Lucas J. Pols

Check out the latest funding news from across the Techstars portfolio. → Zipline (Techstars 2011), a drone delivery and logistics startup, raises more than $600M in new funding, boosting its valuation to $7.6B, as it expands commercial deployments. → Language learning startup Preply (Techstars 2015) raises $150M and becomes the 23rd known unicorn from Techstars accelerators. → Hydrosat (Techstars 2019) raises $60M in Series B funding → Tive (Techstars 2017) receives a $20M investment, valuing the shipment-tracking systems developer at slightly more than $500M. → Parambil (Techstars 2023) raises an additional $6M in seed funding ($8M to date). → Seasats (Techstars 2021) receives $24M in Department of War APFIT funding to accelerate the fielding of its autonomous surface vessels. → Hawaiian Airlines’ newly announced $600M Kahuʻewai Hawai‘i Investment Plan features a strategic investment in Ampaire (Techstars 2018) to support hybrid-electric aviation in the islands. → Fintalo (Techstars 2025) secures $500K+ in oversubscribed Pre-Seed funding. → PraxisPro (Techstars 2024) closes an oversubscribed $6M seed round. → Samara Aerospace (Techstars 2024) closes $10M seed round to help bring more stability to sats in orbit. → MyARC (Techstars 2022), a platform that enables fitness creators to train their communities at scale, secures £1.5M investment. Massive congratulations to these incredible portfolio companies!   🔗  Read more at https://lnkd.in/dxtCTvrg 

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This is the latest at Techstars: ⚡️ 9 accelerator programs with open applications ⚡️ 1 Founder Catalyst program with open applications ⚡️ 55+ Startup Weekend events ⚡️ 2 upcoming Techstars events ⚡️ 6 portfolio companies were acquired ⚡️ 5 portfolio companies secured funding Massive congratulations to these teams on their fundraising announcements and acquisition news! → Phoenix Tailings (Techstars 2020) secures $40.2M in strategic capital to accelerate U.S. rare earth metals production. → Seasats (Techstars 2021) raises $20M in Series A funding. → Take2 AI (Techstars 2023) bags $14M to speed health care hiring. → Smart Bricks (Techstars 2025) lands a $5M pre-seed led by a16z for AI proptech. → Pilot-built Intuos (Techstars 2024) zips €720K for an IoT safety push in small aircraft.  🤝 Experian acquires AI-powered mortgage shopping platform Own Up (Techstars 2017).  🤝 Riverwood Capital acquires Urban SDK (Techstars 2020) in AI-powered "smart city" push.  🤝 Ascentium, a leading global business services platform, acquires Clara Technologies (Techstars 2019).  🤝 Interactive Strength acquires Ergatta (Techstars 2019), the game-based connected fitness company known for its rowing machines.  🤝 Array acquires Penny Finance (Techstars 2023) to expand financial education and money management capabilities.  🤝 Uber acquires parking app SpotHero (TSV 2012, Chicago Excelerate Labs) as it moves beyond ride-hailing and food delivery. Read more on the blog: https://lnkd.in/dNi8M6zQ

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Building a Venture-Backed Defense Tech Company: What Actually Works Navigating the complexities of defense technology can feel like a Herculean task fraught with long timelines and complex bureaucracies. Here’s a deep dive into how to make the leap from startup to a venture-backed company that thrives in the defense tech realm. Get your free financial model to guide your journey: https://lnkd.in/ged-tg9x Why Treating Defense Tech as Just Another Customer Segment is a Pitfall Unlike traditional industries, defense tech startups face unique challenges. Success in this sphere requires understanding its distinct dynamics: - Separated Decision Makers: Users and buyers work in different locations, meaning the needs of military end-users might not align directly with procurement strategies. - Complex Budget Control: The DoD doesn’t control its budget straightforwardly, influenced by Congressional decision-making and political dynamics. - Extended Timelines: With an average timeline of over four years from funding to contract, the patience and strategy muscle are essential. The Three Shifts That Spell Success Successful defense tech entrepreneurs adapt to these unique conditions through strategic shifts: 1. Plan Long Building a robust financial strategy is vital. Understand funding expectations specific to each investment round. Anticipate needing approximately $325M over your company’s lifecycle. This foresight ensures sustainable growth and positions your venture for eventual scalability. 2. Signal Early R&D funding isn’t just a preliminary step; it’s your first sale. Begin with connecting to program offices instead of solely performing demonstrations. Prioritize learning and addressing demand signals to build authentic connections. 3. Scale With Structure Prepare for revenue generation even before achieving product maturity. Essential milestones include securing 2–5 contracts with scalable DoD buyers, ensuring $2M–$10M in committed awards, and tracing a clear path to $100M+ in signed deals. What VCs Require: Beyond the Narrative In this high-stakes world, a compelling narrative isn't enough for early-stage investors. They seek: - Early Demand Signals: Highlight genuine interest and commitment from potential buyers. - Milestone-Based Growth: Translate your achievements into tangible purchasing behaviors. - Revenue-Driven Strategies: Demonstrate clear and credible paths to eventual revenue, aligning with their fund size. Start With the End in Mind Navigating defense tech successfully hinges on aligning your aspirations with the process itself: - Embrace the DoD as your primary client, not just another client. - Focus on strategic revenue generation from ground zero, not just securing funding. - Think long-term and move with strategic precision. Credit goes to insightful pioneers, Dan Berkenstock & Helen Phillips of the Hoover Institution. Credit : Venture Capitalist Repost by Salem Bagami

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🚨NEW EPISODE: Recorded live at FUTURE TITANS 2026 - Jeff Perry of Carta sat down with the iconic Seth Levine, co-founder of Foundry. Seth has been in venture for 25 years, built Foundry from scratch as an emerging manager himself, and has backed about 50 emerging manager funds through his fund of funds. He has genuinely seen every side of this table. They went deep on building Foundry, why VCs are in the influence business, not the decision business, and why the concentration problem in venture is not only bad for LPs, but also for the innovation ecosystem overall. And why Seth's new book, Capital Evolution, is so important for the future of America. 🎧 Links to listen... Apple: https://lnkd.in/ehQUQ2EM Spotify: https://lnkd.in/eU4FExpg

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I’ve known David Meister for years and backed him at Sydecar, so I’ve seen his ability to build through complexity. Axiom Trust is taking on one of the most outdated parts of wealth infrastructure, trust administration, by pairing a regulated trust company with AI-native workflows. We're proud to invest again and congrats to the team on the launch!

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Venture investing isn’t just for Silicon Valley anymore—it’s increasingly part of the M&A conversation in GovCon. Instead of full acquisitions, more prime contractors are placing strategic bets on startups. Same business muscle: belief, capital, and risk. Just a different play. From Lockheed and Booz Allen to Carahsoft and SAIC, the big names are getting in the VC game—not just to invest but to future-proof. Venture isn’t replacing M&A. It’s expanding the playbook. What are your thoughts? #GovCon #VentureCapital #MergersAndAcquisitions

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Hot take: lot's of #LP's are growing underwhelmed with traditional venture investing. 💰 Fees are high given the level of engagement with the company operators. ❓ Access is opaque - LP's are unclear on the portco operations and outcomes. Outcomes are scattered - power law investing can certainly work, but many feel that venture capital investing is just a numbers game. There's another way. I'm biased, but I think it's better: #VentureStudios as an asset class. They blend: 🤜 🤛 Control and ownership 💡 Thematic focus 👬 Partnership with operators Studios offer a fund-like structure — but with more alignment, higher value conversion and less noise. If you're interested in understanding more about the studio model, we have resources to share. Please reach out and let's connect!

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Seed-stage fundraising requires differentiation. Grind Ventures found it at the intersection of three underserved markets Technology transfer from universities creates early-stage opportunities that most VCs miss. Defense and federal marketplace applications provide revenue visibility. Critical infrastructure sectors offer commercial scale. Focused Thesis - Dual-use technologies serving defense and 16 critical infrastructure sectors Technology Transfer - University research teams1-5 years old at $1-3M valuations Revenue Clarity - Federal marketplace provides structured procurement pathways Commercial Scale - Critical infrastructure sectors offer massive addressable markets   Geographic Focus - US-based companies with clear domestic advantages Stage Discipline - Seed investments with defined entry points and milestones The market rewards problem-obsessed founders with healthy margins and cash flow visibility. Dual-use technology delivers both. Which of these thesis elements resonates most with your investment approach? #VC #GrindVentures #ThoughtLeadership

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💡 Founder Investment Priority: Early-Stage or Late-Stage? 🚀 Elevation Capital has launched a $400 million fund focused on investing in late-stage startups. This signals a strategic shift from early-stage investing to supporting companies in their final growth phase. 🔍 Target Startups of the Fund 1️⃣ Late-stage Growth: Startups in their final growth phases with strong traction. 2️⃣ Market-Ready: Companies prepared for scaling and expansion. 3️⃣ Sector Focus: Technology-driven and financial services startups with scalable business models. 💬Follow us for deeper analysis on India’s fintech and startup ecosystem! #IndiaStartups #VentureCapital #StartupFunding #Fintech #LateStageStartups #GrowthStage #Innovation #TechStartups

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The New Space race isn't just about getting to orbit, it's about what you can do once you're there. Whether it's landing on the Moon or satellite servicing in LEO, you need reliable, high-thrust propulsion across civil, commercial, and defense space applications. Agile Space Industries delivers the design, 3D printing, and vacuum hot-fire testing capabilities all under one roof, and this vertical integration allows them to move at the breakneck speed the market now demands. Their Series A raise is a huge validation of that vision, grateful to be along for the journey with Denver Ventures. Big congrats to the Agile team on the announcement!!! 🚀

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We invest at Pre-VC and Pre-Seed, and then help our founders find a Seed round when they're ready. Here are 27 Seed investors that we *know* are active right now. Blue Moon Bonfire Ventures Chingona Ventures Flying Fish Partners Foothill Ventures Great North Ventures ground game HealthX Ventures InsurTech Venture Partners KCRise Fund Las Olas Venture Capital Leva Capital Maven Ventures Monte Carlo Capital Moonshots Capital OneSixOne Ventures Oval Park Capital Pixel Perfect Ventures Range Ventures Revolution SNAK Venture Partners Startup Capital Ventures Supernode Global Susa Ventures Trilogy Equity Partners True Ventures True Wealth Ventures

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🚀 Meet PACT, simplifying SBA-backed acquisitions with investors. Think YC’s SAFE, but built for Main Street M&A. 📘 What is PACT and why we built it PACT (Partnership Acquisition Commonsense Terms) is a free, balanced starting point for the agreements used in SBA-backed acquisitions with outside investors. For too long, SBA-backed acquisitions with outside investors have been the wild west: every deal is different, inefficient, and confusing, especially for first-time searchers raising capital. PACT gives everyone a common baseline so reviews are faster, expectations are clear, and operators can focus on acquiring the business. 🧩 SAFE for ETA Y Combinator’s SAFE gave startups a shared template that made early investing easier to execute. PACT brings that same idea to ETA. It teaches the key concepts in plain English, aligns searchers and investors on the economics, and sets a fair place to start. Our goal is for PACT to become the default baseline for investor-backed small business acquisitions using SBA loans. 🤝 Who contributed 🏛️ Legal input from top SMB M&A attorneys: Joseph Spina (Cullen and Dykman LLP), Mark Dittrich (Groundswell Advisors, LLP), and Eric Hsu (Clear Focus Law, PLLC) provided feedback on drafts. 💼 Early investor adopters: Jordan F. (Shareholder Ventures), Grant Hensel (Entrepreneurial Capital), Jason Ehrlich (Fruition Capital), Sean Smith (Search Fund Ventures), Adam Kaplan (ETA Funding Partners), Jacob Hall (Kando Capital), Tony Cappaert (Workbench Capital) and Adam Markley (PROX Search Capital) have adopted PACT on new deals. 🎓 Community support: Chelsea Wood and Walker Deibel at the Acquisition Lab and Buy Then Build have committed to start educating the community on how investor deals work using PACT. 👉 What to do next 🔍 Searchers: download the docs and ask your lawyer to start from PACT. ⚖️ SMB M&A Law firms: review the templates and send feedback so the next version is better. 💸 SMB investors: adopt PACT as your starting point and share redlines from real deals. This is a community-led standard, and we will keep versioning PACT as feedback comes in from all sides. 📝 Thanks: Special thanks to Joseph Spina for leading the legal drafting with me and helping shape a true middle ground. 🔗 Download PACT and see the key terms: ETAPACT.com (link in the comments) Let’s make investor-backed acquisitions clearer, faster, and fairer for everyone. 🚨 DISCLAIMER: PACT is not legal advice. Searchers must engage experienced SMB M&A counsel to review and tailor these documents to their deal.

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Momentum continues to build across the global #SpaceTech ecosystem. Last week’s developments underscore the sector’s increasing maturity and strategic relevance: 📈 Voyager Technologies IPOs at $3.8B Valuation Voyager’s NYSE debut, raising $382.8M, adds to the growing list of space companies planning to enter the public markets. A strong signal of investor confidence in the sector’s long-term trajectory. 🛰️ ICEYE US Partners with SkyFi The integration of ICEYE’s SAR data into SkyFi’s platform demonstrates the accelerating shift toward broader access to advanced Earth observation capabilities, an important step for data-driven decision-making on a global scale. 🎖️ Will Whitehorn Awarded OBE A true visionary, Will helped lay the foundations of the commercial spaceflight industry. His recognition is well-deserved and reflects how far the sector has come. 🛡️ Sierra Space Launches Dedicated Defense Division Sierra Space has formally launched Sierra Space Defense, a national security division already backed by $1.5B in classified and unclassified U.S. government contracts. With products ranging from satellite buses to the Ghost rapid-delivery spacecraft, this move highlights the deepening intersection of commercial innovation and defence needs. 📎Full roundup: https://lnkd.in/eCkUgYhN #SpaceTech #Aerospace #SeraphimSpace #NewSpace #EarthObservation #Launch #Leadership #CapitalMarkets

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Access changes everything. Lowering the Jetstream Venture Fund minimum to $5,000 creates a new entry point for people who want exposure to high-growth companies. Excited to see where this goes. Full details in the press release below.

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Too many emerging GPs are still managing compliance with spreadsheets and scattered docs, it's a ticking time bomb. After working with Rajesh Gopi and the Zive AI team for some time, it’s clear how critical it is to build the right foundation from day one. Tools like Zive BlueCheck are game-changers, not just for staying audit-ready, but for scaling with confidence. If you're launching a fund or raising your next one now, you'll want to take a look.👇 #venturecapital #emergingmanager #fundops #compliance #fundadministration #ziveai

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I’ve spoken to over 2 dozen MDs at PE firms I can confidently say that the arb of figuring out how to implement Vertical AI at portfolio companies is very real right now It will fundamentally change underwriting for those who can do it predictably and unlock generational returns. Most are aware they need to act. Very few have.

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