Zap's Wrap March 30th

hi friends,

Last week was about doing the work…

New Episode of Founders Only:

Tristan, founder of Edgevanta, is building AI agents for civil construction estimating and he is one of the most exciting founders I've had the privilege of watching build!!

When it comes to founder-market fit, nobody knows this pain more than Tristan does. He lived it.

I sat down with him for an interview and it's worth a listen. Link here.

Proud to be an investor and even prouder to call him a friend!

Lorenzo built us our own podcast studio at the Lighthouse!!! So pumped to put this into action!!

Startup things I think are cool!

• I hosted Grace back at the Lighthouse last week! She was me and Mr Zap’s first house guest in our new house. Grace moved to NYC a couple months ago. I miss her so much, but am so excited with how she is building Elysian!

• UnityAI raised their Series A! You can read more about it here. I think Edmund has built an incredible team culture and I’ve had the honor to find great folks to join their team!

• Nashville is now home to a new startup, the SpotsNow team led by Cam. They are a Brickyard alum that just moved to town. They help people find last-minute podcast and youtube ad spots.

• I had lunch with Alex, a YC-alum and formerly exited founder, who is now building something new in the dental space!

• I have another startup hiring for an in-person chief of staff in Nashville. This has become a very popular role!!!

A few things on my mind lately:

• I’m not actively working a deal right now and honestly it's the most unfulfilling feeling. There's still plenty to do. But nothing hits like actively investing or helping a founder get through a raise. That's the most fun part. The rest is the work to get there!

• My dad told me and Mr Zap to stop buying coffee out to save money. Past me would have agreed. Current me doesn't. Money is meant to be spent on things you actually like and I like getting a coffee every day!! If I had a fixed income, different conversation. But my upside is uncapped. I can always earn more. I'm still frugal in a lot of ways, but if something saves me time or helps me work better, I'm spending the money. My mindset on money has just completely shifted since becoming an entrepreneur.

• I do things I'm scared of. I do it all the time, which is probably why things work out. But I want to be clear: I'm still scared. Every time. It's not that the fear goes away, it's that I have a lot of practice doing it anyway. That's the whole secret.

Events

• CTO Board Game Night, Thursday April 2nd @ 6pm

  • This is a CTO-only event! Email me for details.

• B2C Founders Hang, Friday, April 3rd

  • Getting together all consumer focused founders to meet each other and find ways to collab!

• The SPV Playbook, Wednesday April 22nd

  • ​SPVs allow investors to share access to deals, build track records, and back founders alongside other great investors. But most people only see the surface- not how they actually work behind the scenes. ​Join us for a conversation on how SPVs really work in practice.

• Zappy Hour, Wednesday, April 22nd

  • Drinks with founders & investors, cohosted with Wefunder!

• Legal Issues to Consider when Onboarding Customers, Friday May 1st

  • ​This session will discuss customer contracts, pilot and beta agreements, privacy considerations, and AI technology as it relates to early customers through growth.

• Proptech Demo Day, Wednesday May 6th

  • Come learn about startups building for real estate and construction!

Personal

Me and Mr Zap went with his family on a fishing trip. I had never been fishing before, but I was pretty good at it because I caught 5 fish!!! Most fish of the day!! Mr Zap caught 0 fish!!! LOL

I forgot to snap a pic, but my dad was in town last week and worked in the desk next to me at the Lighthouse and got to experience what I do every day!

to the moon,

zap⚡