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Welcome to the 7th 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: Part 1 | Part 2
Interested in joining the next session? See what VCs are coming next and register here.

1. Session Overview:

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

• Session #1: Riley Friedenberg, Venture Capital Associate at Interlock Partners
  ​Interlock Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm based out of Texas and New York. They back companies driving transformational change in the enterprise technology stack fueled by artificial intelligence, cloud platforms, and other innovative solutions.

• Session #2: Spencer Tyson, Strategic Advisor at Fiat Ventures
  ​Fiat Ventures is an emerging VC focused on supporting and growing the next generation of market leading early-stage companies in the Fintech space.

We also had our Pre-Show Founder interview with Courtney Caldwell, CEO of ShearShare, Inc., a B2B platform that connects salon, spa, and barbershop owners to individual stylists to fill their unused salon space on demand. Recording here.

Additionally, we had our second session of Founders Circle, a new weekly peer mentorship group by Serac Ventures. If interested in joining the next session on Saturday, October 19th at 10am CST, fill out this form here.

You may access the recording of the Main Room Discussion with Philip Barrar, Founder and CEO of FutureMoney, as he shared insights from his journey raising a $2.5M Pre-Seed.

2. Office Hours Recap:

Key Takeaways from the session on October 11th:

• Riley Friedenberg, Venture Capital Associate at Interlock Partners:

  • Stage: Predominantly Series A, with some Seed and Series B investments.

  • Industry: B2B SaaS, Enterprise Technology Stack, including AI (Generative and Predictive AI), Cloud Computing, AI Infrastructure, Marketplace Models.

  • Check Size: $1M - $3M

  • Key Takeaways from Session:

    • AI and Workflow Automation: Riley highlighted the increasing use of AI tools like ChatGPT for automating workflows in enterprises, creating efficiency gains.

    • AI Infrastructure: Significant growth is expected in AI infrastructure, particularly in compute solutions for large AI models, with players like Nvidia and AMD leading the charge.

    • Importance of Founders' Storytelling: Riley emphasized that founders who effectively tell their story, explain their company’s differentiation, and demonstrate strong alignment with investors’ theses have a higher chance of success in pitching.

• Spencer Tyson, Strategic Advisor at Fiat Ventures:

  • Stage: Pre-Seed & Seed

  • Industry: Primarily Enterprise FinTech, but also invests in FinTech-adjacent sectors like Healthcare Payments, Blockchain Infrastructure (not tokens), and B2C models.

  • Check Size: $250K - $750K

  • Key Takeaways from Session:

    • Investor Psychology: Spencer emphasized the importance of understanding investor psychology and building relationships through founder networks, rather than starting directly with investors. Founders should prioritize building community first and getting warm referrals from fellow founders.

    • Customer Acquisition and Traction: In a competitive fundraising environment, founders should show strong early traction, even if it’s not revenue. This demonstrates demand and de-risks the investment for VCs.

    • Finding the Right Fit: Spencer advised founders to connect with emerging managers and smaller VCs who may be a better fit for early-stage founders, rather than going straight to large firms like Andreessen Horowitz or Sequoia.

• Pitches from Session #1

  • [20:41] Yan - Insight: Automates decision-making by connecting organizational data insights.

  • [24:58] Shiv - Pathica AI: Personal AI-powered search and discovery engine.

  • [27:50] Georges - Albatra's AI: AI sales agents automating lead responses and scheduling.

  • [32:37] Rahul - Muzium: Booking and streaming platform for live performances.

  • [38:08] Jacob - Prisaga: Blockchain enabling digital twins and real-world assets.

  • [43:15] David - Orchestra Labs: Stablecoins enabling cross-border currency exchange seamlessly.

  • [48:27] Will - Safe Ride: Plug-in driver assistance technology preventing car crashes.

  • [55:52] Sarna - TGS Tech: Collaborative cloud platform for real-time 3D development.

• Pitches from Session #2

  • [07:16] Ihsan - Scenario: Lifestyle app for Gen Z to build better financial habits.

  • [12:02] Tamara - Recrudio: AI-powered job search automation using virtual assistants.

  • [21:16] Craig - HomeC: End-to-end real estate consumer portal.

  • [33:11] Christina - The Odyssey: Travel app combining elements of gaming and social interaction.

  • [37:36] Sy - Jarvis: AI-powered reading and instant messaging platform for students.

  • [41:51] Peter - Homefi: Fractional home equity investment solution for homeowners.

  *Founder and Company Names are Auto Generated and will not always be accurate

3. Funding Resources:

Resources of the Week:

• The Fifteen Percent Pledge Achievement Award
  Fifteen Percent Pledge is partnering with Shop with Google to provide $250,000 in grant funding to unlock the next horizon of growth for three Black-owned businesses.
  Deadline: 10/16/2024

• Panasonic Well Family Wellness Innovation Challenge
  The inaugural competition aims to find and award between $125K and $500K to the next breakthrough startups that are helping redefine the future of well-being.
  Deadline: 10/25/2024

• Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA) Winter 2025 Program

  ERA invests $150,000 on a post-money SAFE in return for 6% of each company.
  Deadline: 11/4/2024

• Techstars Build in Tulsa Accelerator

  Techstars invests up to $120K for their in-person, industry agnostic program focused on underrepresented founders.
  Deadline: 11/20/2024

Book of the Week:

• Super Founders: What Data Reveals About Billion-Dollar Startups by Ali Tamaseb
  Super Founders breaks down data from the top 1% of startups to uncover what really separates billion-dollar companies from others. Tamaseb demystifies the common myths surrounding founders and reveals the traits and patterns of successful ventures through comprehensive data analysis.

• Why I recommend it: The book highlights that super founders don’t always come from elite schools or have unique ideas, but they do show resilience, have strong networks, and adapt quickly. This book provides data-driven insights that can help any founder refine their approach to building a successful startup. 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.

• Access up to $1M in non-dilutive funding + additional resources to relocate to Tulsa. Submit interest here.

4. Founder Spotlight:

Featured Founder: Courtney Caldwell, CEO of ShearShare, Inc.

• Overview: Courtney Caldwell co-founded ShearShare, a beauty-tech platform that helps salon and barbershop owners fill their empty space with licensed beauty professionals. ShearShare has listings in over 1,000 cities, connecting stylists with flexible, affordable space to work.

• Their Success Story: Courtney and her team have successfully raised $7 million in funding and expanded ShearShare to thousands of cities, helping small businesses and beauty professionals thrive. They've been able to support salon owners, especially in challenging circumstances, such as providing space after a fire destroyed one salon, and giving independent stylists more control over their schedules.

• Future Plans: ShearShare is focused on becoming cash-flow positive while expanding their reach to even more cities. Their vision includes introducing B2B tools for stylists, such as retail sale opportunities and tax support, empowering beauty professionals to run their businesses more efficiently.

What we can take away: Courtney’s story shows the power of staying close to your community and growing with them. She emphasizes building relationships, listening to your customers, and adapting your business model to meet their needs. Founders can learn to stay agile, listen to feedback, and create solutions that truly serve their target audience.

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? Be sure to join us for the next Get Funded! Office Hours session. You can view and register for upcoming sessions using 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 seed stage writing checks between $250K - $750K. Our core sectors include fintech, SaaS, and commerce enablement. Learn more at SeracVentures.vc.