Martin Kessler

Harvard Office of Technology Development (OTD) created a guide every founder should read: 1) Is your idea worth it? 2) Protecting your IP. 3) Securing the right funding. 4) Building a team that delivers. After working with startups globally, here’s what founders often miss: - Clear market fit. - A strong pitch. - Game-changing early hires. This guide is practical and Insightful. A must for founders and investors alike. 🔄Share this to help more founders succeed. #founders #investors #venturecapital #guide #markets #insightful #startups

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Insights into Leadership in HealthTech 60% of founders of healthtech unicorns (companies valued at $1 billion or more) hold a PhD, in contrast to only 25% of founders in other sectors.. This data underscores the specialized knowledge and research background often required to innovate effectively within the complex landscape of healthcare technology. The prevalence of PhDs among healthrech leaders suggests a deep integration of scientific expertise with entrepreneurial vision, potentially driving more informed, impactful innovations in healthcare delivery, diagnostics, and treatment. #HealthTech #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #TechTrends

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🌿 Every Detail Matters in Your Psychedelic Journey 🌿 The power of a guided psychedelic experience lies in the details—every variable, every element carefully aligned to support your healing and transformation. From setting and guidance to intention and safety, we ensure nothing is left to chance. At Sayulita Wellness Retreat, we’ve created an environment where every element is thoughtfully designed to amplify your journey inward. Our experienced team addresses every possible controlled variable to create a safe, transformative, and life-changing experience. 💡 Ready to take the next step? Let’s craft a journey that nurtures your growth and aligns your mind, body, and spirit. #PsychedelicHealing #WellnessRetreat #TransformYourLife #MentalHealthInnovation #SayulitaWellness

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Movac KiwiNet Deep Tech is difficult because you do not comprehend 95% of the universe using the Standard Model of Particle physics. Either learn that measurement is flawed due to human bias or experience and unbiased state through transcendence experiences corresponding to Christ consciousness. The physics of life is based on LENR and not the Standard Model of Particle physics. Unfortunately, scientific research has been captured by the materialism perspective. This is mutually exclusive to the light observed in consciousness. Physics of life. Deep Tech https://lnkd.in/gKqC3PAR Gateway into the aromatic ring Faraday cage system. Time to see the light 😁.

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A recent exploration into revenue multiples after VC rounds reveals some striking trends that are essential for founders and investors to understand. For example, it’s noted that revenue multiples tend to drop noticeably after each funding stage, which can significantly impact valuations and future fundraising efforts. This shift isn't just a number; it represents the evolving expectations of investors as companies progress. As startups continue to mature, aligning growth metrics with investor interests becomes vital for maintaining value. Companies need to adapt their strategies around these insights to ensure they’re not just meeting investor expectations but exceeding them. What insights do you find most useful regarding valuation trends in startup funding? I'd love to hear your thoughts! https://lnkd.in/gFfp2UYA

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Can you be our judge for today? We submitted this video 📸📸 for the Builders Submit by Founders Connect and we got in 🤩🤩. Since launching Belarush about 13 months ago, we've been making strides in various competitions: Founders Cabal / Demo Day Pitch Competition: 3rd Position, 2023 Moonshot by TechCabal / Battle Field Pitch Competition: Top 5 Position, 2023 Startup Ibadan Fest/ Pitch Competition: 1st Position, 2023 Founders Connect / Innovation Challenge: Top 4, 2024 It's amazing how our stats keep growing with every pitch. I’d appreciate your feedback, thoughts, and questions in the comment section below. Be our judge for today! 🌟 #startup #entrepreneurship #pitchcompetition #feedback #Belarush

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This post will be useful for those who are interested in investing in Healthtech: already investing or want to do it. Investors often ask me to give examples when I talk about combining startups into platforms. The OURA project is just such a prime example. See how the device is developing, which initially focused on sleep monitoring. In order for more such companies to appear and Venture Builder is needed, since funders often do not see such opportunities, or they lack competencies. If you want to invest in medical platforms, email me, I have an offer for you #health; #platforms; #vc; #venturebuilder

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⏰There is a Tick Tock pulse in fundraising and sales⏱️ If Tick is fundraising, Tock is sales. ❌ The problem is most founders go Tick Tick Tick > Tock Tock Tock ❗️Now the next Tick will be much harder because your valuation has now priced in all that past revenue (fair) but without a clear line of sight to future revenues that drive venture-scale growth. 🕥This can prolong the fundraising process as investors wait to see your next batch of contracts come in. 💡One solution is to fundraise after signing a contract but before servicing it. In other words, pre-A/B rounds. It’s a short window but this is the Tick Tock pulse that works incredibly well if you get it right. Here’s the narrative: 1️⃣We have $x in signed contracts and will have to service them over the next 12 months 2️⃣We’re raising now so we can focus on pleasing our customers when the time comes. 3️⃣For this peace of mind, we’re willing to take a 20% discount on our next round valuation given the contracts are already signed. 4️⃣Of course, you are welcomed to join after we’ve closed the revenues. We might be raising at 20% discount to the following round by then. 💡As an added benefit, founders get to focus on one thing at a time - fundraising > sales > fundraising > sales (Tick Tock Tick Tock!) ➡️As with most things I share, works for B2B deep tech. I think? 🧐 💸Don’t try this at home (consumer tech).

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🌟 7 Crucial Elements for Scaling Startups to Successful Exits 🌟 Reflecting on my recent experience at the OPEN Silicon Valley Forum in Santa Clara, some of us engaged in a deep discussion on what repeatedly drives startups from inception to successful exits. Our collective experience pointed to these seven essential elements: 1️⃣ Timing is Everything: Ensure the market and technology are ready for your solution. Being too early or too late can hinder success. 2️⃣ Align with Your "Why": Success requires internal motivation. Knowing your “why” keeps you resilient and purpose-driven. 3️⃣ Master the Problem, Not Just the Product: Deep understanding of the problem is far more critical than focusing solely on a product or idea. 4️⃣ Define Culture from the Start: The first five hires set the tone. Invest in "A" players who embody the culture you envision. 5️⃣ Obsess Over User Experience: A relentless focus on user experience can make or break your product’s adoption. 6️⃣ Build for Scale from Day One: Architecting for growth is not optional—it’s essential for long-term success. 7️⃣ Map Out Your Go-to-Market Strategy Early: Before building, have a clear thesis on how to generate revenue and achieve product-market fit. These principles are tried and true across multiple industries. If you’re launching a startup or scaling a business, how do these resonate with your experience? What would you add to the list? #startups #entrepreneurship #growth #scaling #productmarketfit #OPENsiliconvalley #innovation #founders Tashfeen Suleman Amer Haider Umair Khan Junaid Qurashi Wardah Inam

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There's a popular notion that startups should focus purely on rapid growth, driven by investment rounds and scaling quickly. This approach attracts attention because it aligns with the aspiration of becoming a high-growth company. However, it can lead to complexities, particularly when it comes to managing ownership stakes and the implications for shareholders. On the other hand, there’s a contrasting strategy that emphasizes careful cap table management and a strong foundation of transparency. This alternative is appealing as it builds trust among stakeholders and sets a solid groundwork for sustainable growth. However, the challenge here is that it might not create the immediate excitement that aggressive growth strategies can. A blended approach could help optimize benefits from both sides. Startups can prioritize growth while maintaining transparency in their cap table management. For example, during funding rounds, having a well-organized cap table available can facilitate negotiations with investors, ensuring clarity in ownership and equity stakes. This not only reassures potential backers but also empowers employees with knowledge about their equity positions, boosting morale and engagement. In practice, consider a scenario where your startup is preparing for a significant funding round. By integrating a solid cap table management solution, you can present a clear and updated picture of ownership—enabling potential investors to see the real value of your company while ensuring your team knows how their contributions fit into the larger picture. This blend of dynamic growth and rigorous management fosters an environment of trust and long-term success.

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In addition to building our own VC practice at AAF Management Ltd., we’ve invested in 37 VCs since 2017. Here is what, I believe, it takes to build a multi-vintage, early-stage, venture franchise: 𝟭- 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀: hyper-focused GPs build longevity and consistency in their businesses. If you pitch LPs saying you will invest in early stage consumer but end up doing late stage consumer that’s a massive red flag. Stay germane to your mandate and strategy. 𝟮- 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: the market is crowded with venture firms, articulate your differentiated value proposition to LPs and founders. Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Focus on 1-2 value propositions to your stakeholders and execute them with excellence and defensibility. 𝟯- 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆-𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴: we tell stories everyday. Raising capital for a fund and building your venture firm requires that same story-telling skillset. Tell consistent narratives to the market to help build your own brand as well as your firm’s brand. 𝟰- 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁-𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲: if you possess subject-matter expertise in a certain vertical, domain or industry, you already own a defensible moat. Accentuate that to your advantage when building your firm, raising capital from LPs and winning deals from founders. 𝟱- 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: early stage venture is a highly collaborate asset class. Keep your ego at the door, you will never be able to do everything it takes to build a firm alone. Leverage LPs, partners and founders for deal flow sourcing, diligence and overall industry best practices. 𝟲- 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁-𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁-𝗙𝗶𝘁: in quintessential startup vernacular, ideally find your product-market-fit by the time you launch your second fund. You need product-market-fit before you scale your AUM, grow your team and carry more fiduciary responsibility. 𝟳- 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲: early stage VC investing is a marathon. Patience will reward you personally, professionally and financially. Build mental, physical and psychological stamina to endure the inherent ebbs and flows of your entrepreneurial journey. 𝟴- 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗺: early stage VC investing is the archetypal long-term financial asset. Think in 10 year increments for your firm’s grand vision, think in 4 years for a given fund’s investment period and think in quarters when reporting material updates on your portfolio to your LPs. 𝟵- 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝗻: if instant gratification, short feedback loops and a constant need for reaffirmation is what you are looking for in a career then early stage VC investing will not fulfill you. Have fun building, and as Naval Ravikant once said: "𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙥𝙩𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙣." Finally, and most importantly, be authentic and true to yourself. #firmbuilding #entrepreneurs #VC

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Today was a big win for consumer health, with Flo Health Inc.'s valuation at $1 billion. We're hearing talk about the market becoming frothy again, but I’d argue—without seeing the detailed financials—that this valuation could be entirely warranted. Flo has built an impressive business, with 5 million paid subscribers and 70 million monthly active users. At $60 per year for users to access the product, this business has hundreds of millions in revenue and plenty of room to grow. It's increasingly clear to me that innovators focused on healthcare have been wildly underestimating consumer business models for years, believing that patients would only opt for solutions covered by their health plans and prescribed or recommended by their doctors. That thesis needs updating, particularly given high deductible plans and soaring co-pays. Innovators building solutions that users genuinely love will win - even in healthcare. These businesses also have the potential to move into B2B channels, which is far easier to do when you have an engaged, loyal user base. I expect we’ll see many more consumer health businesses “pop” in the years to come, further proving that consumers are ready and willing to pay for such solutions. We're watching closely at Cherish Kudos to the team at Flo for this impressive milestone. Lainie Muller Charlotte Yeh Aashima Gupta Avanlee Christine Esther Dyson Alexandra Drane Jessica Kamada Vin Gupta, MD MPA Asheesh Saksena Paul Crnkovich Josh Kampel Steve Chazin Lee Wagner #agingwithattitude #independentliving #consumerdrivencare

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The gateway to the future of deal sourcing is initiating its launch sequence. The first step in the evolution of PE BD begins this week. AI. Data. Engagement secrets that have been hidden and locked away—until now. What’s beyond the door will forever change how you find and engage founders. But this week is just the beginning... the first glimpse of the door ahead… You see, there is a tectonic shift underfoot. Deal sourcing is evolving. The rules have been quietly rewritten, and those who fail to adapt will be left in the dust. This week, we begin to unearth sourcing’s destiny. When the door finally opens, sourcing will have a new gold standard. The tools for this new world are coming, but the door remains under lock and key—for now. The first move, however, is yours for the taking... join the conversation as the first knowledge drops and the journey begins this week. Stay wired. Stay ready. The future of M&A begins now… #DSP #WiredForAcquisition #Thursday⁩

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Are you familiar with the term ‘Femtech’? Should ‘Mentech’ be a term? First discussed back in 2016 when Ida Tin, the co-founder of the menstrual tracking app Clue used the term for the first time on a panel discussion devoted to female health at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference. An idea some consider contentious, there are opposing views on the term. Olivia Goldhill published an article for Quartz titled “‘FemTech’ is not and should not be a thing”. “Though the term ‘FemTech’ may have served the valiant role of protecting some men from talking about periods, taking a narrow group of products and labelling them ‘female’ has unfortunate consequences. This designation effectively implies that half the population is a sub-niche market with a series of body-specific needs. Where, after all, is the talk of ‘MenTech’? There isn’t any. All the ‘male technology,’ such as voice-recognition technology that recognises male voices better than female, or phones that are too big for women’s hands and don’t fit in pockets designed for women, aren’t designated ‘MenTech.’ They’re just the norm”. In my opinion, I agree with the term ‘Femtech’. I think both women and men need different solutions tailored to their specific needs when it comes to health, wellbeing and the integration of technology. For example, Flo Health Inc. is an app designed specifically for women. Here at Pitstop we have recently launched a business aimed specifically at improving the lives of men. Should ‘Mentech' also become a term when it’s something expressly designed for men, rather than everyone? What do you think? --- If you’ve enjoyed this post follow me Emmett Kilduff. Share this if it strikes a chord and let’s get the conversation going. Men - try a 7-day free trial of the Pitstop app https://lnkd.in/g--S5vRw Employers - I’d like to discuss how we can support your teams better. Invite me for a talk!

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Where is the money in Digital Health in #APAC? 💰 $3.2 billion of venture capital funding has been invested in the past 15 months 👶 Early-stage funding continues to struggle. The share of first cheques of all investments is only at 14% of all deals that were closed in that period. 👧 Series A and Series B funding are by volume share ahead of Early Stage deals. We continue to see an overflow of "Early-Growth Stage investors" (with an allergic reaction to write first cheques 😉) 👵 Late Stage remains almost non-existent in this part of the world Source: HealthTech Alpha; Alpha Edge, our new business intelligence tool that will launch for public in the next weeks.

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When I was a pre-partner at a VC firm, my job would be to review board decks with a founder ahead of the partners’ review. The function was usually top-notch, because our founders were amazing, but I would *obsess* over form, which, in retrospect, was a complete waste of time for everyone, especially the founder (lookin’ at you, Nicholas Vandivere – sorry I was so annoying 😬). Today, as a founder myself, I’ve completely thrown form out the window. If you’ve raised a few million dollars, are generally profitable, and are chugging along as a seven-figure business like Rescripted is, you should be having regular, informal update calls with members of your board and reporting to your investors at least quarterly (VCs require this, of course, but if you’re angel-funded like we are, you might not know the nuts and bolts!). Board meetings aren’t for reporting. That’s why form doesn’t matter. You should *constantly* be reporting. If you have a great and supportive board like we do, board meetings are for: 👩‍🏫 interpreting the reporting you've already done, 📣 providing commentary that isn’t obvious, 🤗 providing feedback to yourselves as a management team, 💫 and getting advice and insights from those people who believed in you enough to put their money where their mouths are. Tomorrow’s our board meeting. Wish Kristyn Hodgdon, Peregrin Marshall, and me luck! If you’re a founder, how do you run effective board meetings? #entrepreneurship #seedinvesting #angelfunding

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Just read Elizabeth "Beezer" Clarkson's tweet on the seed to Series A gap. It reminded me of why I wrote a book called 'Journey to Series A' last year. It was inspired by the challenges many startups face when scaling up. And offers practical guidance for founders on how to prepare and successfully raise a Series A round. Watch an excerpt below, full link in the comments. #startups #fundraising #SeriesA

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I wrote a heartfelt note on why we do what we do. For #founders, resilience is a non-obvious essential skill. Period But if it’s #deeptech, the time to hit the market and to see the real impact takes more time. Through all those phases of doubt- going back to the ‘why’ is what makes the journey worthwhile. And, this is our why! (Pinned to the comment) If this piece resonates with you, give this a read and share your thoughts! -Cheers🥂 #startup

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