Mercury

Last week, I had the privilege of attending the AFROTECH conference in #Houston, where the National Basketball Association (NBA) Foundation's Tech Challenge took center stage. The competition, held at Ion Houston, featured student-led teams from local universities, including the University of Houston, Texas Southern University, Rice University, and Prairie View A&M University. These teams showcased their innovative ideas to boost fan loyalty and engagement for the Houston Rockets, impressing judges like former NBA All-Star Baron Davis and Rockets CMO Julian Duncan. A special shoutout to the PVU team for clinching the victory and congratulations to all the students, as they all left as cash prize winners! One key takeaway for me was the NBA Foundation's ambitious goal of creating 250,000 tech-related jobs by 2030 for individuals aged 18 to 24. This initiative underscores the league's commitment to nurturing talent beyond the realm of sports, aligning with the rapid advancements in technology. It's truly commendable to witness the NBA's investment in shaping the future workforce. As a partner at Mercury, it's inspiring to see the culture being embraced in a way that will impact the future! Kudos to the National Basketball Association (NBA)! I extend my gratitude to the NBA Foundation team and their consultants, Ashley DeWalt and DivInc, for the opportunity to mentor one of the teams before their presentation. Ashley's involvement in a panel discussion on the future of sportstech further emphasized the importance of engaging young minds in this evolving industry. Houston continues to make strides in the #sportstech arena, and I look forward to more collaborative efforts, especially from The Collectiv and Houston Exponential in shaping the city's sports technology landscape. #TheCollectiv #TechInnovation #IonHouston #DivInc #NBA #MercuryFund #HoustonSportsTech

One of the best parts of a VC's job is meeting so many high-quality, interesting people. Here are a few lessons learned from all the really smart people I’ve met over the past few months: ? Good mentors can make your career, so be disciplined and intentional about building these relationships. One of my biggest sponsors and mentors is Ashok Rao (in the picture below with his wife Sheela and my partner Dmitriy). ? Human dynamics are everything. Invest in yourself and grow this muscle so you can navigate board dynamics, founder-investor fit, partnerships, networks, and more. ? Wisdom is a combination of experience and knowledge. This experience mostly comes from time spent working through market cycles. So as you progress in your career, remember that showing up every day and putting in the work is crucial to gaining the wisdom we all crave. As Ashok says, “Don’t push the river.”

Thrilled to announce that Vivo has taken the top honor at the 2024 Whale Tank Competition!??? See how OmniScience’s GenAI-driven platform is setting a new standard in clinical trial innovation and accelerating the path to life-saving treatments. Read more about this exciting win and watch?Angela Holmes, MSBME present Vivo. Thank you for the opportunity to compete, Innovation Network Gathering! #ING2024 #ClinicalTrials #GenAI #WhaleTank https://lnkd.in/gbbRVWur

?? The?Houston Texans?are taking on the Dallas Cowboys tonight! It’s an exciting time for H-town football fans who have been waiting some time for a competitive team. (Let's not talk about last week's loss.) So, what’s the secret sauce? - Talent? Yes. - Great coaching? Yes. - What else? Believe it or not… AI just might have a hand in it. 4 months before the 2024 season, the Texans announced a partnership with?Springbok Analytics, an MRI-based, AI-enabled muscle analytics technology to improve training, minimize injuries, and study what a full season’s workload looks like on players’ bodies. In a sport like football, minimizing injury is critical. These MRI scans and analyses can offer trainers in any sport at any level the ability to customize exercises for players and prevent injuries. And Springbok appears to be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to tech and the Texans. In fact, the Texans’ website shows a 15-person Football Technology & Decision Science department with employees aiming to improve every aspect of the game for players and fans. Smart teams are looking beyond what’s worked (or hasn’t) in the past and that includes leaning into the ever-growing sports tech resources that are now even more effective with the employment of AI. This is just one way that AI is being used in an under-the-radar approach that the public, sports fans included, might not even know is happening.?Even betting sites are using AI simulations to predict outcomes. For example, SportsLine simulated tonight’s game 10,000 times and shows the Texans coming out on top. If you are a startup, integrating AI into your business isn’t a nice-to-have, but a must-have. It can be the difference between that major contract with a franchise like the Texans or a fumble. Photo credit: Zach Tarrant / Houston Texans

Congratulations to?Dan Caffee,?Cade Krueger, and the?Voze?team on their new partnership with?Fusable!?? ? The deal will integrate Fusable’s customer and prospect data into Voze’s platform, enhancing truck and trailer dealers’ ability to improve customer relationships, optimize sales and marketing efforts, communicate between teams, and streamline service operations. ? Mercury recently co-led Voze’s $12 million Series A and we are excited to be a part of their journey. ? Learn more about the deal here:? https://lnkd.in/eUwVPcxN adrian fortino Aileen Allen

Day two of the Mercury CEO?Retreat, our agenda focused on: ?? VC and CEO Relationships ?? ?CEO Team Building ??? Mercury Value-Adds ? Our portfolio companies span a variety of stages, industries, and geographical locations, yet they often encounter similar challenges as they navigate growth, as well as an openness to support during their journey. Bringing everyone together has been valuable and rewarding. Thank you to all who attended. ? A big shout-out to?Michael Manzagol?for moderating and facilitating open discussions. And thank you to?Erik Huddleston,?Matt Scovil, and?Andy Grolnick?for your participation as panelists. ? The Mercury CEO Retreat was sponsored by Mercury partners?J.P. Morgan?and?Gunderson Dettmer. Thank you for your participation?Michelle Yeh Gillis,?Frank Medrano,?Jeff Fry, Wesley Watts, and?Ben Cukerbaum. We value all of the support you provide to our portcos.

Mercury’s 2024 CEO Retreat is underway! ? It's been a productive event as we bring together our portco leadership to learn, network, and make connections.? ? Day one speakers covered topics including: ? ?? AI and SaaS in Enterprise ?? ?Navigating Growth Equity Markets ?? ?M&A Readiness ?? ?Hiring Great Teams ? A big thank you to Rami Debs, Aaron Darr, Hayden Furey Stuhr, Dan Williams, James J. O'Connor, Dhruv Fotadar, Dan Caffee, Phil Sitter, and Erik Huddleston for your participation and thoughtful contributions. ? We would also like to recognize and thank our sponsors, J.P. Morgan and Gunderson Dettmer for their support and participation.?Michelle Yeh Gillis, Frank Medrano, Wesley Watts, and Ben Cukerbaum, thank you for joining us and for your contributions to our team and portcos. Blair Garrou Aziz Gilani adrian fortino Heath Butler Samantha Lewis Melissa Lutzke Turowsky Jackie Pfister Andreas R. Galliker, CFA Winston Gilpin Dan Watkins Eddie Lou Tolonye Williams Patrick Okorafor, CPA Alex Gras Lisa Roberts Aileen Allen

The need for more diverse checkwriters is clear. On the pod,?Samantha Lewis?weighs in on a 2020 study that showed female partners, despite race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, write more diverse checks across the board — not just to more females. Check out the full episode here:?https://lnkd.in/g5UWpTKz

Aileen Allen?was named a Houston Innovator to Know by?InnovationMap! Congrats, Aileen. Listen to her recent appearance on the Houston Innovators Podcast with?Natalie Harms?to learn about Aileen’s background, her evolution into investing, and what she’s looking forward to in her new role at Mercury—link in comments.?

At Mercury, I invest under what we call the Power theme where I look for companies using technology to empower people. Specifically, I am interested in founders looking to create a more modern and inclusive global financial system. We’re following some brilliant and talented people out there, and we’re looking forward to helping them take the fintech landscape to the next level. If you have/know of a company that fits this theme, ping me. I’d love to hear from you. And if this is something you’re interested in learning more about, we'd love to see you at Software Day at the Ion next week for a panel I’m moderating with?Manolo Sánchez, the former CEO of BBVA Compass, and?Ian Epstein, the Global Head of Distribution and Capital Markets at?Republic. We'll be discussing how advances in blockchain are driving value creation in legacy industries and more. Register for the panel here:?https://lnkd.in/gg6YNYRi Ion Houston?Brad Burke?Roslynn Velasquez