Primary Venture Partners’ Post

Really glad to see the new Boston XChange initiative from Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, and Lauren Holiday launch today. With guidance from smart people like Bill Aulet, Segun Idowu + Malia Lazu. Shirley Leung got the scoop for Boston Globe Media. (See link in first comment.) Here's who it's for: "We’re looking for passionate entrepreneurs with for-profit businesses based in Greater Boston who are using creative industries to make a positive contribution in underserved communities." Up to $100,000 in "no strings attached" grant funding for companies that get into the accelerator, over a three year span. Just two thoughts: 1. Two weeks (today until Aug 15th) is a really short application period for a brand new accelerator. 2. Not taking equity in the companies is an ... interesting choice. It's not clear how much $$$ Brown and the Holidays are putting into Boston XChange (he says "millions" in the article)... and so if they wanted a way to perpetuate the program over years or decades, without relying on future donations, taking equity in participating companies, and working to help some of them become massively successful, would've been a good move. What's your take?

With the end of the year fast approaching, I took the opportunity of reviewing "my numbers" this week. It put a big smile on my face! 😁 👉 We've run Funding Accelerator for four years 💪 We've supported 119 founders 💷 Our graduates have raised over £20 million over four years 💷 Over £10 million has been raised in the last 12 months - despite a challenging funding environment 🎉 We've more than doubled the amount raised this year compared to last year! Across the last four years, 52% of our funded graduates were female founders, 53% were based outside of London and 18% were ethnically diverse founders. #underrepresented #founders Congratulations to all of our graduates who have funded! And to those who are still raising - keep pedalling. You can see what is possible! Raising investment is a team effort. Big thanks must go to the wonderful Focused For Business team and partners. Jenni Bowman, Louise Cummins, Hattie Willis (she/her), Alison Pettitt, Sam Simpson and FounderCatalyst, Lucy Whittington and Ghilaine Chan. Not to mention our wonderful mentors who support the programme. (We've more than 60 so I'll probably get in trouble for "spamming" if I tag you all here - but you know who you are!) I'm not going to hide that there have been times this year when it's felt like hard work - pedalling up an enormous mountain. Raising pre-seed/seed investment in the current environment is definitely not easy - but the numbers show what is possible. Change is starting to happening for underrepresented founders too. It's slow, there is more to do. 2024 is already filling up with exciting developments that should continue to provide greater access to early-stage funding. Bring it on! The next Funding Accelerator starts on 9th January. In the meantime, have a wonderful Christmas. I hope you can take a break and enjoy time with those who give you peace, love and energy for a successful 2024!

🎉We closed our oversubscribed 5502 Fund above the €20m target mark🥳    1.5 years ago we started out with the idea to build a fund that would fill a gap we had observed since we started investing as BackBone Ventures in 2018. While many great funds focus on startups once they have proven product-market fit, founders who are just starting their entrepreneurial journey are often forced to gather smaller angel tickets or join accelerators. Moreover, we felt that many of the best founders we had seen in the past were either 1st or 2nd generation migrants or women who had prevailed in male-dominated environments. But while in the past many great funds and angel syndicates had started to focus on women in tech — pre-seed investments in migrant founders mostly had a charitable character.   So we decided to raise the 5502 Fund: A pre-seed fund that would lead and fill around 50% of the pre-seed round of underrepresented founders and help them, raise the remaining portion of the round. Full focus on founders in Germany & Switzerland with a sector-agnostic approach.   Despite the difficult fundraising environment in 2023 we managed to even surpass our €20m goal and are now fully focused on deploying!   Today we want to take the opportunity and say thank you: ✍🏼 To all the LPs who trusted us and joined our journey and 👫 To the founders of our first eight investments Dais Group GmbH, Kickbite, Fabrikatör, Aepsy, Faircado, liftOS, Proofcheck and adon health. To celebrate our final closing we treated ourselves with a website makeover — we hope you like it: https://www.backbone.vc

Demystifying Silicon Valley's fundraising game: Based on our recent research, Dr Michaela Hruskova and I discuss the differences in fundraising in Silicon Valley vs Berlin. https://lnkd.in/g6zXYUFb

Sharing insights from raising $1M in 8 days We just realized that some of you have never met us in person, so we want to reintroduce ourselves and make sure you know how we can help. The Fundraising Bootcamp was created by Dasha & Nat to leverage their gained experience in Silicon Valley from both investor and founder perspectives to facilitate your fundraising and share fundraising skills. Please, meet Dasha Kroshkina • Raised $5M in venture funding • Techstars NYC and Berkeley SkyDeck alumni • Won 5 international startup competitions, including Seedstars Global Winner ($500k in prize) • Growth mentor in Seedstars • Forbes 30u30 • Resides in Los Angeles You will learn from her: 1. Killer pitching from Dasha who won 5 international startup pitch competitions and $500k as a prize! 2. All the tricks and hacks on how to close fast (like $1M in 8 days) from fundraising experience and lessons from Techstars and Berkeley SkyDeck 3. How to handle fundraising emotionally and deal with fear of failure and shame if you don’t succeed. Ypu can book a free 15-minute consultation to see if we are a good fit for each other to help you succeed in your fundraising process. https://lnkd.in/gY8sxeSQ

Are you coming to our Pitch Clinic tomorrow?🤔 👏You should!👏 Our Pitch Clinics are a friendly and safe environment to get highly impactful feedback on your investment deck from our team of advisors and investors 💻 If your deck is not quite ready, your script is unfinished or if you are just starting out, our experts offer feedback to founders at all stages! Save time and build things correctly the first time around. And if you’re already raising but want to get input on what you are using, you’re welcome to join as well. Open to all female founders - whether you are already fundraising or just starting to think about it. 👏 Join us tomorrow ! https://bit.ly/3LInMym Thursday April 25th 6pm UK / 10am PST Can’t make the it tomorrow? Don’t worry!  Our pitch clinics are bi-monthly! Try one of these upcoming dates or check our website for a session that works in your schedule. 💭 Thursday - May 9th, 5pm UK / 9am PST Tuesday - May 21st, 6pm UK / 10am PST Thursday - June 6th, 5pm UK / 9am PST - - - - - - - - - - - - - … Not quite ready to pitch? 🎧 You'll learn just as much from observing and engaging with the process as you would from actively participating. #Startup #pitchclinic #fundraising #investmenttips #investment #funding #pitching #femalefounders #startupgrowth #womeninbusiness #investmentstrategy #investmentaccelerator #startupsupport⁠ Andrea Sommer Christina Nesheva Caroline Hughes Emma Bell Mariette Ferreira  Erin A. Denise Celeghin Subha Sivaraman Jessica Clucas Viktoria Vrbiniak, MBA, MCMI ChMC Nufar Segal Bareket

Introducing THE GREATER GOOD Digital Media Platform As part of the larger Genesis Group, The Greater Good joins other rapidly growing Genesis entities. Its focus will be on sharing ongoing stories about how Genesis members, portfolio companies, and clients are making a meaningful difference in the world. This new multimedia platform follows the vision of Genesis, initiated by Amiel David Aviman and Ranny Yarom, to facilitate inspiration and innovation while standing testament to the intersection between technological progress and compassion. To find out more about the Greater Good and the wider Genesis Group, see the attached Press Release here - https://lnkd.in/eZnqQWAh Genesis Group, the holding company, includes the following entities: Genesis Business Humanity Club, Genesis BH Digital, the Genesis Friends for Life Global Foundation, Genesis Acceleration Fund, Genesis The Greater Good, and more. Amiel David Aviman Ranny Yarom Steve Denker Cynthia Artin Arti Loftus Clayton Campbell Matthew Vulpis Reece Loftus Genesis Business Humanity Genesis Friends for Life Global Foundation 501(3)(c) Genesis BH Digital #GenesisGroup #GenesisBHClub #GenesisDigital #GenesisFriendsForLifeFoundation #businesshumanity #impactfulphilanthropy #innovationinbusiness #humanitarianinnovations #technologyandhumanity #pressrelease #TheGreaterGoodDigitalMediaPlatform

🤑 I want to publicly thank my family and friends for helping me make my NY Tech Week (TECH WEEK by a16z) event, Founders, Funders, & Fractionals a financial reality. The Chronicles of NY Tech Week, Part 2: To be honest, I almost canceled it. New York rental spaces are pricey, and the money I raised was based on assumptions I thought were solid, leaving no room for error. I learned the hard way never to raise money on just one set of assumptions. After 1.5 months of pitching, I found a reasonably priced venue with great vendor relationships, inexpensive food, and a prime location. I was excited and thought, "This is definitely happening." I spun up a GoFundMe, raised $2,200 in 24 hours from friends and family, and was ready to move ahead the next business day. And then, it fell through for reasons I won’t get into, but it was a tough blow. I realized I had approached this all wrong. This error led to 64% of the event was covered, instead of the intended 100% (or as close to it). 💡 The Lesson: This mistake was a tough one, and even though it worked out in the end, it could have easily gone the opposite way (i.e., poorly). Next time, I will do my homework and follow the advice I give others: Stop, take a step back, and run through a few scenarios to set yourself up for the best outcome. _________________________________________________________________ I’m Ashley. I help early-stage founders in FinTech, Health & Wellness, and Travel to create focus and clarity in their business through product management techniques, so they can achieve market fit and reap its benefits. Founders, Funders, & Fractionals is dedicated to enhancing the startup ecosystem by promoting the strategic use of fractional talent and creating high-ROI experiences through education and networking.

Curious about the impact venture building model and how we drive global impact through local solutions? Join us, Enviu and Fundamental, in our webinar on July 17, 9:30-10:15CST / 17:30-18:15 CEST! In this session Corentin Larue and I will tell more about this innovative approach in the philanthropic and impact field. Here's what we'll cover: 🎲 Impact Venture Studio: Get the scoop on what they are and how they work. 🌍 Development Done Right: Discover how Venture Studios create scalable, self-sustaining solutions, include vulnerable & underrepresented communities. 🚀 Leveling Up Philanthropy with Catalytic Funding: Understand the role catalytic funding plays for redesigning the economy, filling gaps, and creating self-sustaining impact. 💡 Real-Life Examples: Practical insights from Fundamental and Enviu 🤝 Partnerships: Explore different models for partnering with impact venture studios. 📅 Date: Wed, July 17  ⏰ Time: 9:30 AM (CET), 5:30 PM (CEST)  🔗 Register here: https://lnkd.in/e2qS-763 See you there! 🌟 #impact #philanthropy #innovation #venturebuilding Linus Mueller Gigi Mathews Jesse V. Paul van der Linden Sarah Linder Maxime Braun

Cosimo, an exciting online art marketplace connecting emerging artists with collectors, participated in FundingHero's 12-week fundraising accelerator programme in early 2023. Before joining, Cosimo had just completed an initial fundraise and was preparing for their next round. Participating in the accelerator programme seemed like a natural fit to refine their commercial model and enhance their fundraising strategy. Cosimo's primary goal was to fine-tune their commercial model, improving their understanding of the financial side and effectively presenting it to potential investors. John Sewell, founder of Cosimo, had a hugely positive experience in our programme, particularly valuing the opportunity to connect with other founders and the sense of camaraderie within the cohort. He said: "I've been on similar programmes that cost the same, but they didn't provide as much value for money. Jim's experience and hands-on approach has been invaluable." If you'd like to participate in our next cohort and get unique support tailored to your business' needs, then apply for our second cohort here: https://lnkd.in/eb5j3hPN . . . #fundraising #accelerator #Birmingham #founders #support #investors #vcs