Sally Outlaw

Introducing the Arc Builders Fund Circle Ventures is dedicating funds and mobilizing an investor network to support early-stage teams building real-world financial apps and services on Arc, the Economic OS for the internet. The Arc Builders Fund is designed to accelerate innovation by backing teams building projects that uniquely benefit from Arc’s design, including: ✅ Onchain markets with low-latency architecture ✅ RWA and private credit markets built on private, composable rails ✅ Onchain FX flows with Circle StableFX and Circle Payments Network ✅ Agentic commerce for autonomous systems and machine economies ✅ Energy and compute protocols powered by deterministic settlement Each investment brings Arc closer to its mission: powering the new internet economy with open, composable, enterprise-grade infrastructure. If you’re building what’s next for the internet economy, Arc is the place to do it and the Arc Builders Fund can help you get started. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gbGauTdE Note: For informational purposes only and not related to fundraising. “Arc Builders Fund” is a Circle Ventures corporate initiative; no fund or vehicle is being formed. Circle Ventures is not an investment adviser or broker-dealer. Investor Network members make independent decisions.

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We're thrilled to share two practical tools to help investors deepen their impact through a systems lens. 💡 📕 𝘚𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨: 𝘈 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘳 This foundational guide frames why systems thinking matters for investors. It features case studies and introduces an integrated framework, practical starting points, and pathways for long-term change. 📗 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬: 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘛𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 A hands-on companion to the Primer, the Playbook offers reflection exercises, diagnostics, and frameworks for embedding systems thinking into investment policies, theories of change, IMM practices, and due diligence. Both tools are designed to meet organizations where they are on their journey by offering actionable entry points and strategies to begin, strengthen, or expand systems approaches to impact investing. We’re grateful to Karim Harji for his collaboration on this work as part of the Shifting Systems Initiative. Explore them now ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eT5SkKUJ

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A new firm is challenging the traditional founder narrative. Meridian Ventures, launched by two founders before they even started Harvard Business School, is making a contrarian bet: solely investing in entrepreneurs with MBAs from powerhouse schools like Stanford, Harvard, and Wharton. This strategy is gaining serious traction. Meridian now has 45 investments, is deploying a $25 million Fund II, and co-investing with top-tier firms including Bessemer and Khosla. Read more: https://lnkd.in/enzYASfH #ForbesUnder30 (Photo: Sebastian Nevols for Forbes)

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With all the funding uncertainty, it's about time there was good news. Here are five donor-advised fund (DAF) trends you need to know.    Read the full article, featuring insights from Chariot and K2D Strategies’ 2025 DAF Fundraising Report: https://lnkd.in/e_882C5j

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The Miller Center Annual Report is full of insights into how we’re growing impact with social entrepreneurs worldwide. One highlight: how we’re backing enterprises with catalytic capital. Through Miller Center Capital, we’re closing early-stage financing gaps with impact-first investing. This year, the fund raised $914K and invested $755K across five enterprises. For example, in Mexico, our support for Altitud will expand lending by 30%, helping more women launch home-based garment businesses. And this is just one story. Dive into the full report to see how we’re scaling impact together. 📖 Read the 2025 Annual Report: https://lnkd.in/eQ6rSQ5z

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When funding gaps hit, fast and focused action can make all the difference. Our #fundraising guide helps leaders prioritize, pitch, and push forward during uncertainty. 🛠️ What’s inside: ▪️How to engage with existing funders ▪️How to identify new funders ▪️How to tap into your network for leads ➡️ Download our full guide here: https://ow.ly/eNFq50VT0uX #SocialImpact #USAID #Aid #Nonprofit #Development #Grants

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Mobile Factories for Solar Farms Alex speaks to Terabase Energy about automating solar farm construction with pop-up, mobile prefab factories that assemble megawatt-scale installations in the most remote areas. Key Points: • On-Site Efficiency: Prefab lines deploy in 4 hours and build 1MW/day, cutting truckloads and streamlining installs. • Off-the-Grid Scale: Projects happen “6 hours past the sticks”—where land is cheap and sun is plentiful. • Power Loss? Minimal: Long-distance transmission only loses ~6–9% - worth it for industrial-scale solar generation. The future of infrastructure might come in a shipping container. #Startups #ClimateTech #Energy #SolarPower #Infrastructure #Automation #TwistPodcast

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Startups move fast. Banks don’t. And somewhere in between lies the real art of building in fintech. Fresh off its $11.3M Series A round led by Flourish Ventures and Susquehanna Asia Venture Capital, SalarySe reflects on the hard-won lessons of building in partnership with banks. In this clip, Piyush Bagaria, Co-founder of SalarySe, shares how co-creating with banks meant rethinking speed, compliance, and customer focus and what it really takes to build a scalable fintech product. This clip is part of our ongoing series ‘What I Wish I Knew’, where founders share lessons that rarely make it to paper. Mohit Gorisariya Saumeet Nanda Vinay Menon Mukul Singhal Rohit Jain Sridhar Sirugudi Srinidhi Chari #fintech #funding #banks #product

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RFSI Original ➪ Capital that Serves Life: How RSF is Changing Finance and Financing Change Few financial institutions can say they’ve spent more than 40 years reimagining what money can do. California-based financial services organization RSF | Regenerative Social Finance has done exactly that – evolving over decades of work to build a model that is driving regeneration through capital investment. RSF’s mission is to “change finance and finance change,” with a vision of building a world where all capital is regenerative – healing rather than harming, replenishing rather than extracting, and prioritizing the well-being of all over the wealth of a few. Within this broad mandate, regenerative agriculture and food have emerged as critical areas of focus. Here's a closer look at how the firm approaches the space ➪ https://lnkd.in/gqNdhq2R Kathleen Paylor, CAP® Will McAneny Michael Jones Viva Farms Mad Capital

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Fund size isn’t just a number — it’s a strategy. Lake Dai, Founder and Managing Partner at Sancus Ventures, sat down with Micah Sucherman, who leads our LP Relations team, to share why scaling your fund must align with both your current and future investing strategy — not just chase bigger numbers. Drawing on Lake's unique perspective from decades of operating and investing at the forefront of AI and frontier technologies, we explored: - How to evaluate AI startups and AI founders for investment - How top GPs are building reputations that last with LPs - Key factors that have driven to the seemingly rapid rise in AI Read the full blog post and watch the full webinar recording here: https://lnkd.in/guaE-Ywy

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Convertible debentures and simple agreements for future equity are important financing tools for startups, allowing founders to raise capital without immediately issuing equity and simultaneously deferring valuation discussions to future investment rounds. While these instruments share similarities, each has distinct features that pose advantages and disadvantages to founders. Read more from Pat Forgione, Robert Piasentin and Isabelle Guevara here: https://bit.ly/3R2F635

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NVCA applauds today’s bipartisan House passage of the INVEST Act — a major step toward expanding access to early-stage capital for VC fund managers and entrepreneurs across the country. The bill includes several long-standing NVCA priorities that will strengthen the U.S. startup ecosystem by supporting emerging managers, improving secondary liquidity, and reducing friction for venture-backed companies seeking to go public. This bipartisan step forward helps ensure the U.S. remains the world’s best place to build and scale innovative companies.  Learn more at https://lnkd.in/ePSFHXyS

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Big Ideas. In-Depth Conversations. CAIS Live Conversations: Building With Alts is here. ✔️ Dive into the evolving world of alternative investments ✔️ Hear from leaders across the alts ecosystem ✔️ Stay ahead in a rapidly changing industry Start listening: https://lnkd.in/dDRAeiTm #alternativeinvestments #wealthmanagement #financialadvisors

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The Cardano Foundation Venture Hub invites qualified service providers to join the Spring 2026 Cardano Accelerator Program as workshop leaders and subject-matter experts. This 10-week program supports early-stage startups focused on Decentralized Finance and Real-World Assets. Selected service providers will deliver high-impact sessions on go-to-market strategy, regulatory insight, and operations. The program begins at the end of March 2026 and is delivered entirely online. Up to five startups will participate in this cohort, and providers will offer practical guidance tailored to teams with live products. Apply by 4 January 2026: https://lnkd.in/eNyTAcgg

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