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New York-based Inspired Capital recently raised its third venture capital fund. 💸Inspired Capital Fund III with $330 million in capital commitments from institutional investors, including leading endowments, pensions and foundations. 💡 Generalist fund, leading #PreSeed, #Seed, and #SeriesA rounds with cheques from $1M to $15M. Fund III will back between 25 and 30 companies across a range of areas including (i) Digitization of the Industrial Economy (ii) Retooling the Modern Workforce (iii) Monetization Layer of the Internet (iv) Unlocking AI’s Potential (v) Financial Equilibrium in a Volatile Society. 🌍 No specific geographic location. 📈'The firm’s total assets under management are c. $900 million. The VC has amassed a portfolio of more than 50 companies that have gone on to raise a cumulative $1.5 billion in follow-on capital.' 💭 “Venture capital, when properly deployed is actually the most powerful economic engine that the world has ever seen. And as true stewards of venture deployed properly, it is one of the most powerful ways to change the world.” - Alexa von Tobel, managing partner Inspired Capital 🗞️By Christine Hall TechCrunch https://lnkd.in/euyRPFng 👏 For the #AudaciousInvestors unleashing innovation and empowering tomorrow🚀 Alexa von Tobel I Penny Pritzker I Lucy Deland I Mark Batsiyan I Charlotte Ross I Kamran Ali I Chris Brown I Claire Pan I Annie Shapiro I Chris Huether I Team Inspired Capital … #venturecapital #vc #funds #startups #entrepreneurs #funding #tech #ai #entrepreneurship #technology #innovation #fund #venture #usa #newyork

We are excited to announce the initial closing of our second fund! In 2019, we launched session.vc as a founder-led investment platform designed to take a more hands-on approach than traditional venture capital firms. Having spent more than 20 years building startups and serving as board members of high-growth ventures, session.vc was a natural evolution for us. Our approach is centered on an owner-operator mindset, where we are ourselves the largest investors in our funds. Our first fund supports fourteen founder teams, several of which have gone on to secure Seed / Series A follow-on rounds. We continue to work closely with SalesPlaybook, Cerrion, deskbird, Dufour Aerospace, GUURU Solutions, Iona Mind, Jua.ai, Lano, Saporo, SuperDuperDB actively supporting their continued growth. With our latest fund, we are making a deliberate break from the traditional power law game of VC investing, to partner with a growing number of entrepreneurs, who are questioning the conventional venture funding path, which relies on permanent fundraising. "The mantra of these founders is to raise less and build more." Many have achieved initial product market fit and significant traction with minimal cash burn. For them raising capital has become an option, not a requirement. The reason they speak with us is not an urgent financing need. They are looking for an experienced partner, with a track record of successfully scaling business operations and delivering exits - a value proposition which few can offer and where we believe we can make a real difference. Building a broad portfolio of passive investments has always been alien to our owner-operator DNA. Leaving the conventional venture capital factory line will allow us to be more concentrated and devote our full time and attention to a handful of companies, which are in control of their destiny.  If you're a founder seeking active, experienced support to scale your business, let's connect. We ❤️ to build!

How on Earth Does Venture Capital actually work? Are Venture Capitalists all mega- Billionaires ? (No, except for Dan Bowyer) Is VC only for caucasian men from Ivy League universities and Silicon Valley (No) Do you need to spend a lot of money to learn about Venture Capital? (No) What is an LP? (hint: it's not a vinyl record as rapped about by Ice-t) Venture Capital drives a lot of innovation- many of the companies you interact with every single day (including LinkedIN) were able to grow and thrive in part due to the support of VC. So how does it work? Fortunately the Newton Venture Program (supported by London Business School and LocalGlobe) have released a completely free online programme all about Venture Capital foundations. What is the catch? Just one- you need to put in the time to read, reflect, comment and learn. Sign up here and begin your journey into the exciting dynamic world of Alternative Capital: https://lnkd.in/dezSZDY8 Highly recommended. Strategy is Mastery. #strategy #venturecapital #alwaysbelearning

🌟 Venture Capital: My Journey Through the Venture Deals Spring 2024 Course🌟 As a student at the crossroads of curiosity and ambition within the realm of startups and venture capital, I've recently achieved a milestone that I'm eager to share: Completing the Venture Deals Spring 2024 course: This educational journey offered by Techstars and Kauffman Fellows was not just a course; it was an eye-opener that refined my understanding of the venture capital landscape, equipping me with the knowledge and skills to navigate the VCIC (Venture Capital Investment Competition) with confidence. A huge thank you to Elliott Robinson, Miriam Rivera, Nicole Glaros, Jaclyn Freeman Hester and Jeffrey Harbach for their invaluable insights that made this course so impactful. Why Venture Deals: - Comprehensive and Free: It's a rare gem that breaks down the complex venture capital ecosystem into digestible, accessible insights, all at no cost. - Expert Foundations: The course, rooted in Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson's influential work "Venture Deals," provides an in-depth exploration of key venture deal elements, seeking to narrow the knowledge gap between entrepreneurs and investors. - Diverse Perspectives: It covers everything from the dynamics of VC transactions to effective investor engagement, negotiation strategies, and the pivotal aspect of founder wellness. Don’t miss out on this transformative experience. Keep an eye out for the next session! 👉 Sign up for updates and never miss an opportunity to grow: (https://lnkd.in/eFYz55Vu) #VentureCapital #StartupFunding #Entrepreneurship

Pretiosum Ventures x SeedLegals Masterclass: Preparing for Due Diligence, Advice for Founders at Seed & Series A 🔥 RSVP: https://lnkd.in/gMxA8va2 Join us for an interactive event on how to approach due diligence (DD) and data room preparation from a VC lens. The session will cover the core areas every founder should have covered when approaching VC & Fund investors for investment, as shared by the active VC: Pretiosum Ventures. Whether you’re preparing for your institutional raise or if you’re trying to pick up some top tips from experienced deal makers, this one is for you. This webinar is the first in a 3 part series focused on raising from VCs, with participation from active investors. The next webinars will cover how to structure early-stage startup fundraising (April 10th) and understand your start-up's equity compensation and team motivation (May 15th). Topics: 🔸 How to create a data room and what should be included 🔸 What VCs look for when doing due diligence on a startup 🔸 How to stand out from the crowd when approaching VCs 🔸 Top tips on speeding up DD and completing a round efficiently Panelists: Anna Andersson currently leads as the Head of Platform and Chief of Staff at Pretiosum Ventures, where she leverages her background in consulting and platform management to work with the fund portfolio, content, marketing and fundraising. Jonny Seaman is the VC Investor Partnerships Manager at SeedLegals. Through his current role working with investors and 3 years working with pre-seed to Series A+ founders, he’s seen the good, the bad and the ugly of startup investment. With over 200 closed rounds under his belt and £100m+ raised, he’s one of SeedLegals’ most experienced investment experts.

🌴Exceptional Capital: Marell Evans' Journey to VC 🏈 Marell E. Evans, founder of Exceptional Capital, has defied the odds to raise $50 million for his first fund in Miami. His journey from NFL to VC exemplifies the "humble hustler" mentality driving his success. 📈Fund Growth: Exceptional Capital's initial $30M fund has expanded to $50M, despite challenges faced by other emerging VCs in raising capital. "It's tough to be an emerging manager right now, it's tough to build something that's worth." 📝Investment Strategy: The firm focuses on pre-seed and seed-stage startups, leveraging proprietary AI software to identify promising founders and talent. 🏃♂️Personal Journey: Evans transitioned from NFL to a career in technology sales, ultimately finding his passion in venture capital. With a bit of good luck, Evans got a meeting with Ben Horowitz, now the legendary investor at famed venture firm Andreessen Horowitz. 🏦Professional Milestones: Evans gained valuable experience at IBM, Okta, and SoftBank and a firm foundation at the family office of former Facebook and Amazon exec Owen Van Natta, before launching Exceptional Capital. ⏰Market Timing: Evans capitalized on an explosion of new fund managers entering the VC landscape between 2020 and 2022. In 2021, more than 1,800 emerging VCs raised over $180 billion, according to a recent PitchBook, those totals fell dramatically in 2023 — just 637 emerging managers raised new capital of $98 billion. 🤝Strategic Partnerships: Exceptional secured backing from prominent LPs, enabling fund expansion and team growth. Funding included backing from LPs like New Enterprise Associates (NEA), 776 Capital, Lightspeed, and SV Angel, among others. 💰Investment Philosophy: Evans prioritizes foresight over following trends, maintaining discipline in investment decisions, and uses proprietary AI-enabled software to track potential new startup founders at companies like OpenAI and Notion. 📢Founder Recognition: Startup founders appreciate Evans' passion and determination, seeing parallels between his journey and their own. "That same kind of vision and passion that you need to have as a founder to will a company into existence," Cody Coleman of Coactive AI said. 🔮Long-Term Vision: Evans is committed to building upon Exceptional Capital's success, aiming for continued growth and impact in the VC ecosystem with his team Andrew Van Nest as its managing partner, who focuses on talent investing and scouting, chief of staff Melissa Morano Aurigemma, and senior associate Graham Stoddard. ✅ Looking to raise capital for your #VCfund and increase the international pool of your LP #investors?   🤝 Need warm #LP introductions?   📝 Selling #secondaries to increase liquidity?   🧐 Looking for co-investments (Series A/Series B)?   ▶ G+QUANT's link for inquiries and fund decks: https://lnkd.in/gjC_EuTE #VentureCapital #MiamiTech #StartupInvesting #ExceptionalCapital #MarellEvans #Founders #InvestmentStrategy

We are thrilled to announce our twenty first venture fund, KP21, an $825M fund to back early stage companies, and our third select fund, KP Select III, a $1.2 billion fund to back high inflection investments. Since our last fundraise in 2022, the technology industry has evolved dramatically. Companies are achieving economic and societal impact and scale that’s never been imagined before. We believe that we are on the brink of remarkable technology shifts that will transform industries, amplify the power of human ingenuity, and generate significant economic growth. Artificial intelligence has emerged as a fundamental technology that’s catalyzing this transformation and, much like electricity, it’s poised to impact every aspect of our lives – from personal experiences and healthcare, to how we work and how companies are built across all industries. With these new funds, our team’s focus on enterprise software, consumer, healthcare, fintech and hardtech, remains the same. Each domain will be accelerated tremendously by AI. Repeated rote tasks are being quickly automated and offloaded to AI, so that humans can focus on what they do best - higher level reasoning and decision making. Human creativity will be complemented with machine intelligence and pave the way for novel consumer experiences. Industries that have been slower to adopt software, and that require human labor for low level work, like healthcare, legal, finance will see rapid transformation. New experiences and the demands of computation will open up opportunities in hardware and physical infrastructure. Imagination is now the constraining factor of the future of technology. While technology and our industry are changing dramatically, the fundamentals of our approach to venture capital remain the same - venture is an art and a craft that’s grounded in a deep connection with entrepreneurs and all-out effort to help them build history making companies. Since 2022, we have expanded our team to better serve entrepreneurs with the additions of Leigh Marie Braswell, our partner focused on AI, and Everett Randle, our partner leading our growth efforts. We are deeply thankful to all the founders who have partnered with us on this journey so far, and couldn’t be more excited for the future. – Kleiner Perkins Team https://lnkd.in/g7GWrpaH

For the past five months, I’ve been going through VC Lab, the leading venture capital accelerator that helps new VC managers close on capital faster and more efficiently. It’s been a whirlwind of activity and learning. Here are the three major things I’ve learned by participating in the program. ***There’s so much more to VC than just doing deals*** You’re building a firm, not just a fund. You need to position your firm in the best light possible to attract LPs to invest in you, and startups to invest in. You have to model your portfolio construction and ensure your financials are sound. You need to assess and recruit partners - investors, team members, law firms, and others - whom you’ll work with for years or decades. And much more! ***Your Network is Your Net Worth*** VC is probably the most network-driven job in existence. First, new managers will be highly dependent on their first-degree connections in raising their first fund. Your friends, family, and close industry contacts will likely be your first investors, and may intro you to others in their network. And a lot of deal flow will come from your network of other VCs and founders. Strong deal flow is the lifeblood of your fund, and many deals will come from your existing network. VC is 100% based on relationships. ***VC is All About Trust*** Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt once said: "In a networked world, trust is the most important currency." Truer words may never have been spoken. Raising a VC fund is based on trust and the strength of the relationships you have with your LPs: -How much do they trust you to manage their money and act in their best interests? -How confident are they that you understand your industry and will make investments that will provide outsized returns? On a similar note, strong founders will want to work with VCs who have their success in mind: -How much do they trust you to support them through thick and thin? -How confident are they that you can provide value beyond just capital? And both will judge whether they will enjoy working with you for the next few years or decades. Trust is truly the most important currency in VC. Read more about my experience here: https://lnkd.in/e52m9Vm9 If you’re thinking about starting your own VC firm, I highly recommend checking out VC Lab. They are currently accepting applications for Cohort 15, so get to it! https://lnkd.in/ecG7bqhj Let me know if you have any questions about the program or VC in general. Happy to help!

Imagine a world where groundbreaking startups miss their chance for funding simply because the right investor wasn't present. This isn’t just hypothetical; it’s a reality in the often exclusive realm of venture capital. But what if we could change this narrative? A new wave of programs is emerging, aimed at democratizing access to venture capital and reshaping the industry’s future. Initiatives, like Included VC, Allocator One, Baby VC, Newton Program, Kauffman Fellows, and VC Lab, are breaking down barriers and ensuring that the investors of tomorrow reflect the society they aim to transform. By providing the necessary knowledge, networks, and resources, these programs are paving the way for a more inclusive and dynamic venture capital landscape, ultimately ensuring that the next revolutionary startup has a seat at the table. #VentureCapital #StartupSuccess #NextGenInvestors