Max Yoder

Launching a studio is theory. Landing your first venture is proof. Anyone can launch a studio. You can create a brand, write a thesis, put a positioning narrative on a slide, and convince yourself you’re building something transformational. That’s the theory. The real test is this: Can your studio take a zero-stage idea and turn it into a functioning venture with real traction…fast? This quarter we launched Bifrost Defence. That wasn’t the achievement. The achievement was what happened in the next six weeks: A functioning unmanned surface vessel prototype. CAD and mission plan defined. Filed IP. Technical advisor locked in. A build team in place. Investors expressing interest. Field tests already underway. Not “working on the idea.” We produced a venture that exists in the real world. Studios aren’t judged by their vision. They are judged by their velocity. Apollo (our operating system) is only valuable if it produces evidence. Liftoff is only useful if it accelerates a venture into reality. A studio earns credibility the moment it can point to something concrete and say: We built that.

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This question doesn’t make sense outside of a social media post. The question is how much is your company worth? Take $125K/that number. There’s your answer. Not as entertaining though. The problem is that valuing a company at that stage is sorcery, not science, so there is no right answer. Any VC that knew how to value companies would be putting up triple digit IRR numbers consistently because they would be the only firm on the planet capable of such magic. The NPV of most startups is exactly $0, so $125K for 8% is probably a lottery ticket. This is in no way a defense of accelerators or a recommendation to join any of them. Thats another post entirely.

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The Founder Studio vs. Co-Founder Studio Here’s a simple breakdown: 1. Founder Studio Model: - The studio ideates, validates, and sometimes builds the product before partnering - The incoming founder is may be more of an operator or growth-stage exec - Equity is shaped by how much groundwork the studio has already done - The studio holds more control having put more work in up front 2. Co-Founder Studio Model: - The studio and entrepreneur partner early, near idea stage - Both sides collaborate on ideation, validation, and building from day one - Equity is usually more balanced from the start - Decision rights are more evenly shared up front Matching the stage of the venture to the type of founder you need is where long-term success starts. P.S. Follow for more venture studio insights

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I interviewed the man behind 60 VC funds. Chris Rizik has backed 800+ startups and built the Midwest startup ecosystem. Here are 10 lessons that can save you years ↓ 1 - Back the learner Chris invests in GPs who: learn fast and own their mistakes. 2 - Democratize to outperform More voices = better deal flow. Broad networks find top 1% founders. 3 - Know when to walk If trust slips, end it early. Protect your time and LP capital. 4 - Specialize to win In the AI era, specific focus beats broad ideas. Niche expertise compounds. 5 - Be founder-first Help with intros, hiring, and strategy. Service earns allocation. 6 - Play long games Great returns come from patience not impatience. 7 - Make your story investable Simple thesis. Clear edge. Evidence of repeatability. 8 - Treat LPs like customers Communicate early. Report clearly. Show how your fund works. 9 - Build local, scale global Strong regions create repeat founders and faster cycles. 10 - Do the unglamorous work Reference calls. Post-mortems. Portfolio help. This is the job. If you’re a founder, GP, or investor, this episode is a field guide. Want the link? DM me for the Spotify episode.

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Most people do not understand AI. ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, and Gemini are all elite. Just in different ways. But none of them are business specialists. They can help you monetize. They cannot think like an operator whose money and reputation are on the line. So I built JT1. Just in Time AI. The most advanced business knowledge LLM backed by powerful business system commands. Then I asked the obvious question. Why are people using 4 AI websites with 0 shared memory? That is friction. So I combined the Big 4, JT1, and your brain into 1 command center. Power 5. 1 place. 1 memory. 1 operating system that compounds decisions and builds vectors over time. Then that intelligence trains AI Employees so execution stops breaking. And instead of paying 100 dollars plus per month across tools, you can access all of it for as low as 70 cents a day. If you want to try it, link is in my profile. Thoughts?

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The average bootstrapped founder walks away with ~$15M on exit. VC-backed? $5.8M Bootstrap pays 2.6× more in absolute exit dollars. Bootstrapped startups survive at 39% over five years. VC-backed? 16%. You're 2.4× more likely to still be standing without venture capital. Yes, VC can accelerate growth. Yes, you might hit unicorn status. VC can buy you speed and a much better lottery ticket. But at what cost? Staying alive, owning the upside, and getting paid when you do exit. Different games. Different winners. If you're choosing your path this year, remember: You can build and exit without VCs. They can't exist without you. VCs need you more than you need them. Act like it.

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Chicago's startup scene is heating up! 🎊Starbridge (AI govtech) raised $42M led by David Sacks' Craft Ventures 🥳Zerohash (crypto) closed $104M Coinflow's CEO made it clear: "You can raise a large Series A in Chicago. You don't have to move to SF." With 213 early-stage rounds in just 3 quarters and $3B+ annual VC, the #7 US tech hub is proving you can build billion-dollar companies in the Midwest...

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Most investors arrive at founder meetings ready to talk. Decks polished. Trends memorized. Opinions locked and loaded. But founders don’t always need more talking. They need listening. They need a sounding board. They need space to wrestle with the real questions. Product-market fit. Hiring mistakes. Co-founder tensions. The doubts that hit at 2 a.m. None of that shows up in a market map. It shows up when you give them room. The best VCs understand this. They know when to speak. And when to stay quiet. Before every meeting, I stop and ask myself: Am I here to help? Or am I here to feel helpful? That small shift makes all the difference.

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Founders celebrate the big client. The one deal that pays salaries, validates the model, makes the story look bulletproof. But here’s the hidden risk: when more than 20% of your revenue rests on a single customer, you’re not scaling—you’re exposed. One late payment, one contract exit, one leadership change on their side… and the floor disappears. I’ve seen this play out too many times: ↳ A fintech growing 80% YoY, until their anchor bank pulled the plug. ↳ A healthcare scale-up raising Series B, derailed when one client stretched payment cycles. Concentration risk doesn’t appear in the hype decks, but it’s the silent scale killer. That’s why boards and LPs look past growth rates and ask: how much of this business relies on one name? In the carousel, I break down: ↳ Why >20% dependency = fragility. ↳ The two early warning metrics you can’t ignore. ↳ How to diversify across segments, geographies, and products. ↳ What strong contracts should protect. ↳ How to own the narrative with your team and investors. Founders often think “land the whale” is the win. The truth is: scale comes from breadth, not dependence. ♻️ Share this story with your network - let's spread inspiration far and wide! 👉 Follow Ben Botes for more insights on Leadership, Scale-Ups & Impact Investment. 👉 What % of your revenue does your top customer represent today?

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Another Billion Dollar exit for a YC startup... Brex (W17) acquired by Capital One for $5.15B Given how competitive Brex’s rounds were and how much dilution occurred on the way to $12B+ private valuations with $1.5B+ raised... A sensible guesstimate is that YC (including Continuity) might realize ~$200M on a $5.15B Brex acquisition. A typical demo day investor might have put in $50k for around 0.5–1% ownership at the time, but heavy dilution would shrink that stake to roughly 0.05–0.15% by exit. - 0.05%: ~$2.6M return (52x multiple on $50k). - 0.1%: ~$5.15M return (103x multiple). - 0.15%: ~$7.7M return (154x multiple). Not a bad day's work... But at $700M in ARR by Sept 2025, with 50% year-over-year growth... Does $5.15B seem low to you?

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Tired of chasing tapped-out funds? Discover these VC firms with freshly raised capital ready to invest. 🔴 Wisconsin-based Mastercraft Ventures closed its $6.2M fund to back startups in the state. 🔴 Jake Paul and Geoffrey Woo’s Anti Fund closed its first $30M fund to focus on AI and robotics. 🔴 Menlo Park-based Nexus Venture Partners closed its $700M fund to back AI startups and seek out India-focused startups in consumer, fintech, and digital infrastructure. 🔴 Stockholm-based Incore Invest closed its second $46.5M fund to focus on SaaS and fintech companies across Europe. 🔴 Bangalore-based Fireside Ventures closed its fourth $253M fund to back India's next generation of iconic consumer brands. 🔴 London-based Expedition Growth Capital closed its third $375M fund to invest in European software businesses. 🔴 Tel Aviv-based Entrée Capital closed its $300M fund to focus on AI agents, DePIN networks and regulated Web3 infrastructure. 🔴 Tel Aviv-based Meron Capital closed its third $70M fund to invest in AI, cybersecurity, fintech, digital health, climate tech, and robotics. 🔴 San Francisco-based Holly Ventures closed its first $33M fund to back cybersecurity founders. 🔴 London-based Arāya Ventures closed its first $8.25M fund to back founders across AI, fintech, healthtech, commerce and the future of work. 🔴 Washington DC-based New Vista Capital is raising its $60M debut fund to invest in early-stage aerospace and defense startups. Check out the full list of latest VC funds closed on our website: https://lnkd.in/eWCmpB8C

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