Riley Kaminer’s Post

Database of investors for fundraising in 2024: 1. Michael Houck's List of Pre-Seed and Seed Lead Investors 2. Shai Goldman's VC Fund Database for Early-Stage Startups 3. Shai Goldman's New VC funds at / below $200M in size 4. Yuliya Vorontsov-Bel's List of VC's that require no warm intro You can find the links to these here on my Substack: https://lnkd.in/eQAYyAZA

 'Actually, this year is the very best time to fund a company and start a company'. But actually [in] '24, it's really true.” - Rainer Märkle Check out Anne Sraders Sifted article on VCs' tips for fundraising founders in 2024. #venturecapital

What we read this week: Often, we assume that the future will resemble the past. The New York Times’s Jeff Sommer suggests that no matter the outcome of the election, the markets and economy will trend upwards. Regardless, Sommer points out that it is best to invest for the long-term, and to avoid the temptation to invest like the sky is going to fall: https://lnkd.in/gcgwFuuF   Adding to the trend of non-financiers diving into VC, actor and director Olivia Wilde launched venture firm Proximity Ventures late last year, planning to invest in companies that are in the consumer and enterprise sectors: https://lnkd.in/gKWwprk4   After 10 years, the Female Founders Fund (FFF) has fully returned its US$5.85 million Fund I, positioning it as one of the few diverse-focused funds to do so. Founded in 2014, FFF invests in early-stage female-founded companies like Peanut and Maven, with future gains now set to benefit investors: https://lnkd.in/gGjKZgjv   Contributors: Jenny McLean, Laju Edema   #VC #2024Election #VCFund #FundI #EarlyStage #yycstartups #yyctech

💥 Breaking news! We've exited Believe with a whopping 36x #multiple on our initial investment, totaling €175M. 🎵📈 🚀 France's Biggest VC Exit in a Decade: We are thrilled to announce a landmark event in the history of Ventech: our exit from Believe. Our early-stage investment paid off magnificently, delivering a total return of €175 million for the 12% stake we held, marking the largest VC #exit in France in the past decade with a 36x return. A consortium composed of Denis Ladegaillerie, Founder and CEO of Believe, EQT Group, and TCV, has acquired a block of 71.92% of Believe's capital, including 12% from Ventech. Alain Caffi, (Founding Partner at Ventech & investor in Believe ) and the team have faithfully accompanied Believe from its very early stage to exit as a responsible shareholder and active board member. Jean Bourcereau, Managing Partner at Ventech, highlights, "We are grateful to our investors who understood what's at stake and supported our strategy." 📈 Looking Forward: 💡 New Fund Launched! Continuing the success of our flagship series, the new Ventech VI fund was launched mid-last year and has reached two-thirds of its target size of €225 million. This robust momentum promises another exciting chapter in our journey of fostering groundbreaking tech companies. 🌍 Our European Expansion: From Paris to Berlin, Berlin to Munich, Munich to Helsinki, we continue to grow our presence and impact across Europe. We've recently opened a new office in Stockholm #Sweden, enhancing our ability to manage and support our portfolio across France, the #Dach region and the #Nordics. 🌱 AFI Ventures – Our Booming Early-stage Impact Fund: Our Article 9 fund, AFI Ventures, dedicated to tech startups with a focus on impact, has successfully completed its oversubscribed final closing in  2023. With 1-2 deals being inked monthly, AFI’s portfolio includes “pépites” like Captain Cause, ERS - Ecosystem Restoration Standard, Bon Vivant, MORFO, etc. Charles Fourault 😎 Exclusive article on Business Insider in the comment. 🔍 What’s next? Let's continue to rock the world of tech! #Ventech #VentureCapital #TechInvestment #Believe #OPA #Euronext #DigitalMusic #TenderOffer #BelieveIPO #PtoP #NewFund #Fundraising

🚀✨ Artemis Fund Soars with $36M for Diverse Founders ✨🚀 The Artemis Fund , dedicated to backing underrepresented founders, celebrates the closing of its second fund with a whopping $36 million in capital commitments!💰 🔎Founded in 2019 by Stephanie Campbell, Diana Murakhovskaya, and Leslie Goldman Tepper, Artemis embodies the ethos of its namesake, the Greek goddess known for championing women. 🏹💼 📝Based in Houston and New York, Artemis takes the lead in seed rounds for diverse founders across fintech, commerce, and care sectors. With a portfolio comprising more than 20 companies, all led by female founders, Artemis showcases over 60% leadership from Black, Latinx, or immigrant backgrounds. 🌍💼 🎌Artemis's second fund is bolstered by a prestigious group of backers including Bank of America, Bmo Bank of Montreal, Nuveen, a TIAA company, Nuveen’s Churchill Asset Management, Texas Capital Bank, Amazon, The Rockwell Fund, and Ballentine Partners, LLC. 🤝💰 Stephanie Campbell emphasizes the fund's mission, stating, "We really wanted to make sure that our LPs aligned with our long-term goal of backing diverse founders. There’s a lot of pressure on that. We also want to grow with them." 📈✨ 🧐With a focus on both financial returns and societal impact, Artemis is committed to moving the funding needle for female and diverse founders, addressing barriers faced by overlooked businesses, communities, and families. 💡🌟 Despite challenges in VC funding for diverse demographics, Artemis remains steadfast, with Fund I companies showing promising progress and revenue growth. The fund's portfolio boasts investments in transformative startups like Naborforce, HopSkipDrive, Upgrade, and Work & Mother. 💼💡 📢As Artemis embarks on its journey with Fund II, the firm remains dedicated to tackling societal challenges head-on, investing in innovative solutions to address the pressing needs of underserved communities, driving positive change for a brighter future. ✨🌍 ✅ Looking to raise capital for your #fund and increase the international pool of your LP #investors?   🤝 Need warm #LP introductions?   📝 Selling #secondaries to increase liquidity?   🧐 Looking for co-investments?   ▶ G+QUANT's link for inquiries and fund decks: https://lnkd.in/gjC_EuTE #ArtemisFund #DiverseFounders #VentureCapital #Innovation #Empowerment #StartupEcosystem #DiversityandInclusion #SocietalImpact

Summary: Boston-based Flint Capital has closed its third fund at $160 million, with a unique strategy of attracting IT entrepreneurs as limited partner investors. The firm has also seen success in investing in Europe and Israel with a focus on US expansion. Despite a challenging fundraising market, Flint Capital was able to secure funds in 18 months. Key Takeaways: Flint Capital closed its third fund at $160 million, four times larger than the initial fund in 2013. The firm's success can be attributed to its strategy of targeting IT entrepreneurs as limited partner investors. Investments in Europe and Israel, with a focus on US expansion, have contributed to Flint Capital's success. Counter arguments: The current fundraising market is challenging, with established firms taking a larger share of the pie. Flint Capital faced difficulties in converting initial conversations into limited partnerships during the fundraising process. #venturecapital #fundraising #vc

There’s much to say about solo GP funds as a strategy. The beauty of this approach lies in its simplicity and flexibility. With a solo GP fund, raising enormous amounts of capital is unnecessary. Instead of deploying $30 million, you can make a significant impact with just $5 million, fundamentally changing the deployment strategy. Our special sauce at Co Ventures is blending collaboration and insight. We leverage the law of small numbers by optimizing for the internal rate of return (IRR). This strategy allows us to collaborate on deals, join forces with big funds, and access opportunities that would be out of reach if we focused solely on leading rounds. For a deeper dive into our solo GP advantage and the fund's focus on pre-seed investments, check out my “studio on the road” conversation with Innovation Bay's Ian Gardiner ( ⏰ Timestamp 48:00). In this episode, you’ll also hear insights from Karl Durrance, Kate Mason, PhD, John McDuling, and Kevin Jochelson. #venturecapital #investing #tech #startups #fundraising #angelinvesting

We’re happy to announce that we have raised an initial US$300M for our third growth fund, i.e. Inovia Growth Fund III, a $450M target fund led by returning LP Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ). We are extremely grateful to all our returning and new LPs for their trust and commitment. “The Canadian tech ecosystem is extremely rich in opportunities but also in tech awareness,” said Inovia Partner Chris Arsenault. “While it has matured over the past decade, building some major software businesses, it is underserved and undervalued on a capital basis, including at the growth stage.” For all the details about the Fund and Inovia's growth strategy, read the full article: https://lnkd.in/eeAstJ-g --- Nous sommes heureux d'annoncer que nous avons levé un montant initial de 300 M$ US pour notre troisième fonds de croissance, soit Inovia Growth Fund III, un fonds cible de 450 M$ dirigé par la Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), un commanditaire de longue date. Nous sommes extrêmement reconnaissants à tous nos anciens et nouveaux commanditaires pour leur confiance et leur engagement.  « L'écosystème technologique canadien est extrêmement riche en possibilités, mais aussi en ce qui concerne la sensibilité à la technologie », a déclaré Chris Arsenault, associé chez Inovia. « Bien qu'il ait mûri au cours de la dernière décennie, créant d'importantes entreprises de logiciels, il est mal desservi et sous-évalué sur le plan du capital, y compris à l'étape de la croissance. » Pour plus de détails sur le fonds et la stratégie de croissance d'Inovia, consultez l'article complet:  https://lnkd.in/eeAstJ-g

Resurge Growth Partners to the rescue 🛟 London-based Resurge Growth Partners is raising a €120M investment fund to turn around “VC orphans” a term for portfolio companies whose growth has stagnated and they’re no longer attractive to VCs. These companies, often overlooked by VCs and too small for PE, can now find a new path with Resurge's "venture equity" approach. The base-case goal for Resurge’s companies is to help them grow until they're attractive enough for a PE exit. But Oren Peleg, cofounder, says the deals he really likes are those where a company is building something valuable enough to attract a strategic buyer — which could mean better returns for the startup’s investors. Read more from Anne Sraders, Senior Reporter at Sifted below 👇 #VentureCapital #PrivateEquity #StartupGrowth

How we raised our $1.4M seed round (and a step-by-step guide to help you raise yours) 👇 1️⃣ 👼 Get your round moving with angels The bulk of your seed round (80%+) will come from 1-3 institutional VCs. VCs, however, will rarely be your first check. The more traction your round has, the more confident a VC will be to invest. To find angels, tap into friends, family, and your network. We leveraged the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras alumni network in SF to collect several $10k-$30k checks, totalling over $100k. We got our first VC investment only after raising from angels. 2️⃣ 🗓 Get meetings with VCs booked Now that your round has traction, talk to VCs. NEVER send cold emails. That makes you look desperate, and VCs only invest in ‘hot’ companies. The BEST way to get investor meetings is through intros from their portfolio companies. Many of our Y Combinator batch companies introduced us to their investors! We also got our angels to introduce us to funds. Now’s also a good time to reach back out to investors who reached out when you weren’t raising. Usually, never ask an investor who has passed on you for intros. Only accept intros if the investor can't possibly invest in your company even if they wanted to, eg: they only do Series B+ rounds, they don’t invest in your space, etc. 3️⃣👩💼 Pitch! Make your pitch conversational. It should NOT be a one-sided presentation. Your slide deck should be <15 mins. Communicate that your market is large. Sometimes tweaks in positioning can make a big difference. For eg, expanding our target audience from just customer success to an all-in-one video & docs tool for CS, Product Marketing and L&D led to much more interest. At the end of the pitch, there should be clear next steps. Ask them straight up: “Are you going to invest?” If they say no, ask them why and answer their concerns. After the pitch meeting, follow up regularly. Send updates on new customers you’ve closed and new money you’ve raised. Build a sense of FOMO amongst VCs. 4️⃣ 🤝 Take money from whoever offers it to you Do NOT act smart and wait to hear back from the ‘top’ VCs before accepting offers on the table. Don’t try to schedule the meetings such that the “best” funds are first and the “worse” ones are later. Take money from whoever gives it to you. You want to wrap this up quickly and get back to the things that matter - building and closing customers. That said, a VC is going to be a long-term partner in your startup. If you want to learn more about their working style, you can ask them for referrals to portcos. 5️⃣ 🏃♂️ Keep at it As technical founders, we love building and talking to users. Running behind investors can be the least enjoyable part of your startup. Still, stick to it. If you can wrap this up now, you won’t have to come back for an extension round later. Even if it takes 2-3 months, get the job done. I'm happy to take any comments or questions on this strategy below! #funding #startups