Community Building and Collaboration
Over the last few weeks, it's been a busy time for Vestigo as we work to come back together in so many different ways. We gathered our portfolio company founders to learn about B2B marketing best practices and to group think on shared challenges and solutions. We hosted our Limited Partners to reflect on where we've been, where we are and where we're heading. During the last week of September, the Boston FinTech community gathered in person for the first time in three years. We hosted a number of panels featuring our founders, LPs and friends.
We learned a great deal from these meetings about the state of the world - "cautious but optimistic" captures the overall sentiment well. It was good to hear what was on the mind of founders. Talent was the biggest issue discussed - how to attract it, how to retain it and how to build winning cultures. All helpful perspective to observe for us. Thank you to all who came to our sessions and to our team for making it engaging and fun!
- Dave & Mark
In this episode, Frazer speaks with the founders of SaaSWorks, Vipul Shah (CEO) and Jim O’Neill (CTO), about their insights and lessons learned as two seasoned entrepreneurs with experience ranging from being on the founding team at HubSpot to leading an investing practice at firms such as Goldman Sachs, ArrowMark Partners, Brightwood Capital, and SVT Capital.
Wicked Good Time
What a wonderful week of FinTech focused fans gathering in Boston for sessions with startups, experts and thought leaders. We were so impressed by the suite of events organized by Mass FinTech Hub with oversight by the FinTech Sandbox solely focused on this important industry.
The 2021 Boston FinTech Week ("BFTW") included over 3,500 participants, 100 speakers and 55 sessions. This year, BFTW was held in person and exceeded those numbers. Our sessions were at capacity with every seat filled, only leaving standing room for late comers. The Worcester Polytechnic Institute was an excellent co-host at their riverfront campus in Boston.
Vestigo is making a meaningful impact on the FinTech community in Boston and beyond. We started our first fund in 2017, the same year BFTW started, and it has been wonderful to grow up together.
Enjoy the photos!
- Team Vestigo
The Vestigo Ventures Founders' Workshop
It can be lonely at the top. Vestigo hosted “Founders Day” for portfolio founders in late September as a part of the annual meeting, with the intention to foster connections and exchange learnings and challenges among our founders. We had representation from 15 of our portfolio companies for a three hour workshop followed by a cocktail reception and dinner nearby at Glass House. The Vestigo team received some great feedback and we thought we’d share some words from our founders regarding the day:
“Great job by the Vestigo team! Such a great day! The B2B marketing session was incredibly fruitful and offered some unique insights that we’re already incorporating at our company. Personally, I also found it very impactful to connect and share the experience with the other founders. Being the CEO can be a grueling role at times so it was therapeutical in a sense to find that common bond with other founders who have faced similar challenges. The event was also well organized and thoughtfully planned. I’ll definitely be attending next year!”
– Guy Assad, Founder & CEO of Clerkie
“It was so refreshing to hear that others are experiencing similar difficulties and opportunities as it relates to hiring and building culture in remote and/or hybrid environments. There’s definitely additional questions we’ll be asking during our interview process and adding one or two different clauses to employment contracts. I‘m planning on regular catch-ups with other co-founders to continue to compare notes on hiring and other topics."
– Giri Addanki, Founder & CEO of Acorn Finance
“The Vestigo event was thoughtful and well-designed. The Vestigo team created a well-balanced agenda that provided the ideal mix of education opportunities, informal learning from peers, and the ability to connect with LPs. I was able to establish some great connections with peers and LPs. I'm excited to attend the next event.”
– Phil Charm, Co-Founder & CEO of Climate Club
- Team Vestigo
Mass FinTech Hub Angel Investor Sponsorship Program
As a proud founding member of the Mass Fintech Hub, Vestigo Ventures is excited to share the latest program announcement from the Mass Fintech Hub team.As part of Mass Fintech Hub’s commitment to supporting the growth of early stage startups in Massachusetts and increasing the pool of early stage investment capital, the Mass Fintech Hub has launched an Angel Investor Education Series and will bring together a community of leading and new angel investors and startups to share knowledge about founding a business, attracting capital and the decision making necessary along the way. A key part of that programming is sponsoring prospective angel investors from the regional fintech community to go through an external education course. The first cohort will take the course in October and cohorts will continue into 2023. This initiative is sponsored by a grant from the Mass Tech Collaborative.
Mark Casady kicked off the initiative and the Angel Investing Mini-Workshop featuring Class Rebel at Boston Fintech Week recently.
How to get involved: Fintech community members who wish to learn how to become Angel Investors and potentially be sponsored by the Mass Fintech Hub to take an Angel 101 class, may register their interest using the link below.
New Portfolio Company
We're delighted to announce our latest investment in Climate Club, a carbon reduction platform that embeds sustainability into the employee experience and delivers quantifiable, scalable carbon and cost reductions.
Founded by Adam Braun and Philip Charm, Climate Club embeds sustainability into the employee experience at leading companies and drives Net Zero emissions across every department, team and employee. Check out our announcement to learn more about this incredible new venture!
Portfolio Updates
Franklin Templeton and AdvisorEngine Select LifeYield to Help Meet Investor Income Needs
Franklin Templeton will enhance its Goals Optimization Engine (GOE®) with LifeYield’s industry-leading technology for tax-efficient planning and income sourcing across multiple accounts and assets.
ZenLedger Announces BitPay Partnership
Zenledger announced the company is accepting cryptocurrency as payment for goods and services using BitPay, the world’s largest provider of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payment services.
PRNewswire
General Motors Adds Jon McNeill to Its Board of Directors
Jon McNeill, CEO Of DVx Ventures, joined General Motor's Board of Directors! Jon previously served as COO at Lyft and President of Global Sales, Delivery and Service at Tesla!
Apply to One of Our Portfolio Companies!
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