Jose Ojeda

YC’s new batch (S25) is live and investors are already swarming 🔥 Harmonic’s data highlights the 20 startups attracting the most attention. The signal is clear: this batch is dominated by AI-native and infrastructure-first companies. ▫️ Pally (YC S25) – Personal relationship management with AI insights ▫️ Avelis Health (YC S25) – AI auditing for medical claims ▫️ Motives (YC S25) – Video-based market and user intelligence ▫️ IronGrid – Insurance-backed warranties for battery storage ▫️ Imprezia – Native ad engine for LLMs and chatbots ▫️ Finto – Automated invoice processing with AI agents ▫️ Kernel – Cloud platform for web automation agents ▫️ Nottelabs (YC S25) – Framework for browser-based AI agents ▫️ BootLoop (YC S25) – AI-driven firmware development and debugging ▫️ Convexia (YC S25) – Automated sourcing of early-stage drug candidates ▫️ Closera (YC S25) – AI marketing workflows for real estate ▫️ AgentMail (YC S25) – Email API purpose-built for AI agents ▫️ Alter (YC S25) – Secure gateway connecting AI tools to enterprise data ▫️ Channel3 (YC S25) – API for AI-powered online shopping ▫️ Albacore Inc. (YC S25) – Autonomous underwater vehicles ▫️ Wedge (YC S25) – Compliance and monitoring for AI in healthcare ▫️ Halluminate (YC S25) – Testing and deployment automation for AI apps ▫️ Cactus (YC S25) – Run AI models directly on devices and wearables YC continues to be the strongest early-stage pipeline in the world. 👉 If you were writing checks today, which of these would you back? Image source: Lenny's Newsletter

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𝗥𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝘀 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗱 (𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝟭𝟬𝟬+ 𝗩𝗖 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀) What does “traction” actually look like when raising early-stage capital? If you’re gearing up for a pre-seed or seed round, here’s what the data says about ARR benchmarks from 100+ funded startups: 1. $1.5M Pre-Seed Round • 46% were pre-revenue • $150K ARR → 27% • $500K ARR → 15% • $1M ARR → 9% • $2M ARR → 1% 2. $4M Seed Round • $500K–$1M ARR is the sweet spot • $500K ARR → 29% • $1M ARR → 28% • $2M ARR → 20% • $150K ARR or Pre-Revenue → 17% each 3. Key Insights • Pre-seed is still a bet on the team, vision, and potential • Seed investors look for product-market fit and revenue repeatability • Hitting $500K–$1M ARR can significantly improve your odds This is why some founders wait to raise — and others sprint to get even $100K in early ARR. Where do you think the line between pre-seed and seed is really drawn today? #startups #fundraising #venturecapital #seedround #founder #startupfunding

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Several of my portfolio companies just closed rounds in this tough market. Not because they got lucky. Because they understood how fundraising actually works. Here's the fundraising playbook nobody tells you: The Fatal Numbers: • Seed stage: ~10% get promoted to partner meeting • Of those: ~10% get a term sheet • Your odds per pitch: 1% To get one term sheet, you need 100 conversations. Maybe more if you're outside the typical pattern. Most founders pitch 10 investors and wonder why they can't raise. The ones who close? They pitch 100. But here's what kills most founders: They treat every investor equally. The 3rd Meeting Test: If you're on meeting #3 and they're still "sizing the market" - it's dead. They're being polite. Move on. VCs rarely will say "no." I watched a founder waste 3 months on an investor who kept asking for "just one more data point." Meanwhile, another fund that was excited from day one was ready to wire. The Truth About Data Rooms: No investor finds conviction in a spreadsheet. Data rooms are for confirming what they already believe. Not for convincing skeptics. One of my founders shared this: "The investors who funded us barely looked at the data room. The ones who spent weeks in it all passed." The Winning Playbook: Week 1: Cast wide. 50+ intros queued. Week 2-3: First meetings. Quick yes/no filter. Week 4-6: Double down on believers only. Week 7-8: Drive to term sheets. Track everything: • Response rates • Meeting conversion • Speed of follow-up • Quality of questions Fast no > slow maybe. The Position of Strength: My companies that raised successfully all had one thing in common: They didn't need the money yet. They raised with 6-12 months runway, not 2-3. They had leverage. They could walk away. Desperation is visible in every pitch. Confidence comes from options. The Simple Framework: Think of fundraising like dating. Wide funnel, quick qualification, then depth with the right matches. The investor who's excited after meeting one? That's your champion. The one who needs 5 meetings to "get comfortable"? They're just not that into you. My advice to every founder: Start with 100 names. Expect 10 first meetings. Fight for 1-2 term sheets. Those aren't depressing odds. That's reality. Plan accordingly. Of course, it also helps having your existing investors champion you! #Fundraising #Startups #VentureCapital #FounderAdvice #SeedFunding

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What's going on in the venture capital market? While we see very large, highly valued rounds for AI companies, many founders struggle to secure funding at all. 😳 I see 4 founder profiles in the market: 1️⃣ Serial founders or scale-up executives → They raise big rounds (+20m valuations) led by Tier1 VCs. 2️⃣ Founders with traction (100-200k ARR) → They usually find a pre-seed lead after multiple VC talks and then fill rounds quickly on average valuations. Only works for VC Cases. 3️⃣ Founders with little traction but competitive markets → They struggle with endless VC conversations that often lead nowhere. Better off raising angel rounds or bootstrapping. 4️⃣ Software founders bootstrapping → They build MVPs, start selling, and skip early rounds altogether—or wait for better momentum. What are pre-seed investors looking for in 2025? 👉 Proprietary data sources 👉 Strong domain knowledge (vertical SaaS is a win!) 👉 Real customer traction 👉 Deep-tech with a clear edge Fundraising strategy matters more than ever. Here’s what works: • Cluster VCs - don’t pitch your dream fund first. • Use early NOs as free feedback to improve your story. • One term sheet creates momentum - then the round fills up fast. What has been your experience raising in this market❓ #fundraising #venturecapital #investments 📸 Fabian Klima

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If you are an early-stage startup founder looking to raise money from VCs, then this guide on how VCs decide to take a first meeting would be super useful. This guide includes: 1. Team – How does a VC know your team is excellent? 2. Company – Describe what your company does in one sentence 3. Market – What is the market opportunity and why will it be big? 4. Business model – How do you make money? Who pays? What are the margins? 5. Geography – Where is the team based? 6. Number of Employees – How big is your team? 7. Timing – Why is now the right timing for your company? 8. Traction – What are the traction metrics that show what you have achieved so far? 9. Fundraising – How much do you want to raise? 10. Fundraising History – Who have you raised from, how much, and when? 11. Fit – What about this particular investor (or firm) makes you interested in meeting with them? 12. Referrer – Who introduced you to the VC? For a complete list and more details on each factor, take a look at the guide below. Credit: NFX ~~~~~ ♻️ Found this helpful? Repost it so your network can learn from it, too. And follow me, Fazlur Shah, for more content like this. #startups #entrepreneurship #venturecapital #investing

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We just published the next post in our Bling Capital Navigating Diligence Series: “The D+ Financial Model”. Free template in the comments! 👉 https://lnkd.in/emGDHbCp Excited to share this one and shoutout to my partner Charlie Pinto for leading this. When I was a founder, I created a sophisticated financial model but now as an investor, I realize the key to a great financial model is simplicity and focus on just a few key levers. A D+ model (what we call the quick-and-dirty, 30–60 minute version) helps founders answer the most important question in diligence (and in operating): “How much money do you need, over what period, to achieve which goals?” 🧮 It’s designed for pre-seed and seed founders (the framework works for later stage too) — no finance lead required, cash-based (not GAAP), and simple enough to build yourself (esp. with our template—linked in comments) 💡 Key takeaways: * Focus on costs first, founders control spend more than revenue at this stage * Gross profit reduces burn, not just top-line revenue * Start lean and “earn the right to burn” once you’ve proven product-market fit * Check your sanity: growth, hiring pace, and runway must tie together * Use our simple mad-libs template for modeling The goal isn’t an A+ spreadsheet — it’s a D+ model that clearly communicates your assumptions, capital plan, and milestones. Read the full post and grab the template here 👇 https://lnkd.in/emGDHbCp

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