M13

M13 Partner Karl Alomar recently spoke on 5 key steps to building a SaaS company that the best founders get right at SaaStr Fund's annual summit. Grab pen and paper, and check out a recording of his actionable talk: https://lnkd.in/gQ-zWJc6 And if you're heading to Web Summit in Lisbon next week, make sure to sit in on his panel on the rise of mega-rounds. Karl, Crunchbase CEO jager mcconnell, Portage Ventures Partner Hélène FALCHIER, and The J Curve founder and host Olga Maslikhova will dig into how long they see the mega-round trend continuing and if they believe these rounds distort the true state of the market. https://lnkd.in/gEGvSsBB #Saastr #WebSummit #Founders #VentureCapital

AI is changing the economics of operating a small business, unlocking new opportunities both for solopreneurs and VCs. At M13, we see a growing market opportunity for full-stack, #AI-powered solutions that bundle the tools that service professionals need to launch, manage and grow their business.  New on the M13 blog, Anna Barber and Whitney Hazard explore these end-to-end “business-in-a-box” solutions supercharging solopreneurs and helping them run and grow their businesses: https://lnkd.in/ekewFrSb  If you are building or working in the space, drop us a note. We’d love to chat!

It’s #ElectionDay. Get out and vote 💙

"We're hitting the 10-year mark in crypto. Enough infrastructure already—it is time for applications, UX, and design," writes M13 partner Latif Peracha in our 2024 annual letter. At M13, we have a mild obsession with tailwinds and hype cycles, which inform capital formation and talent migration (especially for exponential technologies like AI and crypto). Paying attention to these cycles is important: Many people leave the market when things are low, so it takes courage to invest in a trough. Crypto, unlike other technical innovations, is financialized, which presents investment opportunities but also plenty of volatility and noise. As you can see in the graphic below, crypto’s financial nature has also led to repeated peaks (of inflated expectations) and troughs (of disillusionment)---but we believe that with each cycle, these become less extreme. Read more of our take on crypto and where we think it's going next: https://lnkd.in/eMNAHFNc #Crypto #Web3 #HypeCycles #Investing #VentureCapital

Crime dramas, cats, tasting menus, and more—check out some of our partners' guilty pleasures below. Sarah Tomolonius: I asked my 10-year-old daughter what she thought my guilty pleasure was, and she reported, “working and eating chocolate.” Anna Barber: Elin Hilderbrand novels—they always feel like the beginning of summer to me. Brent Murri: I have a huge sweet tooth, and I’m a sucker for all ice cream. W. Christine Choi: Resting with my cats, watching British procedural crime dramas. Karl Alomar: Typical foodie stuff. I like to indulge in something that just blows your taste buds away. Get to know our partners in the links in the comments—everything from their career journeys to what excites them about working with founders to music recs and more! 📸: M13 partners Anna, Sarah, Christine, and Lizzie Francis (stay tuned for Lizzie’s profile out soon!)

This Halloween, we’re taking on the spookiest topic we could think of: the job hunt. Read on for our top recruiting tips from Loren B., Sarah Levine, and Sebastian Ojeda. Spoiler alert: Don’t ghost! 👻

How does M13 partner and investor relations leader Sarah Tomolonius build trust in relationships with our firm's LPs? "In a 10- or 15-year long relationship like this, there will be multiple market cycles. When everything is up and to the right, it’s easy for people to feel happy. But inevitably a recessionary environment will come, and that’s the real test of the relationship. At M13, we make sure to have a regular cadence of communications so our LPs feel in the loop, have access to our insights, and feel like they understand what’s going on. I find that open communication helps people weather the less rosy times and feel more supported and comfortable. Transparency is important, and building in the process muscle is essential in this role. As an LP in the past, I was scarred by an incident where a hedge fund PM was replaced and the LPs didn’t learn about it until six months later—by which time returns had deteriorated. This further impressed upon me that as a GP, I want to make sure our LPs have the most important material updates in a timely manner." Read about Sarah's career path and get more of an inside look on investor relations at a #VentureCapital firm at the link in the comments. 📸 : Sarah at M13's LP Day welcome dinner in 2022

Something to love about #VentureCapital, according to venture capitalist and former GM of the 76ers Sam Hinkie: "When you have good investment waves, everybody wins." Below, Bill Gurley and M13 partner Latif Peracha talk about finding the right waves and creating success together ⬇️

How can founders get the most out of investor relationships? Explore with M13 partner Brent Murri at TechCrunch Disrupt. He'll discuss how founders can filter the flood of advice, position themselves to best utilize board and investor resources, and create partnerships that fuel long-term success. Join him: https://lnkd.in/d68J8KS5  Learn more about Brent, who was M13's first-ever investing hire back in 2017, and his long-term perspective around venture and relationship building: https://lnkd.in/gyW6W_Dz #TechCrunchDisrupt #Founders #VentureCapital

The “oohs” and “ahhs” from this week’s Play event are still ringing in our office! Many thanks to the 40 product and design leaders who joined Play in our NYC office earlier this week, and thank you Dan LaCivita, Harcourt Allen, and Fede Sanchez for leading a fascinating and interactive demo of your tool. Play is a powerful tool for teams creating mobile apps. It's built on iOS and SwiftUI and auto-generates code for mobile app developers—making for an intuitive, productive, and functional design process right out of the box. Learn more at https://lnkd.in/e944M5pW