Alexandra Riccomini

Super helpful article and accompanying doc with a #Startup #Equity Calculator to determine the equity for early hires, thanks to Pear VC head of talent Matt Birnbaum! Thanks for sharing Pejman Nozad! 🙏🏼 You can read more here How to structure startup equity for early hires: https://lnkd.in/ggmpT5-Y Google Doc: https://lnkd.in/gjsvths6

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this is my favorite blog post in describing the process of pattern matching that VCs use to evaluate fund-returning opportunities: in search of narrative violations. a narrative violation is a contrarian take against conventional wisdom. it is an intentional disregard of the wisdom of the crowds in favor of ideas that are just crazy enough that they might work. the best venture deals have been ones where it wasn't an oversubscribed round; it didn't fall into the secular trends of the market cycle; it was an unpopular opinion that inadvertently led to category creation; and contributed a significant portion of DPI to LPs. all of these narrative violations seem to have 3 things in common: outlier founding teams, a positive inflection in market timing, and an ability to anticipate widespread product adoption in the mid-to-long-term time horizons since company inception. pls pls pls have a read - you won't regret it :)

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Want a front-row seat to the frontier of tech? We’ve got the role (or two) for you! We’re expanding our frontier-tech team at Blackbird by hiring a Frontier Tech Investments Associate and Foundry Fellows! Got questions? We've got answers... 1️⃣ What are the roles? 🧪 Associate = a full-time VC investment gig in our Blackbird Investments team, working directly with me. We’re looking for someone with a science and/or engineering background and more curiosity than they can handle. You’ll grow your own investment brand and practice, support our portfolio founders, and will help build Foundry, our early-stage frontier-tech accelerator. ✨ Foundry Fellow = a casual/contract gig in our Blackbird Investments team, ~15h per week for 3 months. The Fellowship is ideal for PhD students and ECRs who want to learn more about startups and VC. You’ll go deep on emerging areas relevant to your expertise (or curiosity!), get a front-row seat to groundbreaking companies in those areas, build out your non-academic network, and develop a solid writing practice. 2️⃣ Why are you hiring? We love frontier tech, and we’re ready to grow our team. 3️⃣ Wow, it’s so great that you’re starting to look at deep tech! Look, we get it: we don’t make a lot of noise about our frontier tech investing. Buuuut we’ve been deep-tech investors since we backed Tim Kentley-Klay to found Zoox back in 2014—we’ve been on incredible journeys with PsiQuantum (building the world's first utility-scale quantum computer right here in Australia!), Inventia Life Science (transforming drug discovery with high-fidelity cell models), Remedy Robotics (surgical robots for remote endovascular procedures), Opto Biosystems (minimally-invasive neural implants to treat cancer), and more. We believe that frontier technologies, and great frontier-tech investing, will be part of the solutions to the greatest problems humanity faces today. 4️⃣ When do applications close? May 31st at 11:59pm AEST. 5️⃣ I have more questions! I’m sure you do! Clare Birch and I are hosting an AMA to answer any and all questions about these roles. Want to know what a week in the life of our team looks like? What’s keeping us up at night? What our ideal candidate looks like? Come along and find out - registration link in the comments 👇 Apply for these roles: Associate - https://lnkd.in/gCfj4EUJ Foundry Fellowships - https://lnkd.in/gj6ATZVZ If you know anyone that we should meet, send me their details! Cameron Elise Ben Andrew Robin Joseph Adelaide James Olivia Lucinda Raghav Jesse Christie Mohamed Tom Amee Pablo Haya Loong Hon Joshua Benjamin Megan Harry Denzil Matthew Diana Daniel Tom Deanna Justin Amar Lilly Stone Thomas

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Sharing one of the valuable things I learned from super-lawyer Brian Gordon in his webinar "Key Legal Issues for Early Stage Companies" today: I asked Brian during Q&A: "What are the biggest mistakes that early stage entrepreneurs make that lead to legal problems?" Brian's insights: "Having a founder who isn't committed. The founder group is like a marriage. And if it doesn't work out with one of the founders, it's basically like a founder divorce, and that can be hard. The biggest mistake is not building in procedures, such as for vesting. Make sure that in order to get X% each founder is worth if the company is successful, that they have to put in the right amount of time." Extending that, my best advice in choosing co-founders, based on my own experience in business: 1) Look for a good match. Choose wisely and your startup life can be blissful (I'm grateful that I've had good experiences in this regard). Choose poorly and it can be difficult and expensive to undo. 2) Practical and tactical: choose co-founders who not only have complementary technical/business skills, but who also have shared values and who have good conflict resolution skills. 3) Then communicate openly. Use good human relations in working with each other. Resolve conflicts in a constructive way, and early while they are small, before they become larger and more difficult. Finally, I've worked with Brian Gordon a couple of times. He's a business attorney who I respect. I've been impressed with how he's given back to the Atlanta startup community over the years. Enthusiastically recommend.

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Great data for #founders: “Back in yesteryear (circa 2016), startup founders would maybe do a small #angel round using the SAFE and then quickly jump on the priced equity track. ‌ Those days are long gone. ‌ In the current market, the #SAFE is the preferred financing mechanism for essentially all rounds that raise under $3 million. There is an estuary where SAFE meets priced from $2M-$3M raised which I think reflects investor preference more than anything else. ‌ SAFE rounds that raise under $1 million do so without side letters, by and large. But the bigger SAFE rounds are now accompanied by #sideletters in the majority of cases. Founders, read those carefully! MFN, pro rata, information rights - these are important terms to be aware of, if not negotiated. ‌ Interesting to note we are 10 years on from the beginning of the SAFE era…I wonder if there’s another financing innovation on the horizon?” Credit: Peter Walker @ Carta He’s right on side letters. And as for another financing innovation - see my post yesterday on my proposed “SAFE Preferred”! Let’s do this 😎 #DWProf

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Just wrapped up an insightful few days at Legal Innovators California, focusing on AI/LLM in legaltech. Key takeaways: - AI is poised to disrupt the legal practice imminently. - Growing interest in automating routine tasks like SaaS contracts and NDAs. - Cyborg solutions, integrating humans for quality control, are being launched in legal services today - RAG is intriguing but not foolproof for precision in legal matters (very different from creating marketing copy for TikTok) I'm excited about the concept of autonomous agents negotiating contracts and streamlining core issues for human attention - a game-changer! Looking forward to more developments in this space! Lauren Bonner Jonathan Jetmundsen Juristat #LegalTech #AI #Innovation #LegalInnovatorsCalifornia

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When I sat down to prepare for my podcast with Brian Liu, founder of LegalZoom, I noticed a recurring theme as I researched and wrote down the questions: Access to legal support. All the questions that came out onto that Google Doc were somehow related to helping people get better access to legal support, whether through technology, innovative business structures, or advocating for change. "Why don't we call this the 'Access to Justice' episode," I suggested to Brian. Turns out, he had a bone to pick with that term: it's interpreted as simply encouraging more pro bono work, which doesn't do justice (no pun intended) to the core matter – equal access to the law. He eventually offered another phrase which captures the spirit of what we cover in this episode, and which ended up as its title: Democratizing the Law. And so, here we are!  Dropping Episode 11 of the founder memo podcast by Corpora, covering an array of topics, including: * How legaltech has evolved over the past 25 years * The legaltech scene in the UK vs. U.S. * The U.S. legal system, legal education, and its impact on access to justice * Alternative business structures – effective in practice or only in theory? * Petition calling on the ABA to drop the term "nonlawyer" * Legal innovation without engaging in unauthorized practice of law * AI and the next 25 years of legaltech Check out the teaser below, and watch the full episode at: https://lnkd.in/dja3dUA8 Happy viewing! *** Brian Liu is the founder of LegalZoom.com. He served as CEO of the company for the first 7 years and remained as Chairman of the Board until 2018. Now, he’s onto his next legaltech venture – Overture.law, an attorney-to-attorney referral platform that aims to become the Ticketmaster of law.

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Introducing Stephan Little, a pioneer in entrepreneurship, investment, and mergers and acquisitions, who will be joining the AI Panel at the California Investment Forum in Anaheim, CA, on May 8-11. Steve's journey as a serial entrepreneur began at a young age, and he has since scaled six startups to private nine-figure acquisitions and raised over $2 billion in startup and growth funding for businesses across various industries. As the founder and managing director of Zero Limits Ventures and Zero Limits Capital, Steve has become renowned for generating accelerated value growth and delivering extraordinary acquisition value multiples for his portfolio companies and clients. With a keen eye for unique opportunities and a track record of identifying untapped potential, Steve has mastered the art of spotting valuation growth where others may not. In this introduction video, Steve highlighted the transformative power of AI in three distinct areas. Firstly, he touched on the creation and development of AI and generative tools, which are reshaping industries. Secondly, he delved into AI's practical applications within enterprises, emphasizing how integrating AI can dramatically enhance productivity and growth, ultimately increasing value for entrepreneurs. The third area Steve discussed was the middle ground of AI implementation, which presents an exciting opportunity for companies lacking in-house expertise. This gap in the market suggests a burgeoning demand for external AI knowledge and solutions, which can rapidly propel a company forward. AI is accelerating at an extraordinary pace and significantly impacting market dynamics. As an "older statesman" in the tech world, Steve expressed his excitement about being part of this "big bubble" of innovation. Join us at the California Investment Forum to hear Steve's insights and expertise on AI deployment, bridging the gap between generic AI models and task-specific enterprise applications. Learn how we can harness the power of AI to drive competitiveness, efficiency, and growth, improve productivity, and enhance business values in the next decade. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from one of the industry's most respected visionaries and game-changers. #AI #CIF Daniel Sieu Darlene Bryant (Chiu)

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I've long been an advocate of getting more people to invest in startups, but aware that uneducated investors are not good for the ecosystem. 🤔 That's why I love the current efforts to educate and activate a new population of investors! In particular, I'm a huge fan of Hustle Fund 's Angel Squad 😍 , that are committed to developing an ecosystem of informed investors and evangelizing angel investing! 💸 Early stage investing can be a true win/win when done right and should be available and understandable to more folks! https://lnkd.in/gXsbsN_i #angelinvesting #venturecapital #startups #founders #TheFoundersForge

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🌱 For pre-seed/seed founders 🌱 The early stage vc markets have changed drastically -- but many founders don't truly understand how or how much things have shifted until its too late or they are deep into the fundraising process already. This recent Allocate pod lifts the veil on the pre-seed/seed 2024 markets. SO MANY GEMS are packed 💎 into the first 20 min, I had to listen twice. Key takeaways from pre-seed VCs I'm a big fan of Jenny Fielding of Everywhere Ventures, Kirby Winfield at Ascend (PNW represent!) & Nate Williams. 💎 The market in one word: 'turbulent' 💎 Fundraising bi-furcation; 2X founder building in AI (rounds take weeks) vs All Others (rounds take up to 6 months). 💎 "Leading VCs" (ie. first check in) are putting in a TON of work - building conviction & then helping founders fill the round. 💎 Up to 5 rounds pre-A; need lower early valuations to enable step ups 💎 Pre-seed entry valuations have corrected to $5-8M 💎 Round sizes have increased at pre-seed & seed for extended runway Many more insights in the full pod here: https://lnkd.in/gYf-DMr6 #venturecapital #preseed

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I hope you'll join me on June 13th where I’ll be presenting on the topic of “How to Change No to Yes in Contract Negotiations” for the @ContractNerds community. This is a topic that I love, and I'm excited to discuss it with my terrific co-panelists.   What you'll learn: ✔️ Winning strategies to change a “no” to a “yes” during a complex or urgent negotiation, particularly where you don’t have as much leverage as your counterpart. ✔️ Strategic tactics to successfully respond to refusals to negotiate such as “we don’t accept any redlines” or “we cannot agree to that change.” ✔️ How to customize your negotiation strategy based on demographics, technology, benchmarking data, and other real-life variances. ✔️ Plus, panelists will answer questions submitted in the registration form so if you have a specific negotiation question, please be sure to include it in the form below! REGISTER HERE: https://lnkd.in/eV7i9b94

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If you’re an early-stage founder, finding out what your customers *really* want so you can build the right product is critical. I’m excited to share some of First Round Capital's PMF Method program with Gagan Biyani on Friday! Gagan has founded 3 companies including Udemy, Sprig, and Maven. We’re hosting this live conversation for product leaders & founders on how to reach PMF. You’ll learn: - How to identify your customers' real problems - How to test demand by selling before building - When to write code vs. build a no-code MVP RSVP to join on June 14th (it’s free): https://bit.ly/3VBAK69

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One major mistake that founders make is ignoring industry regulations. Ignorance is not bliss here - disregard the rules and you will see how penalties or shutdowns could mercilessly kill your momentum. I've seen too many fired-up founders get blindsided by regulatory roadblocks that could've been dodged (or at times, they even chose to ignore). Data privacy, sector compliances, employment laws, IP protection - do a deep dive into what applies to you. Don't treat the legal details like a nagging chore - it can actually be your competitive edge. As you scale up, robust processes to stay compliant are an absolute must. A practical tip for founders: Regulatory gaps often also decrease the risk appetite of investors who are evaluating your business - they will often ask you to fix the issues before they invest (which can at times push the investment by months) or you get sent down the road of providing them comfort through indemnities etc., which can at times really take a monetary hit on your business. #regulations #legal #startup #founders

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Super helpful #Startup #Equity Calculator to determine the equity for early hires, thanks to Pear VC head of talent Matt Birnbaum! Thanks for sharing Pejman! 🙏🏼 You can read more here How to structure startup equity for early hires: https://lnkd.in/ggmpT5-Y Google Doc: https://lnkd.in/gjsvths6

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🌟Innovative VC Firm Overcomes Exits Drought with Secondary Sales🌟 ⛵Navigating a challenging landscape where exits are scarce, Santa Barbara Venture Partners (SBVP) has pioneered a novel approach to sustain its growth and attract investors for its second fund: secondary sales. Instead of waiting for traditional exits like IPOs or acquisitions, SBVP opted to sell shares of its portfolio companies, demonstrating its ability to generate returns for investors and stand out in a competitive market. 🎤According to Dan Engel, founder and managing partner of SBVP, these secondary transactions have been a game-changer, sparking investor interest and bolstering the firm's credibility. By leveraging its recent successes, including a lucrative stake in sports-betting company DraftKings Inc.' acquisition of digital lottery app Jackpocket, SBVP seized the opportunity to return profits to its limited partners (LPs) and pave the way for its second fund. 💡Engel highlighted the challenges faced by young VC firms in raising subsequent funds, particularly amid a downturn in exit activity and heightened investor scrutiny. With traditional exit routes becoming increasingly elusive, the pressure is on for firms to demonstrate tangible returns and establish a track record of success. ✨"For us, secondary sales have been a game-changer. They've helped us return profits to our LPs and attract investors for our second fund," said Dan Engel. 💰For SBVP, the decision to pursue secondary sales was driven by the need to provide liquidity to LPs and validate its investment thesis in the eyes of prospective investors. By strategically offloading portions of its holdings in high-performing portfolio companies like Bark Technologies and Rad AI, SBVP not only generated substantial returns but also bolstered investor confidence in its ability to deliver results. ⚠Despite the complexities and potential stigma associated with early share sales, Engel emphasized the importance of prioritizing investor returns and seizing opportunities to unlock value for stakeholders. With a focus on profitability and transparency, SBVP remains committed to its mission of delivering sustainable growth and maximizing returns for its LPs. 🔍 "Returning profits to our investors is our top priority. By strategically selling shares, we're proving our commitment to delivering results and driving value for our stakeholders," added Engel. As SBVP continues to explore secondary transactions and expand its investor base, the firm stands as a testament to innovation and resilience in the face of market challenges. 🚀 ✅ 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 #VCInnovation #SecondarySalesSuccess #InvestorReturns #ValueCreation 

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Knowing how a venture capitalist will evaluate your potential from your (potential) product-market fit is key in understanding how to pitch your offering to them. Knowing your investor market can be as important as knowing your customer market when raising capital. #venturecapital #vc #business #startup #productmarketfit

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🎙️ Amy Saper is a force of nature, having held senior product roles at Uber, Twitter, and Stripe, as well as being a partner at Accel and a Sequoia Scout, before joining forces with Jeff Clavier Tripp Jones Susan Liu Andy McLoughlin and team at Uncork Capital. Amy and I had a great conversation recently (Podcast in the comments below), but here are the main areas we covered: 1)Transitioning from product roles to VC: The adjustments that needed to be made and the similarities and differences of VC and working at startups. 2) Capital Constraints and Creativity: Drawing from her Twitter days, where the original 140-character limit spurred creative communication, she believes that today's capital constraints can be a large net positive for companies in unlocking creativity. 3) Being Client centric as VC: A strong parallel exists between operating companies and venture firms in their customer focus. What does being client centric mean in the context of VC firm and what is VC's version of Product-Market Fit? 4) Talent Attraction and Development: Her non-negotiable is a founder's ability to attract and develop top talent as it's a huge correlation to startup success. listen to the full conversation in the link in the comments: #VentureCapital #Startups #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #fundraising‍‍‍‍‍

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