Inspired Capital’s Post

Earlier this summer, I shared the exciting news of Space VC’s Fund II. Today, I’m excited to reveal a few big updates & details: 💰 We closed additional capital & increased the size of our Fund II 🏭 We have expanded beyond just Space & Defense 💵 We are investing significantly more capital per startup 🗒 More concrete details about our strategy moving forward

“A lot of investors are driven by heat, versus being driven by true innovation,” There is so much truth in this sentence. This mindset makes things very challenging for founders with physical products and consumer goods. Physical products are not in fashion. On several occasions, I was advised to include a tech aspect to the vision I have of Nyfasi to make it easier to raise. The heat factor also influences the stage at which you can raise. For example, consumer goods founders become investable once their startups are revenue-generating. Founders in hot fields have a higher chance of raising at the idea stage. Terri Burns's mindset is refreshing!

Day 4 of fundraising in public: I spoke to over 10 early stage investors yesterday and this is what I've learnt: 1. We are down-playing ourselves by calling ourselves a sales tool. We are creating new tech, new LLMs designed to change the way we interact with our computers and we need to make that the core of our business. 2. We need to narrow our GTM strategy. When a pre-seed investor is asking for our GTM strategy they are really trying to answer the question "where is my money going?". 3. The reason why pre-seed funds are asking for traction is because of LP pressure. VCs are being treated like startups by LPs. LPs are waiting to see fund performance before investing. Bonus: Kraft ventures's Lainy Painter Singh gave an amazing presentation that gave us a really strong insider scoop into the mind's of our decision makers. Sales leaders are very concerned about the efficiency of their sales orgs as they scale, we need to figure out a way to show quick & direct ROI to sales leaders using rhetora.ai. Finally, founders matter now more than ever. I've been getting a lot of feedback from founders liking the series and finding it inspiring. A big thank you to everyone supporting. A support system is crucial to staying sane. Big shoutout to Aliou BA, Federico Ken Kawashima and Fernando Corral for being an amazing friends and world-class founders. Psst investors, they are raising too ☝

❗ VCs looking for the next big opportunity, it's time to set your sights on Indiana.❗ Why Indiana? Operating here means lower overheads without compromising on talent, thanks to a steady stream of graduates from top-tier universities like Purdue and IU. This ecosystem is ripe with innovative startups harnessing Midwest work ethics to drive technological advancements, while the supportive local government creates an environment that's as welcoming as it is conducive to growth. And let's talk about community. Indiana's tightly-knit networks foster collaboration rather than cutthroat competition. When you invest in an Indiana startup, you invest in a culture of genuine partnership and shared success. If you want to come check it out, attending TechPoint's annual Venture Connect event is the most efficient way for you to do so. See you there on June 6! https://lnkd.in/dMuUMr_g #VentureCapital #IndianaTech #Innovation #StartupInvesting

With some time on our hands, we’ve launched a little project tooearly with a single and quite simple idea in-mind: personalised help for promising first-time founders. There is an abundance of resources online, but not enough 1:1 feedback, materials revision, as well as hands-on and community support. After working as a first-ticket/pre-seed investor, I’ve noticed how many stellar individuals out there are a little unsure when it comes to navigating the founding and fundraising journey (from ideation, to validating the hypotheses, speaking to the right customers, building your fundraising OS and raising VC funding), especially as first-time founders. If you’re looking to build something game-changing, let’s speak. Besides support, we will invite VCs to Investment Committees whenever we see actual winners inside the community to give them a kick-start on their raising journey. !!P.S. We have a 30% discount for the first 20 people who join. OMG!! Little disclaimer: This platform by no means suggest that everyone should raise from VCs or glorifies it (as it’s a tough journey), but this should help you figure out the best trajectory for your idea, and if the VC trajectory is indeed the right one for you, after some months, you should be ready to go out there and start speaking to investors (not stay with us forever, only if you wish to 😉 ). Martynas Cepas - a partner in crime 🙌

Hello 👋 I wish you a prosperous new year! Happy to announce that Angels Radar has officially resumed for the year, today; Monday, January 8, 2024. Major Expectations for Q1, 2024. • Product Launch - Beta Launch of the rADAR web application. • Streamlined Connections - More Transparent Investor-Startup Connection. • Partnership Ecosystem - An ecosystem where startups can collaborate and foster strategic partnerships. • Micro Raise: A micro fund by Angels Radar that would write the first check ($25k-$100k). • Content Marketing: A Founder Series, Investors Series and Monthly User Newsletters and Updates. • Update to our Investment Service Agreement: An updated investment service agreement detailing our terms, conditions, and policies.

#Founders, gearing up for fundraising this autumn? 🍂 It’s a different game out there. VCs are back from the summer lull, inboxes are packed, and the bar is higher than ever. Most VCs have no patience for the unprepared. One key insight from Anne Sraders: Be ready for deeper due diligence — post-summer, investors are laser-focused on your financials, customer acquisition costs, and runway. 📊 Knowing your numbers inside out is non-negotiable. 💪 Check out the rest of her must-know tips below: https://lnkd.in/gp3GGaeK #startupdevelopment

Join on Wednesday to find out when and how you should be preparing for your Series A, from a KPI and financial perspective - the most important round to get right in the fundraising lifecycle 🚀

Founders, don’t forget— you’re in the driver’s seat. Investors may not always have the right answers, but they often act like they do. Many play the “take it or leave it” game with confident one-size-fits-all suggestions and offers. Especially once you reach Series A and beyond, flexibility often evaporates. Accelerators are no different: “Here’s what we offer, and that’s it.” It can seem like they’re focused on their mold, not your vision. At Honors Fund, we get that building something exceptional means feeling good about your choices every step of the way. That’s why we offer options, not ultimatums. For example, we’ve offered founders varying check sizes during their seed-stage— agreeing on an $8M post-money valuation because we believed in their vision. We then provided funding within a flexible range of $800k to $1.4M, allowing them to bring in other value-adding investors. To ensure they had the best options, we also gave them 30 days to explore other potential funders before finalizing the amount with us. This flexibility is part of how we provide the context you need to ask the big questions about your venture. While we’ll share our thoughts and reasoning, we empower you to make the final call. If that resonates, let’s talk 🙂

Inside-Led Rounds: A Founder's Friend or Foe? 🤔 (Part II) In Part I of this series, we explored the concept of inside-led rounds and why they can be a "win-win" for investors and startups in favorable market conditions. Now we're diving into the flip side: the risks founders should be aware of when considering such rounds. High VC ownership can backfire when a company needs bridge funding. Investors, often holding preferred shares, face pressure to fund large sums. The implications? Potential tensions, priority dilemmas, and limited funding options. So, what can founders do to mitigate these risks? Find out from Rebecca Mitchem, CFA on Forbes: https://lnkd.in/gecG4PJm