Ben Leventhal

I'm happy to announce that Founder Institute is bringing on Paul O'Brien as our first Head of Public Affairs. Paul joins FI with decades of experience tackling the systemic reasons startups and local ecosystems fail due to misaligned policy, underperforming startup programs, or institutional neglect of the realities of launching endurable businesses in today's economy. From Austin to Silicon Valley and beyond, Paul has championed the idea that education is infrastructure, and that cities should treat entrepreneurial development as essential as roads, broadband, and water. At FI we couldn't agree more, and as AI transforms our economy I believe the future of our society will be found at the convergence of how we teach, how we govern, and how we serve entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, I speak to government and economic development officials every week that are completely neglecting the education and development of new entrepreneurs in their regions. In his new role, Paul will help us push FI's mission to empower communities of entrepreneurs forward through Policy Engagement, University and Civic Integration, and Ecosystem Accountability. If your city, university, or organization is ready to integrate structured entrepreneurial incubation and acceleration with policy and capital strategy, now’s the time to connect! 🔗 Read the full announcement - https://lnkd.in/eenwHujW (and welcome on board, Paul! 👏 )

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What could the future of fund administration look like with a tech-forward approach and the application of AI? Fresh off of a $130M Series D round led by Ribbit Capital, Juniper Square CEO and Co-Founder Alex Robinson came on the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast to share fascinating and thought-provoking perspectives on the future of fund administration and why post-investment processes need a combination of both automation and human touch. Alex and I covered both the current and future states of fund administration and how GPs can navigate a new world of tech and finance. We discussed: ➡️ Why Alex started Juniper Square and how his two entrepreneurial endeavors has informed how he’s built the firm. ➡️ The problem Alex set out to solve by building Juniper Square. ➡️ After dealing with FedEx’s to make investments, how he set out to build an investor experience that was digital. ➡️ How AI will impact fund admin. ➡️ Why every GP should have an AI agent according to Alex. ➡️ Why Juniper Square decided to move from a technology firm to add fund administration capabilities in-house. ➡️ Does AI benefit larger firms or smaller firms more? Thanks Alex Robinson for sharing your wisdom and unique perspectives on private markets, fund administration, and AI. Thanks Juniper Square for your support of Alt Goes Mainstream. https://lnkd.in/eetYyce2

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NEA's new site is already hitting hundreds of thousands of annual visitors and supported a $468M fund close, just months after launch. How did we help one of venture's most successful firms unlock immediate growth through digital? Here are the 7 things we did: 1. We led with founder stories, not firm credentials. Instead of another "About Us" manifesto, we captured portfolio founder voices and let their success stories speak for NEA. The site became less about the firm, more about the outcomes they create. 2. We removed every barrier to publishing. Partners had incredible insights trapped behind IT tickets and approval chains. We built a headless CMS that lets them publish in minutes, not days. Since launch: 40+ long-form pieces, multiple new content series, zero bottlenecks. 3. We made search actually work. With hundreds of portfolio companies, visitors need instant access to specific info. MeiliSearch delivers any result in milliseconds. Bounce rate: 48%. Pages per visit: 2.34. 4. We turned compliance from blocker to enabler. Cookie policies. SEC requirements. GDPR updates. What used to require developer tickets now happens with one click. Legal can update site-wide in real-time. No delays. No risk. No friction. 5. We designed for how people actually browse. 58% of NEA's visitors are US decision-makers on mobile. We optimized every pixel for thumb navigation. The difference between "works on mobile" and "built for mobile" shows in every metric. 6. We built systems that scale, not pages that age. New partner joins? Live in 5 minutes. Midas List announcement? Updated same week. We created a component library that multiplies effort rather than requiring it. The site evolves as fast as the news cycle. 7. We focused on outcomes, not outputs. The results speak for themselves: Traffic matching Greylock despite a smaller content team. A $468M fund close with seamless digital support. Recognition as one of only two mega-funds in "40 Stunning VC Websites." ——— Your website is either growing your business or killing it. There is NO in between. Most companies launch and forget. Winners iterate and measure. If it provides results it is infrastructure not overhead.

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One trend our guest Sarah Adams Anderson(Founding Partner at Vault Fund) is watching closely going into 2026 is concept creation. In her words, company builders (venture studios) are identifying novel concepts (like the opportunity to automate and centralize primary care), but instead of building something entirely new, they execute these concepts using existing infrastructure. Watch the video to see what this looks like… And for the full conversation with Sarah Anderson on innovation, concept creation, and venture studios, search for Beyond The Core on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube.

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Today we begin the next chapter of Archy, supercharged with $20M in Series B funding led by TCV (Austin Levitt, Morgan Gerlak), with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners (Kent Bennett, Maha Malik), CRV (Murat Bicer), Entrée Capital (Saul Levin, Avi Eyal), and dentist customers who believe in our mission. The problem is clear: Dentistry is facing a severe staffing crisis while being held back by decades-old software cobbled together with a hodgepodge of add-ons. Practices are drowning in administrative work that pulls focus away from patient care. Our solution: World-class, all-in-one software powered by AI agents that automates the busywork, eliminates the inefficiency, and gives dentists their time back. In the last year, we've grown 300% and now process well over $100M in payments annually. Archy is already saving midsized practices 80+ hours every month, time that can be spent treating patients instead of wrestling with software. This funding accelerates our day one mission: building the tools that let dentists and their teams do what they do best, treat patients. The great Mary Ann Azevedo at Crunchbase breaks the news: https://lnkd.in/gbZs_az7 P.S. If your dentist is still struggling with antiquated software, they (and you) deserve better. Tell them about Archy.

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