July Newsletter: Upcoming conferences, founder stories, and funding options in 2023

With an exhilarating conference season for tech founders and investors ahead, we bumped our short list of must-attend events to the top of our monthly newsletter.?We hope to see you there.?If you are attending any of these events, you can use the links below to schedule a meeting with our investment team.

Read on to learn about Factor House 's software built for engineers, Arrivalist 's acquisition, new partner discounts, trending articles, and our latest podcast featuring Signeasy CEO's success tips.?

U.S. EVENTS

• Post Banking Crisis: The Current State of Tech Banking and Lending ?| August 2 from 3-5 pm PT | Bellevue, WA. Join investment director Jody Page ?and a panel of experts discussing the current state of banking and lending for tech companies. What does the landscape look like today? How should entrepreneurs think about banking? What are lenders looking for from tech companies today?
• youngStartup Ventures New York Venture Summit?| September 6-7 | New York, NY. Where innovation meets capital in New York. Join?innovators and investors at this two-day event.?Meet up with investment director Jamie Moy | Buy Tickets
• SaaStr Annual 2023?| September 6-8 | San Francisco, CA. Join 12,500 cloud and SaaS founders, VCs, and executives at the world's largest SaaS conference.?Meet up with our investment team | Buy Tickets
• TechCrunch Disrupt 2023?| September 19-21 | San Francisco, CA. Whether you’re a startup rookie learning the ropes, a seasoned investor searching for the next big thing, or a founder hell-bent on changing the world - Disrupt delivers the tools, knowledge, and connections to help you make it happen. Prices increase Aug 11.?Meet up with investment director Leah Edwards | Buy Tickets
• 3686 Festival ?| September 19-21, 2023 | Nashville, TN. 3686 is LaunchTN’s multi-day entrepreneur festival in Nashville, TN. Attendees can expect investor connections, networking sessions, interactive meetups, and entertainment.?Meet up with investment director Lowery Thomas | Buy Tickets
• Venture Atlanta Conference Atlanta?| September 27-28 | Atlanta, GA. A venture conference that connects the Southeast’s most promising tech companies to capital.?Meet up with investment director Lowery Thomas | Register
• 2023 U.S. Lighter Summit ?| October 11-13 | Austin, TX. Exclusive to Lighter clients. Join 40+ like-minded founders, CEOs, and leaders from SaaS and technology startups for a two-day retreat to learn, grow, and be inspired.?

AUSTRALIA EVENTS

• Unlocking Growth: Navigating Funding Options for Tech Startups ?| 23 August | Webinar. Join us for an informative webinar featuring an expert panel of industry leaders: Melissa Widner (CEO, Lighter Capital ),? Samantha Wong (General Partner, Blackbird ), and? Adib Wibawa (Senior Business Development Manager, 麦格理集团 )?in Australia. Panelists will delve into the world of funding options for tech startups, providing insights and strategies for entrepreneurs seeking to fuel their growth.?Register here .?
• FinTech Australia : Intersekt Fintech Festival 2023?| 30-31 August | Melbourne. Attend the largest gathering of Australian Fintechs, hubs, accelerators, policymakers, regulators, investors, and advisors, devoted to examining, discussing, and unlocking the potential of Australia’s Fintech market.?Meet up with investment director Matt Dowling | Register
• SXSW Sydney ?| 15-22 October | Sydney. An extension of the iconic SXSW? Austin festival, originally founded in 1987, SXSW Sydney will be an essential destination for professionals to discover the untapped potential of the APAC region, showcase talent, create unmatched connections, and marvel amongst the diverse topics and performances set to take place.?Meet up with investment director Greg Bryan | Buy Badges

STARTUP SPOTLIGHT

• Factor House to Accelerate Early-Stage Growth with Lighter Capital Funding . Factor House ?is on a mission to empower the next generation of software engineers.?Formally founded in 2019, the Melbourne-based startup has gained traction with its flagship product,?Kpow , a web-based enterprise application, which gives engineers simple, secure tools to monitor, manage and control Apache Kafka-powered systems.?Read the full announce ment .
• Arrivalist Acquired by AirDNA . We're excited to announce that Lighter client, Arrivalist , is joining forces with AirDNA , the largest provider of Short-Term-Rental data, through an acquisition by AirDNA. This partnership will bring their clients expanded resources, more data, and lay the foundation for the next generation of insights that travel marketers need.?Read the full announcement .

FOUNDERS' HUB

Free resources to level up your financial IQ, master cash-flow management, and learn business best practices so you can maximize your ownership value as you grow your startup into a booming tech business.?

Trending?Articles

• The Bootstrapped Startup’s Guide to Debt Financing
• Startup Runway Explained: How to Calculate When Your SaaS Business Will Run Out of Cash
• How SaaS Startups Can Minimize Their Customer Concentration Risk
• 5 SaaS Funding Options to Extend Your Runway in 2023 ?

Read more articles

Podcast | Bootstrapped: The Lighter Side

• Sunil Patro , CEO and founder of Signeasy ,?talks about his remarkable transition from a passionate employee at prestigious companies like Microsoft to becoming a bootstrapping founder of a thriving SaaS company with millions in ARR .
• Sharon Nouh , CEO and founder of ProSpend ,?delves into her journey of achieving over $1M ARR as a solo entrepreneur. She discusses building her team and highlights three essential aspects that CEOs should focus on daily for achieving success .
• ? Mike Preuss , CEO of Visible.vc ,?provides best practices for success as a remote company, tips for staying motivated, and why you should always follow your gut .

Listen to all episodes . Alternatively, listen to Bootstrapped: The Lighter Side on?Apple Podcasts ?or?Spotify .

Startup Funding Calculators

• Startup Valuation Calculator
• Equity Dilution Calculator

On-Demand Webinars

• Forecasting 2023 - Mid-Year Financial Review ?Experts from Lighter Capital, Forecastr , and Right Side Capital Management provide advice on navigating the current funding market, different funding options available, how to plan ahead, and more.
• NachoTuesday: The State of Startup Funding in 2023 ?Investment director Leah Edwards joins NachoNacho for a webinar to discuss: how to land startup funding in a tough economic environment, startup funding trends in 2023, and how to pitch investors and land the deal.

PARTNER NETWORK

New partners have generously added to our?Client Perk Program ?this month. As a client of Lighter Capital, you have access to?over $100,000 in product and service discounts. We are continually adding resources that help you grow your startup more efficiently.

Highlighted Offerings

• Boast .ai?automates access to billions in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives so companies can fuel their growth while preserving equity and avoiding red tape. Armed with $123M USD in funding, Boast.ai is on a mission to help innovative companies become successful. Get 20% off R&D tax credit/SR&ED rates, free R&D tax/SR&ED software, access to learn from R&D/SR&ED experts, and more.
• Compass East ?scales finance and accounting operations for B2B SaaS. We provide full accounting and FP&A teams to streamline your finance operations and eliminate challenges around revenue recognition, SaaS KPI dashboards, budgeting, forecasting, GAAP compliance, and more. Get 20% off implementation fees during onboarding (~$7,500 value).
• SixFifty ?takes the efficiency of technology and combines it with top-tier legal expertise to provide trusted and affordable legal documents. Our customized document generation tool offers the affordability of doing it yourself, the confidence of knowing it's backed by world-class legal experts, and the peace of mind from automated updates as the laws change. 30% off on all Employment & Privacy Law documents. This offer includes a living employee handbook and a policy library with over 65 policies.?Join their upcoming webinar on Thursday, August 3rd -?Register here .

COMMUNITY

Sponsor the 2023 U.S. Lighter Summit

Connect, collaborate, and expand your knowledge with 40-plus like-minded tech founders at our two-day retreat in Austin, Texas. Sponsors can participate in all Summit activities and provide mentorship to attendees. Three sponsorship tiers are available.?Reach out to? Caitlin Goetze , head of partnerships and community, for more information.

WHY CHOOSE LIGHTER?

With a portfolio of over 500 companies and a network of successful entrepreneurs, Lighter Capital fosters a true partnership approach, supporting founders and CEOs who are keenly focused on expanding their companies.?

Founders share why they chose to work with Lighter Capital. From?strategic growth funding?and?preserving equity?to?connecting with like-minded individuals?in a mission-driven community. W atch Now

At Lighter Capital, we believe in the power of community and collaboration, and this newsletter serves as a platform to bring together like-minded individuals who share a passion for innovation and growth. We are here to support you every step of the way.

Thank you for reading.?

Best,?

The Lighter Capital Team