🚀 Stay ahead of the game: market updates, 7 startup grants, LP benefits, and more
This is a bi-weekly newsletter of curated actionable insights and resources for underestimated founders, funders, and friends.
The market is interesting right now. Inflation is slowing, interest rates are high, the real estate market is said to be thawing, retail spending is up, unemployment is at a 54-year low, the number of jobs is up, tech companies are shedding employees, we're in a richsession...and depending on who you ask, the economy is okay, the best to build/invest in, and for others, it's falling apart and heading into the worst recession of all time. Ha!
Anywho, I hope you enjoyed Rihanna’s Super Bowl performance (while pregnant!) and had a wonderful Black Love Day (Feb 13) and Valentine’s Day (Feb 14) this week. Did you know that Valentine’s Day was a day originally meant to celebrate two early Christian martyrs but then it was leveraged by marketers to sell Cadbury chocolates and U.S. Greeting Cards? Yup. And since then Valentine’s Day evolved into what we know it to be today. I prefer Black Love Day, a holiday that promotes speaking out against violence and spreading peace and love.
Speaking of Black love. Black History Month has inspired me to dig into my African roots. I’m 7.3% African with ancestry including Senegambian, Guinean, North African, Southern West African, Angolan, and Congolese which goes all the way back to the 1700s. I’m curious about how my family tree went from Africa to Latin America. I can imagine that the Sub-Saharan slave trade, the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, and colonization are part of the story.
Have you looked into your ancestry timeline lately?
✨ Lolita Taub, GP at Ganas Ventures | twitter | luma
Recently in Forbes, Nasdaq, LinkedIn News, and Techcrunch
Congrats
Brandon Mitchell, Hanzla Ramey, Leander Howard II, and Amit Nath for raising a $2M pre-seed round for Write Sea. Beatriz Acevedo of SUMA Wealth (port co) acquired Reel. Calanthia Mei and Brendan Playford of Masa (port co) for launching Masa Mainnet. Allison Esposito Medina for her exit and sale of Tech Ladies. Roby Peñacastro of Leadsales (port co) for making ASEM's E-100 Generation list. Meg Pryde of Brandefy (port co) for making InStyle's 15 Best Indie Beauty Brands list. Samara Hernandez (Ganas LP) of Chingona Ventures for making Bloomberg Linea's 100 Influential Latinos list. Zehra Naqvi (Ganas Deal Partner) for becoming Head of Founder Community at Republic (port co).
Sponsored | Have you ever considered the benefits of investing as an LP in VC funds during a downturn? After all, some of the biggest winners, like Airbnb and Uber, have come out of downturns and 42 years' worth of VC fund analysis shows that it can be a good time to invest.
Funders
Fast Company | Learn why we need more women fund managers
Pitchbook | Get the stats on the amount of dry powder in the market
Ganas | Benefit from backing community-driven startups
Startup-Investor Matching Tool | VCs: meet thesis-aligned underrepresented founders
Sponsored | Tired of hunting for engineering talent for your startup? Try Lemon.io.
They offer pre-vetted, verified devs at affordable rates. Stop wasting time on unqualified candidates, and try Lemon.io today.
Founders
Asking for a founder | Get tips on getting a job after closing your startup
Asking for a founder | Explore ways to find mentors to help you build
Asking for a founder | Find out where you can find a CEO to bring into your startup
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 Gitlab, Republic, Didi, Nubank, Spin by Oxxo, and more!
Money
Chicago | Chicago founders: apply for $250K+ grants by 2/24
HearstLab | Women founders: apply to pitch for $100K by 3/1
Ganas | Community-driven founders: apply for $100K
MEDA | SF women founders: apply for <$5K grants
Olgas | Michigan women founders: apply for $10K grants
Movemeant | BIPOC women fitness founders: apply for a $1-5K grant
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
Want more? Follow me @lolitataub and let me know how I can help. Want to support our newsletter and get featured? Become a sponsor.
This post was originally posted on Feb 19, 2023 on lu.ma by Lolita Taub.