focal

Building in supply chain / manufacturing or software infrastructure? Here's an investor you should know. This week's findfunding.vc spotlight is on Julian Counihan from Schematic Ventures. He: ?? Is SF based ?? Started in tech as a software developer at FORTNA where he worked on warehouse control & automation systems ?? Has a 100% success rate for companies raising follow-on capital! Amongst founders, Julian and his team at Schematic Ventures, including Alex Freed, Aditya Raghupathy and Ananya Vasagiri, are known for bringing both deep sector networks & technical expertise that accelerate the path to product market fit. To get in touch, make sure to: ?? Pitch him at hello@schematicventures [dot] com ?? Check out Schematic's upcoming RoboCode event in SF - https://lu.ma/6ffg1dzd For more, check out our funder spotlight card below along with Schematic's profile on findfunding.vc (link in comments).

"AI models today are an amalgamation of the data on the internet but there is a lot of data held in corporations that hasn’t been gathered yet” Troy Demmer the Co-Founder & CPO of Gecko Robotics, discusses this and more on the latest episode of Daniel's 5 Year Frontier podcast ??? In it, they chat about industrial robots, smart infrastructure, predictive maintenance, reinforcing America’s $5T backbone, and the future of robotics #5YF #GeckoRobotics #AIinInfrastructure #VC #IndustrialAutomation

"So that's really been the unlock, is creating a language that both the machines understand and the biology understands. And if you have this common language, then you can start teaching machines how to control biology.” Deniz Kent, PhD, the Co-Founder & CEO of Prolific Machines, discusses this and more on the latest episode of Daniel's 5 Year Frontier podcast ??? In it, they chat about machines controlling biology, light reprogramming cells, algorithms for drug development, commoditizing pharma, and the future of biotechnology. #5YF #ProlificMachines #Biotechnology #AI

Are you a founder transforming the world of law??Then this early-stage investor is about as good of a fit for you as it can get - just look at the fund name! This week's findfunding.vc spotlight is on Zach Posner from The LegalTech Fund. He: ?? Currently lives in Southern Florida, but is originally from the "greatest city in America, Baltimore, MD ??" <-- his words! ?? Has been working on solving a Rubik's cube for years, two sides down! Maybe this will be the motivation he needs!! ?? Manages the annual TLTF Summit (this Dec in Miami,?tltfsummit.com) - a group of industry leaders and startup founders to see what’s coming around the corner and envision the future of the legal industry Amongst founders, Zach and his team at The LegalTech Fund, including Tanner Rogers, are known for acting as a partner in every aspect of what their portfolio companies do. Most of their connectivity is focused on leveraging their amazing network in and around the world of law. They host retreats that are big and small, designed to give their companies the opportunity to get in front of their key stakeholders. They are constantly promoting their companies every day whether on social media or in person. To get in touch, make sure to: ?? Pitch him by checking out legaltech.com or reach out on here ?? Check out the TLTF Summit at tltfsummit.com and apply to attend! For more, check out our funder spotlight card below along with The LegalTech Fund's profile on findfunding.vc

If you are a radically ambitious founder building a frontier technology company, here's an early-stage investor you have to meet! This week's findfunding.vc spotlight is on Jonathan Kerstein from Centre Street Partners. He: ??? Is NYC based ?? Previously worked at Insight Partners, VMG Partners, and Red Sea Ventures? ?? Prefers to read vs. listen (thus his newsletter recs vs podcasts) Amongst founders, Jonathan and his team at Centre Street Partners, including Abie J. Cohen, are known for being constructive, thoughtful, low-ego partners with an exceedingly long-term outlook/orientation ?? To get in touch, make sure to pitch him at [email protected] For more, check out our funder spotlight card below along with Centre Street's profile on findfunding.vc

Arctic Wolf CEO & President Nick Schneider joined the focal 5 Year Frontier podcast ??? with Daniel Darling to chat through all things future-focused in cybersecurity, including why companies with the most data will lead the way in this new era of cyber warfare, the potential networks effects of security and why advanced automation and #AI will be the catalysts for advancing the security posture of businesses of all sizes. #EndCyberRisk #5YF Watch the full interview and read more here: https://lnkd.in/gSa--fAY

"The bad actors are doing a pretty good job of making sure that they leverage current technologies or trends to make their lives easier and our lives harder" Nick Schneider, the CEO of Arctic Wolf, discusses this and more on the latest episode of Daniel's 5 Year Frontier podcast ??? In it, they chat about cybercriminal organizations, network effects of security, data as our biggest weapon, crypto’s gift to bad actors, the threat of cyberwarfare, and the future of cybersecurity. #5YF #ArcticWolf #Cybersecurity

If you're a founder that's ever felt like an "outsider" and you're building in fintech or climate, here's THE investor for you! This week's findfunding.vc spotlight is on ethan austin from Outside VC. He: ??? Is Denver based ?? Had his first job was at the real life banana stand from Arrested Development.?For the record, there was no money in it. ?? Invented the word "friendvestor" (I think ??) Amongst founders, Ethan is known for being all in and the investor who you can be real with when you feel like you can't talk to any one else. ?? Pitch him at [email protected] or on LinkedIn For more, check out our funder spotlight card below along with Outside VC's profile on findfunding.vc (link in comments).

In software, product risk is decreasing fast while distribution risk is increasing at least equally as fast. Let me explain ?? With recent advancements in AI / coding co-pilots, it’s become easier and faster to build (software) products than ever before. And with English quickly becoming the #1 coding language, this trend will continue. Historically, simply being able to build a good product was often enough to differentiate. This isn’t the case anymore. Which, from an investor’s point of view, means that product risk has decreased significantly across the board. While this is great for the ecosystem overall - especially for end users - it’s not all good news (depending on who you ask) as this is making other things harder and more important. Most notably, being able to nail distribution (aka go-to-market) from the start. Most (at least application layer) companies use similar / the same underlying technology stack and can build great products fast than ever before. Thus, to be able to build differentiated products, founders and product teams need to gain access to proprietary customer data and workflows to train their models as soon as possible. This?further?increases the urgency to nail distribution even earlier in the life of a startup. On top, with so many smart and driven people able to build great products and bring them to market increasingly efficiently (thanks to the growing number of AI sales tools), it’s now also harder than ever to break through the noise—no matter how great your product is. As a result, an increasing number of founders and operators argue that nailing go-to-market is now?the most critical aspect of early startup success. Recognizing this, we (focal) made the decision two years ago to lean even further into our focus of helping the strong technical founding teams we seek to back nail their (B2B) GTM from the start. That’s why we publicly launched?The GTM Circle?a year ago today - a highly curated and facilitated network of GTM executives at Seed through Series D startups. Since launch,?The GTM Circle?has become the most relevant peer network for 175+ of the brightest minds in early stage Go-To-Market. It’s been incredible to see the level of collaboration, support and connection not just amongst members, but also between members and the founders we get to back. Thank you to all the members that make this such a vibrant and high impact community for everyone involved. Including Basile Senesi, Leah Cohen-Shohet, Lucas Piazza, Sean Hiss, Robert Williams, Andrew Shoaff, Austin Ward, Brian Shealey, Colby Morgan, Darcey Harrison, Halle Kaplan-Allen, George Cerny, Jay Filiatrault, Joe Rizzo, Mark Fisher, Guillaume Jacquet, Timothy L., Tim Huang, Nick Mandelstein, Michelle Mckinley Ultimo, Max Feider, and so many more! It's been an incredible year with you all. Here’s to many more years of The GTM Circle! Plus a special thank you to Sydney who's doing such an incredible job behind the scenes ?? !

Mission-driven founders transforming human and planetary health, this one is for you! We're excited to introduce you to an early-stage investment team that has crafted global public health programs, implemented US climate policy, and scaled early product teams. What more could you ask for? This week's findfunding.vc spotlight is on Leshika Samarasinghe from Twine Ventures. She: ?? Is San Francisco based ?? Was on the early product team at Google ?? Lived in London, Sri Lanka, and Erie Pennsylvania before the age of 4 Amongst founders, Leshika is known for being nimble and able to provide targeted support to companies. She is a partner on GTM strategies and eager to help drive successful Series A fundraises. ?? Make sure to pitch her at [email protected] For more, check out our funder spotlight card below along with Twine's profile on findfunding.vc (link in comments).