Konstantin Guericke

🌟Innovative VC Firm Overcomes Exits Drought with Secondary Sales🌟 ⛵Navigating a challenging landscape where exits are scarce, Santa Barbara Venture Partners (SBVP) has pioneered a novel approach to sustain its growth and attract investors for its second fund: secondary sales. Instead of waiting for traditional exits like IPOs or acquisitions, SBVP opted to sell shares of its portfolio companies, demonstrating its ability to generate returns for investors and stand out in a competitive market. 🎤According to Dan Engel, founder and managing partner of SBVP, these secondary transactions have been a game-changer, sparking investor interest and bolstering the firm's credibility. By leveraging its recent successes, including a lucrative stake in sports-betting company DraftKings Inc.' acquisition of digital lottery app Jackpocket, SBVP seized the opportunity to return profits to its limited partners (LPs) and pave the way for its second fund. 💡Engel highlighted the challenges faced by young VC firms in raising subsequent funds, particularly amid a downturn in exit activity and heightened investor scrutiny. With traditional exit routes becoming increasingly elusive, the pressure is on for firms to demonstrate tangible returns and establish a track record of success. ✨"For us, secondary sales have been a game-changer. They've helped us return profits to our LPs and attract investors for our second fund," said Dan Engel. 💰For SBVP, the decision to pursue secondary sales was driven by the need to provide liquidity to LPs and validate its investment thesis in the eyes of prospective investors. By strategically offloading portions of its holdings in high-performing portfolio companies like Bark Technologies and Rad AI, SBVP not only generated substantial returns but also bolstered investor confidence in its ability to deliver results. ⚠Despite the complexities and potential stigma associated with early share sales, Engel emphasized the importance of prioritizing investor returns and seizing opportunities to unlock value for stakeholders. With a focus on profitability and transparency, SBVP remains committed to its mission of delivering sustainable growth and maximizing returns for its LPs. 🔍 "Returning profits to our investors is our top priority. By strategically selling shares, we're proving our commitment to delivering results and driving value for our stakeholders," added Engel. As SBVP continues to explore secondary transactions and expand its investor base, the firm stands as a testament to innovation and resilience in the face of market challenges. 🚀 ✅ Looking to raise capital for your #fund and increase the international pool of your LP #investors?   🤝 Need warm #LP introductions?   📝 Selling #secondaries to increase liquidity?   🧐 Looking for co-investments?   ▶ G+QUANT's link for inquiries and fund decks: https://lnkd.in/gjC_EuTE #VCInnovation #SecondarySalesSuccess #InvestorReturns #ValueCreation 

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118 VCs (one hundred eighteen!) are gathering in San Diego next week - to meet with 30 SD startups. But it's so MUCH bigger than just those 30 co's. It brings VCs back - when they see quality companies. It helps those who are next-in-line and adjacent. It enables us to send deal flow all year 'round. It attracts talent and other companies. It inspires entrepreneurship. Connect is working for SD. Together, we're building the best damn innovation ecosystem on the planet. Year over year. Five.Ten.Thirty.

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Exciting news for startups! California accounts for about 50% of all venture investments. The not-so-secret reason is that non-competes are illegal in California, so engineers at FAANGs can build competitors without fear. Today, the US Federal Trade Commission declared non-compete agreements illegal nationwide. This means that engineers at big tech companies can now leave and build their own companies without fear of violating a non-competes (legacy agreements for executives are still enforceable - talk to your lawyer), this is a step in the right direction for fostering innovation and competition across the country. A variety of big-business groups have vowed to sue to bring non-competes back, but at least for now, they're gone! #startups #innovation #competition #noncompete Official Announcement: https://lnkd.in/gRXUpgDy Impending lawsuit: https://lnkd.in/gqSiVuTd

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I am honored to host Nolan Bushnell for a fireside chat at TechCon SoCal 2024 in San Diego on May 24th. We'll discuss how his innovations at Atari laid the groundwork for today's tech landscape and what lessons we can draw for the future. 🌟 Why Nolan Bushnell is a Must-Hear for Every Tech Enthusiast🌟 🕹️ Pioneering the Video Game Industry: Bushnell's creation of Atari and the iconic game Pong marked the beginning of the video game era, democratizing technology through entertainment. By democratizing technology through entertainment, Bushnell made electronics and computing accessible, inspiring a generation and catalyzing the tech ecosystem. 👔 Redefining Startup Culture: Bushnell invented a new breed of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs: visionary, bold, and nonconformist. His management style and the work environment he fostered at Atari—including laid-back elements like beer and ping pong—helped set a template for Silicon Valley's informal and innovative corporate culture, influencing giants like Google and Facebook. 🌱 Innovating Venture Capital: Bushnell became a crucial pivot in VC history by becoming the first example of how new business models over technology advancement become VC "fundable". Sequoia Capital's first seed investment concept in Atari demonstrated the profitability of supporting early-stage consumer tech businesses. It broadened VC horizons to include software and entertainment, impacting how venture capital operates today. 🚀 Driving Silicon Valley's Evolution: The Foundation of Silicon Valley was Arthur Rock funding Fairchild Semiconductor & Intel, establishing the semiconductor industry, and putting the silicon in Silicon Valley. The expansion phase was Don Valentine's investment in Atari, expanding the focus from hardware to software and entertainment, creating the video game industry, and expanding Silicon Valley's tech ecosystem. Bushnell's role enabled the Transformation Phase of Silicon with the 1980 IPOs of Apple and Genentech, showcasing SV's innovation breadth across multiple sectors. 🔗 Enabling Icons: Bushnell provided Steve Jobs, who did not have a college degree, with his first job inspiration for the idea of bringing computers to home users, invaluable introductions and opportunities, and influenced the birth of Apple. 🎮 Inspiring Future Innovators: By integrating fun into computer use, Bushnell likely accelerated technological innovation by making computing appealing to those who might not have otherwise engaged with it. His work at Atari made the daunting world of computers relatable and exciting, inspiring many future founders and technologists. Nolan's influence is evident in the increased computer literacy and the surge in tech-driven career interests among the youth of his time. Connect with over 80 early-stage investors and hundreds of founders from San Diego, the Bay Area, Austin, Denver, and New York. Explore more about the event at https://lnkd.in/gTYMN65n

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Introducing Stephan Little, a pioneer in entrepreneurship, investment, and mergers and acquisitions, who will be joining the AI Panel at the California Investment Forum in Anaheim, CA, on May 8-11. Steve's journey as a serial entrepreneur began at a young age, and he has since scaled six startups to private nine-figure acquisitions and raised over $2 billion in startup and growth funding for businesses across various industries. As the founder and managing director of Zero Limits Ventures and Zero Limits Capital, Steve has become renowned for generating accelerated value growth and delivering extraordinary acquisition value multiples for his portfolio companies and clients. With a keen eye for unique opportunities and a track record of identifying untapped potential, Steve has mastered the art of spotting valuation growth where others may not. In this introduction video, Steve highlighted the transformative power of AI in three distinct areas. Firstly, he touched on the creation and development of AI and generative tools, which are reshaping industries. Secondly, he delved into AI's practical applications within enterprises, emphasizing how integrating AI can dramatically enhance productivity and growth, ultimately increasing value for entrepreneurs. The third area Steve discussed was the middle ground of AI implementation, which presents an exciting opportunity for companies lacking in-house expertise. This gap in the market suggests a burgeoning demand for external AI knowledge and solutions, which can rapidly propel a company forward. AI is accelerating at an extraordinary pace and significantly impacting market dynamics. As an "older statesman" in the tech world, Steve expressed his excitement about being part of this "big bubble" of innovation. Join us at the California Investment Forum to hear Steve's insights and expertise on AI deployment, bridging the gap between generic AI models and task-specific enterprise applications. Learn how we can harness the power of AI to drive competitiveness, efficiency, and growth, improve productivity, and enhance business values in the next decade. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from one of the industry's most respected visionaries and game-changers. #AI #CIF Daniel Sieu Darlene Bryant (Chiu)

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Two weeks ago I spent 3 days with brilliant human beings discussing the state of AI investment with other angel syndicate leads, angel investors and VCs at Hustle Fund's #camphustle in Los Gatos. It was brilliant. Truly awesome to learn so much from insanely accomplished investors. But was so clear to me again is that the US and the UK are two countries divided by separate languages of ambition. Aspiration and ambition underlined by the cluster effect of successful exits, incredible talent and venture capital driven by operators and founders rather than accountants. But one reason why the US often trumps (pun not intended) the UK is they learn from failure. Run a startup that didn't reach the dizzying heights of venture-scale returns? Learn, reset and go again. What they certainly do not do is look at failure with glee and an "I told you so" attitude. Which is what I sense when I read most of the narrative around the failure of Cazoo. Alex Chesterman swung and missed. The business was flawed, unit economics didn't add up and in reality - there was very little innovation outside the vertical alignment of a well-understood business. But when we look down upon what he tried to do and 💩 💩 it all we're doing is making it harder for someone else to be equally as ambitious. Focus on what went wrong. Focus on the fundamental underlying business models that drive efficient use of capital and the push for profitability. But let's celebrate people shooting their shot and not celebrate the failures.

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On May 2nd, we’re unveiling a workshop called 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬-𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬, which will be taught by digital health luminary, 𝐁𝐞𝐧 𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝐌𝐃, 𝐏𝐡𝐃.  ​ In addition to being the Manos Health Lead Medical Advisor, Dr. Rosner is also an Associate professor at UCSF, a veteran digital health researcher, and a practicing hospitalist physician. ​ Dr. Rosner has the perfect background for this topic, because he has expertise in running complex clinical studies at the large AMC level and has practically navigated generating evidence as part of previous digital health launch teams. ​ Basically, he knows the science and the business. ​ He will be walking you through the practical steps you need to take to run a validation study that will support your sales. This is not an academic class on how to run a randomized control trial solely for investigative academic journal publishing. Our process focuses on designing and executing studies that prove your solution works so that you can attract your dream customers. ​ This is the same method we have used with our multi-billion-dollar clients to build, prove, and launch profitable digital health products: ​ It is perfect for those who are investing heavily in building digital health products (or healthcare adjacent, even if it’s not tech) but aren't seeing the expected returns. Or if you are currently building out your product and want to ensure you are “sales-ready” down the road. ​ Why is this workshop a game-changer for you? Sales-focused clinical trials are the key to success in healthcare: learn how to change a cost driver into revenue generation. Knowing when you are ready is the first step: understand how to know and prepare for a study and figure out what type is best for you (and most cost effective). Executing a clinical trial doesn’t have to be overwhelming: walk step-by-step with us as we take you through 10 basic steps, from choosing where to start, to marketing your results. Converting our study to sales and marketing will get you to the next level: discover tactics for converting a scientific study to marketing materials to attract your dream buyers. ​ This workshop is not just about collecting evidence; it's about transforming that evidence into a strategic advantage and a clear path to sales. ​ Who Should Attend: Founders, Health-Tech Executives, Heads of Commercialization, Scientific Chairs and Product Leaders. ​ Are there any bonuses? You bet. We’re going to give away our: ​ 🧬 Study Type Diagnostic: A list of questions that will help you target what types of study might be right for you. 📈 Marketing Dissemination Templates: Documents that will help you promote your clinical study in marketing materials and on social media. ✅ Getting Started Checklist: Use this to make sure you are ready to engage in a study and avoid re-work and costly missteps down the road. ​ Get your spot here 👇

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An interesting article below, that demonstrates out how San Diego is punching above its weight.  And how Connect's strategy and execution over time, contintues to be central to that success. The article describes the current state of the market in Seattle.  (And i love Seattle.) It's a market that we tend to track with relative to venture fundings.  They used to kick our butts, we outraised them each of the last three years.  This despite the fact they have 3x as many funds there, and 9x the amount of resident capital there. (per pitchbook) Some key takeaways:  * They continue to compare themselves to SIlicon Valley. Instead, we leverage our proximity. *They whine there's not enough local investors (see note above - they have more than us). We bring over 200 VCs to SD annually! * They say founders are not connected with one another. We bring CEOs together regularly, in a variety of ways - private dinners and through our Springboard program. * They say they need to elevate their image on a national & international stage. Why we created and continue to build Five.Ten.Thirty (aka Inno Day).  * And the last paragraph - they need to concentrate on making their region a great place to live. Our mantra: "It's about Better, not Bigger." (See XEO, TL Fund). THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT. WE ARE ON A MISSION TOGETHER!!!  (Comments, whining, suggestions on SD always welcome.) https://lnkd.in/g6Rq_f2Y

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See this chart? 💰 This is the San Fran Bay Area versus the rest of the world in #AI funding. Last year, more than 50% of ALL global venture funding for AI-related startups went to companies headquartered in the Bay Area. And, the Bay Area alone had more AI-related startup funding deals than ALL COUNTRIES outside of the U.S. Let that sink in... This is a major problem for #ecosystems across the US, who are pinning their hopes on VC-backed companies in this AI startup renaissance moment. AI is a race to see who can come out the winner. 🏆 And the way you win in startupland is you pick the company you want to bet on and you back it with a lot of capital. With the Bay Area dominating the AI funding game, it's going to be increasingly difficult for other ecosystems to compete. chart via Crunchbase

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I used to spend 2-3 hours daily on clinic notes, skeptical of AI scribe technology. However, I've been impressed with RevMaxx, a generative AI company transforming clinical note creation by listening to physician-patient conversations and automatically generating comprehensive notes. This platform accurately captures crucial ICD-10 codes, saving valuable time ⏰. 👉 Why This Matters: - **Reducing Physician Burnout:** Administrative tasks are a significant contributor to physician burnout. Innovations like RevMaxx alleviate this burden effectively. #HealthcareInnovation #AI #PhysicianBurnout #MedicalDocumentation #HealthTech #RevMaxx

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On the latest Vital Signs, Nikhil Krishnan and I had a ton of fun chatting with Dr. Atul Butte. Dr. Butte is a professor at UCSF, Chief Data Scientist of the UC Health System, and a co-founder of numerous healthcare startups. In our conversation, Dr. Butte shared his takes on healthcare AI opportunities, challenges, hype, and more. A few highlights: ⚡LLM use cases, data, and growth LLMs are already helping to solve the “drudgery” aspects of medicine, such as automatically drafting SOAP notes and patient messages. Dr. Butte is excited about future applications of LLMs that can help with the “cognitive” aspects: with difficult medical problems an LLM might be able to stitch together disparate pieces of information to generate a potentially novel solution. He also highlights that prompt engineering will become the next “coding language” as so much of leveraging LLMs is knowing how to ask them the right questions. Additionally, Dr. Butte discusses how since 2016, UCSF has been working to deidentify its patient notes so that it can query them to answer clinical questions and ultimately enhance patient care. ⚡The need for patient-facing AI As patients are increasingly able to access their own personal health data in nicely structured formats (e.g., EHRs, wearables), they desperately need more tools to help them interpret and make decisions using that data. Dr. Butte understands that these patient-facing solutions are challenging to get funded but he emphasizes that patients need to receive the benefits of AI sooner. ⚡Evaluating healthcare AI solutions In order to evaluate AI solutions, we often put human specialists – such as medical professionals – on the same tasks. Understanding that specialists often disagree with each other, a significant challenge arises in figuring out how we can evaluate AI considering we can’t just “average” all the specialist opinions. Dr. Butte points out that there still remains a massive gap in AI evaluation tools. Additionally, there are so many organizations that want to have a say in how healthcare AI is regulated that the landscape is uncertain. An awesome conversation with an expert on all things AI meets healthcare. Listen to the full episode below: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3Wr3643 Apple: https://apple.co/4acwgan

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The most interesting people I follow in Mental Health... ↘ Alon Greenspan for perspectives from a VC dedicated to mental health ↘ Naveen Rao for insights on the Neurotech market ↘ Dr. Jessica Jackson for insights from a psychologist who's worked across the entire system ↘ John Torous, MD MBI for some of the only insights I can trust on the role ot technology in mental health care ↘ John Vervaeke for his lecture series on the crisis of meaning, absolutely incredible! ↘ Grin Lord for insights on AI in mental health ↘ Ross Harper for seeing the day-to-day of running a succesful mental health tech business ↘ Jonathan Haidt - for strong perspectives on how technology is affecting child mental health ↘ Nikhil Krishnan - for amazing education on health systems (not mental health specific) ↘ Ushma Baros for her writing on commercial strategy and GTM in mental health ↘ John Cordray for insights from the therapist side of the world (sorry, how many Johns are there in mental health???) ↘ Johann Hari - for some more alternative and holistic views on what is causing our mental health crisis ↘ Natasha Robinson - for on the ground reporting of the impact of mental health on real people ↘ Vlad Gheorghiu for evidence based perspectives on mental health in the workplace - Steve D. (me 👋 ) for insights on how to make your mental health business commercially successful Who did I miss? __ P.S. If you want insights on mental health innovation in your inbox every week, subscribe to The Hemingway Report 📩 #MentalHealth #HealthTech

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🎙️ Thrilled to share that V. Tyrone Lam, COO of GATC Health, was recently featured on the Innovation Wave Podcast! In this insightful 20’ episode with Bob McGriff and me, Ty delves into how AI-driven predictive analytics can transform our approach to disease treatment, making it more proactive and less risky. He shared compelling insights on the future of healthcare and how predictive tools can lead to earlier interventions and better patient outcomes. A must-listen for anyone interested in the cutting-edge of medical technology and AI! 👉 Check out the episode to learn more about Tyrone's vision and GATC Health's pioneering work in this exciting field. Let's discuss how these innovations are reshaping the landscape of healthcare! #HealthTech #AI #PredictiveAnalytics #Innovation

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Today marks a groundbreaking moment for BLCK VC and our fellow collaborators—Diversity VC, All Raise, 2Gether-International, SomosVC, StartOut, and VetsinTech—as we proudly announce the launch of the Diversity Data Alliance. This important alliance underscores our unwavering commitment to nurturing a venture capital and entrepreneurial ecosystem abundant in equity and inclusiveness. By standardizing and linking our data, we empower ourselves with the essential tools to track deeper trends that have, until now, eluded us to identify and fill funding gaps for historically excluded investors, founders, and operators. We can’t change what we do not measure, and now with the Diversity Data Alliance, we're now equipped to do both. Join us in this mission. Learn more and get involved: https://lnkd.in/eEZKdrac #DiversityDataAlliance #BLCKVC #VentureCapital #MeasureToChange

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This analysis, at least anecdotally makes sense to me. In many situations, infringe and holdout is the least painful option for large infringers. The system enables it. - The plaintiff must allocate the time and $$ to assert, taking time and $$ away from selling and developing products. Even if they engage litigation financiers they are limiting their upside potential. - The infringer continues to infringe while employing stall tactics or simply relying on the painfully slow, overburdened legal system. - The cost benefit analysis for infringers - "infringe and pay lawyers" typically outweighs the cost of design around or license. - Enhanced damages and injunctions are rare. - Litigation insurance products reduce risk all around. "The Marcum report shows that there is indeed something wrong with the patent system in the United States but it’s not excessive litigation or patent trolls. The real problem is the inability of patent owners to enforce their rights against infringers. Given the difficulty of obtaining injunctive relief and the limited enhancement of damages, it is unsurprising that predatory infringement has become a standard business practice when, at worst, all an infringer can be expected to pay is a reasonable royalty and, at best, nothing at all."

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In #VirtualSpace, many of the physical interactions that restrain antisocial behavior vanish. Delusions of grandeur, narcissism, viciousness, impulsivity, and infantile behavior for some individuals rise to the surface. https://lnkd.in/gdrCxrrH #VirtualReality #metaverse

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Someone broke down the estimated costs of a $15 Sweetgreen salad. We need these cost graphics for digital health to help future founders. Especially for tech enabled cos, the greatest cost is labor. Much of the "value created" is in curation and matching, which means the gross margins are reliant on labor arbitrage. Pay someone $X, but get paid $X+Y% per visit. The challenge with healthcare is that you often have to pick one of two business models: 1. specialized, low volume, high cost, low gross margin % 2. generalized, high volume, low cost, high gross margin % I'd argue founders should focus on gross dollars over the lifetime of the customer (like Jeff Bezos said) instead of gross margin %'s, but we'll leave that for another time. The challenge is that many tech enabled digital health cos have high cost of goods sold (labor) and moderately high product, design, and engineering budgets. We must build differentiated solutions for patients, clinicians, and clients to be out incumbents, however, we're realizing that companies are ultimately valued on the discounted value of future cash flows. And the high SG&A costs at most organizations might be inbalanced to the unit economics of the business. I'm not sure the math pencils out for everyone unfortunately. But I'm just a guy on the internet, would love to hear the thoughts from those smarter than I (you!). Comment below. --- p.s. I have no idea the accuracy of the graphic and not an investor in Sweetgreen. Cheers. Credit: David Crowther

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Can poop save the planet? 🤔 Well, in Silicon Valley, it's not just a punchline—it's a multimillion-dollar climate solution. Big players are teaming up with startup Vaulted Deep, paying $58.3 million, to pump organic waste underground. The deal was brokered by Frontier Climate, a coalition launched in 2022 by Stripe, Alphabet, Meta, Shopify, and McKinsey Sustainability. But why are tech giants getting their hands dirty with sewage and manure? Vaulted Deep's technology, rooted in decades-old methods used for oil and gas fracking cleanup, gives them an edge. But instead of sludge, they're tackling carbon-rich waste, aiming to sequester CO2 underground. They plan to sequester 152,480 tons of carbon dioxide by 2027 as part of the deal (That equates to 36,000 gas cars off the road for a year). Is this greenwashing, or a silver bullet? Critics warn of cost, the need for rigorous carbon accounting, and potential environmental trade-offs - i.e. emission prevention versus carbon removal. #decarbonization

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