Sunset Ventures

SPILL is launching an equity crowdfunding round after raising $5M in venture funding. The platform saw a 282% spike in signups from Q3 to Q4 2024 and is on track for $1M in annualized revenue. Kenya T. Parham has been promoted to chief growth officer as Spill expands its reach. My story on how Spill is expanding and what this means for its future: https://lnkd.in/eci9Phvj

?? Congrats to the Fall 2024 a16z Talent x Opportunity cohort! They did their thing last week during demo day at #LATechWeek. Thanks to the TxO team (Ashlee, Caitlin, Elizabeth, Kierston, Stacia, and Traron), our mentors and corporate partners for supporting them. A special thanks to Hamet Watt (Share Ventures) for sharing invaluable insights from his entrepreneurial and investor journey. Founders:?Jeff Ivory Win Feigle Ashlyn Greer Mel David Lane Petrauskas Derek Gauthier Mamadou Ndiaye Jr s/o: Jesús Salas Antonio Key Ashtan Jordan Allison McGuire Tijuana Ricks Jennifer Kamara Tiffany Johnson Tash Jefferies Peter Blackwood Tom Hammer Judene Small Jean-Louis Deborah Embaie, MPA and many more!

A few weeks ago, I had the honor of attending my first All Raise Summit. From the thoughtfully curated speakers and attendee list, to the picturesque venue in Half Moon Bay, this was one of the most memorable venture events I’ve attended. I’d like to extend gratitude and appreciation to Ita Ekpoudom (for the invite), Aileen Lee, Linnea Roberts, and Paige Hendrix Buckner for making an inclusive space for Allies to attend and help advance All Raise’s vital mission: making the tech ecosystem more accessible, equitable, and diverse. Below are some of the highlights from my All Raise Ally experience: 1. Portfolio Construction and Fund Returns My first stop was a breakout session on portfolio construction and fund returns. The session, led by Sarah Tavel (GP, Benchmark), Stephanie Palmeri (GP, NextView), and Satya Patel (GP, Homebrew), was transparent and insightful. A key discussion topic was the increasing pressure from LPs on emerging managers (EMs) to demonstrate DPI (Distributions to Paid-In-Capital). Some LPs have been suggesting that EMs consider selling positions in successful portfolio companies earlier than expected to realize DPI, which could help catalyze an EM's fundraising efforts. A useful takeaway from this session was the importance of a fund manager knowing, at all times, whether she is a "buyer" or "seller" for each asset in her portfolio. For instance, if the market is significantly overvaluing a portfolio company compared to your firm’s assessment of its intrinsic value, it might be a prudent time to sell. I plan on applying this framework to my portfolio management process to make more objective decisions on follow-ons and secondary sales. 2. Memorable Meet-and-greets with Multi-talented VCs ? Selfie with 2x Olympic Gold Medalist and pro cyclist Kristen Faulkner (former VC) ? Book signing with Deena Shakir (KF23; GP, Lux Capital), who authored "Leena Mo, CEO," a children’s book that has quickly become one of my 4-year-old daughter’s favorite bedtime reads. She is already the CEO of our house! 3. Evening Program & Dinner The evening began with a dynamic welcome speech from Paige, who shared key metrics on All Raise's VC ecosystem impact since its founding + an inside look into All Raise's flywheel strategy to change the culture and composition of the VC industry through 1. Impact 2. Data 3. Storytelling. I fortuitously got to sit with my good friend, Claudine Emeott (Partner, Salesforce Ventures) for the evening, which was a win 4. California's First Partner, Jennifer Newsom, kicked off my second day with an inspiring address. 5. Closing: Roundtable GP:LP Conversations The event concluded with intimate, small roundtable discussions between EMs and institutional LPs. This was a unique opportunity for me to spark new personal relationships with LPs in a low-stakes environment and build closer relationships with female GPs in the All Raise community, many of whom I plan to collaborate with on future investments.

Good times! Wonderful to break bread with friends Marlon C. Nichols , Monique Woodard, Michael Berolzheimer, Shruti Gandhi, Aaron Samuels, Michael Silton, Lindsay Lee, Ian Feeney, and Antonia Rojas Eing

Recently we had the opportunity to host an LP/GP dinner before the RAISE Global conference. It was an epic gathering of venture capital leaders made possible by our Kauffman Fellows friends. Thank you Avidbank for sponsoring, Carolina Huaranca Mendoza, Antonio Key, Ian Beadle, and Brittney Riley Gavini for collaborating, and Gerome Vizmanos for the great video! Cortado Ventures, Mike Moradi, Susan Moring

Upfront Summit is here and the top investors, founders, and operators are ready to party! Emerging LA is co-hosting with Clout Kitchen to throw an #UpfrontSummit after-party celebration?to wrap up the week at Academy LA. You will have a good time, whether you’re a - creator - founder - investor - tech enthusiast Many of the events this week are small, intimate, and exclusive. You may have attended all of them, some, or none yet… Well this mixer is open to all!! https://lnkd.in/gT2hsQS7 Shout out to our sponsors and co-hosts, &friends, Singapore Global Network (SGN), 100 Thieves, Gushcloud International, Z Venture Capital, Theory Forge Ventures, Weekend Fund, Sunset Ventures, Brandon Hoffman.

Join the 350+ founders and creators at this event tomorrow! ??#UpfrontSummit

AI took my job ?? Did you see me announce Kraftful 4.0 today? No, you didn’t. Because it was AI. Today, an AI avatar took my job as founder & CEO of Kraftful—to record a launch video. I gladly let it. Because recording announcement videos sucks. Here’s how you can let AI take parts of your job with Kraftful 4.0—so you can focus on building an amazing product: ?? Understand users needs with AI-analysis of support tix, calls, reviews ?? Collect feedback effortlessly via AI-powered interviews & surveys ?? Strategize faster with AI-written PRDs based on real user insights ? Assign work seamlessly with AI-written user stories, synced to Jira & Linear ?? See the big picture with a visual overview of feedback themes over time Kraftful 4.0 is live on Product Hunt—currently #2 Product of the Day! ?? It’s been a wild day (more on that soon), and I’d love your support. An upvote would mean the world: https://lnkd.in/gRe2wakm #AI #ProductManagement

Had fun in San Diego talking VC diligence for Seed & Series A startups! ??

Job Alert ?? Customer Success role at a YC backed GenAI fast growing startup ?? We at Sunset Ventures proudly invested in Shaun and his vision for Capitol AI !! ?? Happy to speak to anyone interested, DMs open. Or feel free to apply directly below.