Ari Fox

What if your next partnership isn’t the solution, but the problem? The race to strategic partnerships is on. Mergers, partnerships, and funding deals are happening faster than ever. It's easy for these announcements to make headlines, but the real question is: “How can you ensure that these partnerships add real value and aren't just news?” For leaders in aviation, high-tech, and finance, adapting to this change is critical. The stakes are high: You need more than just capital—you need synergy. That's where a well-executed, strategic M&A can change the dynamics. Years ago, I participated in an M&A deal that appeared flawless on paper. The figures were strong, and the benefits appeared obvious... As we explored further, it was clear the success of this merger wasn’t just about the financials. It depended on something less visible, yet far more impactful —aligning our vision with market trends. Besides numbers, it was about: → Understanding the tech trends driving the market → Aligning operational goals with emerging innovations → Building partnerships that foster sustainable growth With technology changing so rapidly these days, keeping your business up to date might give you a benefit over your competitors. ...and it all starts with finding the 'right partner'. If you're unsure where to begin, we can discuss the details. #mergersandacquisitions #aviationindustry #strategicpartnerships

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https://lnkd.in/en6i2WN3 One classic piece of startup advice is to work at bigger companies for just long enough to identify the pain points, figure out if those pain points generalize to other companies, and, if so, build a product that solves them. But from the company's perspective, this is an economic inefficiency—their most ambitious employees are engaged in a heist, and it's a heist of intellectual property the company didn't know it had! As companies look at how much of their expenses comes from various SaaS bills, they've come to the same conclusion in the opposite direction: solve their problems in a scalable way, and they've probably built the basics of a scalable company. This is all very high-level and theoretical, but it is actually happening: Alaska Airlines has a startup incubator, and it's just spun out its first company, which is now spinning off. The true function of a company is to aggregate information and align incentives, and this is an instance of both.

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If you believe that #Diversity and #Inclusion matter, specifically in times like this, join us on October 30th. We will discuss the challenges and success stories of promoting Diversity in 2024. With me you will find industry leaders who were able to pull it off (!) 💥💥💥 Dorit Dor, Hasan Abasi, Vered Raviv Schwarz, Gal Shaul Guesty, Augury, HAAT Delivery, Check Point Software Power in Diversity Glilot Capital Partners Poalim Tech, Meitar | Law Offices, ESOP - Phoenix, Microsoft, Calcalist כלכליסט #nomatterwhat

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(NEW EPISODE) In the evolving world of entrepreneurship, few stories are as compelling as that of Stephen Bailey, a former lawyer who transitioned from the courtroom to the startup ecosystem. His journey is a testament to the power of leadership, reinvention, and adaptability. Born and raised in New Orleans, Stephen’s path from a lawyer to a successful entrepreneur offers valuable insights for aspiring founders and seasoned professionals alike. In this exclusive interview, Stephen talks about navigating COVID and the pivots in the business model his company, ExecOnline, went through. #entrepreneurs #entrepreneurship #entrepreneur #business #success #venture #venturecapital #investment #invest #investors #tech #technology #innovation #leanstartup #leanstartups #inspiration #startup #startups https://lnkd.in/eVQcJG6g

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I have to wonder if the CDN government would ever look out for customers in this way. The rewards programs of the four largest US air carriers are being probed by the US government as it seeks to understand how consumers “are impacted by the devaluation of earned rewards, hidden or dynamic pricing, extra fees and reduced competition and choice.” The probe would be the first extensive government look at the programs that have expanded to produce billions of dollars for airlines annually—in some cases adding more revenue than flight operations. Federal regulators could demand changes that might disrupt these profit centers for both carriers and credit-card issuers, and remove a travel option highly valued by consumers.

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Women Defining AI was launched to close the gender technology gap and help women leverage AI meaningfully at work. But this list includes practical, game-changing AI prompts and use cases anyone can apply right away. From simulating difficult conversations to tightening up presentation scripts, Helen Lee Kupp and Nichole Sterling discovered and shared with us 5 ways to expand our understanding of AI's potential: 1️⃣ Practice Difficult Conversations: Use AI to simulate feedback sessions. 2️⃣ AI as a Thinking Partner: Let AI interview you to unblock challenges. 3️⃣ Presentation Refinement: Improve your scripts with AI editing. 4️⃣ Multiple Perspectives: AI provides feedback from diverse viewpoints. 5️⃣ Data Analysis and Visualization: Quickly generate insights and charts. With these, AI can make a tangible difference in your daily work.

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"Led by founder, chief songwriter, and frontman John Francis Bongiovi, the band has racked up astounding benchmarks over its 40 year run: => Sales of 130 million records worldwide. => Live performances for 34 million fans in 50+ countries (as of 2019) => Awards aplenty (one Grammy, two American Music Awards, four MTV Moonman trophies, two Country Music Television awards, many others) => A new No. 1 album, Forever. Stellar songs, powerful charisma, relentless persistence, and abundant energy have made the band’s many wins possible, but also in the mix were Bongiovi’s savvy behind-the-scenes business decisions. Here’s three guiding points entrepreneurs in any industry can borrow from Bongiovi to increase their chances of platinum-level prosperity ... " via Fast Company https://lnkd.in/gEkiQHaX #Leadership #TeamBuilding #Adaptability #CustomerEngagement #BusinessStrategy #LongTermSuccess #Innovation #Reinvention #BrandLoyalty #BusinessGrowth #IntellectualProperty #Songwriting

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Some great reminders along the pursuit of greatness, as the world's best athletes coast down the Seine River to launch the Olympics: 1️⃣ Universal Access Participation that Brings Us Together: Just as the Olympics unite diverse cultures in spite of our nationalistic aspirations, global innovation thrives on cross-border collaboration. We can both respect our unique heritages and at the same time celevrate our universal global values. Technologies like blockchain, AI, and web3 benefit immensely from the rich exchange of open source, global ideas and diverse perspectives. 2️⃣ Durable Performance through Long-term Commitment: Olympic champions demonstrate the value of sustained effort and resilience. I am in immense awe of these world class athletes. In the tech world, building durable innovations requires a similar long-term vision and adaptability to evolving markets. 3️⃣ Iterative Improvement towards Mastery: Athletes continually refine their skills through practice and competition. Similarly, innovation thrives on continuous testing, feedback, and adaptation, driving better outcomes in our frontier products. 4️⃣ A Balance of Collaboration & Fierce Competition: The Olympics balance fierce competition with a spirit of mutual respect and collaboration. In our tech ecosystems in Chicago and globally, open communities and decentralized efforts foster faster and more inclusive advancements. 5️⃣ The Highest Standards that Inspire Achievement: The Olympics set high standards of excellence that inspire people worldwide. In #venturecapital, maintaining high expectations and execution excellence leads to significant breakthroughs and enduring value. I love the global spirit that the Olympics embody. It’s a great reminder of how we can apply this to whatever passions we have in life.

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AI is reshaping our world at an incredible pace. Tune in to AI Today for a concise overview of the latest breakthroughs, including AI's role in the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and its transformative impact on the legal sector. We'll also explore practical applications, like Amazon's AI-powered solution for delivery drivers. And we've got a special report on vertical AI and how it's changing the game for businesses across all industries. Discover how custom AI solutions are transforming sectors like logistics and law, unlocking unprecedented efficiency and innovation. Stay ahead of the curve with AI Today! https://lnkd.in/dUi763WY #AI #artificialintelligence #technology #innovation #businesstransformation #leadership #deeplearning #machinelearning

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Thrilled to announce BBG Ventures second institutional fund – a $60M early-stage fund backing overlooked founders who are building for the Polycultural Future of America. Thanks Emma Hinchliffe at Fortune for sharing the news: https://lnkd.in/gSwqpHpq We’ve spent the last few years observing the passage of the country from a monoculture to one where women were a bigger part of the story, to today - where identity and lived experience matter more than ever. We call this the Polyculture – a new status quo in which America is a mosaic of unique segments; where identity is multivariate and dynamic; and where individuals can identify with multiple communities at once. I began using this term over 2 years ago, as a cross-culture kid myself: the child of Indian immigrants, growing up in rural Australia - and now an immigrant in America. We wondered - how do Americans perceive identity, and how does that drive their most fundamental needs? We conducted research with +2000 Americans across equal cross sections of race, gender, age and income. Here’s what we found: 1. We have surprisingly common priorities, needs and concerns despite our unique identities. 2. The biggest areas of the economy are still on the table, with Americans highlighting huge areas of opportunity in health, work, financial security, climate safety, and the underserved. 3. But we need new, more nuanced-solutions and personalization considering the emerging majority minority generation, an aging population, widening wealth gaps and continued differences along gender lines. To that end, we’ve officially expanded our mandate to embrace this evolution, backing underestimated founders – female or diverse – addressing the biggest pain points for our polycultural population. Read the full report here: The Mind of Polycultural America - https://lnkd.in/gdtiFE7v We’re proud to partner with new LPs including Fairview Capital, Pivotal Ventures, The California Endowment in addition to our many returning partners like Illumen Capital, George Kaiser Family Foundation who believe as we do: when you make change, you make money. If you’re an early-stage founder working to move the world forward in health, work, financial security, climate safety or for the underserved - in B2B or B2C - we want to talk to you. Susan Lyne Claire Biernacki Drew Silverman Fennessy Carol Magalhães Isaacs, CFA Addison B. Marsh, Jr.

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Another week, 2 more off the record discussions with GP's and LP's. Despite very different groups of attendees at each event, there is convergence around a few themes at the invite only - CRE Exec Lunch I hosted in SF and the IREI Editorial Board meeting in Half Moon Bay: - You can't paint the markets with a broad brush right now. Specifically around return profiles. The only thing people seem to be able agree on is there is "core" and "non-core" - Fundraising is taking longer. According to the IREI.Q data the average fundraising period has gone from 16 months to 30 months (so you know your not alone) - The big "mega funds" like Blackstone and others are sucking up the little capital that is available and everyone else if fighting for scraps and it's a slog. LP's seem to prefer to consolidate relationships and given the limited capital being returned to LP's, reinvesting is not as easy. - While the capital is not freely flowing there LP's with dry powder. But they are being patient. Most think we have hit bottom or close to it. - Office is not investable right now... BUT... many think it's going to be the best performing asset when we look back in 5-10 years. The irony is that the $ won't realize it, until it's too late. Oh.. and not all office should be viewed as the same. If there are any contrarian LP's reading this, DM and I can connect you with some great sharp shooters on the office side. - Banks don't want to take back assets (office) putting many asset owners who are looking to hand back the keys in a pickle. This is creating an over hang that is not representing the actual distress in the markets. - Valuations are a major point of consternation. Specifically the trade-off between taking the write down and impairing performance vs. holding values higher knowing that they are unrealistic and needing to explain that to investors. This is always a fund debate and a by product of the US valuation systems where a few external appraisers that are involved in the majority of the major funds like ODCE. There were many more insights and stories shared but those shall remain strictly in confidence. The market is changing and those that will win are those that can evolve, not fight the change and see opportunity where others do not. Oh yeah... and if you think you may want to raise non institutional capital one day.. now is a good time to start thinking about it and in addition to your track-record your brand matters... a lot

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Today I'm launching Asylum Ventures, a new venture firm dedicated to the creative act of building companies. Asylum's first $55 million fund is an embodiment of my belief that founders are artists, not assets. In 2007, I was a trader at Lehman Brothers. It sucked. I didn’t know it then, but Lehman’s bankruptcy in ‘08 was a gift, and I left in search of a calling. A year later, I was fortunate to stumble upon a young, passionate group of creative misfits that folks were calling “founders.” Founders felt more like artists than assets, more obsessives than executives. I was in love with their fringe eccentricity, extraordinary craftsmanship, and wild ambition. For the next 15 years, I dedicated my life to founders in New York, first at betaworks, and then with three funds at Notation Capital with my partner Alex Lines. We did well serving founders. But a lot has changed. The startup ecosystem has gone from cottage industry outsider to institutional insider. Simultaneously, the creative act of making startups has turned into a credentialing factory, and the environment today feels eerily similar to the one I left on Wall Street. I’ve always believed the best founders have more in common with artists than executives. They’re obsessive about new and beautiful things, they're compelled to bring creation into the world, and they're often misunderstood for very long periods of time–even lifetimes. Our belief is that building businesses is its own form of creation–its own form of art. We look for founders that are building the unique, the misunderstood, and the courageous. When my partners Jonathan (Love) Wu, Mackenzie Regent and I sat down to think about what we stood for, we we tried to answer the question: What if we treated founders like artists rather than assets on a balance sheet? We think it means: A firm that’s small by design, making a handful of investments per year, eschewing board seats and administrative control. A team of partners moving mountains to help when asked and otherwise getting out of the way. A place where true craftspeople can tune out the noise and focus on making something truly great. A source of calm, trust, and support for founders manifesting beauty through one of the hardest things you can do: starting a company. The fund is raised and we're actively meeting founders. If this sounds appealing to you, reach out at [email protected] or from our website asylum.vc. Finally, we're hiring an analyst or associate who is obsessive about supporting founders. If you want to join a small team dedicated to the art of venture rather than the business of banking, contact us at [email protected]. Read Erin Griffith's coverage from the New York Times here: https://lnkd.in/eyy-xqMR

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There is now near-universal recognition of the importance of generative AI. Most CEOs I meet with believe that it has the potential to reinvent not only their organizations, but every industry. Generative AI is set to transform the workforce, but companies can unlock the value of Gen AI only if they use it in ways that generate consumer, employee, and stakeholder trust and put human well-being first. Taking a people-centric approach is crucial. As part of this new era of reinvention, organizations will need to focus on reinventing their workforce at all levels, from fully understanding Gen AI at a leadership level to providing workers with the skills they need to work with the technology in their particular area of the business. #ai #tech #business #education #leadership #skills #trends #science

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Getting into personal aviation? It's like unlocking a whole new world! Think about it: with your own plane, you're breaking free from the confines of traditional travel. Whether it's zipping off for a weekend getaway or hopping between business meetings without the hassle of commercial flights, personal aviation opens up a world of possibilities. Also, time is our most valuable resource and taing advantage of opportunities through aviation allows you to make more impactful memroeis and connections. #personalaircraft #aircraft #airforce #aviation #aviationlovers #aviationgeek

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The 'sugar daddy effect' is evident in the success of Google's venture investments, according to Aswath, prof. at NYU's Stern School of Business https://lnkd.in/eGpuV6yq Damodaran pointed out that Google benefited from investing beyond its comfort zone in startups such as Uber, Airbnb, and Slack early in their lifecycle. But, like a good sugar daddy, Alphabet (Google's parent) has provided the cash and left Google Ventures (now known as GV) to be more independent (CapitalG and Gradient, its other CVC units, are probably more closely aligned) with Fortune's excellent profile of David Krane stressing its ability to make independent decisions and focus on financial returns, rather than strategic alignment. https://lnkd.in/em5WagM2 However, with $10bn invested - $1bn a year through the peak financial bubble era of the pandemic years and an average of 50 new portfolio companies every year since 2020 - it's good Ruth as CFO has given GV a 300-year time horizon to return the cash. By comparison, however, with its international competitors, Alphabet is still remarkably cautious - Tencent has been doing $5-10bn per year in its CVC unit for 15 years while SoftBank has equally invested tens of billions in venture. To see the world, register for the GCV Keystone benchmarking and update our annual survey of ~500 CVCs: https://lnkd.in/eZV3rpAv

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The Token Wars of the chip startups. Why the fight for the fastest inference will influence the future of AI. „Today, Cerebras, SambaNova, and Groq are all delivering over 1,000 tokens per second, and the “token wars” have revved up considerably. At the end of August, Cerebras claimed it had launched the “world’s fastest AI inference” at 1,800 tokens per second, and last week Cerebras said it had beaten that record and become the “first hardware of any kind” to exceed 2,000 tokens per second on one of Meta’s Llama models. “ „AI models are quickly being used to power far more complex applications than just chat.“ Cerebras CEO Andrew Feldman simplifies why: „Nobody’s going to build a business on an application that makes you sit around and wait“. A piece by Sharon Goldman at Fortune. https://lnkd.in/eMs7Pxux

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One takeaway from this insightful piece by Paris Marx is that when the dust finally settles, we may find that the big winners in the AI race were tech billionaires and LAWYERS, in case anyone is exploring possible career options. (In case it isn’t clear, I am being a bit facetious.) “Schmidt has the solution: “if it took off, then you’d hire a whole bunch of lawyers to go clean the mess up,” because “if nobody uses your product, it doesn’t matter that you stole all the content.” #AI #Ethics #innovation #generativeAI

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