Precursor Ventures

Tune in to the latest episode of First Funders with Charles Hudson and Shaherose Charania!  From humble beginnings to leading Precursor Ventures with over 400 investments, Charles shares invaluable insights from his journey. 🎙️📈

Congrats Alinia AI on raising a $2.4M pre-seed! Alinia is the alignment engine for safe and reliable applications powered by open source LLMs.

Introducing Jordan Huck! Notch is a comprehensive foodservice operations app designed to simplify the management of orders, invoices, and payments for restaurants and distributors. Built specifically for the food and beverage industry, Notch connects manufacturers, farmers, distributors, and food service providers on a single platform. By automating manual tasks and enhancing connectivity between restaurants and distributors, Notch aims to make foodservice operations more efficient and profitable. Jordan Huck, CEO, is an accomplished entrepreneur and business executive with extensive experience in building successful businesses. From 2007 to 2018, Jordan played pivotal roles at Veritaaq, serving as owner, COO, and eventually CEO. Under his leadership, Veritaaq's revenue soared from $20 million to over $240 million by 2019, and he successfully doubled the company's enterprise value between 2016 and 2018. With a deep expertise in B2B go-to-market strategies, Jordan leads Notch to empower foodservice operators to streamline their payment processes, enabling them to pay and get paid faster. Headquartered in downtown Toronto, one of North America's fastest-growing tech hubs, Notch serves restaurant and distributor partners across the continent. With a mission to simplify and enhance foodservice operations, Notch continues to innovate and lead the industry in providing effective and user-friendly solutions for managing orders, invoices, and payments.

Introducing Carley Lake and Tanya Dastyar! Lucky Sweater provides the tools and space for creating delightful groups dedicated to trading items, advice, and inspiration. Founded to help people reconnect with their passions and find others who share those interests, Lucky Sweater is about more than just what we wear and own—it's about building communities around the things you love. The platform offers a space for users to learn, grow, trade, and enjoy the company of like-minded individuals. Carley Lake, Co-Founder and CEO, is the guiding force behind founding Lucky Sweater. Her professional journey began as a digital strategist at Ogilvy & Mather, working with prominent clients like SC Johnson, Ford, Kimberly Clark, and Jim Beam. Carley was one of the first 500 employees at Uber, where she co-launched Uber Eats and led Uber’s global safety marketing and initiatives. Her diverse experiences have equipped her with the skills and vision to lead Lucky Sweater towards creating a sustainable fashion community. Tanya Dastyar, Co-Founder and CTO, brings her passion for user-centered design and technical expertise to Lucky Sweater. With a B.Sc. in Computer Science, Tanya led product definition at Microsoft for 0 to 1 incubator teams like Microsoft Managed Desktop and innovated on products like Microsoft News and the Edge homepage. After focusing on UX and UI design as a freelancer, she joined Carley to build Lucky Sweater. Tanya’s skills in product design, technical knowledge, and commitment to user-first experiences are central to developing the innovative tools and spaces that Lucky Sweater offers. The Lucky Sweater App is a haven for slow fashion, handmade, vintage, and outdoor gear enthusiasts, where users can share clothes, supplies, brand advice, and inspiration. It connects passionate individuals, helping them discover their next favorite brands and fostering a sense of brand loyalty. By prioritizing community and meaningful connections, Lucky Sweater aims to transform the way people connect and consume and bring you a community for any of your favorite things. 

Introducing Whitman Kwok and David Stoutamire! KAV is making the benefits of mass customization a reality, starting with cycling helmets. Customers can design their own helmet from 400K design combinations to match their kits, bikes or personalities. An AI enabled fit app utilizes three selfies to measure the countours of their head to provide a slim and comfortable fit. An asset light manufacturing model facilitates domestic production of the three time award winning helmet worn from professional racers to cycling enthusiasts. Co-Founder and CEO Whitman Kwok built products and organizations as a product manager and VP of engineering respectively. His experience across six startups span aerospace, cycling and enterprise software including Guidewire (NYSE: GWRE). With Dave taking the technical lead, he focuses on attracting the top talent, scaling the business and building an ecosystem of partners to accelerate KAV's mission of saving lives through mass customization. David Stoutamire, Co-Founder and CTO, brings a comprehensive systems perspective to KAV, including anatomical metrology, machine learning, architecture, hardware, and materials. Prior to joining KAV, Dave consulted on nuclear reactors and developed the search and YouTube recommendations engines at Google. His ability to solve complex problems that span multiple disciplines is crucial to KAV's multi-disciplinary approach enabling KAV to set new standards in safety and performance. KAV is dedicated to sustainable manufacturing and superior performance, producing helmets that not only provide unmatched protection but also reflect technological advancement and personal expression. By choosing KAV, customers become part of a movement towards safer, more personalized, and environmentally responsible cycling gear. KAV is more than a helmet manufacturer; it is a community of innovators dedicated to setting new standards in safety gear.

Congratulations to the team Roadway on launching! Roadway takes the guesswork out of growth marketing by automating traditional workflows with data, company context and integrations with existing tools. Get on the waitlist at https://lnkd.in/dzabuFh4

Introducing Jamien McCullum, Matt Whitehill, and Leon Gatys! PreemptiveAI is a cutting-edge AI research and development company with a bold mission to extend human life through innovative technology. They specialize in developing foundational AI models that leverage biomedical signals from smartphones and wearable devices to achieve real-time health diagnosis and prediction. With over a decade of experience in digital health, Jamien McCullum, Co-Founder and CEO, is a seasoned entrepreneur and co-founder with multiple successful exits, including the creation of the first HIPAA-secured SMS text platform for physician groups. His extensive background in business development, particularly within the healthcare sector, positions him as a visionary leader driving PreemptiveAI's mission to revolutionize healthcare through AI-driven solutions. Matt Whitehill, Co-Founder and CTO, holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Washington and brings a wealth of expertise in diverse technical domains, from embedded programming and sensors to signal processing and edge computing. With a strong foundation in AI and wearable sensing technology, Matt plays a pivotal role in developing sophisticated AI models that decode complex biomedical signals for enhanced health monitoring and diagnosis. Leon Gatys, Co-Founder and CSO, is an AI researcher focused on enhancing human lives through data-driven technology. He holds a PhD in Machine Learning from the University of Tübingen. Previously, Leon was a research scientist and founding member of the Health AI team at Apple, where he specialized in health-related technologies. Supported by the prestigious Allen Institute for AI, PreemptiveAI's founding team is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of AI in healthcare, paving the way for transformative advancements that have the potential to significantly impact human longevity and well-being.

Introducing Marshall Darr and Kaiza Molina! StretchDollar is a pioneering free platform dedicated to simplifying health benefits for small businesses. By offering a streamlined solution, StretchDollar empowers employers to allocate recurring pre-tax dollars, enable employees to choose their health plans, and manage everything effortlessly through their platform within minutes. This innovative approach aims to provide accessible and affordable health benefits tailored specifically to the needs of small businesses and the people who work for them. Marshall Darr, Co-Founder and CEO, began his journey at Gusto, where he met his Co-Founder, Kaiza Molina. He played a pivotal role in developing Marketing Operations, gaining deep insights into the challenges faced by SMBs. This experience was further honed at Decent, a health insurance startup, where Marshall witnessed firsthand the hurdles small businesses encounter in offering comprehensive health coverage. Motivated to make a difference, Marshall had a vision to democratize access to quality health benefits for all small businesses. With experience at Gusto and Decent, Co-Founder and COO Kaiza Molina gained a profound understanding of the limitations of traditional group health plans for small employers. This ignited her passion to revolutionize health benefits for small businesses. Together with Marshall, Kaiza co-founded StretchDollar to provide a simple and effective solution that empowers small businesses to prioritize their employees' health and well-being. StretchDollar represents a transformative shift in how small businesses approach employee health benefits. With StretchDollar, every small business can now navigate the complexities of health insurance with ease, fostering a workplace environment that values employee welfare and retention.

Congratulations to the team Carbon Collective on the launch of their 2nd ETF! Carbon is an automated investment manager on a mission to solve climate change.

Introducing JD Rocheteau and Jonathan Muschalle! QuoteMachine's sales software uniquely empowers commerce to scale big-ticket and tailored sales experiences that require human interactions, complex payment terms, or special orders. Catering to the intricacies of merchants’ products, services, and workflows, QuoteMachine delivers a seamless and engaging customer experience through its unique concept of microsite. JD Rocheteau, Co-Founder and CEO of QuoteMachine, brings a wealth of experience from the software commerce landscape, notably from his tenure at Lightspeed POS in Product Management. JD co-founded QuoteMachine with a vision to prioritize human relationships in every transaction, empowering salespeople with scalable solutions that drive sales growth and foster lasting customer connections. He possesses a profound understanding of high-touch commerce and aims to set a new standard for the purchase experience, perfectly blending the human touch with the convenience of technology. Jonathan Muschalle, Co-Founder and CTO of QuoteMachine, is not only an expert in cloud technologies but also the architect behind the platform's pivotal innovation—microsites that enable omnichannel experiences. His strategic developments have opened doors for businesses that previously thought omnichannel was beyond their reach. With a background in developing infrastructures for high-growth companies like Beyond the Rack and Lightspeed POS, Jonathan’s contributions have been crucial in transforming QuoteMachine into a tool that empowers salespeople to offer the best purchase experience QuoteMachine is more than just software; it's a movement toward a future where every commerce can provide a personalized, efficient, and delightful buying experience. From efficient quoting and ordering processes to seamless invoicing and payment services, QuoteMachine ensures a delightful customer journey that drives growth in both B2B and B2C settings.