No GPs Allowed ⚡ #7

3 AI fundraises = 1.5B invested (& announced) in 24 hours, a consumer social app acquisition, and 1 GP has been permitted to join No GPs

Author

Zehra Naqvi
May 22, 2024

TLDR from Z

I’m thinking of sending a 8AM daily version of No GPs Allowed (weekdays) that is essentially a recap of everything that happened the day before in VC land. From controversial tweets to fundraising announcements. What do you guys think? This longer format will still come out every Wednesday.

I am very excited to kick off 1 GP Allowed — a monthly version of this newsletter in which I interview a GP for around 1 hour about their entire career from the start to where they are now. I meet them IRL, photograph them (canon g7x girl), and ask them very specific questions tailored to their background. This series will start with Terri Burns. If there are other GPs (perhaps your own) that you think would be interested in sharing their wisdom with the rest of us non-GPs, reply to this email. TLDR this is like Vogue’s 73 Questions, but we’re putting GPs in the hot seat.

P.S. if you want to get involved with All Raise, attend our first public event of the year during NYTW! RSVP here :)

VC News

Fundraising News

Consumer-Specific News

I don’t love that Sam Altman basically stole ScarJo’s voice-likeness for Sky but it is pretty remarkable to hear him validate a thesis I’ve been bullish on + vocal about online. Because so much of our lives will become automated via AI AND social interactions online will become increasingly machine-first (see Rex’s post below), the value of IRL connections and experiences will sky rocket. I think of companies like 222 building in this space.

Niche internet lore of the week to keep up with the Gen Z’s (and Gen Alpha’s in 4 years): Yuval, Ayame, & Oliver Mills’ love triangle. Is it a planned growth-hacking system so they all gain more followers, or did it randomly happen?

Going Public Season 2 is Here!

Going Public is a show like Shark Tank where viewers can invest in featured startups while they watch. It's a groundbreaking original series where we follow the stories of founders on their capital-raising journeys, and for the first time, viewers globally can Click-to-Invest and buy shares in featured companies in under a minute.

There’s nothing like this show in the market - it’s an anomaly in our industry. Companies who are featured have the potential to raise millions of dollars, drive new customer acquisition, and create massive mainstream brand awareness for their businesses – all at the same time.

Season two of Going Public has five episodes that are 14 minutes each. Former NBA star turned investor Baron Davis hosts the show and A-list celebrities like Floyd Mayweather take founders out of their comfort zone with challenges like getting in the ring with him to see how far they’re willing to go to raise capital. 

Season two is streaming now on MarketWatch. Watch here!*

VC & Startup Theses (or tips)

  1. AI's Communication Revolution: We're All Talking to Computers Now

    OpenAI GPT-4o, Chatbots, and a Framework for Digital Communication

    1. If you’re interested investing/building in consumer, you have to subscribe to Rex’s newsletter if you haven’t already

  2. Founders - The Master Investor List 📈: with a record $311.6 billion in dry powder, here's a curated list to kickstart your search.

  3. Best cold-email practices from John Hu (founder of Stan Store, just hit $25M ARR)

  4. I Know Where You Were Last Night: Apps like Find My have normalized location-sharing, but keeping tabs on someone doesn’t always keep them close

    1. This piece isn’t necessarily directly linked to VC/Startup content but I think it’s a vital read re: the future of consumer social. Find-My has truly created a brand new set of social rules.

  5. Startups and Timing: Tanay’s thoughts on the "Why Now" for startups

Investor Feature: Sakib Jamal

How and why did you want to become a VC? I was interested in the process of building/scaling - in college, I built a business similar to Morning Brew for the South Asian market, served as teaching assistant for the entrepreneurship class, and created feasibility studies for Bangladeshi corporates entering new markets as a side hustle. The biggest inspiration for venture capital, however, came from following my GP Ali Hamed who had built Coventure (and now Crossbeam) as a student into the multi-asset class investment firm it is today.

What’s your investment philosophy in 5 words? What is the secret here?

Strangest place you’ve met a founder? The subway!

#1 tip for folks trying to break into VC & new VCs? Do the job of a VC before becoming one – build a point of view on certain markets, write about things you find interesting, and try to help founders with a skill and/or your network when it comes to fundraising, hiring, and/or business development.

Investor you admire most? Mike Maples Jr. (early-stage) and Ram Parameswaran (growth/public)

1 GP Allowed

Coming in June! 1 GP Allowed will be the monthly premium version of No GPs Allowed. As I teased above, these interviews are 1 hour long IRL meetings all on the record. Think of it like a New Yorker or Vogue feature. I’ll be photographing the GP & asking them for their favorite apps, products, and more. I do hours of research on the GP before I meet with them: I read as many of their tweets as possible, watch all their interviews, and listen to their podcasts. This is a deeply intentional, focused interview.

Break into VC: Jobs

Full-time Investor

Stripes is hiring a Consumer Investor. Apply here!

Compound is hiring an investor. Apply here!

Commerce Ventures is hiring a Senior Associate. Apply here!

Fin Capital is hiring an Investment Analyst. Apply here!

Fin Capital is hiring an Investment Associate. Apply here!

Capital Factory is hiring an associate. Apply here (Dallas)

Flourish Ventures is hiring an investment associate. Apply here!

Pear VC is hiring an Investment Associate - AI and Enterprise. Apply here!

Dragonfly is hiring an Investor. Apply here!

Alumni Ventures is hiring a Principal. Apply here!

Entrepreneur First is hiring multiple Analysts/Associates. Apply here!

Full-time Platform

Cowboy Ventures is hiring a Chief of Staff. Apply here!

Union Heritage is hiring a Chief of Staff. Apply here!

First Round is hiring an Events Coordinator. Apply here!

Internship

Expanding Capital is hiring an intern. Apply here!  

igniteXL Ventures is hiring a Summer Analyst. Apply here!  

My fund Headline Ventures is bringing on scouts for our consumer team! If you’re interested apply here.

VC $$$

You can drop your salary details here (anonymously) to be shared in future editions. VC compensation is an exceptionally opaque part of the “breaking into VC” process. This section aims to act as: a reference for you as you negotiate your salary and to showcase just how different compensation is across fund size, titles, and more.

  • Title: Analyst

  • Fund Size: 50-100M

  • Base Salary: $125,000

  • Cash Bonus: $25,000

  • Carry: 0.25%

Events (for VCs)

wednesday 5/29

monday 6/3

tuesday 6/4

wednesday 6/5

thursday 6/6

Resources: Discounts + Tools