Polkastarter’s Post

Top-3 web3 investors you should follow on LinkedIn if you’re fundraising for your early-stage startup Usually, VCs are inactive on LinkedIn, but these guys provide a lot of valuable content. Their posts can help you to understand how VCs make the decisions and succeed with your next round. Tobias Bauer Brent Fulfer Darràch (Dara) Campbell A big shoutout to you! Let me know in the comments, who you follow for fundraising tips.

Can’t keep calm because we are meeting all of you lovely folks today! 🎊 Join us if you haven’t already as we celebrate our Series A fundraiser with our community, friends, fellow founders, and investors. 💙 An evening filled with fun & insightful conversations where you can network with tech enthusiasts, ask your questions, and share about your startup/ideas with hundreds of others. Plus, We are excited to spill all the tea on our journey so far 👀 ☕   Come on, register if you haven’t already! (Link in the comments) Gorish Aggarwal | Nishit Asnani | Soumyarka Mondal | Mehak Aggarwal

NY Tech Week in the books (for me), and I have to say, the quality of the events and the content was even better than I expected. Very insightful thoughts and details versus the generic talking points you usually get. The founders I met are doing such interesting things too. I can't wait to see their success and am happy to grow my community of friends in the tech industry locally and globally! Here are some important takeaways I took from the events: - Focus your messaging and product on how to get people their time back - If an investor passes, ask for warm intros to others that would possibly be interested to expand the doors opened to you - You need to start fundraising 6-8 months before you actually need the money - Find a way to get an intro from a founder an investor has already invested in to get through the door - AI could create a wealth gap of $43 million between white and black Americans over the next 20 years if the proper educational and training programs aren't put into place #nytechweek #startup #founders

You know it's going to be a stellar year when you kick things off with Cash Allred during Utah Tech Week! Join the Silicon Slopes SaaS Chapter and Antler on Tuesday, January 23rd from 11:30 - 1:30 for networking, lunch, and learning. During the event, Cash will pull back the curtain on why startups often move too slowly, what is going wrong, and why investors walk, including: - The many nuanced things you need to know about cofounders on day zero - How to vet, split equity, keep on the same page, etc - The ways you break your cap table before raising money, and how to avoid that  - How to get talent, advisors, employees, etc without making a mess  - How to show real traction months faster without $$$, and how that momentum is key to a pre-seed or seed round  - Talk about the real reasons why pre-seed and seed-stage VCs are telling you no when they say "come back with more traction" If you already follow Cash, you know you can't miss this event. If not, I hight suggest you connect with him. You will be glad you did! Use the link in the comments to get registered!

What's an unusual task you've done when you were still "hacking it together"? 🥸 This is me yesterday improvising bartending and setup man for our event. I think an Italian real estate mogul once said an investor surprised him when he had to help out with the building works, so he pretended to be his "cousin". Everyone probably has silly stories like these. Isn't it why it's so much fun to build a biz from scratch? HAPPY FRIDAY FELLOW EMERGING VCs and FOUNDERS. 🏋🏻♂️ PS: The event was an amazing fireside chat full of lessons learned and great networking between Deeptech founders and investors. Next week I'll publish the key ones, so do follow and keep an eye out 👀 #deeptech #familyoffices #limitedpartners #venturecapital #angelinvesting - - - I'm a soloVC building my fund & community in public. 📢 On a mission to build a new kind of tech-driven VC firm at the intersection of Venture, Science and Community 👩🔬 👨💻 👫 💹 ❤️ & Follow+ to keep up with the journey 🛣️

How Sarah found qualified investors for her Web3 project with Blubird's EBIW: 👩💻 Scenario: Sarah leads a promising Web3 startup, ready to launch with a strong pitch deck, clear vesting schedule, and dedicated team. Despite her preparation, she struggles to find qualified investors for early fundraising. 😤 Pain Point: Sarah needs investors who understand Web3 and can offer more than just capital. Her limited network hinders her ability to showcase her project, slowing momentum and missing potential partnerships and funding opportunities. ✅ Solution: Discovering Blubird is a breakthrough for Sarah. By getting her project listed in Blubird's Early Bird Investment Window, she gains visibility among a curated community of Web3 investors. This accelerates awareness and opens doors to strategic connections, boosting her project's momentum.

Hey startup founders, need help with your pitch deck? We are stoked to announce our super useful event in partnership with Launch Deck where you will have a unique opportunity to have your pitch deck reviewed. 💥What Investors Want to See in Your Deck - Startup Fundraising Guide Date: Feb 22, 2024 Time: 17:30-20:00 Location: Haos Community Space Register: https://shorturl.at/fjsuJ Join us to delve deeper into what over 100 VCs, Angel Investors, and Accelerators want to see in your pitch deck. 🔍What to Expect: - Get real-world advice and strategies to take your pitch deck from good to stellar - Learn the key elements that make your pitch stand out in a crowded market - Discover advanced content and design tips to enhance your presentation - Participate in a hands-on pitch deck review for practical insights - Engage in a comprehensive Q&A session for personalized advice - Network with fellow founders and industry experts 🔥You have a unique opportunity to get your deck reviewed by Launch Deck founders - don’t forget to submit it via the registration form.🔥

The Thiel Fellowship is contrarian at not just one but three levels 🤯 1. You don’t need a college degree for success as an entrepreneur 2. You don’t need years of experience to succeed as an entrepreneur 3. You don’t need a cofounder to succeed as an entrepreneur The fellowship is given to bright young individuals to just drop out of college and go do their thing. Even the world’s top VCs still try to apply rules like degree, years of experience or presence of a cofounder, when judging if an entrepreneur can quickly ship something that people want or not 🤷🏽♂️ I don’t think these rules apply. Sure you need a team, you need to talk to customers etc but more than all that you need to be determined to succeed. Time for setting up a VC fund which invests like the Thiel Fellowship gives out money. Incidentally if they did take equity, they might have been the top VC firm today. Here’s Richie McIlroy ‘s rejection letter, pulled from X / Twitter for being a solo founder. I think he is going to succeed big with Cap 🚀

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and StartupOS are once again uniting to present a remarkable pitch event hosted at the SVB Experience Center in the heart of San Francisco on February 27, 2024. This event is not just about entrepreneurship; it’s a celebration of diversity, innovation, and a tribute to #BlackHistoryMonth. Exclusively open to #earlystagestartups, this pitch competition aims to identify and support emerging founders from underrepresented groups, including Women, Black, or Latinx entrepreneurs, who are building companies with a meaningful impact. **Prize breakdown** Each of the top 5 startups will receive: $1,000 stipend towards your travel and accommodations Award of $4,000 Pitch Day in San Francisco, CA on February 27, 2024 **Day of the event** 1st Place = Additional $15k 2nd Place = Additional $12k 3rd Place = Additional $8k Winners will be announced on Wednesday, Feb 28th! **Eligibility Criteria** - Silicon Valley Bank and StartupOS sponsored Pitch Days are open exclusively to early-stage startup teams. Our pitch competition looks to discover and support emerging segments (Women, Black or Latinx) founders building impactful companies. - The startup must be in its #earlystage (pre-seed or seed) in external funding. - All members of the startup team must be 18 years of age or older at the time of entry. - The startup can target any sector or industry and should have a viable product or service (has potential for underlying IP as you scale) that is already venture-backed and/or venture backable. - Startups must be based and operating in the United States. - Startups must be incorporated to apply for the event. Tosh E. Susan Solinsky Anita Darden Gardyne Cheyne Stennis Kwame Ulmer Derek Banyard, MD, MS, MBA Equalize Startups Morag Grassie Michelle McQueen #equalize2024 Natalie Buford-Young Springboard Enterprises Colette Ellis Ayse McCracken Jessica Shepherd, MD, MBA, FACOG MedtechWOMEN WBL (Women Business Leaders of the US Health Care Industry Foundation) Women In Bio - Engage. Educate. Empower. Bakar Labs HITLAB Jerry Antimano Stan Kachnowski PHD MPA Kyle Kaniecki Judith Sheft Monika Athwal Pavita Howe

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and StartupOS are once again uniting to present a remarkable pitch event hosted at the SVB Experience Center in the heart of San Francisco on February 27, 2024. This event is not just about entrepreneurship; it’s a celebration of diversity, innovation, and a tribute to #BlackHistoryMonth. **Prize breakdown** Each of the top 5 startups will receive: $1,000 stipend towards your travel and accommodations Award of $4,000 Pitch Day in San Francisco, CA on February 27, 2024 **Day of the event** 1st Place = Additional $15k 2nd Place = Additional $12k 3rd Place = Additional $8k Winners will be announced on Wednesday, Feb 28th! **Eligibility Criteria** - Silicon Valley Bank and StartupOS sponsored Pitch Days are open exclusively to early-stage startup teams. Our pitch competition looks to discover and support emerging segments (Women, Black or Latinx) founders building impactful companies. - The startup must be in its #earlystage (pre-seed or seed) in external funding. - All members of the startup team must be 18 years of age or older at the time of entry. - The startup can target any sector or industry and should have a viable product or service (has potential for underlying IP as you scale) that is already venture-backed and/or venture backable. - Startups must be based and operating in the United States. - Startups must be incorporated to apply for the event. With thanks to Pooja Majmudar, PhD for the caption (thanks friend) Karen Toste Jeremy R. Lisa Hoover Sharon Marichalar Tni Newhoff Sara Wilson and so many more!!