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🌙 Ramadan Kareem to those who celebrate! Learn more about Ramadan here.

🎉 ICYMI: Last month, we launched Ganas Ventures, a fund investing in pre-seed and seed Web 2 and Web 3 community-driven startups in the US and Latin America. We also made our first investment into Latitud’s seed round co-led by a16z and NFX. And we’ve raised $2.4M (out of a $10M target) on the fundraising front so far! If you want to invest in, pitch, or join the Ganas Ventures family, visit us at ganas.vc.

Visit Ganas Ventures

Elias Torres (Drift), Jenny Lefcourt (Freestyle VC), Maria Velissaris (SteelSky Ventures), Suneera Madhani (Stax)

In previous issues, we talked about money goals, investment options, perspectives on becoming an angel/LP/VC, how to become an angel/LP/VC, and launching Ganas Ventures! I also shared the Ganas inside scoop on the name and journey here. This week, I share a few recording goodies and three questions I've heard from new Ganas LPs (AKA investors in my fund).

⏺ Recording goodies

How to Break in and Stay in VC with Gale (Bowman) Wilkinson, Managing Partner at Vitalize
How to Launch & Run a Fund with Andrew Boules, Associate at AngelList & Ganas Venture’s Fund Admin
Why & How to Invest in Funds with Emna Ghariani, Co-founder of The Bridge, and Andrew Boules, Associate at AngelList & Ganas Venture’s Fund Admin

🤔 Ganas LP questions

LP: What makes for a successful fund manager?

Me: A successful manager multiplies their investors’ (AKA LPs) money. Facts: emerging fund managers (like me!) and women investors (me too!) outperform other investors. Read more about venture capital returns here.

LP: Why do you believe you have what it takes to become a successful fund manager at Ganas, Lolita?

Me: It’s a sales job, and that’s my background, and I 100% believe that investing in my thesis will make money for my investors (AKA LPs) and me. I’ve sold over $70M in tech. So, I have the sales chops (which helps with fundraising and allows me to help my portfolio companies raise) and the insight into what sells in the market (which helps me help my founders strategize on how to sell what they sell). And in terms of my thesis, the one-to-many sales approach is antiquated and expensive for companies; being community-driven allows for companies to lower their customer acquisition cost and brings a slew of other benefits, allowing them to create a differentiation moat and win in the market. When they win, they become unicorns, like community-driven AirBnB (valuation/market cap of +$90B) and MongoDB (valuation/market cap of +$30B). And I believe the next unicorns and decacorns will be Web 2 and Web 3 community-driven companies, and I plan to invest in them. My edge: I get community because it’s always been a part of who I am. We have our community. And I believe we will build generational wealth in community.

LP: In your Twitter bio you state that your personal mission behind venture capital is to "create generational wealth." What does that mean?

Me:

What does generational wealth mean to you?

🙏🏽 Thank you again to all who believe in me and those who decide to invest in Ganas Ventures! If there's something you'd like me to cover in the next issue, hit reply and I'll see you next time.

✨ Lolita Taub
twitter | lu.ma | Recently in TechCrunch, Carta, Rest of the World, 36KR, The Motley Fool, Female VC Lab, and American Dream.

Congrats

Kathryn Haun for raising $1.5B for Haun Ventures. Suneera Madhani for raising $245M for Stax and becoming a unicorn founder. Jenny Lefcourt raised $150M for Freestyle VC’s fund 6. Maria Velissaris raised $72M for SteelSky Ventures. Winnie Harlow raised $4.1M for Cay Skin. Adriana Tortajada and Esteban Coppel Gómez launched 1200 VC. Eric Bahn, Elizabeth Yin, and the Hustle Fund team launched The Hustleverse.

Sponsored | SVB Startup Banking is a community of former founders, operators, and investors passionate about supporting founders on their path to success. Beyond banking, we work with early-stage founders to help them navigate the challenges of funding and scaling a startup from Day 1. Please reach out to connect with us! We'd love to learn more about what you're building and how we can help. - Rochelle & Vanessa

Connect with SVB Startup Banking

Funders

LAVCA | LATAM curious VCs: get the breakdown on LATAM's investment growth
Leah Solivan | Emerging VCs: learn how to stay on top of the evolution of VC
Startup-Investor Matching Tool | VCs: meet thesis-aligned underrepresented founders
GP-LP Matching Tool | LPs: get thesis-aligned intros to underrepresented GPs

Sponsored | Visible Hands is a pre-seed fund with a 14-week, virtual-first accelerator program that supports overlooked talent in building technology startups by providing company-building services and investments of up to $175k. Applications open April 5, 2022 - learn more and apply here!

Apply to Visible Hands

Founders

Elias Torres | Latinx founders: listen to this podcast to hear stories & tips on building generational wealth
Francis Dufour | Community-driven founders: read this article to learn how Notion grew their global community
Asking for a founder | Founders: learn how to avoid bad actor VCs
LaaS | Underrepresented founders: get resources made for you

Sponsored | LaaS provides community, resources, and tools for early-stage underestimated founders, funders, and friends. One perk of the LaaS community includes monthly office hours with Lolita Taub. Learn more in here and sign-up for LaaS!

Sign-up for LaaS

Money

Z Fellows | Founders: apply for a micro-fellowship and $10k in funding
SoGal Foundation | Black female founders: apply for $5-$10K in grants
1863 Ventures | Black founders: apply to get a 3Rs $5K grant
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

Jobs

Ganas Ventures | Associate (Remote)
Ganas Ventures | Community Manager (Remote)
Grand Ventures | Analyst/Associate (Grand Rapids, MI)
Venture Forward | Content and Community Manager / Director (San Francisco, CA)

💥 See all open roles and post yours here.

Want more? Follow me @lolitataub and let me know how I can help. Want to support our newsletter and get featured? Become a sponsor.

Lolita Taub

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