Community News & Content

We have come a long way from taxi services, with platforms like Uber and Lyft taking over the rideshare space. While the evolution of transportation services has opened up many job opportunities and generated billions in revenue, there are still holes within these business models. Relying on contract or “gig” drivers can make it difficult for companies to attract and maintain an optimal fleet, and it also opens the door for potentially dangerous situations. In 2018 , Uber identified reports of 3,045 sexual assaults, nine murders, and 58 individuals killed in car accidents.

As machine learning and artificial intelligence continue disrupting many industries, companies are increasingly turning to compute-intensive applications. However, achieving and maintaining the extremely large amount of processing these workloads require is extremely difficult due to the inadequacy of existing hardware that can’t manage low power needs — especially in edge markets such as surveillance, smart retail, smart city, mobile phones, and other edge devices.

Give innovation. We’re pleased to present our community with just some of the innovative products and services from our 800+ portfolio companies. We hope you and your loved ones enjoy a wonderful holiday season.

Veteran Affairs (VA) Home Loans offer our home-buying heroes the benefits of no down payments and low-interest rates. However, similar to other home loans, these benefits are accompanied by the unattractive seller component of longer closing times. As a result, individuals are missing out on their dream homes because they cannot close in a short time frame.

With 25+ award categories, the Benzinga Global Fintech Awards recognizes outstanding companies from all over the fintech atmosphere. We are thrilled to announce that Alumni Ventures’ was awarded first place in Best Alternative Investments Platform alongside top-notch companies — Groundfloor (2nd Place) and Vinovest (3rd Place). Check below to watch the full awards ceremony.

Alumni Ventures’ Seed Fund (formerly Basecamp) offers investors a large, diversified seed and pre-seed investments portfolio. Four full-time Managing Partners lead our investing efforts and are based in three key venture hubs: Catherine Lu and Andrea Funsten in San Francisco, M att Scott in NYC, and Wayne Moore in Chicago. We sat down with the team to discuss their approach to sourcing and evaluating seed-stage opportunities, examples from our current portfolio, and their thoughts on why established VCs are deploying significant capital to seed-stage companies this year.

What is Pattern Recognition? “Pattern recognition is an essential skill in venture capital… while the elements of success in the venture business do not repeat themselves precisely, they often rhyme. In evaluating companies, the successful VC will often see something that reminds them of patterns they have seen before.” — Bruce Dunlevie, General Partner at Benchmark Capital

AVTV features Impact Biosystems, a company developing adaptive health and fitness hardware and software solutions to improve the muscle recovery process for athletes. AVTV videos feature Alumni Ventures’ portfolio companies sharing their stories and asks with our community of 550K+ subscribers.

It is the generation of the influencer! Creators on Tik Tok, Youtube, Instagram, and beyond are becoming increasingly well-known — and in some cases, well-compensated. Some influencers have secured as much as $700,000 in brand deals in just six months. This shift to a social media-driven society has produced a change in marketing and advertising techniques. Brands and companies now actively connect with influencers to help promote their products through leveraging their large communities — sometimes surpassing a million followers .

Alumni Ventures is pleased to support a diverse group of entrepreneurs. We’re also pleased to note when those entrepreneurs receive some well-deserved mentions. Inc.’s recent annual Female Founders 100 List is a case in point. The list showcases and honors exceptional, trailblazing, and inspiring women entrepreneurs. This diverse group leads innovative companies across sectors and geographies. Congratulations to all those named, with a special callout below to our portco founders who made the list.