Mdtam retweeted
We tell young people in our society that end of the rainbow is retirement at 65.
We ought to tell them that "there is going to be this short but beautiful golden window from roughly age 3 to roughly age 12 where your kids are not only easy (comparatively to bottles & diapers), but are going to be these beautiful little creatures and it will pain your heart to be away from them for too long. So, prepare in your 20's, financially and career wise, to build that flexibility into that chapter of your life".
You don't get another shot at living the "golden window". And, for me, leaning hard into that golden window has made everything else in my life feel fairly insignificant in comparison. I have made plenty of mistakes as a father, but what I won't have is the regret of having been distracted and absent from these formative years. In some cases, that has required financial sacrifices (declining a particular career opportunity that would have required relocation), but I personally have zero regrets.
I also hear from some ambitious & successful people with a 4 year old that say "I've lost my ambition, I am so immersed in fatherhood". At least for me, and a number of my friends, it comes back. You can't keep an ambitious person down and if you have the fire, hanging at a playground on too many Tuesday afternoons is going to feel like torture after too long.
My three boys are approaching 13, 11 & 9, and it's much different than 7, 5 & 3. This summer, for example, they slept until 11am and I hard an unencumbered 6am-12pm to work (being on PT helps), then got another great window 7-11pm, but was able to be present in the heart of the day, then weeks when they were at basketball camp, etc. It gets easier, your time frees up again (there's a sadness to that too), but I'm back to working as intensely as I did pre-kids just because my day to day presence requires fewer hours than it did before (also, my wife is just superbly wonderful). And that is the beautiful gift of entrepreneurship (or at least my sort of business), the ability to deliver still a high level of output but work that around your life rather than the opposite.
TLDR, grind before, and grind after. Prepare for the golden window.
Mdtam retweeted
You know what really grinds my gears?
When GPs skate around fund size.
Your fund size is your strategy. Talking abstractly about where you’ll cap or talking in percentages is ridiculous.
LPs are not as obsessed with fund size as you think. I won’t hold you to a number, especially if it’s early or ahead of the raise.
I just don’t want to look like a clown when the press release comes out. Normally, I just want something to put in my CRM.
Mdtam retweeted
Today, we are unveiling @hyperion__cap, an investment firm built to be the best strategy partner for deeptech founders.
Again and again, we heard from these founders that venture capital has been failing them, even as more deeptech funds entered the market in recent years.
Too many deeptech VCs lack a real command of industry history, hardware unit economics, go-to-market, and engineering nuance. Instead of rigorously evaluating complex frontier technologies, they often pass with vague references to “science risk." They overlook exceptional founders outside usual elite networks and concentrate capital based on pedigree, reducing their thinking to hand-wavy “founder bets." These VCs then prioritize promotion and social media over delivering real value to founders.
In this world, LPs are also losing. And more of them continue to be disappointed by the lack of rigor that their deeptech GPs bring to evaluating these startups.
We raised $35 million for Hyperion's Fund I to change this paradigm. On average, we complete 100+ pages of deep research and strategy ideas that are shared with our founders. We also share this industry research with our LP base, which has already helped support our founders with additional capital and valuable introductions. We hold regular strategy sessions with our founders and obtain key connections that unlock new growth vectors for their businesses.
Over the last 6 months, we’ve already invested $9 million behind founders across 7 companies: @FarisSbahi at Normal Computing, @isaiah_p_taylor @ Valar Atomics, Will Wilson @AntithesisHQ , @drauwsy @ Kunin, @abeirami & @aparandehgheibi @ [stealth], Charlie Cheng @ TC Lab, and Mike & Josh @ F-ADA.
I'm deeply grateful to the senior leadership at Vista Equity Partners for their support, to the venture GPs who have advised us, and to the founders who chose to partner with us in the earliest days. We’re especially grateful to our limited partners, who put their trust in us at the firm's inception.
Lastly, to build this firm alongside one of my closest friends and college teammates @henr56520 been a true privilege.
We’re looking forward to working relentlessly for the founders we've backed and for those we’ll have the chance to support in the years ahead.
hyperioncap.co
Mdtam retweeted
TLDR: If you're a $20M-$250M fund using AngelList, you now get co-investment SPVs, scout fund & the ability to meet interested QP LPs at no additional cost. It's all bundled in.
Mdtam retweeted
I am proud to announce that we have closed our oversubscribed $40M Fund.
karman.vc is a venture firm designed to serve founders who are building the next generation of AI-native companies.
We are deeply optimistic about the future and believe AI will have a profoundly positive impact on society.
We built the firm founders told us they wanted: move fast, commit early, and actively support with hiring, customer introductions, and follow-on fundraising.
Our LPs include 10+ decacorn founders, 10+ GPs from leading later-stage firms, and a 6,000+ person alumni talent network from iconic tech companies.
By bringing them together, Karman’s goal is simple: to put our collective experience and networks to work in service of the founders we partner with.
How we invest
• Pre-seed and seed
• $100K–$500K checks
• Often the first check
Areas of interest
• AI application layer
• AI infrastructure + developer tools
• AI modernizing core industries (healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, finance)
• Embodied AI
• Founders advancing the American national interest (American Dynamism)
Mdtam retweeted
Today I’m debuting Parable.
Successful companies make the impossible, inevitable. Their stories live long enough to become parables that inspire generations.
Mdtam retweeted
We’re excited to announce Sunflower Capital Funds I and II. Sunflower is a $250m fund that partners at the earliest stage with companies building foundations for modern enterprises, critical industries, and the physical world.
Mdtam retweeted
The DCA midair disaster was preventable. As details emerge, it appears to be tragic pilot error. More shocking: this was a scenario we don’t train pilots for. Why? Sadly, politics. Deeper dive here: medium.com/@skydayton/the-dc… 1/7
Mdtam retweeted
For those that have asked what you can do to help LA & the people who have lost so much, the LA Tech community has created “The LA Tech Community Cares Fund.”
To make the biggest impact & give directly to those who need it most (tax-deductibly), give to:
pledge.to/the-la-tech-commun…
Mdtam retweeted
The consumer founder’s secret AI master plan:
As we know, 2025 is the year of agents.
Much has been said about relationships with AI agents as a new moat.
BUT
The big platforms of tomorrow will be what I call, “Trusted Recommenders”👀👇🧵
the next generation of companies will be full-stack, vertically integrated from content creation to software delivery. this is the ultimate play for customer loyalty, engagement, & retention. it aligns incentives perfectly while creating feedback loops that compound value over time.
you don’t start by building software in a vacuum & then scramble to bolt on distribution or marketing later. instead, you lead with content. a podcast, a youtube channel, an x account—whatever medium resonates with your audience. this content isn’t just marketing; it’s foundational. it establishes trust, builds community, & gives you direct, ongoing feedback to refine the software or tools you deliver.
in the past, you had to rely on pr firms or go through intermediaries like techcrunch to get attention for your product. that era is over. vertical integration means you own the audience, the narrative, & the product. & now, with ai, this vision is not just possible but achievable with zero additional resources.
Mdtam retweeted
We are hiring across engineering, marketing, and post-sales implementation and support!
The battlefield is changing quickly.
We’re demonstrating at the DoD’s Technology Readiness Experimentation (TREX) showcase this week, live-firing Bullfrog and showing off its autonomous counter-drone lethality. Visit Camp Atterbury and TREX - you don’t want to miss it!
Special thanks to HON Heidi Shyu and DASD Alex Lovett for stopping by yesterday and recognizing Bullfrog’s exceptional capabilities.
#T_REX24TWO
#RDER
Mdtam retweeted
People get ripped off buying SaaS all the time. The price is insanely variable.
If you're buying or renewing a product, and you want to know if your quote is good or bad, DM and I'll give you a price check, for free.
@VendrHQ has billions of $ data -- I want to help you save money.
Mdtam retweeted
Because no launch week would be complete without an AI feature, here's our take:
Today we're announcing AI search in Highlight. With AI Search, you can build structured queries from plain-text inputs.
This means you can create precise searches without having to remember our search syntax!
Here's how it works 🧵
Mdtam retweeted
Today’s the day! HackAIthon 2024 is ON!
Check in is open ✅
Coffee is flowing ✅
Vibes are high ✅
Let’s hack! 🚀
Mdtam retweeted
New groupings, new metrics, new integrations– we've been busy at @saasgrid_hq!
Mdtam retweeted
Last week to apply – get your app in!
Competition is fierce for the limited spots. Better make your application 🔥🔥🔥 & get it in ASAP, admissions are rolling.
💰One $10K grand prize. Two $5k runners up.
Who's joining for good vibes and heads-down hacking?
hackaithon.ai
Mdtam retweeted
Day 3 of Launch Week is all about metrics & dashboards.
We’ve heard your requests for creating visualizations on Highlight data, and we’ve finally got Metrics in beta!