Archive

deftly.vc welcomes Ceres Technology to its portfolio [+ why we invested]

Ceres Technology uses Machine Learning and AI models to predict supply chain risks for manufacturers and distributors before they make purchase decisions, saving them money, time and reputational damage. deftly.vc is delighted to be an early investor in Ceres, backing Bobby Katoli and his team in their quest to

deftly.vc welcomes DSTRLY to its portfolio [+ why we invested]

DSTLRY is a next-generation comic content startup that answers the question: "what would Marvel look like if it was founded in 2023"? See their recent coverage in the New York Times. deftly.vc is thrilled to be the first investor in DSTRLY's pre-seed round, supporting David Steinberger and Chip Mosher

deftly.vc welcomes LP Chang Kim [founder, Tapas Media]

After selling his first startup to Google, Chang spent a decade building Tapas Media, a webtoon and story-telling platform with millions of users. In 2021, it was acquired for $510M by Kakao Entertainment, a top Korean entertainment company. A few words about his journey: My founder story My career has

deftly.vc welcomes LP Mark Wachen [founder, CardSnacks]

After founding and selling Optimost, a pioneer in web site multivariate testing, Mark created Upstage Ventures, a seed fund, and started DreamIt NYC.  His itch to build led him to create CardSnacks, a simple and modern way to send e-greeting cards and gift cards by text or email.  A few

deftly.vc welcomes LP Adam Hannsman [co-founder, The Athletic]

As an early employee at Strava, Adam met his co-founder to pursue a vision for hyper-local, quality sports journalism. Six years after launching The Athletic, and with 1.2M+ subscribers in tow, the company was acquired by The New York Times for $550M. A few words about his journey: My

deftly.vc welcomes Stockpress to its portfolio [+ why we invested]

Stockpress combines an elegantly clean user experience with a frictionless business model to help organizations better manage their digital assets. It aligns with our views on the "efficiency economy". deftly.vc is delighted to be an investor in the pre-seed round of Stockpress, supporting Jessica Storry, Ian Parkes, Bartosz Romanowski

deftly.vc welcomes LP Marc Zumoff [Legendary Broadcaster, Philadelphia 76ers]

A native Philadelphian, Marc Zumoff turned his passion for sports into a 44-year Emmy award-winning career in sports broadcasting – as a 76ers play-by-play announcer for 27 years as well as working the Olympics and stints at Turner Sports and NBC.  A few words about his journey: How it all got

deftly.vc welcomes LP Kevin Balfe [founder, Red Seat Ventures]

After a media career in which he developed book titles that sold 5M+ copies, including 13 #1 NYT bestsellers, Kevin decided to build an agency to help creators build businesses around their personal brand. A few words about his journey: My founder story I don’t know how or why

deftly.vc welcomes LP Darren Herman [Operating Partner, Bain Capital]

From video game to programmatic advertising, Darren Herman has been a pioneer in developing products to monetize audiences. Today, at Bain Capital, he helps re-invigorate existing brands with fresh and impactful growth strategies. A few words about his journey: My founder story I founded my first venture-backed company right after

deftly.vc welcomes LPs Paul/Shikha/Simon [founders, MAZ Systems]

More than a decade ago, after several custom app development projects, Paul and Simon saw an opportunity to productize their work. Joined by Shikha, they started MAZ Systems, a SaaS CMS solution now used by the world's largest media brands. In 2021, the company was acquired by PSG. A few

deftly.vc welcomes TrueRev to its portfolio [+ why we invested]

TrueRev is a SaaS-based revenue recognition and accounting software that helps small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) more easily manage their business finances. It aligns with our views on the "efficiency economy". deftly.vc is thrilled to be the first outside investor in TrueRev's pre-seed round, supporting Ali Rivzi and Jason Dubaniewicz

deftly.vc welcomes LP Matan Talmi [founder, Spinach.io]

After co-founding Drippler, a personalized tech assistant that was acquired by Asurion, Matan recognized that the pandemic was going to change the workplace forever. In 2021, he founded Spinach.io (YC '22). A few words about his journey: My founder story After joining Asurion through the acquisition of my previous

deftly.vc invests in RADiENT [+ why we invested]

RADiENT is a SaaS-based data & analytics solution used by institutional money managers for risk management and competitive benchmarking. It aligns with our views on the "efficiency economy". deftly.vc is thrilled to be among the first outside investors in RADiENT, supporting Sanjay Bharwani and his team as they empower money

deftly.vc welcomes LP David Steinberger [founder, Comixology]

David launched Comixology as the first ever online distribution platform for the comics industry. Seven years into it, after forging strong partnerships with Marvel and DC Comics, the company was acquired by Amazon. A few words about his journey: My founder story After pursuing classical singing for a number of

deftly.vc invests in Bright Software + [why we invested]

Bright is a SaaS-based immersive training software that helps enterprises reduce costs and improve skills development. It aligns with our views on the "efficiency economy". deftly.vc is thrilled to be an early investor in Bright's first outside institutional round, supporting Rob Wright and his team as they look to

deftly.vc welcomes Matt Brown as Operating Partner

Matt brings a wealth of experience scaling organizations across Operations, Sales/Marketing & Branding. In his capacity, Matt will work with deftly.vc's portfolio companies on go-to-market plans and position them for efficient growth. A few words about his journey. My operating (hi)story I’ve been fortunate  over the course

Optionality: the "holy grail" for early stage founders

One of the most overlooked considerations when founding teams set out to build a software business, particularly in the b2b space, is recognizing early the variations in potential successful outcomes, and what that may imply about fundraising strategy over the life of their startup. The default thinking for many founders

The competitive edge of a diverse founding team

The lack of diversity in the startup ecosystem has been well-documented. Of course, diversity can be viewed through many different lens: geography, gender, religion, socio-economic status, among other variables we can throw into the mix. Let's define it simply as: founders who are non-white, non-male or non-US born. The statistics

deftly.vc welcomes LPs Nikhil + Garrett [founders, Adaptly]

In nine years, Nikhil & Garrett took Adaptly from a concept hatched in college to a leading adtech startup employing 150+. In 2018, the company was acquired by Accenture. A few words about their journey: Our founder story We met while in undergrad at Northwestern University and both had a passion

Predictive cues that a founder is going to "make it"

I've always thought that evaluating startup founders is a bit like working inside the scouting department of a major league sports team. It requires both objective and subjective analysis, using quantitative and qualitative inputs, to project whether what you see today is likely to yield something that is transformed in

deftly.vc welcomes LP Mark Ruiters [founder, SchoolPass]

Mark founded SchoolPass in 2008 with $30K. He bootstrapped its growth until 2021, when he raised substantial growth equity from Level Equity, a top-tier PE fund. A few words about his journey: My founder story If you have ever experienced the pain and frustration of a K-12 school pickup/dismissal

Yes, you have entered the "Efficiency Economy"

As someone who entered the workforce in the '90s, I, like many people in my cohort, haven't been surprised to see the economy take a dip earlier this year. After all, I have lived through several well-branded economic cycles ("Gulf War Recession", "The Dot Bomb" and "The Great Recession" come

deftly.vc welcomes LP Jordan F. [founder, CoachUp]

Jordan Fliegel is a serial entrepreneur and is currently an MD, Techstars, and Chairman, CoachUp. A few words about his journey: My founder story CoachUp came from my heart, as I was a mediocre basketball player who benefited from having a private coach (Greg Kristof) who remains a lifelong friend

deftly.vc welcomes LP Yaakov Zar, [co-founder, Lev]

Congrats to Yaakov on Lev's closing of its $170M Series B round in May '22. A few words about his journey. My founder story We built Lev to help commercial real estate investors get the best financing for their property. While helping a local non-profit get financing for their building,

deftly.vc welcomes LP, Mo Iqbal, [founder, SweatWorks]

Congrats to Mo & SweatWorks for being recognized as one of Inc. Magazine's fastest growing startups for the 3rd straight year. A few words about his journey. My founder story Health and wellness has been a passion of mine since I was 13 years old.  Being an immigrant to the United

deftly.vc welcomes LPs, Nick & Nick [co-founders, Recover Athletics]

Congrats Nick S. and Nick K. on the recent acquisition of Recover Athletics by Strava (100M+ users). A few words about their journey: Our founder story Nick and I decided to relive our High School Cross Country glory days by running a marathon together. As we ramped up the mileage,

deftly.vc welcomes LP, Clint Smith, [co-founder, Emma]

Clint's initial funding for Emma, a leading email marketing platform, was with a credit card. Emma was acquired by Insight Venture Partners in 2017. A few words about his journey: My founder story Will Weaver and I had already teamed up to work on projects together and wait for the