Mercury

Not your average tech conference. Mercury Spheres: where ambitious founders gather to reimagine the possible. 5.20.25 | San Francisco

The best updates help you move faster. That’s why we made uploading receipts to Mercury quicker and simpler. You can now: Reply directly to reminder emails with a photo of your receipt Forward receipts to receipts@mercury.com Bulk upload receipts via web or mobile From there, we’ll automatically match your receipt to the right card transaction, so you can stay focused on your business. ⚡️

Fundraising or planning to? Applications for our new fundraising support programs are now open. Whether you’re a founder fundraising for the first time, looking for a few more checks to close your round, or just wanting to level up your fundraising knowledge, let’s dive into the details: 👇 Fundraising Lab: Learn to fundraise like an expert. Created for first-time founders or those planning to raise capital within the next 3 months, this program teaches the core elements of a successful fundraise through a series of virtual sessions and weekly office hours with industry experts. 🔗 Apply by 2/18: https://lnkd.in/enWbkqTX Investor Connect: Pitching potential investors shouldn’t feel like a full-time job. For founders looking for additional funding for an in-progress round, our one-to-many pitch format streamlines the process so you can get back to building. 🔗 Submit your pitch by 2/18: https://lnkd.in/enWbkqTX Expert Sessions: Expand your fundraising skills and learn directly from VCs and experts. Founders at the pre-seed through series A stage can join our community and attend live expert and investor-led sessions on critical fundraising topics. 🔗 Register for events here: mercury.com/events

"Great financial management isn’t a single big decision — it’s a series of daily choices that add up over time. Strategic finance at the founder level should include prioritizing ruthlessly and focusing on what drives real growth and impact.” Our VP of Finance, Daniel Kang, breaks down the 3-layer pyramid of finance needs every founder needs to nail before their first finance hire: - Bottom: Operational necessities (payroll, vendors, billing, taxes) - Middle: A finance stack of systems, technology, and services - Top: Strategic cash management Ready to build your financial foundation? Access Dan’s guide below ⤵

"Whether your pivots are small or complete redesigns of a product, smart companies evolve when their users show them a better path forward." Sheel Mohnot, co-founder of Better Tomorrow Ventures, shares the signs it’s time for your business to pivot: - Users aren't passionate about your product - People only want it when it's free - There’s no strong customer pull after 6 months - Customer feedback shows different needs Think it’s time for your company to pivot? Learn more on how to execute a smooth transition from Sheel below 👇

"Fundraising isn't only about logic. It's also about emotion. Many founders approach pitch decks like a mathematical equation: problem, market, team, solution. But humans don't always make decisions rationally. We tend to feel first, then rationalize.” Siqi Chen, founder and CEO of Runway, shares his structure for leveraging emotion in your pitch: 1. Start with amusement: be engaging, entertaining, or exciting enough that investors want to keep listening. 2. Build to surprise: share a unique insight that challenges the investors assumptions. 3. Create curiosity and excitement: get them actively wondering about your business's potential. 4. End with awe: make them feel like they have to be a part of your mission, or miss out on something huge If you’re gearing up for your next fundraise, you can’t miss these storytelling suggestions from Siqi ⤵

"The team you build in your startup's early days will determine its future. Who you hire is critical — and your network is a great place to start." Here are 3 key tips from Brittany Walker, General Partner at CRV, on scaling your startup from seed to series A: 1. Hire slowly and intentionally to maintain a high quality bar 2. Be directly involved in customer conversations 3. Rather than waiting until it’s time to fundraise, get to know investors over time Navigating your startup's growth from seed to series A isn’t easy. Read more guidance from Brittany at the link in our comments ⤵

👋 Founders (bootstrapped or VC backed!) Free sessions with industry leaders are coming up - would love to see you there. Who should we invite to do an Expert Session next?? Tag them in the comments. 📌 RSVP at events.mercury.com cc Shruti Shah Queenie Kung Mark Hubbard

We at Pear VC are excited to announce applications and nominations are officially open for our Female Founders Circle AI Spring 2025 Cohort (our second AI cohort ever and 8th ever cohort). Our Spring Cohort will kick off in mid March! We're lucky to be supported by OpenAI, Mercury and WilmerHale for this cohort. Please apply and nominate by February 15 ⏳ for the Round 1 interviews. Join an intimate community of female engineers 👩💻 guided by successful founders and leaders. What do you get in 10 weeks? - Community of like-minded, technical builders, or find a co-conspirator like many who have successfully found their co-founders. - Learning from AI Visionary Leaders and Founders, past speakers include Niki Parmar, Co-Author of the Transformer Paper, Kate Ryder, CEO and Founder of Maven Clinic, May Habib, CEO and Co-Founder of Writer, Claires Hughes Johnson, Former COO of Stripe. - Exclusive technical Workshops from OpenAI team - Caroline McCloskey, GTM leader from OpenAI sharing on GTM best practices - Mar Hershenson, our fearless founding Pear Managing Partner sharing what ideas are worth building - Arash Afrakhteh, our Pear AI Partner sharing Pear’s AI investment thesis areas   - Ajay Kamat, our PearX Lead on sharing how to validate your idea in AI - Ana Leyva and Kathleen Estreich, Partners at Pear on how to hire your first sales and marketing team and founder led sales - Kristin Tedford, incredible Communications Coach on maximizing non-verbal delivery presence - Maryna S. and Laura Wright on hiring your first engineers! - Our program also comes with generous credits and 8 week access to Pear's beautiful office space in SF and MP Studio! 🌉 We are fully in person this cohort in San Francisco. - .... and on top of all the learning we hope to have long lasting friendships supplemented with local activities with other female founders and builders (anyone interested in pickleball 🏸, pilates 🧘♀️ , wine nights 🍷 , and spa dates 💅?) We’ve had 280+ FFC alum who are still active in the community, and over 50% (150+ companies!) have raised pre-seed funding and we have a few who have gone on to raise Series As and Bs. We’re seeking founders in search of a supportive and like-minded women AI founder community. It takes <1 min to make an impact on a fellow founder! Learn more: www.pear.vc/circles Apply now: https://lnkd.in/gv_JYtcq Nominate a fellow founder: https://bit.ly/FFCreferral Shoutout to Tracy Do for this amazing design! #womeninAI #femalefounders

"I find it works better if I have a relationship with the investor prior to making a pitch — expecting someone to shell out $10 million in a two-week period when you've just met is asking a lot." Our CEO, Immad Akhund, breaks down his fundraising framework: 1. At least 9 months before your raise, start building relationships with investors. No pitches — just get to know them and understand what gets them excited. 2. Closer to the raise, prepare your deck, data room, and refine your story.  3. Then, try to complete your fundraise in 3 weeks: Week 1: Practice your pitch with friendlies. Week 2: Meet with 15 good investors (that are not necessarily your top 5-10 targets). Week 3: Target your top 8 picks that you’re most excited about. Building relationships with investors early allows for a compressed fundraise to build momentum and confidence in your pitch. Learn more about how Immad navigates CEO decisions after 16+ years of building companies ⤵