🚀 Innovators' Edge: AI startups, tech hype navigation, LPs, scouting & funding opportunities
This is a bi-weekly newsletter of curated actionable insights and resources for underestimated founders, funders, and friends.
👁️👄👁️ Have you ever heard of Gartner’s hype cycle? Knowing where a tech falls in the hype cycle is important for founders, investors, and society because it can inform investment decisions, innovation strategies, and societal impact. So let’s learn about it.
Hype cycle 101: The hype cycle is a way of understanding how new tech or ideas get popular over time. First, everyone gets really excited about it (the "Technology Trigger" phase). Then, people start to get carried away and think it will change everything (the "Peak of Inflated Expectations" phase). But then reality sets in, and people realize it's not quite as amazing as they thought (the "Trough of Disillusionment" phase). After that, people start to figure out how to actually use the tech in a useful way (the "Slope of Enlightenment" phase). Finally, tech becomes a normal part of everyday life (the "Plateau of Productivity" phase). Understanding the hype cycle can help you make better decisions about whether to invest in new tech and how to manage your expectations about it.
AI/Blockchain observations: AI is in the Slope of Enlightenment phase of the hype cycle. I still remember when it was at its peak of Inflated Expectations when I was selling Watson at IBM or when I did my TEDx talk on Raising AI. Anywho, AI presents a good investment opportunity. There’s a lot of excitement and interest around AI and natural language processing, and this tech is becoming more widely adopted and integrated into everyday life. Think OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, Microsoft's Bing AI, and those incredible Tik Tok filters (have you tried the AI Portrait one?). Blockchain may appear to be in the Trough of Disillusionment phase, indicating lower popularity (because of crypto's ups and downs), but in my opinion, Web 3 is in the early stages of the Technology Trigger phase, presenting an opportunity for decentralized app development. Did you know that Microsoft, NVIDIA, IBM, PayPal, Goldman Sachs, and others continue to invest in blockchain?
And on that note, at Ganas Ventures, we are excited to invest in pre-seed and seed community-driven startups that are integrating either AI or blockchain so long as they are relevant to solving the problem they're trying to solve. If this is you, pitch us at ganas.vc.
🎉 Big shout out to Leadsales (port co), who is working on conversational commerce AI, and Masa Finance (port co), who is building to bridge Web 2 and Web 3 to decentralize credit and financial products globally!
✨ Lolita Taub, GP at Ganas Ventures | twitter | luma
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Congrats
Kara Nortman for raising $100M for Monarch Collective. Mitchella Gilbert for raising $1.3M for Oya. AJ of Carrd (port co) for getting to 6M sites, thanks to the company's community alone. Calanthia Mei of Masa Finance (port co) for launching the first soulbound token-powered Web 3 identity passport with the Celo blockchain and, in 7 days, having 75K+ .celo domains claimed, and 32K+ users onboarded. Alexandra Fine of Dame (port co) for launching in Sephora Australia. Roby Peñacastro of Leadsales (port co) for leading the conversational revolution in Latin America. Brian Requarth of Latitud (port co) for becoming one of the investors and sharks in the new season of Shark Tank Mexico. Andre McGregor of Forcemetrics (port co) for making the newest Goldman Sachs Entrepreneur Cohort. Yehong Zhu of Zette (port co) for launching on Product Hunt! Andres Cohen of Famosos (port co) for launching FamososAds.com with over 15 thousand Latin American celebrities and influencers.
Sponsored | Aspiring and current scouts looking to identify promising startups and build their investor track record: read the Ganas Ventures Foundational Guide for Early-Stage Venture Capital Scouts.
Funders
Enthusiast | Learn about VC fundraising in this market & more
Levantando | Get the inside scoop of fundraising for a fund in public
Ganas Ventures | Know what to look for when investing in a startup
Startup-Investor Matching Tool | VCs: meet thesis-aligned underrepresented founders
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 Gitlab, Republic, Didi, Nubank, Spin by Oxxo, and more!
Founders
Asking for a founder | Learn how AI can help startups succeed
Asking for a founder | Get tips on dividing founder team responsibilities
Becky Pierson | Find out how to create a community journey
LaaS | Underrepresented founders: get resources made for you
Sponsored | Founders, funders, and friends: community-driven companies are great for founders and investors in bear markets. Find out why in our post: The Rise of Community-Driven Companies: Why They are Great for Founders and Investors.
Money
Ganas Ventures | Community-driven founders: apply for $100K
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
Olgas | Michigan women founders: apply for $10K grants
Movemeant | BIPOC women fitness founders: apply for a $1-5K grant
MEDA | SF women founders: apply for <$5K grants
Fearless Fund | Black women founders: apply for $10K 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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This post was originally posted on April 2, 2023 on lu.ma by Lolita Taub.