Jack Abraham

Today was a big win for consumer health, with Flo Health Inc.'s valuation at $1 billion. We're hearing talk about the market becoming frothy again, but I’d argue—without seeing the detailed financials—that this valuation could be entirely warranted. Flo has built an impressive business, with 5 million paid subscribers and 70 million monthly active users. At $60 per year for users to access the product, this business has hundreds of millions in revenue and plenty of room to grow. It's increasingly clear to me that innovators focused on healthcare have been wildly underestimating consumer business models for years, believing that patients would only opt for solutions covered by their health plans and prescribed or recommended by their doctors. That thesis needs updating, particularly given high deductible plans and soaring co-pays. Innovators building solutions that users genuinely love will win - even in healthcare. These businesses also have the potential to move into B2B channels, which is far easier to do when you have an engaged, loyal user base. I expect we’ll see many more consumer health businesses “pop” in the years to come, further proving that consumers are ready and willing to pay for such solutions. We're watching closely at Cherish Kudos to the team at Flo for this impressive milestone. Lainie Muller Charlotte Yeh Aashima Gupta Avanlee Christine Esther Dyson Alexandra Drane Jessica Kamada Vin Gupta, MD MPA Asheesh Saksena Paul Crnkovich Josh Kampel Steve Chazin Lee Wagner #agingwithattitude #independentliving #consumerdrivencare

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The Care Summit was an incredible conference, made up of world class speakers, mission driven founders and top tier VC’s. To top it off- it was hosted in San Francisco (don’t bet against SF!). I feel really fortunate I was invited to attend. Most people don’t realize the care economy is now a 6 trillion dollar industry, and only growing. Every opportunistic industry gets a lot of attention when capitalist are at work, but oddly Care- something that will impact every human- gets a fraction of the attention it deserves. Why is this? Why at a conference that’s focused on caregiving, longevity, child care and human health was there only a handful of men? On one discussion, one of the moderators asked the panelist in 5 words what they want to see happen between now and next year. If I was given the opportunity to answer, I would have said, “more male participation”. I think it’s critical more women lead, enter venture, build companies and hold executive roles- we need more voices not few- but I am baffled by the absence of men, and the lack of effort on the huge problems at home, at work and in our policies. We must participate and create positive impact, and not sit silent because you feel you are not impacted (news flash: you are). I am leaving San Francisco inspired by conversations I had. I am eager to dig in deeper at Maple as a founder in this space, and at home as a husband, brother, son and father. A big thank you to FamTech.org , Magnify Ventures , Pivotal Ventures , The Holding Co. And every person involved. I look forward to attending next year, and hope more men join in.

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The only podcast you might not have to listen to at 1.5X speed 😂 . Thanks for having me, EXPLORE84! I appreciate you sharing the latest and greatest of what we have been up to!

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YC CEO Michael Seibel explains the goals of a pre-launch startup Your first goal should be to launch quickly: “This is something that’s been part of the YC ethos from the very beginning. It’s been great advice for 10 years, and it continues to be great advice. If you walk away with one thing from this presentation, it’s launch something bad quickly.” The second goal is to get some initial customers: “Get anyone interacting with your product and seeing if they can get value out of it… You’d be surprised at how many founder’s journeys end before a single user has actually interacted with a product they’ve created. It’s very, very common. So please get past this step. It’s extremely important.” The third goal is to talk to your users: “This one is also an extremely common mistake because most founders have in their heads an idea of what they want to build. So they have this weird feeling that if they haven’t built the full thing, getting feedback on the initial thing is kind of useless.” The reality is that the idea you have in your end might turn out to be something customers don’t want at all. Michael has a saying: “Hold the problem you’re solving tightly. Hold the customer tightly. Hold the solution you’re building loosely.” The last step is to iterate and make sure you don’t fall in love with your solution. (H/T Startup Archive & Y Combinator)

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In the latest issue of Stretch Four Insights, I unveil the top 6 tech Substacks that are essential for founders right now. Kyle Poyar's Growth Unhinged Guillermo Flor's Product Market Fit Contrary Research Gregor Ojstersek's Engineering Leadership Lenny Rachitsky's Newsletter Eric Newcomer's Newsletter Read the full breakdown with top posts from these top Substack accounts for venture-backed founders.

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I 💯agree with Oz Merchant on this topic. Some folks advise founders to pitch very selectively and 'pick your pitch' - you get one shot, choose it wisely? I'm 180 degrees opposite of that - be a promiscuous pitcher! - ABP - ALWAYS BE PITCHING. Because your pitch gets better with every no, take that feedback, learn, iterate. Right now it's taking 50-100 no's for Triangle co's to get funding, it's still tough out there, so get through the no's fast to get to a yes. Check out the event - also go see others pitch, it all helps you get better - pitching is like PMF - lots of iteration, tons of grinding to get through to the other side.

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Catch another episode of This Week in Startups where Upfront Managing Partner Mark Suster interviews Max Altman and Ben Braverman, two of the three co-founders of Saga Ventures. With Saga’s new $125 million fund, the trio talk about: ➡ Fundraising challenges the co-founders faced as a first-time fund and the playbook of how referrals can be the best leads for increasing the chances of success ➡ Nuances of determining a fund size to maintain competitive advantages in deal strategies ➡ Ben’s learnings from working with Ryan Peterson at Flexport as well as Max’s experience and unique advantages working with his brothers Jack and Sam Here's a short clip below about the attributes of successful founders that they look for, including those willing to take unconventional risks 👇

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A little late, even though this process started in July.... Excited to share our latest investment in Heads Together Health!! We met Steve DeVrieze in October last year, and we think they are poised for impressive growth! Read more here: https://lnkd.in/ecYcqqkn #earlystagestartup #earlystageinvesting #VCinvestment #ncstartups #nctechstartups

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𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱, 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗥𝗮𝗺𝗽. Calling all founders and early-stage teams. There are thousands of songs about the “lonely road” and I bet some are written by the 90% of startups that didn’t find Product-Market Fit. Velocity Ave LLC just launched a new program called Ramp for consumer-focused startups to help: 🤔 Turn assumptions into actionable knowledge #️⃣ Prioritize critical problems with confidence ❤️ Identify essential features for early iterations of your Minimum Lovable Product 🥳 Tell a compelling product story 📈 Bring investors meaningful data that highlights the severity of the experience today, the gaps, the importance and the value proposition After working with 100 teams, we’ve designed Ramp specifically for startups with limited or no capital to get consumer insights and market signal within 2-3 weeks. 🚀 Spread the word to your friends whether first-time or seasoned founders. Applications are open! #Startup #ProductDevelopment #FounderSupport #Innovation #Entrepreneurship

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Wing Venture Capital's Founder Docs project is a unique collection of startup wisdom, by founders, for founders. The authors of the docs are talented founders themselves, sharing their experience on the topics they are most passionate about. I'd like to highlight the contributions of Edo Liberty, founder / CEO of Pinecone. Edo writes about the special opportunities for the scientist / founder (and he is one of the best of this breed!), as well as some of the risks and challenges they face. I got a lot out of reading Edo's stuff and I suspect you will too! https://lnkd.in/g_wyRMiE

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We are thrilled to announce that LD Talent has been featured as a resource for the portfolio companies of 1517! This is a testimony to the hard work and dedication of our team in providing exceptional tech talent to growing businesses. A special shout-out goes to Danielle at 1517, who played an instrumental role in facilitating the listing of LD Talent as a recommended resource for 1517 companies. Our network has significantly expanded since the inception of this deal, and we continue to strive towards offering top-tier engineering skills to entrepreneurs and startups. As we celebrate this achievement, we want to thank our clients, whose valuable feedback continues to drive our growth and success. Here's what some of our clients have to say about our services: Our experience with LD Talent has been second to none. The level of expertise and professionalism within their network of engineers has been a game-changer for our business. Partnering with LD Talent has allowed us to scale our development efforts efficiently and with confidence. For more insight into our journey with 1517 and other notable funds, visit our blog post detailing how LD Talent became a go-to resource for portfolio companies: https://lnkd.in/dmiadKDg #LDTalent #TechTalent #EngineeringExcellence #StartupGrowth #1517Fund #ClientTestimonials #ProfessionalNetwork #StartupResources #TechIndustry #Innovation #PartnershipSuccess

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One of the really cool parts about the Everything Marketplaces community is seeing all of the wins shared by founders & teams. This ranges from earlier stage founders like Peter Monteza Mike Wolkon Gabriel Lobl sharing about crossing early milestones, more mid-stage founders like Brendan Candon sharing about a key partnership for SidelineSwap, to even later stage founders like Anthemos Georgiades sharing about a big product launch at Zumper. Something that members have also been telling me is that when they see a post with a founder sharing a win, they also feel like they're winning when they see it. This is how I know that we're building something really special for the world of marketplaces. Here's a screenshot from our April roundup & recap post where we helped highlight a few recent wins shared by community members.

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ICYMI I did what I think is a pretty useful super deep-dive on "Getting VC Funded in 2024" here: What it really takes to raise venture capital today, in 2024 - Stress in System - Why Everyone Seems to be Chasing AI - Where the Decacorns Are - Databricks and Canva - What a "Fund Returner" is in Venture Capital - How a $2B and a $100m VC Fund Make Money - What a Top Decile Startup Looks Like and Much More!! https://lnkd.in/gQWEGrGD

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🚨 Announcing the 2nd cohort of the FundraisingHackers.com “Seed+ bootcamp” we’re hosting together with Slava Solonitsyn (ex-VC and top YC founder, $180M+ raised), read below. A few weeks ago we ended the 1st cohort and it truly was a blast 🎇 14 startups across Seed, Seed+/Series A stages (and US/Europe/Asia) participated, including YC alums and exited founders. A bunch of them have already successfully raised. Some are in the process right now. Some have postponed their raise saving them a bunch of time/nerves not spent on failed fundraising. This pic is from the final workshop we’ve hosted. If you’re fundraising (or planning to in the next 3-6 months) you defo wanna check this out. This is not a course — we’ve already outsourced our “parallel fundraising playbook” (comment with “playbook” if you want the link). Instead, we provide you with a deep dive into YC-style best fundraising practices and give you a supportive environment to go and raise, period: 1. Share the “off the record” ins and outs of the parallel fundraising playbook with real-life examples/stories we’re never going to share anywhere else publicly 2. Help you understand your momentum and fundraising timeline so as not to make the wrong (too early/too late) decision 3. Provide you with an accountability group of peer founders (your first taskforce members if you don’t have any yet!) 4. Help you to refine your story/narrative and pitch materials to meet the expectations of top VCs 5. Work through your challenges/questions during office hours/group workshops 6. Give you access to our exclusive FundraisingHackers.com workspace with tons of useful content: from investor databases to guides, tools, templates, and much more Places are limited and you can get in on a first come first serve basis, so hurry up and apply, link is in the comments.

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One of my proudest moments as an investor occurred today as Alaffia Health announced its series A because it shows how the Aperture® Venture Capital vision of multi-level, multi-generational #impactinvesting is succeeding in the marketplace. Here’s the model in its most basic form : ✅As diverse fund managers with meaningful capital to allocate, we are changing the VC landscape every day just by doing our day jobs. ✅As Black/Brown investors with ~40 years experience collectively, Aperture GPs have access to talent /excellence that others do not, so our portfolio *organically* is more inclusive by race, gender and geography even while optimizing for financial outcomes (all about the alpha). ✅Our most successful portco’s are using financial #innovation to solve market problems that impact underrepresented demographics and underserved communities. Alaffia Health is a shining example of the impact portion of our overall fund thesis, and we couldn’t be prouder of TJ Ademiluyi and Adun Akanni, MPH, PMP - the dynamic brother-sister founder duo whose vision we have steadfastly supported on their journey. Congratulations to TJ and Adun from William Crowder and myself, as well as the whole Aperture team- Marjorie King Philip McKenzie Yves Louis-Jacques Tanvi Lal Michelle Dhansinghani Lisha Bell Katie Kelly Amy Chung Cindy Chong, CFA Brian Fernandes-Halloran Monroe France Jayden Pantel Darren Herman Evan Wladis Neal Triplett Thomas Scriven Peter Ammon Irina Bit-Babik Tim Milanich Rob Rahbari

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As company-builders, we hear that values matter. But often, they feel like words on a page — established with great care, however easily forgotten. At Garden Labs, we work with companies (some startups, some publicly traded) who are at inflection points. They are scaling after a major funding round, pivoting strategically, restructuring for more efficient growth, turning over leadership. These all have the potential to be company and org-defining moments, where teams emerge with renewed energy to continue the ever-winding journey that is ahead. Or, they have the potential to bring on immense churn, burnout and loss of momentum. One observation that’s jumped out at me over the last year is this: Companies with a clear set of values navigate inflections with more clarity and conviction than those without. In these moments, as a founder / CEO: --> Are you being brave and principled? or fearful and reckless?  --> Are you executing with care and foresight, or are you creating more problems than opportunities? --> Are you taking input to inform your path, or are you allowing recency bias to determine your fate? In all cases, clear and internalized company values can act as a compass. And while you may not need a compass everyday – when you’re lost in the woods, I bet you’re thrilled that you have one.

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Over the years I’ve seen the post going around in various forms of how Bessemer Venture Partners keeps a *robust* anti-portfolio on their website. It’s fun, self-aware, humbling, and differentiating. If you haven’t already, go have a look. (As an aside, I’ve been to their offices in Cambridge multiple times back in the day while visiting Kent Bennett, the venerable Felda Hardymon, my dear friend Steve Papa (if Steve was capable of “friendship”), and the young(er) founders of a company called Toast - Bessemer wallpapered their bathrooms with the rejection IRMs of said anti-portfolio). Anyone who has been in the game long enough probably has their own version. Companies they could have invested in, but passed on, only to be made a fool when said company later becomes a decacorn. My personal opinion - and I tend to think one that Bessemer shares - is 1) we all make mistakes, 2) we’re human and at times quite dumb, and 3) hell, at least we had access in the first place. Venture investing is about seeing as many amazing opportunities as you can, even if sometimes that means missing a few…dozen. Either that or I’m totally full of shit and we’re just plain idiots. What do I know. I’ve only been doing this for three years. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ In any case, in the spirit of giving myself a Father’s Day gift of crow, which I plan to eat, here are some of mine: Toast: not sure if Steve P would have let me into his $4M or whatever it was round never mind the Seed or the A, but I feel like I could have convinced them. Steve F and Aman said they were going to fully rebuild a POS after running into integration nightmares with Micros, Aloha, et al, and I thought they were crazy. Old industry incumbents. Entrenched. Insert foot in mouth, and then pull it out and use it to kick my own ass. Klaviyo: TJ Mahoney was a pre-seed investor and he told me about it. Said AB was a stud. I passed without even talking to them. $8M valuation or around there I think. Shopify ecosystem play? Ew. Sigh. I’m a dumbass. Pillpack: mentored TJ a bit early when he was having some team stuff going on at Techstars. The hippie. $4M post or something. Said no. Whoops. Drizly: Nick Rellas kept stonewalling me, the little twerp, but pretty sure I had a small spot. Pat Kinsel would have got me in. Slept on it. Round closed. I’m an idiot. Draftkings: met Jason at a dinner and Ryan Moore told me to hop in at pre-seed - I already had a small play with a competitor. Jason and I became great friends (which we are to this day). Really knocked that one out of the park. Way to go, Phil! Good eye! Anyway, PLENTY more where that came from and I’m sure I’m currently in the process of creating one of the world’s most epic anti-portfolios at Impellent Ventures. But, again, c’est la vie. Better than sitting on the sidelines and wondering what could have been. At least I know what could have been - a gazillion more dollars than I have right now. Ah well. Batter up! *p.s. I’ve had some winners, too ;)

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Aon published a study this week showing that a Fortune 500 Lyra Health customer saved more than $3 in health care costs for every $1 they spent on Lyra. This is a staggering return on investment. Lyra can deliver the highest value in mental health care because it delivers the best outcomes in the field, having tirelessly invested time and expertise in creating the best care available. This blog is a follow-up from the one I wrote a couple months ago showing that Lyra can also prove sustained savings over four years. Proud of our team for all that they do to help those in need and proving that what’s best for people can also be best for business’ bottom lines. https://bit.ly/4fopHoX 

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