Ajay Prakash

WE DID IT! After 2 years of pushing through the biggest downturn in VC in decades, Matthew Stotts 🌐 and I made it to the finish line with Fund I! We couldn't have done this without One Small Planet (Will Peterffy and Jack Wielebinski 🙏), Regen Network and Regen Foundation (Austin Wade Smith Gregory Landua and Will Szal), and a dozen other family offices and angels who believed that we can build a nature-positive economy utilizing our eye for software and our history as founders from day 1 A shout out goes to all of our founders (only four announced today, but watch this space - there are multitudes!) who trusted us enough to give us a spot on their cap table for this 10-15 year journey. This is the best job in the world, and it's because we get to work with people like you who have weird ideas in the best possible way. Using Bitcoin as anchor base load to decarbonize residential housing in America's most expensive energy market? Make every complex supply chain legible to machines so we can find and eliminate deforestation in commodity supply chains? Build deeply liquid environmental asset markets to price ecosystem services, on a blockchain, that no one needs to know is a blockchain? I'm so excited to get to work on this stuff for the next 10-15 years minimum, and to see what we can accelerate with our tiny fund in the next 5-6 years as we approach 2030 Onward! https://lnkd.in/gy3B-DFe

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Check out my recent post on why President Trump is the forcing function for us to solve the “Missing Middle” and catch the industrial Tsunami of onshoring coming to the US!

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Over the years, we at GFR Fund have solidified our investment thesis, which is that we invest in "emerging digitally native communities." These communities can be built around games, social media, and any consumer applications. Now, founders have many easy-to-use tools to build user communities, such as Discord, X/twitter, Instagram, etc, and we believe the founders should start building communities even before they launch a product. The communities can help founders: - reach PMF faster - acquire users cheaper - retain and engage users longer - build better UX/UI, and - hire early employees Below, you can see how RTFKT and Omeda Studios built the community and then worked with them to create a product the users really wanted. We would love to talk to the founders who think the community is essential in building a product!

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Let's normalize talking about the emotional resilience required as a startup founder. At Treeo VC we do believe that the best operational synergies are derived from diverse co founding teams. We love seeing business, tech and subject matter experts coming together because that's where the innovation magic happens. And just as important as the unique insight that this trifecta delivers is the extra emotional juice to support each other and the organization. Here's an easy read below: Treeo VC Arzu Tekir Cigdem Toraman https://lnkd.in/drzRpyyK

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In 2013, Lori Torres felt an undeniable spark when she conceived the idea for Parcel Pending, a smart locker solution designed to tackle the package crisis in apartment buildings. Despite being the primary breadwinner in her family with a thriving real estate career, she took a monumental risk. She left her secure job, sold the family’s cherished home, and even persuaded her mother to risk her property for a loan. Within a year of these sacrifices, Lori had developed her first smart lockers. Her innovation soon caught on, with her lockers becoming a key solution for property management companies and residents. By the end of 2014, Lori’s commitment had not only secured her first major order but also attracted investors, setting the stage for tremendous growth. Within six years, Parcel Pending was sold for $100 million, turning her mother’s loan into a $1 million return and ensuring her family's future. Lori’s story highlights a key lesson for anyone seeking investors: truly committing to your vision can make a world of difference. By investing your own resources and security, you show investors just how dedicated you are to your idea. When you put everything on the line, it not only proves your commitment but also makes a strong case to potential backers. If you’re all in, it’s far easier to convince others to believe in your dream, and it could be the turning point in making it a reality. Are you prepared to go all in on your entrepreneurial dreams? Grab a copy of my book, “Thinking Bigger”, at the link below to read my personal experience chasing my dream and the advice I would share to anyone starting today. https://lnkd.in/dZpQYX6D #Entrepreneurship #WomenInBusiness #Startups #Investment #ThinkBigger

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Looking forward to meeting women entrepreneurs who are on their journey to create some pathbreaking ideas and inspiring others to do the same. #advaitawomenentrepreneurs #womeninbusiness #entrepreneurship #womenentrepreneurs #EmpowerWomen #womenleaders #businesswomen

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I first met Mike Maples, Jr in 2010, when Founders Network was just an idea. Over the years, Mike and his team at Floodgate (special shoutout to Arjun Chopra) have been great mentors, sharing their insights and guiding our founders. Most recently, their advice played a pivotal role in helping us launch Founders Network Fund. Today, Mike shared the key ideas with FN'ers from his new book Pattern Breakers (https://a.co/d/buKBd5O ), which explores the insights he’s gained from backing companies like Twitter, Twitch, and Okta -- and which put him on the Forbes Midas List 8x. This is the most important book on startups in the last ten years, according to Steve Blank. My notes on the key concepts of his talk: 1) Inflections – "not a trend but a change event that represents a turning point in our ability to provide empowerment." e.g. The GPS chip in iPhone 4s 2) Insights – "a non-consensus and right insight about the future that's powerful and non obvious and leverages inflections." e.g. Lyft = GPS + strangers driving you 3) Founder future fit – "Living in the future before other people live in the future and then try to build what's missing in the future." If you're a founder, check out the book. Grateful for the impact Mike and Arjun continue to have on both me and the Founders Network community!

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What does the future hold? 🤔 According to top VC Vinod Khosla, it's looking optimistic! In a recent article, Vinod Khosla at Khosla Ventures shared his views on our plausible futures in 2035-2049, and it's a nice counterbalance against the too-pessimistic doom thinking out there. ⚡ Khosla believes that entrepreneurs, with passion for a vision, invent the future they want. And if we allow it to happen, abundant, awesome, technology-based, “possible tomorrows” are likely ⚡ ----------------------- Are you interested in building the future with/ for your company? Take the first step here 📆 https://lnkd.in/e6kjakzF Let's make the future happen! 🚀 #Future #Venturing #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #Technology #Possibilities

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I had a lot of fun recording a podcast episode with Shiva Singh Sangwan. We discussed the evolution of Humba Ventures & Susa Ventures; tips for raising and building a fund; how to improve investment sourcing & picking; the role of luck in investing, and so on. https://lnkd.in/eiqsStej

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💰 Women-Led VC Funds: Navigating 2024 Fundraising Landscape 💰 According to Venture Capital Journal, despite a strong start, women-led VC funds are feeling the impact of the industry-wide fundraising slowdown. As of November 30, 2024, women-led VC funds have raised $2.54 billion, which represents a 25% decrease from 2023's total of $3.43 billion. In comparison, global venture fundraising is down 13% YoY. While the numbers reflect challenges, there's still potential for growth: • Several funds typically file updates in December • These late submissions could help narrow the gap Let's continue supporting diversity in VC and monitor these trends as we approach year-end. #VentureCapital #WomenInVC #FundingTrends2024 La Creme de la STEM ™ - female founders support system Noshin Ahmed Lori Rodriguez Emilie Vallauri Craig Zapatka

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Want to learn more from pioneers in the Angel and Venture Cap field? Check out the How Women Invest event next month with the talented Nancy Hayes.

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If retailers feel that their world has been turned upside down by the newer generations of shoppers and the technology the world is embracing, we at Silicon Road Ventures wish to contend that this is only the beginning. Though recent headlines trumpet how the old-guard retailers are going out of business, the reality is that retail sales have grown and continue to do so. In this competitive landscape, the key to survival is not just adapting to change, but embracing it. Retailers who innovate and build stores, in real life or virtually, that cater to consumers' evolving needs, will emerge victorious. I'm speaking with Walmart's Ram Rampalli about the role of strategic investing in guiding innovation and getting retailers into the investment game at NRF Nexus (nexus.nrf.com). We'll discuss this and the recent trend of retailers making strategic investments in retail tech startups. If you're going, I'd love to connect.

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Worth reading: Arkady Kulik (in my view) has written a really useful piece on raising money for a fund. A dear friend taught me to say "No" roughly 1000 to 1. Why? "Yes" requires time from the investor, so say "No" often and quickly to help yourself and the person raising capital. Arkady does a beautiful job of showing that people do not like to say "No," so you, as the person raising money, need to quickly validate and define "No" if they do not say "No" and filter out noise in the signal.

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Unlocking Opportunities as a Limited Partner As a Limited Partner (LP), I have the privilege of investing in diverse ventures and witnessing innovation. Here are some key insights from my journey: Building Partnerships Being an LP is more than providing capital; it’s about fostering trust and alignment. Successful investments thrive on transparency and shared goals. Diversification Matters Investing across sectors like technology, healthcare, and renewable energy reduces risk and broadens perspectives. Diversification enriches both experience and portfolio. Backing Innovation LPs play a vital role in supporting ventures that combine profitability with purpose. I’m drawn to startups driving sustainable and inclusive solutions. Due Diligence Thorough research on teams, markets, and risks is essential. While risks remain, preparation increases the chances of success. Value of Community Connecting with entrepreneurs, LPs, and GPs offers fresh insights and opens doors to new opportunities. Looking Ahead The investment landscape is changing. Staying adaptable and forward-thinking is key. I’m eager to continue exploring ventures that shape a better future. To my network: What trends or sectors excite you in the coming year? Let’s connect and share ideas. #LimitedPartner #VentureCapital #Innovation #Diversification #SustainableInvesting

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🌍 Exciting news! Apparel Impact Institute (Aii) has just announced the newest round of Climate Solutions Portfolio (CSP) grants, part of the $250 million Fashion Climate Fund aimed at unlocking $2 billion in blended capital for industry-wide decarbonization. These grants provide essential funding and support for scalable, science-based solutions that help the fashion industry reduce its environmental impact.🌱 This round of grantees – Pozzi, Grant Thornton, and Amphico – are tackling unique supply chain challenges with innovative technologies, offering measurable greenhouse gas reductions. Collectively, these projects have the potential to save over 24,000 tCO2e within their first year of implementation! 💡 Highlights include: * Pozzi's advanced heat recovery system for the textile wet processing sector * Grant Thornton's innovative approach to energy conservation in the lubricant industry * Amphico's cutting-edge color-mixing technology for textiles, creating vibrant fabrics with reduced environmental impact A huge congratulations to these trailblazers for their commitment to a sustainable future. Learn more about their projects and how Aii is driving decarbonization efforts across the industry #Sustainability #ClimateAction #Decarbonization #FashionIndustry #ApparelImpactInstitute #InnovationForImpact #CSPGrantees #SustainableFashion #Decarbonization

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I’m thrilled to be announcing that Notion Capital is leading the $15m Series A investment in Cogna today. In the industry, we like to think that software has been eating the world. But when you look at the data a better description would be more of a nibble. Depending on what source you look at the software industry represents between 5-8% of global GDP. Contrast that with the services industry that represents between 60-70% of GDP and worth around $25 trillion on a global basis. Most services have been out of reach for the software industry. They have either been too complex or too specialized for off the shelf software to access in any economically viable way. But that’s beginnning to change with GenAI leading to the emergence of ‘service as a software.’ Cogna is at the forefront of this opportunity - building precision software at scale and delivering huge productivity gains for traditional industries. We know Ben Peters & Lars Mennen well having backed their previous company Five AI that was acquired by Bosch in 2022. And we’re very excited to be backing them again together with Hoxton Ventures & Chalfen Ventures Read my full blog post on why we invested here. Radu Bozga Ben Peters Lars Mennen Bryan G. Mike Chalfen Hussein Kanji Kirsten Connell https://lnkd.in/eh8mhcJb

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Excited to participate in pre-seed round of Fraction AI led by The Spartan Group & Symbolic Capital with participation from Anagram Ltd, Karatage, Foresight Ventures, Generative Ventures, MH Ventures, Cogitent Ventures, Mask Network , @PAKA fund, Oak Grove Ventures, Kosmos Ventures , Builder Capital, @Next Web Capital, ByzantineMarine and renowned angels including @Sandeep Nainwal (founder Polygon Labs), Illia Polosukhin (founder NEAR Protocol), Michael Heinrich (founder 0G Labs) and several others Fraction AI addresses the growing challenge of producing high-quality data at scale. Traditional methods rely solely on either human labor or #AI, but Fraction AI blends human insight with AI efficiency. By leveraging human understanding to guide AI agents, Fraction AI decentralizes data labeling—the process of tagging raw data (such as images, text, or audio) with meaningful labels to train AI models for pattern recognition and accurate prediction. Among AI's three core components—data, compute, and models—data remains the most opaque and tightly controlled. Fraction AI aims to change this, leveling the playing field and empowering anyone to train high-quality AI models. Fraction AI employs a hybrid approach to data labeling, combining human insights with AI agents. Its competitive framework encourages these agents to generate high-quality data through real-time competitions. The platform involves three key participants: stakers, builders, and judges. Stakers earn rewards by staking $ETH or liquid staking tokens ($LSTs) like Lido Finance's staked ether (stETH). Their earnings derive from entry fees paid by builders, with 5% of each fee distributed directly to stakers. Builders create agents by providing human insights or detailed text instructions, requiring no coding. They fund their agents with $ETH or $LSTs to compete in challenges and pay a small entry fee to participate and generate the best possible data. The top three agents (out of five) in each competition receive rewards from the entry fee pool, multiplied by a performance-based multiplier determined by specialized large language models (LLMs). This additional multiplier-based reward comes from the stakers' pool, ensuring that underperforming agents indirectly fund stakers while significantly boosting rewards for top performers. Judges, who are specialized LLMs, evaluate agent outputs against predefined criteria. To participate, judges must stake Fraction AI's native $FRAC tokens. Fraction AI is primarily built on Ethereum and is currently live on a closed testnet with over 60,000 users. The public testnet is expected to launch next month, with the mainnet release slated for late Q1 or early Q2 2025. The $FRAC token launch will coincide with the mainnet release. The token's utility will be to secure a network of judges who evaluate agent outputs through staking and slashing mechanisms, ensuring quality and fair evaluation. More here: The Block: https://bit.ly/3BPgBT1

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We are so excited to announce our investment in Raechel Lambert, Bernard Kobos, and Ryan Lambert and their company, River Platform Company. River is a platform that empowers brands and influencers to build large-scale, in-person communities. To date, the platform has hosted over 2,000 events with 3,000 crowdsourced hosts and 55,000 attendees across more than 15 cities worldwide. We like to think of it as the operating system for community management. If the Catholic Church were founded today, it would use River to coordinate its global activities. No kidding. Jason Calacanis, the American internet entrepreneur and investor known for his All-In podcast with Chamath Palihapitiya, David O. Sacks, and David Friedberg, saw their potential early on. So did Balaji Srinivasan, Bryan Johnson, Tim Ferriss, and many others. We met the River team six months ago and have been incredibly impressed by their big-picture thinking, relentless hustle to connect with the right people and flawless execution. And as if that wasn’t enough, working with them is an absolute pleasure. These guys are a source of renewable energy. We’re proud to be part of this journey alongside wonderful co-investors like Blue Wire Capital, Blockwall, Solana Foundation, very early Ventures, and LAUNCH. Congratulations to the entire River team on this exciting milestone! We know firsthand that when things seem effortless, it’s because a tremendous amount of hard work went into making it happen. Want to join or host an IRL community event? Head over to getriver.io. #getriver #community #blockchainfounderscapital #startup #venturecapital #creatoreconomy

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