About
Arteen is a General Partner at Fika Ventures where he invests in "pre-Series A" B2B and…
Articles by Arteen
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A nod to Fika's newest Partner, Gabriella.
A nod to Fika's newest Partner, Gabriella.
It has been so special seeing the outpouring of love and support for Gabriella Brignardello and her promotion to…
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Why We Invested in Deferred: Making 1031 Exchanges Accessible to All Investors
Why We Invested in Deferred: Making 1031 Exchanges Accessible to All Investors
If you’ve ever sold real estate, you’ve probably heard of a 1031 exchange, also known as Section 1031 of the U.S.
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Supply Chain to AI Impact: Investment Themes for 2025
Supply Chain to AI Impact: Investment Themes for 2025
Coauthored by Arteen Arabshahi and Olivia Pittard At the top of each year, Olivia Pittard and I like to sit down, read,…
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Homecoming: Why I'm Back to Investing and Fika Ventures
Homecoming: Why I'm Back to Investing and Fika Ventures
There may be no better tell of a VC turned operator turned back to VC than the fact that my last long-form post was…
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Why I'm leaving Venture Capital to join Route
Why I'm leaving Venture Capital to join Route
I was 24 years old when I first started writing this post. At that point, to everyone’s surprise (my own, especially)…
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12 COVID-friendly LA gems for you to discover
12 COVID-friendly LA gems for you to discover
When I graduated college, I moved to LA while my brother and most of my close friends headed to New York City. I lived…
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One question VCs don't get asked enough:
One question VCs don't get asked enough:
Are you the tortoise or the hare? In 6th grade, my teacher had us read a translation of Aesop’s Fables. Most notably…
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The Marketplace Calculator
The Marketplace Calculator
Follow this link to the calculator! I’ve been investing in early stage marketplaces for over 5 years now and was…
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What To Expect When You Meet With A VC Seed Fund
What To Expect When You Meet With A VC Seed Fund
When I talk to friends both in and out of tech, I find that the one of the most common questions I'm asked is, "how do…
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What the Snap IPO Means for LA
What the Snap IPO Means for LA
There has been a lot of speculation around Snap’s imminent IPO, whether the stock price will soar or fall, if the lack…
84 Comments
Activity
9K followers
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Arteen Arabshahi shared thisI've spent a lot of time over the past year thinking about what "AI-native services" actually means and which categories are positioned to 10x the customer experience, not just shave 10% off the cost of delivery. Amazon agencies are one of the clearest fits I've found. They are slow to change, largely operate like staffing businesses, and without much proactive optimization for their customers. Meanwhile, the concentration and market share for brands on Amazon is growing. The opportunity is clear. The work is high-frequency (CPCs shift daily, listings change constantly, account health surfaces in real-time), the data is structured and accessible, and the legacy agency model leaves enormous room for a rebuild. Agents handle the data and the workflows on a scale humans could never match. Humans handle the judgment and own quality of the outcome. Resulting in a 10x better experience for the brands who work with them. Opportunities like this are only as strong as the team behind them. Robin Lobo scaled and exited a top eyeglasses brand on Amazon, then went deep into the world of AI agents. Tauseef Khan brings the product depth to translate that lived experience into a product that actually runs 24/7 on behalf of their customers. Their combined hunger, domain expertise, product prowess, and AI-adoption from day one is the rare combination that this category has been missing. Excited to be backing Lumian alongside Flybridge and Bowery Capital. If you're running a brand on Amazon, Robin's offering a free listing breakdown in the comments of his post! You won't be disappointed.Arteen Arabshahi shared thisOver 100,000 brands now do $1M+ a year on Amazon. The agencies serving them were built a decade ago, for a marketplace that has moved on. And we're here to rebuild how brands run on Amazon. Today we're launching Lumian, an AI-native Amazon agency, with $3M in funding from Flybridge, Bowery Capital, and Fika Ventures. A few years ago, I built and exited a leading brand of eyeglasses on the platform. Along the way I worked with the best agencies in the space, built in-house teams, and wired together every tool I could find. But: > Catalog updates took months > Account health issues surfaced after the fact > Campaigns were reviewed weekly, while CPCs shifted daily After I sold the brand, I spent a year inside the world of AI agents. What became clear is that AI doesn't replace the work of running an Amazon business. It changes when and how that work gets done. We built Lumian around that shift. One brand manager who knows your account. A team of experienced specialists behind them. AI agents running 24/7 across listings, advertising, inventory, and account health. Agents handle the work. Humans handle the judgment. This is what agencies will look like in a few years. We're just early. The best part of building Lumian is the brands we work with. A PhD flavor chemist who spent decades perfecting an alcohol-free vanilla extract. A psychologist who saw a gap in women's wellness and built a category-leading brand in intimate wipes. A three-decade footwear veteran reinventing the recovery sandal. We're already live across 10+ categories, scaling brands like these on Amazon. If you're running a brand on Amazon, comment "LUMIAN". I'll DM you to grab your ASIN and send back a full listing breakdown using our latest AI agents.
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Arteen Arabshahi reposted thisArteen Arabshahi reposted thisMeet the New Wave of Iranian-Americans Powering Silicon Valley In 2017, I was sitting in my college dorm room when Dara Khosrowshahi was chosen to lead Uber. That same summer, I stumbled across an article by Ali Tamaseb of DCVC profiling the Iranian-American community taking over Silicon Valley. For a kid who barely grew up with other Iranians, it expanded what I believed was possible. Nearly ten years later, a new generation of Iranian-American founders, investors, and operators are stepping up across Silicon Valley, representing $25B+ in value created and $244B+ in AUM across AI, fintech, healthcare, infrastructure, and more. It’s time more people knew who they are. As the future of Iran and the Iranian people takes shape, I hope this post finds that kid with a laptop in Tehran, quietly building and wondering how far they can go. It's further than you think. And there's a big community waiting for you. Now, say hello to the next generation. #startups #venturecapital #tech #iranMeet the New Wave of Iranian-Americans Powering Silicon ValleyMeet the New Wave of Iranian-Americans Powering Silicon Valley
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Arteen Arabshahi shared thisWe've been hosting functional dinners like this for over 10 years, but this week was one of my favorite nights in a while (and not just because I always go to back to Hatchet Hall for the cornbread). Julia Puzzo, Nick Allen, and I co-hosted a Fika Ventures Fellows Product Design dinner with some of the best product designers in LA: folks at orgs with 1,000+ people, solo operators, and everything in between. Genuinely funny, interesting, and (not gonna lie) an extremely fashionable group. A few things that stuck with me (outside of the surprise impressions at the end of the night): 1️⃣ AI isn't just changing just what designers make, it's changing the speed at which ideas become real. The concept-to-implementation gap is compressing fast, and the designers who feel it most aren't scared- they're stoked at the potential. 2️⃣ Recruiting is shifting to match the rate of change. It's less about who knows which AI products and more about how they think about design craft and principles when the execution layer is getting commoditized. Not just fluency with the AI tools, but how to use them to your competitive advantage. 3️⃣ The thing I keep coming back to: product design's role in companies is only growing with AI. The decisions about what to build and for whom are becoming way more consequential, and the people in that room are already thinking three steps ahead on it. And now, they don't really have to wait for engineering approvals or resources, they can build it and test it before it even needs to be discussed. Validating working products, not just designs and mock ups. Nights like this are a good reminder that some of the strongest tech talent in LA lives in the creative and product design communities (even working in B2B!). It doesn't always get the spotlight it deserves, but it absolutely should. Shoutout to the whole crew for joining us, and excited for what's next! Annouchka Yameogo-Stanzler Trevor Denton Alex Benzer Nathan K. Boyd Tiffany Huang Ashten "Whoopi" Winger Alex Flores Evan B. Ryan Viglizzo
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Arteen Arabshahi shared this⚡ As data center hyperscalers pull commercial electricians up market, there is an even greater void in servicing non-data center commercial projects. Sammi Liu and Quantum Electric Group are solving that problem first hand with a combination of software and on-the-ground electricians. They're well-funded, LA-based, and growing quickly as the city rebuilds from the LA fires and prepares for the Olympics. They're adding an Ops/Growth person to their team-- it's a special opportunity to join an incredibly hungry yet experienced team with real traction and defensibility in an ever-changing AI-native world. Apply below and let me know if you want me to put in a good word :)Arteen Arabshahi shared thisWe’re hiring an Ops and Growth Generalist at Quantum Electric Group. This is for someone who likes building in the real world, thinks clearly, moves fast, and isn’t allergic to wearing multiple hats. You’ll get close to ops first, then help grow our business from there. There’s a lot of chatter about the trades and the electrician shortage. We’d rather build. Come help us build the modern electrical contracting company. 😀
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Arteen Arabshahi shared thisIf you’re a company trying to keep tabs on your competitors’ hiring pace, Emma W. built this for you! Next step: tracking competitor hiring pace of agents :)Arteen Arabshahi shared thisHiring velocity is one of the most underrated signals in venture. A company quietly posting 12 engineering roles after a Series B? Scaling fast. Gone dark on new postings? Worth a check-in. So we built Job Scout, and we're open sourcing it. It watches job boards of popular ATS platforms across any list of companies you provide and sends a Slack ping the moment a new role goes live. We use it for portfolio monitoring, but it's useful for anyone tracking hiring at specific companies, recruiters, job seekers, investors, competitive intel. Free. Self-hosted. MIT licensed. GitHub link in the comments 👇 Built by Emma W. and I, the small, but mighty Fika Ventures ops team.We Built a Job Post Intelligence Tool for VC's — and We're Open Sourcing ItWe Built a Job Post Intelligence Tool for VC's — and We're Open Sourcing It
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Arteen Arabshahi reposted thisArteen Arabshahi reposted thisLast week in Los Angeles was a strong reminder of the community we get to build alongside. With the many events going on around the city, we still commit to hosting our annual GP/LP dinner because of the reception we get. Each year, people tell us it is one of their favorite nights of the year. Knowing how full the calendar can be, it genuinely means the world to us that so many of you chose to spend the evening with us at Mes Amis. At one point, there was a line out the door. Very LA. We promise it had more to do with timing than any velvet rope. 😅 Hosting it here, in the city where Fika Ventures was started and shaped, made it feel especially personal. The intention behind this dinner is simple: create space for honest dialogue between top GPs and limited partners. No panels, no programming. Just open space for candid discussion and relationship building. Thank you to Cushman & Wakefield, Goodwin,Prospera Law, LLP, and Stifel Bank for being trusted partners. And thank you to Upfront Ventures for bringing the broader LA community together and setting the tone for a productive week across the city. We feel grateful to be building in Los Angeles with all of you and are excited for what we can build together next. 🥂 David Ajalat, Alejandro Guerrero, Carlo Brignardello, Troy Pollet, Don Lee, Paul Bricault, Annie Luchsinger, Mark Mullen, Marlon C. Nichols, Derek Norton, Kyle Lui, Andre Charoo, Michael Tam, Miloni Madan Presler, Greg Sands, Amy Cheetham, Richard Kerby, Leshika Samarasinghe, Shahin Farshchi, Jordan Wan, CFA 🇨🇦, Elizabeth Yin, Roseanne Wincek, Stephanie Palmeri, Kate McAndrew along with so many other incredible friends and colleagues who celebrated with us! 💫 Team Fika: TX Zhuo, John Chen, Arteen Arabshahi, Matt Hersh, Gabriella Brignardello, Olivia Pittard, Julia Puzzo, Emma W., Aaron Szekel, Ju-Djuin Csontos
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Arteen Arabshahi shared thisExcited to participate here in Charlie O'Donnell's VC/Founder Open Office Hours! One of my favorite things about meeting with founders is giving objective fundraising advice in a non-pitch format; it's a lot easier to be incentive aligned and completely honest when it's not an active fundraising meeting. Thanks to Charlie for setting this up, hopefully it leads to some valuable advice and hot takes :) Other LA VCs and founders, sign up using this link: https://lnkd.in/gFzjmsmMArteen Arabshahi shared thisNo VC has a magical deal flow stream of "Oops, All Unicorns!" As much as you might try to optimize for "top tier" backgrounds on paper, you can't only look *inside the club*. In a study of 100 $1B+ tech exits published last year, 69% of founders were the sole representative of their college in the entire dataset. That's why in addition to intentional focus around founders lucky to be well positioned from the get go, it's important to create appropriate accessibility for founders who don't have traditional paths. That's why we do our nextNYC VC/Founder Open Office Hours and why we expanded it to other cities. Two dozen Boston based VCs signed up to take meetings and now we've got over a dozen LA based investors signed up over the next two weeks. We'll be looking at other cities soon, starting with Austin and all this is made possible by our legal friends at Foley Hoag LLP and the cap table management experts at Qapita. LA founder signups are now OPEN. Apply for meetings while they're hot! --> https://lnkd.in/eeCU-KHb
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Arteen Arabshahi shared thisJust got back from Manifest: The Future of Supply Chain & Logistics and wow, what a blast 🚚✨ Always one of the most thoughtful and well-curated conferences of the year. Shoutout Pam Simon and Tanzil Uddin for all they do to make this happen. The mix of shippers, partners, founders, and investors makes for practical, forward-looking conversations that actually get into the real value. I was lucky to moderate a panel on recommerce + circular supply chains, and we covered a ton of ground. A few standout tidbits: 1️⃣ Recommerce is ~3–4% of sales today and expected to reach 10% by 2030 2️⃣ The US is far ahead of Europe in recommerce adoption 3️⃣ Consumers aren’t yet willing to pay more for sustainability at scale but their expectations and trends are shifting in that direction 4️⃣ True circularity starts at design + manufacturing, not just the logistics stage 5️⃣ Incoming regulations like EPR will make circularity targets a must-have, not a nice-to-have Big thanks to everyone who joined the discussion and to my fellow panelists Frank Kantner (IKEA), Lisa Mcalinden (Spring Near East), Campbell Myers (CreateMe), and Eelco van der Zande (ReBound Returns). I’m already looking forward to next year 💪🏽 #SupplyChain #Logistics #Manifest2025
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Arteen Arabshahi shared thisI'm on the ground at Manifest: The Future of Supply Chain & Logistics! Find me at the slot machines! Just kidding, find me on stage today at 12:35pm moderating a discussion on Recommerce & Circularity in Venetian Ballroom D. I'm excited to facilitate a tactical and useful discussion with a powerhouse panel on how brands are scaling circularity for real – from reverse logistics and returns to recommerce ecosystems and product life extension. Come say hi 👋🏽 ♻️
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Arteen Arabshahi reacted on thisArteen Arabshahi reacted on thisChatGPT Shopping went live for all users last spring. Perplexity's shopping mode has been routing product queries for months, Google AI Overviews is eating top-of-funnel traffic, Amazon Rufus is quietly handling more product Q&A than most brand teams want to admit. When we speak to some brands, they are still optimizing for 2021 keyword behavior. they are building for a game that no longer exists. the AEO conversations I keep having go the same direction. brands want to know how to show up in the AI answer. that's the wrong question. the right one: is your content parseable enough for these systems to tell your story at all? text reviews and FAQ pages help, but they carry almost no context. a customer asking Perplexity "what's the best collagen supplement for someone over 40 with sensitive skin" isn't going to find your brand just because you have five stars and a keyword-stuffed description. the answer comes from something that can demonstrate a real person's result in context, answer the specific variant of the question, and give the system enough signal to have confidence in the recommendation. that's where structured video metadata lands differently from the rest of what's in your content stack right now. a 45-second video from a 42-year-old creator explaining her 8-week routine, tagged with product, skin type, concern, and use case, is closer to what Rufus and Perplexity are looking to surface than a product description with 500 optimized words. we've gotten more inbound at Hue. from AEO-curious teams in the last 30 days than in all of 2025. AND brands already using Hue for video commerce realized the same content infrastructure answers both problems at once. I’d love to chat with brands about how video fits into their AEO strategies! DM me :) #aeo #videocommerce #ugc #shoppablevideo
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Arteen Arabshahi liked thisArteen Arabshahi liked thisOne year ago today, I joined SimpleClosure as one of four people on the GTM team. This week, I'm celebrating my anniversary at our GTM offsite in LA, with all sixteen of us. What a year! Building the VC partnerships channel from the ground up has been one of the most rewarding chapters in my career. No two days are the same, especially moving between the SF, LA and NY circuit. So lucky to be working closely with Olivia Micallef, Noah Small, and my new partnerships colleagues Willow Sprague and Melissa Cafagna. The GTM team that's grown around us is just as sharp, and somehow even more fun! Love the vision that Dori Yona and Nimrod Ram have set out to build: the standard for shutdowns that founders are looking for. We've become a trusted partner to the VC community, helping funds support their portfolio companies through wind-downs with the speed, care, and precision founders deserve. Helping founders move on confidently to what's next, and getting to see where their next chapter takes them, is the best part of the job. Grateful for the team, the partners, and the founders who've trusted us. Onto year two! 🚀
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Arteen Arabshahi liked thisArteen Arabshahi liked thisIf you know me, you know that peds is my passion. If you REALLY know me, you know I spent many years navigating (read: trudging through) the pediatric care coordination landscape at the end of my wits. It shouldn't be hard to collaborate with other specialists, keep Mom and Dad in the loop, and make sure kiddo is getting the care they need. But it is. Or it WAS! Today I am beyond excited to announce that we're leading Village's $9.5M Seed Round alongside Bling Capital, GTMfund, and Perceptive Ventures. Solving this problem requires having revolutionary builders who not only understand this space, but have lived the experience themselves. Brandon Terry and Allan Smith are the leaders we've been waiting for. The two of them, in conjunction with my former partner-in-crime Kara Cerrone and long-time mentor Quemille Benitez (+ many more) are building a Village. It's the Village we want, the one we need, and the one families everywhere deserve. https://lnkd.in/eFxbr6zNInvesting in Village: A Modern Health System for Specialty Pediatrics | Upfront VenturesInvesting in Village: A Modern Health System for Specialty Pediatrics | Upfront Ventures
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Arteen Arabshahi reacted on thisArteen Arabshahi reacted on thisI am thrilled to announce Worldbuild I, a $30M fund to partner with founders when conviction cannot be outsourced. We are a thesis-driven firm that focuses on the nuances, runs toward new ideas, and aims to lead with original thought. Worldbuilders we aspire to partner with create new categories, play infinite games, and produce a gravitational pull of attention – just as the most ambitious founders & creatives in history have done. While quietly laying the foundations for the firm, we have been fortunate to partner with founders at the earliest stages of their journeys, including Evan at SF Compute, Paul at Browserbase, Srikanth at Truffle, Baiju at Aetherflux, and more. Worldbuild is in many ways a culmination of my life experience and what will now be my life’s work. I have always found myself surrounded by entrepreneurs: my dad, my wife, my best friends; and there is nothing more fulfilling than being their consigliere and first call. Read more via Alex Konrad in Upstarts Media: https://lnkd.in/eXwFnERb If you're building your world, I'd love to connect.The DJing A16Z Alum Who Raised $30M For VC Fund WorldbuildThe DJing A16Z Alum Who Raised $30M For VC Fund Worldbuild
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Arteen Arabshahi reacted on thisArteen Arabshahi reacted on thisman, if you send a microsoft teams link you are not getting a check bro.
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Arteen Arabshahi liked thisVery excited to announce Greycroft Consumer Brands' first investment out of our new fund in Jesse & Ben's. It's a brand we've tracked closely and we believe is poised to take over the freezer aisle with delicious and better-for-you snacks. In getting to know Jesse Konig 🍟 and Ben Johnson, it became clear to us what incredible entrepreneurs they are. Their passion for cooking has taken them from food trucks to fast-casual joints and now fortunately for all of us, delicious food ready for us to enjoy at home. Thanks to my incredible teammates Eric Ryan and Lauren Arribas for chasing this one down. We couldn't be more proud to have won the opportunity to partner with this team and we're just getting started.Arteen Arabshahi liked thisSeed oil-free fries just scored a $10 million vote of confidence. 🍟💰 Jesse & Ben’s has raised an oversubscribed $10 million Series A led by Greycroft, with Method and Olly co-founder Eric Ryan joining the board, as the two-year-old brand looks to scale retail and shore up supply. The frozen startup is on track to quadruple its business, expand into Target, Costco and select Kroger divisions, and add new SKUs including Sweet Potato Tallow Fries and Crinkle Cut Beef Tallow Fries. With velocity rising and 36% of customers new to the frozen potato set, the company says demand has outpaced its 24/7 production — prompting new manufacturing partnerships and potential facility investments. 🏭📈 How Jesse & Ben’s plans to stay in stock — and reshape a “tired” grocery aisle — is at the center of its next chapter. Link to the full story in the first comment below 👇 #FoodNews #CPG #FrozenFood #RetailExpansion #BetterForYou #VentureCapital #FoodStartup
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Arteen Arabshahi reacted on thisArteen Arabshahi reacted on thisCyber risk feels like it’s approaching an inflection point. As the industry prepares for the possibility of a cyber CAT event, a key question remains: can traditional security and incident response providers scale fast enough to meet surge demand or will AI-native platforms reshape how cyber response gets delivered? I’m looking forward to discussing that question at the NetDiligence®Cyber Risk Summit in San Diego on May 20. I’ll be joining the panel "Cyber Readiness and Response: Can AI Help Close the Vendor Capacity Gap?" alongside Anna Sarnek (Terra Security), Oscar Martinez (Velos), Alanna Dent (Relativity) moderated by Daniel Haier (CIPRIANI & WERNER PC). We’ll explore whether emerging AI-driven tools can meaningfully expand vendor capacity across triage, investigation, and response and what that could mean for the future of the incident response ecosystem. If you’ll be there, come say hello! #NetDiligence #CyberRiskSummit #CyberSecurity #AI
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Arteen Arabshahi liked thisThree hours (!!) is a long time to talk about anything—let alone yourself—but Jackson Dahl got me to do it. Jackson is also a reflection of one of the throughlines of our conversation: how much it matters to surround yourself with people committed to bringing out the best in others. Grateful to him for making the trip to Birmingham, a city I’m investing more and more energy in. And for the chance to reflect on the people who’ve shaped my path - from mentors and partners to my family, especially my mom, who set the bar for all of it. Thanks President Bush, Andy Card, Josh Bolten, Karl Rove, Joel Kaplan, Dina Powell McCormick, Kevin Warsh, Blake Gottesman, Joe Hagin, Joshua Kushner, Chris Paik, William Gaybrick, Kareem Zaki, Miles Grimshaw, Nabil Mallick, Vince Hankes, Avery Klemmer, Jed Feldman, Ashwin Budhiraja, Katie Josephson, Jon Winkelried, Nitin Nohria, Ruth Ann MossArteen Arabshahi liked thisJared Weinstein is deeply trusted and quietly effective. He is a friend to many. This is his first interview. From President Bush, to Thrive's team and founders, to new leaders building in his hometown of Birmingham and globally, Jared is an amplifier of people. Today, Jared runs Overton, where he’s seeding emerging investment managers, making concentrated bets in high conviction entrepreneurs, and shaping the future of his hometown, Birmingham Alabama. Previously, he was a founding partner of Thrive Capital, early advisor to Palantir Technologies, and personal aide to President George W. Bush. We discuss: - Cold-calling the Bush campaign in college, joining them in the run up to 2000, and not dropping out - Becoming the President's personal aide (or "body man") in his mid-20s, what the President does, and how little Jared slept - an unlikely partnership with Joshua Kushner that led to over a decade building the now-legendary Thrive Capital - what it was like helping Palantir Technologies in the very early days - Bringing seriousness and humanity to work, whether the West Wing or investing - the three-body problem of ego, ambition, and impact - why people trust Jared and how he helps them become their best selves - east vs. west coast ambition, across DC, SF, and NY - how he's investing in Birmingham, why cities change and thrive, and helping people raise their ambition - championing those who champion you Dialectic Podcast 44: Jared Weinstein - Within Earshot, Out of Camera Shot - is available on all platforms. Links below.
Experience
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Education
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University of Arizona, Eller College of Management
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Activities and Societies: Eller Convocation Student Speaker (video below), Eller Investments Club, Management Information Systems Preceptor, Eller College Tour of Berkshire Hathaway and Q&A with Warren Buffett
Academic Honors: Dean’s List with Distinction, Dean’s List, Wildcat Award for Excellence, Eller Case Competition Winner
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Volunteer Experience
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Member, Regional Board, Southern California
Opportunity Fund
- 4 years 4 months
Opportunity Fund is California's leading microfinance organization. It was founded on the the basis of one simple idea: entrepreneurship transforms lives. Unfortunately, the current financial system is not fully set up to support small business owners or enable them to take risk. In Opportunity Fund's 25 year history, they’ve issued over 17,000 loans and over $700 million to small businesses around the country.
More about why I decided to join this board here:…Opportunity Fund is California's leading microfinance organization. It was founded on the the basis of one simple idea: entrepreneurship transforms lives. Unfortunately, the current financial system is not fully set up to support small business owners or enable them to take risk. In Opportunity Fund's 25 year history, they’ve issued over 17,000 loans and over $700 million to small businesses around the country.
More about why I decided to join this board here: https://arteenin.la/why-im-joining-opportunity-fund-s-regional-board-90651fb48c1a -
Member, National Board of Advisors
University of Arizona - Eller College of Management
- 3 years 6 months
The Eller College National Board of Advisors is a network of alumni, supporters, and friends of the College who play a vital role in resource development, communications, and policy.
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Global Shaper
World Economic Forum
- 3 years 1 month
The Global Shapers Community is an initiative of the World Economic Forum: a network of Hubs developed and led by young people who are exceptional in their potential, their achievement and their drive to make a contribution to their communities.
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Street Team and Event Volunteer
TWLOHA Inc.
- Present 13 years 2 months
To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.
The Street Team is an online space for TWLOHA supporters to advocate online and in their communities. Support varies from subtle tasks like sharing online campaigns to distributing info cards about TWLOHA's cause to…To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.
The Street Team is an online space for TWLOHA supporters to advocate online and in their communities. Support varies from subtle tasks like sharing online campaigns to distributing info cards about TWLOHA's cause to coordinating and participating in TWLOHA events. -
Sponsorships and Development Team
TEDxLA | TEDxVenice Beach
- 2 years 10 months
TEDxVeniceBeach is an independently organized licensed TEDx event hosted in Venice, California. The first event was held on September 15, 2013 at the ZEFR warehouse on Electric Ave in Venice and is now repeated annually.
TEDxLA was hosted for the first time in December 2016 at the historic Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California. It was attended by over 2,000 people and featured speakers like Anousheh Ansari, Peter Diamandis, and more. -
Teacher / Volunteer
Batian's View Experiential Learning Centre
- 2 months
Batian’s View Experiential Education Centre - based in Naro Moru, Kenya - provides insightful and effective training strategies to bring out the best in a group of people with a common interest.
While at Batian's View, I worked with 15 peers to build one concrete classroom and painted several others at Irigithathi Secondary School. I also taught 6th and 7th grade English, science, and math classes of up to 80 students at Tigithi Primary School.
Publications
Honors & Awards
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Business Insider 30 and Under Investor
Business Insider
https://www.businessinsider.com/young-venture-capital-investors-in-los-angeles-tech-2018-7
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CSQ NextGen 10
CSQ Magazine
https://csq.com/2018/01/nextgen10-innovation-technology-2018/#.WmGT25M-cn0
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U of A Young Professional Achievement Award
University of Arizona
The Young Professional Achievement Award recognizes alumni age 40 and under who have attained prominence in their field.
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Forbes 30 Under 30 in Venture Capital
Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/pictures/fhgl45jgkg/arteen-arabshahi-24/
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Sean Smith
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
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Dave Lambert
We invest at Pre-VC and Pre-Seed, and then help our founders find a Seed round when they're ready. Here are 27 Seed investors that we *know* are active right now. Blue Moon Bonfire Ventures Chingona Ventures Flying Fish Partners Foothill Ventures Great North Ventures ground game HealthX Ventures InsurTech Venture Partners KCRise Fund Las Olas Venture Capital Leva Capital Maven Ventures Monte Carlo Capital Moonshots Capital OneSixOne Ventures Oval Park Capital Pixel Perfect Ventures Range Ventures Revolution SNAK Venture Partners Startup Capital Ventures Supernode Global Susa Ventures Trilogy Equity Partners True Ventures True Wealth Ventures
15 Comments -
Kal Amin
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
14 Comments -
Maddi Holman
💡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?
13 Comments -
Jeffrey Seah
🥾 #bootstrapping as a mindset should be ephemeral, one that requires a deliberate transition away from as a business enters sustained growth Appointing an established auditor is often regarded as a luxury and not part of bootstrapping Audits discipline a business - to be methodical, thorough and deliberate - traits that acquirers often seek in due diligence After all, "What gets inspected, gets respected," Anon We will share the traits of venture businesses sought and respected by MNC acquirers, join us if your business is out of the #bootstrapping mindset #fulfillingpotential #hepmil #oobmil
1 Comment -
Emmalyn Shaw
Construction and demolition (C&D) waste in the U.S. is an over $300 billion industry entailing millions of jobs. CurbWaste has been taking the industry out of the pen-and-paper age, and that’s why we are proud to invest in its $28M Series B. The round, led by Socium Ventures, builds on the $10M Series A we led at the end of 2023. Since then, CurbWaste has grown its customer base to about 150 haulers over 40 states and continue to scale three digit y/y revenue growth. Customers include leaders such as TKI, Capitol Waste and Super Waste. The comprehensive CurbWaste platform provides order and route management, live tracking, automated invoicing, and real time data reporting. The New York-based company will be using the new round to fund additional enterprise offerings and deepening its AI-powered automation. Curbwaste's founder & CEO, Michael Marmo, hails from four generations in the waste management industry which provides him with a degree of familiarity and expertise required to drive the industry into a new era. As Mike told @WasteDive: "We’re not a grow-at-all-costs business, we’re very much a customer-focused business. We’re asking companies to trust us with their business, and I take that very seriously." Congratulations to Mike and the CurbWaste team. Honored to be an ongoing part of the CurbWaste journey! Socium Ventures, TTV Capital, B Capital, Mucker Capital, John Onwualu, Lizzie (Guynn) Hartley, Patrick Harmon Lopez, and David Yang.
4 Comments -
Ella Seitz
Excited to announce that Esplanade Ventures has co-led a Seed round investment in No Barrier Medical Translation, joined by our valued partners Nadav Shimoni, M.D. at A-Squared Ventures, and Bill Evans and Sean Day from Rock Health Capital. As an immigrant who has faced language barriers firsthand, I was immediately inspired when I met Eyal Heldenberg. His authenticity and deep expertise in voice AI, combined with a nuanced understanding of the complexities in medical translation, are truly compelling. I am proud to support No Barrier’s mission to provide secure, accessible, and HIPAA-compliant medical interpretation services—transforming healthcare access for tens of millions of Americans and Canadians who have been historically underserved due to language barriers. No Barrier’s AI-powered medical interpreter offers real-time, clinically accurate, and privacy-first interpretation tailored specifically for healthcare environments. This innovation is a significant leap toward equitable healthcare by empowering limited English proficiency (LEP) populations with timely, reliable, and culturally sensitive communication at every stage of care. #DigitalHealth #VoiceAI #HealthTech #Founders #VentureCapital #NoBarrier
3 Comments -
Aaron Golbin
🚀 This month at LvlUp Ventures we’re investing in 100+ companies. Not over the next year. Not “by Q4.” This month. Why? Because the next iconic companies aren’t waiting for perfect timing. They’re being built right now — in dorm rooms, tiny apartments, co-working spaces, late at night after full-time jobs. And capital shouldn’t be the bottleneck to ambition. Because momentum loves speed. Because the best founders aren’t waiting for perfect market conditions. Because early belief changes trajectories. So instead of sitting on the sidelines debating spreadsheets for weeks, we’re choosing momentum. 👇 Drop your one-liner in the comments and I’ll DM you. #Startups #VentureCapital #VC #AngelInvesting #Founders #Entrepreneurship #StartupFunding #Investing #Innovation #BuildInPublic #SeedStage #EarlyStage #TechStartups #Fundraising #LevelUp
367 Comments
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