The Deal

Gené Teare, Senior Data Editor at Crunchbase News, discusses fluctuations in venture capital landscape, market contraction vs. dot-com bubble, funding predictions for 2023, rise of unicorn companies, current state of tech investment, gender equity in VC industry, and the need for diverse tech ecosystems.

Clara Brenner is the co-founder and Managing Partner of the Urban Innovation Fund, a venture capital firm that invests in pre-seed and seed stage companies that are shaping the future of cities. Previously, Clara co-founded Tumml, a startup hub for urban tech. In this episode of The Deal, Clara shares how the Urban Innovation Fund provides regulatory support to entrepreneurs solving tough urban challenges, how she segued into venture after starting her career in commercial real estate, and the areas of innovation she's most excited to watch develop. Follow Urban Innovation Fund on LinkedIn and Twitter @UrbanInnoFund.You can find Clara on Twitter @clara_brenner and LinkedIn. To build a company with Antler, come check us out and apply directly to one of our studios in Austin, Boulder, and NYC.

Arjun Kapur is the Managing Partner and Founder of Forecast Labs, a one-of-a-kind venture group - part of Comcast NBCUniversal - that earns equity into its investments by driving paid customer acquisition via TV advertising. Prior to launching Forecast Labs, Arjun helped build some of the most prominent NYC startups like Aaptiv, HelloFresh, Tictail, Shutterstock, Squarespace, and Ladders. He's also served as an advisor to Chewy, Calm, and Ollie.In this episode of The Deal, Arjun discusses how Forecast Labs analyzes potential investments (the fund invests in consumer businesses from seed to Series D). He also provides practical advice on how startups can build cross-functional teams that align goals, promoting a culture of shared ownership and customer-centric focus. This is a must-listen for any founders scaling and structuring a growing startup.Follow Forecast Labs on LinkedIn and Twitter @ForecastLabs.You can find Arjun on Twitter @arjunkapur and LinkedIn. (Or drop him an email at arjun_kapur@comcast.com.)To build a company with Antler, come check us out and apply directly to one of our studios in Austin, Boulder, and NYC.

Ben Lerer, Managing Partner at Lerer Hippeau, is a former founder (credits include Thrillist) turned investor and native New Yorker. Ben built Lerer Hippeau to bridge a gap he personally faced as a startup founder: 15 years ago it was nearly impossible to find venture capital funding in New York City. Today, New York City's startup ecosystem rivals that of Silicon Valley and Lerer Hippeau's portfolio contains more than 400 leading consumer and enterprise companies, including Guideline, MIRROR, Blockdaemon, K Health, Allbirds, ZenBusiness, and Palmetto, among others. In this episode of The Deal, Ben shares what he's learned from launching startups, how the Lerer Hippeau team supports its portfolio companies, his thoughts on the evolution of venture capital, and why the most important question you can ask early-stage founders is: "why now?"  Follow Lerer Hippeau on LinkedIn,  Twitter @LererHippeau, and Instagram.You can find Ben on Twitter @BenjLerer and LinkedIn.To build a company with Antler, come check us out and apply directly to one of our studios in Austin, Boulder, and NYC.

Melody Koh is a Partner at NextView Ventures, a high conviction, hands-on seed stage investor that backs founders building technology companies to redesign the everyday economy. Before joining NextView, Melody was Head of Product at Blue Apron. She'd joined as Blue Apron's first product hire and then scaled the business through hyper-growth (25x in 3.5 years) and IPO. In this episode of The Deal, Melody shares what led her back to venture after her time at Blue Apron, launching her own startup while pursuing an MBA at Harvard Business School, how she evaluates prospective investments at NextView, and how founders can stand out in a sea of deal flow.Stay up to date with NextView Ventures on LinkedIn and Twitter @NextViewVC.Follow Melody on Twitter @melodykoh and LinkedIn.To build a company with Antler, come check us out and apply directly to one of our studios.

Cassie Young is a General Partner at Primary Venture Partners. In addition to leading software investments at Primary, Cassie also manages the firm's portfolio impact program, Primary Impact. In this episode of The Deal, Cassie shares her thoughts  on what has driven explosive tech ecosystem growth in NYC over the past decade,  the power of Primary Impact for her fund's seed stage founders, Primary’s own incubation program, and how she's personally navigated her career as an operator-investor in New York. Stay up to date with Primary on LinkedIn and Twitter @PrimaryVC.Follow Cassie on Twitter @dukecass and LinkedIn.To build a company with Antler, come check us out and apply directly to one of our studios.

Dan Long is a Partner at Cohen Circle, an investment firm that capitalizes fintech companies from their Series A rounds to exits. But before Dan was an investor, he was an operator himself. On this episode of The Deal, Dan shares how his experience building PeerIQ (which was acquired by CrossRiver Bank) influences his investment frameworks at Cohen Circle today, the nuance of innovating in a heavily regulated industry, how building a VC firm is quite similar to launching a startup, and transformational shifts he expects to emerge in fintech in the decade to come.Learn more about Cohen Circle on LinkedIn and Twitter @CohenCircle.Follow Dan on Twitter @itsdanlong and LinkedIn.To build a company with Antler, come check us out and apply directly to one of our studios.

Elizabeth Yin, Co-Founder and General Partner at Hustle Fund, shares her insights on early-stage venture capital. She clarifies misconceptions about funding accessibility for pre-seed startups and emphasizes the power dynamics in fundraising. Elizabeth discusses the impact of current market conditions on investor interest and highlights emerging opportunities influenced by Gen Z and millennials. She also contrasts startup ecosystems in the US and Southeast Asia and provides effective frameworks for customer acquisition and business viability.

Gale Wilkinson is the Founder & Managing Partner of Vitalize VC. A self described "process nerd at heart," Gale is focused on investing in people-first, data-driven, big ideas that are transforming the future of work. In this episode, Gale discusses her experience building a career in venture capital and advice for founders fundraising today.You can find VITALIZE Venture Capital on LinkedIn and Twitter @VitalizeVC.Follow Gale's hot takes on Twitter @galeforceVC, LinkedIn, or her website!To learn more about how you can build a company with Antler, come check us out and apply directly to one of our studios.

This is a conversation with Jason Chen. Jason is a Partner at Contrary, an early-stage venture firm thats backs bold founders in their pre-seed and seed rounds and supports them as they scale. In this episode, Jason expands on how Contrary systematically identifies exceptional talent and cultivates relationships with emerging founders through its university Venture Partners program and the Contrary Fellowship. Tune in to hear about Jason's own path into venture, the advice he's giving founders in this turbulent macro environment, strategies for finding alpha in venture, and a few tangents on the Philadelphia Eagles (sorry about the Superbowl, Jason). You can find Contrary on Linkedin and Twitter.Follow Jason directly on Twitter - @jchen623 - or LinkedIn.To learn more about how you can build a company with Antler, come check us out and apply directly to one of our studios.