Forum Ventures

Congratulations to to Kara LeBlanc and MedReddie for closing its oversubscribed pre-seed round with support from BDC’s #ThriveLab and The Firehood. MedReddie is using AI to transform medical technology procurement and improve health system outcomes. Earlier this year, they were one of only three Canadian startups that earned a spot in Google's North American Women Founders accelerator program. #AI #PortcoRaise #healthtech

We are thrilled to announce that Orbiit has been acquired by Hivebrite, the leading online community management platform. ��� We are beyond grateful to our team, customers, investors, and community for the support along the way. Together we have pioneered and built something special at Orbiit, and now it’s time to accelerate our work on a greater scale than ever before! This acquisition marks a significant milestone in our journey to revolutionize community engagement through AI-powered matching. What this means for Orbiit: ✨ Broader reach: joining forces with Hivebrite allows us to bring our innovative AI-matching technology to a wider audience. 🚀 Enhanced capabilities: our technology will integrate seamlessly with Hivebrite’s platform, offering even more powerful tools for building vibrant, goal-driven communities. 💡Continued innovation: together, we will drive forward with our mission to create meaningful connections at scale, backed by the robust infrastructure and expertise of Hivebrite. We are incredibly excited about the future and the new possibilities this collaboration brings. Thank you and welcome to an exciting new chapter with Hivebrite! Learn more: https://lnkd.in/ejcZPCNe #Orbiit #Hivebrite #Acquisition #CommunityEngagement #AI #Innovation

Funding in education doesn't always fully trickle down to the people who matter the most -- the STUDENTS. The planning and management of educational funding can be time consuming and tedious, resulting in less of that funding making an impact. We are super excited to be building with Jeremy Bhatia and the Eddi team through our Venture Studio, where together, we can ensure that every funding dollar can go towards driving student outcomes. 🎒 📚

Congratulations to Deana Anglin, PhD from Talawa.ai for being named on the 2024 100 Most Influential Women in Silicon Valley by the Silicon Valley Business Journal. We'e super proud to be building with you!

July Coffee meetups coming to a city near you! ☕ Come meet our team and other VCs and Founders in your city to connect over coffee and a sweet treat to chat about all things early-stage B2B SaaS 🥐 NYC with Olivia O'Sullivan: https://lu.ma/pza3dyce Chicago with Neal Sarraf: https://lu.ma/ik283g1n Toronto with Maggie Bolt: https://lu.ma/gjf2vkl5 Boston with Derek Bugley and Glasswing Ventures: https://lu.ma/78bfapaf

Last week we announced the winner of our inaugural NYC Founder-First Investor Award (Nick Adams, Managing Partner at Differential Ventures), and next week we’re going to celebrate! 🎉 This award recognizes an investor who exemplifies commitment, support, and advocacy for founders, helping them thrive in the competitive startup ecosystem. Join us for a delicious breakfast 🥐 with fellow founders, investors, and operators in NYC to celebrate the finalists. There will be a panel discussion that looks at what a "founder-first" means and effective strategies for founders to identify and assess founder-first investors. 📆 Date: July 10th 📍 Location: NYC (Register to See Address) 🕘 Time: 8:30am - 11am EDT Whether you're a founder, investor, or operator, we would love you to join us for a morning of networking and collaboration. RSVP here: https://lu.ma/xtktav7q We look forward to seeing you there! #NYCStartups #VC #Founders #Investors #Networking #TechCommunity

For the last 7 years, Forum Ventures has been headquartered in New York City. We've seen it transform from an emerging startup scene to a world-class tech hub. Thousands of startups call New York City home, and over the last two-decades some of the world’s best investors have set up shop here. But it’s not just capital that transformed Silicon Alley. This ecosystem has taken off because of the support that investors have provided to the founders they’ve backed.  As a founder-first investor, we see the impact that a supportive VC partner can have, especially at the early stages of building a company. So we want to rally around our fellow founder-first investors by launching our inaugural Founder First Award in our home city of NYC. Our goal is to celebrate the investors making a real difference and help connect founders to the most useful investor on their cap-table. Founders across NYC nominated an investor on their cap table who has been instrumental in their entrepreneurial journey - via more than just capital. Today, we’re excited to launch the finalists and winner of this award! Congratulations finalists Lauren Reeves, Principal at MGV.VC, Richard Odior, Investor at Zeal Capital Partners, Lisa Burton O'Toole, PhD, VP at HearstLab, and the winner of the NYC Founder-First award Nick Adams, Managing Partner Differential Ventures! See the full list of 25 founder-first Investors here: https://lnkd.in/gwRVC5Ff

When one of our portfolio founders gets nominated for an award, and it's as prestigious as VentureBeat's WomeninAI award, we want to shout it to the world. Congratulations Kathy Leake for your nomination in the category of Responsibility and Ethics of AI! This award will honor a woman who demonstrates exemplary leadership and progress in the growing hot topic of responsible AI. We're rooting for you, obviously :)

Naomi Goez and Michael Cardamone recently wrote an article for MedCity News highlighting the critical areas where healthtech founders should concentrate to drive innovation and financial health in healthcare systems. There is an urgent need for health systems to develop efficient strategies that balance improved patient outcomes with financial health — here are three areas to focus on. 👩⚕️ Staff Management: Focus on solutions that enhance nurse staffing flexibility and improve retention through innovative staffing marketplaces and investment in clinical education. ⚙ Operational Efficiency: Develop AI-driven tools that streamline hospital operations, reducing patient stay lengths and improving care coordination. 🤒 Access to Care: Expand telehealth and hybrid care models to increase healthcare accessibility, particularly in underserved areas, enhancing patient outcomes and hospital revenue. #Healthtech startups that address these pillars effectively, and enable a balance between financial sustainability and exceptional patient outcomes will become extremely attractive when selling into to healthcare systems. https://lnkd.in/g37Fq8b8

Today we launched a new website, designed by our very own product guru, Teija Bean. Our new elevated brand reflects the leaps and bounds our firm and team have come since our original rebrand in 2021. The new design does an incredible job of bringing our founder-first approach to life online, and we're excited for what this update represents for us going forward –– more growth, more incredible portfolio & studio founders, an even higher quality of post-investment support, and more category-defining B2B SaaS businesses started, built and scaled. 👉 Check it out: www.forumvc.com #FounderFirst #B2BSaaS