🥣 Menudo, clean glasses, underestimated founders, outsized returns, and more
A practical bi-weekly newsletter for early-stage founders, funders, and friends.
Welcome to Lolita’s Newsletter! We share up-to-date and nugget-sized practical resources and advice for early-stage founders, funders, and operator friends. We are at 4,125 members. To access exclusive content, office hours, join our Slack community, and get your pitch deck reviewed become an annual subscriber or gift a subscription.
Try Menudo, delicious Mexican tripe soup, for its nutritious goodness (or as a hangover cure). Keep your glasses clean with these hacks. Read this thread if you’re working on writing a story. And, if you’re bored, it’s a good time to join a physically distanced band.
This week, Samsung NEXT invited Lo Toney, Maya Hogan, and me to talk about empowering underestimated founders + GPs. Bo Ren, our moderator, asked me, “Why do you use ‘underestimated’ versus ‘diverse’ or ‘underrepresented’ founders?” My response:
When I think of underestimated founders I think of founders that have been inaccurately thought to be less capable but are indeed able to build unicorns and outsized returns for their investors. While when I hear diverse or underrepresented people I most associate these terms with demographics and population representation.
I share this because it’s important to recognize that when we talk about investing in underestimated founders (or even bringing up investors that come from underestimated backgrounds), we’re not talking about doing charitable work, we’re talking about making money. We know that we’ll make huge returns by leveraging the last arbitrage opportunity: investing in the best (underestimated) founders — whom the old-guard VCs cannot identify or tap into without us.
I’m optimistic because there are funds that are realizing that they need to have investors on their teams that are not all white-cis-gendered males to ensure differentiated deal flow and the ability to produce massive returns. More on this soon.
I’ll leave you with some good news: there’s a cadre of underestimated founders and investors who will not stop leaning in - no matter the hurdles we need to overcome (I see you Gil) or the hustle required. We will invest in our community’s capacity to produce the companies of the future and build generational wealth. We’re here to stay and we’re just getting started.
✨ Lolita Taub
link.tree | twitter
ICYMI: My origin story video got +20K views. I'm investing $50K in cos who have not raised from VCs. Submit your co for investment consideration. I closed big deal in my day job! The Startup-Investor Matching Tool saw its 7 check written from intros, was featured in Techcrunch and in the Equity Podcast.Congrats!
Candice Brackeen and Brian Brackeen for raising a $50M to invest in underestimated founders through Lightship Capital. Sheel Mohnot for raising $60M for btv.vc. Erika Cramer and Julie Abrams for their first $5M close for the How Women Invest fund. Aniyia Williams for her new Principal role at the Omidyar Network. Kobie Fuller, La Mer Walker, and Emily Slade for raising $5.25M for Valence. Aniyia Williams, Nik Sharma, Kristy Tillman, Stephen Green, Ashley Mayer, Del Johnson, Sian Morson, Aaron McClendon, Maxime Paul, Miki Reynolds, and me for becoming Indie.vc verified scouts.
Funders
Techcrunch | How young VCs bootstrap new venture firms
Greenspring Associates | Venture Capital's Access Myth
500 Startups | Apply for a scholarship to VC Unlocked
Susa Ventures | Apply to a 6-month Venture Fellows program
First Round | Apply to a the Remote Angel Track program
Unshackled Ventures | Apply for a Ventures Fellowship program
VC Jobs | Find a VC job using this search engine
Founders
Forbes | 5 Fairytale VC Tactics As Taught By Toddlers
Investment Consideration | Submit your co to the Startup-Investor Matching Tool
@DanHightowerJr | Access these investors without warm intros
Guide | First-Time Founders Resource Guide
Legal | Founder legal guidance from lawyer and friend Ed Zimmerman
Y Combinator | YC Startup Library
Hustle Fund | How to go from part time to full time founder event on 8/25
Unusual VC | Apply to a workshop series to sharpen your founder skills by 8/31
AllRaise | Apply to their free Preparing for Seed program by 8/31
Funny
Money
Founder Grants | +80 grants for founders
Visible | New investor database by and for founders
Investors | Founders of Color friendly investors
Equity Crowdfunding | Raise up to $1 million on Republic
Women Who Tech | Apply for grants that range from $3 - $5K
Women’s Fast Pitch | Apply to get a $10K investment
How can I help you?
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