MAGIC Fund

Smart founders know that not everyone is their customer. Our GP, Alison Cheung shares why identifying your target audience is essential!

Honored to be part of the Magic Fund founders. We love having other founders on the cap table who know what this journey is like.

When Madhu Punjabi co-founded Lion Pose in 2020, she wasn’t just launching another skincare brand—she was filling a critical gap in the beauty industry. Frustrated by the lack of clinical solutions for hyperpigmentation and hormonal acne, she set out to build a product that wasn't just inclusive but also backed with rigorous testing on deeper skin tones. Madhu has never followed the conventional path. From interviewing artists on MTV Hits to competing at Miss India Northern California, she has always had a knack for seizing opportunities and turning moments into momentum. At NYU, she not only pursued Finance, Marketing & Music but also used it for shaping her career across tech, venture capital, and consumer brands. At Google, Pinterest, and Facebook, she built products that changed how people shop and engage online, earning industry recognition along the way. Her first startup, Huggable, was a brave plunge into baby nutrition and was scaled upwards to $10M in revenue before a successful exit. But it was Lion Pose that brought her story full circle-her personal experience combining with her ability in building brands, technology, and consumer trust. At MAGIC, we back founders who turn problems into solutions and ideas into impact. Madhu embodies what it means to be a visionary operator—building not just for today, but for the future of beauty.

Valuation caps are a crucial component of startup fundraising.?They set the maximum price investors will pay for equity when their investment converts, regardless of how the company's value grows over time. By setting a valuation cap, founders can protect their startups from being undervalued in future funding rounds, ensuring they get the fair share of their hard work.?On the other hand, investors use valuation caps to ensure they receive a fair return on their investment, especially in high-growth startups. Understanding valuation caps is crucial for founders seeking funding and investors looking to maximize their returns.

Meet Troy Osinoff, General Partner at MAGIC Fund, where he leads consumer investments, leveraging years of experience in building and scaling some of the world’s most recognizable brands. A serial entrepreneur and investor, Troy has played a pivotal role in shaping the digital marketing and startup landscape. His entrepreneurial journey began at just eight years old when he started building websites for businesses in New York. By 2008, his MakeA— product line went viral, earning him a spot on Dr. Phil. His flagship products—MakeAdare and MakeAGIF—gained widespread traction and were later acquired. Since then, he has continued launching and scaling innovative digital products, including Pokematch, a Pokémon Go dating app with over 300K active users, and the Fuze Case, the first iPhone 7 case with a built-in headphone jack, which quickly went viral. In 2017, Troy co-founded JUICE, a holistic digital marketing agency recognized as one of America’s fastest-growing companies, earning multiple awards and recognitions. Through JUICE, he has helped entrepreneurs generate over $1 billion in revenue. In 2019, he co-founded Peachy, a platform designed to help e-commerce entrepreneurs optimize their digital storefronts, drive revenue, and scale through thoughtfully crafted digital experiences. Beyond business, Troy is a published author. His book, My Bad Parent: Do As I Say, Not as I Did, was published by Penguin Group USA in 2012, with rights later acquired by FOX. He has also advised and invested in innovative companies such as Synthesia, Lavender AI, and Dovetale. One of his key investments at MAGIC Fund, ZZ Driggs, is redefining the furniture industry with a circular, sustainable model. Recognizing shifting consumer preferences in the $121 billion U.S. furniture market—including a move toward renting over buying, increasing sustainability awareness, and the rise of remote work—Troy saw an immense opportunity in ZZ Driggs and backed it as a brand poised for long-term growth. His expertise spans digital marketing, customer acquisition, and growth hacking. He previously served as Head of Customer Acquisition at BuzzFeed in 2017 and Director of Digital Marketing at Watsco, a publicly traded company with over $7 billion in annual revenue, from 2015 to 2016. Troy’s skills extend beyond his ventures—he is highly regarded for his expertise in SEO, social media marketing, online advertising, and business development. With a strong personal brand, he has amassed nearly 400K followers across his social media channels. Now at MAGIC Fund, Troy applies his deep understanding of consumer behavior, digital marketing, and viral growth to support the next generation of breakout consumer brands.

At MAGIC, we are committed to supporting founders who are revolutionizing industries. One of such is Proglix, which is transforming how businesses in Indonesia access metal and steel. Through enhanced efficiency, transparency, and innovative financial solutions, PROGLIX is paving the way for the future of industrial procurement and empowering businesses to scale.

We are excited to announce that Surf, our portfolio company, has been acquired by Datacy, a leading consumer insights company. Surf rewards users for sharing anonymized browsing insights, allowing them to earn points redeemable for discounts and gift cards. This acquisition enhances Datacy’s mission to empower brands through valuable consumer insights and gives users even more opportunities to benefit from their data in a privacy-first way.

SAFE Notes (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) were created by Y Combinator in 2013 to make early-stage fundraising faster, simpler, and more founder-friendly. Before SAFE Notes, startups faced a valuation dilemma: there was no clear way to determine their worth at an early stage. Investors had to negotiate valuations too soon, making fundraising complex and uncertain. SAFE Notes solved this by allowing investors to invest without setting a valuation upfront. Instead, when the startup raises a priced round, typically at Series A, its valuation is established, and investors can convert their SAFE Notes based on the agreed terms. To make fundraising even easier, Y Combinator provides a FREE SAFE Notes template, allowing founders to skip legal costs and focus on building. However, SAFE Notes comes with challenges. Investors don’t get immediate ownership, and founders may face unexpected dilution when shares convert. Still, SAFE Notes have transformed startup funding, helping founders focus on what truly matters, building and scaling.

Successful founders know that the best insights come straight from the source. Our General Partner, Jacob Cohen, shares why talking to users isn’t just a step in the process—it’s the key to deeply understanding market needs, refining product strategy, and building truly successful companies.

In 2021, Jess Anuna founded Klasha to revolutionize cross-border commerce between Africa and the world. Today, Klasha operates in six African countries, processes payouts in 120+ currencies, and has launched groundbreaking solutions like?Pay to China?to streamline B2B trade—bridging gaps she once navigated firsthand. A British-Nigerian entrepreneur fluent in Mandarin, Jess’s global perspective was forged early. She studied journalism, French, and politics at City, University of London, later mastering Mandarin at institutions like Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the Confucious Institute for Business, London. Her career began in luxury retail at Selfridges, evolved through e-commerce logistics at NET-A-PORTER and Amazon, and crystallized during her tenure at Shopify, where she scaled enterprise brands globally. Before Klasha, Jess founded RestockChina, a venture exporting goods from China to Western markets. This experience exposed her to the complexities of cross-border supply chains—pain points she’d later address at Klasha. Jess’s leadership has earned her global recognition: Forbes 30 Under 30, Management Today’s “35 Under 35,” and the 2023 UN Women in Business Award for advancing financial inclusion. At MAGIC, we are delighted to back founders like Jess—innovators rewriting the rules of global commerce and building bridges where others see borders.?