K Street Capital

?? I'm excited to share that High Stakes, the K Street Capital venture capital podcast, is back for Season 3! This season, we're diving straight into the brutal, behind-the-scenes reality of fundraising—what it takes to get VCs to yes and the costly mistakes founders make along the way. What happens when you spend two years building a company no one wants? Basel Fakhoury faced that exact moment before pivoting to User Interviews, now backed by $45M in venture capital. In this episode, we break down: ? The fundraising strategy that changed everything ? Investor psychology—how to get a yes from VCs ? The biggest mistake founders make in raising capital ? The red flags that kill deals (for both founders & VCs) ?? Check out the full episode now! Links are in the comments. #VentureCapital #Fundraising #HighStakesPodcast #StartupLessons #VCInsights #insideVC

The Wall Street Journal published my op/ed ??? this weekend with some (unsolicited) advice to the #DOGE team on how they can leverage the government's massive buying power to drive savings ?? for taxpayers ... ... and how modern tech (??) can help them avoid the pitfalls that come with these changes. More than 20 years ago, my team at the Pennsylvania Department of General Services was one of a dozen states implementing #strategicsourcing. We aggregated our volume across all agencies to reduce cost ??, increase service levels ?? and expand partnerships with small businesses. The results shocked ?? our team, our brilliant consultants and the Governor himself. In little over a year, we had generated $140M in recurring savings and quadrupled our small business participation levels ??. And as important, we changed a culture in Harrisburg to become outcome - not process -oriented. It was a government efficiency fairy tale. ?? But one contract went bad. Very bad. Through the strategic sourcing methodology, we established a statewide contract for food ??, with one supplier responsible for delivering to state prisons, hospitals, veterans homes from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. It was a big and complex contract. We did a fair amount of diligence on the company to make sure they were up to it. Sadly, they weren't. The problem was that we didn't know that there were any issues for weeks on end. There were performance hiccups all along at individual locations, but they never rose to our attention in Harrisburg. Until it was too late. And we had to scramble ????♀??? to find new suppliers fast. The lesson here is that while strategic sourcing has proven to be a very effective strategy, you need to couple it with tools to help you see when things are going off the rails with your vendors. If we had that, we could have seen the issues early and intervened and possibly fixed things ?? . Or at least, we would have had time to secure alternative sources of food in a more orderly fashion. It was experiences like these that led me and the Procurated team to create #Canary ??, the most widely used #vendorperformancemanagement platform in the public sector. 14 states across the country and a growing number of local governments, universities and school districts use Canary to help them avoid the headaches of my food contract scramble from years past. ?? Link to the op/ed in comments.

Your dispatchers have put up with enough chaos. ?? Another last-minute client change. A driver who swears he didn’t see the updated route. Wasted hours handcrafting schedules only for something else to throw them off. Enough is enough. AI-powered auto-routing is here to sort the madness. ?? More stops, fewer headaches. AI instantly builds the smartest routes so your drivers hit more locations in less time. ? No more endless planning. Click once—AI does the work. No more juggling spreadsheets or reworking routes by hand. ?? Stop wasting fuel and time. AI finds the most efficient paths, eliminating costly backtracking and delays. ?? Full control, zero surprises. Prevent overbooked routes, late arrivals, and last-minute chaos before they happen. You shouldn’t have to fight your own logistic battles. Let AI do the heavy lifting. Book your demo now. ?? https://bit.ly/3DdUF4T #eventrentals #eventpros #dispatch

We are thrilled to highlight?our?latest?healthtech?investment--in?Babyscripts!?Co-founded by Anish Sebastian, Babyscripts provides a revolutionary platform that enhances maternal and infant health through innovative digital care solutions. By connecting expectant mothers with personalized resources and remote monitoring, Babyscripts empowers families to navigate pregnancy with confidence and support. As the demand for accessible and comprehensive maternal health solutions continues to rise, Babyscripts stands at the forefront of this essential industry shift. We are excited to be part of Babyscripts' journey and look forward to witnessing the positive impact they have on countless lives!

We are thrilled to highlight?our?latest?healthtech?investment--in?Babyscripts!?Co-founded by Anish Sebastian, Babyscripts provides a revolutionary platform that enhances maternal and infant health through innovative digital care solutions. By connecting expectant mothers with personalized resources and remote monitoring, Babyscripts empowers families to navigate pregnancy with confidence and support. As the demand for accessible and comprehensive maternal health solutions continues to rise, Babyscripts stands at the forefront of this essential industry shift. We are excited to be part of Babyscripts' journey and look forward to witnessing the positive impact they have on countless lives!

??? We are gearing up for Season 3 of our VC podcast, High Stakes! To celebrate, we’re revisiting one of our standout episodes from Season 2:?“M&A Lessons Every Entrepreneur Needs To Know” with Richard Leggett and Tom McCormick. In this episode, we dove deep into the critical dynamic between founders and acquirers and the disconnect that often exists between how much entrepreneurs believe their companies are worth and the price acquirers are willing to pay. Richard and Tom shed light on understanding this gap—typically around 20%—is crucial for securing a fair valuation. If you’re an entrepreneur looking to navigate the M&A landscape effectively, this conversation is packed with invaluable insights! https://lnkd.in/eZWJHp9q

Exciting Announcement! Our Fund of Funds program is now accepting applications! #dc #startups #fundraising #venturecapital #growth

??? We are gearing up for Season 3 of our VC podcast, High Stakes! To celebrate, we’re revisiting one of our standout episodes from Season 2:?“M&A Lessons Every Entrepreneur Needs To Know” with Richard Leggett and Tom McCormick. In this episode, we dove deep into the critical dynamic between founders and acquirers and the disconnect that often exists between how much entrepreneurs believe their companies are worth and the price acquirers are willing to pay. Richard and Tom shed light on understanding this gap—typically around 20%—is crucial for securing a fair valuation. If you’re an entrepreneur looking to navigate the M&A landscape effectively, this conversation is packed with invaluable insights! https://lnkd.in/eZWJHp9q

If you've ever stepped foot in a university procurement office, you know how challenging the work is, given the significant decentralization that exists. ?? The lack of visibility into the performance of key suppliers across a system or a single campus has been a huge risk - until today! ?? Procurated is thrilled to announce a partnership with the National Association of Educational Procurement to bring #Canary to its members at a special NAEP. ?? For the first time, Canary will give higher ed procurement teams the ability to monitor, measure and improve supplier performance in real-time. ?? But don't take my word for it. Here's what two leaders I greatly admire are saying: ?? Jeremy Meadows, Executive Director of Strategic Sourcing for University of California Procurement: “Like many large university systems, UCOP has a strong desire to ensure that all of our systemwide contracts are working well for our vast network of campuses that stretch 500 miles. ??? This task was extremely challenging and virtually impossible for us to accomplish on our own. ?? This led us to explore joining Canary’s platform, and we are excited to see how it can help us identify which suppliers are performing at the high standards our campuses deserve ?? and which ones may require additional support ??? and engagement from our team to meet expectations. ?? Having spent more than a decade in higher education procurement, I know how hard it is to get this regular feedback, and I’m excited that through NAEP’s partnership with Procurated, so many of my peers will have access to this vital tool.” ?? Bradley Pryba, CEO of NAEP: “At NAEP, we strive to empower our members to drive innovation and deliver exceptional value on their campuses. ?? Our partnership with Procurated provides our members with preferred pricing for Canary, a groundbreaking platform that transforms contract management with unparalleled insights, supplier performance optimization, and real-time feedback from end users. ?? With new benefits like this, NAEP members are better equipped to drive meaningful change and elevate the impact of their work.” ? To learn more, you can read the announcement ?? and check out our Canary for Higher Education page. Links in the comments.?

We are excited to spotlight one of K Street Capital's most recent investments, in Sunny Day Fund ??! CEO and Founder Sid Pailla ?? and his team at Sunny Day Fund offer a simple, cost-effective solution to help businesses create a positive impact by enabling employees to build emergency savings.?This program boosts employee retention and productivity by improving financial resilience and lowering stress, benefiting both employees and employers. Sunny Day Fund's data highlights the importance of financial security, showing that peace of mind and the ability to focus on what matters are measurable outcomes, with emergency savings as the foundational step. Workplace emergence savings accounts (ESAs) are poised to grow rapidly as a category - and with Sunny Day Fund as a market leader - thanks to retirement industry innovations and legislative tailwinds like Secure 2.0. We are so glad to be part of SDF's journey, and we can't wait to see all that they accomplish.?