Amber Atherton

Everybody needs a place to put their love. - Karina Dresses tagline, circa 2012 In 2012 I made my first investment in a #femalefounder who also happened to be 50+. At the time I had no idea how unusual these founder traits were. I just knew the founder was passionate, authentic, experienced, perfectly aligned with both the product and the market. Most importantly there was a strong emotional bond between the product and the customers who bought it. 🤷🏾‍♂️- it just seemed like the smart thing to do. Not a lot of my investor buddies agreed at the time- probably not so surprising. Fast forward 10+ years and the value of my investment is ~20x & the amount of free cash flow distributed to equity holders is substantial & still increasing YOY. My takeaways: ✅Invest in authenticity, passion and intimacy (customer)- no matter what the founder profile looks like relative to others. ✅Follow your gut. ✅Not every deal is venture scale worthy. But there’s a potential investor for every deal. ✅Be the best version of you, not a lame version of someone else. Works for both investors & founders. :) Congratulations to Karina and the team at Karina Dresses! Proud as punch to be on this journey with you all🚀

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Some highlights from last month at Hof Studio ✨ Highlights:  - Completed 8 design projects in 1 month - Brought on Dymension as a new client. Dymension has raised $6.7 million in funding to build its blockchain platform that enables team to quickly launch app chains. - Offered a new web development service with dedicated frontend and backend engineers.  - Live projects (8): Subsquid, Twin, Kodiak, Vase, Dymension, David, Hodl, Mande Notable projects - Designed a blockchain explorer for Dymension - Redesigned Vase’s pitch deck, resulting in increased booked meetings and closing 50% of its target raise in one week. - Designed a dashboard for compliance product for tokenized funds - Rebranded Mande network and redesigned their new website Team growth - Added 2 new UI/UX contract designers to manage the increased workload Asks - Referrals for experienced account managers to help manage increased project load - Portfolio introductions to Web 3 seed/pre-seed startups in need of app design, web design, and branding services. - Introductions to VCs in need of design partner for their marketing initiatives. Need design help? Let's chat!

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Had a great discussion with Nathan Lands and Matt Wolfe on The Next Wave about where we are today with autonomous agents, and more :) https://lnkd.in/eijGB_P6 Episode 7: Why and how, Yohei Nakajim built a baby AGI. Matt Wolfe (https://x.com/mreflow) and Nathan Lands (https://x.com/NathanLands) sit down with Yohei Nakajima (https://lnkd.in/en_mQf9D), a venture capitalist and serial AI tool builder. In this episode, Yohei dives deep into the transformative potential of AI in automating tedious tasks, revolutionizing venture capital, and redefining job markets. He shares insights on the practical applications of AI for small and medium businesses, discusses the branding of "web three," and explores the development and impact of autonomous agents like his Baby Agi project. Whether you're interested in tech innovation, business adaptability, or AI ethics, this conversation covers it all. — Show Notes: (00:00) VC turned coder using AI for prototyping. (03:38) Community support led to modding and improvements to Baby AGI. (08:16) Learning curve in using autonomous agents. (11:31) AI agents offer guided next step suggestions. (15:04) Developers emphasize handcrafted agents over autonomous agents. (17:10) Balancing niche and broad market expectations in tech. (20:12) Massive models trained on millions of people. (22:52) Childhood fascination leads to pondering internet immortality. (27:24) Venture capital, AI, SaaS, future-proofing investment criteria. (30:03) Interest in lowering company startup costs and VC innovation. (33:34) Try using free version of chats first.

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🌏 The Atlas Capital & Climate Tech Coalition & Djoann Fal on The Canvas Global, Inc. and their search for "the next Tesla". "Why did we invest in them? A New York-based company, The Canvas Global, Inc. is a leading authority in the ethical fashion market. They have created different marketplaces around the world as well as an ethical fashion community that helps lower the barriers of entry for independent brands. Since its incorporation, it has united, accelerated, and distributed more than 180 fashion brands. Its mission also aligns with Atlas Capital’s mission as it is recognized by the UN as a sustainable fashion startup leader. In the future, the Canvas Global plans to expand into the EU and SEA region, where a huge amount of fashion manufacturing is currently based, hence we see here a large potential to contribute to decarbonizing the fashion industry." Steff Vermeesch Weston Murphy Derek Stewart https://lnkd.in/e4aCfAya

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For all aspiring and current angel investors – take a look at this! #angelinvesting

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It was a real honor to interview Brad Burnham co-founder of Union Square Ventures and partner Placeholder on the history of hype cycles in technology and the value they bring to capital and market formation. Brad has had tremendous success across decades investing at the frontier - when it was the frontier/ before it was obvious. Crypto is still the underdog and his views on the opportunity and its nuances are prescient. Specifically it is both a technical and financial innovation which can lead to excess volatility and a unique muscle as it relates to being a venture manager. But the returns are real. And the innovation is real despite some of the the common narratives. No one debates the breakthrough applications in AI at M13 we have been very active. It is also very clear that incumbents have massive data and distribution advantages which can make it challenging to find the right pockets to invest. AI is on its own hype cycle and as always the best teams (typically with contrarian takes) win. Very exciting times to be a venture investor.

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What do you do when a radical new technology puts your main product right in the crosshairs of disruption? Listen to David Okuniev — co-founder of Typeform | Ask awesomely — discuss the challenges of innovation within existing structures. David shared a game-changing insight: Radical innovation is really, really difficult to do inside your own product. He emphasized the need to break free from the constraints of familiarity and embrace change from outside the box. Henrik Werdelin and I have both seen our fair share of this in our respective careers. What struck us most was how David leveraged structure to overcome the innovator’s dilemma. By creating a culture of experimentation and providing space for bold ideas, he propelled Typeform beyond incremental improvements. What other hacks have you seen or employed to help your organization overcome the innovator’s dilemma? Share your stories below! 👇 And if you want to dive deeper into our conversation, click the link in the comments to catch the full podcast episode!

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#ObsessivelyEnthusiasticInvestor #UnreasonablyEnthusiasticInvestor #IrrationallyEnthusiasticInvestor at REFASHIOND Ventures: The Industrial Transformation Fund. We look for the people we believe are doing the best work in Industrial Transformation & Supply Chain Technology; Attempting the impossible. Then we go all-in on them. With obsessive and unreasonable enthusiasm. Join us. #IndustrialTransformation #SupplyChain #Innovation #Technology #Startups #VentureCapital #DemandTheImpossible #UnreasonableEnthusiasm #ObsessiveEnthusiasm #IrrationalEnthusiasm 

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ATTN SF STARTUP and VC FRIENDS -- we have your hookup for a great networking event TOMORROW, Wednesday April 17 at Nixon Peabody's (amazing) offices in 1 Embarcadero Center. Hosted by Lior Zorea of Nixon Peabody, the panel includes Roger Lang of Smart Society Ventures, Clayton Bryan of 500 Global, Gady Nemirovsky of Inspiration Ventures, Peter Walker of Carta, and Chris Abato of Woodside Capital. Thanks Tord Olav Dønnum for the connect. Peter Walker from Carta will provide a “State of the Union” and then topics will include: +Startup formation trends +What key factors and metrics are investors looking at in 2024? +What tech verticals are “hot” (other than AI)? +What is the funding and M&A outlook for 2024? Registration link in the first comment 👇 See you there! #startups #venturecapital #entrepreneurship #siliconvalley

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Two weeks ago I spent 3 days with brilliant human beings discussing the state of AI investment with other angel syndicate leads, angel investors and VCs at Hustle Fund's #camphustle in Los Gatos. It was brilliant. Truly awesome to learn so much from insanely accomplished investors. But was so clear to me again is that the US and the UK are two countries divided by separate languages of ambition. Aspiration and ambition underlined by the cluster effect of successful exits, incredible talent and venture capital driven by operators and founders rather than accountants. But one reason why the US often trumps (pun not intended) the UK is they learn from failure. Run a startup that didn't reach the dizzying heights of venture-scale returns? Learn, reset and go again. What they certainly do not do is look at failure with glee and an "I told you so" attitude. Which is what I sense when I read most of the narrative around the failure of Cazoo. Alex Chesterman swung and missed. The business was flawed, unit economics didn't add up and in reality - there was very little innovation outside the vertical alignment of a well-understood business. But when we look down upon what he tried to do and 💩 💩 it all we're doing is making it harder for someone else to be equally as ambitious. Focus on what went wrong. Focus on the fundamental underlying business models that drive efficient use of capital and the push for profitability. But let's celebrate people shooting their shot and not celebrate the failures.

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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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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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Time and time again - how can a group without diversity and therefore inherent bias speak for, or represent a diverse world - especially when it comes to AI (inputs = outputs)? How can this still happen today Meta Facebook, after all the ethical challenges the company already faces on how it uses algorithms. Thank you for this article TechCrunch by Dominic-Madori Davis, Amanda Silberling , Kyle Wiggers and the flag Cindy Gallop! Already in 2021 The New York Times covered the ‘ethical AI’ team at Google and the challenges to excluding bias but failing on retaining a diverse team to work on the problem, when just one year earlier facial recognition technology was found to be biased with a higher failure rate for a person of colour due to the lack of representative datasets. The NYT article https://lnkd.in/eTTrknmK by Cade Metz. https://lnkd.in/eUrnEgRC for research data summarised by Harvard Business School. AI is front of mind at the moment, but you can take this bias in data back to historic product design - such as seatbelts dissadvantaging women. A good book that covers this topic broadly is Invisible Women https://lnkd.in/eVH9K9KR Caroline Criado Perez. I am often asked why I advocate so much for gender equity and women in finance/business, when there is no more problem anymore? Then comes the task of explaining cis white privilige to a man who cannot see it and often feels attacked in the exchange. Building the right incentive structures (if not quotas, which is hard for a free market economist/graduate from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business to accept) is key. But how do you create willingness to change? Surely training and workshops on inherent bias should be de rigour in all firms to drive home the benfits of diversity in ideation and decision making? Well covered in https://lnkd.in/erxQ-PEi by Matthew Syed Consulting . Such data just seems relegated to ESG public market reporting at the moment. At least in private makets funds Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) is driving requesting change management, senior participation and active engagement in initiatives adoption and progress into its reporting requirements. #diversity #equality #businessstrategy #AI #femalegaze #data #ESG #genderequity #datarepresentation

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Quite an insightful article. If we break down Voodoo's model to its core concepts, we'll arrive at Eric Ries' Lean Startup method. It's is about quickly validating ideas and products, and avoid wasting time and effort. The hyper/hybridcasual model definitely wouldn't work in indie PC games. This model was defined and refined by the mobile market. Instead of trying to apply the hyper/hybridcasual model to a market not made for it, indie devs should go to the source and look for ways to apply the Lean Startup method to indie PC games.

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Very rarely in venture, magic 🪄 happens and you realize in the first meeting that you've found founders and a company that you absolutely want to back. When I met Sam Atkinson and Zach Bailet last summer, I had just this feeling. We live in a globalized world 🌎 and country borders don't factor in our shopping 🛍️ decisions. We don't think twice about ordering products from overseas, and we expect seamless checkout, shipping, and returns experiences 🔁from our our merchants whether domestic or international. You'd think cross-border logistics and returns management were solved for merchants in today's globalized world? As I continued to spend time with Sam and Zach and spoke to more and more merchants on their logistics stacks, I found just the opposite to be true. Returns and cross-border logistics are still extremely messy, inefficient, and expensive for merchants to handle. Enter, Swap. THEN, the real magic happened - when as a VC you introduce a potential customer to help you DD a product, and they not only provide glowing reviews, but end up signing with the company before you get to IC 😀 Win-win-win. Hill House Home We at QED Investors couldn't be happier to lead the Series A for Swap, and get to support Sam, Zach and the entire epic Swap team on their mission to build a hub for a merchants logistics stack. They've started with the two hardest problems to crack - returns and cross-border - but have already launched insurance, recycling... just wait till you see their product roadmap 🤤 So excited to partner with some of our favourite investors on this journey - Cherry Ventures & 9900 - as well as ecommerce insiders such as Ed Hallen of Klaviyo and 2100 Ventures from the Benetton Group family. Watch this space 😀 Nigel Morris Frank Rotman Bill Cilluffo Ashley Marshall Yusuf Ozdalga Victoria Zuo Dinika Mahtani Chris Corbishley Cian Wright Juan Pellerano-Rendón Martine K. Rory Sweeney

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 📣Join Our Mission: Women's Health! Despite recent growth in the women’s health space, there is still unmet demand for products and services. Menopause has been a particularly overlooked segment of the market: only 5 percent of FemTech start-ups address menopause needs globally (McKinsey & Company, 2024). Nevertheless, the acceleration of advances in women’s healthcare holds considerable implications for investors and stakeholders across the value chain and beyond. At KRING, we're pioneering innovative solutions in women's health, focusing on cognitive health, sleep management, menopause, fertility, and more - with Menopause, an active health challenge we are currently exploring. While diving into Validation, our concept has garnered significant interest across the health innovation ecosystem, corporate partners, and investors. ✅ Chief Commercial Officer (Co-founder) We're seeking dynamic Commercial Co-founders with robust entrepreneurial backgrounds with experience of scratch to commercialization, and exceptional leadership skills. Experience in negotiating complex agreements is advantageous, but a passion for women's health is essential. https://lnkd.in/dVRwJ6i8 ✅ Menopause Expert: Chief Product Officer (Co-founder) We're looking for a scientific expert with a deep understanding of medical science, clinical research, and regulatory requirements, to lead the development of innovative healthcare solutions for women's health. https://lnkd.in/dXX3RWQY 🧠 The Concept: Building a Digital Platform for Women's Health Our digital platform helps women tackle midlife challenges, including menopause, by enhancing sleep quality, addressing weight gain, and boosting self-confidence. Components include data gathering, tailored recommendations, personalized wellness programs, and a supportive community. 📍Join Us in Copenhagen Our team is headquartered in Copenhagen, offering an exciting opportunity for individuals based in these cities or open to relocation. If you're intrigued by this opportunity, we'd love to hear from you. Reach out to Marina Miteva and Agnes A. to learn more. Join Entrepreneurs, Innovators, and Investors like Britt Meelby Jensen, Kristine Leerbeck, Christina Høgh Selmer Kirk, Anne Mette Bang, Benjamin Suhr, Anja Monrad, Sonal Pendharkar Kulkarni, Ella Smoraczewska Harris, Fanny Hauterat, Sumeya Hassan, Rosemarie Wedell-Wedellsborg, Jane Kudsk, Susanne Brønnum, Pernille Foss, Sara Maria Franch-Mærkedahl, Gitte Nipper, Jenny-Ann Axson Johnson, and more in revolutionizing healthcare and shaping the future of women's health. Apply now.

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Join Our Virtual Fund of Funds! 🚀 Looking for founders raising Family and Friends, Pre-Seed, or Seed Rounds? We're excited to announce the launch of xVentures' Virtual Fund of Funds, designed to connect you with the right investors to accelerate your journey. As a participating investor, you will also receive early access to innovative investment tools created by xVentures and our venture partners. Here's your chance to make a difference! Commit to viewing deal flow and allocate capital to the next generation of innovative startups. 💰 $5K (Angels) 💰 $20K (Angel Groups) 💰 $250K (Pre-Seed VCs) 💰 $1M (VCs) Express interest using our non-binding LOI. DM your email address for Dropbox Signature. Together, we can create a thriving ecosystem that drives innovation and growth. @Founders - please sign up at xventures dot ai for milestone investments. #venturecapital #startupfunding #innovation #entrepreneurship #xVentures

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To investors with concerns: Concern #1 - You fear losing your competitive edge ⚡ In our venture ecosystem, founders retain control over who they invite to their deal room, and investors can request access. This selective access ensures that high-quality, exclusive deals remain within controlled circles, preserving the competitive advantage. Concern #2 - There might be apprehensions about the dilution of deal quality and overexposure of top deals. ⚡Our system allows founders to manage visibility, ensuring only selected investors can see specific deals. Additionally, rigorous vetting processes will maintain high deal quality, preventing an influx of less vetted opportunities. Concern #3 - We need to reduce risk for investors. ⚡Our venture ecosystem is designed to de-risk startups and investors by leveraging AI-powered studios, an advanced business operating system, and revolutionary frameworks and tools. We provide comprehensive support through cutting-edge resources, experienced coaches, and strategic partnerships. This structured environment ensures tailored investment strategies that align with individual risk profiles, fostering confidence and success within the ecosystem. Concern #4 - A one-size-fits-all approach may not cater to the diverse needs of investors. ⚡The platform allows for customized deal flow subscriptions, enabling investors to filter deals based on their specific criteria such as industry, stage, or geography. This flexibility ensures that investors can focus on their areas of expertise and interest without being overwhelmed by irrelevant deals. The combination of controlled access, high-quality deal vetting, secure data management, and flexible customization ensures a robust and investor-friendly environment.

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