PIN (Power in Numbers)

What do Airbnb, Reddit, and Stripe have in common? Paul Graham’s Y Combinator. "𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯. 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦? 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺." Here’s Paul Graham's advice on good vs great work 👇 1. Start with curiosity. 2. Choose the right field. 3. Embrace ambitious projects. 4. Learn by doing. 5. Consistency compounds. 6. Follow your own taste. 7. Overcome procrastination. 8. Be bold, not perfect. 📌 Are you a founder doing great work? You might be interested in PIN's community investing platform. https://lnkd.in/dJckyWBr

These 16 startups were funded by top VCs this week: 1. BVNK – A platform enabling businesses to send, receive, store, and convert stablecoins and fiat currencies ($50M with Tiger Global joining) 2. Parafin – A platform that provides financial products for SMBs selling on platforms like Amazon, DoorDash, and TikTok Shop ($100M with Redpoint, Ribbit Capital, and Thrive Capital joining) 3. Anatomy Financial – AI-powered tools automating financial tasks for healthcare organizations ($19M with Lightspeed joining) 4. Basis – Automation of accounting tasks for accounting firms ($34M with Khosla Ventures joining) 5. Nuon – Enables software companies to deploy applications into customers' cloud accounts ($16.5M with Redpoint Ventures and Alumni Ventures participating) 6. Haber– AI-powered automation for manufacturers to reduce water and energy use ($38M with Accel and Manufacturing Dive joining) 7. Databricks – Cloud-based platform for storing, managing, and analyzing large data sets ($9.5B with Thrive Capital, a16z, and Insight Parners participating) 8. One – Walmart spinout offering installment loans and payments services ($300M led by Ribbit Capital) 9. Verkada – Cloud-based security systems integrating video surveillance, alarms, and more ($200M+ with General Catalyst joining) 10. Zest AI – AI software for assessing borrower creditworthiness ($200M with Insight Partners joining ) 11. Current – Mobile banking services targeting accessible financial products ($30M with a16z participating ) 12. Maisa AI – AI-powered system for tasks like supply chain analysis and credit approval ($5M with Village Global joining) 13. Finny – Identifies and engages potential clients for financial advisors using public data ($4.3M with Y Combinator participating) 14. Orqa FPV – Advanced drone technology and FPV equipment for consumer and defense markets ($6.1M with Lightspeed Venture Partners participating) 15. Nuitée | Enabling all companies to build travel solutions – APIs for integrating hotel booking features into platforms ($48M with Accel joining) 16. Bureau – a platform that helps businesses verify customer identities and prevent fraud during online transactions ($30 million with Village Global joining) Congrats to all these startups on their impressive milestones! 🚀 #fundraisingnews #startups #fundingrounds #venturecapital #VC #investors

DoorDash isn’t just delivering food. It’s delivering founders. Imagine being part of the DoorDash Mafia, where alumni have already raised $65M, no small feat. What fueled DoorDash’s ability to inspire this level of entrepreneurial talent? We recently chatted to Jeremy Terman, one of DoorDash's earliest employees. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐃𝐚𝐬𝐡: → Hands-on problem-solving that empowered everyone to own outcomes. → A culture of intense work ethic and customer obsession. → Opportunities sparked by the company’s life-changing IPO. Just a few of the standout companies by former alumni: 📌 Ergo Founder: Claire Stepanek Capital Raised: $1.5M 📌 TruckSmarter Founder: Daniel Kao Capital Raised: $94M 📌 Raspberry AI Founder: Cheryl Liu Capital Raised: $4.5M 📌 Glazier Founder: Amanda Georgescu Capital Raised: $3.5M 📌 Maza Founder: Robbie Figueroa Capital Raised: $8M Check out the full interview with Jeremy below, where we explore: ✨ What made DoorDash’s culture unique. ✨ Lessons from scaling DoorDash city by city. ✨ How DoorDash alumni are transforming industries. Article: https://lnkd.in/diW3Vmvv Founded by Tony Xu, Andy Fang, Stanley Tang, and Evan Moore, DoorDash has revolutionized local commerce & and its alumni are now shaping the future. ❗Quick plug: Are you a DoorDash Mafia member looking to bring your community together to invest in cutting-edge startups (and enjoy potential profits and perks)? Or are you part of another vibrant group that could be a powerhouse for startup investing? Sign up to PIN: https://www.getpin.xyz/ #startups #doordash #alumni #techmafia #VC #founders #angelinvesting

This week: the DoorDash Mafia - 29 companies founded, $65M raised. Big news: tomorrow we're sharing an exclusive interview with one of DoorDash's first employees, stay tuned! 🔥

Which fintechs could be the next PayPal Mafia? Shai Goldman did a little digging. To qualify for this list, startups had to be: - a privately held fintech startup as of Dec 2024 - that has been in existence for at least 4 years - AND ex employees had to have raised at least $1M in funding for their new startup. Here are the results + number of startup founders that came out of these companies: Stripe – 96 Consensys – 70 Klarna – 47 Revolut – 47 Addepar – 30 Plaid – 28 Brex – 27 Gemini – 26 N26 – 25 Nubank – 20 Gusto – 19 Monzo Bank – 19 Carta – 18 Better – 16 wefox – 15 Circle – 13 AngelList– 12 Chime– 11 Razorpay – 11 Checkout.com – 11 Pleo – 10 Deel – 8 eToro – 8 Payoneer – 8 Justworks– 8 Chainalysis – 7 Rippling – 6 Navan – 5 Bolt– 5 Pilot.com – 4 Remitly – 4 Socure – 4 Airwallex– 4 Rapyd – 4 Ramp– 4 Fireblocks – 2 Tipalti – 2 Digital Currency Group – 2 Lithic – 1 Deserve – 1 Mercury – 0 Rho – 0 Unit – 0 Alloy – 0 Who do you think is going to be the next big mafia form this list? PS: Check out our weekly newsletter for investors https://lnkd.in/dJckyWBr

Top 10 VC firms by investment-to-exit ratio: 1. GV (Google Ventures) – 23.86% 2. Bessemer Venture Partners – 22.92% 3. Insight Partners – 22.68% 4. Index Ventures – 21.91% 5. Sequoia Capital – 21.28% 6. Accel – 19.77% 7. Lightspeed – 18.79% 8. General Catalyst – 16.82% 9. Andreessen Horowitz – 16.71% 10. GGV Capital – 15.14% #VC #Startups #Investing

These 25 startups just raised $2M–$600M this week from top-tier VCs—here’s what they do and where they’re based: 1. Angitia Biopharmaceuticals – treatments for musculoskeletal diseases like osteoporosis (Woodland Hills, CA) →Raised $120M 2. Speak – AI-powered app for practicing and improving new languages (San Francisco, CA) →Raised $78M 3. Raptor Maps – monitoring and analytics for solar farms (Boston, MA) →Raised $35M 4. Astrix Security – securing non-human identities like API keys and machine credentials (Tel Aviv / New York) →Raised $45M 5. Albert Invent – platform to accelerate product development for scientists (Oakland, CA) →Raised $22.5M 6. NeuBird.ai – AI-driven tool for IT monitoring and troubleshooting (San Francisco, CA) →Raised $22.5M 7. Stainless – generates software development kits from API specs in multiple languages (New York, NY) →Raised $25M 8. RapidCanvas – no-code platform for building AI-powered applications (Austin, TX) →Raised $16M 9. Sauron – advanced home security systems with autonomous robots (San Francisco, CA) →Raised $18M. 10. Lava – cash borrowing with Bitcoin collateral (New York, NY) →Raised $10M 11. Nowadays (YC S23) – AI-powered platform for automating corporate event planning (San Francisco, CA) →Raised $2M 12. Sekai – AI-driven platform for creating and sharing interactive stories (Palo Alto, CA) →Raised $3.1M 13. Zimi (YC S24)– cross-border e-commerce platform for businesses in emerging markets (New York, NY) →Raised $2M 14. Crusoe Energy – clean energy-powered data centers for AI workloads (Denver, CO / San Francisco, CA) →Raised $600M 15. Fleet Space Technologies– real-time mineral prospecting platform from space (Adelaide, Australia) →Raised $100M 16. one.bio – natural ingredients from plants for gut health and immunity (Sacramento, CA) →Raised $27M 17. Gigs – API platform for branded mobile phone and data plans (San Francisco, CA) →Raised $73M 18. Upvest – API platform for integrating stocks, ETFs, and crypto into fintech apps (Berlin, Germany) →Raised $104.7M 19. ANYbotics – autonomous, four-legged robots for industrial inspections (Zürich, Switzerland) →Raised $60M 20. Sublime Security – email security platform to detect and block sophisticated threats (Washington, DC) →Raised $60M 21. Terradot – CO2 capture through crushed basalt on agricultural land (San Francisco, CA) Raised $58.2M 22. Vapi – platform for creating and deploying AI-powered voice agents (San Francisco, CA) →Raised $20M 23. Cofactr – streamlining procurement and logistics for electronic components (New York, NY) →Raised $17.2M 24. Lumen Orbit (YC S24)– space-based data centers to train large AI models (Redmond, WA) →Raised $11M 25. Reveal Technology– AI-powered tools for military and security with real-time 3D mapping (Bozeman, MT) →Raised $11.2M Congrats to all these newly funded startups!

What do you get when you combine open-source culture with radical ownership? 64 startups. $1.4 billion raised. GitHub's alumni group is a founder powerhouse. What fueled GitHub’s ability to churn out this level of entrepreneurial talent? Zach Holman, GitHub's 9th employee, attributes it to: → A flat structure that empowered ownership. → Encouragement of side projects that sparked innovation. → A strong culture of experimentation and creativity. Some standouts include: 📌 poolside (Jason Warner) GitHub Role: CTO Capital Raised: $526M 📌 Sentry (Chris Jennings) GitHub Role: Product Designer Capital Raised: $217M 📌 Oxide Computer Company (Jessie Frazelle) GitHub Role: Staff Software Engineer Capital Raised: $94M 📌 Baubap (Conrad Wilkinson Schwarz) GitHub Role: Projects and Tutorials Capital Raised: $143.6M In our recent interview with Zach, we dive into: ✨ What made GitHub's culture unique. ✨ Lessons from scaling GitHub from 9 to 300 employees. ✨ How GitHub’s DNA inspires its alumni to build transformative companies. Founded by Tom Preston-Werner, Chris Wanstrath, PJ Hyett , and Scott Chacon, GitHub has made its mark. Link in the comments. PS: Also check out our newsletter on startups & investing. https://lnkd.in/dJckyWBr #github #githubmafia #githubalumni #entrepreneurs #techmafia

Beth Turner, General Partner at SV Angel, is a key figure in early-stage venture capital. 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞: 🚀 Airbnb (valued at $86 billion) 🚀 Pinterest (valued at $21 billion) 🚀 Dropbox (valued at $10 billion) 🚀 Coinbase (valued at $8 billion) 🚀 Flexport (valued at $1 billion) 🚀 Slack (acquired for $27 billion) 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧: - Pre-seed, Seed - $100K-$500K - US/Canada - Biotech, Deep Tech, Blockchain, Fintech, Education, Enterprise, and more. Those are some 🔥 investments right there.

15 years ago, Uber hit the scene. Today, it’s valued at $150B. In 2010, Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp struggled to secure $1.25M for their seed round & were turned down many times. A $10,000 check back then? It would be worth millions today. A few angels decided to take a chance. Here are some of Uber's most notable seed round investors & what their initial investments grew to: