David Friedman 🌊

The role of a VC Talent Partner has changed. Matt Stephenson, Head of Tech Talent at BCV, shares with Nolan Church what it really takes to support founders in today’s market on the latest 10x Recruiting episode from Metaview: • The best recruiters in VC don’t just teach people how to fish—they recruit, close, and repeat. • When sourcing isn’t landing, the issue usually isn’t tooling. It’s trust. You have to earn the right to a candidate’s time. • And in this market, long-term relationships matter more than one-time experiences.

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More than 50% of tech founders leave money on the table during exits. Here's why: Most founders focus on building great products but overlook exit readiness. Without proper valuation strategy, competitive positioning, and buyer preparation, you're negotiating from weakness. The solution? Start exit planning 18-24 months before you intend to sell. Contact Us: https://lnkd.in/g-aJhsRS #MergersAndAcquisitions #TechExits #StartupExit #MAAdvisory #Finlead #TechMA

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Plaid is built to make it easier for businesses to build and scale financial products that people trust. That trust starts with knowing who you’re working with. As Plaid helps platforms onboard and support millions of businesses, verifying business identity accurately and efficiently is foundational. That’s why Plaid partners with Middesk to automate business verification during onboarding — confirming core business details, reducing manual review, and helping teams make confident risk decisions without slowing down the customer experience. Together, we help Plaid deliver faster onboarding, stronger compliance, and a more durable foundation for growth across the financial ecosystem they power. We’re proud to support Plaid as they help teams move fast while maintaining trust at scale. #KYB #KYC #AML #BEV #businessverification #financialservices #onboarding #compliance #smallbusiness #SMBs

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🌟 The SaaS world moves fast, and scaling efficiently requires strategic alignment, operational rigor, and cross-functional coordination. Fractional COOs are helping early- and mid-stage SaaS companies grow seamlessly while maintaining agility. At 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, we’re committed to 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆—spotlighting leaders who combine operational expertise with strategic insight to drive measurable results. 👋 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 Dawn Strobel, 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗢𝗢 Dawn helps SaaS companies align strategic objectives with day-to-day execution, ensuring scalable growth without sacrificing agility. She specializes in operational strategy, cross-functional alignment, process optimization, and efficiency audits. Here’s what she’s known for: ✅ Operational strategy for scaling 🏷️ Cross-functional alignment 🌟 SaaS process optimization 🔎 Operational efficiency audits Dawn empowers SaaS teams to scale smarter, improve performance, and operate with clarity—turning strategy into action at every level. 🔗 Learn more about Dawn Strobel and other Fractional COO professionals for SaaS companies here: https://lnkd.in/dSzCuv-R

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Founders drive late-stage deals. Messaging is founder-dependent. Expansion relies on personal relationships. Process is missing. Board expects scale. Revenue misses mount. CRO credibility erodes. Founder dependency becomes leadership liability. The harder truth: You can’t scale GTM on founder horsepower. Pushing harder won’t fix it. Neither will hiring sales without fixing the engine. You fix it by:  → Institutionalizing GTM process and messaging  → Shifting execution from founder to team  → Driving pipeline ownership across roles  → Building leadership trust through repeatable process Because when founders carry the number, leadership accountability is already compromised.

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We once worked with a mid‑ARR SaaS founder facing a 9‑month runway and an aggressive growth plan. Equity rounds were scarce and painful. We structured a tailored venture debt package tied to ARR milestones and customer retention metrics. Instead of a one‑size loan, we phasing draws aligned with hiring and go‑to‑market ramps. That lowered upfront interest load and kept covenants practical. The result: 18 extra months to hit scalable growth, avoid dilution, and ultimately raise a higher equity round. This wasn't magic. It was aligning capital structure to operational cadence and being ruthless about milestone design. If you’re considering the tradeoff between dilution now or runway later, think about staged debt that mirrors your growth plan. What milestone would you align debt draws to in your business? #VentureDebt #StartupFunding #NonDilutiveCapital #CapitalStrategy

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VCs are asking about SOC 2 in diligence now. Not after you raise. Before. It's a proxy for founder quality. Can you close enterprise deals? Do you understand B2B buyers? Are you planning ahead or reacting? SOC 2 answers all three. Founders who close rounds fast? They had this done before demo day. Start early. Close faster.

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Great founders don’t just build companies—they build ownership. On the latest First Builders, Alessandro Chesser (Co-Founder & CEO, GetDynasty.com; early Carta leader) breaks down what he learned helping scale Carta to $300M ARR and how he’s now democratizing wealth tools like Nevada trusts and QSBS stacking. We cover: – Lessons from Carta’s earliest days – How Dynasty is simplifying complex trust structures – The risk and reward of going after hard, regulated problems – Why compassion might be a founder’s most underrated edge 🎙 Hosted by Amber Illig & Rachel Tsui 🎧 Now streaming on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube 🔗 Link in comments #FirstBuilders #StartupLife #FounderJourney #Carta #Dynasty #QSBS #WealthTech #FounderPlaybook

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