Designer Fund

We’d like to invite all who knew and loved Enrique Allen to join us for a ceremony on Tuesday, November 26th at 10am PT / 1pm ET to honor and celebrate his remarkable life. This hour long Zoom gathering, hosted by Evan Sharp, will be a space to reflect, share stories, and collectively create an artifact of memories to carry Enrique’s legacy forward. Please register here to join: https://lnkd.in/ghWEke8c In care and community, Designer Fund Team

It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of our co-founder, Enrique Allen. Enrique believed in the power of design to better serve the world, and his infectious joy and deep care for the planet and those on it had a profound impact on so many of us. We invite you to read Ben Blumenrose’s message about Enrique and share your memories with us to help honor his legacy. https://lnkd.in/gAS-j7-5

It is with a heavy heart that I share that Enrique Allen passed away this week. He was an incredible partner for over a decade, a wonderful friend, and an inspiring leader for the design community. He will be dearly missed... ?? https://lnkd.in/gb7tQ5cS

Running a well-designed startup fundraising process is about more than just delivering a great pitch—it requires a blend of art, operational efficiency, and human psychology. Our latest guide equips early-stage founders to tackle the complexities of fundraising with confidence. A few tips to get started: 1. Research the landscape → Do your homework on what companies are getting funded and who’s building in your space. Knowing the market and your competitors helps you position your company effectively. 2. Make the investor the hero → By positioning the investor as a key player, the founder can say, "We have everything in place except for what you bring to the table. With your support, we'll conquer the challenges ahead.” 3. Be strategic with outreach → Get early commitments from non-lead investors and angels to build momentum and create urgency with lead VC funds. 4. Practice, then practice again → Rehearse your pitch with friends, other founders, or trusted investors, then refine continuously based on feedback, anticipating challenging questions. More actionable advice in our full fundraising guide: https://lnkd.in/gYu2hdWG

???? We're opening product and engineering roles in Sydney at Tracksuit! And we're kicking it off with some epic roles: ?? A Group PM role to help scale our PM function ?? A Principal PM role to kick off a new team and scale our surveying (JD attached) ?? A product-minded Principal Engineer to help do the same^^ ?? A Senior Data Scientist ?? A Senior Data Analyst ?? A Senior Data Engineer ?? An Engineering Team Lead ...and more. If you're based in Sydney, flick me a DM to come and work with some epic humans like Laura, Andreea, Stuart, Anna-Maree, and many more.

"There is no one-size-fits-all approach to fundraising. You don’t need warm leads, a specific background, or an elite education. While these factors can help—and are part of the game—it’s always more effective to work with what you have. Your strategy should be tailored to your team, your company, and the traction you’ve built. That’s what gives you a unique edge." Strategies for securing the right investors and running an effective process for your startup's raise, all in our latest guide:?https://bit.ly/4gDpvmh

Today is the final day to apply for Designer Fund Partnership, where early-stage founders can receive up to $1 million in funding and world-class design support. We’ve spent over a decade partnering with companies like Stripe, Gusto, and Notion, and we’re looking for the next generation of startups working to improve health, sustainability, or prosperity. When we invest, we become an extension of your design team—offering guidance on building standout products and brands. You’ll also get support with hiring design talent, fundraising, and access to our network of top design leaders. ?? Apply here by 11:59pm PT today, Oct 4: https://bit.ly/3WWNq74

The team has been busy! With early pilot customers loving what they are seeing we are looking to bring on another Founding Software Engineer. We are still a lean team of 9 people and keen to bring in fresh perspectives and passion! We expect the senior/staff level experience role to have their minds and hearts deep into browser technologies, large scale data ingestion and querying, graph networks and cloud infrastructure. Think backend with some DevOps but you understand the DOM and its nuances, like building APIs and wearing many hats. We are a full Typescript shop - with infra on AWS and data on S3, Clickhouse and Postgres - you won’t be tied to the backend though! If you're the kind of person who sees complex problems and thinks "challenge accepted," we should talk. This is a chance to build a product from the ground up alongside a team with a high bar for quality and eye for detail. The majority of the team is in sunny Sydney with an office space in Surry Hills, but we support remote work (I myself live in Byron Bay). Reach out if your interested or would like to learn more!

Last call: applications for Designer Fund Partnership are closing tomorrow, Friday October 4th! We're offering Pre-seed to Series A startups: ? Up to $1 million in funding ? Guidance on creating a world-class product and brand ? Help hiring and managing exceptional design talent ? Fundraising support to close more investors ? Access to our network of top design leaders across tech ? Intros to angel investors from companies like Figma, Notion, Stripe

Startup fundraising is about far more than just your pitch—it’s about strategy, relationships, and timing. Our latest guide pulls back the curtain on key tactics for running a smooth fundraising process, from mastering your narrative to planning out your outreach sequencing. "A lot of fundraising is about emotion and understanding investor psychology," writes Ben Blumenrose. "Are you someone investors want to work with? Can you convince them that top-tier talent will want to work with you? Make sure you’re mindful of those psychological elements in every interaction." ?? Swipe through for some practical tips to consider, and read our full guide to designing your fundraising process: https://bit.ly/4gDpvmh