Join us tomorrow for a panel discussion on the complex relationship many FirstGens have to money and how that affects founders, investors, operators and others. See you tomorrow! https://lu.ma/9rixyzgs
So thoughtfully curated by you Mat Kaliski. It’s a privilege to be in this community.
Good article
I enjoyed reading this article a lot, as it explains the mental traps investors often fall into and serves as a good reminder for any early-stage/venture investors. Investing in a company is a partnership with its founders, and that requires mutual respect and trust. Knowing how to be supportive and helpful while not overstepping but giving the necessary space for the founders to drive the business forward is an art, not a science - much like any meaningful relationship.
Join us for our next conversation, FirstGen: A Complex Relationship to Money on Tuesday June 25th. Money and our relationship to it influences so much of how we make business decisions. Growing up with less means, often entails that first generation and immigrant founders have a more complex relationship to money than most entrepreneurs. The lived experiences and cultural norms can lead to a number of limiting beliefs or scarcity mindsets that have significant consequences on the decisions founders make and also the emotional burdens they carry. Join us for a conversation as we dive into how first generation and immigrant founders think about money - the mindsets, beliefs and constructs that shape decision-making. Thank you to our panelists which span the lived spectrum of the firstgen experience: ✔ Ray Fu, Co-founder and CEO at Nickel ✔ Lei Bely-Cheng 成蕾, Director, Wealth Advisor at Citizens ✔ David Tswamuno Funder and Managing Partner of Fairbridge ✔ Evelysse Vargas, Partner at BEA Venture Fund Link to register is below, we hope to see you there! Ines Gramegna James Hueston #firstgen #firstgenfounders #immigrantfounders #nyc #nyctech #entreprenuership #immigrant #founders
Discover the incredible strength of the Citrine Angels community! As a #member of #CitrineAngels, you can #invest as little as $5,000 to support #startups, uniting with fellow #AngelInvestors to make a substantial impact through your investment. Learn more and join today: https://lnkd.in/eDGgqzzp #WomenInBusiness #AngelInvesting #FemaleFounded #Entrepreneurship #CEO
Avid Multifamily Investor | Aiming to teach you how to make the best investment decisions and make market-beating returns.
How has our team raised over $52 million in private equity, all from accredited investors with an average investment of $225k: I will keep this very simple. We have built trust with each and every investor. It's that simple...... But, how? 1/ When we first meet an investor, before they invest, we have 3 priorities. a) Speak with them on the phone and uncover their investment insecurities, problems with investing, and solutions they are looking for. b) Our second priority is to see their face, typically through Zoom. c) Our third priority is to see them in person if possible. I get coffee with investors, offer lunches, and do investor appreciation events. (Our team just held one last week and got 8-12 investors "off the fence." 2/ Set them up to get company offerings and update They probably won't invest in the first one, or second one or fifth one.... But, when they see you succeed, see the way you communicate, and understand your values, they start trusting you. 3/ Sell your vision and values before the investment There are thousands of deals investors can invest in. So, why choose yours? YOU. They trust the GPs before they trust the deal. Focus on delivering yourself in a way that provides MASSIVE value to them. 4/ Ask for referral When you ask for referrals, it reinforces the trust the active investor has in your company AND furthers the trust the new investor will have. 90% of our investors have come from word of mouth.... BUILD TRUST! I hope this helps you. Repost this if you found value!
One of my favorite moments from Moses Kagan and Simran Kagan's www.reconvene.com was Matthew Gottesdiener talking about the whitespace between an investor's pitch and their investment strategy. In short, there shouldn't be any. Matt is able to attract aligned institutional capital because his words match his strategy. On stage, he repeated something he's likely said hundreds of times before: "We are doing this to get rich slowly, tax efficiently over time." "We're all about slow, steady, compounded, tax-efficient wealth creation." Having capital is not good enough. GPs should yearn for capital partners that see the world as they see it - with money: strategy alignment that has no whitespace between it. Once you find that type of capital partner, all that's left is to do what you say you're going to do, consistently over time. P.S. Compounding is beautiful. #Alwaysbecompounding #1031this #cre
Author @ Innovative Finance Newsletter // Investor @ Greater Colorado Venture Fund (rural CO only) and Kokopelli Capital // Co-conspirator w/ GPs also working towards a better finance future.
Even profitability is starting to sound like shiny-object syndrome from the VC PR hum. Except there are a few critical differences: 1 - Every investor must be invited by a profitable founder to invest. Gone is the "founder/investor friendly" market push/pull. Profitable founders don't need you. 2 - A lot of funds are far too big to deploy into cos that aren't planning on successive rounds. *Watch out* for big funds trumpeting profitability just to get the first 6-7 fig. check written to good profit-minded founders, and then doing an about face to figure out how to deploy the 8 fig. checks into their winners, founder autonomy be damned. I'm still excited about this era and better alignment around health and prosperity for everyone involved, but snake oil won't sell itself!
Short on time? Here are the key takeaways: 1. When it comes to investing, rules are: there are no rules 2. You’re not selling your company today—you’re selling your company’s future 3. The investor community is small and communicative 4. Make sure you optimize (and understand!) the terms you accept 5. Momentum matters 6. Capital is necessary, but it’s not the goal 7. Know what you’re signing up for 🤨
OpenAI's Sam Altman interviews serial founder and legendary VC investor Vinod Khosla. Sam asks "What percent of investors are good company builders?" Vinod responds with 3 powerful statements: 1️⃣ 90% of VCs add no value 2️⃣ 70% of VCs add negative value 3️⃣ If you haven't built a company before, you haven't earned the right to advise an entrepreneur #VentureCapital #Fundraising #Founders
Avid Multifamily Investor | Aiming to teach you how to make the best investment decisions and make market-beating returns.
How has our team raised over $52 million in private equity, all from accredited investors with an average investment of $225k: I will keep this very simple. We have built trust with each and every investor. It's that simple...... But, how? 1/ When we first meet an investor, before they invest, we have 3 priorities. a) Speak with them on the phone and uncover their investment insecurities, problems with investing, and solutions they are looking for. b) Our second priority is to see their face, typically through Zoom. c) Our third priority is to see them in person if possible. I get coffee with investors, offer lunches, and do investor appreciation events. (Our team just held one last week and got 8-12 investors "off the fence." 2/ Set them up to get company offerings and update They probably won't invest in the first one, or second one or fifth one.... But, when they see you succeed, see the way you communicate, and understand your values, they start trusting you. 3/ Sell your vision and values before the investment There are thousands of deals investors can invest in. So, why choose yours? YOU. They trust the GPs before they trust the deal. Focus on delivering yourself in a way that provides MASSIVE value to them. 4/ Ask for referral When you ask for referrals, it reinforces the trust the active investor has in your company AND furthers the trust the new investor will have. 90% of our investors have come from word of mouth.... BUILD TRUST! I hope this helps you. Repost this if you found value!
Short on time? Here are the key takeaways: 1. When it comes to investing, rules are: there are no rules 2. You’re not selling your company today—you’re selling your company’s future 3. The investor community is small and communicative 4. Make sure you optimize (and understand!) the terms you accept 5. Momentum matters 6. Capital is necessary, but it’s not the goal 7. Know what you’re signing up for 🤨
Strategic Partnerships and Growth | Health and Wellness | B2B and B2C Marketing | Former WebMD Medscape
3wPowerful event, I definitely got emotional. My 2 favorite takeaways: 1. Prove ROI on your parents risks: For first-generation immigrants, our parents took huge risks to move to the US. Just doing a little bit better isn't enough. To honor their risks and efforts, aim for big success, look at improving 10 - 100 times over. 2. Tell Your Story: As first-generation immigrants, telling your story is very powerful in the VC space. Sharing a strong, clear story is more important than just showing results. Connect your personal journey to your business goals and make yourself the hero of your story. This will build confidence and attract support and investments.