Arjay Ruggles’ Post

Huge thanks to Niki Gastinel and Hesam Jafari for having PomJuice as a sponsor for this amazing event! The climate crisis is one of the most pressing issues facing humanity, and I'm excited to connect with founders and investors who are focused on creating real solutions. This will be a fantastic way to close out Climate Tech Week!

The latest issue of the Squeeze, my founder-focused newsletter for startups from PreSeed to Series A is out now! Check out the post below or head into the comments to read the full issue 👇

Chase is so 2000-and-late. True finance bros use Mercury for their personal banking 😎 But on a more serious note, let’s talk about why Mercury’s new personal banking product is an absolute *game changer* for angels! We’ve all been there. 🤩 You find an incredible company with a founder you have complete confidence in. After completing due diligence, you decide to invest. ✍️ One executed SAFE later, the moment has come. It’s time to wire funds. You open up Chase’s website and after wrestling with their terrible UX, you manage to complete the transaction. 😬 Or so you thought. A few weeks pass and you get a text message that makes your heart drop out of your chest: “Hey, we haven’t received any funds, did you send the wire?” In a panic, you check your accounts and instantly sigh in relief: the money is still in your account. 😡 Turns out, Chase hasn’t bothered to notify you that the wire transaction failed. And worse still, the status just says “REJECTED”. No explanation as to why. After a few phone calls, the only solution you’ve been given is to try again. After three more failed attempts, you (slightly embarrassingly) ask the founder if they’ll accept a cashier’s check 🫠 If any of the above resonates with you, then you’ll be happy to know that Mercury solves ALL of these problems. Since January, I’ve exclusively used Mercury for all my personal banking and I couldn’t be happier. The UX is amazing, their customer service is top-tier, and I’ve been able to make several wire transfers that arrive within 24-48 hours. All without a single issue or complication. I highly encourage folks who actively angel invest to consider signing up; I promise you won’t regret it! (👕 courtesy of Izzy Howell)

4 days ago I published the 1st issue of my investor newsletter, Not from Concentrate, and today we've reached over 360+ subscribers 🤯 This is the culmination of months of research I conducted while interviewing early-stage investors and emerging fund managers, primarily in the $10M - $100M fund range. 😰 Investors in this category often have tight budgets and limited manpower; requiring them to rely on venture partners or their personal networks to maintain strong deal flow, while balancing the myriad of other responsibilities on their plate. 🤩 My goal with Not from Concentrate is to make their lives just a *bit* easier by surfacing important trends, sharing valuable resources, and curating compelling investment opportunities. Jump into the comments of this post to read the full issue, and don't forget to sign up so you never miss out! 👇

I'm thrilled to share that the 1st issue Not from Concentrate just dropped! This bi-weekly newsletter is focused on providing insight into private markets, LP trends, and resources for early-stage investors. This week I discussed how the market around venture debt has shifted, post the Silicon Valley Bank crisis and how that has impacted early-stage startups. We also feature three startups that have seen significant traction to date: Brian Freeman 👋, Creatorland Aparna Pujar, Zemplee Inc Annie Brown, Reliabl 🔗 Check out the comments on this post for a link to the full article!

It's with great pride that I introduce The Squeeze, a bi-weekly newsletter for Founders from PreSeed to Series A! Created in partnership with Amir K., each issue will center around a major topic related to fundraising and investor relations for early-stage startups. 🗞️ For the first issue, I wrote this detailed article providing a list of green flags and red flags to look for when sourcing qualified early-stage investors. 💡 (Sadly) not every investor at there has your best interest at heart, and I can tell you from personal experience how important it can be to find the right kind of investors who will support you for the long haul. 🤩 If you enjoy this article and what to see more, check out the full newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/g59NGjyC

I'm so honored to be working on this newsletter with Amir K.! With over 100+ early-stage investments across 9 accelerator cohorts under his belt, he carries a wealth of knowledge to share with early-stage investors and fund managers. ✍ Head on over to https://pomjuice.app to sign up Our first issue drops next Wednesday and I promise you won't want to miss it!