Investor Office Hours w/ RightShift Ventures & Think Forward VC

DarrelFrater avatar
Darrel Frater ✝️
@DarrelFraterDec 14, 2025

The Spaces featured two investor office hours focused on practical fundraising guidance and product-building support. Moderator Daryl Freighter simulcast from X Spaces and Chatter Social, then hosted Chris Davis, who shared his journey from startup operator to running a product studio with an accelerator and a venture fund. Davis emphasized MVP as a continuum, product-market validation, and a product-first accelerator that demos working builds, not just pitch decks. He outlined their sector focus (excluding gov-tech procurement and ag-tech), early-stage investment approach, and portfolio case Balán AI (sports analytics and recruiting). Founders pitched EV charging, designer workflow tooling, skincare CPG, DevOps/QA automation, and enterprise knowledge: Davis provided targeted advice and follow-ups. In Session 2, Ebony (Think Forward VC; Big Red Ventures at Cornell) described their Africa-focused thesis in fintech, healthtech, and climate tech, early-stage check sizes, value-add that behaves like a cofounder, and criteria: clarity of problem/solution, realistic market sizing, and coachability. She counseled founders on distribution and infrastructure challenges in African markets, rapid launch for traction, community-driven visibility, licensing hurdles, and business model planning.

Good News Office Hours: Simulcast on X Spaces and Chatter Social

Session Overview

  • Host: Daryl Freighter (VC, community builder; organizes weekly office hours to connect founders with investors and demystify fundraising).
  • Format: Simulcast on X Spaces and Chatter Social; founders deliver 1-minute elevator pitches followed by a targeted question to the guest investor.
  • Goals: Practice pitching, learn investor psychology, evaluate venture fit, and build authentic community.
  • Notable announcements: Daryl hinted at raising and investing new capital for the community and ongoing enhancements to the Good News Office Hours platform and services.

Participating Investors

  • Chris Davis (Intuition Labs and Right Shift; runs a product studio, product accelerator, and a venture fund). Background: former collegiate athlete; 15+ years in startups; learned product-tech-operations alignment; raised VC capital after accelerator (Act House in Tulsa); now focuses on building and investing using a product-first approach.
  • Ebony (Think Forward VC; Fund Manager at Big Red Ventures, Cornell). Background: started in consulting (EY), discovered venture through HBCUvc; Techstars experience; currently MBA at Cornell. Leads a hybrid venture fund and studio focused on Africa (fintech, health tech, climate tech) and co-invests via Big Red Ventures.

Session 1: Product Studio and Accelerator Investing with Chris Davis

Chris’s Path and Philosophy

  • Transitioned from sports to startups; fell in love with operating in chaos and meritocracy.
  • Key skill gained: differentiating product vs. technology and translating that into investor communication.
  • Thesis: Align product and technology tightly with business operations, milestones, and roadmap; decisions hinge on demonstrable product-market validation.

Organization Structure and Offerings

  • Intuition Labs (Product Studio): ~65 engineers, designers, PMs building digital products for startups, SMBs, and Fortune 500. ~70% startup focus, enabling deep pattern recognition across early-stage challenges.
  • Product Accelerator (8 weeks): Unconventional model prioritizing building and shipping. Demo Day features live product demos (not just pitch decks). Founders start building day one with assigned engineers; cohorts of ~10 companies; aim to invest in 2–3 per cohort.
  • Venture Fund: Initially invested off balance sheet; now formalizing to allow LP participation. Invests primarily in companies engaged through the studio/accelerator. Portfolio companies have progressed to Techstars, term sheets from notable VCs (e.g., a16z), and celebrity investors (e.g., Waka Flocka for music tech).

Product and MVP Perspective

  • MVP as continuum: Early testable → early usable → fully fleshed MVP. Many founders over-label MVP before it’s truly validated.
  • Studio leverages Figma, Notion, and other modern tools (e.g., Lovable) to accelerate clickable prototypes and early feedback cycles.

Sector Focus and Exclusions

  • Industry agnostic with two explicit exclusions:
    • GovTech: Avoid leading procurement; open to execution if contracts are already won.
    • AgTech: Often IoT-heavy; outside their digital product specialization.
  • Stages: Pre-seed through Series A.
  • Founder types: Both technical and non-technical; studio deeply supports engineers/CTOs transitioning to mature product leadership (sprints, roadmap mgmt, platform setup).

Portfolio Highlight

  • Balan AI (Founder: Nila Paula; former Division I basketball player, William & Mary):
    • Product: Computer vision-based game film breakdown for coaches (scouting report generation), plus a marketplace to help athletes get recruited via AI-based evaluations.
    • Journey: Early strategy advising; Figma prototypes enabled investor/customer feedback; gained term sheets; studio provided capital, engineering, and deferred payment flexibility; now raising a Seed round with traction including WNBA/NBA and multiple D1/D2 college programs.
    • Why they invested: Ingenuity and resourcefulness (hackathons, pitch competitions), subject matter expertise, presence and responsiveness, and early customer interest pre-product.

Elevator Pitch Guidance (for founders)

  • Include: problem, solution, current product status, traction, and your founder–problem connection (subject matter expertise or lived experience).

Founder Pitches: Highlights and Investor Feedback

  • Jason (EV ChargeRight):

    • Product: Questionnaire → Google Vision API analysis → consumer-specific EV charging guidance; aims to integrate utility smart meter APIs for live amperage readings; prioritizes data security.
    • Ask: How to secure a developer for safe utility API integration without funding.
    • Feedback: Right macro trends (EV/autonomous). Emphasized PII/security, regulatory considerations; offered to share vetting checklists for engineers. Resource: Cox Automotive accelerator programs.

  • Jardy (AJ; Senior Product Designer; building Creo):

    • Product: “GitHub for product designers/agencies” with Figma plugin; auto-captures work; AI synthesizes artifacts into portfolio-ready documentation and case studies; ~300 on waitlist; MVP stalled due to funding/tool integration work.
    • Ask: Impression and viability.
    • Feedback: Strong fit; sees managerial use-case to track projects; their studio now uses Lovable/Figma prototypes over PPT—confirms buyer behavior shift; requested pitch deck and follow-up call.

  • Aria (Microbiome-friendly eczema care & skincare; Louisiana):

    • Traction: 2022 Avino & Essence Skin Health winners; Black Ambition investee/grantee; Pipeline Angels and New Orleans Startup Fund support; $395k revenue; high repeat rates; building derm waitlist (20) for dermatologist testing; expanding to pediatric products.
    • Ask: CPG resources; KPIs for early-stage CPG.
    • Feedback/Resources: Camelback Ventures; connections via Black Ambition ecosystem; Essence community; noted New Orleans conference; offered intros.

  • “Cloud Deploy” (Founder in Cyprus; Dev + QA platform):

    • Product: Connects repos/services to automate deployments, security checks, and QA; supports workflows; targets solo devs and organizations; multi-tenant system planned.
    • Ask: Fit/feedback; potential to reduce DevOps/QA costs and bottlenecks.
    • Feedback: Identifies real friction in QA/UAT and adoption of AI tools; offered to be a test group and explore customer adoption.

  • Avanash (Zeus):

    • Product: Enterprise knowledge OS on Microsoft 365 (emails, docs, meetings) expanding to ERPs/ticketing; search–analyze–act; on-prem and SaaS; ROI case (HR dept estimated $4M savings); paid pilot LOI ~$500k in UAE.
    • Ask: US go-to-market; pre-seed catalyst.
    • Feedback: Will follow up with strategic advice and network via Daryl’s newsletter.

How to Reach Chris

  • Best: LinkedIn “Chris Davis, Intuition Labs (I n t u i t i o n Labs) and Right Shift.” Connect for updates: newsletter, accelerator applications, events.

Session 2: Africa-Focused Venture and Studio with Ebony (Think Forward VC; Big Red Ventures, Cornell)

Ebony’s Path and Roles

  • Background: EY consulting; learned VC through HBCUvc and Techstars; built relationships over five years; currently MBA at Cornell.
  • Big Red Ventures (Cornell):
    • Check size: ~$20,000.
    • Industry: Agnostic (except cannabis).
    • Process: Submit deck at bigredventures.com; BRV reviews and can connect founders to broader investor network even if not a fit.
  • Think Forward VC (Hybrid venture fund + studio):
    • Focus: Fintech, health tech, climate tech; Africa-centric (diaspora and on-continent).
    • Studio: Co-build with founders; special focus on Francophone markets but open across Africa; co-invests rather than leads; broad country aperture.

What Ebony Looks For

  • Pitch clarity: Problem and solution conveyed concisely (e.g., “Robinhood for dogs” style analogies where possible). Deck must stand on its own; investors don’t have time to decode.
  • Market sizing: Honest, aligned to actual target geography; avoid inflated global TAM if near-term target is local.
  • Soft skills: Coachability with conviction—open to feedback without defensiveness; investors consider multi-year working relationship.
  • Value-add approach: “Get in the field.” Operate like a cofounder—frequent check-ins, leverage investor networks, pursue learning opportunities beyond standard PMF curriculum, and conduct customer mapping alongside founders.

Elevator Pitch Guidance (for founders)

  • Include: Problem, solution, “wow” data to frame urgency or scale, and founder background/connection to the problem.

Founder Pitches: Highlights and Investor Feedback

  • John (Better Health):

    • Product: Integrated healthcare OS for Africa connecting doctors, clinics, labs, pharmacies; AI smoothing relationships and access; MVP in progress; ~15 doctors onboarded; aiming Q1 2026 launch.
    • Ask: Africa go-to-market—what to expect and how to navigate.
    • Feedback: Distribution trust is hard; founders often need physical presence to build trust; infrastructure constraints (electricity, paper records) mean you build solution + infra; nonetheless, Africa had record exits this year—positive momentum.

  • Grace (Postpartum Care App “MyCare”; India focus):

    • Product: Mobile app for women postpartum; community safety features (e.g., reputation bans); using live streaming and community support; seeking grant for app development.
    • Ask: How to build visibility as a teenage founder lacking dev resources.
    • Feedback: Deep discovery via talking to moms across cultures; lean into community-based storytelling (Substack, podcasts, LinkedIn); create safe spaces to amplify real mother voices—credibility grows through community even before personal motherhood experience.

  • David Gabar (Job searching app “JobStuff/JobStyle”):

    • Product: Map-based job search (geospatial) to visualize opportunities, traffic, local amenities; combats ghost job listings; promotes return to urban offices via real-world context.
    • Ask: Early-stage funding and VC connections.
    • Feedback: Launch fast; activate thousand-person waitlist; show traction/engagement; use communities (Reddit) for growth; demonstrate willingness to pay to attract VCs.

  • Aaron (PRV; Ghana):

    • Product: Platform for people paid abroad to spend locally (cross-border salary receipt with local spend capabilities); addressing licensing hurdles.
    • Ask: Interest in investing and feedback.
    • Feedback: Requested pitch deck; offered to connect and review in detail.

  • Mohammed (DLPs—Deal Loss Prevention System for VCs):

    • Product: Prevents VC workflow-related deal leakage; consolidates signals/notes from Slack/Notion into single deal threads; assigns owner, actions, timelines, nudges.
    • Ask: What moat can be embedded day one to target $100M revenue in five years.
    • Feedback: Model business akin to Airtable; brute-force unit economics and pricing via Excel; study direct/indirect competitors’ pricing; offered separate call.

  • “Yes” (AI-generated code compliance/security):

    • Product: Pipeline to assess AI-generated code context, identify vulnerabilities, block unsafe code, provide precise fixes; 5 years development; enterprise pilots underway.
    • Ask: Where will outsized returns come from over 5–10 years.
    • Feedback: Climate tech in the US; Africa broadly across sectors due to macro signals (population, GDP growth, global institutions moving operations, sovereign funds interest). US venture faces LP liquidity/valuation challenges—climate likely best domestic bet.

  • Oluwatobi (Tech + sustainable fashion):

    • Product: Apparel using local materials and recycled plastics; integrates health metrics (steps, heart rate) into garments; reducing costs via local sourcing.
    • Ask: Seen similar companies? How to scale and be venture-backable.
    • Feedback: Ensure venture math works (pricing, customer acquisition, repeatability, scaling beyond markets/segments). If venture-scale returns are unlikely, consider SME capital routes (foundations, angels targeting SMEs). Conduct detailed market analysis on target segments and price sensitivity—many value sustainability but won’t pay significant premiums.

How to Reach Ebony

  • Preferred: LinkedIn (responds promptly). Also submit decks to Big Red Ventures via bigredventures.com.

Key Takeaways and Practical Guidance

Building and Raising

  • Product-first validation matters: Use Figma/Lovable prototypes early to engage customers and investors; treat MVP as a continuum—avoid prematurely labeling.
  • Elevator pitch essentials: Clearly articulate problem, solution, current product state, traction, and founder-problem connection.
  • Market sizing discipline: Use target geography numbers; global TAM without localized SAM/SOM undermines credibility.
  • Coachability vs. conviction: Balance openness to feedback with belief in your thesis; investors value long-term working compatibility.
  • Adoption and QA/UAT: Many teams fail at adoption—design processes to ease internal QA and user acceptance testing; accelerate deployments while maintaining security.
  • Venture fit vs. SME: Not all businesses should chase VC; if unit economics don’t produce outsized returns, pursue SME-friendly capital.

Africa-Focused Insights

  • Distribution trust: Expect in-person relationship building; trust doesn’t come quickly.
  • Infrastructure layering: Often build solution and underlying infra (connectivity, power, digitization) simultaneously.
  • Macro tailwinds: Demographics, GDP, institutional moves (NBA Africa, Grammys Cairo, UN Nairobi), and sovereign funds are strong signals.

Resources Mentioned

  • Cox Automotive: EV/Autonomous programs/accelerators.
  • Camelback Ventures: Strong for CPG and founders of color; New Orleans conference.
  • Black Ambition: Grants, mentorship, investor community.
  • Techstars: Accelerator network and alumni support.
  • Antler: Cohort-based building; investment in select companies.
  • Big Red Ventures (Cornell): ~$20k checks; deck submission portal.
  • Think Forward VC: Africa-focused co-build studio/investing; fintech/health/climate; Francophone focus but pan-African.

Community and Next Steps

  • Daryl’s community will publish a session summary via newsletter (including any follow-up notes and intros).
  • “Meet Anyone” directory: Daryl will add investors to enable direct founder connections.
  • Upcoming guests: O21T Capital (emerging fund manager) and Magarat Venture Partners (Pittsburgh) next week; short winter break before returning in February.

Action Items for Founders

  • Tighten elevator pitch using the template: problem → solution → product status → traction → founder connection.
  • Build clickable prototypes; solicit targeted feedback from customers and investors; iterate quickly.
  • Launch early betas; activate waitlists; track engagement; demonstrate adoption and willingness to pay.
  • Map market sizing accurately; ground unit economics in localized realities.
  • Prepare security/PII processes and regulatory compliance early (especially for EV, fintech, health tech).
  • If targeting Africa: plan for trust-building and region-specific distribution; partner locally; account for infra gaps.
  • Evaluate capital path: VC vs. SME funding depending on return profile and scaling model.
  • Reach out to investors via LinkedIn with crisp decks; leverage programs like Camelback, Techstars, Antler, and Big Red Ventures.