Evan Jolley

🎉Congratulations to Spike Technologies on raising an oversubscribed $3.5M seed round! 🎉 The investment was co-led by Practica Capital and TheVentureCity with participation from Silicon Valley, New York, and Berlin-based investors, including CEAS Investments, Plug & Play Ventures, Geek Ventures, and Axel Springer Porsche (APX). Spike is a B2B data technology company, that allows developers to add AI superpowers to their healthcare apps. The company’s goal is to dramatically reduce development time and costs to a fraction of what they used to be and connect to the data collected by hundreds of medical, wearable, and IoT devices.I 🚀 📟 The seed investment will fuel Spike’s development of regulatory-compliant and safe Generative AI products and expansion to support a broader range of medical, wearables, and IoT sensor data aggregation from over 600 devices. 🩸Spike also looks to expand into Electronic Health Records (EHR) data, blood testing, lab testing, genomics data, and FDA-approved devices and datasets. Brands that are already using Spike’s software, include: 🌎 Global insurance leader Seguros SURA 🏋🏻‍♂️ Fitness apps Longevo and FITTR 💤 Sleep innovation company Emma – The Sleep Company 👩🏻‍⚕️ Women's wellness app Moody Month 🧠…and vagus nerve stimulator Pulsetto. To read more, check out Stewart Rogers’s article for Dataconomy Media below:  https://lnkd.in/eQnw_gqX

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For Full episode w/Justis Mendez from OneSixOne Ventures - https://lnkd.in/eYixPjf5 Founder market fit is key when evaluating startups. It's not just about the idea, but also the distance traveled and the grit shown by the founder. Starting a business is tough, and it takes a special kind of determination. Interestingly, our accelerator experience taught us that wealth doesn't always equate to success. The best fights come from those who truly believe in their vision. #FounderMarketFit #Grit #StartupJourney

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On this week's edition of Founders Launchpad, our cofounder and COO, Daniel Rodriguez, shared some interesting insights into the YC W24 batch as well as three startups that stood out for him. Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/eBnsWKZ5 #ai #artificialintelligence #startup #entrepreneurship

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We're delighted to share the incredible journey of LD Talent throughout the dynamic landscape of startup incubation. Our commitment to fostering growth and excellence in the tech industry has been recognized and recommended by none other than Elizabeth at Y Combinator (YC), who played an instrumental role in listing LD Talent as a valuable resource for YC companies. It's a moment of pride for LD Talent to be aligned with the prestigious Y Combinator, supporting its portfolio companies including Mentum, Just Appraised, and Dill. These innovative platforms have benefitted from our network's expertise, helping them scale new heights in their respective domains. Additionally, Hero Trainer, a Startup School graduate, has also leveraged our talent pool with great results, showcasing the effectiveness of our model in nurturing startups at various stages. These collaborations underscore our commitment to providing agile and skilled talent suited for the high-paced and ever-evolving needs of startups. At LD Talent, we take pride in being a catalyst for technological innovation and entrepreneurial success. We invite you to read more about how LD Talent has become an integral resource for portfolio companies of prestigious accelerators like YC, Techstars, Pear, a16z, and others. Explore the story of our growth and the partnerships that have propelled us forward in the tech ecosystem. https://lnkd.in/dmiadKDg #LDTalent #YC #Startups #Innovation #TechTalent #Growth #Entrepreneurship #StartupSchool #SoftwareDevelopment #TechIndustry

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Hiring the right engineering talent to build your startup is one of the most critical pieces of a founder's early journey. Jellyfish founder and CEO Andrew Lau knows quite a bit about building an engineering team. We tapped him to author this piece in Founder Docs, about how to know if you’re ready to hire your first engineers, what characteristics you should seek, and how to avoid costly failed hires. Learn more on Founder Docs: https://lnkd.in/eSjpmf3E

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Here are the Top 10 SaaS funding rounds of the past week (Seed to A) Starting at number 1... 🥇 Emergence, $97.2mm Seed 🤯 Emergence is developing an AI "agent-based" system that automates tasks typically performed by knowledge workers. Founded by Satya Nitta. 💸 Investors: Learn 🔗 https://bit.ly/3XSitTA 🟠🟠🟠 🥈 Formic, $27.4mm Series A Formic enables manufacturers to scale faster by making it easy to deploy robotic automations, like packing and palletizing. Founded by Misa Ilkhechi and Saman Farid. 💸 Investors: Blackhorn Ventures, FJ Labs, and more 🔗 https://bit.ly/3XGzEYr 🟠🟠🟠 🥉 normai, $27mm Series A Norm Ai is automating compliance processes, making them more efficient, cost-effective, and accurate via (you guessed it) AI. Founded by John Nay. 💸 Investors: Coatue, Bain Capital Ventures, and more 🔗 https://bit.ly/4ckpNft 🟠🟠🟠 🎖️ 4. ORA, $20mm Series A Ora is a blockchain project incorporating AI into dapps. Founded by Kartin Wong. 💸 Investors: Polychain Labs, HF0, and more 🔗 https://bit.ly/3zpW7Ph 🟠🟠🟠 🎖️ 5. Payabli, $20mm Series A Payabli builds the infrastructure that allows companies, specifically software companies, to embed and facilitate payments through APIs. Founded by Joseph Elias Phillips and William Corbera. 💸 Investors: QED Investors, Bling Capital, and more 🔗 https://bit.ly/4bwkGHE 🟠🟠🟠 🎖️ 6. Sift, $17.5mm Series A Sift develops tools to accelerate the development and ensure the reliability of complex machines (think Spacecrafts). Founded by Austin Spiegel and Karthik Gollapudi. 💸 Investors: GV (Google Ventures) 🔗 https://bit.ly/3L7zlyk 🟠🟠🟠 🎖️ 7. Ario, $16mm Seed Ario is an AI-powered assistant for parents that helps with daily tasks, from meal planning to scheduling playdates. Founded by Sumit Agarwal. 💸 Investors: Wing Venture Capital, Floodgate, and more 🔗 https://bit.ly/4eEjeG9 🟠🟠🟠 🎖️ 8. MagicSchool AI, $15mm Series A MagicSchool provides lesson-planning solutions for teachers to fight burnout. Founded by Adeel Khan. 💸 Investors: Bain Capital Ventures, Adobe Ventures and more 🔗 https://bit.ly/3RQt5Pn 🟠🟠🟠 🎖️ 9. AuthZed, $12mm Series A Authzed makes it easier for developers to build permissions in their applications. Founded by Jacob Moshenko and Jimmy Zelinskie. 💸 Investors: General Catalyst, Work-Bench, and more 🔗 https://bit.ly/4bqkh9B 🟠🟠🟠 🎖️ 10. SLUSHY.com, $10.2mm Seed SLUSHY is a creator monetization platform. Founded by David Gross and Fred Sprivock. 💸 Investors: Mantis Venture Capital, Jon Oringer, and more 🔗 https://bit.ly/4eN9Boi ⚫⚫⚫ I'm Gyan, Head of Community at Venture House. I create tools, guides, and other free resources for Junior VCs and founders. If you found this helpful, check out the Venture House website for more 👇 https://venturehouse.xyz/ #startups #venturecapital #funding #saas

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Benchmark (YC W23) is the fastest way to screen deals and analyze investment data. Each year, investment teams spend thousands of hours reviewing investment opportunities that die. Not only are those hours lost, but so is all of the valuable data that is tied to those opportunities. As a result, investment teams spend way too much time focusing on low-probability opportunities, digging through old files for comps, and redoing old analyses. Founded by Alec Dunn, Connor J., and Joshua Kerber, Benchmark allows investment teams to screen deals in minutes while automatically aggregating all of the valuable deal data for future analysis. With it, investors can focus on high-probability opportunities and build permanent institutional knowledge that gives them a significant edge over their competitors.

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Looking to launch your company in the Big Apple? 🍎🚀 We've curated a comprehensive list of the top startup accelerators and incubators in New York City. These programs are crucial for early-stage ventures, offering: ◼ Funding: From seed investments to connecting you with VCs ◼ Mentorship: Guidance from seasoned entrepreneurs and industry experts ◼ Resources: Access to co-working spaces, legal services, and more ◼ Networks: Introductions to potential customers, partners, and investors ◼ Education: Workshops and seminars on critical business topics Explore here: https://lnkd.in/gqNatE8p Forum Ventures Big Idea Ventures GENIUS NY Luminate Accelerator XRC Ventures Echoing Green ICONYC labs Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator 43North Lair East Labs URBAN-X Blueprint Health LLC Squared Circles Waldencast Food Future Co | Scale-up Accelerator Virtual Force Inc. Cornell eLab Accelerator Dreamit Ventures FinTech Innovation Lab Starta VC Almaworks Accelerator VentureOut The Tech Garden at CenterState CEO Prospect Innovation #nycstartups #entrepreneurshipresources #innovation #startupaccelerators #startupincubators

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Welcoming Carta's Peter Walker to Above Board. In our conversation, we talk about Carta's data from over 45,000 startups and Peter shares thoughts on: Why founders should understand the VC model in order to have realistic expectations around their VC conversations How (and why) founders can better structure advisor agreements Why VC's should be ensuring that their data points are up-to-date with the market The half life of data and when to be revisiting employee equity grants https://lnkd.in/gSqe_ifa

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🔥Vanta , founded in 2018 by CEO 🌟Christina Cacioppo , 🚀🔥Sequoia Capital-backed Vanta raises funding at $2.45 billion valuation🚀🔥 🌟Visionary Leadership: CEO Christina Cacioppo’s leadership and vision have propelled Vanta from its inception in 2018 to a groundbreaking $2.45 billion valuation. 🌟Rapid Growth: Achieving such a significant valuation in just a few years showcases the rapid growth and immense potential of Vanta in the tech industry. 🌟Innovative Solutions: Vanta’s success highlights the importance of innovative solutions in addressing critical needs, reinforcing the value of creativity and forward-thinking in business. 🌟Strong Investor Confidence: Backing from Sequoia Capital signifies strong investor confidence in Vanta's business model and future prospects, reflecting the trust in Christina’s leadership. 🌟Empowering Change: Vanta’s journey underscores the power of startups to create meaningful change and impact, inspiring other entrepreneurs to pursue bold ideas. 🌟Trailblazing Success: Christina Cacioppo’s achievement is a testament to the impact one can make through determination, strategic planning, and a commitment to excellence. 🌟Industry Leadership: Vanta’s impressive valuation positions it as a leader in its field, setting a benchmark for other companies aiming to disrupt and innovate. 🌟Inspirational Achievement: The rise of Vanta from a startup to a billion-dollar valuation is an inspiring reminder that with the right vision and execution, incredible success is attainable. 🌟Driving Innovation: Vanta’s growth highlights the importance of continually driving innovation and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in the tech industry. 🌟Future of Tech: Vanta’s trajectory demonstrates the limitless possibilities within the tech sector, encouraging aspiring entrepreneurs to embrace innovation and aim high. ✅️Share Your Startup Story 🚀📲 https://lnkd.in/ggir3Qap ✅️visite our website🌐 https://lnkd.in/dad4nHP4 #SequoiaCapital #Vanta #StartupFunding #TechInvestment #Valuation #BusinessGrowth #Innovation #VentureCapital #Entrepreneurship #SuccessStory #scoopearth

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🏀 In 2002, Wyc Grousbeck bought the Boston Celtics for $360 Million. In 2023, the Celtics were valued at $4.7 Billion. That's an increase of 1200%. Grousbeck is now looking to sell the team and it will likely sell for a value much higher than $4.7 Billion considering the continuing increase of team values and the positive momentum specifically for the Celtics, which includes winning the NBA Championship this year. While I expect NBA team values to keep growing, it's a great time for Grousbeck to sell after such a strong return on investment. NBA Teams are a fantastic investment and the Boston Celtics are such a cultural monument that the next person or group who buys the Celtics will have not only a power house sports team with religiously devoted fans, but also a great financial investment for the future. In 2001, the average value of an NBA franchise was $207 Million. In 2023, the average value of an NBA franchise was $3.85 Billion. (Via Statista) That's an increase of 1750% and we're looking at the average, not even zooming in on the most valuable teams. For example, this year Ron Burkle sold the NWSL team San Diego Wave FC for $120 Million after paying only $2 Million for the team two years ago. That's an increase of 5900%. While not everyone can afford to buy the Boston Celtics or the San Diego Wave, I've seen a lot of people look more deeply into sports investments for similar returns. There is an explosion of new sports formats, leagues, and teams as people take sports more seriously as an asset class. Each case study like Ron Burkle or Wyc Grousbeck and subsequent year that team values increase will encourage more investors to look more closely at sports. #celtics #sports #sportsbusiness #nba #basketball #investment

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Last week, we celebrated the end of the Spring '24 Techstars Berlin Program  🎉 🥹 While it's tough to see them go, we couldn't be prouder of these eleven teams: 🧬 Biomod AI (Techstars '24) 🩺 Reme-D.Inc 🔬 Miphic (Techstars '24) 🚀 PLENO (Techstars'24) 🌾 Seedsight ⚡ NanoMatter 🌱 CellON 🛵 YEESMA ⚖️ CuratedAI (Techstars '24) 👻 caspa AI 🏗 JoltSynSor(Techstars '24) But we said goodbye in true Techstars way—with #InvestorDay. 👉 This extraordinary day featured the rockstar founders from the Autumn program pitching on stage. Alongside other Techstars Berlin alumni (Carré Mobility, Co-Tasker, EarthCare.ai, muffintech, Tether (Techstars '23), wehave - Techstars '23, dehaze, Bruin, VOIDS, hexafarms, enzum, LinkByCar, Riverse, Trudenty), they engaged in one-on-one meetings with a group of 60+ top European  #DeepTech investors. A huge thank you to the 60+ VCs and angels who joined our exclusive Investor Day, including Frontline Ventures, Speedinvest, Creandum, General Catalyst, Angel Invest, Earlybird Venture Capital and many more. 🙏 🎙 By the way, we have some few spots open for the next Techstars Berlin Autumn program. If you are or know a Deep Tech startup focused on #NovelAI, #Bio, #Space, #ClimateTech, #Robotics, #FutureofMobility, or #FutureofComputing, please get in touch with us!

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📣 Attention founders! We're thrilled to share that registrations are now LIVE for VC Open Office Hours happening June 4-7 during TechWeek! Sign-up here: https://lnkd.in/e9fesX-Q Dozens of NYC investors are offering 20-minute meetings with founders with no strings attached. Simply enter your startup's sector and the sign-up page will serve you any VCs with matching interests. You can secure up to four meetings directly on the platform without ever needing a warm intro. Feedback from founders on our last round of these: - "Had some really great meetings, would definitely do again!" - "Very effective way of meeting investors and getting direct feedback. " - "The 4 calls I had were some of the most relevant people I have met." This initiative is made possible thanks to our partners at Withum and Johnson & Oshan Law. J&O Law has interviewed leading VCs in New York to gather insights on optimizing meetings with them, check out the trailer below and all the full interviews on our site. https://lnkd.in/e9fesX-Q #nyctech #nycstartupcommunity #vcopenofficehours Charlie O'Donnell

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If I was to do a monthly podcast epiosde segment called This Month in VC 1) Who should I invite as a guest for this segment? 2) Any VC's who would be down to come on and share their stories + insights on this? Basically recapping what happened in that month in VC - It would be an under 30 minute discussion - Recorded remotely using Zoom, Riverside DM me or reply to this if interested Inspired by Harry Stebbings This Week in SaaS to try out a different format

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Get ready to unlock the secrets of successful fundraising in the upcoming year at #TechCrunchDisrupt2024

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Former YC CEO Michael Seibel explains the goals of a pre-launch startup Your first goal should be to launch quickly: “This is something that’s been part of the YC ethos from the very beginning. It’s been great advice for 10 years, and it continues to be great advice. If you walk away with one thing from this presentation, it’s launch something bad quickly.” The second goal is to get some initial customers: “Get anyone interacting with your product and seeing if they can get value out of it… You’d be surprised at how many founder’s journeys end before a single user has actually interacted with a product they’ve created. It’s very, very common. So please get past this step. It’s extremely important.” The third goal is to talk to your users: “This one is also an extremely common mistake because most founders have in their heads an idea of what they want to build. So they have this weird feeling that if they haven’t built the full thing, getting feedback on the initial thing is kind of useless.” The reality is that the idea you have in your end might turn out to be something customers don’t want at all. Michael has a saying: “Hold the problem you’re solving tightly. Hold the customer tightly. Hold the solution you’re building loosely.” The last step is to iterate and make sure you don’t fall in love with your solution. He gives an example of founders trying to build a screwdriver for a mechanic. If the screwdriver isn’t good, don’t ask yourself what other problems it can solve (e.g. “maybe I can use it to cook or to clean?”): “If your screwdriver doesn’t help the mechanic solve the problem, keep the mechanic, keep the problem. Fix the screwdriver! That’s the thing that’s broken… Continue improving on your solution until it actually solves the problem.” Video Source: Y Combinator

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