DealMakers: Entrepreneur | Startups | Venture Capital

Tom Ellis has gone from bootstrapping his business to finding alternative financing methods to grow and secure big private equity deals. His startup, ShiftKey, has attracted funding from top-tier investors like Clearlake Capital Group, Health Velocity Capital, Lorient Capital, and Pantheon Ventures.

Michael Ronen has gone from investor to entrepreneur and back again. During which he helped the massive Vision Fund, and raised over $100M for his own venture. His startup, Branded, has attracted financing from top-tier investors like Kreos Capital, Lurra Capital, Target Global, and Declaration Partners.

Eliot Horowitz is now on his third startup. After building a billion-dollar company and taking it public, he is now creating the technology that is fueling a new generation of robotics startups. His latest venture, Viam, has attracted funding from top-tier investors like Union Square Ventures, 12 West Capital, Tiger, and Union Square.

Rishi Bhargava exited his first company for $560M. Then raised a seed round for his latest venture, which is more than 20x the average size for a brand-new startup. The startup, Demisto, has attracted funding from top-tier investors like Accel, ClearSky Security, Palo Alto Networks, and Greylock.

Waseem Daher sold his first startup to Oracle and the second to Dropbox. He’s now raised millions of dollars from some incredible investors to help other founders grow their companies by handling their backend office and accounting needs. His latest startup, Pilot, has attracted funding from top-tier financiers like Akkadian Ventures, Empede Capital, Whale Rock Capital, and Jeff Bezos.

Bibhrajit Halder has been a big part of the autonomous wave taking over the world. He’s already raised nearly $70M for his own AI software company that is helping to build the future. The startup has attracted funding from top-tier investors like Brick & Mortar Ventures, Newlab, Autotech Ventures, and Vimson Group.

Alexandra Zatarain is on a mission to help others optimize their sleep for their best lives using new software and hardware technology. His startup, Eight Sleep, has attracted funding from top-tier investors like Jesse Robbins, Kris Bryant, Anthony Pompliano, and Sophia Amoruso.

Imran Khan went from becoming one of the youngest managing directors at JP Morgan to taking Snap through raising $4B, and becoming an entrepreneur himself. His venture, Verishop, has attracted funding from top-tier investors like Lion Capital, Cassius Family Fund, Upfront Ventures, and DCM Ventures.

Ryan Morris has been on both sides of the table as an investor and an operator. His latest venture has already raised close to half a billion dollars to tackle a huge problem. The company, Turntide Technologies, has attracted funding from top-tier investors like JLL Spark, OGCI Climate Investments, FootPrint Coalition, and Keyframe Capital Partners.

Jai Shekhawat has built, funded, and sold companies. Now he’s investing in and advising other entrepreneurs on their own ventures. His startup, Fieldglass, has attracted funding from top-tier investors like Madison Dearborn Partners, SAP, HLM Venture Partners, and Grotech Ventures.

Sasha Orloff built his first two companies at the same time. Now he’s helping other founders figure out the financial puzzle they face on the startup journey. His latest venture, Mission Lane, has raised funding from top-tier investors like Oaktree Capital Management, Gramercy Ventures, QED Investors, and Goldman Sachs.

Greg Marsh previously founded and sold for $250 million OneFineStay. He is now the cofounder and CEO of Nous which is a software company that deals with household utilities. The company has raised millions from investors such as Mosaic Ventures.

Bruce Smith has gone from competitive rowing and coaching to leading a connected fitness startup that has raised $300M and is better for you than a Peloton bike. His venture, Hydrow, has attracted funding from top-tier investors like Constitution Capital Partners, Sandbridge Capital, Activant Capital, and Rx3 Growth Partners.

Caesar Sengupta left working at Google with seven other cofounders to create a digital family office and democratize financial services. His venture, Arta Finance, has attracted funding from top-tier investors like Coatue, Betsy Cohen, Sequoia Capital India, and Ribbit Capital.

Dr. Eric Whitaker has gone from physician to private equity and is now a three-time startup founder. His latest venture, Zing Health, has attracted funding from top-tier investors like Town Hall Ventures, Leavitt Equity Partners, Newlight Partners, and Health2047.

Keith Teare has been one of the most influential founders behind today’s technology and startup ecosystem. Now he’s changing things again with his new AI-powered fintech that is changing the DNA of the venture capital space. The company, SignalRank, has acquired funding from top-tier investors like Candou Ventures, AltaIR Capital, Blake Grossman, and Charlie Jadallah.

Jim McKelvey has now started close to a dozen different for-profit and nonprofit ventures, including Square. Now he’s tackling the problems we face on the internet every day, with the backing of Peter Theil as an investor. His venture has also attracted funding from other financiers like GGV Capital, Morgan Stanley, Vanguard Group, and Omega Venture Partners.

Ty Harris and Matt Wielbut came together around a shared problem to launch their own insurtech startup that has already raised $200M. The venture, Openly, has attracted funding from top-tier investors like MTech Capital, Gradient Ventures, Obvious Ventures, and Clocktower Technology Ventures.

Christer Holloman has raised tens of millions of dollars for his fintech startup, including achieving 100% oversubscribed funding rounds. The venture, Divido, has attracted funding from top-tier investors like Silicon Valley Bank UK, Dawn Capital, SBI Investment, and ING Ventures.

Ethan Agarwal sold his first company after raising $70M for it. He’s now championing the area of financial health for entrepreneurs and others who need a modern approach to investing that understands their needs and aspirations. His venture, Aaptiv, has raised funding from top-tier investors like Insight Partners, Warner Music Group, Bose Ventures, and Amazon Alexa Fund.

Howard Lerman has been building and selling companies since he was in college. After taking his last venture through an IPO, he has launched a new startup helping to solve the future of work dilemma that many are debating right now. His startup, Yext, has attracted funding from top-tier investors like Insight Venture Partners, WGI Group, CrunchFund, and Grape Arbo VC.

Sacha Michaud has not only been involved in the birth of several startups but has ended up seeing them go public as well. His latest venture, Glovo, has attracted funding from top-tier investors like GR Capital, Lugard Road Capital, Drake Enterprises, and Delivery Hero.

Nikita Shamgunov built a $100M revenue company, before joining Khosla Ventures to invest in other startups. Now he is going at it again, with a new tech startup that has raised $54M in just 16 months. The company, SingleStore, has attracted funding from top-tier investors like Prosperity7, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Dell Technologies Capital, and Insight Partners.

Elli Kaplan has already raised tens of millions of dollars to take on one of the biggest and fast-growing healthcare challenges we face today. Including investments from top investors like Peter Thiel. Her venture, Neurotrack, has acquired funding from top-tier investors like AME Cloud Partners, Rethink Impact, Sozo Ventures, and SOMPO Holdings.

Bharath Krishnamoorthy has gone from a young rebel to working for one of the world’s top M&A law firms, to a startup entrepreneur. His venture, Denim, has attracted funding from top-tier investors like Crosslink Capital, REFASHIOND Ventures, Anthemis, and Trucks VC.