David J.

"~80% of Floodgate's returns were from companies that had some type of significant pivot", including Twitch that was over a 80x from a company that original was called Justin.TV founded by Justin Kan as a way to stream his life. Mike Maples, Jr joined me on a special podcast to do a deep dive on the observations that led to his release of his book Pattern Breakers (avaialble everywhere as of this week so check it out!). Venture is a power law industry, and the best companies often have founders that see into the future and build things that may seem silly at first. Instead of backing incrementalist companies, Mike talks about the core thesis around Pattern Breakers, including "Founder Future" fit and the need for investors to understand inflection points and unique insights in companies they look at. Full interview in the comments:

55

4 Comments

It is the best and worst of times, it is the age of wisdom and foolishness... Transformation is accelerating in Gaming, by many of the disruptive technologies of today: #AI, #web3 tokens, blockchain and on-chain gaming. The latest from Colleen Sullivan at Brevan Howard Digital -

21

1 Comment

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is revolutionizing AI venture capital by amassing thousands of GPUs, including Nvidia H100s. Their 'Oxygen' initiative will rent these chips to startups at below-market rates for equity. This strategic move positions a16z as more than just capital providers, offering startups a significant edge in the AI landscape. Luma AI, among others, chose a16z as their lead investor due to this crucial GPU access. As a leading AI investor, a16z is reshaping the future of AI innovation. #AI #VentureCapital #Innovation #a16z

3

Sharing for those who did not know, are entrepreneurs, founders, leaders, curious and / or good humans. Episode 301, season 4 now live --> https://lnkd.in/gEwPn4vu This is an on-going #podcast series I started a couple years ago. My approach centers on learning by 'doing' rather than being told. Through these podcasts, I share insights and feelings, primarily as a personal gut check. Yet, I've discovered that people appreciate listening to genuine human experiences. This podcast embodies that authenticity. #franchise #leadership

13

Science-fiction is inherently speculative. Author George #Orwell of ‘#1984’ predicted concepts such as doublethink, little earbuds and society’s obsession with the black mirror screens that dominate our lives — and according to the BBC, novelist and short story author JG Ballard, of “High-Rise” and “Crash” fame, has predicted the current tool and cultural fixation of #GenerativeAI in the modern society — only he didn’t just speculate them within a story, he is actually one of the first use-cases of a generative AI used in a creative context — Ballard was so fascinated with the growing technological advancement of computers that he used one to compose poems, essentially the precursor to what we have now with ChatGPT. Today, the debate about the creative use of generative AI and its value on creative industries is an extremely fraught and controversial topic, but if controlled in a space that doesn’t replace human labor or try to equate itself to traditional art forms, it is interesting to see what computers can do and how they are creatively limited in comparison. Ballard’s two poems, The Yellow Back Novels and Machine Gun City are generated, and both include notes on how Ballard achieved producing them. Regardless of quality (Ballard himself probably wouldn’t describe these two poems as his best work), it is interesting to see primitive versions of the technology that we utilize on the daily today, and how these moral conversations that concern them would continuously evolve.

1

1 Comment

xAI Secures $6 Billion in Funding to Drive AI Innovation xAI has successfully raised $6 billion in its latest #funding round! xAI backers include Valor Equity Partners, Vy Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Fidelity Investments, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, Kingdom Holding, and other notable investors. At xAI, the is mission to cultivate "truthful" AI aligns with our relentless pursuit of #ethical and reliable solutions. With this new #capital infusion, xAI is poised to accelerate the development of our cutting-edge products, enhance #infrastructure, and drive forward the research and development of future technologies. xAI recent milestone achievements, include the launch of #Grok1 and the unveiling of #Grok1.5 with enhanced capabilities, underscore commitment to delivering innovative AI solutions. For more information: https://lnkd.in/d4wuYJfp #xAI #Funding #AI #Innovation #Tech #FutureOfWork #ArtificialIntelligence #Funding #TechStartup #Grok #ElonMusk #Investment #Partnerships

1

My brilliant son Ore Segal asked me: "What is a sales funnel?"... The release of GPT-4o gave #Touchcast #Genything a boost of magic and the results are mind-blowing. Check out the video and join the waitlist at www.genything.ai for more details. #Multimodal #Touchcast #OpenAI #Azure #Microsoft #GenAI

56

3 Comments

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)

11

3 Comments

🌐 Will Gemini be the new Google+ in this era? [In-Depth Analysis and Opinion] 🚀 Dive deep into the future of social networking with our latest article. Is Gemini set to take over where Google+ left off? Find out in our detailed analysis! 🌟 #TechTrends #socialmedia #Gemini #googleplus #InnovationUnleashed

3

EtA and Search funds (self-funded and traditional) will be consistently rivaling LMM PE funds and strategic buyers as the buyer of choice within 3-5 years. These acquirer types aren’t acquiring “below the PE radar” businesses anymore. That’s simply an outdated narrative. They are regularly buying $10-$40M lower middle market businesses. Here are 3 fresh data points that are giving me this glimpse into the future of small business acquisitions and ownership: Example 1: IT Services MSP serving regulated entities ~$8M revenue in ‘23 $1.9M EBIT in ‘23 ~$9M revenue in ‘24 ~$2.6M EBIT in ‘24 Sold to a searcher (MBA grad on his second lap as a search fund CEO). Sourced via Axial. The search fund outmaneuvered 30+ independent sponsors, 20+ committed capital PE funds, 10+ family offices and 4 strategics on this deal. See image below breaking down buyside demand by buyer type for this acquisition (data source: Axial platform) Example 2: Retail Health SaaS for patient acquisition ~$8M revenue ~$3M EBIT 90% 3-yr EBIT CAGR Sold to a traditional search fund for <6X EBIT (mid-career MBA, 1st time CEO). Directly sourced off market. Example 3: Distributor of Police, Fire, and Ambulance products $15M+ revenue in ‘22 $2.8M EBITDA in ‘22 $16.4M revenue LTM $3M EBITDA LTM Sold to a self-funded searcher. Sourced via Axial. Competition on this deal included 15+ individual sponsors, 6 PE funds, 6 family offices, and 2 strategic buyers. Historically, PE and Strategics maintained a “symbiotic” relationship with EtA and Search. EtA would buy sub-$2M EBITDA businesses, grow them to “LMM PE worthy” status, and then PE/Strategics would take them out. It's not such a black and white dynamic anymore. Brokers and M&A Advisors need to take this buyer category seriously, and PE and strategics need to continue to advance their differentiation strategies. EtA is maturing, the number of impressive operator acquirers is increasing, and LP capital is flowing. More data on closed deals can be found via the link in the comments.

323

20 Comments

Sony subsidiary WhaleFin is set to relaunch as a rebranded trade/earn/invest/borrow crypto exchange named S.BLOX. https://lnkd.in/ehFSNHfF Two things make this particularly interesting. Like Ted Turner used to say, “Content is King”. Sony’s lucrative Entertainment and Gaming businesses will now have a Sony subsidiary actively working to incorporate the ultimate content, that is to say frictionless digital money, into their products and payment methods. Second, Japan’s Yen value is depreciating quickly. In contrast, #Bitcoin is appreciating and “Eating the world of Finance” as Accenture‘s Alexandre Laizet famously said at BTC Prague. Sony is uniquely positioned with brand trust and reach to profit from exchange activity in the Japanese consumer and business markets… and beyond.

1

🚀 Discover why Chainalysis CEO Michael Gronager emphasizes the importance of addressing regulatory hurdles for cryptocurrency to go mainstream. Read more in the latest feature by The National News. #CryptoNews #Regulation #BlockchainTechnology

9

Have you heard of #CapVC? It’s an application platform designed specifically for the use of #VC firms. Essentially, it’s a robust #AI-powered tool made to simplify the daily operations of managing a #fund. Isn’t that something, a VC funded start-up designed to help improve the productivity of VC funding! According to this article from TechCrunch, Cap VC is looking to become much more than just an ‘operating system’ — the company aims to be a simplified and extremely efficient way to run a VC firm: reducing digital clutter by turning PDF files, income statements and balance sheets into readable data, automating company suggestions based on the context of a VC’s portfolio, and more. Cap VC is currently developing native apps on Mac and Windows, alongside releasing an API so that developers can build on top of their foundations. So, are any of my fellow VCs interested in using this software? If not Cap VC, is there any interest for similar software to be created down the line? Are there downsides to using a third-party application like this? I want to know what you all think.

2

1 Comment

Open-source models can be a strong lever for increasing gross margins at AI companies, especially those that have hefty cost structures (e.g., enterprise sales orgs that require significant customer success or implementation resources, as well forward-deployed AI services models common in healthcare and life sciences). One of many reasons to maintain a modular and flexible stack with minimal dependencies when building an AI company. More on the importance of flexibility in the AI stack: https://lnkd.in/eA2XATRk h/t Delip Rao #ai #artificialintelligence #generativeai #healthcare

50

6 Comments

In this interview excerpt, I explain why digital asset investors who favor Bitcoin should consider alternative tokens to diversify and capture more returns. Focusing solely on Bitcoin limits growth opportunities. Investing in altcoins spreads risk and taps into emerging projects with potential for significant returns. This strategy not only hedges against market volatility but also opens doors to innovations that could outperform Bitcoin in the long run. 🚀📈 #CryptoInvesting #Diversification #Altcoins #InvestmentStrategy #CryptoGrowth #Bitcoin #BlockchainInnovation (The full interview can be found here: https://lnkd.in/dXXmh6Dd )

37

36 Comments

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!

4

2 Comments

Every day I get more excited about Reality Defender! Deep Fake detection is THE emerging battleground in cyber. Check out this great interview with cofounder/CEO Ben Colman.

37

4 Comments

Charles Hudson is hands-down one of the sharpest minds in early-stage investing. As the Founder and Managing Partner at Precursor Ventures, Charles has backed over 375 companies and supported more than 400 founders. → His portfolio includes hits like Clearco, Juniper Square, and Carrot → He's helped founders raise over $175 million across four funds → He's an active leader in the VC community, serving as the 2023-2024 Chair of the NVCA Board of Directors But even with all of his successes and accolades, what really sets Charles apart is his founder-first philosophy. He's not looking for "coachable" founders who hang on his every word. He wants founders who are decisive, independent thinkers. He believes his job is to give founders what they need, not impose his own agenda. Charles is the kind of investor every founder wants in their corner. One who shows up, follows through, and builds genuine relationships over time. And on this week’s episode of Minimum Viable Podcast, he's sharing his insights on what makes for a truly productive founder-investor partnership. Founders, this is a conversation you’ll want to hear. — What's the #1 quality you look for in an investor? Tune in to the full episode when it drops this Wednesday to hear much more from Charles and learn how to make the most of your investor relationships.

16

2 Comments

Why are partnerships so important to the collectibles industry? 🤝 In my previous role at IBM Blockchain, Jerry Cuomo always said, “#Blockchain is a team sport,” and I feel so lucky to bring mindset and experience to the #tradingcard industry.  Our industry is working implement three decades of advancements in technology, digital commerce, and manufacturing in just three years. 🤯 From the largest players like Fanatics and eBay all the way to individual hackers, there is an incredible community of innovators that cut their teeth in financial services, e-commerce and software. Today they want to apply their professional experience to their personal passion for sports memorabilia, trading card games, comics and much more. MAGPIE has built not only the technical integration infrastructure, but also the personal relationships and business models to accelerate the entire collectibles ecosystem. At the end of the day, we all want to do business with people we like, trust and respect, and we are thrilled there are so many companies that we get to call partners and friends. Here are three reasons why partnerships are the cornerstone of our business: 💎 Access to Unique & Exclusive Products: Partnerships with manufacturers, distributors, grading companies, software platforms and other industry players offer access to new innovations. Rather than competing, collaboration offers more opportunity to expand the overall market, drive greater liquidity and ultimately more revenue. This helps everyone stay ahead of the competition and attract loyal customers. 🧠 Shared Knowledge and Expertise: Collaborating with other professionals in the industry helps us stay up-to-date on market trends, new technologies, and best practices. This knowledge sharing can lead to new business opportunities, improved operations, and increased efficiency. 👫 Expanded Network and Credibility: Strategic partnerships can help us tap into new markets, expand our customer base, and enhance your reputation in the industry. By associating with reputable and trustworthy partners, you can build credibility and attract new business opportunities. We are so grateful to trusted partners like Myslabs, WaxStat, @130PT, GemRate, CardHedge, Fanatics, eBay, Collectors, Kronozio, BuySportsCards.com and many more still to be announced. We are so excited to grow together. Let's connect and explore ways to build powerful partnerships in the trading card industry! Who's with me? #tradingcards #partnerships #businessgrowth #industryinsights #collectibles #tradingcardindustry

67

14 Comments