Matthew McClure

Early stage fundraising is convincing enough people with credibly + resources to believe that you're onto something big. Remember it is a bi-directional discovery process. And more often than not, a lot of people with not enough credibility or not enough resources will give you their opinion. If everyone was a believer, you wouldn't have a shot at 100x-ing your company. It's a feature not a bug. Remember that. If you're not careful that can drain energy. Incredibly important trap to avoid.

30

2 Comments

Sometimes I encourage founders to socialize their company to prospective investors before actually starting an official fundraise process. We've seen this work in a variety of ways: (1) preemptive term sheets; (2) founders pick up on investor sentiment towards their business; (3) opportunity to form more organic relationship with an investor; and (4) get a sense of what investors want to see for a subsequent fundraise. Some founders are reluctant to socialize their business until it appears more solid and there's obvious traction. While this makes sense, the reality is that early-stage is inherently messy and investors know the plane is being built and flown simultaneously. The art of conveying the narrative of, "this is what I've already accomplished and here's where the business will be in next 3-6-9-12 months" can be the most effect fundraising tool in the game. What do others in the VC community think of this strategy?

18

2 Comments

My last post led to DMs with questions about how the Ember model works. I thought it might be helpful to answer these questions in public for others to read, and transparency (we are big on this). Is Ember true ownership? Yes. We form an LLC for each house. Owners can purchase 1/8th to 1/2 of a home. When you buy your portion of the house, you own part of the LLC and thus part of the house. True ownership that is yours and that you can sell later. How does scheduling work? 1/8th ownership gives you 6.5 weeks of use. All scheduling is done through our mobile app, making scheduling fair, equitable, and super convenient. Owners never have to interact and stay anonymous from each other. Our app makes it all possible right from your own phone. Are all Ember homes nightly rental approved? We offer two types of homes, Ember Limited and Ember Flex. Ember Limited homes are for owners and their guests, but cannot be rented out. Ember Flex homes are for owners, guests, and can also be rented out. How does renting out my home/nights work? If you have a property that can be rented (Ember Flex Home), then you have the flexibility to either use your time in the home or rent out your nights. If you decide to rent we handle all the heavy lifting from marketing, checking guests in/out, concierge, etc. (our prop management company has a 4.99-star rating on Airbnb!). Renting out nights is super easy. Owners just indicate which nights they want rented in the app and push “rent these nights.” Within minutes, the indicated nights are on all major rental sites (Airbnb, VRBO, etc), as well as our website. We then cut you a check for your rented nights. Super simple, and without any human interaction by the owner, just a push of a button in our app. What ongoing costs are there? Standard Operational costs (taxes, insurance, utilities, etc.) as well as property management fees are all split evenly amongst the owners based on their ownership stake. We post all expected monthly costs for each property on our website under each listing (go look). You only pay for the portion and time you own. Does the home come furnished? All of our properties come completely turnkey and professionally designed. Think parade home quality down to the detail in each Ember property. Prices on our site are inclusive of a fully turnkey home. Ember is changing the game when it comes to vacation home ownership and experience. Check out more 👇 👇 www.emberhome.com What questions do you have about Ember?

153

16 Comments

Parker just posted Rippling's new fundraising memo. It's the manifesto for compound startups and one of our initial inspirations for building Atlas. Here's a nugget that I really liked that summarizes how we feel about the competitive advantage of all-in-one startups over vertical startups (in customer support especially): "When we build corporate cards, we're not innovating on the way we issue corporate cards (through Stripe issuing or Marqeta) or the way we scan and extract metadata from receipts (which is mostly a vendor relationship for us today). We're going to win on the capabilities we have that are common to all Rippling products—the integration with the rest of Rippling and with employee data, the platform capabilities, and the common UX described above." Here's the full doc: https://lnkd.in/gYH59HVZ

25

1 Comment

Fundraising Insights for Early-Stage Startups 🚀 Reflecting on my time at YC and beyond with Parker, I've noticed a counterintuitive truth that shapes successful fundraising strategies for startups at pre-seed and seed stages - at early stages, investors often care way more about your story over traction or growth metrics. So, here are some key takeaways to nail your investor conversations: #1 Clear Communication: Cut the jargon and buzzwords. Create a pitch that anyone can grasp immediately. For instance, rather than making vague claims, be direct. Here is a Hypothetical example. Bad example: “We’re revolutionizing the electric car industry by creating unique, best-in-class vehicles that democratize electric travel.” Better example: “We are building electric vehicles that are more affordable and have longer range than anything on the market.” Remove abstraction until anyone can understand your pitch. #2 Founder Fit: Showcase why YOU are the right person to build your startup. Do this by highlighting relevant achievements and experiences that show your capacity to realize your vision. Keep in mind that a traditional background isn’t always the highest-leverage thing to mention, for example: • An investor might care a little bit that you went to Stanford. • They might care a lot that, during your time at Stanford, you built a $50k/mo business. #3 Leverage Social Proof: Boost your credibility by sharing achievements like customer numbers, growth rates, and notable investors backing your venture. Give investors solid reasons to believe in your potential. Use whatever you have available. Example: Famous investor? Great. Famous employee? Great. Notable experience on your founding team? Great. Investors have no idea who you are, in most cases—give them a reason to care. For a detailed look into fundraising advice, check out my essay. https://lnkd.in/g6B6kSdN

88

7 Comments

Founder friends - if you're thinking about raising this year, Jason's approach is the most genuine and pragmatic one I've come across in a while. He's relaunching the program in a new format - check out the sesh to learn more! ✨ LAUNCH EVENT for Adamant Fundraising I've taken everything we learned working with over 200 founders and helping raise $311M across 3 years of a cohort-based course, and made it better. The new program is called Adamant Fundraising and it is far more accessible than our old cohort-based training. -- Timing - instead of only offering it 3 times a year, we've made it rolling enrollment so you can join at any time of the year. -- Cost - we changed our pricing significantly to make it affordable for the earliest stage founders. -- Community - we've enhanced the community element to make it even more impactful The Event: On Tues, May 28 at 1pm PST, we're hosting a free streaming event to launch Adamant Fundraising and help teach founders what holds them back from fundraising successfully. On top of that, we will be giving away some incredibly valuable gifts to everyone who attends live so make sure to RSVP and hold the time on your calendar. https://lnkd.in/eyHZ_CF7

8

Starting up is hard, but getting started is even harder. Its hard to feel ready. Its hard to feel you have a ‘winning idea’. Its hard to find a co-founder. Its hard to leave your job. We understand that, and we can help you! This Sunday we are hosting our first-ever meet-up at Cubbon Park for Future Founders. If you’re ambitious and want to have a massive impact, are curious about entrepreneurship as a vehicle to achieve that impact, but have some doubts that are keeping you from taking that first step, this event is for you. At EF, we believe that the world is missing out on some of its best founders. We believe that there are exceptional people everywhere who could be great founders, if they’re given access to the right environment and the right peer group. We find these exceptional individuals and take them on a company building journey. PS. You’ll also meet founders and investors who have seen this journey several times over, as well as founders from our latest cohort. Rahul Samat Sajal Khanna Dhruv Tyagi Raghav Goyal

45

1 Comment

I recently talked with Paz Yanover, VP of Product at Amplication, about creating and managing effective docs. Here is his developer docs success formula (check 1st comment): In this interview, Paz shares his formula to creating developer docs that drive product adoption. You'll learn: - The important role docs plays in support and attracting devs - Tips for balancing technical accuracy with user-friendliness in your docs - Strategies for effective collaboration between technical writers and product teams Check the first comment for the full interview. --- Enjoy this? ♻️ Repost it to your network and follow Derick Ruiz for more.

19

1 Comment

I enjoyed this conversation on the Shift podcast talking about how the Embodied AI and automotive industry's roadmaps are colliding! Thanks Pete Bigelow!

74

3 Comments

This hit me hard today and feels antithetical to leading from my values. As Shirin Eskandani notes: “Trying to run a business during "times like these" sometimes feels like the weirdest thing ever. There is nothing like the cognitive dissonance between trying to launch an offering while literal m@ssiles are being launched. It feels disingenuous to carry on with business as usual. Because nothing is usual. Nothing is okay. Your mind and heart are elsewhere. As they should be because you're human. And while you strive to build a business that reflects your deepest values and beliefs, you fear the backlash and repercussions of sharing your deepest values and beliefs. But you push through the fear because "times like these" are exactly why you started your business. You started your business to serve and to show up for the communities you hold most dear in ALL of the ways. You started your business to facilitate real change for the collective. You started your business because you never wanted to do business as usual in the first place. Which means you make it very clear what you believe in. Which means you do not stay silent. Which means you do what you can to truly be of service. The truth is business is personal. There is no way around it. And in "times like these" that becomes so incredibly clear. So if they unfollow you, they shouldn't have been following you in the first place. If they decide to not work with you, they shouldn't have been working with you in the first place. If they decide to not collaborate with you, they shouldn't have been collaborating with you in the first place.” I became a founder in part to change the capitalistic systems we exist within. To lead with empathy, humanity, and intentionality. To model what can be. To be told, "Make no comment on politics; you have zero upside, only downside," is, to me, a directive to lead without integrity or empathy. He's absolutely right that there may, and likely will be, a downside. However, I choose to take that risk, knowing that building community is more important.

10

1 Comment

Young products shouldn’t offer self-serve sign-up and pricing pages. I recently saw a tweet from Ben Orenstein where he put this perfectly: product creators must “fight their developer-introvert” tendencies and actually engage with customers. This is something we learned first-hand at Amplemarket. When you’re building a product you often assume you need to scale as fast as possible by building a slick, automated, product-led system from day one. Sure, free access to your platform or self-serve sign-ups might help you acquire hundreds of users in a small amount of time. But that’s not actually what you want. What’s far more important - and conducive to your growth - is having a group of passionate customers who want to co-build with you. Instead of leaving them to self-serve automation, you spend time onboarding them manually and taking them on a guided tour of your product. You get to see your product through your ideal customer’s eyes, to experience their pain-points first-hand, and to ensure your solution is delivering the most value to the people who need it. In return, they get direct founder access and product input. The choice between “underbuilding” your onboarding automation or your pricing structure versus building an over-engineered, fully automated product that brings you hundreds of non-sticky users should be a no-brainer. Pricing, onboarding, activation, UX and ROI are all things that can - and should - be informed with active customer discovery. If you can crack your first contingent of product champions, you’ll know you’re heading in the right direction. 💪 #productdevelopment #productteam #userexperience #buildinginpublic #founders #startups

58

1 Comment

Ever wondered where the perfect balance between tranquility and innovation lies? For me, it’s Seattle. Unlike the Bay, Seattle has a more serene environment that’s perfect for focusing on building products and businesses. The city’s vibe encourages deep work and creative thinking, free from the overwhelming hustle. But let’s be honest, Seattle’s founder and investor communities aren’t as vibrant as those in SF. Yet, this city holds a special place in my heart – a blend of my love for startups and the charm of Seattle. I believe in Seattle’s potential and I’m on a mission to help ignite its startup community. From connecting with fellow founders to engaging investors, let’s come together to build something extraordinary here. Seattle has all the ingredients to be a startup hub – talent, innovation, and a supportive ecosystem. What it needs is a spark. Let’s be that spark.

2

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

114

4 Comments

InVision has experienced the biggest fall from glory in Silicon Valley's recent history. $350M raised with a peak valuation of $2B. And now they are shutting down. Not acquihired or "acquired by private equity" or strategic tuck-in. Just a hard stop. It's so easy to s**t on them. They got out-innovated, they were not product driven etc. etc. But, the truth is most startups that raised monster rounds in ZIRP days could face this deadend. You raised too much money: 1/ So you are too expensive to acquire 2/ So you raised your burn too high to finance a big GTM team 2/ So you got complacent on product 3/ So you got lazy on shipping There will be a lot more inVisions in the next 24 months as startups run out of capital. It's sad. The employees & founders at these companies gave it their all, but raising too much money sealed their fate. For the next gen of startup founders, heed this advice: raise little, keep your burn low, ship fast!

29

If you had a great startup idea, should you keep it a secret? Are musicians natural entrepreneurs? In this episode, Seed Zeng and I chat with Yotam Rosenbaum, musician, YC founder, and investor. 👉 Listen on your podcast app: https://tr.ee/ZmRr5NjEtk

19

3 Comments

There's a lot of wisdom in Tim Lynn's recent interview on The Hard Part with Evan McCann, but one bit (https://lnkd.in/g-r2nZ5H) particularly resonated with me as he explained what Startup TNT is doing: "It's sort of this cycle back into building the community, which then builds the companies, which then pay taxes, which then feeds the communities. That cycle is really where it becomes useful," he said. "It's not just a simple customer relationship. It's an entire ecosystem play. So that's tricky." This feels similar to what we're doing at Taproot Publishing Inc. When you buy a membership or an ad, or when you sponsor a roundup or the new Taproot Edmonton Calendar, you get something in return, but you're also contributing to a more informed and connected Edmonton region. It's an entire ecosystem play, as Tim puts it. The Taproot Edmonton team's work helps the whole community work better. Paying attention instead of just extracting it is not the easiest path. But we're not interested in easy. We're interested in being useful. Many thanks to those who already support that work. If you don't yet but want to, I'll put a couple of links in the comments. Also, the finale of Investment Summit IX is on June 13 if you want to see Startup TNT's ecosystem-building in action. Here's our preview:

13

3 Comments

10 years ago, a conversation changed my perspective forever. I was chatting with an early-stage startup CEO. Confidence radiated from her. I admired that. Then, the conversation took an unexpected turn. She began mapping out my career, insisting sales wasn't for engineers. Fast forward a year, and her company had shut down. Here's the kicker: Your career path is YOUR masterpiece. Not everyone's advice is gold. 👉 Don't let misplaced confidence dictate your journey. 👉 Stay true to your skills and passions. 👉 Embrace opportunities, even if they don't fit traditional molds. Your career is a canvas only you should paint. If you've ever been told you can't, I want to hear it. Let's inspire each other by sharing those moments we proved them wrong. Drop your stories below. 👇

127

27 Comments

The Humane ai pin is getting demolished by reviewers. It’s slow, heavy, has a short battery life, gets basic things wrong, and just overall misses the mark. The thing is, it didn’t have to go down this way. Two ways I think they could have avoided the PR nightmare: 1- Don’t overhype. No fashion shows, TED talks, and promises of the future. Play the underdog. Attract early adopters who are willing to grow with you. Build a community, then launch 2- Wait until it’s actually useful, then launch

2

4 Comments

Some of the most inspiring founders I've backed take expertise from one field and apply it to another. They're able to create solutions that might not emerge within disciplinary silos. I call these people "missionary misfits.” I'm drawn to these misfits because they tackle big problems without being constrained by the “rules” of individual domains. They combine their deep subject expertise with unbounded curiosity for adjacent disciplines to solve real-world problems. I believe that the most disruptive innovations come from the unconventional remixing of insight and experimentation. That’s why missionary misfits are the apex predators of innovation. These are the ones who initially raise eyebrows yet become study material for future generations. They will transform industries and solve societal problems. And I want to partner with as many as possible.

105

5 Comments