Nicola Korzenko

Want a front-row seat to the frontier of tech? We’ve got the role (or two) for you! We’re expanding our frontier-tech team at Blackbird by hiring a Frontier Tech Investments Associate and Foundry Fellows! Got questions? We've got answers... 1️⃣ What are the roles? 🧪 Associate = a full-time VC investment gig in our Blackbird Investments team, working directly with me. We’re looking for someone with a science and/or engineering background and more curiosity than they can handle. You’ll grow your own investment brand and practice, support our portfolio founders, and will help build Foundry, our early-stage frontier-tech accelerator. ✨ Foundry Fellow = a casual/contract gig in our Blackbird Investments team, ~15h per week for 3 months. The Fellowship is ideal for PhD students and ECRs who want to learn more about startups and VC. You’ll go deep on emerging areas relevant to your expertise (or curiosity!), get a front-row seat to groundbreaking companies in those areas, build out your non-academic network, and develop a solid writing practice. 2️⃣ Why are you hiring? We love frontier tech, and we’re ready to grow our team. 3️⃣ Wow, it’s so great that you’re starting to look at deep tech! Look, we get it: we don’t make a lot of noise about our frontier tech investing. Buuuut we’ve been deep-tech investors since we backed Tim Kentley-Klay to found Zoox back in 2014—we’ve been on incredible journeys with PsiQuantum (building the world's first utility-scale quantum computer right here in Australia!), Inventia Life Science (transforming drug discovery with high-fidelity cell models), Remedy Robotics (surgical robots for remote endovascular procedures), Opto Biosystems (minimally-invasive neural implants to treat cancer), and more. We believe that frontier technologies, and great frontier-tech investing, will be part of the solutions to the greatest problems humanity faces today. 4️⃣ When do applications close? May 31st at 11:59pm AEST. 5️⃣ I have more questions! I’m sure you do! Clare Birch and I are hosting an AMA to answer any and all questions about these roles. Want to know what a week in the life of our team looks like? What’s keeping us up at night? What our ideal candidate looks like? Come along and find out - registration link in the comments 👇 Apply for these roles: Associate - https://lnkd.in/gCfj4EUJ Foundry Fellowships - https://lnkd.in/gj6ATZVZ If you know anyone that we should meet, send me their details! Cameron Elise Ben Andrew Robin Joseph Adelaide James Olivia Lucinda Raghav Jesse Christie Mohamed Tom Amee Pablo Haya Loong Hon Joshua Benjamin Megan Harry Denzil Matthew Diana Daniel Tom Deanna Justin Amar Lilly Stone Thomas

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🚀 Exciting news for all startup founders! 🌟 Before he took over the mic at TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Haje Kamps joined us to share invaluable insights on crafting a pitch that stands out—especially in today's challenging fundraising climate. 🎙️ In this killer video excerpt, Haje, with his deep expertise as a pitch deck expert, breaks down the essentials of a compelling pitch. He emphasizes clarity in your value proposition, the critical nature of founder-market fit, and the importance of a sizable market opportunity. 📈 We dig deep into these topics, extracting gems that are vital for every founder looking to make an impact with potential investors. 🤝 👉 Watch the short clip here, and if it grabs your attention, the full conversation covers even more ground on navigating the VC ecosystem successfully! 👇 Check the first comment for links to the full podcast on YouTube and Apple Podcasts!

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Earlier this week John Germinario, VP of People at PebblePost, sent me this thoughtful and unprompted note after his company’s offsite that we were lucky enough to support at Marco Experiences. Building and working at a startup is a grind. Notes like this remind me that it’s worth it. First off, hats off to John Germinario. He went out of his way to not only show gratitude for our partnership but also ensure I was aware of the efforts of our TEAM in making the event a success. In business relationships, it’s better to work with partners on the same team. The fact that John went above and beyond, offering to act as a reference or help close a deal also demonstrates that he’s exactly the kind of customer that we feel lucky to work with (don’t worry I asked him before posting this note 😉). Sometimes it’s hard to quantify or measure human connection's impact in an increasingly disconnected world. This is that value. The impact of intentional gatherings, both on a human and business level, is clear. Big praise to Anna Nikiforov and Court Roberts. Both are huge contributors to what we’re building at Marco. #employeeexperience #offsites #futureofwork #futureofculture #hybridwork

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Sometimes I encourage founders to socialize their company to prospective investors before actually starting an official fundraise process. We've seen this work in a variety of ways: (1) preemptive term sheets; (2) founders pick up on investor sentiment towards their business; (3) opportunity to form more organic relationship with an investor; and (4) get a sense of what investors want to see for a subsequent fundraise. Some founders are reluctant to socialize their business until it appears more solid and there's obvious traction. While this makes sense, the reality is that early-stage is inherently messy and investors know the plane is being built and flown simultaneously. The art of conveying the narrative of, "this is what I've already accomplished and here's where the business will be in next 3-6-9-12 months" can be the most effect fundraising tool in the game. What do others in the VC community think of this strategy?

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NY friends! Please come see me at Tech Day on my panel discussing the future of the NY tech ecosystem and what I hope to bring to it!

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I recently talked with Paz Yanover, VP of Product at Amplication, about creating and managing effective docs. Here is his developer docs success formula (check 1st comment): In this interview, Paz shares his formula to creating developer docs that drive product adoption. You'll learn: - The important role docs plays in support and attracting devs - Tips for balancing technical accuracy with user-friendliness in your docs - Strategies for effective collaboration between technical writers and product teams Check the first comment for the full interview. --- Enjoy this? ♻️ Repost it to your network and follow Derick Ruiz for more.

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🚀 "We built Unloop Connect to support the founders who are really feeling the pinch," Michael Pignatelli reveals. As I dove deep into the everyday challenges that emerging brands face on Amazon with Michael Pignatelli, CPA, MAcc, Co-Founder of Unloop Accounting, it was clear that the path to simplifying e-commerce finance is more vital than ever. Michael's insights into accounting automation and the strategic use of Unloop Connect are game-changers for any brand looking to navigate the complexities of Amazon's marketplace efficiently. Michael's dedication to making high-quality accounting accessible reflects our mission at ExpertCPG Commerce—to empower brands with the tools and strategies they need to thrive on Amazon without getting bogged down by the details. How has automating mundane tasks changed the way you manage your business? What results have you seen from integrating new technologies? 🎧📺 Listen or Watch the Full Episode here: https://ecpg.us/3Qhk2pN #CPG #ecommerce #Amazon #podcast #UnloopAccounting #businessgrowth #financialmanagement

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It’s NY Tech week and my new favorite thing is teaching underrepresented founders how to talk back to investors. So many of them ask me for help fundraising, and I get it. I may not always think of myself as an expert, since I’m lucky enough to surround myself with people who are much more experienced at it than I am. But we did do it successfully once, raising more than $3M along the way with little more than a deck, a dream, and an incredible founding team. Of course, we’re all aware that this success puts us in the teeny tiny cohort of startups who raise without a traditional-looking founding team. So what’s the common theme in my advice to non-traditional founders at the early stage? Push back. It’s easy to get intimidated by investors. They’re smart, aggressive, and ask really hard questions. It can be hard to remember that YOU are the expert on your market. They are generalists. Even if they have strong opinions on your market, it’s OK to tell them when you think they’re wrong. In fact, if you have the conviction and confidence (plus evidence to back it up), disagreeing with your prospective investors can even be seen as an advantage. When a VC asks you a question at the pre-seed stage about your path to $100M in ARR, it’s OK to say “dude, we’re a pre-seed company. I know what our path is to get to a million, and we will have a lot to figure out after that.” Now, this only works if you have a track record that can support your confidence. Or if you don’t know the answer, but you DO know HOW you’re going to figure it out, talk about the path from experimentation to scalability. It’s better than making up a bunch of stuff that you’ll probably throw out eventually, and VCs will respect your focus and defense of your precious little time. Plus, they can usually tell if your confidence is lacking in your answer, anyway. This investor market is a tricky one, but never forget that they (investors) need you (founders) just as much as you need them. And hey, if you’re an up and coming female or underrepresented founder, and you need some help (or just a pep talk) I’d love to help. Happy Tech Week everyone!!

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If you had a great startup idea, should you keep it a secret? Are musicians natural entrepreneurs? In this episode, Seed Zeng and I chat with Yotam Rosenbaum, musician, YC founder, and investor. 👉 Listen on your podcast app: https://tr.ee/ZmRr5NjEtk

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How to Profit by Divesting from Companies with Anti-Israel Stances As savvy investors, we must always be alert to the implications of a company's political stance on its financial health. Take, for instance, hims & hers, whose CEO, Andrew Dudum, recently made a controversial statement about hiring pro-Palestinian protesters just days before a potentially underwhelming quarterly earnings report. This statement, coinciding with a 5% drop in share value—erasing $100 million in market equity—raises the suspicion that it might be a psychological maneuver by a CEO fearing for his job ahead of poor earnings results. Given hims & hers' history of underperformance, with shares gaining only 8.32% since its IPO compared to a 23.33% increase in the S&P 500 and similar growth in the Nasdaq, investors could have seen better returns elsewhere. Furthermore, analysts are also showing signs of concern. Recently, Jefferies downgraded hims & hers from 'Buy' to 'Hold' and reduced the price target to $15 from $17, signaling a cautious stance on the company's growth prospects. This downgrade, coupled with the anticipated poor earnings, paints a troubling picture for the future of hims & hers. Additionally, the related Supernova festival tragedy on 10/7, where victims mirror the typical hims & hers customer base, might further alienate its clientele. Customers may sympathize more with the victims than with a company perceived to be exploiting political events to distract from business failures. This scenario suggests potential for increased customer churn and a continued decline in share value, making it a critical time for shareholders to consider divesting. For those open to risk, short selling could capitalize on anticipated downturns.

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Parker just posted Rippling's new fundraising memo. It's the manifesto for compound startups and one of our initial inspirations for building Atlas. Here's a nugget that I really liked that summarizes how we feel about the competitive advantage of all-in-one startups over vertical startups (in customer support especially): "When we build corporate cards, we're not innovating on the way we issue corporate cards (through Stripe issuing or Marqeta) or the way we scan and extract metadata from receipts (which is mostly a vendor relationship for us today). We're going to win on the capabilities we have that are common to all Rippling products—the integration with the rest of Rippling and with employee data, the platform capabilities, and the common UX described above." Here's the full doc: https://lnkd.in/gYH59HVZ

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Early stage fundraising is convincing enough people with credibly + resources to believe that you're onto something big. Remember it is a bi-directional discovery process. And more often than not, a lot of people with not enough credibility or not enough resources will give you their opinion. If everyone was a believer, you wouldn't have a shot at 100x-ing your company. It's a feature not a bug. Remember that. If you're not careful that can drain energy. Incredibly important trap to avoid.

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The #1 question I get asked is: “How do I hire a CEO?” (How to hire, incentivize, and manage a CEO) I created a guide with all my learnings from hiring ~40+ CEOs and leaders across Tiny (and many epic fuck ups along the way). Topics I cover include: Is hiring a CEO the right choice for you? When to hire a CEO? How to find the right CEO? Should you invest in a recruiter? What to look for in your CEO? How to diligence candidates? How to ensure a culture fit? How to negotiate & structure compensation? How to transition from founder to owner? How to relinquish control? How to determine CEO success? When to replace the CEO? Book Recommendations * A cheatsheet is included with key points from all sections. Get my guide for free → https://bit.ly/4bSTeUY Enjoy!

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We believe in extreme vetting of our founders. You can't build a unicorn if you spend time on silly stuff, like seeing family and friends. Grow up, and focus on investor returns. #vc #startups #investment

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Very impressed with the Wevo Energy story and I share those feelings. It is never easy facing all challenges and complexities. #Podcast #StartupJourney #SolarEnergy #Entrepreneurship #WEVO #SolarEdge #Acquisition

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Fundraising Insights for Early-Stage Startups 🚀 Reflecting on my time at YC and beyond with Parker, I've noticed a counterintuitive truth that shapes successful fundraising strategies for startups at pre-seed and seed stages - at early stages, investors often care way more about your story over traction or growth metrics. So, here are some key takeaways to nail your investor conversations: #1 Clear Communication: Cut the jargon and buzzwords. Create a pitch that anyone can grasp immediately. For instance, rather than making vague claims, be direct. Here is a Hypothetical example. Bad example: “We’re revolutionizing the electric car industry by creating unique, best-in-class vehicles that democratize electric travel.” Better example: “We are building electric vehicles that are more affordable and have longer range than anything on the market.” Remove abstraction until anyone can understand your pitch. #2 Founder Fit: Showcase why YOU are the right person to build your startup. Do this by highlighting relevant achievements and experiences that show your capacity to realize your vision. Keep in mind that a traditional background isn’t always the highest-leverage thing to mention, for example: • An investor might care a little bit that you went to Stanford. • They might care a lot that, during your time at Stanford, you built a $50k/mo business. #3 Leverage Social Proof: Boost your credibility by sharing achievements like customer numbers, growth rates, and notable investors backing your venture. Give investors solid reasons to believe in your potential. Use whatever you have available. Example: Famous investor? Great. Famous employee? Great. Notable experience on your founding team? Great. Investors have no idea who you are, in most cases—give them a reason to care. For a detailed look into fundraising advice, check out my essay. https://lnkd.in/g6B6kSdN

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Starting up is hard, but getting started is even harder. Its hard to feel ready. Its hard to feel you have a ‘winning idea’. Its hard to find a co-founder. Its hard to leave your job. We understand that, and we can help you! This Sunday we are hosting our first-ever meet-up at Cubbon Park for Future Founders. If you’re ambitious and want to have a massive impact, are curious about entrepreneurship as a vehicle to achieve that impact, but have some doubts that are keeping you from taking that first step, this event is for you. At EF, we believe that the world is missing out on some of its best founders. We believe that there are exceptional people everywhere who could be great founders, if they’re given access to the right environment and the right peer group. We find these exceptional individuals and take them on a company building journey. PS. You’ll also meet founders and investors who have seen this journey several times over, as well as founders from our latest cohort. Rahul Samat Sajal Khanna Dhruv Tyagi Raghav Goyal

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If you’re in LA next week and interested in discussing how to create leverage and scale oneself as a founder (via automation, no-code, AI, and BPO/outsourcing), come hang out with us IRL! As a bootstrapped solo founder, I would have been dead in the water without these tools… Yet I am still only scratching the surface of what’s possible. For a very different perspective, we’ll also have the CEO of one of the largest outsourcing companies, Enshored, tell us How It’s Done.

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At last week’s ClimateTech Coffee 🚲 Bryan White and I were joined by Kimberly Gilbert, PhD to hear about her work on Carbon Neutralization and Ocean Storage (CNOS) through her company pHathom. Here’s a recap: The ocean naturally absorbs CO2 over time, but we’ve added so much that the ocean has become increasingly acidic. Ocean pH has dropped from 8.2 to 8.1 globally over the last hundred years, and as pH drops it becomes harder for coral-based organisms to form shells. To combat this, Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE) is an intervention that both reverses ocean acidification and removes CO2 from the atmosphere. Challenges with traditional OAE: - When you add the alkalinity into the ocean, it spreads out. It’s hard to measure the change in pH. - You don’t know exactly when the extra CO2 will be absorbed. Modeling and measurement companies are trying to help with this problem. Advantages of CNOS: - Co2 is captured directly at a coastal power plant or refinery, and then the concentrated Co2 is pumped into water that has limestone (and/or other alkaline materials) in it.  - This means the Co2 is dissolved onsite and the pH can be equilibrated onsite, which makes accurate measurement more feasible. Factors that affect progress:  - We’ll start seeing more companies enter in this space as the chemistry and its impacts are better understood and seen as safe  - Local and national permitting are a huge bottleneck - On the international permitting level, the London Protocol has a blanket ban on ocean geoengineering for anything except for research. There were good reasons for doing that, but it’s unclear who decides when that can change and the circumstances under which the ban is lifted. (Note: pHathom is not doing geoengineering; it’s doing water treatment on-site and releasing it back as ocean water) Open questions for the category/technology: - Can they come up with enough low-cost alkalinity sources, and get them in a way that doesn’t cause additional environmental damage or Co2 emissions?  - This approach will require pumping a lot of water. How much will that cost and how can the cost be driven down?  - Putting 100 plants’ worth of bicarbonate into the ocean is likely fine for ocean health relative to the climate benefit, but what is the point where the tradeoffs cross over? Some groups doing good work in this space:  [C]Worthy Carbon to Sea Initiative  University Research: UC Santa Barbara, University of Tasmania, GEOMAR, Dalhousie University, Scripps Join us for the next one in May! Details coming soon, and you can get updates by subscribing to the series page here: https://lnkd.in/g7DTGm2V

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