one of the most common frustrations i hear from founders crafting a fundraising narrative is: "VCs want to hear this grand future vision, but i'm only at the preseed stage. I see a big customer need that i can solve right now. But i don't know exactly what it becomes in 10 years" first off, I hear you. So much of success is post-rationalized. its hard to tell which parts of a decacorn founder's story is "Hindsight is 2020" versus....not. AirBnB is a classically debated example....those first experiments when they couldn’t afford rent and realized hotels were sold out around a design conference and put airbeds in a living room.....it wasn't exactly the "we will change hospitality" pitch in 2009 when they went to YC. it is one step at a time. but the founders with the biggest visions have spent a LOT more time "living in the future" They're able to sell the bigger vision because they spend more time thinking about 2nd and 3rd order effects. They have insights about why the recent tailwind will change how everyone does X thing and that makes this new vision possible. it really all boils down to depth of thinking in a specific area with hypotheses & constraints. what will change, what will not, now that we have this new tailwind. depth. i think this is ultimately why VCs obsess over having that big vision so much. it's one of the stronger signals for depth of thinking. in my experience, VCs are looking for 2 things in a vision: 1) a huge future vision 2) a credible path to get there 1) A huge future vision: - VCs want to walk away feeling like they learned something entirely new - VCs want to feel like the founders has spent way more time living in the future, have a vocabulary and clear mental picture. almost like how an author has built a world for its characters and then later builds the story through that world - you've already thought about where all the ecosystem actors will be and how they'll behave economically 2) credible path to get there - working backward from th?at future vision - what would need to be true to get there - why is the first wedge you've set up the right first step to get to that future vision, what does it unlock? - this is is where depth of thinking really shines. - this credibility part is what makes or breaks vision in a fundraise narrative ok that's my fundraising 2 cents for tonight

the longer i am in VC the more i realize so few people actually know what they are talking about

VCs have so much dry powder. In 2022 funds didn’t deploy at expected rates at all. Pressure to invest will increase in 2023. So founders - sounds crazy, but now is a very smart time to start a company.

Shoutout to Mercedes-Benz SF for holding it down. I appreciate you!

the most important management skill is emotional intelligence

cohort-based learning was a great rebrand for school

web3, crypto & blockchain are making waves in art, music, and fintech today How will web3, crypto, and blockchain affect edtech & learning? Here's what I'm seeing so far 🧵

remembering that time a founder sent a investor update (email merge) but instead of the name field, they inserted their CRM notes. Mine: “Hi Has deck. Seems kinda stuck up. Didn’t accept my LI request but boss did. Stanford grad. Paints a picture, Updating you on a few.…”

i don’t know who needs to hear this but....we can see the screens you’re shifting between in your glasses reflection 🤓

I turn 35 today! What do you wish you knew when you entered your late 30s? (🥲)

Was on a call w/a 16-yr old talking career advice. The best advice i shared (& have not 100% followed) was: Don't email someone asking for a job. Start doing the job and email asking for feedback on what you built. (more👇🏾)

Benz has driven off the lot!!! Here’s to I do & forever with my love 💍🥰

9 crypto native consumer products of today + tomorrow medium.com/@mercebent/the-fu…

You've heard a ton about web3/crypto + wonder where to get started. Or like us, you've spent days, weekends, nights diving down the rabbithole Here's what we've been reading + how we're immersing ourselves in this incredibly vibrant ecosystem medium.com/lightspeed-ventur…

Venture capital has been trapped in a prisoners dilema game where investors don’t like how expensive later stage rounds have become so they go earlier, with less sensitivity to check size, valuation. Rinse and repeat

My first time on CNBC ☺️

Investing and Empowering: What I’m Focusing On at Lightspeed medium.com/lightspeed-ventur… My current investing focus @lightspeedvp 🙌🏾📈🙋🏾‍♀️📊🔑 #edtech #futureofwork #multicultural #women #VR #LATAM #fintech #mobility

Happy 3 yrs in VC to me🥳 i’m corny as hell but yr3 really showed I’m living my purpose had my 1st early co Stori go unicorn🦄 & Marlene became 1st Mexican woman tech unicorn founder grateful Lightspeed gave newbie a shot🥺 more underinvested founders/geos will return big $$

the most important founder skill is speed of learning

I'm seeing more founders put together "investment memos" as fundraising material. It's a good idea. But too many of them read like book report summaries. Founders if you are going to write a memo, make sure it reads like a thesis: 1) How you developed your thesis: the way you uniquely connected datapoints to construct the argument for why your startup should exist. 2) Your unique vision of the future, what you see when you "live in the future", what the world will look like 3) Assumptions you're making that could be tested, how you disproved and gained conviction 4) Risks to your thesis and where you could be wrong. The questions you asked yourself late at night. Strategic analysis based on market knowledge. 5) The massive upside potential if you are right, and what sequence of products/strategies unfolding in future years that would create that future vision. As an investor when I'm doing due diligence and reading a memo, my goal is to understand the nuance of your thesis and strategy, something I can't get from a pitch deck. Investment memos provide the opportunity for rich, nuanced inferences and cause-and-effect relationships to shine. Please don't send me a book report!! Thesis > Report

Best way to fundraise? Tell investors what you’re going to do in 3 months. Do it. Set up another call. And then do it again.

VC is really a job of self-exploration & introspection. With so many great startups, you have to ask: what do i care about? how do i gain conviction? how am i different / unique? what's my purpose? When answers are clear, VC is straight forward. Just execute.

Announcing the latest addition to the portfolio….and my new most important role We are so blessed

After 5+ incredible years at Lightspeed, I’m stepping back to build something new. I’ll be staying on as a Venture Partner and continue working with my portfolio companies. Thank you to Jeremy Liew, Ravi Mhatre, Barry Eggers, Bejul Somaia, Nicole Quinn and Alex Taussig for being my champions and mentors at the firm. Lightspeed is where I learned to fall in love with greatness. In every form. Excellence is a choice, and studying its intricate inputs every day, constantly raising the bar, is the lesson of a lifetime. Thank you to the founders who chose me as a partner. Onward!

😂 this was too good. we feel you in education. same story. shameless copies:

there is product market fit, and then there is recession-proof product market fit

creators was a great rebrand for many freelancers

Reputations are like six-pack abs: hard to build, easy to lose

One of my absolute favorite topics is how people learn Improving your speed of learning is also a top professional skill in a world that ain't changing any slower Here's how to improve your speed of learning:✌️🏾

Conclusion: Women are the most absent group in all of Crypto. We need more women in this space. And we need them now. Let's get more #WomenInWeb3 Female founders, enthusiasts and Web 3 dreamers please feel free to reach out to me directly. TG and email DMs open. [6/6]

11am so finishing daily check: WhatsApp: LATAM Telegram: Crypto Discord: DAOz Twitter: VC BS Insta: real frendz Groupme that 1 college chat LinkedIn: profesh wins Slack: team/scout Gmail work: inbox 0😭 Gmail personal: 25k unread✅ iMessage: ppl who care🙏🏾 Zillow: fake relief 🥵

1/ New post! Investing in the #ExperienceEconomy A new gen of companies are: - Discovered via Instagram 📸 - Designed as anticipated, sharable memories, documenting your best life ✨ - Creating a sense of belonging - Benefiting from cheap real estate 🏨 medium.com/@mercebent/invest…

I did a quick review of founders the 2020 scout fund have invested in (5 mos in, 30 deals) & was OVER the 🌙 to see... >50% of founders appear to be from underrepresented (in tech) racial/ethnic backgrounds 😄 Multiplier effect works. diverse investors = diverse founders

Your brand is what you promote. Your reputation is what others promote about you.

Men are leaving college at highest rates ever: 1.5M less students went to college in 2021 than 5 yrs prior & 70% of those were men The trend started in 1970s & today 60% of college goers are women Where are all the men going? 🧵

you want disagreeableness in your culture. we drive to better decisions when employees can voice dissent.

people ask me who invests in learning/edtech a lot so i did like any good vc and made an airtable list 🙃 enjoy i'm sure i've missed many people so my apologies 🙏🏾 pls message if want to be added airtable.com/shrCF8VBeqm1Dtm…

i'm seeing more web3 startups raise very large seeds & As on back of a successful NFT collection sale, but are still pre-product. new form of funding or very 1999?

We can all agree that the metaverse is having its hottest year yet I used to work in VR and thought that was the path to the metaverse Here's why I was wrong and why this time is different 🧵

As an investor in multiple LATAM startups, all i have to say to this is YES YES YES YESSSS!!!

the year is 2023. And people are still sending intros without double opt in

back to the office szn time to dust off those 👠.🥲💃🏽👩🏾‍💻📈

Yesterday was my 4 year anniversary @lightspeedvp! 🥳 It's been a wild ride. To quote @jmj who said it perfectly: "Wild vintage to [invest]. Cycles since starting in Q3 2019: 1. Pre Covid (2019) 2. Covid Depression Scenario (Q1 2020) 3. Covid Bull (Q2 2020) 4. Megafund Mania (2021) 5. Bear Market (H1 2022) 6. Recession (H2 2022)" With each cycle change, I ask myself if my personal investor-market-fit (like product-market-fit) and style are still intact, or needs tuning. I feel incredibly lucky to have started my investing career during such turbulent times. Seeing this many cycles in a compressed time is like interval training. Great exercise. Each year has come with tons of learnings. This last year was a lot about board governance and hard conversations. I still think venture capital is a very introspective job. We sell money, but money is money. Really you have to know yourself, and your firm, and why you're different than every other investor. Having purpose helps me. Still so grateful I get to do this job. Especially in such a humbling year. Thank you to my founders and team for the support. Always stay gracious... nitter.app/jmj/status/15974…

the future of income is driven by the skills you use to earn $$ and the platforms you earn it on the future of income = edtech + fintech

The one good thing about being mansplained Web3 at these crypto conferences is it gives me more time to eat those fried macaroni balls. If I toss in an "ok, but obviously none of that can happen for 50 years" I can squeeze in a mini dulce de lece & gaspacho shooter as well.

great quote I heard today: "Why does every kid love recess? It’s one of the only times they can make tons of choices for themselves all school day" I continue to believe children crave self-direction and the love of learning stops when they stop feeling agency

News that TopGolf is eyeing $4 billion IPO reminds me that if you combine our favorite childhood activities with drinks 🍹 magic can happen ✨ markets.businessinsider.com/… #experienceeconomy

Most of "getting into venture" is luck & networks. That aside, a few other tips: - i had no $ to angel invest. practice anyway - everything is a funnel: recruitment & startup sourcing - be fearless w/cold outreach businessinsider.com/vc-merce…

1/ One of the things I look for in founders is whether they’re “learning animals”: Do they constantly pursue learning? Do they effectively scale themselves? A few years ago @Stanford I set out to unearth how founders learn Here’s what I learned (thread) mercebent.medium.com/founder…

today i'm celebrating that the new majority is building wealth on crypto: 30% of black & 27% latino investors own cryptocurrency ✨🤑 (compared with 17% of white investors in the US - recent Harris Poll survey and 10% of the overall population)

1/5 When #Covid forced everyone schools to close, it accelerated #edtech trends & the future of #education. Some habits will stick. Others will revert. Knowing the difference will be crucial for founders, educators and parents. What might we see? 🤔 medium.com/@mercebent/the-fu…

As a consumer VC i stay on the swivel for consumer cultural carriers. Consumer cultural carriers are the tastemakers, entertainers, celebs, artists, tiktok/youtube creators. They're often young, female, POCs. They know where world is moving b/c they're moving it. Watch them.

1/ We're thrilled to announce @lightspeedvp's Series A investment in Forage (@InsideSherpa), the future of job search. Here's more on what makes Forage so special: medium.com/@mercebent/meet-f… #edtech #career

Announcing Beek's $13M Series A led by Lightspeed Beek is building the Latin American Dream @PameVls @gsequeira_ @beek_io @lightspeedvp

Love seeing so many of my friends, LSVP scouts, and generally terrific humans in this 51 VCs list 👏🏾 @VPinVC @MacConwell @hadiyahdotme @lolitataub @hpierrejacques @chudson @DelJohnsonVC @mallun @bradleyml Seed/Pre-Seed founders - they’re the real deal forbes.com/sites/allysonkapi…

I made a #marketmap for the #ExperienceEconomy based on Pine & Gilmore's framework (they coined the term). What other startups are serving the #ExperienceEconomy? #BoutiqueFitness #Popups #LocalAdventures #ThemeParks #IRLtoURL medium.com/@mercebent/invest…

for international women's day I went on @cnbc today to talk about the gender investing gap the gap is very real: women make up 35% or less of users at many retail investment products, and women save less on avg for retirement (also due to wage gap) what's going on?

First time visiting the office in almost 13 months!!

i just have to say. founders in LATAM are realllly prepared for fundraise processes. nearly 100% are *extremely* prepared w/datarooms, models, cohorts, customer files, unit economics, charts. even at the seed sometimes! i'm not sure how so many are so ready, but love to see it!

my Twitter is mostly all business but y’all….my wedding is in less than one month…i’m geeking fr!!

One glimmer of hope ✨that kickstarted my 2021 is 2 new black-led unicorns Congrats to @Calendly @TopeAwotona & @Cityblockhealth @Toyinajayidoc on becoming unicorns!!🦄 They join @Compass @RobReffkin & @Zumeinc @JuliaCollins who've hit the milestone am i missing any?

Consumer fintech is in transition. Consolidation is taking place. Value accruing to larger players. We’ve hit peak fragmentation. Where does consumer fintech go from here?

Big news alert! I have a new weekly column with @BusinessInsider that will be running for the next few weeks 🗳️ 1st topic: how top startups are using behavioral science to win 👇🏾

tweeps i am OOO…wedding weekend is finally here!!!! what’s your best advice for me, hubs, or guests on our wedding weekend?

Nearly all my investments have an immigrant, woman or other underrepresented founder on the team Why? Because - if you didnt know - Marginalized. Folks. Are. Really. REALLY. Good. At. Making. Money.

Lightspeed consumer team 🤗 Consumer investing is high risk, high reward. Not for the feint of heart. Not for the culturally unaware. Not for the brand oblivious. Not for everyone.

I believe it's critical for founders to lead every board meeting, every townhall, w/ the mission & vision Vision is the world you want to see 🌍 Mission is how you there 📈☝️🏾 Your north star metric derives from them. It's often a product kpi & drives a corresponding sales kpi

Here's a summary of the full 39-page guide to VR/AR Education Companies I published on @VRScout #vr #ar #vreducation

positive people are really the best to work with

Founders used to time their fundraises based on burn rate. Now I see founders timing raises based on achieving milestones. IMHO this a better model: from cost-based to valued-based fundraising.

very determined to do venture well. do it my way. and leave no crumbs.

Work calls, zoom walls, city walk, tik tok, cook din, Netflix in. Repeat

startups focus on the future. But the way to a VC’s heart is to really know your market’s history.

the simultaneous surge of the creator economy & retail investing isn't a coincidence they both reflect consumers' desire to join the ownership economy & declare independence

we have a new job board! i stayed on lists like these when I was looking for startup roles 🙏

the next gen of consumer entertainment experiences are being built on web3 in web3, consumers become co-creators Here’s some of the most exciting Entertainment X Web3 I’m seeing and where there's opportunity 🧵

if you’re not uncomfortable you’re not trying hard enough

Lightspeed consumer investors ✨ ☺️@ataussig @Nik_Quinn @JeremysLiew

The three most important things investors can give new founders: 1. Space & capital to execute 2. Freedom to change their mind = scale yourself attitude 3. Hard truths and empathy

edsurge says Zoom has >100k schools using their platform in 25 countries 😲 and it's their "largest vertical"

US edtech is having a blockbuster year. there are so many billion$ companies, many on the cusp of exit I threw together these edtech/higherEd multiples for my founders recently so wanted to share With Duolingo, Instructure up next I can’t help but wonder what they’ll trade at!

same happened to me, founder said "you're all the same i don't need your intro" after i suggested an intro 😂 first 3-5 min of every call i just assess does this person want this to be a relationship call or a transactional call. the rest flies by smoothly

Crypto-native, wallet to wallet messaging is broken. and yet, messaging is the highest daily use consumer product. it's a huge opportunity. Crypto's "You've Got Mail" moment is coming. Let me explain ⬇️ mercebent.medium.com/the-fut…

you know you did the damn thing when there’s a cultural war about how to use your product hats off @TopeAwotona

yesterday was #WomenInCrypto day so we curated a list of projects + communities you should know, built by women. what'd we miss? dm us :) curated with @JaneSorkin and @kassenq notion.so/Communities-for-Wo…

i think about this chart, netflix launching in 1997, and gas fees alllllll the time

whirlwind few days in London. Launched our office. Interviewed Multiverse about edtech 🙌🏾 Laid awake in bed all night 😫 Met some amazing founders. Witnessed history. Broke bread with the BEST team. @lightspeedvp 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇫🇷🇩🇪

Startups die when founders lose their confidence & mojo Startups are a mental game of survivorship. Ideas die if they're allowed to.

My sister just got her PhD and my brother just spoke at Google Marketing Keynote on ai + search!! Big week for the fam. So dang proud!!

yesterday was my 2 yr anniversary @Lightspeedvp! i wrote my VC plan👇🏾 & lived it next 21 mos. i guess that's "building in public :) no VR/mobility, but Grateful to invest & empower #edtech @theForage_ @Outschool #latam #fintech @Stori_MX #Frubana & #multiccultural s/o Scouts!!

Incredibly excited to join such an amazing team! More about what I’m initially focusing on soon.

Creators are building longevity by turning platforms into marketing channels. But not all platforms support success equally. My 2-cents on how creators are the new, leaner generation of startups, and why traditional corps are even more on watch to retain employees👇🏾

my first Juneteenth work holiday 😊 🙌🏾 Happy Juneteenth y’all!! 🙌🏾

1/ Excited to share how our fintech team views the intersection of AI + finance…. First off, AI is not exactly new in finance…it’s been used since the 90s. But something big has changed with the newest generation. Generative AI is distinct compared to conventional or predictive AI, in that LLMs can now generate new, creative answers instead of responding solely to specific tasks, and do so in a conversational manner with less task-specific training. In finance, this has led to an explosion of new tools is 1) investing research and 2) wealth advisory. We think the optimal end state is using both generative and predictive AI. Fintechs can then maximize their output while maintaining accuracy. The best of both worlds. I’m still personally hoping to see many more holistic personal finance solutions combining wealth advisory, robo claims, investing research, and more. @lightspeedvp

i didn't think i tweeted anything interesting enough for @ShrugCap cal but look ma 🙌🏾

plot twist: reddit is the largest social investing platform

One of the strangest transitions from Operator to VC was hearing investors say they were interested in business models (marketplaces, saas, subscription) instead of missions (problems, sectors, customers, product)

15k people at ETH Denver. i just returned from the largest year EVER as crypto goes mainstream people still ask, why all the hype? what does blockchain actually solve? 7 problems that blockchains actually solve 👇🏾

it’s me, speaking at NFT NYC next week 💁🏾‍♀️ holla at ya girl

New post on the #FutureofWork 🤓 While we’re geeking out about the latest developments in AI, ML & VR (I’m guilty 🙋🏾‍♀️), we can’t forget how these changes affect workers 👷🏾‍♀️👨🏼‍🏭🧕🏼👨🏻‍💼👩🏼‍🔧 The #CareerJourney is evolving. Let’s talk groom & bloom not doom & gloom link.medium.com/ZwXDlrYJm2

new record! "Women controlled 28% of board seats among S&P 500 companies" only up 1% point from last year, up 8% since 2009 another glimmer of hope, lets do this ladies 💪🏾 www-bloomberg-com.cdn.amppro…