Ben Shapiro’s Post

Thrilled to share the incredible journey I've been on over the last 10 months with Celeste, a mental well-being app venture. 🚀 This experience has been nothing short of transformative, propelling me into a realm of personal and professional growth that I hadn't anticipated. At Celeste, I embarked on a mission to revolutionize mental well-being through cutting-edge technology, blending the power of Large Language Models (LLM), memory tech alongside scientific methods from psychology and neuroscience. 🧠 💻 My role involved delving deep into market analysis, meticulously identifying opportunities and challenges in the ever-evolving landscape of LLM technologies and mental well-being. 🌐 This phase not only broadened my understanding but also fueled my passion for leveraging technology to enhance the human experience. One of my highlights of recent months was shaping Celeste's features and capabilities, with a primary focus on aiding users in their mental health journey through meaningful conversations with an AI. The fusion of various technologies, including LLM and text-to-image prompting, allowed us to create a truly innovative solution. 🌈✨ This journey has been a masterclass in effective communication and collaboration, emphasizing the pivotal role of interpersonal relationships in the entrepreneurial landscape. The challenges were numerous, but the learnings were immeasurable. 📈 💪 As I move forward, I carry with me not only technical skills honed in the realms of cutting-edge AI but also a profound appreciation for the human side of innovation. Excited about my next chapter and the opportunities it holds! 🚀🌟

I think most early founders put too much weight on their product idea and too little on offering their product to customers🏋️ The reason behind this is simple. We have a framework for propelling a business and we call it "the scientific method". Yes, the same method that makes us fly to the moon and cure diseases works also for founders. 1. Both science and businesses observe the world as it is 🔎 2. Where science creates hypotheses 💡businesses create product ideas 📦 3. Scientists design experiments ⚗️ to test their hypothesis while businesses offer their products to the market 🤲 In both cases, the outcome can be observed and the process is repeated. The problem for most early founders is that they like to skip the "offer" part. And I know what I am speaking of because Arne Wolfewicz and I have been there 😬 The problem is, as long as you're not trying to offer and sell your product on the market you will never get the right feedback and hence you have no chance of building a product that people want.

📣 Amplifying for Startups in my network 📣 I've heard good things about the Arc program at Sequoia Capital (Boris Tane @ Baselime). It's worth checking out if you're a pre-seed or seed-stage Founder. The combination of US & European cohorts in this window will suit those with global ambitions across the pond 🇪🇺 🤝 🇺🇸 More info below💡 #Founders #EuropeanTech #Investment #Accelerator #Sequoia #VC

Any Invigoration that will result from the emergent tenure of fellowship between AI 1.0., Software 2.0, and Hardware 3.0 will not come from Silicon Valley. On the contrary, Silicon Valley will even work to suppress any yield of fantastic creative work that could have been nurtured in their regency. Instead True Innovation results from Creative Reinvigoration and not merely curative renovations. The truth is Silicon Valley is indeed the most innovative place on earth, but truly the least creative one at the same time, as the people there have lost their resolve for radiant traversal along grandiose explorations! - More so, LA is still the most creative City in California anyway. The Angels Fly as always! In an environment of Non-compete, the rabid distribution of fast executive effects a race to the bottom of the least common denominator resolutions. We saw it with SaaS and we’re seeing it with AI again. Except, this time it’s different as people are actually yearning for more human nuances and are taking notes of the inhumane end results produced by these “move fast, break things” spider monkeys. (Yo Ben10, come get yo Tech-liens”) Creative RevOps is the best term to describe Austin, as everything from business to commerce to design to engineering, points back to the excellence of Profit-led growth over some false Product-led growth.  I’ve come to accept Austin as the exact territories for the new generation to thrive with the efficacious non-competes and Creative RevOps that push the best possible outcome with profit margins as the north stars. Even the Artists make the Most Money here (ok, kinda). There’s nowhere else that Selling before you build is championed more than in Austin (with the bonus of splitting your time of FT or PT residential stay with other locations around the nation and world)! So yes, I am grateful for not making the impulse decision to move to SF last year, because while the financial leverage is sweet, the Fundamentals are broken. Alas, it does take a Village of Valiant Angels to raise a Vital lover, and there’s no place with more Valuable Angels than Austin, although it takes that much work to get them to fly haha. But when they do, they fly higher than expected. There’s a reason today is Sunday, as it's the day Angels get reinvigorated and delightfully Fly Texas Hold’em for real and I’m not even a Beyoncé Stan lol It’s time to Bundle!!! They said you should fear those who have nothing else to lose, and they were right! - but not correct. It is those who have even just that little bit to lose that we show be eerie of, as they will leapfrog any barrier to overcome their challengers. Funny enough, it's the tech community that has nothing to lose by accelerating the expansion of AI. This means the exact target Audience we should be emphasizing is the Creative whose efforts have enabled the expansion of this segment. How’s that for a Love letter for the Blue dot in the Lone Star Y’all? Let’s Bundle!

And that’s a wrap on Burlington in 2023! The past 12 months have been a whirlwind of funding and product announcements, new launches, campaigns and reports. And whilst 2023 will go down as the year of generative AI, it’s also been a brilliant year for quantum computing, climate tech, health tech, energy and food tech and it’s a delight to have been a part of these exciting journeys. Throughout 2023: 🛰️ we’ve managed multiple satellite launches for Open Cosmos 💥 raised the profile of the UK’s quantum computing startups Oxford Ionics, Phasecraft 🏢launched companies decarbonising complex industries from construction to aviation  Concretene, CUR8, Tangible  👩💻supported London’s most exciting AI companies AutogenAI, Unitary  🔬🔋🧪🥩uncovered stories about Europe’s most exciting deeptech companies Meatable, Proxima Fusion, VSPARTICLE 📊 shone a light on the UK’s job market Adzuna 💡 and worked with some of the most formidable partners in the wider ecosystem A/O, Balderton Capital, Blossom Capital, Eight Roads, Founders at the University of Cambridge, Foundamental, Gerard Grech, Highland Europe, Phoenix Court, Plural Platform, and many, many more. Thanks a lot to the hard-working journalists who have been amazing in covering our clients and digging into these stories Amy Lewin, Agnieszka De Sousa, Akansha Dimri, Callum Burroughs, Cate Lawrence, Dan Taylor, David Johnson, George Simister, Ian King, Ingrid Lunden, Jane Hamilton, Katie Prescott, Kai Nicol-Schwarz, Lara Williams, Mark Bergen, Mike Butcher ✍️, Orlando Crowcroft, Richard Tyler and more. Now we’re taking a rest, with plans to enjoy a tonne of mince pies before we jump headfirst into 2024! 

I am overjoyed to announce my next chapter of research and writing. 📚 ✍ Why now? As a liberal arts major (film & media studies), who stumbled into startups and venture capital, then moved across the country from Los Angeles to Nashville, I've realized now is the time to build and think outside of the box. Talent is dispersing across the U.S. at an unprecedented rate, while venture capital experiences a reckoning. Entrepreneurs are building great companies everywhere, yet are still underserved by investment capital and connectivity. Meanwhile, visual media is playing the largest, most pervasive role in history as we all consume more content. I am rebuilding my work week via fractional roles before jumping back into a full-time position. This creates more space for me to be flexible, creative, and curious. So, what exactly am I doing next? Part 1: I am thrilled to join Beyond Ventures as a Senior Investment Advisor. Beyond Ventures is a venture capital and philanthropy strategy firm advising investors including Pivotal Ventures, the investment and incubation company founded by Melinda French Gates. In this role, I will be examining alternative financing strategies for caregiving and wealth inequality. An extra special thanks to the inimitable Lara Jeremko for creating this opportunity! If you are building/investing in the U.S. caregiving market, I would love to add you to my outreach list as I get started. Part 2: I am reconnecting with my incredible colleagues at Build In SE, an all-volunteer team passionate about ecosystem building in the Southeastern U.S. This region is growing rapidly and we want to bring meaningful resources to startups and investors choosing to build here (#BuildInSE). I also have several written pieces in progress that I'll be sharing in the coming weeks and months, the first coming out next week. You can subscribe here: https://lnkd.in/egWk72fr More to come! Thanks to each and every one of you for serving as a source of inspiration, for your generosity in the work that you do, and for your support.

Great article! If there’s one way that Silicon Valley can lead and distance itself from critiques of insularity and out-of-touchness, it’s to tackle the big, thorny, difficult problems that would improve the state of the world. Problems that are messy, protracted, and involve the prospect of failure and embarrassment. They don’t have a ready market. They affect rich and poor alike. They touch flawed systems. They’re less “What did Mom do to make my life better?” and more “What would make Mom proud?” They require you to do more than cut a check, and instead hunker down and grind away for years.

Climate tech is like the sun, it’s rising and it’s hot… Jokes aside, climate tech is a booming industry and for good reasons. We’re seeing dramatic climate change across the world that could have generational consequences, the United States just invested $1 trillion with the Infrastructure Investment and JOBS Act, and economically, there’s a lot of opportunity to disrupt some major industries. Jacqueline (Jackie) Firsty is someone that is at the forefront of it all and has crafted her entire career around climate tech. She’s currently the Director of the Greentown Labs Investor Program where she helps match climate tech ventures with investors and other funding opportunities. In this conversation with Jackie, we talked about how she started her career in climate tech, what opportunities she’s seeing for others, and why she wants to help others create a career in climate tech. Link on my profile for the full episode! _____________________ I'm Matthew Gira. I break down the blueprints for bootstrapped ventures. Follow me + hit 🔔 to stay tuned.

Food for thought: Something I came to appreciate about reorgs that oscillated between horizontal and vertical structures was the change helped keep organizations healthy. Companies that committed to one philosophy for too long, started to get pulled under by the downsides of that structure. Additionally different types of successes could be driven by each structure, so if you swapped back and forth (not too quickly) eventually you'd pick up a diverse set of major company milestones. Go fast market breakthroughs tend to be achieved under vertical orgs and moat level refined products tend to be achieved under horizontal orgs. I wonder if education is the same way. Should we be swapping back and forth between 'no child left behind' and 'identifying and accelerating rockstars?'

How does the saying go? ‘Be there or be square’? Well, this definitely applies for Product Hunt - The leading platform where people share and rate new tech products. Fusion VC grads, Roee Barak and Tomer Dean led a practical workshop for our portfolio founders, focusing on how to launch a successful product through Product Hunt. They gave tips for increasing reach, discussed the importance of community interactions and reviewed the many opportunities the platform provides. Roee and Tomer - Thank you for this great workshop! Guy Katsovich | Yair Vardi Upword | Lychee (formerly AudioLabs)