Andy Greenawalt

In this week's episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast, I discuss the American Privacy Rights Act (APRA) and its potential impact on the digital ecosystem with Alan Chapell, a lawyer and digital privacy expert. To listen, search for "Mobile Dev Memo" in your podcast platform of choice.

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Today marks a groundbreaking moment for BLCK VC and our fellow collaborators—Diversity VC, All Raise, 2Gether-International, SomosVC, StartOut, and VetsinTech—as we proudly announce the launch of the Diversity Data Alliance. This important alliance underscores our unwavering commitment to nurturing a venture capital and entrepreneurial ecosystem abundant in equity and inclusiveness. By standardizing and linking our data, we empower ourselves with the essential tools to track deeper trends that have, until now, eluded us to identify and fill funding gaps for historically excluded investors, founders, and operators. We can’t change what we do not measure, and now with the Diversity Data Alliance, we're now equipped to do both. Join us in this mission. Learn more and get involved: https://lnkd.in/eEZKdrac #DiversityDataAlliance #BLCKVC #VentureCapital #MeasureToChange

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Drop In Venture Funding To Black-Founded Startups Greatly Outpaces Market Decline Chris MetinkoGené Teare February 27, 2024 Venture funding to Black-founded U.S. startups last year totaled only $705 million — marking the first time since 2016 that the figure failed to even reach $1 billion, Crunchbase data shows. The decline in capital to Black-founded companies greatly outpaces the overall decline in startup funding. While total venture dollars in the U.S. fell 37% last year, funding to Black-founded startups dropped a staggering 71%, according to Crunchbase data. Last year’s total investment in Black-founded startups in the U.S. marks the lowest amount since such startups raised only $582 million in 2016. The drop in total dollars also meant Black-founded startups received their lowest share in the venture market since at least 2016, per Crunchbase. Black-founded startups received less than 0.5% of the $140.4 billion in venture funding all U.S.-based startups received last year. In 2021, Black-founded startups received 1.4% of all U.S. venture funding. In 2022, it was 1.1%.

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🙏 I’m honored to have been featured on the cover of Paperjam’s latest Grand Dossier dedicated to Private Equity. It’s a privilege to share a few thoughts and insights with you. https://lnkd.in/dB5Fb4ff 🔍 📉 "Over the past 20 years, the number of companies *listed* on US stock exchanges has declined from 7,300 in 1996 to 4,300 in 2020, a 37% drop. At the same time, the number of companies financed by private equity funds has increased sixfold, from 1,900 to 11,200, he explains. The same trend is observed in Europe. It is an upheaval in the functioning of capital markets. This phenomenon tells us that companies looking for financing to support their development are more likely to turn to private investors than to the stock market." The ramifications of this go far and wide... I want to thank Paperjam for this opportunity and extend my gratitude to all the incredible colleagues and partners at Expon Capital and LPEA - Luxembourg Private Equity & Venture Capital Association. If you’re interested in the latest trends and discussions in Private Equity, I encourage you to check out this issue.

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Today, I was reminded of two remarkably prescient 1997 ACM, Association for Computing Machinery presentations: the first by Nathan Myhrvold and the second by Bran Ferran. If you are not a member of the ACM - I highly recommend joining. Nathan Myhrvold The future of software, the software industry, and Windows '47 https://lnkd.in/egMwYty Bran Ferran How IT will transform the experience of telling and listening to stories https://lnkd.in/gqF7C7TK

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This analysis, at least anecdotally makes sense to me. In many situations, infringe and holdout is the least painful option for large infringers. The system enables it. - The plaintiff must allocate the time and $$ to assert, taking time and $$ away from selling and developing products. Even if they engage litigation financiers they are limiting their upside potential. - The infringer continues to infringe while employing stall tactics or simply relying on the painfully slow, overburdened legal system. - The cost benefit analysis for infringers - "infringe and pay lawyers" typically outweighs the cost of design around or license. - Enhanced damages and injunctions are rare. - Litigation insurance products reduce risk all around. "The Marcum report shows that there is indeed something wrong with the patent system in the United States but it’s not excessive litigation or patent trolls. The real problem is the inability of patent owners to enforce their rights against infringers. Given the difficulty of obtaining injunctive relief and the limited enhancement of damages, it is unsurprising that predatory infringement has become a standard business practice when, at worst, all an infringer can be expected to pay is a reasonable royalty and, at best, nothing at all."

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My amazing cousin, Cleven Ticeson (https://lnkd.in/gWis4xX6) , a 14 time Emmy award winning producer for KCTS9 in Seattle, is a hero of mine. I grew up watching the educational shows like Bill Nye and the performing arts they would showcase. He was following the work I have been doing de-siloing the Black professional class working in venture scale entrepreneurship in the Pacific Northwest and composed a news reel covering Dreamward Group that moved me not only because he is my hyper-talented and dear cousin but because it voiced and gave me the perspective of the decades that what we’re building has been missing from the mass culture and my culture. Lewis Rudd once told me that the hardest target to hit is an invisible one and my dear cousin hit me right in the heart by speaking in his video about the unseen, but nonetheless felt, absence of inclusive capitalization of startups. Felt by the generation of Black people that watched the tech industry grow not only painting Black technologists and Black founders out of the heroic saga of tech, but Black funders as well. I am so glad that Dreamward Group is able to paint the target and make it visible through our work. Venture Capital, the financial backing of the tech industry, just like tech itself, had an evolution with foundational moments in the 70s on Sand Hill Road in Silicon Valley yet it’s mechanics, drama, and operation are largely unknown to the public that isn’t working in tech entrepreneurship. It’s trajectory and heights of accomplishment with Andreessen Horowitz and Madrona Ventures are parallel and analogous to Google and Amazon…But only the later two brands are household names to people outside of the industry. The world knows the story of Black people being excluded from Tech, It knows the story of Black people being excluded from executive leadership. It experienced the Obama administration and the depravity of the Trump backlash and had to ask itself why it had actively or passively participated in writing off Black professionals. Some of the world hears of Black founders getting less than 2% of invested capital, but even on hearing that, they don’t know the story of Black people being excluded from the role of deciding which startups get funded using a yet third party’s (often their own government’s) money…That is the story of Venture Capital today, and that’s what Dreamward is changing for the future.

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Congratulations to the entire SewerAI team—Matthew Rosenthal & Billy Gilmartin—on securing their $15 million Series B funding to transform sewer inspections using advanced AI and cloud technology. We are thrilled to continue our support at Builders VC, having led the seed round in 2020. Big thanks to Innovius Capital, supported by Emerald Technology Ventures, Suffolk Technologies Bentley Systems and Zachary Bookman for leading this round and helping to continue to push the vision to drive innovation and efficiency in critical infrastructure management. Why This Matters 👇 🚰 Aging Infrastructure: The U.S. alone faces over $1 trillion in necessary repairs, with nearly $700 billion needed over the next 20 years to maintain existing pipelines. 🌍 Climate Impact: Climate change increases the risk of sewage failures due to more frequent and severe floods. 🛠 Efficiency Gains: Legacy systems are slow and error-prone, keeping crews idle 66% of the time. SewerAI’s platform doubles inspection efficiency, enhances data quality, and reduces turnaround times. SewerAI has footage of inspections covering 135 million feet of pipes from municipalities and independent contractors. While this is only a fraction of the 6.8 billion feet of sewer pipes in the U.S., it provides a substantial dataset to train a highly competitive defect-detecting AI. The platform streamlines inspection data management by uploading to the cloud, tagging issues for proactive maintenance, and creating 3D models from videos, significantly enhancing collaboration and workflow efficiency. Additionally, customizable analytics tools assess infrastructure risks with precise metrics, aiding in comprehensive risk assessment and maintenance planning. This investment is particularly significant to me due to City of Calgary's water shortage and state of emergency, underscoring the global need for innovative infrastructure solutions. The outdated nature of these systems means the U.S. requires significant investments over the next 20 years to maintain wastewater, stormwater, and clean water pipelines, as many post-WWII systems are now failing and driving up costs. https://lnkd.in/gH4cJrpw

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🌟 Join Our Panel Discussion on Licensing vs. Manufacturing: Are you navigating the decision between licensing and manufacturing for your software, hardware, or physical product? I'll be speaking from the US Government Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today at 11 AM virtually: 🔗 Event Link: https://lnkd.in/g3VTnCvq What you'll learn: - Pros and cons of licensing vs. manufacturing - What companies need to see to license your product - What can and cannot be licensed - What you need to know to manufacture Thank you Larry Udell for organizing this wonderful event! #Engineering #Entrepreneurship #Innovation #USPTO #IntellectualProperty

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Wonderful article about Emily Knight and the whole The Engine Accelerator team on the amazing work their doing changing the world with #ToughTech!

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🚀 AlleyCorp Closes $250M Fund to Fuel Tech Innovation in NYC and Beyond🗽 🌟 Founded by NYC internet entrepreneur Kevin Ryan, AlleyCorp incubates and invests in transformative companies across diverse verticals including Diversified Technology, Healthcare, Robotics, and Impact. 💡💰 🤝 The fund, backed by a select group of LPs, supports AlleyCorp's mission to originate ideas, hire teams, provide initial funding, and maintain integral leadership throughout the company’s lifecycle. 🌱🔍 💼 With about 20–30 new investments and 5–8 incubations per year, AlleyCorp has a track record of nurturing early-stage tech pioneers. 📈🌐 🦄 Notable investments include MongoDB (NASDAQ: MDB), Business Insider, Gilt Groupe, Zola, and Nomad Health, shaping the landscape of tech innovation in NYC. 🌆🌟 🔬 AlleyCorp also announces the incubation of Radical AI, pioneering AI-driven materials design, and Conduce Health, revolutionizing access to personalized healthcare specialists. 💻🏥 ✅ Looking to raise capital for your #fund and increase the international pool of your LP #investors?   🤝 Need warm #LP introductions?   📝 Selling #secondaries to increase liquidity?   🧐 Looking for co-investments?   ▶ G+QUANT's link for inquiries and fund decks: https://lnkd.in/gjC_EuTE #VentureCapital #TechInnovation #NYCTech #StartupInvestment #Incubation #AlleyCorp #ImpactInvesting #HealthTech #AI #Robotics #DiversifiedTechnology #InvestmentStrategy

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Thank you to MIT Technology Review for hosting me at its Future Compute conference this week in Boston! I had a wonderful conversation with Amy Nordrum on "Friction Theory," including ways to get people to say yes to a new idea or innovation and how to turn the frictions that hold them back into important catalysts for change. It was especially interesting speaking to a technology audience, given technology's pace of change will never be as slow as it is today. #MITFutureCompute #DigitalLeadership #FutureCompute

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This is quite a piece on accusations of unethical pay-to-play within the #cyber #VC ecosystem. -Guaranteed first-year sales for portfolio companies -Formal loyalty program for CISOs -Points awarded within the program for CISO commitment level to portfolio companies (meetings, PoCs, product purchases) -Share of GP fees for CISOs in the loyalty program https://lnkd.in/gDta7Gp7

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A great The Angel Nest Podcast episode recorded yesterday with Thomas Wisniewski of newark venture partners! Really insightful conversation around trends in Seed stage investing, how metrics matter in communicating traction, and important aspects of financial modeling for early stage startups. Many thanks for your time Tom and thanks David Hemenway as always for hosting. Look out for the release of the episode soon! #angelinvesting #seedstage #startups #financialmodeling #venturecapital #startups

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UNLOCKING THE SECREATS OF THE GLOBAL VC ECOSYSTEM : A SUMMIT FOR LIMITED PARTNERS AND VENTURE CAPITALISTS TO THE GLOBAL VC's ECOSYSTEM SUMMIT -------------- 💰💵 Check 1st post in features section in my profile 💵💰 -------------- #VCEcosystemSummit #VentureCapital #LimitedPartners #Investment #PortfolioManagement #GrowthStrategy #IndustryLeaders #Networking #Collaboration #Innovation #Startup #Entrepreneurship #Funding #Investor #LP #GP #VC #PrivateEquity #HedgeFund #AssetManagement #WealthManagement #FinancialServices #InvestmentBanking #CapitalMarkets #BusinessGrowth #Scaling #Expansion #Disruption #Volatility #RiskManagement #Resilience #Sustainability #ESG #ImpactInvesting #Diversity #Inclusion #Equity #Equality #WomenInVC #WomenInFinance #MenInVC #MenInFinance #VentureCapitalist #InvestmentBanker #FinancialAnalyst #PortfolioManager #InvestmentManager #AssetManager #WealthManager #FinancialPlanner #InvestmentAdvisor #VCFirm #StartupAccelerator #Incubator #CoworkingSpace #EntrepreneurialEcosystem #InnovationHub #BusinessNetworking #ProfessionalDevelopment #Leadership #Mentorship #CareerGrowth #IndustryTrends #MarketInsights #FinancialRegulations #InvestmentStrategy #RiskAssessment #DueDiligence #DealMaking #MandA #IPO #PrivatePlacement #HedgeFundManager #AssetAllocator #FamilyOffice #SovereignWealthFund #PensionFund #EndowmentFund #VentureCapitalInvesting #StartupFunding #GrowthCapital #ExpansionCapital #Buyout #Recapitalization #Restructuring #Turnaround #DistressedInvesting #SpecialSituations #EventDriven #CreditInvesting #DebtFinancing #EquityInvesting #MezzanineFinancing #GrowthEquity #VentureDebt #SeedFunding #SeriesA #SeriesB #SeriesC #IPOPrep #PreIPO #PostIPO #PrivateCompany #PublicCompany #MicroVC #NanoVC #SeedStage #EarlyStage #GrowthStage #LateStage #PrivateEquityFund #HedgeFundManager #InvestmentPortfolio #RiskManagementStrategy #InvestmentResearch #FinancialPlanning #WealthCreation #CapitalGrowth #InvestmentOpportunities #BusinessExpansion #MarketTrends #IndustryInsights #FinancialInnovation #InvestmentInnovation #VCDeals #StartupSuccess #InvestmentStrategy #PortfolioDiversification #InvestmentRisk #InvestmentReturn #InvestmentGrowth #InvestmentIncome #InvestmentManagement #InvestmentConsulting #PrivateEquityInvesting #HedgeFundInvesting #VentureCapitalInvesting #AngelInvesting #ImpactInvesting #SustainableInvesting #ESGInvesting #ResponsibleInvesting #InvestmentFirms #InvestmentCompanies #InvestmentPartners #InvestmentNetwork #InvestmentCommunity #InvestmentEvents #InvestmentConferences #InvestmentSummit #InvestmentForum #InvestmentRoundtable #StartupInvesting #EarlyStageInvesting #GrowthStageInvesting #LateStageInvesting #PrivateEquityFirms #HedgeFundManagers #VentureCapitalFirms #AngelGroups #ImpactInvestors

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In last week’s radical Briefing, Jeffrey made a strong argument that we explore (and embrace) the “messy middle” in our endeavors to shape the future. His remarks hit a nerve with our community—we had lots of good conversations both on Substack and in our WhatsApp channel. Building on Jeffrey’s insight, I believe for organizations of all kinds to successfully navigate the ambiguity (and thus “messiness”) of our world, it is paramount to have clarity on their North Star. German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once observed that “if you know the why, you can live any how.” And, of course, American author Simon Sinek, in his famous TED talk, urged leaders to “start with why.” If this sounds familiar, and you count yourself lucky to work for (or run) an organization that has done the work of creating and communicating a good mission statement, consider this wrinkle: Is your mission statement, your North Star, your why clear, concise, and memorable? Can your people recite it by heart and do they truly understand your organization’s direction? Does it work not only as an aspirational tagline but as the ultimate clarifying device it ought to be? All too often, when I look up a company’s mission statement, it reads something like this: …blah blah blah blah innovation blah blah blah culture blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah market leader blah blah blah blah blah blah honesty blah blah blah blah excellence blah blah integrity blah blah blah blah strategies blah blah blah blah… To make sure your mission statement is not just a fancy marketing slogan but truly operates as your organization’s North Star, Kevin Starr, CEO of the Mulago Foundation, created the Eight-Word-Mission-Statement: Formulate your mission statement in the form of Verb – Target – Outcome—using eight words or less. In more detail: What are you doing (verb), for whose benefit (target), to what end (outcome). It is a powerful method to clarify and create a yardstick to measure whether any activity is inside or outside your scope. Want an example? Be radical’s mission statement is “Enable leaders and learners to seize the future.” We enable by teaching tools and frameworks, focusing on leaders inside organizations, not frontline employees, to build the future, which means we don’t work on day-to-day strategy. Your Eight-Word-Mission-Statement might not be suitable for marketing materials, but it will become the guiding star for you and your team, helping you clearly understand your activities (and, equally as important, what you don’t do). It is the sentence your people can recite even at 2am if asked: What does your company (and you) do? And it provides the clarity you and your organization need to navigate the messy middle, ambiguity, and uncertainty. Lastly, you can create Eight-Word-Mission-Statements not only for the company but also for business or organizational units, teams, and even for yourself. Give it a try—and if you like, share it here. #strategy #missionstatement

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Early stage founders run into this all the time: So much to do and not enough resources. The best advice: 1) pause; 2) think through the what, the why, and the how. That’s how you’ll achieve your goals. In our newest episode, Bryan Karas and guest Catherine Donaldson, startup and Go-To-Market leader, dive into the Go-To-Market landscape and the common challenges that early-stage founders face at different inflection points. Are you at an inflection point? Tune in and you’ll find out. Link in the comments.

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Startup founders, you don't have to do it alone! Apply now to join the Techstars Boston Accelerator and gain access to our extensive network! We are looking to select 12 high-growth startups to participate in our 13-week Techstars Boston accelerator program kicking off in September -- apply now or tag a founder below who you think might be a good fit!  https://lnkd.in/gbi3hAGi #startups #founders #entrepreneurs #boston 

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