Investor Office Hours w/ Sidecut Ventures & SemperVirens VC

The Spaces hosts a series of investor office hours involving a range of topics vital to startups and venture capitalists. Daryl Freighter from the Freighter Family Foundation commenced by discussing the importance of accessibility and the democratization of venture capital opportunities. The event featured Mike Ma from Sidecut Ventures, who spoke about his unique approach to investment, emphasizing coachability and his journey from operator to VC. Mike discussed his investment criteria, focusing on impactful ventures and shared insights on differentiating in a competitive funding environment. The session also included Raquel from Semper Virens Venture Capital, who offered perspectives on team, timing, and market size when choosing investments. Both speakers also provided actionable advice to startups during the Q&A sessions, covering topics such as efficient networking, fundraising climates, and the challenges early-stage ventures face.

Weekly Investor Office Hours Recap

Hosted by Daryl Freighter

Introduction

The session initiated with Daryl Freighter welcoming participants to the weekly investor office hours, which serve as a platform for founders to pitch their ideas and connect with investors. Daryl highlighted the collaborative nature of these sessions in boosting entrepreneurship and fostering productive relationships within the venture ecosystem.

Sidecut Ventures - Featuring Mike Ma

Overview of Sidecut Ventures

Mike Ma, General Partner at Sidecut Ventures, was introduced. He shared his transition from an operator to a venture capitalist, emphasizing Sidecut’s unique approach to investing in 'coachable superheroes.' Mike detailed his investment philosophy which includes engaging with startups for 30 days before deciding on investment and focusing on sectors like emic mobility, climate, education, and healthcare.

Value of Mission-Driven Founders

Mike described the importance of investing in founders with a mission-driven mindset, noting their resilience in the face of challenges and their potential for strong survivorship. He elucidated the concept of differentiating oneself in pitches by focusing on mission-driven narratives and emphasized learning and vulnerability as key elements for early-stage founders.

Founder Pitches

Beckett

Beckett, a 16-year-old founder, introduced a real estate app that uses AI to find affordable housing deals in NYC. Mike advised leaning into insights from initial users to refine customer discovery and marketing strategies.

Lee

Lee pitched Buy Box, a distribution platform for non-mainstream shoe sellers in Africa. Mike suggested focusing on customer feedback to refine traction and growth strategies, reiterating the importance of understanding the unique aspects of the African market.

Nova

Nova Phoenix pitched Light Blood, a social media platform integrating web 3 tools with a focus on African markets. Mike queried the use of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) in addressing financial infrastructure challenges, highlighting the need for clarity in differentiating solutions using new technologies.

Semper Verance Venture Capital - Featuring Raquel

Introduction and Thesis

Raquel described her journey to venture capital, emphasizing a focus on investing in companies that impact health, wealth, and work. Semper Variance specializes in workforce tech, healthcare tech, and fintech, leveraging a vast distribution network to assist portfolio companies in scaling.

Accelerator Program

Raquel promoted Semper Variance's accelerator program, tailored to support early-stage companies particularly focusing on team, TAM, and timing as key evaluation criteria.

Founder's Question

Raquel stressed the importance of building non-transactional, value-based relationships with investors and running a well-organized fundraising process.

Founder Pitches

Ayesha McCain

Ayesha pitched Casual Recovery, a medtech firm offering post-surgical garments, highlighting her personal experience and dedication to improving patient care. Raquel commended the pitch and expressed interest in connecting.

Advice for Founders

In the Q&A, Raquel emphasized the significance of demonstrating early MVPs and deep customer understanding before fundraising, and maintained that continuous relationship-building with potential investors is crucial for long-term success.

Closing

The session concluded with Daryl expressing gratitude and promoting the next scheduled investor office hours, urging founders to continue engaging with the venture capital community.