A company that provides a new way to find and fund ideas, focusing on entrepreneurship and innovation.

Builders + Backers

Builders + Backers invests in ideas and people shaping an entirely different, and better, digital future for all.

Are you a startup looking to raise capital for your new venture, or interested to learn more about the inner workings of Venture Capital?

Join us Thurdsay, July 25th from 12pm-1pm ET for our free Masterclass: Venture Capital Myths + Realities led by Donna Harris, Top 25 Female Seed Investors in the US.

Register here: https://lu.ma/tkud1gwx

Who's ready for this week's #WednesdayWins? So excited for our Alumni Builders and their continued success of their ventures–here are some of their latest moves. 👇

Nick Coleman of LexMed.ai was accepted into the Startup Junkie ARise Accelerator, has expanded his team by hiring a senior developer, and has launched the new LexMed.ai website. ✨ Check it out here!: http://www.lexmed.ai/

Ford Philanthropy 2024 Fellow Aramis Jones will showcase her work on venture Renew Mobile Heath and Wellness at the Ford Philanthropy fellowship Program, powered by Watson Institute - The Summit, and will be joined by Fellows from all over the world. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/exxZVhzv.

Lisa Nelson won not one, but two National awards for Landmark Builds, her venture that combines creativity, a passion for local history and the fun of Lego bricks. Landmark Builds won the 2024 Award of Excellence by the Leadership in History awards committee for Iconic Joplin, and the 2024 HIP (History in Progress) Award. Congratulations, Lisa! More on Landmark Builds: https://lnkd.in/gnsarWDv

Nyla Pollard of Ballin, was featured as #39 out of the 100 Top Sports Tech companies in 2024. Congrats to Nyla on the recognition from F6S 🏀. Check out the ranking here: https://lnkd.in/eEWB99At

As a member of ACT House Tulsa's Accelerator, Amnoni Myers, MPA presented their pitch for venture Launch Ahead at Demo Day, which you can check out here: https://lnkd.in/eQ48DKHN. Oh, and congrats to Launch Ahead for hitting it's first birthday!

What started as ideas and was backed by just a few thousand dollars in Pebble Funds can turn into each of these.

#webuildweback

This evening, Donna Harris will join EY's Entrepreneur of The Year Gala for the Mid-Atlantic region. 

As one of judges for the awards first selections, she'll be taking the stage to help crown this year's winners. EY's Entrepreneur of the Year Mid-Atlantic awards recognizes ambitious entrepreneurs across the full spectrum - from bootstrapped founders, those fueled to VC to ones running multi-generational businesses and innovating in entirely new industries. 

We love the scope of entrepreneurial spirit that these awards recognize and are excited to be a part of the program this year.

Congrats to the regional finalists of this year's awards!

More here: https://lnkd.in/eZtYrQbG

Our Louisville Builders are on 🔥 this week with Summer ‘24 Builder Bryan H. taking building and backing to a whole new level by making these custom buttons for his fellow Builders. 

Have a great working sesh at Story Louisville co-working space! 🎉

Heartland Forward Ford Philanthropy

Yesterday, I discussed the crucial role of Venture Capital in economic development on a webinar w/ our friends at International Economic Development Council. In case you missed it, below are 10 key points I shared (would love your thoughts too in the comments):

1. Entrepreneurship-led economic development should be a top priority for every community as it is a vital economic lever. 

2.  Venture capital is an important tool, so it’s critical to understand what it is (and isn’t) so we can appropriately deploy it as we fuel economic growth in our communities. 

3. VC's aim to maximize returns, expect most of their bets to fail, and operate within a limited time frame (8-10 yr funds), making it imperative to select ONLY the fastest- and highest-growth potential companies.

4. Most companies in our communities' ecosystems (even ones with good growth potential) are NOT VC-aligned and they should consider other forms of capital (VC is also the most expensive form of capital they could take).  While VC is an important tool to have in our economic development toolbox, it shouldn’t be the hammer that we use to hit every entrepreneurship nail.

5. Economic developers should think more in terms of a "full stack approach" to ensure funding exists to support entrepreneurs diversely based on stage, model, and growth potential (think revenue-based investments, redeemable equity, venture and more).

6. Not only is a full stack approach healthy, it’s also most viable in today’s AI-driven, California-dominated VC landscape (startups HQ'd in CA raised 59.25% of all capital raised Q1; in 2023 more than 50% of ALL global venture funding for AI-related startups went to companies HQ'd in the Bay Area). 

7. Think beyond having capital for startups. Communities also need strong, milestone- and outcome-driven programs that help companies move systematically from inception to scale. Don’t just set a buffet of events and activities and hope your entrepreneurs succeed. Take an active approach to help engineer success. 

8. No community has all of the capital, experts, programs and resources their startups need to succeed. The best ecosystems combine local and global resources to empower startups for growth and success through strategic partnerships. 

9. All of the above is why we, at Builders + Backers, focus on forming strong partnerships in communities (40+ and counting!), helping thousands of rookie entrepreneurs test their ideas and find their right pathways to build new companies, and fund them and their ideas / companies using everything from non-dilutive grants to VC and everything in between. 

10. Thanks to Mo Collins and my fellow panelists Troy Vosseller from gener8tor and Osama Al-Saleh from Plug and Play Tech Center for a great conversation. They are smart people at impactful organizations aligned with everything outlined above! 

#economicdevelopment #entrepreneurship and #venturecapital.

Magical evening helping judge and present awards at the EY Mid-Atlantic Entrepreneur of The Year competition! 🪄 

A warm congratulations to all of this year’s winners—plus a special shoutout to winner Emmanuel Smadja, CEO of MPOWER Financing. Through the 1776 Ventures Fund, Donna Harris was an early investor in Manu’s vision for democratizing access to financial tools for international students. 

Check out the evening in pictures!👇📸

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