Alexandra K. Moore

https://lnkd.in/gZeefZhX Private equity funds gathered $176.7 billion in the first quarter of 2024, a drop of roughly 10 percent from the $195.5 billion recorded in the same period last year, according to preliminary findings from PEI data. Interest rate uncertainty continues to weigh on buyout and exit activity, while record dry powder for the asset class remains stacked for 2024, the data found.

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This is worth a few minutes of your time. My story today with Kat Hidalgo Allison McNeely and Eyk Henning on the travails facing private equity after they added even more expensive debt when borrowing costs soared, and how that financial engineering is now complicating exits. We also tackle the implications for private credit. With thanks to James Boxell for a great edit.

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Earlier this year, we surveyed our fellow Los Angeles-based GPs to get a pulse check on the LA venture ecosystem. Here’s what we found: 💗 Deal flow is healthy, and most LA venture investors (68%) are seeing the same or more deal flow YoY. ✈ LA investors are spending time in a variety of markets, with NYC, Austin, and SF following closely on LA’s heels. 🔍 Innovation is concentrated in AI and machine learning, space, and commerce. 💸 Funding is happening, but it’s barbell-shaped, with deals concentrated at the early and late stages. Funding post-Series A has been challenging. 🚩 LA is differentiated, but not without its challenges. Key difficulties include not attracting enough AI talent (despite having the largest number of engineers graduating from our region over any other in the United States); talent relocated to more tax-friendly or less expensive locations; and the great SoCal / NoCal divide 🙏 Thank you to all our many respondents! I’m so glad to be part of a venture ecosystem that includes great minds like Anna Barber, Brent Murri, W. Christine Choi, Sarah Tomolonius, Rob Smith, Win Chevapravatdumrong, John Tabis, Jill Royster, Jesse Draper, Ashley Balla, Britt Danneman, Tram Lai, Carmen Palafox, Elaine Russell, Deborah Benton Amanda Schutzbank, Brian Lee, Petra Griffith, Minnie Ingersoll, Shamin Walsh, Gabe Greenbaum...wow, this list could go on forever...plus too many other exceptional humans to name. You know who you are! Explore our findings more deeply with our survey dashboard: https://bit.ly/3JsaLaB

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Is the AI-Infrastructure and GPU mania a repeat of the fiber-optic and data-center boom-to-bust of the late 1990s and early 2000s? Or am I just making an overly simplistic comparison? $7.5 billion loan for what is essentially a re-seller of computing infrastructure.

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Entering the Post-ZIRP, venture-capital-winter years. Thanks TechCrunch for this great summary of the macro economic context of #VC emerging managers.

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The Triller / AGBA merger is financial engineering, not logical combination. Retail investors, be wary… …if this deal goes through as planned. I reviewed the investor pitch, sec filings, fundraising history, and financials of each. The findings show major 🚩🚩🚩🚩 Which explains why shareholder protection investigations were kicked off today. I’ll write more about the deal on LinkedIn and my newsletter this week. —- I’m the founder of RockWater Industries. We do m&a and strategy advisory for #media #agency #creatoreconomy My DM’s are open

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Tough to bring out the best in PE portfolio companies without bringing out the best in their leaders, eh? Most PE folks will nod in agreement. But tell me: What are you doing to equip, empower, and develop port-co leaders? And is it enough to give your firm an edge in this hyper-competitive PE market? If the answer is anything short of an emphatic "yes," check out the leadership accelerator we're working on. Details in the comments ⤵️

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It is no secret that fundraising has been incredibly challenging for founders at all stages. According to Carta’s Q1 2024 State of Private Markets report, Seed stage deal count fell 33% from Q4 2023 and Series A deal count fell 36%. Additionally, total cash raised in the same period was 30% less at each stage suggesting rounds sizes are also getting smaller. In this next edition of Collaborative Fund's Founder Support Series, I get into the details of how to prepare to fundraise in a challenging environment. Have a read and let me know what you think: https://lnkd.in/gJjqhsCd

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Being sued by the federal government couldn't happen to a better company! • Monopoly that controls 80% of US concert ticketing without an alternative for 60% of US event venues. • Average 28% premium for privilege of buying through their exclusive channel without adding value. • Encourages and profits from repeated fees through third-party resale (scalping) where audiences pay inflated prices, artists see no additional revenue, and ticketing scammers double or triple profits. • Gatekeeping of ticket access through opt-in groups leads to monetization of communities and vast dissemination of personal data through data brokers. • Demand-based pricing penalizes fans who purchase early to support their favorite artists. Probably time to do something about some of this. #TicketHostage #Fees #Artists #Venues #Concerts U.S. Department of Justice Ticketmaster Live Nation Entertainment

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In the latest episode of the New Light Ventures podcast, I had an insightful conversation with Charles Hudson, Managing Partner and Founder of Precursor Ventures, a pioneering early-stage VC firm. Under Charles' leadership, Precursor has raised four funds totaling over $200M and invested in 400+ companies. 🌟 3 Key Takeaways: 1. Invest Before Product-Market Fit - Precursor focuses on the pre-seed stage, writing $250-500K checks into companies before they have traction. Charles believes this is where he makes the best investment decisions. 2. Founders Don't Need Pedigree - Precursor looks for promising founders even if they lack brand-name credentials. "If you weren't somebody with these known pedigree signals and you didn't have traction, I felt like there wasn't really anybody looking out for you." 3. Picking Well Solves Problems - Charles emphasizes the importance of selection in VC. "If you're good at picking, it solves a lot of problems...when you choose well, you get to work with great people who are very capable and they will problem solve well on their own." "I hope that when I'm done investing many years from now, people look back and say, wow, Precursor, it's in its own lane. They did something different." For aspiring VC managers, founders, and anyone curious about the evolving VC landscape, this episode provides valuable wisdom from a pioneering investor carving his own path. 🎧 Listen to the full episode now - link in comments!

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After a whirlwind two decades of a corporate career – which has spanned a traditional management consulting firm, a Fortune 500 toy company, a world class entertainment agency, and a growth equity fund, I’m excited to officially share that I’m striking out on my own with Shruti Sehgal. Together, we’re proud to launch The Moonshot Company – a new kind of strategic consultancy, representing high-growth talent, brands, and investors looking to accelerate their cultural and commercial success from a place of authenticity, creativity, and intent. The Moonshot Company will specialize in integrated brand and growth strategies–culled from our prior executive careers in consumer, entertainment, media, finance, politics, and PR. Throughout my professional life, I often found myself at the center of consumer industries undergoing a major landscape shift. Shifting consumer behavior, the proliferation of social media, digitally-native consumption, and revamped business models have underpinned every business I have been fortunate to be a part of. Winter has always been coming. And it is through that lens that I learned a lot about myself as an executive. My curiosity has always found that change exhilarating - and I am particularly adept at spotting through lines and opportunity amidst a constant state of flux. Rapidly transforming industries don’t scare me, stagnation does. And yet, I have always felt a natural tension between building these industry-specific skills and the freedom to add my own interdisciplinary instincts and perspectives to bear, especially on someone else’s platform. But as the world has changed, so have I: this very tension I once thought frustrating is now a reason for being.  If I could go back in time, I would tell my younger self that my own diverse range of experiences and multicultural consumer lens always has been, and will always be, as instructive to my success and growth as anything else. The future of business and culture requires differentiated voices and leaders who can bring a much wider set of skills and a unique blend of deeply-lived experiences – both personal and professional – to achieve transformational outcomes for clients, and this is the foundational vision of The Moonshot Company. Simply put: this platform didn't exist, so we built it. As mothers, former senior executives, culture-obsessed consumers, and South Asian women – Shruti and I are thrilled to put our skills, networks, and novel strategies to work for clients who share our values, and whom we feel uniquely compelled to deliver Moonshot-level results for. If our vision and founder story resonates with you, please reach out. And as we embark on this new journey, I’d love to hear more about your own Moonshot below. 🚀 💫

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The Wall Street Journal has an incredibly insightful op-ed from Paul Ryan (Political Office of Speaker Paul D. Ryan (WI-01)). Normally you hear #crypto advocates in terms of why it is a more stable store of value than even the formerly defacto standard of the United States Dollar. Obviously post FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried that idea held no standing. Of note though given the Former Speaker of the House's apporach is demonstrating sound financial and economic arguments highlighting facts about Saudi Arabia and China's postions and numbers one and two of our own foreign debt is that both are showing less appetites for our own dollars. Therefore, in terms of international competitiveness and national defense, adopting this standard could help increase our competitiveness and that of our country domestically and internationally. What do you think? #management #venturecapital #privateequity #capitalmarkets #cryptocurrencies

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Sonoma, Ca - Women in CVC Summit! 65 women in CVC gathered together for real, honest conversations about the challenges and complexities in CVC investing versus traditional venture capital. CVCs face challenges such as aligning the interests and expectations of the corporation and the startup, managing the relationship and communication between the two parties, and balancing the trade-offs between strategic and financial returns. But what's truly inspiring is the impact women are having in this space! Female-founded companies exit faster but make up a smaller share of total exit activity. CVCs participated in 17.5% of all female-founder deals in 2023, while more CVC firms have majority female checkwriter representation. Furthermore, female founders closed a record of 22.8% of total VC funds in 2023. We are thrilled to support this vibrant community of women alongside our friends and partners, Counterpart Ventures. Tanvi Narain and Abbie Wolf, congrats on curating such an impactful event. Special thanks to Annemarie Donegan from PitchBook for the data and research she shared with the group. The phenomenal lineup of speakers from corporate and traditional venture capital funds included: ​Amy Daniels Burr, President, JetBlue Ventures Danielle D'Agostaro, Partner, WVV Capital Vivien Ho, Partner, Pear VC Betty Lee (Lee) Bryant, Principal, Woven Capital, Toyota's Growth Fund Savannah Greene, Principal, Workday Ventures Heather Reginelli, Ventures Manager, State Farm Ventures Marie-Christine Razaire, Principal, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures Beth Devin, Scout, Investor & Advisor, HearstLab Priya Saiprasad, Co-Founder and General Partner, Touring Capital Agustina Sartori, Founding Managing Director, Prisma Ventures #WomeninBuisness #VentureCapital #CVC #CorporateVentureCapital #WomeninLeadership TriNet Abbie Wolf Tanvi Narain Patrick Eggen David Haraburda Kim Thomas Matt Mahoney Samantha Santaniello-Lawrence

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The #VentureStudio community is thriving and when two leaders from different studios get together it is always going to be a great conversation. This podcast is huge as two brilliant Venture Studio leaders Barry O'Reilly from Nobody Studios and Ben Yoskovitz from Highline Beta join to unpack the innovative world of venture studios and uncover the strategies that make startups thrive. In this episode, you will learn: 📈 The fundamentals of creating and scaling a venture studio 🛠️ Strategies for innovating with accelerators, incubators, and venture capital 💡 How to apply Lean Startup principles to build products people actually want 🤝 The importance of collaboration between founders, corporate partners, and investors 🔄 Insights into the specialization and future trends of venture studios Take a listen and learn from two masters.

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Friends, Q2 was a quarter of progress and learning for us at HawkTower, where we invest in early-stage startups applying breakthrough computing technologies to maximize California's natural resource markets. Our focus is on technology-enabled interventions (e.g., AI-enabled geospatial radars for lithium-ion batteries in the waste stream) for critical, market-level imperatives (e.g., disaster prevention) that can drive rapid commercial adoption (e.g., placed on every recycling truck in the world). Our current investment priorities are: - Agricultural productivity and efficiency - Biomanufacturing - Labor and mobility automation - Waste stream optimization and decarbonization - Disaster prevention and management Here’s a snapshot of what we’ve been up to: Milestones and Investments: - In late April, we officially launched our fund, filing with the SEC. Yay. - By June, we completed our first fund close ahead of schedule, with backing from family offices, foundations, high-net-worth individuals, and organizations aligned with California's future. - Our portfolio now includes three early-stage investments (Farm-ng, Agriful Software, and Nexstera Tech). Strategic Partnerships: - We believe that startups operating closer to their customers and resources, especially in agriculture and biomanufacturing, have a strategic advantage. For instance, the Salinas Valley, a major agricultural hub, is less than an hour from Silicon Valley and serves as a center of thought leadership in the convergence of agriculture and AI (from Western Growers, Taylor Farms, and others). - Similarly, the North San Joaquin Valley is emerging as a biotech and agtech innovation hub, and we are proud to support BEAM Circular, a startup hub for the circular bioeconomy. Key Relationships: - Karen Warner, CEO of BEAM Circular, joined HawkTower as a strategic advisor. - Jackie Cruz, Ed. D. Cruz, Hartnell College’s VP of Advancement, advises on Salinas Valley and workforce development. - Ben Palone from Western Growers, with his technical background in agriculture, became a trusted advisor. - Matthew Hoffman from Driscoll's Global R&D team provides insights on global agriculture, product positioning, and investment strategy. - We collaborated with Monterey Bay DART for workforce development and automation in agtech. - Dominic Milano and the Milano Technical Group from Merced collaborated on key initiatives and advised us on investments. - HawkTower is participating in Santa Cruz Works's accelerator cohort as a mentor and advisor. Thank you Doug Erickson. - We published an overview of entrepreneurship across the UC system with input from across the University of California system. Moving into the fall, we remain deeply committed to supporting founders shaping California's future natural resource markets. Stay tuned and be in touch! : ) Db

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Our Discovery Series is in full bloom at #wealthingVCclub. Tomorrow we will talk about the pros-cons of the many avenues to invest in Early Stage companies. See you 5-6pm California time. Thanks to all that came last week's session about how to build a diversified portfolio. Tip: if you are not investing 1-5% of your portfolio in angel investing you are doing yourself and your family a disservice. #wealthingVCclub #WVCC #angelinvestors #angelinvesting #crowdfunding #angelgroups #investmentclubs #venturecapital #limitedpartners #generalpartners #wealthing May is New Member's Month at our investment club. Applications to investors end May 31st until next May. Type your questions below or come to our discovery session. https://lnkd.in/gJWap7-c

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HawkTower is a new venture capital firm focused on Underleveraged California. Our mission is to foster innovation and commercialization in critical rising and emerging regions of California, a state that still holds untapped potential as the world's fifth-largest economy. A thriving California, one that continues to grow, compete, and innovate on a global scale, is crucial for America's overall prosperity. Today, our website launched. We are also excited to announce additions to the team and advisory, including: Bill Sherrod, EdD, a 29-year Navy veteran and former Strategic Advisor to the President of the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), has joined HawkTower as a Venture Partner. Bill, who initially joined us as an advisor in February, has quickly become an indispensable part of our team. His extensive experience in dual-use technology, advanced air mobility, and more brings HawkTower a wealth of knowledge and expertise. Vittoria Lecomte is a new Venture Partner. Tori is a former Forbes 30 Under 30 and an investment banker at Barclays in their Technology, Media, and Telecom Group. She was lead analyst on the Fitbit (now part of Google) and GoPro IPOs. Before joining HawkTower, she was the founder and CEO of Sesh which had a successful exit to Caraway. HawkTower is thrilled to announce our strategic partnership with Tesserakt Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm based in Central California. This collaboration, at a time of critical opportunity for emerging California, will drive cohesion in the marketplace. Daniel Emilio Sabzehzar (Venture Partner) and Phoenix Skeahan (Operating Partner) will join HawkTower, enhancing our sourcing, diligence, and portfolio support capabilities. Lenny Mendonca, a Turlock native, is a new advisor. He served as Governor Newsom's Chief Economic and Business Advisor and is also a Senior Partner Emeritus at McKinsey & Company, where he founded the firm's U.S. state and local public sector consulting practice. Walt Duflock, head of innovation for the Western Growers , is also a new advisor. Walt is a partner at a 5th-generation family farming operation in Monterey County. In addition to 30 years of experience at Silicon Valley tech startups, Walt and his team at WGA are extraordinary thought leaders in the AgTech ecosystem. Our technical advisory capacity is significantly strengthened with the support of Alexander Wolf, Dean of the Baskin School of Engineering at University of California, Santa Cruz, Amy Fleischer, Dean, the College of Engineering California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), and Rakesh Goel, Dean, School of Engineering, University of California, Merced. HawkTower is confident in the entrepreneurial acumen and potential of each of these universities (as well as NPS, UC Davis, Fresno St., and others). I'm humbled to share these updates with you as we continue to grow our firm out in the open with your input.

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