Insights from High Street Equity Partners & VenturX Capital + Essential Resources for Your Fundraising Journey

Welcome to the first edition of The Get Funded! Newsletter—where we break down the latest from our Get Funded! Office Hours session on Twitter/X and equip you with tools to take your fundraising to the next level.

Missed this session? Listen to the recording here.

1. Session Overview:

This week, we hosted two insightful sessions with our fantastic guest investors:

• Session #1: George Darden, Venture Partner at High Street Equity Partners
  High Street Equity Partners is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage, high-growth technology companies led by underrepresented founders.

• Session #2: Sydney Wong, Principal at VenturX Capital
  VenturX Capital is a Family Office fund that invests in industry-agnostic pre-seed and seed investments.

We also had our Pre-Show Founder interview with James Chapman, Founder & CEO at Plain Sight, an events platform that increases ROI for event creators, brand sponsors, and attendees. Recording here.

2. Office Hours Recap:

Key Takeaways from the August 16th Session:

• George Darden: George emphasized the importance of supporting underrepresented founders, noting that diverse teams often bring unique perspectives that can lead to innovative solutions and strong market differentiation. He highlighted that High Street Equity Partners looks for founders who not only have a strong business model but also demonstrate resilience and a clear understanding of their target market.

• Sydney Wong: Sydney shared insights on the flexibility that VenturX Capital has as a Family Office, allowing them to invest across a wide range of industries. She mentioned that VenturX looks for founders who are deeply passionate about their ventures and have a clear plan for scaling. Sydney also stressed the importance of traction, even at the pre-seed stage, as an indicator of the startup's potential for success.

• Highlighted Pitches:
  1. Nicole Murray, Founder of Social Butterfly AI

  Nicole Murray delivered a compelling pitch for Social Butterfly AI, an innovative startup at the intersection of personal safety and AI-driven content creation. Nicole introduced Social Butterfly as an all-in-one AI companion designed to enhance both security and digital presence. Highlighting their partnership with Florida A&M University and their "1 Million Minds Movement," Nicole underscored the company's rapid growth and their strategic positioning in the personal security and digital content markets. With a clear vision of venturing into GPT-powered robotics, Nicole demonstrated how Social Butterfly AI is poised to reshape the future of work by automating complex tasks, freeing humans to focus on creativity and strategy. The pitch was both inspiring and well-structured.

  2. Nelson Epega, Founder of Chatter

  Nelson Peck presented Chatter, a social audiovisual utility platform that is carving out a new niche in the social networking space. In just five weeks since launching in the App Store, Chatter has garnered 20,000 users and is trending in over 50 countries. With a 39% daily active user (DAU) to weekly active user (WAU) ratio and a 63% WAU to monthly active user (MAU) ratio, Chatter is clearly resonating with its target audience. Nelson's pitch highlighted the platform's unique approach to user interaction and its impressive early traction. Despite being invite-only and with no marketing spend, Chatter is rapidly growing, which Nelson attributes to finding product-market fit. This pitch stood out for its clear articulation of growth metrics and the potential for significant impact in the consumer social startup space.

3. Funding Resources:

Resource of the Week:

• FounderGigs: Who says funding always has to be from investors? Discover flexible gigs while building your dream business with FounderGigs.

Book of the Month:

• Pitching Hacks! by Venture Hacks: How to pitch startups to investors. This is by far my favorite book on fundraising for founders. It’s only 90 pages and gets right to the point. Download the free PDF here.

4. Founder Spotlight:

Featured Founder: James Chapman, Founder & CEO of Plain Sight

• Overview: James Chapman is the visionary behind Plain Sight, a platform designed to bridge the gap between corporate sponsors and event creators. Plain Sight allows sponsors to specify their event preferences and budget, and then matches them with suitable events, ensuring mutually beneficial partnerships. The platform also offers financing options for event creators, enabling them to cover costs and focus on delivering high-quality experiences.

• Their Success Story: During the Pre-Show Founder Interview, James shared how Plain Sight has successfully connected sponsors with events that attract high-net-worth individuals and focus on emerging technologies like AI. With a proven track record, Plain Sight has facilitated numerous successful events, particularly those with 250 to 1,000 attendees. Additionally, the company has raised capital in the past and is now profitable, generating over half a million dollars in the last year alone. James highlighted the importance of educating event creators on securing and maintaining sponsorships, a key factor in Plain Sight’s continued success.

• Partnerships and Future Plans: James discussed exciting upcoming collaborations, including the Sports Tech Adventure Summit in Tulsa, scheduled for September 6th and 7th. This flagship event, held in partnership with the Players Company—a collective of over 500 athletes, entertainers, and investors—aims to foster financial literacy and support among its members while showcasing innovative sports tech solutions. James expressed his enthusiasm about partnering with the Players Company, especially given his background as a former athlete.

What we can take away: James's journey with Plain Sight underscores the importance of adaptability and a strong focus on relationship-building in the event space. His success in raising capital, maintaining profitability, and forming strategic partnerships offers valuable lessons for founders looking to scale their businesses. Founders can learn from James’s emphasis on education and his ability to pivot in response to market changes, both of which have been instrumental in Plain Sight’s growth.

5. Investor Insights:

• George Darden, Venture Partner at High Street Equity Partners:

  • Stage: Early-Stage (Pre-Seed to Series A)

  • Industry: High-growth technology companies with a focus on sectors such as CleanTech, HealthTech, the Future of Work.

  • Check Size: Typically ~$350K

  • Geography: Primarily U.S.-based startups, with a preference for companies led by underrepresented founders.

  • Other Criteria: High Street Equity Partners is particularly interested in companies that not only have strong growth potential but also contribute to social impact. George looks for founders who are resilient, have a clear understanding of their target market, and are committed to building diverse teams.

• Sydney Wong, Principal at VenturX Capital:

  • Stage: Pre-Seed to Seed

  • Industry: Industry-agnostic, but generally stays away from capital intensive businesses like BioTech or CPG.

  • Check Size: Typically between $50K to $150K

  • Geography: Primarily US and Canada.

  • Other Criteria: VenturX Capital, as a Family Office fund, values flexibility and long-term partnerships. Sydney looks for passionate founders with a clear vision, early signs of traction, and a strong go-to-market strategy. The ability to demonstrate product-market fit, even at an early stage, is crucial.

Pro Tips:

• From George Darden: "The biggest obstacle that most entrepreneurs have is themself. Understand the dedication you need to succeed in business because it can be a very hard and lonely journey. There's no one to tell you what's right versus what’s wrong."

• From Sydney Wong: "When working with family offices, the pitch started long before the meeting. Before you walk into my office, we should have heard of you 10 times already if you want a good shot at closing capital."

That’s all for this week’s edition of The Get Funded! Newsletter. We hope you found these insights valuable as you continue your journey to securing funding.

What’s next? Be sure to join us for the next Get Funded! Office Hours session on Friday, August 23rd. You can register for this session here.

[New] Going forward we will be hosting a private Zoom Session immediately after our Twitter Space sessions at 2pm CST every Friday for our Newsletter subscriber community. You may join this session here. The password is “getfunded”.

Be on the look out for our newsletter next week where we’ll bring you more actionable advice, resources, and success stories.

Let’s All, Get Funded!

Best,
Darrel Frater
Investor at Serac Ventures
Twitter/X | Linkedin | Preneur

P.S. If you enjoyed this newsletter, forward it to a founder you know who could benefit from these insights!

P.S.S. Got ideas or suggestions for Get Funded? Shoot me an email at [email protected] for us to discuss!

About Serac: Serac Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in founders bringing new perspectives to solve hard problems. We target companies at the seed stage writing checks between $250K and $750K. Our core sectors include fintech, SaaS, and Commerce Enablement. Learn more and consider submitting for funding at SeracVentures.vc.