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Don Butler shared thisEnjoyed talking with Steve Ispas at Bay Area Innovators about AI and how this time around feels quite different than earlier shifts. Compared to prior tech platform shifts that we have invested through (the dot-com era, the mobile revolution, and the shift to cloud computing), this one feels like it goes beyond enablement and has far more potential for disruption than prior shifts. In that regard, it feels like this platform shift is producing far more anxiety than the joy and sense of new (and positive) possibilities that we saw accompanying those earlier shifts.Don Butler shared thisIs the AI boom the next dot-com bubble? Venture capitalist Don Butler of Thomvest Ventures says it’s more a question of when than if. After 25 years in Silicon Valley, he explains what feels different this time — and why a cooldown might not be a bad thing. Watch the full conversation on Bay Area Innovators: https://ept.ms/VCAIBubble
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Don Butler shared thisExcited to be able to work together again with Brendan Hogan, who is now working with us as a Strategic Advisor focused on companies in the AI, cybersecurity, and enterprise technology areas. We have had a long relationship with Brendan as both an executive at our portfolio company Quid as well as when he was a Thomvest Fellow while at Wharton. Great to be working together again!
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Don Butler shared thisWe are excited to announce that Brad Brooks is joining our team as an Operating Partner. His work with our group will be focused on assisting companies in the cybersecurity, AI, and enterprise software spaces. Brad brings extensive experience as an operator who has scaled several companies, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to work together. Prior to joining Thomvest, Brad most recently served as CEO of Censys and previously as CEO of OneLogin, following senior executive roles at DocuSign, Juniper Networks, and Microsoft. Brad partners with founders on scaling strategy, organizational development, and go-to-market execution, drawing on decades of experience leading global technology businesses from early growth through large-scale operations. Welcome to the team!
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Don Butler shared thisCongratulations to Shivani Siroya and the entire team at Tala for being named to the Forbes Fintech 50 for ten years in a row. Great to see the recognition for a team that has executed so well across multiple geographies - a rare feat indeed.Don Butler shared thisFor the 10th consecutive year, Tala has been named to the Forbes Fintech 50! This year’s honor is even more meaningful as our Founder & CEO, Shivani Siroya, has also been named to their list of America’s 250 greatest innovators. Together, these recognitions help validate our mission as we remain deeply committed to building powerful infrastructure that unleashes the economic power of the global majority. Thanks to our incredible team and all of our partners who have been on this journey with us. Onward to the next decade! Links to the full lists can be found in the comments below.
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Don Butler shared thisSan Francisco is at a pivotal moment as AI transforms the global economy and redefines the future of the Bay Area. How is the AI revolution changing the City, and what are the real economic signals beneath the headlines? Next Wednesday, we will host a conversation with Ted Egan, Chief Economist for the City and County of San Francisco. The discussion will focus on the structural shifts occurring across the City, covering topics from growth and recovery to AI’s influence on talent, capital, and innovation. The conversation will continue over appetizers and a chance to connect with fellow founders, investors, and operators who share a common interest in the future of the City. 📅 Tuesday, February 25 | 6:00–8:30pm 📍 Thomvest Offices — 138 South Park Street, San Francisco RSVP is here: https://luma.com/1g3a7oxb We look forward to seeing many of you there.
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Don Butler shared thisWe are looking forward to participating in the inaugural Fintech Week SF (May 26–29)! Thomvest is excited to be part of the first group of organizations helping shape a city-wide week of fintech gatherings across San Francisco, organized by The Financial Club. We’ll be hosting an event during the week and connecting with founders, operators, and partners who are planning to be in town that week - for both our friends in town as well as those coming in for Fintech Week, we look forward to seeing you in SF in May!
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Don Butler shared thisCongratulations to Aaron Letzeiser, Ryan Letzeiser, and the entire team at Obie on their acquisition by The Baldwin Group! The team has revolutionized landlord insurance and led the way in embedded insurance, and today's news reflects the strength of the company they have built. I still remember our first meeting at their offices in Chicago at the height of the pandemic. From those earliest of days until now, they have executed tremendously and we're grateful to have been a part of their journey!Don Butler shared this🚀 This is a defining moment and a reflection of years of hard work, dedication, and ingenuity by the Obie team. Obie has been acquired by The Baldwin Group (NASDAQ: BWIN)! We never set out to "revolutionize", “disrupt”, or [insert buzz word] insurance. But we recognized that with thoughtful investment and a mandate for modern technology, we could help drive the industry a few steps forward while delivering significantly outsized returns to the venture investors who believed in our mission. This outcome reflects that success. We’ve had the opportunity to get to know the Baldwin team over many years and always felt aligned with our shared vision of the future of insurance. We’re proud to join Baldwin and continue to drive the industry forward. A big thank you to our management team who have been with us since the earliest days: Curtis Jackson, Laura Taccini Olson, and Kara Funk, SPHR. Ryan and I couldn't have done this without you three 👏 👏 👏 Shout out to my brother and Co-Founder Ryan Letzeiser, I guess he helped with some of this too 😂 Finally, an extremely big shout out and thank you to some of our earliest supporters. Bo Lu: you left me a voicemail (that I still have saved) to invite us to join YC. It changed our life. Michael Brown, Michael Hoeksema, Austin Yount, Y Combinator, Garry Tan, Tim Brady, Aaron Harris, Kevin Hale, Matt MacInnis, Immad Akhund, James Beshara, Aneel Ranadive, JD Ross, Boris Silver, Aaron Block, Zach Aarons, Zak Schwarzman, Mike Travalini, Nima Wedlake, Douglas HIRSH, Breton Birkhofer, Alexandre Scialom, Justin Alanís, Michael Ma, Lisha Li, Niko Hrdy, Jason Gray, Alan Rutledge, Nick Alexander, Bryan Frist, Jeff Goodman, Paul Bonenberger, Bob Gillespie, Duke Long, Don Butler, Mark Lotke, John Horneff, Giancarlo Stanton. I’m missing more but Linkedin is limiting me! https://lnkd.in/gRfbWi7vThe Baldwin Group Completes Acquisition of Obie, a Leading Investment Property Insurance PlatformThe Baldwin Group Completes Acquisition of Obie, a Leading Investment Property Insurance Platform
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Don Butler shared thisMany thanks to the entrepreneurs, partners, and investors that were able to join us for our annual holiday gathering (aka ThomFest). We're grateful to this community and fortunate to be on this journey together. Best wishes for the holidays and looking forward to what we can achieve together in the New Year!Don Butler shared thisAs we head into the holiday season, we’re grateful for the time spent together at this year's ThomFest and for the community that makes gatherings like this so meaningful. ThomFest is a reflection of what we value most at Thomvest: thoughtful conversations, long-term partnerships, and the operators, founders, and investors who continue to push important ideas forward. Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make the event such a success. Wishing you and your teams a happy holiday season.
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Don Butler reposted thisDon Butler reposted thisEvery organization is in a race it didn’t choose — the race to protect trust 🙅 . In his new Forbes article, our CEO Rod Schultz describes the “86,400-second war,” a powerful metaphor for what we’re witnessing across the digital landscape: Identity abuse, impersonation, and deception are accelerating at a pace that traditional defenses simply can’t keep up with. That’s why the next era of cybersecurity won’t be defined by perimeters. It will be defined by continuous awareness, speed, and the ability to respond in real time ⏳ . At Bolster AI, this is the mission we’re building toward every day. 🌐 If trust is the new currency of digital business, protecting it must become a round-the-clock priority. 🕰️ Read Rod’s full perspective here: https://shorturl.at/iuqMnThe Coming Collapse Of Trust And The 86,400-Second WarThe Coming Collapse Of Trust And The 86,400-Second War
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Mark diTargiani Thanks, Mark, and was great seeing you as well!
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Dina Y. Thanks, Dina, and excited to be working together with Brad!
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Thanks, Benjamin Narasin, and great to be featured here alongside yourself as well!
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Don Butler liked thisHUGE milestone for Figure!! I'm so proud of this amazing team and our awesome partners - onwards and upwards! 🚀Don Butler liked thisWe just reported March 2026 operating data -- and for the first time, surpassed $1B in monthly consumer loan marketplace volume. Grateful to our partners who helped make it happen. Onward! Link to full release in comments.
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Don Butler liked thisDon Butler liked thisIt was a real pleasure to talk with Karina Jimenez, MBA, on her Next in Line podcast. If you are starting out in your career or want to figure out how to take it up a notch, you should check out her lively podcast (including my episode: https://bit.ly/4cmJW6L). #careers #careermanagement #nextinline #professionaldevelopment #podcast
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Don Butler liked thisDon Butler liked thisGreat panel today at Fintech Meetup with Rodney E. Hood, Shane Dinius, Todd Plumley and Bjoern Nordmann on what modern borrowers actually expect from lenders. Quick takeaway: it’s not just speed … 78% of Americans say they’re buying a home for stability. And yet… the mortgage process is often anything but. In Las Vegas today, a city built on risk, it’s a good reminder that borrowers are actually looking for the opposite. The real opportunity we see at Maxwell across the hundreds of lenders we serve isn’t just fast, it’s giving borrowers predictability: • Know what’s coming next • Understand what’s required • No surprises at the finish line The lenders that win won’t just be the fastest. They’ll be the ones that give borrowers the most confidence.
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Don Butler liked thisDon Butler liked thisJust got back from Fintech Meetup Las Vegas last night. Here's what mattered. 🚀 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵: 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹-𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱 We launched USDC-linked card issuing in partnership with Visa and Mastercard. Digital assets can finally be usable in everyday commerce — benefiting businesses and consumers alike. This is the moment we've been building toward. And judging by our exploding inbox 📬, the market is more than ready. 💬 Prajit Nanu 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗹 Our CEO Prajit joined Melissa Douros (Green Dot Corporation), Pratik Risbud (Kato), & Victoria Zuo (QED Investors) for one of the sharpest conversations of the conference. What stuck: → 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Before a single dollar moves, you need to know who's transacting, on whose behalf, with what authority — increasingly critical in the age of agentic transactions. → 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆. The money arrives or it doesn't. No partial credit. That's what makes trust in B2B payments non-negotiable — and so hard to earn. → 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲. Running monthly payroll across 94 countries doesn't happen overnight. It's built transaction by transaction, corridor by corridor, license by license. → 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘆𝗲𝘁. For example, who owns the chargeback when AI agent gets it wrong? Right guardrails will lead to adoption. 🤖 → 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱. New rails — fiat or on-chain — will keep emerging. Infrastructure will have to adapt. 🔥 Angela Strange 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 Sanjib Kalita One of the best fireside chats I've seen in a while. What landed: → 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘂𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱. Executives used to ask: what if AI doesn't work? Now it's: what happens when it does? Financial services runs on inertia — AI compounds it. → 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗮𝘁. Compliance manager is the 5th fastest growing job in the US (per Angela). Companies that turn regulatory requirements and frameworks into code — and can decode AI choices for regulators — will move much faster and win. → 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿. Not security. Banks and payments companies are sitting on years of rich transaction data that isn't clean enough for AI yet. We've got to fix that. → 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 ���𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀. Browser UIs, checkout pages, ecommerce sites as we know them — all going away. A whole new infrastructure layer is needed. ------- 2 days. 1 stablecoin launch. Countless conversations about where payments is heading and how Nium is laser-focused on building for what's next. 🚀 Thank you Sanjib Kalita and the Fintech Meetup team for bringing this community together. 🙌 #FintechMeetup #Payments #Stablecoins #AgenticAI #Fintech #Nium #PaymentsInnovation
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Don Butler liked thisDon Butler liked thisWhat an incredible honour to be recognized at the 2026 Built in Canada Awards 🇨🇦🏆 Pine was proud to be named one of the winners, a meaningful moment for our team as we continue working toward a simpler, more transparent homeownership experience for Canadians. This recognition is a reflection of the people behind it, our team, our partners, and the thousands of Canadians who trust us with one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives. Congratulations to all the inspiring founders and leaders recognized last night. The future of Canadian innovation is being built right here, and it is exciting to be part of it. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eStcFnhG Build Canada | TD Innovation Partners | Simple Ventures | The Peak
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Don Butler liked thisit was a great experience to go back and consider the contonuous disruption of the technology industry in Silicon Valley .. the rate of change and the celebration of it, created.. and destroyed companies across every industry.. Every 5 years the 40 miles between San Francisco and San Jose reinvents itself..Don Butler liked thisThe PMF Playbook’s latest edition is “Relevance Must Be Re-Earned” with Anthony Lye, Chairman & CEO Quid - exploring how great companies survive multiple waves of disruption. This week’s edition dives into why product-market fit is never permanent, how markets are re-segmented rather than created, and why the companies that win are the ones that continuously challenge their own assumptions before the market does it for them. #PMFPlaybook #ProductMarketFit #Startups #AI #Leadership #EnterpriseSoftware #VentureCapital #InsideTheSiliconMindAnthony Lye on Silicon Valley, disruption, and why relevance must be re-earnedAnthony Lye on Silicon Valley, disruption, and why relevance must be re-earned
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Don Butler liked thisI am incredibly honored to step into the role of CEO at Patriot Growth Insurance Services, LLC! What makes this opportunity incredibly meaningful is the strength of our people, our agencies, and the relationships we have built together. We have strong momentum, and I'm excited about what’s ahead as we continue to grow and evolve. Thank you to everyone across Patriot for the work you do every day and to our business partners and clients for being on this journey with us. I’m looking forward to building what’s next - together!Don Butler liked thisWe are proud to announce that John Galaviz has assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer of Patriot Growth Insurance Services. John’s leadership, deep understanding of our business, and commitment to our employees, agencies, clients, and partners position Patriot strongly for what is ahead. As we continue to grow, our focus remains clear: supporting our agencies, serving our clients, and building a connected and trusted organization for the future. We are confident in our long-term strategy and in John’s leadership as we move forward. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/g9MsWmsp #PatriotGrowthInsuranceServices #Leadership #Insurance #RiskManagement #InsuranceSolutions
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Don Butler liked thisDon Butler liked thisFigure just made history with the first public equity listed, traded, and settled entirely on blockchain. I sat down with Mike Cagney to break down what that means. Full interview below 👇Mike Cagney just tokenized public equity for the first time in history. Here's why that matters more than you think.Mike Cagney just tokenized public equity for the first time in history. Here's why that matters more than you think.
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Don Butler liked thisDon Butler liked thisTala is officially live in Vietnam 🇻🇳 Backed by a $100M partnership with CIMB, we’re bringing AI-native credit to create durable financial access for millions of Vietnamese consumers. In our early years, expansion meant building new credit systems market by market. Today, we are deploying scalable infrastructure to reach new geographies quickly and responsibly, in partnership with leading institutions and fintechs around the world. Vietnam is a milestone — and a blueprint for what comes next. Read more 👇How Tala and CIMB are Scaling Vietnam’s Financial FutureHow Tala and CIMB are Scaling Vietnam’s Financial Future
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