The key to Cold Outreach is finding an "organic" point of entry

Welcome to the 19th 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 full list of past and upcoming VCs here.

1. Overview:

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

• Session #1: David Kaye, Founder and General Partner at F4 Fund

  F4 Fund invests in startups that make valuable use of human attention; writing $100K - $500K checks at the Pre-Seed & Seed stage.

• Session #2: Maksym Strukov, Associate at Geek Ventures

  Geek Ventures invests in bold, innovative, and brilliant immigrant entrepreneurs from all over the world; writing $200K - $800K checks at the Pre-Seed & Seed stage.

2. Office Hours Recap:

Key Takeaways from the VC Office Hours:

• Session #1 - David Kaye, Founder and General Partner at F4 Fund
  Stage: Pre-Seed & Seed

  Industry: Consumer, Gaming, AI-powered Consumer Products
  Check Size: $100K - $250K at Pre-Seed, $250K - $500K at Seed
  How to Apply: Founders can submit their pitch via F4 Fund’s website or email David Kaye directly at [email protected].
  Key Takeaways from Session:

  • Consumer is Back: David highlighted that consumer startups are seeing renewed investor interest, driven by AI innovations that create new opportunities similar to how mobile once did.

  • Go-to-Market Clarity is Key: Founders should clearly articulate who their product is for and the problem they are solving to spark investor curiosity.

  • Strong Elevator Pitches Matter: A great 1-minute pitch should inspire curiosity, showcase traction, and create FOMO among investors. Social proof, early traction, and a well-defined market opportunity can set a pitch apart.

• Session #2 - Maksym Strukov, Associate at Geek Ventures

  Stage: Pre-Seed to Seed
  Industry: Sector-Agnostic (strong focus on B2B SaaS, Consumer, Deep Tech, and AI)
  Check Size: $200K - $800K
  How to Apply: Founders can submit their pitch via Geek Venture’s website or email Maksym Strukov directly at [email protected].

  Key Takeaways from Session:

  • Immigrant Founder Thesis: Geek Ventures primarily invests in first-generation immigrant founders who have overcome significant challenges, believing their resilience and determination increase their likelihood of success.

  • Investment Process: Most deals come from warm intros, but they also source from accelerators (YC, Techstars, SkyDeck) and use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to identify strong immigrant founders in tech.

  • Market Fit Matters: While they are sector-agnostic, their strongest area of investment is B2B SaaS. Founders should showcase a deep understanding of their market and demonstrate clear traction to stand out.

3. Funding Resources:

Resources of the Week:

• Google.org Accelerator: Generative AI

  A 6 month Generative AI Accelerator; receiving anywhere from $500K up to $2M+ in funding.

  Deadline: 2/10/2025

• Northwestern Mutual Black Founder Accelerator 2025

  This accelerator invests $100K in up to ten companies per year (two cohorts of five) focused on fintech, insuretech, digital health and data analytics.

  Deadline: 2/10/2025

• Build in Tulsa's Female Founders Pitch Night

  The Female Founders Pitch Competition is a pre-MVP program for nine female-founded tech startups to receive up to $20,000 in funding.

  Deadline: 2/11/2025

• Y Combinator Spring 2025 Batch

  A leading startup accelerator for entrepreneurs; providing $500K in funding.

  Deadline: 2/11/2025

• Boundless Futures Foundation EmpowHer Grant

  Boundless Futures Foundation’s grants up to $25,000 to female entrepreneurs who put social impact front and center in their business products or practices.

  Deadline: 2/15/2025

• Halycon Climate Fellowship 2025

  An 8-week in-person program at Halcyon in Washington, DC; receiving a $10K equity-free stipend.

  Deadline: 2/16/2025

• Halycon Future Builders Fellowship 2025

  A 2-week in-person program, one week in Washington, DC and one week in Atlanta; receiving a $5K equity-free stipend.

  Deadline: 2/16/2025

• Latitud Fellowship

  An 8-week program designed to be a launchpad for turning ideas into reality - fast; providing a $25K investment.

  Deadline: 2/17/2025

• 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: 2/23/2025

• The Blue Dot Creative Residency by CÎROC

  An opportunity for storytellers to bring their passion projects to life with up to $200K in funding support.

  Deadline: 2/24/2025

• Black History Makers Grant

  Citi Trends is providing $5,000 grants to acknowledge Black entrepreneurs that are making history in their community.

  Deadline: 2/28/2025

• CTIA Wireless Foundation Catalyst 2025

  A competitive grants program for ambitious social entrepreneurs who have developed mobile-first solutions that enhance our lives and address pressing challenges in American communities; receive up to $100K in grant funding.

  Deadline: 3/4/2025

• Orlando Magic Venture Challenge

  The challenge will provide up to six companies the opportunity to gain up to $200K in funding, partnerships and mentorships.

  Deadline: 3/5/2025

• VOA 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: 3/5/2025

• Money Moves Summit Pitch Competition

  Compete for a share of the $10K prize pool during the Money Move’s Summit.

  Deadline: 3/14/2025

• Headstream Accelerator

  The Headstream Accelerator provides $30K in support to entrepreneurs to scale the most promising digital solutions that positively impact youth mental well-being.

  Deadline: 3/16/2025

• OHUB’s Climate Tech Bootcamp

  A 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

• The MSP Equity Accelerator

  The MSP Equity Accelerator sponsored by Allianz invests $100K each into five high-growth startups founded by undervalued entrepreneurs.

  Deadline: 4/25/2025

Podcast of the Week:

• The Product Market Fit Show, Season 4, Episode 11
  Ned Philips turned down the opportunity to run Robinhood Asia to launch his own B2B fintech startup, securing a $400K contract before writing a line of code. He quickly scaled to $3.5M in revenue and raised $20M in venture capital. But enterprise customers didn’t push the product, and one-time sales failed to convert into ARR. Cash ran low, layoffs followed, and despite a bridge round, the company was sold off for parts.

• Why I recommend it: This episode is a must-listen for founders navigating the complexities of enterprise sales and scaling B2B SaaS. It highlights how success and failure can be separated by razor-thin margins and why even large contracts don’t guarantee sustainable growth. Ned’s journey underscores the importance of securing internal champions within enterprises, balancing custom contracts with scalable product development, and maintaining company culture through turbulent times. It’s an honest, raw look at the hardest parts of building a startup—fundraising, layoffs, and the painful reality of winding down a company. You can listen 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. 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?

Join us next Friday for two more amazing guests joining us for Office Hours.

For session #1 we have Sukone Hong, General Partner at BlueBrown Partners.

​BlueBrown Partners is an early-stage venture capital fund that source and invest in technology companies run by young innovators; writing $50K - $500K checks at the Pre-Seed & Seed stage.

​For session #2 we have Malachi Sutton, Venture Associate Missouri Technology Corporation.

​The Missouri Technology Corporation (MTC) is a public-private partnership created by the Missouri General Assembly to promote entrepreneurship and foster the growth of new and emerging high-tech companies; writing $50K - $2M Checks at the Pre-Seed through Series A stage.

If interested in joining and/or pitching, please feel free to register here.

You can see the full list of past and future VCs 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!

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 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.