The TWiST500 is growing and LIQUIDITY talks are up
Hi everyone!
It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve written. I was busy writing the TWiST500 newsletter while Alex was out (for good reason—he and his partner had their second baby!).
TWiST500
The TWiST500 is our database of the top companies our team believes will go public. Jason and Alex first announced the TWiST500 on E1957 (timestamp: 30:11). You can check out the database here, and if you think we missed a company, feel free to email Alex with your ideas at alexw@launch.co. And while you’re at it, you can subscribe to the newsletter here.
LIQUIDITY Summit 2024
It’s been three months since our LIQUIDITY Summit in June. This was the first LAUNCH event I attended, and it was a blast meeting our team in person, along with a lineup of amazing LPs and GPs!
Two of my favorite presenters were Pejman Nozad of Pear VC and Meghan Reynolds of Altimeter. Last week’s TWiST episodes bring us back to that content. E2007 featured Pejman Nozad. It was so inspiring to hear how he went from selling rugs in Palo Alto to angel investing in some of the biggest companies. At one point, he shared a picture of himself with the Dropbox team at their IPO (timestamp: 9:51), and you could see from his huge smile how much he genuinely cares about the companies he invests in.
In E2008, Meghan Reynolds of Altimeter presented her talk on Investor Relations advice. Since working at LAUNCH, I’ve learned how important LP communication is. Meghan’s talk highlighted this—especially when delivering bad news. In these cases, it's almost like you're racing to be the first to deliver it. LPs would much rather hear bad news directly from you than read about it in the news. I highly recommend watching the talk to acquire great communication strategies.
LAUNCH CloudKitchens Incubator
I’ve been working more closely with our LAUNCH CloudKitchens Incubator. This has been a very exciting experience given my love for baking and food, in general. Whenever I’m on a call with a founder or looking through applications, I’m always fascinated by the unique concepts and recipes (not to mention getting hungry).
We’re now accepting applications for Cohort 2 of the program. It’s open to tech and food entrepreneurs who want to break into the ghost kitchen space. The program allows companies to dive deep into the business side of operating a ghost kitchen and learn more about pitching their concept and fundraising.
To apply for the program, head over to this link.
Startup Tuneup: September 26th and 27th
ICYMI, Startup Tuneup is back! This is our free, online two-day curriculum for founders who’ve launched their product but haven’t yet raised a Series A. The next one is September 26th and 27th.
It’s a great opportunity to learn tactics around fundraising, scaling your product, accounting, growth, marketing, and more. You can even queue up for a chance to pitch to Jason. If you’re an early-stage founder looking to attend, apply here.
Talk soon!