š¤ Otroverts? AI deals, value-add LPs, 10 years to exit, money and more
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Iām holding a lot of grief about whatās unfolding in the Middle East. I donāt have expertise to offer here, but Iām thinking of everyone affected. Sending this newsletter feels small in comparison. And yet: we must keep going.
Thereās a new personality type trending called āotrovert.ā People who are warm, well-liked, and friendly but never quite feel like they belong to any group. Eternal outsiders, even in rooms full of people who like them.
A couple of underestimated and underrepresented founders I know sent me that article with zero comment. Just a link to Are you an otrovert? Because theyāve been living that their whole career. Not broken. Not antisocial. Just built differently.
And honestly? That outsider lens is often exactly what builds the most loyal communities. When you know what exclusion feels like, you build the room you always wanted to walk into.
Iām making space for one April 27-29 in the Bay Area. Iāll be speaking at the Startup Grind Global Conference and hosting a Ganas Coffee. Founders, funders, and friends, RSVP and join me!
Lolita Taub, GP at Ganas Ventures | X | LinkedIn | Lolita AI
Ganas Ventures invests $100K checks into early-stage startups.
Featured in Forbes, Nasdaq, Techcrunch, and more
Congrats
Papaya (port co) grew over 500% in less than 6 months. Toolhouse (port co) hit 315% growth in Q1. Leadsales (port co) reached 2,800 customers across 20+ countries. Vitrinnea (port co) hit #1 in the Shopping category on the App Store in El Salvador - ahead of Amazon, SHEIN, and Temu. Avify (port co) made StartupLinks x Cuantico VPās Top 20 Startups in Central America and the Caribbean. LiquiDonate (port co) made the Supply & Demand Chain Executive Pros to Know list. Bump (port co) graduated from the Morgan Stanley ISV program. Manzana Verde (port co) launched its 4th franchise in LATAM.
Events
Investor Series: April 15 on āAI dealflow is everywhere. How do you avoid āAI wallpaperā?
Ganas Coffee at Startup Grind Global on April 27
Investors
Signature Block | The Value-Add LP Era: VCs spent 20 years competing on value-add to win founders. That same shift is happening one layer up. LPs who bring real support to their GPs are winning access to the best emerging managers before theyāre even in market. Capital alone doesnāt guarantee access anymore.
TechCrunch | AI Startups Are Eating the Venture Industry and the Returns, So Far, Are Good: AI startups took 41% of all venture dollars on Carta last year. The catch: 10% of startups accounted for half of all funding. The gap between AI and everything else keeps widening. If your portfolio has no AI exposure, your numbers look very different from the headlines.
PitchBook | VC Is So Back - Or Stabilized, At Least: Deal value grew above its long-term average in 2025, but itās heavily concentrated into fewer sectors and fewer companies. The market is back. Just not evenly.
Startup-Investor Matching Tool | Investors: meet thesis-aligned founders
Founders
Carta | Itās Going to Take a Decade: For venture-backed founders, the path from first priced round to exit takes longer than most people say out loud. And thatās for the companies that actually work. Even startups that donāt make it tie up founders for years. The opportunity cost of founding a company is high.
Forbes | The Bar for a Great Startup Has Never Been Higher: Median Series A ARR jumped from ~$1M to $3M in just a few years. Itās never been easier to start, and yet the gap between starting and standing out has never been wider. The founders who get through know exactly what game theyāre playing.
TechCrunch | More Startups Are Hitting $10M ARR in 3 Months Than Ever Before: 20% of new companies charged their first customer within 30 days, up from 8% in 2020. The speed is real. So is the caveat: investors are focused on whether that growth sticks, not just how fast it came.
Startup-Investor Matching Tool | Founders: get intros to investors that get you
Money
Ganas Ventures | Pre-seed & seed founders: apply for $100K on a rolling deadline
Makers Mindset | Women CPG founders: apply for $30K by April 10
Blueprint x VH | Early-stage founders: apply for $10K by April 12
Lenovo | Small business founders: apply for grants in 2026
Skip Grant | Small business founders: apply for $10K by April 17
LA2050 | LA-based impact founders: apply for up to $75K by April 22
Famous Amos | Black founders: apply for $50K by April 23
LāOreal | Beauty founders and influencers: apply for $25K by April 23
Hey Helen | Women founders: apply for $10K by April 30
LA2050 | LA impact founders: apply for up to $75K by Apr 22 (Part 1 Screening)
CodeLaunch | LATAM cos: apply for $50Kā$100K in services/funding by May 10
PSBC | Small businesses in Philly: apply for $50K on a rolling deadline
McKinney | Texas-based founders: apply for $50Kā$500K on a rolling deadline
NAACP | New England Black-owned cos: apply for $25K on a rolling deadline
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