PDT https://lnkd.in/g-RRajrX Finding your first paying customers Tuesday, August 13, 2024 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM PDT https://lnkd.in/gN-DaRJ8 Angel Investing and Taxes Thursday, August 15, 2024 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM PDT https://lnkd.in/gjs9cQfy Solving Real Problems: The Key to Market Success Tuesday, August 20, 2024 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM PDT https://lnkd.in/gYkJFD-X Structuring a Pitch Deck That Engages Investors Thursday, August 22, 2024 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM PDT https://lnkd.in/geyYR4wB Seattle Angel Conference (SAC 26) Application Deadline Tuesday, August 27, 2024 9:00 PM to 9:05 PM PDT  (But REALLY … Apply early)  https://lnkd.in/gM_fSmbZ  Companies need to apply here - https://lnkd.in/gWbtkAaf Please let the folks around you know about these workshops.

50

2 Comments

🚨 AI-Powered 911 Assistants Will Revolutionize Government Services and Save Lives. They are the future of emergency response for civil services for the following reasons: - Faster Response Times: AI can quickly analyze and prioritize calls, ensuring the most critical situations get immediate attention. - Accurate Data: AI can gather and process data swiftly, providing emergency responders with precise information, reducing human error. - Enhanced Efficiency: By handling routine inquiries, AI frees up human operators to focus on more complex and urgent issues. - Cost Savings: Automated systems can reduce operational costs, allowing governments to allocate resources more effectively. - Scalability: AI systems can handle high volumes of calls, especially during crises, ensuring no call goes unanswered. - Training and Support: AI can assist in training new operators, offering real-time guidance and support. Embracing AI in 911 services is not just a technological upgrade—it's a life-saving innovation. Let's drive government services forward with AI! 🚀 Benjamin Sanders Damian McCabe #AIAssistants #EmergencyResponse #GovTech #Innovation #PublicSafety

14

1 Comment

One of my proudest moments as an investor occurred today as Alaffia Health announced its series A because it shows how the Aperture® Venture Capital vision of multi-level, multi-generational #impactinvesting is succeeding in the marketplace. Here’s the model in its most basic form : ✅As diverse fund managers with meaningful capital to allocate, we are changing the VC landscape every day just by doing our day jobs. ✅As Black/Brown investors with ~40 years experience collectively, Aperture GPs have access to talent /excellence that others do not, so our portfolio *organically* is more inclusive by race, gender and geography even while optimizing for financial outcomes (all about the alpha). ✅Our most successful portco’s are using financial #innovation to solve market problems that impact underrepresented demographics and underserved communities. Alaffia Health is a shining example of the impact portion of our overall fund thesis, and we couldn’t be prouder of TJ Ademiluyi and Adun Akanni, MPH, PMP - the dynamic brother-sister founder duo whose vision we have steadfastly supported on their journey. Congratulations to TJ and Adun from William Crowder and myself, as well as the whole Aperture team- Marjorie King Philip McKenzie Yves Louis-Jacques Tanvi Lal Michelle Dhansinghani Lisha Bell Katie Kelly Amy Chung Cindy Chong, CFA Brian Fernandes-Halloran Monroe France Jayden Pantel Darren Herman Evan Wladis Neal Triplett Thomas Scriven Peter Ammon Irina Bit-Babik Tim Milanich Rob Rahbari

37

18 Comments