Erik Hovanec

DeepCast shipped a number of really cool new features recently in advance of a broad outreach push to podcast listeners. One new feature is our new Daily DeepDigest tool that sends you a concise daily email including any new episodes from the trailing 24 hours from any podcasts you Subscribe to (on DeepCast). Think daily podcast cliff notes or podcast news ticker tape, with a hint of Morning Brew various brews or PitchBook News—it's increasing information throughput when you're pressed for time. And this feature is rapidly evolving to distill other key extractions from shows you're already interested in, but also exposing you to other shows you might be unfamiliar with that also have nuggets to share—and thus increasing your aperture yet still conscious of your time. Want to go deeper on any given episode? Click the episode detail and you're off to an episode on DeepCast, where you can subsequently read a longer form distillation of that episode or go straight to the source and listen to the episode. (And podcaster friends, these pages are definitely increasing indexing and thus Google entry points to your shows!) I'm loving this feature as a user, personally. Can't wait to see what others think! #BuildingInPublic #Podcasts #AllTheWorldsInformation #HowYouWantIt

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🌟Innovative VC Firm Overcomes Exits Drought with Secondary Sales🌟 ⛵Navigating a challenging landscape where exits are scarce, Santa Barbara Venture Partners (SBVP) has pioneered a novel approach to sustain its growth and attract investors for its second fund: secondary sales. Instead of waiting for traditional exits like IPOs or acquisitions, SBVP opted to sell shares of its portfolio companies, demonstrating its ability to generate returns for investors and stand out in a competitive market. 🎤According to Dan Engel, founder and managing partner of SBVP, these secondary transactions have been a game-changer, sparking investor interest and bolstering the firm's credibility. By leveraging its recent successes, including a lucrative stake in sports-betting company DraftKings Inc.' acquisition of digital lottery app Jackpocket, SBVP seized the opportunity to return profits to its limited partners (LPs) and pave the way for its second fund. 💡Engel highlighted the challenges faced by young VC firms in raising subsequent funds, particularly amid a downturn in exit activity and heightened investor scrutiny. With traditional exit routes becoming increasingly elusive, the pressure is on for firms to demonstrate tangible returns and establish a track record of success. ✨"For us, secondary sales have been a game-changer. They've helped us return profits to our LPs and attract investors for our second fund," said Dan Engel. 💰For SBVP, the decision to pursue secondary sales was driven by the need to provide liquidity to LPs and validate its investment thesis in the eyes of prospective investors. By strategically offloading portions of its holdings in high-performing portfolio companies like Bark Technologies and Rad AI, SBVP not only generated substantial returns but also bolstered investor confidence in its ability to deliver results. ⚠Despite the complexities and potential stigma associated with early share sales, Engel emphasized the importance of prioritizing investor returns and seizing opportunities to unlock value for stakeholders. With a focus on profitability and transparency, SBVP remains committed to its mission of delivering sustainable growth and maximizing returns for its LPs. 🔍 "Returning profits to our investors is our top priority. By strategically selling shares, we're proving our commitment to delivering results and driving value for our stakeholders," added Engel. As SBVP continues to explore secondary transactions and expand its investor base, the firm stands as a testament to innovation and resilience in the face of market challenges. 🚀 ✅ Looking to raise capital for your #fund and increase the international pool of your LP #investors?   🤝 Need warm #LP introductions?   📝 Selling #secondaries to increase liquidity?   🧐 Looking for co-investments?   ▶ G+QUANT's link for inquiries and fund decks: https://lnkd.in/gjC_EuTE #VCInnovation #SecondarySalesSuccess #InvestorReturns #ValueCreation 

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After the first deep dive discussion w/ founders I often hear a comment "I wish I had heard about this alternative [to all-in must-become-a-unicorn] way to build a startup earlier as I have wasted years in pursuing the wrong thing". Our mission is that no founder would ever need to say that again as it is such a waste. Us preaching the gospel 1:1 just doesn't scale, hence we use mass media to multiply our efforts - that's how Gorillacast came to be. The 1st episode is out, featuring yours truly. "How can you know what food you like unless you taste everything" said a chef. How can founders make informed choices about the best strategy for them to follow unless they know of all alternatives? This might not be of interest to you but pls spread the word so that the founders who should hear it can find it. I have a dream!

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I love this! Thank you to Rachel Brown from Beauty Independent to kick-off this exchange with Andrew Ross' provocative thesis and have us all react to it. I truly enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts on the topic of the shortening lifecycle of beauty brands. Here is a snippet of mine: "Because beauty brand lifespans are shortening, it is important that we are able to differentiate brands with staying power from brands that will end up being a flash in the pan. There are much more of the latter than the former in the market right now, and if a brand is not well-positioned, it will be challenging for that brand to survive over the long-term. That’s why we focus on understanding each brand’s differentiators and long-term relevance." See more here: https://lnkd.in/esVbwnu2 and you will discover what Kevin Murphy, Odile Roujol, Rich Gersten, Tina Henry Bou-Saba, Oliver Nordlinger, Claire Chang, Manica Blain, Sonya Brown, George Birman had to say. #beautyindustry #beautyinvesting Stride Consumer Partners

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Great time on the Embracing Erosion podcast w/Devon O'Rourke! We talked about: 🚀 How to scale a company from concept to 9-figure exit 🔄 How to break away from the traditional consulting model and apply product approaches ⏩ Why it’s important to iterate quickly and often with messaging 💸📈What signals are important to pay attention to when investing in startups and much more!

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I had the pleasure of spending this week at Contentful's Berlin office, getting to know members of the Ninetailed team and witnessing the powerful collaboration between the two companies in action. A huge thank you to Alexander Braunreuther, Andy Kaiser, and Irina Botea for the 1:1 time, and to the entire team for their enthusiasm and insights. From my nearly 20 years as an equity analyst, I’ve observed that the most successful M&A deals are driven by not just one, but two strong reasons for synergy. When the focus is purely financial, the outcomes often fall short. In the case of Ninetailed and Contentful, the financial promise is real. But the real magic is that Ninetailed’s integration with Contentful allows customers to leverage structured content personalization and experimentation immediately. With integrated workflows, marketers can start driving ROI at scale from day one—seamless technology at its best. #MergersAndAcquisitions #Contentful #Ninetailed #TechSynergy #CustomerExperience #Personalization #ROI

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Excellent 45 second explanation of why organizations with the best intelligence, in today's Global Competition environment - win.

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Markets talk. We listen. We've from heard from capital allocators (#VC, #PrivateEquity, #FamilyOffices....even #VentureStudios, #Incubators and #Accelerators) that due diligence is a bottleneck to deal flow. It's time-consuming, expensive and often, subjective. We've launched #VentureIQ by the 9point8 Collective to directly address this problem. VentureIQ is an AI-enabled diligence solution that provides rapid scale diligence reports with exceptional fidelity and demonstrable cost efficiency - all within a single business day. We're in our soft launch, now. So, if you want to gain back valuable time and expose the long tail of deal flow diligence, shoot me a DM or visit VentureIQ.ai.

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If you’re looking for a distraction from political content this week… look no further… allow me to introduce: VC podcast content :) I was so excited to finally be on Minnie Ingersoll and TenOneTen Ventures’ LA Venture Podcast. She grew this platform massively while I was on the operating side and it was such an honor to have this be my first interview since returning to VC. Minnie and I chatted poolside in her backyard in Pasadena and covered a lot of ground: - 🚀Why I think distribution and GTM is potentially a greater early moat than product in an AI-native world - 1️⃣ Is first mover advantage still a thing?! -🕵🏽‍♂️ How I think about channel vs integrated product partnership dynamics and why most of them dont work! -💰 What is (and isn’t) exciting to me and Fika Ventures in marketplaces, supply chain, commerce enablement, and more - 🧐 Why we love investing in subject matter and domain experts at Fika more than technology experts learning new domains - 🤝 What makes our partnership and team special at Fika Ventures and how we think about working with founders - 🪢 and finally, why Pejman Nozad and I have more in common than I do with most VCs! Shout outs to friends and colleagues like Tianxiang (TX) Zhuo, John Chen, Gabriella Brignardello, Route, Michael Tam, Troy Henikoff, and more in this one. And most importantly, thanks for having me, Minnie Ingersoll!

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Dan Primack had some pointed criticism for #VC yesterday in his Axios Pro Rata newsletter (a daily must read IMO 😤). In short, the model doesn't work if it can't produce exits for LPs. Don't blame public markets (which are at all-time highs) for the lack of liquidity either. 📈 💸 Instead, this is a "liquidity drought of your making" where "...swinging for the fences on every pitch, rather than taking the single or double that's available" is the only way out when you invest at "sky high valuations." 😰 "A whopping 37% of "unicorns" are being held for at least nine years by VC funds, including 13% that are past the 12-year mark." 😳 ⌛ Is he right? Is VC at a dire inflection point? Or is Primack prematurely hitting the panic button? 🚨 https://lnkd.in/dts92pXr

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BIG ANNOUNCEMENT from the #Dirt #King Cliff Fetner. Extremely proud of my father for his continued devotion and dedication to helping aspiring entrepreneurs in the #ConstructionTech ecosystem. I especially agree with his thesis regarding a HUGE gap in the market for #international #ConTech startups seeking GTM advice and networks to successfully launch in the US. Check out Cliff's medium post and tag #founders & #CEOs who you think would benefit from engaging with him. #ConTech #Founders #GTM

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I'm pleased to share that Lightrock has continued to support Thomas Doering and Distribusion Technologies in their $80 million Series C funding round. Distribusion is the leading global B2B ground transportation marketplace, addressing inefficiencies in this €700 billion market. The industry’s progress has been hindered by legacy technology, making multi-modal travel planning and booking difficult and time-consuming. This increases costs for consumers and negatively impacts sustainability as travellers opt for private cars and taxis over less polluting transportation options. Using a single API, Distribusion connects transport carriers like National Express LLC, Amtrak, and Deutsche Bahn with retailers such as Expedia Group, Google Maps, and Alipay. This allows consumers to seamlessly compare and purchase tickets on trusted platforms. There's a high likelihood that Distribusion has facilitated your travel without you knowing it. We led the company's Series B in 2022, and since then Distribusion has grown tenfold, creating the largest global B2B network of ground transport operators. This growth, combined with achieving profitability, has encouraged us to reinvest and continue with this company on this exciting journey. We look forward to continuing our work with this team. Learn more about #Distribusion via the link in the comments. #TravelTech #FutureOfTravel

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Halle Kaplan-Allen and I will be chatting with Ali Hamed tomorrow about sourcing LPs. You can RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/edYZhKrA Ali wrote this excellent tactical piece on networking that is well worth a read for anyone networking their way to capital: https://lnkd.in/eZ_2f_4x This event is presented by Sydecar, a frictionless deal execution platform for venture capitalists. By pioneering a standardized approach to private investing, they enable capital allocators to identify and back entrepreneurs who are changing the world. Their platform reliably handles back-office operations, automating banking, compliance, contracts, tax, and reporting so that customers can focus on making deals and building relationships.

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Some great new additions to Wing Venture Capital's Founder Docs project today! These are from the one-and-only Christopher Lynch, a veteran serial entrepreneur, currently CEO of AtScale, previously with Vertica, DataRobot, Accomplice VC, Acopia (where we worked together in the 2000's), Arrowpoint (where we first met in the 90's) and many other great ventures. I've worked with Chris in multiple companies across multiple decades. Anyone who knows him knows he tells it like it is (even when it may be hard to say it or hard to hear it!), which I have infinite respect for. In his Founder Docs, Chris talks about: - The dangers of overcapitalizing your startup - What it means to be a "transparent founder" - The power of long-term, authentic relationships in an entrepreneurial career Read Chris's stuff and you will come away wiser!

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What's the latest in #MiamiTech? We've got the low-down from an investor's perspective. Founders: take note! Many thanks to Alpaca VC's David Goldberg, and to Lorraine Sanders and Nancy Dahlberg Refresh Miami for making it happen. https://lnkd.in/daXmV6Zf #investing #VC #fundraising

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While not always true, but mostly true. Capital formation at scale can drive major shifts in industry. We are seeing it with VC and AI. We have seen it with PE and AEC. What I am starting to see is capital formation to truly disrupt the AEC. Why? Massive Market Slow adoption/digital transformation. Outdated business practices that may or may not align with the clients goals. It is a bit of a perfect storm. You can bet against capital allocators. But the forcing function of large amounts of capital entering any market will have a resounding effect. Stay tuned…

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Thrilled to be featured in ADWEEK’s recent article on the ad tech M&A landscape. The past 18 months have been a whirlwind – high inflation, rising interest rates, and global uncertainty put a damper on liquidity. M&A activity slowed, and fundraising became a challenge. However, I see the current chess moves as a prelude to consolidation. This will unlock cash flow and pave the way for more strategic M&A deals in the near future. Expect to see some “average” deals this year, but the market is resetting for a stronger 2025. Get ready for solid returns and a more dynamic ad tech landscape next year. Thanks to Catherine Perloff! https://lnkd.in/dg7PQ6eU #adtech #investing

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Join me as I share the secrets to gaining Angel Investment (being ESIC is one) and help you land your pitch and get your message across. I'm joined by experienced founders who can share their experiences and help you develop your own (survive the) Chasm Plan.

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