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Don't waste time on VCs too early
Insights from our January 17th Get Funded! Sessions
Serac Ventures
January 20, 2025
Reliable Resources for Raising Capital by Darrel Frater
Welcome to the 17th edition of The Get Funded! Newsletter—proudly serving over 2,589 founders! Here, we break down the latest insights from our weekly VC Office Hours sessions on Twitter/X and equip you with tools to help you ‘Get Funded’.
Missed this session? Listen to the recording here.
Want to join the next session? Check out the upcoming VCs and register here.
1. Overview:
This week, we hosted two insightful sessions with our fantastic guest investors:
Session #1: Elise Riniker, Associate at Mairs & Power Venture Capital
Mairs & Power Venture Capital partners with high-potential venture-stage companies in the Upper Midwest, focusing on industries like Software, Business Services, Healthcare, FinTech, and EdTech; typical investing $1M at the seed stage.
Session #2: Garrett Coley, Venture Analyst at TitletownTech
TitletownTech is a venture capital firm formed through a partnership between the Green Bay Packers and Microsoft to invest $250K - $2M into early-stage companies across industries like Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Agriculture, Water & Energy, Digital Health, Sports, and Emerging Technology.
Pre-Show Founder Interview: Django Degree, II, Co-Founder & CEO of Wrote By Me
Wrote By Me is revolutionizing the book industry with a specialized website builder for authors and publishers. You can watch the recording here.
Local Event: Tulsa Founder Meetup
Thank you to all the founders that joined our Tulsa Founder Meetup last week!
If you would like us to host a Meetup in your city, email me at [email protected]. We’d love to collaborate with you!
2. Office Hours Recap:
Key Takeaways from the VC Office Hours on January 17th:
Session #1 - Elise Riniker, Associate at Mairs & Power Venture Capital
Stage: Seed to Series A
Industry: Generalist, excluding medical devices and CPG
Check Size: $1M on average
How to Apply: Reach out to Elise via email or LinkedIn, especially if headquartered or with strong ties to the Upper Midwest.Key Takeaways from Session:
Focus on Midwest Impact: Mairs & Power primarily invests in companies headquartered in or with strong ties to the Upper Midwest, such as creating jobs or serving significant customers in the region. Flexibility is offered if a compelling story can be presented.
Traction Metrics: Companies typically need $500,000 to $1.5 million ARR to align with Mairs & Power's investment criteria, although exceptions can be made for significant inflection points like a key hire or a pivot.
Customer-Centric Founders: Elise emphasized the importance of founders deeply understanding their customers, iterating based on feedback, and showing adaptability in their business models.
Session #2 - Garrett Coley, Venture Analyst at TitletownTech
Stage: Pre-seed to Series A
Industry: Manufacturing, Supply Chain & Logistics, Agriculture, Water & Energy, Healthcare, Sports, Media & Entertainment, Emerging Technology
Check Size: $250K - $2M
How to Apply: Apply directly using the form on the TitletownTech website or contact Garrett directly.Key Takeaways from Session:
Comprehensive Value Add: Beyond funding, TitletownTech emphasizes providing additional resources like Microsoft credits, client connections, and access to industry expertise.
Evaluation Criteria: Companies must demonstrate clear differentiation and potential for defensibility, ensuring long-term competitive advantages.
Emerging Opportunities: TitletownTech is increasingly interested in platforms for robotics and innovative use of AI in their key sectors, with a focus on simplifying implementation for mid-sized companies.
3. Funding Resources:
Resources of the Week:
A 9-week-long mentorship-driven, milestone-based program; receive $20K in funding.
Deadline: 1/24/2025SBA Growth Accelerator Fund Competition
The 2025 competition offers $75,000 to $150,000 in prize awards during two stages to organizations to accelerate the growth and maturity of innovation ecosystems.
Deadline: 1/31/2025
Midwest House '25 SXSW Midwest Madness
An opportunity to pitch during SXSW for a $10K prize and travel stipend.
Deadline: 1/31/2025
Caltech's Rocket Fund
$25,000 - $100,000 in non-equity grants for cleantech and sustainability startups
Deadline: 1/31/2025Village Capital: Women in Tech Accelerator
An initiative to support women founders developing solutions to improve economic mobility and equitable access to essential services for women, families, and communities across the US with an opportunity for a $25K grant.
Deadline: 1/31/2025
South Park Commons (SPC) Founder Fellowship
The Founder Fellowship helps entrepreneurs start a high growth, venture-backable startup with targeted support in the -1 to 0 idea phase; offering $400K in capital.
Deadline: 2/2/2025
Bronze Valley Investment Accelerator
The Bronze Valley Accelerator $100K invests in five high-growth startups per cohort led by female entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs of color.
Deadline: 2/23/2025VOA Futures Fund Community Health Incubator
A 14-week accelerator with partnership opportunities for ventures in community health that provides a $15K grant and business training to help you scale.
Deadline: 3/5/2025A 10-week pre-accelerator program for climate tech and new energy entrepreneurs from around the country that have an interest in building in or expanding to South Louisiana; opportunity to receive a $100K investment.
Deadline: 3/28/2025
Book of the Week:
Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore
This classic business book provides a detailed roadmap for tech companies to transition from early adopters to mainstream customers. Geoffrey Moore outlines the critical challenges and strategies required to cross the "chasm" between visionary early adopters and the pragmatic majority, offering invaluable insights for scaling innovative products.Why I recommend it: For founders, especially those in tech, this book is essential. It highlights the nuanced stages of market adoption and offers actionable advice on how to position your product, align with customer needs, and secure long-term growth. It’s a must-read for anyone navigating the challenging leap to mass-market success. You can get your copy here.
Alternative Funding Sources:
Access up to $2M in non-dilutive debt financing. Request funding here.
Raise up to $5M in equity capital through a Community Round. Request information here.
Serac Ventures has made 8 investments in 2024 and is beginning to look for investment opportunities for our 2025 pipeline. We are looking to invest $250K - $500K initial checks into 8-10 companies building in FinTech, SaaS, and the Future of Work in 2025. Learn more and consider submitting your company here.
4. Founder Spotlight:
Featured Founder: Django Degree, II, Co-Founder & CEO of Wrote By Me
Overview:
Django Degree, II, is the visionary behind Wrote By Me, a company revolutionizing the book industry with the first vertically integrated author platform that empowers authors to publish, market, and sell their books. With a background in tech sales and product development, Django leveraged his own journey as an author to identify gaps in the publishing industry and create a solution tailored for both self-published and traditionally published authors.Their Success Story:
Wrote By Me has redefined how authors engage with their audiences, offering tools like website creation, direct-to-consumer book sales, and innovative marketing services. Django's leadership has resulted in partnerships with major distributors and a vertically integrated ecosystem that maximizes author revenue while simplifying their workflows. The platform’s unique approach helps authors retain ownership of their communities and achieve better financial outcomes, with many seeing a 100% increase in earnings compared to traditional channels.Future Plans:
The company is set to launch several new features in the coming months, including advanced e-commerce functionality, print-on-demand services, and AI-powered marketing tools. Django envisions Wrote By Me as the foundational infrastructure for a new wave of "authorpreneurs," empowering creators to thrive in an increasingly digital and self-driven publishing landscape.
What we can take away:
Django's story highlights the importance of showing up, asking questions, and embracing customer needs to build a scalable business. His success demonstrates the power of blending personal experience with innovation to solve pressing industry challenges. For founders, Django’s journey underscores the value of persistence, adaptability, and a customer-first mindset in building a thriving startup.
5. “Tweet” of the Week:
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?
Next week we have two more amazing guests joining us for Office Hours.
For session #1 we have Justin Murray, Ventures Lead at Plug & Play - New Jersey.
Plug and Play is one of the world’s leading accelerators and funds with over 50+ locations globally. Their New Jersey location has a focus on FinTech and Insurance companies; writing $50K - $150K initial checks and up to $2M in follow on.
For session #2 we have Sakib Jamal, Principal at Crossbeam Venture Partners.
Crossbeam Venture Partners invests in early-stage startups that operate in new Internet / Platform Economies, Financial Services, or Novel Asset Classes; writing checks $500K - $3M at the Pre-Seed through Series A.
If interested in joining and/or pitching, please feel free to register here.
You can see the full list of VCs joining us for Office Hours on this Calendar.
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!
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 targets companies at the pre-seed and seed stage writing initial checks between $250K - $500K. Our core sectors include fintech, SaaS, and Future of Work. Learn more at SeracVentures.vc.