V2:VC’s Post

What an incredible few days at the Angel Capital Association annual summit held in Columbus, Ohio. Over 400 people in the room and lots of incredible conversations and insights were had over the 3 days. Key takeaways were: * If 10% of your network is doing 90% of the work, then when 1/3 of them retire we all lose - we need to set the expectation around getting involved when you join * We need to be able to sell what we are buying - we need to sell to the later round funders * AI is going to help make companies exit more quickly, but it will also make companies obsolete more quickly * The top 3 drivers of successful exits over 95 deals were 1) experienced and effective CEO (79%), 2) engaged and aligned board (82%) and 3) timing! timing! timing! (74%) * The top 3 drivers of unsuccessful exits were the inverse of the above! * Good boards add value to their companies, if you have a good board you have a chance of success, if you have a bad board you have a recipe for disaster * The first round you are investing in the dream. The second round you are investing in the reality * When thinking about investors, founders need to ask WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHY * Companies rarely fail because of the technology, they fail because of the business system * Investors with less knowledge always ask the most important questions * Don't wait, just start investing in deep tech. You will only get good at this by doing it. Remember 1/2 of early stage companies fail no matter what. So get on with it. * Angel groups have the worst business model ever, getting free services from angels! Incentivise your members to undertake the heavy lifting and get involved Huge congratulations to Ronald Weissman, Pat Gouhin and the entire Angel Capital Association board and team for an incredible summit! We have left inspired! Looking forward to Colorado in April next year! Michelle Cole Monique Lau

🎉 Announcement!!! Seed Angel Forum is foregoing our typical quarterly pitch event in June in honor of Techstars Boulder Accelerator’s final Demo Day! CALLING LOCAL INVESTORS! Join us on June 6th for snacks & libations to pregame the final Techstars Boulder Demo Day and celebrate the Colorado startup ecosystem! We’re holding a Seed Angel Forum Reunion for Local Accredited Investors and prior Seed Angel Forum CEO/Founders. Investors: sign up to attend if you are an accredited investor and have made at least three early-stage investments in the last 12 months… and if you want to connect with some great founders and investors! Founders: you can RSVP if you’ve previously pitched at any Seed Angel Forum event over the past ten years. If you’re interested in pitching your company at a future event, please look to our Q3 and Q4 events to apply to pitch. RSVP: https://lu.ma/saf24q2

Ohio VC Fest '24 returns to Cleveland on September 17-18. 📅 Back for a second year in a row, the leading venture capital networking summit in Ohio will once again bring together the top investors, visionary founders, community partners and corporate leaders from across the Midwest and beyond. 📊 The inaugural event in 2023 was a resounding success, drawing more than 550 attendees, including 200+ founders and 75+ investors from over 130 cities, 21 states and 4 countries and more than 1,200 1:1 Venture Connection meetings. 🚀 Building on the momentum of the inaugural event, Ohio VC Fest '24 is coming back bigger, better and bolder with a larger audience, new programming and even more innovative technologies on demo. 🏈 This year, the event will also feature a SportsTech track with panels, round table discussions, especially curated 1:1 meetings and networking opportunities for VCs, Corporates, Sports Teams and Startups to establish meaningful connections. 🎟️ You can now pre-register for Ohio VC Fest '24 before general admission opens on July 10. Early-bird registration comes with the added benefit of having your brand included in event promotions at last year's rates. By securing your spot now, you can help ensure Ohio VC Fest attracts startups that align with your investment thesis. 💡 Don't miss this. Pre-register now on https://lnkd.in/gz9dUGJF JumpStart Inc. | JumpStart Ventures #VentureCapital #SportsTech #SportsBiz

15 CEOs attended the Alumni Ventures’ CEO Dinner in Austin last week. Matt Blumberg, CEO of Bolster, and Joshua Baer, CEO of Capital Factory, led a discussion about critical aspects of the CEOs work and life. Here are just three of many takeaways: •Treat your board as an asset by discussing strategic topics rather than spending much time on reporting. • Make sure you’re spending time on self-care – time spent sleeping, exercising, with friends and family, or on hobbies makes you more productive at work. • CEO peer groups are incredibly valuable forums for problem-solving and venting. We’d like to thank Bolster, an executive talent search platform for startups, and Seba Dominguez and Adam Lyons from Builders, a service providing nearshoring developers, for sponsoring the event. The other attendees were: Aneesh Dhawan, CEO of Knit, Anthony Gerardi CEO Insiteflow, Arun Nair, CEO of OpsLab, Ethan Baehrend, CEO of Creative 3D Technologies, Jacob Rosenbloom, CEO of Levee, Jon Carter, CEO of Prado, Monica Landers, CEO of StoryFit, Simon Tankel, CEO of Heading Health, Taylor Chartier, CEO of Modicus Prime, Will Coleman, CEO of Alto, Yash M. Patel, CEO of Legion, and Jin Kim of Alumni Ventures.

🔥 Tomorrow marks the beginning of TechChill, and it's all starting with a bang at Investor Day powered by Practica Capital! Prepare yourself for an exclusive event tailored just for investors, packed with insightful content and prime networking opportunities. Here's what's in store: ➡️ Arvydas Bloze will be sharing some insights on 'Baltic Startup Ecosystem in a Broader Context'. Following this, brace yourselves for an engaging panel discussion: ➡️ Investor Talks: A Reality Check on VC Investment Trends Introducing Our Esteemed Panelists: 🌟 Wouter Vorstman, representing Piton Capital 🌟 Luisa Frank, representing Burda Principal Investments 🌟 Peter Sandberg, representing Nordic Secondary Fund This A-Team will delve into the latest trends shaping VC investments, providing a reality check you won't want to miss! And hey, founders - make sure to secure your spot for a chat with our team. We want to hear your story. See you in vibrant Riga! 🇱🇻

💼 Why should you be curious about #VentureStudios? 🌟 Dive into the World of Venture Studios with Our CEO and Chief Nobody, Mark S. McNally! 🌐💼 Nobody Studios is spearheading a journey into the dynamic world of Venture Studios, a groundbreaking emerging asset class that's reshaping the future of entrepreneurship and investment. 🌱💡 1️⃣ Innovation Hubs: Venture Studios are at the forefront of innovation, fostering the creation of disruptive startups and driving industry transformation. 2️⃣ Collaborative Ecosystems: Explore the power of collaborative ecosystems where diverse talents converge to ideate, iterate, and launch successful ventures. 3️⃣ Risk Mitigation: Witness a unique approach to risk mitigation as Venture Studios provide strategic support, resources, and expertise to mitigate challenges faced by early-stage startups. 4️⃣ Nobody's Vision: Join Mark on this journey as he shares insights, strategies, and a vision for the future of Venture Studios that can reshape industries. 💬 Let's Connect and Learn Together! Have you delved into Venture Studios or are you curious to explore this transformative asset class? Share your thoughts, questions, or experiences below! 🚀🌐 Embrace the future of innovation with us! 🌍💼✨ #VentureStudios #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #Investment #FutureLeaders #LinkedInCommunity

💫 We’re counting down the days to Inspire on 22-23 May in Sydney. This is our full community, future-facing, hallmark event. This 2-day event is a moment for the full breadth of our ecosystem - founders, angel and VC investors, ecosystem supports and partners - to gather for a crowdsourced snapshot of what the next 5-10 years might hold for the industry. We’re thrilled to show you a glimpse of what the one and only, Craig Blair, Partner & Co-Founder at Airtree, is going to share insight on. 🎤 Speaker: Craig Blair, Partner & Co-Founder, Airtree 💭 Session Title: The Future of Venture Capital is... 💡 Session Description:  The future of venture capital is tied to the future of tech–and ANZ is at a particularly exciting inflection point right now. Craig will delve into the numbers, attributes and mechanisms we know the ecosystem needs in the future and get the crystal ball out to ruminate on some of the changes we could see. We can’t wait! More info on the event can be found here: https://bit.ly/inspirelp Inspire is a members-only event however we have opened up a limited number of spots for those outside the community. Check the comments to express your interest to attend. 

And the winner of this year’s Pitching Competition that gets a spot in the Fundraising Bootcamp is… … You’ll have to wait for this one for a while longer. 😉 But now that we’re on the topic, THE winner is getting one hell of a package from our exclusive Podim Program Partner: ↳ A spot in Europe's #1 investor readiness program, worth over US$10,000. Fundraising is a process and Francois Mazoudier can help you master it. Just yesterday, our startups attended a two-hour 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 Bootcamp session that helped them polish their pitch for the upcoming Demo Day and their future investor talks. They got a great peek into the mind of someone who knows how to succeed: what investors expect to see, how to stand out,  finding their hook to an investors' brain,  how to simplify and crystalize the message, how to present financials, and so much more! One thing remains certain: whoever is the winner will have embarked on a journey to success in the world of fundraising and beyond.

"Having an investor that aligns with your vision is crucial. They understand your journey and can support you through thick and thin, even bringing you to your next round." - Raymond H'ng , Group CEO & Co - Founders of Athletes For Athletes Holdings Catch up with our short My First Investment series this month! We share invaluable lessons of startup ecosystems key players on perseverance and finding the right investor fit!

Meet the first roundtable roster at TC Early Stage 2024 You won’t person to hunt precise hard oregon spell precise acold to prosecute successful compelling conversations adjacent period astatine TechCrunch Early Stage 2024. One of the astir fashionable attractions astatine Early Stage are roundtables. These expert-led, small-group conversations absorption connected a circumstantial taxable designed to inform, animate and assistance you physique a amended business. Plus, they’re a large spot to link with radical who stock your interests. Can you accidental network? Review the archetypal 6 roundtables beneath (more coming soon!), and you tin cheque retired the remainder of the docket here. Pro tip: Buy your Early Bird walk today, and prevention up to $200. Passes spell up adjacent week! Let’s get this speech started, shall we? Starting roundtable roster astatine Early Stage 2024 Adapt & Thrive: Mastering the Chameleon Mindset With Christopher Dube (CIO, Prepare 4 VC) and Jason Kraus (CEO, Prepare 4 VC). Sponsored by Prepare 4 VC. Never Raise VC Money (and however to support much of your institution if you do) With Jake Cohen (Partner, Vinyl Capital & VP, Klaviyo) The Ins and Outs of Seed Funding Sponsored by Latham & Watkins LLP. Exiting via M&A: What Acquirers Are Looking for and How You Can Prepare for a Successful Acquisition With Dana Louie (Senior Manager, Corporate Development, HubSpot). Grabbing Investors’ Attention successful a Competitive Market: Tips for Early-Stage Startups With Sergey Gribov (Partner, Flint Capital). PR 101 for Founders: Branding Strategies to Win Over Investors, Customers and Partners With Edith Yeung (General Partner, Race Capital). And this is conscionable the start! We’ve got plentifulness of roundtables coming your mode and volition denote them shortly. Want to come? Book your early-bird walk to TC Early Stage 2024 close now earlier prices spell up connected March 31. Save $200 and link with 1,000 early-stage founders and investors. Interested successful sponsoring the event? Fill retired this form and TechCrunch volition beryllium successful touch. https://ift.tt/NnvTKf3