Kevin Gould

Wing Venture Capital's Founder Docs project is a unique collection of startup wisdom, by founders, for founders. The authors of the docs are talented founders themselves, sharing their experience on the topics they are most passionate about. I'd like to highlight the contributions of Edo Liberty, founder / CEO of Pinecone. Edo writes about the special opportunities for the scientist / founder (and he is one of the best of this breed!), as well as some of the risks and challenges they face. I got a lot out of reading Edo's stuff and I suspect you will too! https://lnkd.in/g_wyRMiE

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Today's Boring Biz (# 98): Pirate Ship Party Boat Tour - $4.0M Revenue - $3.5M Cashflow - $2.9M Ask Price - 0.8x Multiple - Baja California (Mexico) Note: We do not represent this deal, highlighting for informational purposes only for viewers What does the company do? 1. Pirate ship party tours 2. Themed entertainment experiences 3. Alcohol + merchandise sales Investment highlights 1. Exclusive liquor license to sell off dock 2. Equipment: 2x large ships + 1x speed boat 3. Seller ran similar business 1990 - 2013, longtime operator Investment risks/concerns 1. Owner dependency risk 2. Vulnerability to Mexico tourism laws 3. Owner health issues/ fire sale #SMB #ETA #finance #Cashflow #investing #search #searchfund #privateequity #microprivateequity #smallbusiness #venturecapital #vc #entrepreneur #business #businessowner #pirate #ship #party #boat #mexico Disclaimer: Hypothetical and illustrative only. Please do your own research (DYOR) or work with tax and legal professionals before making a decision. This video are intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice, nor should be construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any security by SMB PE LLC or any third party.

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Tonight is the Miami Tech + Startups Community Social. Our speaker is Amir Emacha, Co-Founder & CEO of Microhub. RSVP info in the Comments ⬇️   In Miami, we've had many VCs speak to the Community. It's helpful to hear things from an investor's point of view, but nothing beats learning from a Founder with traction. Amir will discuss the groundbreaking work they're doing at Microhub to make cities more livable, how to raise a round of investment, and going to market—key topics for any Tech Startup.  Expect a room full of Startup Founders, Tech Professionals, and Investors. See you at AlmaRosa Brickell. #miamitech #techstartups #founders

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🎙️ In this Lenny's newsletter episode, we dive deep into the essentials of building a successful marketplace business. 🏗️ 🔑 Key Takeaway: Start by achieving product-market fit for the hardest (aka most valuable) side of your marketplace. #ProTip: Identify which side is most challenging and grow it first! 💡 Next Step: Focus on liquidity—the efficiency in matching supply and demand. High liquidity = better user experience and higher retention. 🚀 A simple metric to track this is your fill rate—the percentage of demand that turns into transactions. The higher, the better! #MarketplaceGrowth 💥 Is a marketplace the right model for your idea? Look for: High fragmentation on both sides Uniform set of needs Significant barriers in matchmaking or transaction creation ⚠️ Why Marketplaces Fail: Not maintaining quality control Failing to achieve liquidity 🛑 Neglecting one side of the marketplace for too long 🙌 Pro Tip: Leverage your most engaged users to onboard new ones! 🏅 Example: Lyft’s mentor program paid top drivers to train new drivers, resulting in better retention and lower turnover. #RetentionHack #CommunityBuilding 🇪🇺 vs. 🇺🇸 Product Management Insights: In Europe, job security often trumps autonomy, leading to more control from management. In contrast, U.S. companies emphasize equity and ownership, giving teams more freedom. If you're operating in Europe and want to adopt the U.S. approach, focus on education around equity and creating a culture of ownership and accountability. #GlobalPerspective #ProductManagement Tune in for more actionable insights on building and scaling your marketplace! 🎧 #PodcastHighlights #GrowthHacks https://lnkd.in/ddweqdTA

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The entrepreneurial journey is one of grit, passion, and unwavering belief. I'm truly excited about what Raj Shekhar Singh, Jyotika Gupta , and Sudarshan Ravi Jha are building with z21 Ventures. Their vision resonates deeply with me. As a founder, I know firsthand the rollercoaster of highs and lows that come with building something from the ground up. It's a path that tests you in ways you never imagined, but it's also incredibly rewarding. We've been fortunate to have exceptional investors like Sumir Chadha and WestBridge Capital in our corner. Their support went beyond just capital - they've stood by us through our triumphs and, more importantly, our setbacks. That kind of belief in your vision is invaluable. I'm hopeful and confident that Raj, Jyotika, and Sudarshan will create similar transformative experiences for a new generation of purposeful founders. They understand that true innovation often comes from those daring to challenge the status quo, those driven by a desire to make a real impact. To all the founders out there: Your journey may be hard, but it's worth it. Stay true to your purpose, embrace the challenges, and remember that your ideas have the power to make meaningful change in the world. With supporters like z21 Ventures backing you, there's no limit to what you can achieve. Let's build a future where innovation thrives and where purposeful entrepreneurship creates lasting positive change. The road ahead may be tough, but with determination and the right support, anything is possible.

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The recent broadcast agreement between QVC and USA Pickleball raises an intriguing question: can #retail owned media platforms serve as viable destinations for nascent/emerging sports properties seeking a national audience and incremental revenue?   While the answer is likely “it depends”, I do think there are several interesting aspects to this particular partnership.   QVC’s commitment to blending shopping with sports coverage demonstrates how innovative retail companies can use live entertainment IP to keep priority audiences engaged. Across its various platforms, QVC produces more than 30 hours of live content each day. That provides ample opportunity to infuse partner content into its programming.   Notably, the collaboration also sees QVC become the exclusive retail industry partner of USA Pickleball. This enables cross-selling opportunities to active participants in the sport. QVC’s core demographic is individuals between the ages of 45 to 65, with much of its marketing efforts focused on people aged 50 and up. This aligns closely with the average age of active pickleball players, the majority of which were over 55 as of 2022.   For emerging sports properties like USA pickleball, non-traditional broadcasters like QVC provide significantly higher national reach than a fringe sports streaming platform. QVC’s media channels, including QVC+ and HSN+, are available in over 100 million households worldwide, while QVC’s website attracts over 758 million visits each year. Yes, QVC will have to get viewers used to the idea of turning to it for sports content, but the company has the marketing budget and the distribution to do so.   This is also a novel take on the notion that modern audiences want more interactive live sports consumption. We’ve seen muti-screen formats tested before, while the likes of Fubo have also tried to infuse sports betting overlays on their broadcasts. Can QVC learn from these use cases to create a truly hybrid user experience?   The future of sports broadcasting beyond the major networks and largest streaming platforms may very well lie in partnerships like these, where retail providers integrate third-party content to keep new and existing consumers inside their ecosystem. We’ve seen how powerful this combination can be from Amazon’s own decision to air NFL, MLB, and English Premier League games on Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios. This is a trend to continue watching closely.   https://lnkd.in/eBeeKrBr   #mediarights #pickleball #sportsbusiness

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Advice for consumer brands raising later stage rounds: Valuation may be more about your investor’s target return and view of exit value than revenue / ebitda multiples Remember that in CPG there are few exits over $500m Knowing this, most private investors want to underwrite $200-500m exits and don’t want to earn less than 2x That means raising at $150m pre-money in most categories will be very hard Set your expectations right before you go out to raise, you don’t want a busted process Often the solution is insiders who want to increase ownership / exposure if even if means <2x on last money in

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Red eye flights are cool, three learnings from the VC Platform Global Summit, and a special curtain call. I had the opportunity to spend the last few days with 500+ #VCPlatform professionals from around the globe. Sandwiched between my son’s basketball tournament (GO GOLD!), a red-eye to Miami, and my daughter’s 4th grade play, the VC Platform Global Community Annual Summit is an event I look forward to every single year. The growth of this community is something that is so special to have witnessed since I joined in 2017. We’ve gone from a small handful of people in a single conference room to a multi-track event touching all aspects of Platform. I walk away feeling as though I learn as much as I share. And while these lessons aren’t specifically Platform specific, they are things that I walked away with in order to be a better manager (and human being)! Here are some of the highlights: ❤️ Lesson 1: Take a moment to be empathetic: Up until this very moment, everybody has a unique journey to where they are in life. No two people see things the exact same way. This fact impacts how they perceive everything in front of them. What is logical to you could be unfathomable to someone else. Take a moment to try to understand what could be unfathomable to you, but is a valid and very real perspective for them. This is applicable in both my professional and personal lives. (A million thanks Julie for helping me remember this.) 🤫 Lesson 2: Thriving as an introvert: In what is seemingly an industry built for extroverts, finding your own way to thrive is nobody’s job but your own. Unbeknownst to me, Dominic and I have taken similar approaches to finding ways to thrive by applying data to our work. What I do with Scale Studio and Go-to-Market scaling, he does with Talent. (Introverts Unite!) 🤝 Lesson 3: Genuine relationships matter: It’s really easy to scan a QR code and connect with someone on LinkedIn, but those aren’t the relationships that truly matter. Sharing the struggle of being a parent, tips on visiting Disney, and talking about a shared passion for fitness are what makes us who we are and open up the doors to build trust and openness in a professional context. Creating these genuine relationships, and continually working on them, have helped me create the network that I come to rely on everyday. (Thanks to my dinner mates Allen, Huff, Stephen, Saydeah, Carolina, Julie, Jindra) Special thanks to the rest of the board at VC Platform (Joshua, Keji, Annie, Cory, Arabella, Brianna, Casey, Cliff, Elyse, Erica, Samantha) for putting this amazing event together. And yes, I made it back for the performance.

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AMPLE update : Juniper Ventures Signs up to AMPLE Marketplace AMPLE : B2B Marketplace for Fresh Food. Impact Investment. See https://buff.ly/3W32D7p Steve Thomas - CEO/Co-Founder of AMPLE provides an update on a most recent business partnership: "...Juniper Ventures, which supplies over 23,000 meals daily to students in the London Borough of Newham, has become a keen buyer on the Ample Marketplace. Incorporated in April 2018 from the council’s catering and cleaning service, Juniper aims to operate with the social aspects of the local authority but with the business acumen and autonomy of the limited company that it is. Michael Hales, chief executive of Juniper Ventures and vice-chair-elect of LACA, said: “It is shocking that in the UK we waste 13m tonnes of food every year. As a hospitality business we are determined to do all we are able to help reduce this figure....".   Read the full update. https://buff.ly/3WnGEar REMINDER Ample Marketplace is a new B2B channel for unsold fresh food integrating e-commerce, logistics, and digital marketing. Ample is the UK’s first smart marketplace for wholesale food (with expansion plans for the US, EMEA and APAC). Ample creates value by shortening the supply chain, giving more control to sellers and value for buyers.  AMPLE is a portfolio company of XSS Capital. Join us on this investment journey? DM me for more info. #e-commerce #logistics #Impact Investing

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AMPLE update : Juniper Ventures Signs up to AMPLE Marketplace AMPLE : B2B Marketplace for Fresh Food. Impact Investment. See https://buff.ly/3W32D7p Steve Thomas - CEO/Co-Founder of AMPLE provides an update on a most recent business partnership: "...Juniper Ventures, which supplies over 23,000 meals daily to students in the London Borough of Newham, has become a keen buyer on the Ample Marketplace. Incorporated in April 2018 from the council’s catering and cleaning service, Juniper aims to operate with the social aspects of the local authority but with the business acumen and autonomy of the limited company that it is. Michael Hales, chief executive of Juniper Ventures and vice-chair-elect of LACA, said: “It is shocking that in the UK we waste 13m tonnes of food every year. As a hospitality business we are determined to do all we are able to help reduce this figure....".   Read the full update. https://buff.ly/3WnGEar REMINDER Ample Marketplace is a new B2B channel for unsold fresh food integrating e-commerce, logistics, and digital marketing. Ample is the UK’s first smart marketplace for wholesale food (with expansion plans for the US, EMEA and APAC). Ample creates value by shortening the supply chain, giving more control to sellers and value for buyers.  AMPLE is a portfolio company of XSS Capital. Join us on this investment journey? DM me for more info. #e-commerce #logistics #Impact Investing

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AMPLE update : Juniper Ventures Signs up to AMPLE Marketplace AMPLE : B2B Marketplace for Fresh Food. Impact Investment. See https://buff.ly/3W32D7p Steve Thomas - CEO/Co-Founder of AMPLE provides an update on a most recent business partnership: "...Juniper Ventures, which supplies over 23,000 meals daily to students in the London Borough of Newham, has become a keen buyer on the Ample Marketplace. Incorporated in April 2018 from the council’s catering and cleaning service, Juniper aims to operate with the social aspects of the local authority but with the business acumen and autonomy of the limited company that it is. Michael Hales, chief executive of Juniper Ventures and vice-chair-elect of LACA, said: “It is shocking that in the UK we waste 13m tonnes of food every year. As a hospitality business we are determined to do all we are able to help reduce this figure....".   Read the full update. https://buff.ly/3WnGEar REMINDER Ample Marketplace is a new B2B channel for unsold fresh food integrating e-commerce, logistics, and digital marketing. Ample is the UK’s first smart marketplace for wholesale food (with expansion plans for the US, EMEA and APAC). Ample creates value by shortening the supply chain, giving more control to sellers and value for buyers.  AMPLE is a portfolio company of XSS Capital. Join us on this investment journey? DM me for more info. #e-commerce #logistics #Impact Investing

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