Blue Future Partners’ Post

Excited to unveil our first VC Files: Sophie L. of Oyster Ventures. She transitioned from founder to VC by selling her startup within 6 months of founding. In 2016, she established Oyster Ventures as a solo-GP and has since launched three funds and deployed capital into 80+ startups, with 16 exits (8 from seed to unicorn, 3 from seed to IPO), generating  3xDPI recorded to date under 6 years.  We’ll explore: → 0 to 1 becoming a successful VC → the secrets behind Sophie’s most successful deals → the assets she avoids and more → uncomfortable truths about VC → what’s “hot” on the market And there’s more: You'll get to ask Sophie anything in our live Q&A. Introducing: VC files 📂 R/ Note holder-only events that will break down the information barriers in venture, revealing the secrets and strategies that could give you an edge as a non-professional investor. We may or may not share this event’s edited recording. Some things are meant to be shared only once and only live, so... see you there! Grab Notes to secure the invite https://lnkd.in/gg62PHQB

Honored to be the inaugural installment here and beyond grateful for your support on our journey Giuseppe Stuto Julian Fialkow Sophie Panarese 186 Ventures 🙏 👀 The idiosyncrasy: A #payroll platform for millions of #contractors and first-of-its-kind access to healthcare, tax withholding and financial services. 🌍 The market phenomenon: The pandemic serves as an accelerant for millions of people and businesses wanting more flexibility in the #futureofwork. 📈 The results so far: 30x revenue growth and $1B+ in annualized transaction volume (10x growth) in 3 years. And more to go 🚀 Anthony Mironov Greg Franczyk

Angel investing plays a pivotal role in fueling Chicago's innovation economy, with up to 90% of outside equity for new startups coming from these crucial early-stage investments. This not only underscores the significance of angel capital but also highlights its impact on nurturing the city's burgeoning startup ecosystem. For those intrigued by the potential of angel investing, Lofty Ventures emerges as a valuable resource. Founded by Christopher Deutsch, Lofty Ventures offers educational seminars aimed at demystifying the process for the 'angel curious' and provides a platform for joining investment syndicates, reducing risk while fostering connections within the innovation community. #AngelInvesting #ChicagoInnovation #StartupFunding #InvestorEducation #LoftyVentures"

Most VCs don’t add as much value as they think https://lnkd.in/gKXfFKMZ - 33% of founders said that they felt VCs simply weren’t honest about the expertise they could offer - 65% said VCs missed mark delivering beyond cash  - Female founders rated value-add as twice as important than males - Value-add includes connections to partners, customers, talent, sharing knowledge Lean AI startups are new black get so get grants + angels + perhaps one right VC for pre seed for MVP for initial traction then with CVP after crossing $100K MRR raise seed at 2.5x valuation of pre seed then get to $10M ARR in 2 years with $100M valuation with awesome cap table where VC's own 20% max. Cheers.....Steve AI startup advisor 'force multiplier'  https://lnkd.in/g38mWcs 

Harry Stebbings, the 28-year-old host of *The Twenty Minute VC*, has astoundingly raised $400 million across two new funds, defying the decline in venture capital investments. With global VC funding plummeting, his achievement highlights a strategic shift: by focusing on adding value to startup founders, Stebbings positions himself not just as an investor, but as a crucial partner in their journeys. This success reflects a market trend: while many startups struggle to secure funding, there's immense opportunity for businesses that support them. Whether it’s through mentorship, SaaS tools, or advisory services, those catering to the needs of founders are bound to thrive. In a landscape where competition for capital intensifies, remembering that ultimately, it's about enabling success for others will lead to remarkable outcomes. Kudos to Stebbings for exemplifying this principle and reshaping the VC narrative!

🌱 For pre-seed/seed founders 🌱 The early stage vc markets have changed drastically -- but many founders don't truly understand how or how much things have shifted until its too late or they are deep into the fundraising process already. This recent Allocate pod lifts the veil on the pre-seed/seed 2024 markets. SO MANY GEMS are packed 💎 into the first 20 min, I had to listen twice. Key takeaways from pre-seed VCs I'm a big fan of Jenny Fielding of Everywhere Ventures, Kirby Winfield at Ascend (PNW represent!) & Nate Williams. 💎 The market in one word: 'turbulent' 💎 Fundraising bi-furcation; 2X founder building in AI (rounds take weeks) vs All Others (rounds take up to 6 months). 💎 "Leading VCs" (ie. first check in) are putting in a TON of work - building conviction & then helping founders fill the round. 💎 Up to 5 rounds pre-A; need lower early valuations to enable step ups 💎 Pre-seed entry valuations have corrected to $5-8M 💎 Round sizes have increased at pre-seed & seed for extended runway Many more insights in the full pod here: https://lnkd.in/gYf-DMr6 #venturecapital #preseed

Sunday was ten years since I started Forum Ventures! 🤯 It isn’t often that I stop to appreciate what we have built, as I’m usually heads down focused on building brick by brick. With that said, it has far surpassed what I initially set out to accomplish and I now believe we can build an enduring firm and business that lasts for decades beyond my own career. We’ve gone from a $3.5M first fund and a one person team (me) to $100M+ in AUM, 32 full time people on the team, 500+ portfolio companies, adding 100+ a year now, and 3 cohesive strategies with our Venture Studio, our flagship Accelerator and our Pre-Seed funds. And in my opinion we’ve now built the team, platform, infrastructure and track record to really scale from here. I couldn't be more excited for what's ahead over the next 10 years. It certainly hasn't been up and to the right; and it has taken a village to get us here. I'm incredibly grateful for the folks who believed in me and the strategy back in 2014 when I had no investing track record, many of which are still investing with us to this day. Rowan Trollope, Nick Mehta & Karen Page in particular were the first 3 to agree to invest and more importantly give some of their time to help me get it started. Dave Lambert & Larry Bernstein for being early investors & now major LP's, incredible partners and mentors over the last 10 years. Sean Glass, Allen Gannett & Collin Gutman for being investors and advisors to the fund in the early days. Jim Marshall, Hillary Tyree & Tuan P. who were at SVB at the time and gave a brand new accelerator with a tiny fund free office space & opened their network for helpful introductions. And a big shout out to the people who took a chance and joined the team early, all of whom were instrumental in building the business and early track record (Whitney Sales, Alec Barrett-Wilsdon, Nina Stepanov, Akul Penugonda and others). And the founders who we had the privilege of investing in during the early cohorts like Sunny Manivannan (we recently invested in him again), Michael Furlong (Indio), Sean Thorne (People Data Labs), Krish Ramineni (Fireflies), Kate DeWald (Oncue) & so many more. 🙏 Last but not least, I feel grateful to have Jonah Midanik & James Murphy as General Partners and for all they have done to transform and grow the business over the last 5 years. I'm grateful for newly promoted Partners, Olivia O'Sullivan (Partner & GM of Platform), who has also been instrumental to our growth over the last 5 years & Bocar Dia (Partner & GM of Accelerator) who joined us over 2 years ago full time and has already had a big impact. Additionally, I couldn't be more proud of the incredible team and culture we have all built. We are a humble, hard working group that executes better than any team I've been a part of throughout my career. Onwards and Upwards from here 🚀 Read more about the back story and some key learnings over the years in the blog post linked in the comments below. 👇

Seed VCs are smartly launching 'pro rata' funds to hold their own against the major players during later-stage funding ensuring early backers can keep their seats at the table, benefiting both founders and investors. This strategic move is shaking up the VC scene, proving that size isn't everything in the pursuit of startup success. #VentureCapital #StartupFunding #Innovation

What is the "Seed Crust" startups are having a hard time breaking through? If you didn't get a chance to listen to Rich Maloy (SpringTime Ventures) and Peter Walker (Carta) talk about the current state of the venture capital markets today, I have a link to the recording. It was awesome! Fantastic data and insights. And Rich and Peter make it simple and easy to understand. There are a lot of seed stage companies right now that are trying to break through the Series A barrier. Loved the insights into why this is. They also talked about the various backlogs throughout the market. Also loved the abundance of great advice they shared for founders who are navigating the fundraising environment right now. One of the insights Peter shared was that founders need to keep in mind when raising a round is that investors are taking signals from your current investors. So, it is important to keep your current investors updated and involved. If they don't exercise their pro rata rights or choose not to invest in the next round, this can send a negative signal to other potential investors. "Strong relationships with your existing investors set you up for success." Rich made the point that your existing investors typically know the most about your company, so new investors like to talk to your current investors to find out how you are to work with, what they are excited about, whether they are investing more, etc. He suggested that sending regular updates, staying in touch and asking for input, especially as you're prepping for another round can ways to keep existing investor relationships warm. I have been impressed with Steven Plappert, CEO of Forecastr, in this regard. He religiously sends out a monthly update and consults regularly with our investors (not just those on the Board). If you want a fantastic example of an investor update, get on Steven's company update list. #startups #founders #venturecapital

Fantastic post by Aileen Lee and the team at Cowboy Ventures - a 10 year look back (and look forward) after she coined the industry defining term, "Unicorn". Must read below - it's a gold mine of insights to decipher the nuances of what's going on in venture today, and how it will impact the companies building for tomorrow: 👏 👏 #venturecapital https://lnkd.in/dMwzqcyr