Baukunst

The best event at #SXSW wasn’t in a conference hall, it was 30 mothers who are building empires breaking bread and sharing what it’s like to be the bread winner at The Bread Winner dinner. Co-hosted by Austin powerhouses Kim Chappell and Alexis Contos, and attended by founders of billion dollar companies, groundbreaking investment firms, startups on the verge of breaking out, actresses and TV producers, clinicians and public health legends, the group spent into the wee hours of the morning talking about who we are really, how we can help one another. The question went around the table: what box are you trying to break out of? Tears were shed more than once, and the group sat together with rapt attention well past our usual 10pm bedtimes to fierce allyship with one another. I’ve never left a dinner table more certain that my time is now, and that these are my people. PS - Dom Perignon pairs surprisingly well with NUFS - Gluten & Seed Oil Free Crackers -> give it a try. Allison Ellsworth,?Founder & Chief Brand Officer of poppi Amy Kiska,?Founder & Co-CEO of Recess Becca Tobin,?Actress, Author & Podcast Host Cori Fain-Forrest,?Founder of Moxi Childcare Dana Abraham,?Writer at The Quality Edit Erica Ignatovic,?Founder of Little Money Honey Erin Moore,?Founder of Baby Feeding Coach Erin Stewart?Founder & CEO of Savor + Sweat Irene Liu, ?Co-Founder of Chiyo Iskra Lawrence,?Founder & CEO of Salt & Air Jen Darzi,?COO of Bumpsuit Julia Cheek,?Founder & CEO of Everly Health Kait Stephens,?Founder & CEO of Brij Kate McAndrew,?Co-Founder & GP of Baukunst Capital Kelley Arena,?Founder & GP of Golden Hour Ventures Kristine Tran,?Founder & CCO NUFS Marissa Epstein,?Director of the Eating Together Project & Professor of Practice at UT Austin Molly Morse,?Founder & Co-CEO of Recess Nicole Trunfio,?Founder & CEO of Bumpsuit Odette Annable,?Actor Pooja kumar Kumar,??Actress & Producer Pooja Lakshmin, MD,?Maternal Psychologist, Author & NYT Contributor Sara Brand, Ph.D. Founding GP True Wealth Ventures Sarah Hollingsworth,?Founder of Poppylist Sarah Larson Levey,?Founder of Y7 Studio Serenity Carr,?Co-Founder & CEO of Serenity Kids

Baukunst Studio is hosting our first-ever art exhibition curated by Toby Shorin on Friday, March 28th, and we'd love to see you there. "Forms of Life: The Center" is a philosophical art exhibition that explores the evolving landscape of social forms shaping our communities and collective well-being. Created by researcher (and current Baukunst researcher-in-residence) Toby Shorin and artist/theologian Margaret (Mati) Engel, the exhibition invites visitors to consider the spaces, practices, and technologies that are redefining how we gather, heal, and find meaning in an age of profound change. “We live in an age defined by software artificial intelligence and algorithms," Shorin shares of his research. "But it’s clear that physical centers have always been the source of spiritual innovation.?As people look for alternative stories and to build community infrastructure outside of failing institutions, we need to understand the art of building centers.” Join us for the opening March 28th at Baukunst Studio from 6-8 PM to view the full show. ?? RSVP here:?https://lu.ma/2a2nqigc

The NeXT Computer’s impact on modern computing shouldn't be overlooked. At our recent Teardown Library night, we went deep into the story behind this revolutionary machine. There's a direct throughline from Steve Jobs' NeXT Computer to today's modern operating systems that power many of our personal computing experiences today.

I'm hosting a philosophical and artistic exhibition on the 28th, exploring the theme of ? Centers: physical places of gathering, healing, and connection. It's my belief that centers will play an increasingly important role in social and spiritual life in the years to come. Location: Baukunst (433 Cortland Ave, San Francisco) Time: March 28th, 6pm. In my research residency at Baukunst I've been researching historical and contemporary centers and collectives. We live in an age defined by software, artificial intelligence and algorithms. But it's clear that physical centers have always been the source of spiritual innovation. As people look for alternative stories and to build community infrastructure outside of failing institutions, we need to understand the art of building centers. What architecture and interior design can successfully hold community? What kinds of sustainability models make a space last? How do practices play into the maintenance of a collective space? These are some of the questions that I've been exploring with my co-curator and collaborator Margaret (Mati) Engel, which are alive for us and present in this exhibition. Centers will be a critical social form for builders, technologists, and spiritual leaders to focus on in the coming years—I invite you to come see why. RSVP on Lu.ma! https://lu.ma/2a2nqigc

?? AI is the new microphone & and other insights from Upfront Summit: ?? Come with me to #UpfrontSummit, an invite-only conference for top investors, LPs, and founders where Chelsea Clinton, Gavin Newsome, Vinod Khosla, Serena Williams, and Prince Harry all spoke...but Will i am and Prem Akkaraju, newly minted CEO of Stability AI, stole the show!! ?? Will & Prem traced the roots of Stable Diffusion back to Prem's partnership with James Cameron at Avatar. ?? Will was an early adopter of AI because he used to audit MIT ML classes when he was touring in Boston with the Black Eyed Peas. He did this for 8 years. ?? They painted an expansive vision or where music can go with #AI, not by having AI parrot the 3 minute song that was produced by a combination of technical and market forces in the last era, but my unlocking entirely new mediums of audio. ???? Together they challenged us to remember: Always follow the artist. A perfect compliment to what we are doing at Baukunst. Investing in creative technologists. It was especially fun to catch up with so many mangers I've come to know over the years, hang with some of our LPs, and meet new faces. And now, back to work! #UpfrontSummit #AI #Creativity #Networking #Leadership #Innovation #upfrontsummit2025

Didn't make it to the NeXT computer teardown event? Follow along with us as we explore the history of the legendary computer and what lead engineer Ken Haven shared with attendees back in February ???

More photos from our NeXT product teardown at Baukunst studio! Thanks to everyone who joined and made it such a great night.

Thanks to all who joined us a couple weeks back for the NeXT computer teardown with Ken Haven of Acorn Product Development, who worked closely with Steve Jobs after his initial exit from Apple to help create one of the first computers built with systems and design thinking at its core. A shout out to Ken for sharing your insights, and to Baukunst GP Tyler Mincey for putting this all together! We'll see you at the next teardown event.

Is AI a fission or a fusion moment? AKA is AI technology coming together to make something new, or is it breaking things apart? A question we posed in the recent Baukunst study group on the seminal work by Marshall McLuhen, Understanding Media with Andrew McLuhan. What do you think? (Holly Herndon & Mat Dryhurst: All Media is Training Data)

If you’re a founder who is cold e-mailing a VC like me, please DO NOT do this ?? (and plz share your best / worst cold pitch story in the comments!!): 1. Do NOT write a generic note in the body of the email that reads “Please receive my pitch. Deck attached.” This is not how you woo people! I want you to entice me, intrigue me, and invite me to open your deck.?The body of your email should tell a compelling, tight story. Pitch me on your pitch! 2. While some will hate me for saying this...Do NOT send a powerpoint deck attachment. There's just a weird correlation between file type and founder quality, and rarely is a quality pitch made in ppt. I don't make the rules, but these are the rules. PDF, Docsend, pitch.com...all good options. At Baukunst, we endeavor to have a human look at all cold inbound. It’s tough, though, when bad email gums up the works. ______ ?? I'm Kate McAndrew, co-founder and GP at Baukunst where we lead pre-seed rounds with $500k-$1.5m checks in companies at the frontiers of technology and design. Follow my page for more on #startups #venturecapital #vc and more.