Hey all! ICYMI, ramen topped with 12- to 18-inch deep-sea isopods is a thing in Taiwan (and not AI 😱). Also, did you know that Nielsen asked people around the world which recommendations they trust most and that the winner, by a mile, was friends and family, at 92%? Not the ads. Not the experts. Friends. This newsletter lives in that lane, so let me be the goody-two-shoes friend here. ☺️
I’ve spent nearly 20 years in tech feeling like everyone else got a rulebook I never did. The right schools. The warm intros. Friends who could explain how money really moves. I learned each rule the hard way, one closed door at a time. Then I looked around and saw so many of us guessing. People building companies. People writing their first checks. People holding communities together for free. Smart people, working hard, with no map. So I wrote the map (and shared the tea). 🫖💨
Lolita Taub, GP at Ganas Ventures and Author | X | LinkedIn | Lolita AI
Ganas Ventures invests $100K checks into early-stage startups.
What Actually Matters: Startups, Capital, and the Rules Nobody Taught Us is a book for first-time founders, angels, LPs, and GPs navigating venture without inherited access - from someone who has sat in every chair. Coming September 15. Learn more here.
Featured in Forbes, Nasdaq, Techcrunch, and more
The Swarm (port co) acquired Commsor, folding its best features into the platform. Alerje (port co) had its mobile epinephrine platform acquired by SemPresto. Please Assist Me (port co) closed its seed round. LiquiDonate (port co) is earning 5-star reviews from its customers. Juvo (port co) landed on Brazil's 150 Best Companies to Work For in 2025.
Sponsored | Founders, funders, and friends: my book, What Actually Matters, is the map to startups and capital. The one I never got but 100% wish I had as a first-time founder, angel, GP, LP, and ecosystem builder without an inherited network. It’ll be out September 2026.
📣 Want your company, program, or product featured here? Sponsor a spot.
Founder Series, on Zoom:
Aug 5: I’m building outside the usual startup hubs. Does that change the rules?
Oct 7: What if this becomes a good business, not a VC rocketship?
In person:
Oct 26: Ganas x StartupGrind Coffee at #MexicoTechWeek, Mexico City, 9:00 AM CST
Crunchbase News | AI is eating the round: North American startups raised $392 billion in the first half of 2026, and about 80% of Q2 dollars went to AI, per Crunchbase, while deal count stayed low. Money is crowding into a few big names, so hunt for value where the herd is not looking.
Anthropic | Claude for investing teams: Investing runs on documents. Watch this recording to see how Claude handles deal screening and reporting in Excel and Word. Learn to set your team rules once for fast work.
PitchBook | New funds are drying up: Per the Q2 2026 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor, first-time fund formation is on pace for its lowest year since 2016, and three firms took 48.1% of all capital raised. Fewer new managers means less competition for strong early deals, so if you are writing checks, this is your window.
Angel Starter Pack | Investors: everything to write your first check with a plan
Startup-Investor Matching Tool | Investors: meet thesis-aligned founders
Carta | Pre-seed rounds are shrinking: About 3,000 US startups in Q1 raised pre-seedfunding, totaling over $2.3B, but the typical round is getting smaller while a few mega-rounds skew the total, per Carta. Raise for 18 months of real milestones, not a number you saw in a headline.
TechCrunch | Revenue speed is the new proof: Mercor crossed $2B in annualized revenue just four months after passing $1B, per TechCrunch, part of a pattern where each milestone lands faster than the last. You do not need their scale, but show investors your growth rate is speeding up, not stalling.
Is VC Right for You? The Honest Guide | Founders: a reality check on whether you should raise at all
Startup-Investor Matching Tool | Founders: get intros to investors that get you
Ganas Ventures | Pre-seed and seed founders: apply for $100K
Grid110 + SHOPLINE | Founders: apply for up to $20K, no equity, by Aug 12
Rooted In Growth | Haircare founders: apply for $50K by Aug 21
NC IDEA Micro | North Carolina founders: apply for $10K by Aug 24
Her Agenda | Women founders: apply for $5K by Sept 18
SSB Grant | Underserved founders: apply for $2.5K by Sept 30
Breva Thrive Grant | Underestimated founders: apply for $5K by Oct 31
McKinney Innovation Fund | Texas founders: apply for up to $500K (rolling)
Amber Grant | Women founders: apply for $25K (rolling)
PSBC | Philly founders: apply for $50K (rolling)
Chicago SBIF | Chicago founders: apply for up to $250K
New Jersey SBIG | NJ founders: apply for up to $50K (rolling)
Roddenberry Catalyst Fund | Impact founders: apply for $15k (rolling)
NAACP | New England Black-owned cos: apply for $25K (rolling)
Want more? Follow Lolita on X or LinkedIn for additional resources. Support our newsletter and get featured to our 23K+ community by becoming a sponsor.
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.