Daniel Hanks

Greenfield Partners is proud to be deepening our partnership with Capitolis as they announce today a $56M strategic round. If you’ve spent time in market infrastructure, you know how rare it is to see deep market insight paired with real product velocity. The team at Capitolis has both, and the result is infrastructure that makes capital markets safer and more efficient. We’re increasing our investment alongside Barclays, BNP Paribas, J.P. Morgan, fellow investors Canapi Ventures, 9Yards Capital, and existing investors Citi, Morgan Stanley, State Street, and UBS to fuel the next stages of Capitolis’ Capital Marketplace and Portfolio Optimization solutions. https://lnkd.in/exK8nQYx Kudos to Gil Mandelzis and the entire Capitolis team!

43

2 Comments

Company building in energy is shaped by early decisions that compound over time—how capital is structured, how technical risk is absorbed, and how teams prepare for scale well before it arrives.    Much of my work with founders centers on navigating those choices as deep science becomes real businesses. The details differ across power, materials, and industrial systems, but the challenge is consistent: building companies that can operate, adapt, and grow over long horizons.  You can see that work taking shape across the Breakthrough Energy portfolio. https://lnkd.in/eXd72trE

88

4 Comments

Starting a venture capital firm today feels a lot like starting a startup 20 years ago. Many people begin with passion, conviction, and a large dose of naïveté — without fully understanding what they are getting into. That was definitely my case. Raising a fund is not the same as building a firm. And building a firm is not the same as creating a franchise. That is why this new Kauffman Fellows study, Zero to Four: How VCs Evolve From Fund to Firm, and From Firm to Franchise, is so important. Years ago, Venture Deals by Brad Feld became a turning point in how the venture capital industry explained itself to entrepreneurs. It helped bring transparency, better language, and more symmetry of information to a process that had historically been opaque. My partners and I used to give the book to entrepreneurs and encourage them to read it before entering a financing negotiation with us. Better-informed founders led to better investments. I believe this Kauffman Fellows study has the potential to do for venture capitalists — or “venturepreneurs” — what Venture Deals did for entrepreneurs. Reading it was both humbling and enlightening. I have been in venture capital for more than 20 years. We built a firm, raised two funds, backed exceptional founders, and generated outcomes we are very proud of. But we also experienced firsthand how great returns alone do not automatically translate into firm durability. Great returns are great. But they are not sufficient. Better-informed VCs will lead to better firms, and better backers for their founders, which is what matters in the end. 🚨 This is a must-read for anyone already building a VC firm — and perhaps even more importantly, for anyone thinking about starting one. 🚨 Congratulations to Fernando Fabre, the whole Kauffman Fellows team and Kauffman Fellows Network for putting this work together.

39

3 Comments

💡Emerging GP Fundraising Insight #8: Rolling Closes Keep You Moving Small funds can't always afford to sit still until the target is hit. Rolling closes let you start deploying earlier, build a track record, and show momentum to prospective LPs. One GP told me that for Fund I ($5M target), he took capital as it came, signed, wired, and got to work. It wasn't perfect, but it kept the lights on and the deals moving. Sometimes the "sign and wire as it comes" approach is the only way to get moving. Takeaway: Momentum is a fundraising asset and rolling closes can help you keep it. Has anyone here used rolling closes as a strategic advantage?

29

13 Comments

🔔Announcing the 2025 Vertical SaaS 50!🔔 Today, Avid Ventures, Headline, and Bain Capital Ventures recognize 50 new emerging vertical SaaS companies. 🏭 This year, over a third of the honorees are solving problems in the physical world including Caspian, DocUnlock, and Revenue Vessel in logistics, Complement, DiploAI, and Forgepoint in manufacturing, Ichi in construction, and GridStrong, Lumora, and Strobe Power in electricity/utilities. 📝 As in prior years, several honorees are building in the broader professional service landscape including &AI, Crosby, and PointOne in legal, Mako AI in financial services, and Foundation, Novella, and Strala in insurance. 🩺 Most notably, we've seen an increase in healthcare companies like Charta Health, Ferry Health and RoVR as well as Zoomlogi in pharma, Corner Health and Duet in nurse practioner practices, ExaCare AI in senior care, Onos Health in behavioral health, Grove AI in clinical trials, and Lassie and Rondah AI in dental. If you are building a vertical SaaS company or have recommendations for our 2026 list please reach out - we'd love to hear from you!

424

52 Comments

One of the most common ways to get a technology based business going is with a SBIR or STTR grant. That includes more than half the portfolio companies of Venture Investors Health Fund. Funding for these programs ran out on September 30, and it was not included in the continuing resolution to reopen the government. Congress needs to get this funded again ASAP. These grant programs are particularly important in the middle of the country where capital is not as abundant. It can considerably stretch funding from personal savings, friends and family, angels, and seed stage VC at the formative stages. The peer review process is reassuring to the earliest investors and the results of the funded work often provides the proof of principle that unleashes access to a broader group of investors. The success stories are seemingly endless. Beyond our portfolio, Amgen, Genzyme, Qualcomm and Illumina are among the industry giants that got their start with SBIR funding. The impact is beyond dispute. There is broad bipartisan support, but some in Congress are proposing changes to do things like capping the lifetime grants to those who fail to commercialize, targeting the mills who make it a primary business to attract grants. One thing contributing to the success of small companies is a sense of urgency. They are focused on priorities and want to get things done now. When caught in an unexpected funding or regulatory delay, they are disrupted and cash continues to burn on core monthly expenses. Once beyond the unexpected delay, the available cash is diminished, reducing the likelihood of achieving the value transforming milestones that open the doors to new investors and the next funding round. The programs are not broken but could be improved. However, allowing the program to lapse while potential changes are being debated can cause irreparable harm for the most fragile nascent companies. Congress needs to develop an entrepreneurial sense of urgency to help the current crop of early stage founders that they have left hanging and pass a continuing resolution while they contemplate changes.

37

1 Comment

**Exploring Strategic Bids in Emerging Tech** The recent bid from MicroVision to acquire Luminar's lidar business for $33 million underscores the competitive nature of technology acquisitions. As the landscape of venture capital evolves, understanding these dynamics can inform investment strategies. At ElevenX Capital, we believe that strategic acquisitions can be pivotal in leveraging market innovations. These moves not only enhance portfolio capabilities but also demonstrate the importance of evaluating emerging trends. What factors do you consider most crucial when assessing the viability of such acquisitions? #investing #innovation #venturecapital #entrepreneurship

2

Worth reading (with popcorn) - no really. Thanks to Teel Lidow for sharing :-) Every emerging VC should be reading the SEC’s enforcement releases. It sounds very boring… but it’s actually a surprisingly entertaining way to learn how not to torch your career! Some good starting points: https://lnkd.in/gwuSvFy4 (disturbing because there’s no egregious misbehavior - probably wouldn’t happen under the current SEC) https://lnkd.in/gFHfgTxB (especially the part about exaggerating fundraising progress starting on p.17) https://lnkd.in/gTzA5DTX (just a classic, wild ride)

1

Seed-stage fundraising requires differentiation. Grind Ventures found it at the intersection of three underserved markets Technology transfer from universities creates early-stage opportunities that most VCs miss. Defense and federal marketplace applications provide revenue visibility. Critical infrastructure sectors offer commercial scale. Focused Thesis - Dual-use technologies serving defense and 16 critical infrastructure sectors Technology Transfer - University research teams1-5 years old at $1-3M valuations Revenue Clarity - Federal marketplace provides structured procurement pathways Commercial Scale - Critical infrastructure sectors offer massive addressable markets   Geographic Focus - US-based companies with clear domestic advantages Stage Discipline - Seed investments with defined entry points and milestones The market rewards problem-obsessed founders with healthy margins and cash flow visibility. Dual-use technology delivers both. Which of these thesis elements resonates most with your investment approach? #VC #GrindVentures #ThoughtLeadership

19

6 Comments

From the beginning, we believed Lumana was building much more than a smarter surveillance tool. Lumana's platform reflects the next evolution in video intelligence — physical AI. This approach enables systems to go beyond basic detection capabilities to understanding context, infer intent, and deliver real-time insights that improve safety and operations at scale. Further, we decided to take the longer and more difficult direction of building a whole new generation and fully featured Video Management System (VMS). With the company’s $40M Series A, led by our friend Peter Wagner from Wing Venture Capital and our seed partners from SCAPITALVC, we’re doubling down on a platform that’s already proving its value in the real world. We are serving now close to ten thousands enterprise cameras in production! Founders like Sagi Ben Moshe bring a rare mix of vision and execution to the table. From our earliest conversations as an EIR at Norwest, it was clear that Lumana had the potential to reshape how organizations use video. Congratulations to the team on this well-deserved milestone. https://lnkd.in/gwHdaGPZ

65

4 Comments

I recently started analyzing growth rates across the ENR Top 400 over the last 15, 10, and 5 years. What stood out was the gap between the broader industry benchmark and Ediphi’s top enterprise customers. Approximate ENR benchmark growth rates: ~4–5% CAGR over 15 years ~3% CAGR over 10 years ~6% CAGR over 5 years Approximate average growth rates of Ediphi’s top enterprise customers: ~10–12% CAGR over 15 years ~9–10% CAGR over 10 years ~10–12% CAGR over 5 years Obviously software alone does not explain that difference. But I do think there’s an important pattern underneath it. The best-performing contractors tend to build cultures around continuous improvement: they stay curious they modernize systems they evaluate new ideas seriously and they create organizations designed to keep learning One thing I’ve learned over the years in construction technology is that tech adoption is rarely just about technology. It’s usually a signal about culture.

77

13 Comments

HealthVC x Lusha: Unlocking Smarter Fundraising and Sales Workflows We’re thrilled to announce our newest partnership: HealthVC has teamed up with Lusha to bring next-gen data and prospecting tools to founders, fund managers, and operators across our community. Lusha recently launched a powerful suite of AI-powered features that redefine how go-to-market teams research, prospect, and convert. Now those capabilities are coming to HealthVC Pro subscribers. ✨ With this partnership, you’ll be able to: Surface real-time, accurate, and compliant B2B contact data Use AI Prospecting Chat to instantly uncover new investor or customer leads Tap into CRM-triggered recommendations to stay one step ahead Turn insight into action with Sales Streaming, Lusha’s smarter, connected selling framework. But Lusha’s superpower isn’t just the AI; it’s that the AI sits on top of best-in-class data. That means every signal, every recommendation, and every lead is not just fast, it’s trustworthy. At HealthVC, we’re building more than a newsletter; we’re building the operating system for venture, and this partnership helps our members move faster, pitch smarter, and close better. Available now to all HealthVC subscribers, link in comments.

18

8 Comments

This is an excellent report on the #VC activity in Florida for the first half of 2025, put together by our partner,s eMerge Americas. 💡 5 Takeaways from the eMerge Americas 1H 2025 Florida VC Insights Report: 1. Startups across Florida raised $2.85B across 270 deals, putting 2025 on pace for the strongest year since 2022. 2. AI dominates, 33% of all funded startups are AI-focused, with $830M raised in South Florida alone. 3. Cybersecurity and defense tech are booming, with Tampa emerging as “Cyber Bay” and major new AI-cyber programs launching. 4. Fintech, climatetech & Web3 continue to shine, with record funding and renewed investor confidence in Miami. 5. “If you’re not investing in AI, you’re asleep at the wheel,” says Me! https://lnkd.in/eVb-eYA9

43

I spoke with Christien Louviere of BDE Capital about his journey from a $330mm exit to becoming an independent sponsor. Christien shared excellent insights for folks looking to partner with business owners, rather than buy sellers out completely. Below are a few of the topics we covered: - Why he moved from “zero-to-one” startups to a buy-then-build strategy - How Christien's background shaped a focus on growth vs. cost-cutting - Why 20–40% rolled equity is central to his deal structures—and how it builds trust with sellers - Using scenario analysis with AI tools to evaluate management teams and uncover hidden key-person risks - How to identify when a $3–5M EBITDA company truly has a middle management layer—or is still founder-reliant For anyone investing in or buying small businesses, Christien’s approach provides a fresh lens on growth, alignment, and deal structuring. 🎥 Watch the full interview here → https://lnkd.in/ekfkaiej 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://lnkd.in/e86Agx6V

33

8 Comments

As founders scale, financial leadership needs evolve just as fast as product or team strategy. In this article, Jason Anglin does a great job outlining when a startup needs a fractional Director of Finance vs. a fractional CFO. And why getting that choice right can save both time and capital. Worth a read for founders approaching their next growth stage.

7

The PE fundraising boom wasn't a new normal. It was an anomaly. Nowhere is that clearer than in healthcare services. Capital concentration, depressed exit activity, and a structurally smaller pool of available LP commitments have reset the investment landscape across the board. In healthcare services specifically, Q1 2026 deal activity declined 16% year over year, with deal value down 23.3% despite several megadeals in the quarter. The weakness was broad: generalist and multispecialty providers, PPMs, and skilled care all saw volume declines. What the data doesn't fully capture is the inventory problem building underneath. Dental, mental health, home-based care, MSK, and dermatology each have at least 25 PE-backed companies with holding times of five years or more. That is not a pipeline. That is a logjam. And in a market where finding buyers is already difficult, with nearly half of PE executives describing exit conditions as challenging, sponsors are facing a compounding problem: assets they cannot exit, in a fundraising environment that is not forgiving of underperformance. The bright spots are instructive. Elder and disability care drew the quarter's largest transactions, including a $3 billion LBO of TEAM Services Group and a $1.2 billion take-private of Enhabit Home Health and Hospice. Demographic tailwinds are real. Strategic acquirer interest is real. But even in the sectors that are working, the underlying pressure is the same: 27% of PE executives report more underperforming assets this year than last, the third consecutive year that figure has increased. The market has reset. The question is whether the leadership inside these assets is built for what the reset demands.

22

What’s old is new. Funny to watch VCs flood back to out-of-favor business models—hardware-enabled software, marketplaces, consumer tech—which are now viewed as more defensible because AI can't easily replicate physical infrastructure, network effects, or brand.

21

2 Comments