Mike Duboe

I’m excited to announce the public launch of First Harmonic. We are a small team of former operators who invest in early-stage companies and run what I believe is the world’s best go-to-market program for seed-stage founders. We have run six cohorts of the program to date with an NPS of 100 across the nearly 50 founders who have participated. Over a long career in tech, I’ve had the privilege of working with Steve Jobs and Ed Catmull at Pixar, of taking Twitter from $0 in revenue through IPO as the CFO and COO, and of mentoring hundreds of founders at all stages in 10 years as a YC partner. I’ve also been fortunate to invest as an early angel in several breakout AI companies, including Mercor, Decagon, and Cursor. I’ve seen the arc from inception to IPO many times and recognize what separates winning startups from the pack. It's this multi-stage experience as an operator and investor that is uniquely valuable to the founders in our program. What’s this program about? A common challenge that all founders face in the early days is defining their ideal initial customer. Great go-to-market strategy begins with narrow customer selection. Every important decision is downstream of customer definition: roadmap priorities, customer acquisition strategy, sales model, pricing, etc. If you don’t define your customer well, everything else becomes extra hard. In our program, we help founders nail early customer definition through intensive 1:1 work. It’s the point of highest leverage. Our cohorts are small (10 to 12 companies), and we don’t accept applications. Instead, we select founders who have been nominated by people we trust, increasingly by alumni of our program. The program requires a 3–4 hour weekly time commitment over 8 weeks and sets startups on the right go-to-market path for life. The program will always be free and non-dilutive to founders. In order to make this possible, we’ve raised an early-stage fund that covers the costs of running the program. But there are no investment expectations or strings attached to participating. If you’re an early-stage founder, you can read more about what we believe in the link in comments. If you’re a seed investor, we hope to collaborate with you.

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Today’s a good day: Our portfolio company Starbridge closed a $42M Series A led by Craft Ventures. We proudly participated in the round alongside Owl Ventures and Autotech Ventures. Craft is exactly the right partner for this stage of Starbridge's journey. Their track record supporting unicorns like SpaceX and Anduril will be invaluable as Starbridge’s founder Justin Wenig 💫 and his team build the next great #AmTech company. We invested in Starbridge's seed round in early 2025. Four things stood out. - Justin knows the market. Seven years of building Coursedog and selling to higher education and state agencies gave him domain expertise most founders don't have. He came back after a successful exit to solve the problem he'd lived: it’s too hard to find and win government contracts right now. - Justin is a killer founder who also has a sense of public mission. In order to work productively with partners in government, you have to understand the way that people in government think and why they make the decisions that they do. Justin knows that for these stakeholders, Starbridge’s value proposition is helping government deliver the best outcomes for the American people. - The TAM is enormous, and starting with the State, Local, and Educational (SLED) market would give Starbridge key advantages. There are 90,000 state and local agencies and education departments that collectively procure hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of goods each year. That’s 90,000 individual customers with different buying criteria, changing personnel, and procurement rules. Starbridge’s product tackles that challenge head-on. GTM teams in SLED now have sales weapons they never had before. We thought, and continue to think, that Starbridge can build a generational company in this market. - The timing is right. Government efficiency is a political priority for both Democrats and Republicans. Agencies need to demonstrate responsible stewardship of taxpayer money. Starbridge helps them attract competitive bids while helping vendors compete fairly. Both sides win. Today Starbridge is already being used by 160+ enterprise public sector sales teams, including Instructure, SimpliGov, and Clever, to identify public sector opportunities before the RFP. We're excited to continue supporting Justin and the team over the coming years as they scale with this new capital. 

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Very happy to share that we are leading Pursuit's Series A. Mike Vichich and Brandon Max are exceptional leaders. I met Mike in December 2024 and was immediately struck by his focus on building in government, one of the most important and under-innovated sectors. Big vision, strong execution, and optimism. At the time, I was between roles and doing some angel investing. That conversation made it clear I wanted to work more closely with founders like him. A year later, I get to do exactly that. Leading this round is a full-circle moment. If you're building in GovTech please consider taking a look at their fantastic product. And reach out to us at Builders VC as we love the market!

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The gap between SBIR and venture funding is the narrowest it's been in 44 years. Reauthorization created a new award tier up to $30M. 0% equity. Requires a prior Phase II award + a 1:1 match (private capital or non-SBIR government funding) + a federal customer signaling intent. Closer to a co-investment round than a grant. Founders winning these in 2028-2029 are entering the Phase I pipeline right now. I sat through the AFWERX webinar last week (my first one) and was honestly surprised by how much airtime the new authority got. AFWERX is DoD-side, but the rule applies cross-agency: HHS, DOE, NSF, NASA, & DoD all qualify. Most folks analyzing it are focused on Phase II winners. The more useful question for early-stage founders: what does this mean if you're at Phase I, or thinking about SBIR for the first time? Here's a representative stack at NSF: Phase I ($305K) → Phase II (~$1.25M) → Strategic Breakthrough Award (up to $30M with matched capital). SBIR does evaluate both technical merit and commercial potential, but the new authority pushes harder on outside-capital validation and customer intent than any prior SBIR vehicle. The math compounds for early-stage founders. At seed, $305K saves ~2-6 points of cap table depending on round size. Stack Phase II at Series A and a Strategic Breakthrough at Series B, and the cumulative savings can run into double-digit points by exit. My take: set up Phase I now, alongside (or before) your next venture round, so you have the $30M option later.

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Sometimes you meet someone and you just know. We got introduced to Josh Sirota in early February. Clear thinking. Builder energy. No noise. Eragon just announced a $12M Seed round. Led by Arielle Zuckerberg, Cyan Banister, and Lee J. at Long Journey. Backed by Soma Capital, Axiom Partners, Roo Capital, and a strong group of angels including Elias Torres, Mike Knoop, and others. Proud to be part of this journey with you, Josh. Read more ⤵️ #BackersOfBraveBeginnings #FirstDegree

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AI can only fulfill its potential in the enterprise if every employee is given the tools to become AI-native. We believe Gumloop is platform to make the vision of the AI-native enterprise a reality and are thrilled to lead the Series B!

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"So what exactly is a venture studio?" I'm not sure how many times I've had this conversation over the last few years. At least a few times / week. For aspiring venture builder - especially those in institutional settings, 'getting' the model - and understanding how it differs from others - is critical. So, we're starting at the beginning. On March 19, I'm sitting down with Matthew Burris for the first session of the The Venture Studio Forum's University Track Speaker Series. Matt is widely credited for helping to define the venture studio asset class - he co-authored the Venture Studio Index and built the Three-Role Framework that the industry uses to classify studios. He's spent more time researching what makes a studio a studio than anyone I know. If you're at a university, research institution, or economic development org trying to figure out whether a venture studio makes sense for you, this is where to start. Note, this event kicks off a five part-series we're running through the VSF, all focused on helping institutions understand and evaluate the model. Here's the full program: Mar 19: What Is a Venture Studio? Apr 16: University Studio Examples May 21: Funding Mechanisms Jun 18: Finding & Working with Studios Jul 16: Sourcing & Evaluating Founder Talent Registration link in the comments!

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STAC 7 will see another significant investment round of first in checks into Scotland’s finest hard, deep and bio tech startups. So far our investments have averaged £250K and as much as £525K. Moreover we will introduce and prepare founders to confidently engage the whole investment community. It will also be the first STAC programme where we will deliver support from our new Edinburgh office. Come join us

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Today, we backed founders building in industries most people overlook because they use them every day. Restaurants. Nightlife. Food delivery. Huge markets, broken systems. One team is helping restaurants grow without giving away margins to marketplaces. Another is rebuilding nightlife distribution through community and events. Another is creating the infrastructure layer for India’s home kitchen economy. All three already have real traction behind them. That’s usually the signal we pay attention to most. If you’re building something ambitious with momentum already happening… 👇 Comment below and we’ll DM you how to apply #Startups #VentureCapital #FoodTech #RestaurantTech #AI #CPG #ConsumerTech #FounderLed

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𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 — 𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆. Recently, I was presented with a fundraising support offer for PerAnkh that, on the surface, looked compelling: • ~$50k worth of "investment-readiness" services • Access to an investor network and matchmaking • No upfront cash payment • A clear path to begin outreach immediately In exchange, the structure required: • Immediate equity assignment at signing • A fixed termination penalty, regardless of outcomes • Long-term commitment under a predefined framework After careful consideration, I decided 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗲𝗱. Not because the offer lacked merit, but because 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀. At the earliest stages of building, the most valuable assets a founder has are: • Strategic flexibility • Cap-table optionality • The ability to adapt as clarity emerges Locking in permanent equity and hard penalties before a lead investor, governance structure, or clear market signal introduces friction that can compound later — even if the intent is supportive. For some startups, that trade-off makes sense. For what we're building, it doesn’t — at least not yet. This experience reinforced an important lesson: 𝗦𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁. The goal isn't to raise money quickly. It’s to build something durable — and choose partners whose structures align with that ambition. Curious to hear how other founders think about this trade-off between speed and flexibility.

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“TAO changed my life as a builder.”  Seby, the founder of Resi Labs, on why BitTensor is gives builders an unfair advantage. Instead of begging for hiring, compute, and distribution, you plug into a network where incentives recruit the people, and people compete to give you the cheapest compute.

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🔥 Why We Built MVP — and the Power of Collective Investing When Elan Adler 🩻, Founder & CEO of OneImaging, asked why we decided to build MVP… the truth is simple: Working with Jason Parrott and Manny Menendez Menedez has been a blast 🙌 —and we’re constantly on the lookout for founders who drive real cost savings for employers. 💼💡 We raised $850K from 80+ investors across the digital health industry for Oneimaging. That collective support wasn’t just financial—it came with deep industry knowledge, intros, and strategic insight. 🤝📈 Our MVP members helped evaluate the opportunity and delivered incredible intel. 🧠✨ Watch Here: https://lnkd.in/d5AnVx8n Listen here: https://lnkd.in/ga_TNNnZ

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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.

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The real reason most pitch decks fall flat? They tell what you're building. But not why it matters, or why now. At DFX, we’ve seen hundreds of decks from early-stage founders. And the best ones? They go beyond product features. They give us clarity, urgency, and conviction. Here’s what we look for every time: → A sharp, simple problem statement → Clear “why now” market timing → A team that has to be the one to build this → Traction signals that are real—even if scrappy → A story that sticks long after we close the deck You don’t need 30 slides. You need to be unforgettable in 7. If you’re a founder currently raising, we’re happy to share more tips, or even review your deck for one of our upcoming DFX PowerHours. Let us know below or send me a message. #founders #venturecapital #pitchdeck #DFX #startupfundraising #startups

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What if the most valuable rails are being built away from saturated markets? Growth becomes harder when logistics, identity, warehousing, lending and address intelligence all sit apart. Kwik Now is taking a platform group approach, not a point-solution approach. The Growth Story Not just logistics. Not just identity. Not just lending. A connected stack across the commerce chain. The Stack The stack brings together logistics, PUDO networks, P2P lending, warehousing, address intelligence and identity. That matters because these are not isolated pain points. They are recurring infrastructure gaps that appear across emerging markets. For Investors The company is not starting from a blank page. It has already built six key technologies and 160 API endpoints. Its address intelligence covers 250 countries. The story is bigger than one region. Kwik Now is using Africa as proof for a broader emerging-market infrastructure play. Africa is the starting proof. The wider story is a stack built for markets where the same commerce gaps keep appearing. Kwik Now is raising capital and looking for investors. See company website https://www.kwik.now/ and then DM me for more info. What if the next global platform starts by proving it can work in Africa? Company LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/eGrBGC44 CEO LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/e-79PKc4

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If you look at the early-stage fundraising funnel, conversion rates are tightening, but the companies that do raise are doing so at higher valuations and with larger checks. The market seems to be betting on fewer winners, but those winners will be bigger. I’m not convinced. I do believe the very biggest winners will be larger than ever as AI expands the reach of technology, largely by replacing labor. But I don’t believe there will be fewer winners overall. Most B2B solutions are moving toward verticalized, specialized use cases that deliver superior value compared to generalized horizontal platforms. That shift should create more winners. While these vertical players may not reach the scale of the horizontal mega-winners, they can still generate the kind of multibillion-dollar outcomes that venture is built to fund.

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I’m thrilled to officially announce our $3M seed investment in Propel People, a company we built inside the 1848 Ventures studio to tackle one of the biggest challenges facing the #construction industry today: the skilled #labor shortage. For small and medium-sized contractors, hiring isn't just a challenge. It's the number one threat to their growth, profitability, and safety. With 94% of contractors struggling to find qualified workers, it’s clear that traditional hiring methods aren't built for the trades. That’s why we built Propel People. It’s a mobile-first, AI-powered hiring platform designed for how construction actually works: in the field. By leveraging smart candidate ranking, instant #SMS-based screening, and a fully #bilingual interface, Propel helps contractors build great crews faster and more efficiently. I’m also thrilled to formally announce that industry veteran Dexter Bachelder is at the helm as CEO. Having worked with Dexter and the team over the last few months, we've already seen the impact of his leadership. His 25 years of experience scaling construction tech companies will be instrumental as Propel People enters this initial stage of growth. This investment reinforces our core thesis at 1848 Ventures: building AI-native companies that solve fundamental pain points for the #SMBs that form the backbone of our economy. A huge congratulations to Dexter and the entire Propel People team on this milestone. We are incredibly proud to partner with you to support the people who build our world. Read the full announcement below. #constructiontech #venturecapital #seedfunding #ai #skilledtrades #smb

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What is a "buyer-builder"? It's the founder archetype we back at Daring Ventures. Buyer-builders have lived experience and domain expertise on the industries they are building in. They've felt the friction and know which problems to address and who to build for. They don't need to do customer discovery because they've experienced it first-hand. Outsiders spend years and millions figuring out what buyer-builders already know. We started The Builders Series to profile the ones doing it right. This edition: Ara Mahdessian and Vahe Kuzoyan of ServiceTitan. Ara and Vahe did not need to be told that contractors were underserved. They grew up watching it. Their fathers, competent skilled operators, losing hours every week to paper invoices, missed calls, and work that software should have absorbed years earlier. Full piece on Forward This 👇

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🚨NEW EPISODE: Recorded live at FUTURE TITANS 2026 - Jeff Perry of Carta sat down with the iconic Seth Levine, co-founder of Foundry. Seth has been in venture for 25 years, built Foundry from scratch as an emerging manager himself, and has backed about 50 emerging manager funds through his fund of funds. He has genuinely seen every side of this table. They went deep on building Foundry, why VCs are in the influence business, not the decision business, and why the concentration problem in venture is not only bad for LPs, but also for the innovation ecosystem overall. And why Seth's new book, Capital Evolution, is so important for the future of America. 🎧 Links to listen... Apple: https://lnkd.in/ehQUQ2EM Spotify: https://lnkd.in/eU4FExpg

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