🙌🏽 Community spotlight: hottest AI startups & tools, funds that lead pre-seed rounds, term sheet guide, VC trends, Barbie and more
This is a monthly newsletter of curated actionable insights and resources for over 20,000 underestimated founders, funders, and friends.
This past week has been challenging for our community, as we witnessed several Supreme Court decisions. Student-debt forgiveness was struck down, affirmative action was ruled out, and the Supreme Court stated that the First Amendment allows a business to refuse service to a same-sex couple. It's disheartening. Although we all dream of living in a fair society where everyone has equal opportunities, free from the impact of systemic racism that affects our access to education, resources, and self-acceptance, the unfortunate truth is that it's not the reality we face. And, in times like these, I believe it's important to acknowledge our emotions and lean on our community to persevere in our personal and professional lives. On the personal front, we can learn about our political system, be active in it (e.g., vote), and support organizations that work to preserve the rights of our community.
On the professional front, lean on the power of community to succeed. Need some business community inspiration? Look no further than Beyoncé and Barbie. Beyoncé leans on her BeyHive, and Barbie is doing the same with all its fans.
Want to know more about why and how Barbie is leaning into its community? TL;DR Barbie's sales metrics declined last year, reaching $1.5 billion compared to $1.7 billion in 2022, and, in response, Mattel has adopted a community-driven approach to turn things around. And now, Barbie is encouraging its community to self-identify, join in the fun, create value for one another, and catalyze a marketing sales flywheel (to help them grow). Yup. Barbie has made it easy for individuals to identify as community members through initiatives like the Barbie AI Selfie Generator. They’ve also created online spaces on social platforms, partnered with brands (eg., Xbox, Bloomingdalees, Aldo, Pinkberry, Forever 21, etc), and even established the Airbnb Malibu Dream House as a physical gathering space. Additionally, for the Barbie film, they cast talent that represents diverse racial and gender backgrounds, including Latinx and Black representation through America Ferrera and Issa Rae. This is all to help broaden the brand's community reach, activation, and growth. These efforts are working and will significantly contribute to Barbie's revenue. To that end, Barbie is preparing for the largest opening weekend in the movie industry, with projected earnings of $80-100 million. The power of community is real, and it’s here to support us.
✨ Lolita Taub, GP at Ganas Ventures | twitter | luma
Featured in Forbes, Nasdaq, Techcrunch, Thrive Global
Congrats
Kanyi Maqubela raised $312M for Kindred Ventures’ newest funds. Manan Mehta raised $35M for Unshackled Ventures Fund III. Elana Berkowitz raised $35M for Springbank’s Fund I. Vishwas Prabhakara of Honey Homes (port co) raised $9M for their Series A. Adrian DeLeón of Innovare received a $150K grant from Google for Startups. Fernando Cornejo and Daniela Vega of Storybook (port co) received a $100K investment from Ganas Ventures. Calanthia Mei of Masa (port co) earned the #1 spot at the Binance Accelerator. Rebekah Bastian of OwnTrail sold her company to Teal. Arjay Ruggles of HomeRoom (port co) launched on Product Hunt. Pime Pardo of ALLVP became Partner at the firm. Gabby Cazeau of Harlem became a Partner at the firm. Arion Long of Femly launched at CVS. Arturo Deza of Artificio launched Seezlo. Dmitry Kotlyarenko of Clever Feet got their first paying customer.
Sponsored | Ganas founders, funders & friends: Big news! Ganas Ventures joined Lightspeed's Emerging Manager program and presented our thesis to top LPs in Napa this month. Honored to receive support from a leading venture capital firm and build a more inclusive alpha-producing fund!
Funders
Carta | Get stats on what geographies received the most VC Seed/Series A capital
Hustle Fund | Learn how to pitch founders from top VCs
Asking for a VC | Meet and invest in early-stage women AI startup founders
NFX | Meet the hottest 75 AI startups
Startup-Investor Matching Tool | VCs: meet thesis-aligned underrepresented founders
Sponsored | Founders, funders & friends: get ready for an exclusive edition of Lolita's Newsletter showcasing the newest investment by Ganas Ventures: Storybook. This post unveils why Storybook stood out, going beyond its achievement as the #1 Parenting App in 90 countries.
Founders
Asking for a founder | Meet the funds that lead pre-seed rounds
Asking for a founder | Read the step-by-step guide on how to read a term sheet
Asking for a founder | Find out how to shut down your company
Asking for a founder | Get the AI tool chart that can help you get more done
LaaS | Underrepresented founders: get resources made for you
Sponsored | Underestimated founders, funders & friends: welcome to the Ganas Ventures Expert Series show, where we aim to help you on your startup-investor journey to success! RSVP and join talks with industry experts whose backgrounds include 500 Global, Gitlab, Republic, Didi, Nubank, Spin by Oxxo, VISA, and more!
Money
Ganas Ventures | Community-driven founders: apply for $100K
CCWC | BIPOC women: apply for a $5K grant by 8/1
Fearless Fund | Black women founders: apply for a $20K grant by 8/31
Workers Lab | BIPOC women: apply for $200K
Amber | Women founders: apply for <$10K grants
Z Fellow | Technical tinkerers: apply for a $10K grant
TechRise | Chicago founders: apply to win $50K
MEDA | SF women founders: apply for <$5K grants
SoGal Foundation | Black women founders: apply for $5-$10K in grants
1863 Ventures | Black founders: apply to get a 3Rs $5K grants
Non-dilutive capital | Create a profile to find non-dilutive capital
Equity Crowdfunding | Raise up to $5 million
Startup-Investor Matching Tool | Founders: get intros to investors
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