TRAC.vc

It's so rewarding to see people not only appreciate our MW75 smart headphones but also recognize the innovation and ecosystem we're building. Thank you for the kind words, Steven Aquino! Check out the full article on Forbes here: https://lnkd.in/eXy8Q_rW

I wish it weren’t so, but the adjectives ‘thrilled’ and ‘excited’ are now hopelessly cliche. So, instead, I’ll just say that I am genuinely (and extremely) pleased to share that Fast Company published my article today about TRAC, the Sonoma-based VC Firm. https://lnkd.in/gYSRc4AY

It still felt surreal that Serguei Balanovich and I won HubSpot For Startups's #MillionDollarPitch competition 🏆🏆🏆 at the INBOUND conference even though a full week has passed. The few reasons it felt surreal: 1️⃣ A lot of our product inspiration comes from HubSpot's Reporting application after having used HubSpot at several companies that I worked at. Winning the competition is a great validation for us 📈 2️⃣ I suck at public speaking and stage fright is definitely a thing for me. So pitching my company live to 500+ people for the first time was definitely a mountain to climb. Some say it is #Type2Fun 🚀 3️⃣ Because of (2), this competition was the perfect forcing function for me to be coached and to get better at public speaking. Props to Jane Houghton for spending hours with me. Still not great at it, but small steps are made 👣 3️⃣ All of the finalists are building incredible product. I was thoroughly impressed by each of them after watching their pitch at our rehearsal the day before the competition. #Inbound was an amazing experience for Upsolve AI (YC W24), especially since this is the first-ever conference we've attended as a company. Lastly, my favourite GOAT moments 🐐 of #INBOUND24 were: 1️⃣ Seeing Yamini Rangan, CEO of Hubspot, waltzed in the INBOUND stage and talk about the future of HubSpot and it's product in front of 12000+ audience with rock solid confidence 2️⃣ Serena Williams talked about why she became a #VC and how she is reinventing herself to be a champion in the VC world as well Representation matters and so awesome to see female founders with such high visibility. Huge props and big thank you to HubSpot Ventures as well as Nate Morgan, Kenny Ohata, Melissa Braxton-Rasumoff and Melissa Braxton-Rasumoff again for this incredible experience ❤️ #founders #startups #founderstories #startupjourney #buildinpublic #pitch #launch

NEW: These are 19 best female early-stage investors, according to an AI model called "Moneyball for VC." VC firm TRAC uses its proprietary algorithm to pick all of its investments. A key part of that algorithm is identifying investors that have a remarkable track record of backing future unicorn companies. TRAC calls those investors “SuperForecasters.” Now, TRAC is sharing 19 exceptional female investors who its AI model shows are well on their way to becoming SuperForecasters — including a select few who already are. With Ben Bergman and Samantha Stokes, read the list in Business Insider: https://lnkd.in/efedJg_r

NEW: Like all VC firms, TRAC.vc wants to bet on the best startups. Unlike other VC firms, though, TRAC uses AI to pick every single investment. So, to get into more highly coveted deals, the firm gives founders a piece of its algorithm. After investing, TRAC creates custom AI dashboards for all its portfolio companies, which help the startups more accurately value themselves and find new investors. "The reality is, every single portfolio company will use this when they're thinking about fundraising," TRAC partner Fred Campbell told me. We got an exclusive look at the software TRAC has been building for 10 years, courtesy of its portfolio company Legacy. Check it out in Business Insider: https://lnkd.in/eq7gHyNC

Beware of Investors That CANT invest At my last startup, a VC signed a term sheet and spent months doing due diligence in exclusivity, which prevented us from raising from other VCs. In addition, it made us spend $25k on legal bills. Then....the VC ghosted us. We later learned that the VC never had any money to invest. They were fundraising themselves, only talked to us to include us in their "deal pipeline", so kinda like a reverse ponzi scheme 😡 On the flip side, on another occasion, a VC, told us upfront, "We are fundraising right now, but like what you're doing, let's sign the SAFE, it's quick and simple, and when we have the funds we'll wire it" - and you know what, they did! 💡Founder Advice: This Houdini act of disappearing is very typical of emerging managers, who themselves are actively raising, but still take meetings with founders. Both cases above were emerging managers, however, while the former was deceitful, the latter was honest and direct. During the meeting, always ask "Are you able to actively deploy capital in our timeline?"

I'm thrilled to announce that Novig — the first sports prediction market — is now live in 42 states + DC! Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gyDCyDN4

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