Fairbridge

“Why now? Today, there’s no real venture capital market for tackling social problems. The brightest minds—investors and founders alike—are pursuing grand conquests like space and AGI, chasing high-income consumers, and courting corporate or government contracts. Impact investing? It’s bogged down in bureaucracy, paralyzed by the inherent tension between financial return and "impact." But the tide is shifting. We are tapping into the growing wave of high-caliber founders who want to fix the planet and the power of technology to create viable markets for lower-income, high-value segments. Add to that the $600BN waiting in the Giving Pledge and $250BN in DAFs sitting idle—all funds looking for a way to fund social progress. The opportunity isn’t just ripe; it’s urgent.” cc: Fairbridge #bridgingprogressgaps #Founders #startups #technology #capitalformation #venturecapital https://lnkd.in/dEWQyGga

Had a great Wednesday morning representing Fairbridge with a fantastic group of VCs and collaborators at NYC's Economic Development Corporation (#EDC) Venture Access Alliance! We discussed the amazing programs making New York City the best place in the world for startups, along with the evolving legal, policy, and compliance landscape founders need to navigate. Special thanks to the team at #EDC,?Fernando Montejo, Gayle Jennings O'Byrne, and the experts at Lowenstein Sandler LLP for organizing and leading this important conversation. #NYCStartups #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #VC #StartupEcosystem

I’m thrilled and privileged to share that Flourish has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Sora Finance, an award-winning lending platform for advisors. ?? This acquisition accelerates our mission to help advisors evolve from holistic advice to holistic implementation. Pairing Sora’s impressive lending technology with our industry leading deposit solution in Flourish Cash, we are positioned to deliver a comprehensive deposit and lending platform to help RIAs serve both sides of the balance sheet and offer solutions traditionally only offered by banks. From our initial conversation at Future Proof through today, it has been a pleasure to get to know Rohit Agarwal, Siddhartha Oza, and the amazing team they have assembled. We are incredibly excited to welcome the Sora team to Flourish and start building. To learn more about how the acquisition fits into our larger vision, the trends we see in wealth management and WealthTech, and where Flourish is headed as a company, check out my letter to advisors in the comments. #WealthManagement #RIA #FinancialAdvisors #WealthTech #FinTech

After reviewing 300 early-stage pitch decks in the last 40 days, one thing stood out. Too many founders leave themselves out of the story. And that’s bad. At later stages, investors underwrite numbers. All the three-letter acronyms you can dream of. But at the earliest stages, we primarily focus on three things: Market: What happens at scale? How big can it get? Do you have a route to access it? Founder: Can you build it? Will you keep going when it gets hard? Insight: What do you uniquely understand that others don’t? Most decks do a passing job on the problem, solution, and opportunity. But they often fail in two critical areas: Urgency: Why hasn’t this been solved before? Why now? Why can’t it just be solved in a year or two? Earning the right to your insight: This is where most founders fall short. Your insight is not just a clever observation—it’s the product of lived experience, deep work, or relentless iteration. It’s the hard-won knowledge that gives you a unique edge. Yet in most decks, this is buried in a forgotten team slide. A couple of lines and a?logo that fail to show the real work, the real story. At the early stage, your company is you, and that’s what we bet on. Your idea, your market, your early traction—and most importantly, your insight. Have you lived the problem? Built in this space for a decade? Dug deep where others skimmed? Show it. I see very few truly novel ideas—just different shades and flavors. And that’s fine. The difference between an average pitch and a compelling one isn’t the idea. It’s in the details and the ability to execute. But execution without the right insight is just motion. The insight that powers the company—and what you’ve done to earn the right to it—is what sets the foundation for everything that follows. I am a venture partner for Fairbridge vc and we invest absurdly early in founders using tech to benefit human progress. If you’re working on something interesting, please ping me.

I’m incredibly excited to share the news that Sora Finance has been acquired by Flourish. This marks a major milestone in our journey—a journey that started with a simple yet powerful motivation: to fundamentally reshape liability management and create a lasting, positive impact on Americans’ financial well-being. To achieve that, we built an award-winning solution empowering advisors to support their client’s complete financial life. With liability planning and lending capabilities, we filled a critical missing piece of the puzzle that is holistic financial advice. When we embarked on this startup journey 4 years ago, I believed in our ability to radically change the way liabilities were managed and meaningfully impact the financial lives of Americans. But belief alone isn’t enough—so many people helped turn that vision into reality. First, my appreciation goes to Rohit - an exemplification of how 1+1 can equal 3. As Co-Founder, Co-CEO, Co-Janitor, there is no one else who quite knows the highs and lows that we rode together over the past years. You are a true partner and a brilliant leader. I am also deeply grateful to our investors, who entrusted us with their capital and confidence, and offered unwavering support through every challenge. From our biggest checks to our first F&F round, the individuals on our cap table have been our greatest cheerleaders. Thank you.? Our extraordinary employees, who put in countless hours of hard work and dedication, have been the true driving force behind every milestone we’ve reached. Sora would not have become what it is today without you. ? To the advisors using Sora - thank you for believing in Sora and entrusting us with your business and your clients financial lives. You are who we do this for.? Most importantly, I want to thank my family. Your love and encouragement have been the foundation that’s allowed me to dream big and stay resilient during the inevitable ups and downs of startup life. Sora Finance joining the Flourish family is a testament to the future this little village has built together. I couldn’t be more excited for what’s next. Together with Flourish, helmed by Max Lane and Ben Cruikshank, we’ll continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible for financial advisors and their clients. Thank you all for being part of this incredible journey—we’re just getting started! ilana stern, Sam Hodges, Ziv C., Jurgen Van De Vyver, Ryan Gilbert, Amit Singhal, Jimmy Chen, David Tswamuno, Kendrick Wakeman, CFA, Chris Klomp, Chip Roame, Raj Oza, Anu Oza, Maneesh Sharma, Andrew Turco, Stephanie Wai, Zack Kousnetz, Ariana Poursartip, Samir Goel, Wemimo Abbey, Mada Seghete, N. Alex Tonelli, Robbie Salter, Sambit Basu, Mariko Futamura, Daniel Diaz Medrano, Anjo Gabriel Cordero, Kyle Davis, Peter Nolan, Thomas Kopelman, Tushar Kumar, Herbert Kyles, CFP?, Shannon Rosic, Joel Bruckenstein, Bob Dimicco, and so many more.

Founders be very careful?? Investors are trying to have their cake and eat it too… Investors are looking for alpha, but they are also trying to eradicate the risk associated with that alpha. So they will ask certain questions, that may appear not so clever, that may appear contradictory, cagey even, and that will likely infuriate you ?? But if you like them, please extend some grace and help them understand a few things: ??When an investor says: Who else is investing? – he is probably managing for syndication risk. He is assessing who else is at the table in the downside case that the company needs a bridge round. What you can say: Remind him how he would truly stand out if he were to be the fund that discovered you first! Or maybe also elaborate your plan for capital efficiency ??When an investor says What is the TAM - She is trying to assess whether there is opportunity to build a really huge business in the space to deliver venture scale return? What you can say: Remind them that the truly great businesses do not take markets, they create new markets. Or if you are targeting an existing market, expose them to a little of your unique insight, your secret sauce ??When an investor keeps asking you to clearly define your industry – he is trying to place your company into a space of competence so he can pattern match it with comps they have seen. What you can say: Remind them that truly transformational companies don’t fit existing molds, or if you have a unique take on their area, dazzle them Alpha, by definition has no true existing comparable and so it requires both courage and imagination. These are the most difficult of traits… ????FOUNDERS: I know you don't have time for stupid games... but inspiring courage and imagination about your business in an investor you like could be one of your biggest investments. #founders #startups #capitalformation #venturecapital #bridgingprogressgaps

This is the most interesting thing I’ve read so far this month: ?? “The moment you think of serving other people, you begin to have a notion that other people owe you something for your pains. You will begin to bargain for reward, to angle for applause, and to harbor a grievance if you do not get them. But if you forget about the community and serve the work, it will serve the community…” This way of thinking would dramatically disrupt all that we call mission-driven, impact investing, etc etc.. What are you reading? ?? #bridgingprogressgaps #investing #capital #Founders #humandevelopment

Climate doomscrolling got you down? We teamed up with Harvard Chan C-CHANGE to spotlight young creators bringing fun, informative climate content and solutions. Meet the next generation of climate creators: Sam Bentley Summer Dean Formidable Vegetable / Charlie Mgee Esteban Gast Dr Ella Gilbert Suzie Hicks Gittemarie Johansen Sage Lenier Adam Met Karishma Porwal Sierra Quitiquit Nelson ZêPequéno #ClimateCreators2025

The climate storytelling capital stack has never been properly established. But there are many in the space working hard to get dollars to storytellers. This is a wonderful example and fantastic opportunity for filmmakers. Get the funding you need, go make compelling stories, and effect change! Please tag any filmmakers or content creators who might be interested! Dominic Gill Nadia Gill Spencer Oshman Danielle Lee Emily Stubb Bryan Stankus Brady Valashinas Suzie Hicks (Suzanne) Suzie Domnick Maura Anderson Alana (Mitnick) Ficalora Lauren Zeitoun Montgomery Hunter Holcombe Alexander Zimmer Hardik Contractor Jeremy Handrup Aaron Soffin Martin Froger Silva

Founders beware?? Everyone is a taker… Every investor you meet is thinking about a need, a goal, a nagging thing that is fulfilled by writing you a check. YOUR GOAL: To become a sleuth??? , to probe ?? and understand how your startup uniquely meets a funder’s goals and needs! And the answer is not return…return is tablestakes secondary goals: (i) know how to articulate your startup’s unique positioning relative to the best players in your space (ii) know your x-factor, the one thing you have that no one else has (iii) keep building a track record of unique value that will get people to seek you out. A CASE STUDY: this happened to me once… I was introduced to an investor group. I was so excited and at the beginning of the call I told them how happy I was for the opportunity to be associated with their network. The investor’s mood shifted dramatically and she told me she wasn’t in the business of kingmaking and giving fund managers success by being a part of her network. INSTEAD, she was looking for fund managers for whom she would go and tell her friends about how lucky she was to have access to them and their network… I hadn’t done my homework, and I didn’t have a network to show that would have made this investor excited. Initially I was confused and upset because this feedback seemed morally wrong, but after I got over my ego and self righteousness, I realized THIS IS HOW THE WORLD WORKS and that VALUE IS PARAMOUNT. I went back to work. Please do your homework and please do the work and please don’t take it personal. #founderstories #founders #capitalformation #fundraising #venturecapital