Cody Cross

Small businesses need fast, transparent financing. Fundwell is delivering. By integrating Plaid, Fundwell removed manual uploads, strengthened security, and cut application time in half. As a result, mobile completion jumped from 53% to 83%, and Android conversions rose from 19% to 82%. Behind the scenes, instant verified data has unlocked faster decisions and lower back-office costs, freeing up Fundwell’s team to scale growth campaigns with confidence. Read the full Q&A to learn how Fundwell is redefining small business financing ➡️ https://lnkd.in/euGHMkk4

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VC funding gets all the attention, but most founders I talk to on BizAsk aren't chasing that path. They want to build something that lasts, not something built for a quick exit. The article on non-VC funding routes hits something real. What stuck with me wasn't the ten methods listed, but this part: founders skip the budget step entirely. They jump straight to asking friends for money or researching SBA loans without actually knowing what they need. A solid budget isn't boring admin work. It's the difference between sounding like you know your business and actually knowing it. When you can tell a potential lender or investor exactly what your three-month burn rate is, what your fixed costs look like, and where your revenue assumptions come from, credibility shifts. If you're exploring funding options right now, spend the time on the budget first. Everything else gets easier after that. https://lnkd.in/gGMfESTy

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Zain Zaidi and Ali Zaheer led TransCrypts secured US $15M seed funding from Pantera Capital, Lightspeed Faction, Mark Cuban, Alpha Edison, Motley Fool Ventures, California Innovation Fund, Techstars, Alumni Ventures, Protocol Labs, Apertu Capital, Informed Ventures, Asymmetry Ventures, Atland Ventures, others https://lnkd.in/g49njh33

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We live out of our SF office. I'm not sure why more startups don't do it. To us, the value prop is clear. Your start-up is your life. Work-life balance is traded for maximizing odds of success. Living out of the office removes all barriers to getting the work done. And, there's always more work to be done. This isn't a long-term strategy and we know others don't like to do this. That's okay. But for now, we're optimizing for working as much as possible. And that means living in the office.

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Stop hiring "rockstar" developers in San Francisco. Let’s talk about reality. You could pay $250,000 for one Bay Area intern. Or you could build an entire SaaS team nearshore for that price. This isn't just about saving money. It's about finding talent where others overlook it. I’ve seen firsthand how hiring diverse global talent can transform a company. They’re not just cheaper; they’re resourceful, skilled, and bring fresh perspectives. Want to build a great product? It’s about the ability to ship, not just the workplace vibe. Here’s how you can start: 1. Look beyond traditional tech hubs. 2. Embrace remote collaboration tools. 3. Focus on skill over location. You may discover hidden gems in places you’ve never considered. In the tech world, talent is everywhere. Don't confine your search to a small pool. If you want to create impactful solutions, rethink your hiring strategy. Quality teams can be built from anywhere. So, I challenge you: Are you ready to break out of the conventional hiring mold?

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Everyone knows what YC is about. Build fast. Talk to users. Focus. Ship. And that’s exactly what it is. Had AxionOrbital Space (YC W26)'s CEO and CTO on Vesting talking about their YC experience - and what stood out wasn’t some secret formula. It was the discipline. Sometimes the most powerful thing isn’t new advice. It’s an environment that forces you to execute on what you already know you should be doing. Clip below 👇

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Techstars recently announced they're increasing their startup funding to $220,000, up from $120,000, and I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means for early-stage founders. The updated terms are straightforward:  💸 $20,000 for 5% equity (Direct Investment) 💸 $200,000 via an uncapped SAFE note with an MFN clause. This means Techstars' total ownership depends on your next funding round. If you raise at a $10M valuation, they'll own 7% total (5% + 2% from the SAFE).   🖼️  The Bigger Picture for Founders This shift reflects something important: accelerators are evolving from pure mentorship programs into hybrid seed investors. For founders, especially those in emerging markets like Africa and LATAM, this creates both opportunities and considerations. The opportunities are real. Having globally recognized accelerators compete on terms means founders have more leverage and choice. For startups, access to $220,000 in early capital plus Silicon Valley networks (depending on the Techstar location) can be transformative. But choosing an accelerator should be based on key considerations: 1. Calculate total cost of capital — look beyond the headline equity percentage to understand true dilution over time. 2. Evaluate the ecosystem — which alumni network and mentor base will actually help your specific business? 3. Consider timing — do you need the capital now, or could you bootstrap further and raise on better terms? 4. Think globally, act locally — choose accelerators that understand your market dynamics. The best accelerator deal isn't always the one with the most favorable terms on paper. It's the one that sets you up for the most successful next chapter of your journey. What's your take on how founders should evaluate these evolving accelerator terms?🤔 Applications are now open, find a program below https://www.techstars.com/

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Founders raising from any of these funds? This is exactly who we built Pageform for. Pageform is an AI-powered dataroom that turns your fundraising materials into a guided narrative. Not just file storage, but a living, structured story that investors actually read. If you're walking into a meeting with any of the funds on this map, your dataroom should be working as hard as you are. 🔗 https://pageform.io/ — currently in beta, request access below.

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Big congratulations to Charlotte Bax and the Captur team on announcing its $6m seed round led by Rally Ventures, with former Google CIO Ben Fried joining the board 👏 Captur is tackling a deceptively simple but critical problem: when businesses rely on photos as proof - of a delivery, inspection, or parking compliance - a bad image can mean disputes, delays, or real financial loss. The Captur solution runs computer vision directly on the device, verifying images in ~30ms and giving users instant feedback before they move on. It’s a great example of how edge AI can unlock entirely new workflows where speed and reliability really matter. We've backed Captur from the beginning - when running AI on mobile devices was a technical pipe dream. Now they're leading the market and expanding into the US. It's exciting to see the team scaling the technology across logistics, mobility and beyond 🌎 #AI #FundingNews #ComputerVision #EdgeAI

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Every business needs to know how long it can sustain itself, businesses thrive on clarity not obscurity Today we are thrilled to announce "Liquidity Runway" , a feature available to our QuickInvoice Pro users , giving them real time Runway insight based on their revenue and expenses activities , thereby helping them to plan, stay organized and stay ahead of any financial curve .

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YC encourages startups to do things that don’t scale at first - because it forces founders to learn what users actually want before wasting months building complex systems. Doing things manually is the fastest way to validate demand, fix the product, and avoid scaling the wrong thing. Instacart and DoorDash used this approach early on by personally onboarding users and doing manual deliveries. Once you know that people truly want what you offer, you can always automate and scale. If you optimize for scale too early, you often end up with a product that might never take off. #neurobay #founders #scaling #startupfunding #Instacart #DoorDash #YC 

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EVE, a Foster City–based startup building an inbox revenue engine for B2B small businesses, has raised $2.4M in Pre-Seed funding. Investors include DOMiNO Ventures, Firsthand Ventures, a16z speedrun’s Scout Fund, Acquisition.com Ventures, Geek Ventures, Founders Future, Punch Capital, Silicon Gardens, and several angels. Founded by Vadim Rogovskiy 🇺🇦 and Vadim Axelrod, EVE is designed for industries where email = revenue, such as consulting, construction, distribution, recruiting, brokerage, and event management. The platform integrates directly with Gmail and Outlook, requires zero setup, and begins delivering insights within minutes. The new capital will accelerate product development and support rollout to the growing waitlist of small businesses. Upcoming features include multi-channel lead tracking, upsell detection, and churn prediction. #StartupFunding #B2B #AI #InboxAI #SMBTech #ProductivityTools #SaaS #PreSeed #TechNews #EVE

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District is trying to make marketplace software feel more like a prompt than a buildout. The Los Angeles startup raised $14.7M in seed funding led by Andreessen Horowitz and Kindred Ventures, with Greylock Partners, SV Angel, 20VC and a long list of commerce and Snap operators also in the round. The product edge is concrete: District lets creators, sellers and brands spin up AI-built commerce platforms for live selling, auctions, paid communities, subscriptions, payments, moderation and fulfillment without hiring engineers. That matters because the best independent sellers are no longer just running storefronts. They are running niche economies around trust, fandom and recurring audience attention. The demand signal is already visible. District says more than 1,000 businesses are on the platform. NikNax generated more than $5M in 2025 with 5,000+ sellers. Stacked Golf is doing $150,000 in weekly sales with 1,000+ sellers. The contrarian bit: AI commerce may not look like a bigger Amazon. It may look like thousands of tiny, weird, high-trust marketplaces becoming easier to launch. Quick facts👇 ● founders: Edward Koai; Patrick M.; Khoi Tran ● total capital raised: $14.7M ● HQ: Los Angeles, California ● Investors: Andreessen Horowitz; Kindred Ventures; Greylock Partners; SV Angel; 20VC; Maria Raga; Gokul Rajaram; Peter Sellis; Imran Khan

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🧠 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗔 𝗶𝘀 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗪𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝗲 📘 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼 🧠 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗔 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗼 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 Manish Patel, Founding Partner at Nava Ventures, warns that raising a Series A is not just capital—it's a directional fork. You're no longer building a startup; you're architecting an IPO-class company. This round commits you to proving you can scale structurally, not just through founder grit. If that's not your endgame, you're on the wrong financing path. 🛠 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 Founders should build their Series A pitch by first mocking out their ideal Series B. What metrics, traction, and narrative would make that round easy? Then reverse-engineer the Series A story and use of funds to close the gap. It’s a backward solve that kills vanity metrics and surfaces real inflection points. 📊 𝗔𝗜 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀: 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 Everyone loves a researcher with a demo. Manish draws the line: 2025 will be the end of demos-as-product. VCs are pivoting toward “astronaut” founders—those who’ve deployed AI in-live, seen how enterprise systems implode, and iterated in the wild. Think less telescope, more boots-on-Mars. That’s who wins ROI-driven AI contracts in the enterprise cycle ahead. ✍️ 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 “Be stupider, do less.” Manish’s advice is a reminder that startups aren't about doing everything, they're about doing the one thing that compounds. Nava’s high-conviction, low-velocity approach wins deal access by knowing exactly where markets will crest. Founders: are you optimizing for a funding milestone or for flywheel momentum? The Series A isn’t your prize—it’s your promissory note. What are you guaranteeing? 🏷️ 𝗛𝗮𝘀𝗵𝘁𝗮𝗴𝘀 #VentureCapital #StartupStrategy #SeriesA #EnterpriseAI #FounderPlaybook #Startups #OperatorEdge #AIExecution --- 🎙️ Credit: GoingVC 🎧 Episode: Episode 40 - On Founding Nava Ventures, and the Critical Series A with Manish Patel 🔗 Listen more: https://lnkd.in/e-APZG3G

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Fundraising success often hinges on one overlooked factor: proactive cap table management. Startups that treat their cap tables as a strategic asset—not just a record-keeping chore—see the difference when it matters most. Keeping your cap table accurate and up to date isn't just about compliance; it directly impacts investor confidence and fundraising outcomes. Take Startup X as an example. Facing a critical Series A round, they partnered with CapTablePro early on to audit and streamline their equity ownership. This proactive step uncovered discrepancies, clarified ownership stakes, and helped structure option pools clearly before investors even stepped in. The result? They closed their round 30% faster and secured better terms than initially expected. Another case: Startup Y avoided costly legal headaches during their seed raise by having CapTablePro manage their equity grants and repurchases in real time. Investors appreciated the transparency and speed, leading to a smoother due diligence process. What does this mean for you? Don't wait for fundraising chaos to force a cap table cleanup. Proactive management builds trust with investors, speeds up deals, and protects your company's future. It turns your cap table from a risk into a competitive advantage. Ready to see how this can work for your startup? Comment "FundraisePro" below and let's start the conversation.

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Great to see Captur close a $6M US seed round led by Rally Ventures, with former Google CIO Ben Fried joining the board. I've backed Captur from the beginning - when running AI on mobile devices was a technical pipe dream. Now they're leading the market and expanding into the US. Exciting to watch Charlotte Bax and the team build this!

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🔥 These are the hottest early-stage startups in #California that recently raised funding. And yes, they’re #hiring. If you’re looking to join breakout companies early, this list is for you. #startups 💰 MoneyHash Payment platform offering fintech services 💰$5.2M 🧬 Segmed, Inc. RWE governance & clinical data platform 💰$10.4M 🛍️ Alta AI-powered personal shopping & styling 💰$11M 🔋 UNIGRID Battery Sodium-ion batteries for energy storage & e-mobility 💰$2.9M ⚡ Fourier Modular automated hydrogen production systems 💰$18.6M 📊 Hightouch Data sync platform from warehouse to CRM & marketing tools 💰$10M 🧠 Subsense Inc. Non-surgical brain-computer interface technologies 💰$10M 🎮 Layer Generative AI for game asset creation 💰$6.5M 🛡️ Cogent Security AI taskforce for vulnerability management 💰$11M 🛒 PublicSquare Marketplace for value-aligned local & national businesses 💰$7.5M 🎥 Hedra AI-powered content creation platform 💰$1M 📑 Patlytics AI-driven patent intelligence solutions 💰$21.1M ☕ Reborn Coffee, Inc. Global lifestyle coffee brand 💰$6.5M 📂 TransCrypts SaaS consumer record management services 💰$15M 📊 Anomalo Continuous data inspection & validation platform 💰$10M 🩸 Melio Quick, comprehensive blood test for infections 💰$3.5M 🫁 LEADOPTIK Miniature imaging platform for early lung cancer diagnosis 💰$4.6M 🧬 Elysium Therapeutics, Inc. Healthtech & biotech focusing on fitness, medical & robotics 💰$7.5M 🚗 Stic Ad tech platform promoting brand stickers in cars 💰$10M 🔍 Voyage AI by MongoDB Embedding models & rerankers for search & RAG 💰$20M 💳 Flagright AI-native transaction monitoring & AML compliance 💰$4.3M 🛡️ Legion Intelligence Agentic AI orchestration platform for security & enterprise 💰$40M 🚀 Heliospace Systems engineering for space flight missions 💰$1.06M 🧪 858 Therapeutics Small molecule drugs for oncology & immunology 💰$50M 📊 Truewind AI-powered accounting & finance services 💰$13M 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬? If you want to get top, 𝐑𝐄𝐀�� jobs that are actually hiring from elite tech companies delivered to you, subscribe to the waitlist for our soon-to-launch newsletter: 👉 https://lnkd.in/eV-JMpw3 #hiringalert #jobalert #hiringnow #engineeringjob #softwaredeveloper #softwareengineer

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🔥 These are the hottest early-stage startups in #California that recently raised funding. And yes, they’re #hiring. If you’re looking to join breakout companies early, this list is for you. #startups 💳 SpotPay (YC W26) Spotpay offers a digital wallet platform and payment software that lets users send, receive, and spend money. 💰$0.5M ⚙️ Tsecond.ai Tsecond is a manufacturer of electronics technology designed for industrial and social development. 💰$21.5M 📞 Hyper Hyper provides voice AI solutions to automate non-emergency phone calls and support critical situations. 💰$6.3M 📊 Fintary Fintary is an AI-powered revenue growth platform offering analytics and data processing services for insurance companies. 💰$10M 📱 Hardline Hardline is a mobile-first, voice-powered app that turns jobsite calls and walkthroughs into actionable project data. 💰$2M 🏠 Daisy Daisy helps individuals and families easily use and enjoy technology in their homes. 💰$15M 🏗️ MeltPlan MeltPlan is an AI-native planning engine for construction, automating takeoffs and building code compliance. 💰$17.41M 🎓 Swing Education Swing Education develops a substitute teaching platform to fill staffing absences in schools. 💰$20M 🕊️ Meadow Memorials Meadow Memorials provides cremation and memorial arrangement services for end-of-life planning. 💰$9M 🌿 NABIS Nabis is the #1 licensed cannabis wholesale marketplace. 💰$5M 🧠 Lemurian Labs Lemurian Labs: Any workload. Any hardware. Any scale. 💰$28M 🌐 Coframe Coframe empowers websites and apps to continuously improve based on real-world performance. 💰$9.3M 🔎 ProRata.ai ProRata builds AI-powered search and advertising solutions focused on content attribution for creators. 💰$40M 🏗️ Lumber Lumber is an automated payroll, compliance, onboarding, and accounting platform for construction. 💰$15.5M ⚖️ Advocacy Advocacy AI develops advanced litigation systems. 💰$3.5M 🎧 AudioShake Audioshake makes audio more usable by separating sound into its component parts. 💰$14M 🤖 Newo.ai Newo.ai delivers a cloud platform for deploying AI agents across voice, text, and chat. 💰$25M 🎓 Ascent Ascent provides student financing solutions for higher education with or without a co-signer. 💰$45M 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬? If you want to get top, 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 jobs that are actually hiring from elite tech companies delivered to you, subscribe to the waitlist for our soon-to-launch newsletter: 👉 https://lnkd.in/eV-JMpw3 #hiringalert #jobalert #hiringnow #engineeringjob #softwaredeveloper #softwareengineer

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