# agentsite-static-version=63de923f-959e-4c8f-96a4-fe90721bbc95
# outlanderlabs.com

> AI-optimized mirror of outlanderlabs.com containing 89 pages totalling 91,498 words of clean markdown content, structured data, and semantic HTML. Original source: https://outlanderlabs.com. Last updated: 2026-10-27T03:28:53.965Z.

Each page is available as HTML (with JSON-LD structured data) and Markdown (text-only, ideal for LLMs and RAG).

## Homepage

- [Home — OUTLANDER](/content/site-root.html): Where visionaries, game-changers, & disruptors get funded. Outlander VC funds innovative tech startups at the earliest stages. (551 words)

## Articles & Blog Posts

- [outlander-vc/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/airbnb-original-deck-2008-pdf.html](/content/outlander-vc/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/airbnb-original-deck-2008-pdf.html) (159 words)
- [outlander-vc/fieldnotes/index.html](/content/outlander-vc/fieldnotes/index.html) (121 words)
- [outlander-vc/outpitch/index.html](/content/outlander-vc/outpitch/index.html) (828 words)
- [outlander-vc/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/airbnbeventschedulefinal-doc-pdf.html](/content/outlander-vc/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/airbnbeventschedulefinal-doc-pdf.html) (360 words)
- [Events — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/events/index.html) (686 words)
- [outlander-vc/earlystage-strategy/index.html](/content/outlander-vc/earlystage-strategy/index.html) (1,435 words)
- [Strategy — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/strategy/index.html) (1,417 words)
- [Field Guides — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguides/index.html) (230 words)
- [Portfolio — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/portfolio/index.html): Meet the companies in Outlander's portfolio. (399 words)
- [Careers — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/careers/index.html): Join our team to help build the future of everything. THE FIELD GUIDE Expert advice, startup tools, & exclusive updates straight to your inbox. As we explore the unknown of each new investment, our Field Guides are where we document all that we learn along the way. So, whether you’re actively raising, trying to break […] (82 words)
- [<strong>Robotics Needs Its Missing Standard: An MCP for the Physical World</strong> — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/mcp-for-robotics/index.html): Robotics doesn't have a model problem — it has an integration problem. Why the industry needs a shared protocol layer to turn breakthroughs into deployments. (2,359 words, 2026-05-18)
- [<strong>Bravo Ordnance and NODA AI Announce Strategic Partnership to Advance Autonomous Mission Capability</strong> — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/bravo-ordnance-and-noda-ai-announce-strategic-partnership-to-advance-autonomous-mission-capability.html): Original source here. AUSTIN, Texas – Bravo Ordnance and NODA AI have established a strategic partnership focused on integrating advanced autonomous orchestration capabilities with scalable, mission-ready lethality solutions designed for the evolving demands of modern warfare. The partnership brings together Bravo Ordnance’s rapidly deployable payload and munition systems with NODA’s platform- and hardware-agnostic orchestration technology, […] (569 words, 2026-05-13)
- [<strong>Havoc Raises $100M Series A</strong> — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/havoc-raises-100m-series-a/index.html): Havoc AI raised $100M in funding to accelerate innovation, development, and expansion into new markets and further strengthen its position in defense and commercial autonomy markets. (963 words, 2026-05-12)
- [<strong>Aurelius Systems Opens U.S. Manufacturing Line for High-Power Fiber Lasers</strong> — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/aurelius-systems-opens-u-s-manufacturing-line-for-high-power-fiber-lasers.html): Original source here. Autonomous laser defense company launches domestic production of high-power laser sources SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Aurelius Systems, the autonomous laser defense company behind the Archimedes counter-UAS system, today announced Aurelius Manufacturing, a new division that will build high-power fiber laser source modules in the United States. The U.S. defense laser supply chain has a […] (622 words, 2026-04-29)
- [<strong>Setting Goals for 2026: What We Tell Our Founders</strong> — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/setting-goals-for-2026-what-we-tell-our-founders/index.html): Most pre-seed founders are measuring the wrong things. This goal-setting framework separates momentum from motion in early-stage startups. (1,691 words, 2026-03-05)
- [Why we backed NODA AI at pre-seed — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/why-we-backed-noda-ai-at-pre-seed/index.html): Outlander VC was NODA AI's first institutional backer. Today NODA closed a $25M Series A led by Bessemer. Learn more about why we backed Phil and Dave at pre-seed. (709 words, 2026-02-26)
- [26 Pre-Seed VCs to Pitch in 2026 — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/26-pre-seed-vcs-to-pitch-in-2026/index.html): A curated list of 26 pre-seed venture capital firms to pitch in 2026. Includes check sizes, focus areas, stages, and notable investments across AI, software, hard tech, and legacy industries. (1,060 words, 2026-01-14)
- [OTAs vs. SBIRs: The Founder’s Guide to the New Warfighting Acquisition System — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/otas-vs-sbirs-the-founders-guide-to-the-new-warfighting-acquisition-system.html): The DoW just overhauled acquisition. Here's what pre-seed defense founders need to know about OTAs, SBIRs, and sequencing your first government contract. (888 words, 2025-11-25)
- [<strong>25 Industrial Tech VCs Writing Pre-seed Checks in 2025</strong> — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/25-industrial-tech-vcs-writing-pre-seed-checks-in-2025.html): A curated list of 25 top U.S. VCs backing industrial tech, robotics, autonomy, manufacturing, and deep-tech founders at the pre-seed stage in 2025 (742 words, 2025-11-03)
- [<strong>5 Takeaways for Startups from SpaceWERX Director Arthur Grijalva</strong> — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/5-takeaways-for-startups-from-spacewerx-director-arthur-grijalva.html): Learn how space startups can successfully partner with the U.S. government. SpaceWERX Director Arthur Grijalva shares actionable insights on funding, timing, and transition strategies for defense contracts. (510 words, 2025-08-14)
- [<strong>How Vixiv is Solving The Manufacturing Velocity Gap</strong> — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/vixiv-aaron-chow-hardware-design-ai/index.html): Vixiv CEO Aaron Chow reveals how his platform generates optimized additive components in seconds, replacing months of trial-and-error engineering with physics-based AI trained on real-world material data. (414 words, 2025-08-14)
- [<strong>25 Enterprise AI VCs Writing Pre-Seed Checks in 2025</strong> — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/25-enterprise-ai-vcs-writing-pre-seed-checks-in-2025.html): We've put together a list of twenty-five VC funds backing enterprise AI companies at the pre-seed. (1,534 words, 2025-07-08)
- [<strong>Why We Led the Seed Round in DiffuseDrive</strong> — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/why-we-led-the-seed-round-in-diffusedrive/index.html): Outlander backs $3.5M round into DiffuseDrive to transform synthetic data for AI. Learn how they’re revolutionizing model training for autonomous systems. (525 words, 2025-05-23)
- [<strong>25 Capital Sources Every Underrepresented Founder Should Know in 2025</strong> — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/25-capital-sources-every-underrepresented-founder-should-know-in-2025.html): Discover 25 early-stage VC funds actively backing underrepresented founders in 2025—including women, people of color, LGBTQ+, immigrants, and veterans. From pre-seed to Series A, these firms invest in vision over pedigree—and they’re writing checks now. (703 words, 2025-04-16)
- [25 HealthTech VC Firms in 2025 (and How to Apply for Funding) — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/25-healthtech-vc-firms-in-2025-and-how-to-apply-for-funding.html): We’ve put together this curated list of 25 top HealthTech venture capital firms actively investing in 2025. These VCs are backing digital health, healthcare SaaS, payer/provider solutions, virtual care, women’s health, end-of-life, and tech-enabled services. More importantly, we've detailed how to approach them, giving founders a direct path to securing funding from investors who understand the nuances of scaling in this space. (1,173 words, 2025-02-18)
- [<strong>Government Contracting 101: from Zero to Scale</strong> — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/government-contracting-101-from-zero-to-scale/index.html): Learn how Scale AI and veteran defense specialists build massive government contracting business. Get the exact playbook for startups - from budget allocation to legislative timing. Essential viewing for founders entering federal markets. (163 words, 2024-12-18)
- [<strong>Four Takeaways for Startup Founders from Inspired Capital’s Alexa Von Tobel</strong> — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/four-takeaways-from-inspired-capitals-alexa-von-tobel.html): Inspired Capital's approach, much like our Founder Framework at Outlander VC, is about backing people, not just business models. It's about finding founders who are relentless, adaptable, and deeply committed to solving meaningful problems. (614 words, 2024-11-19)
- [<strong>How Eniac’s Tim Young Measures Founders: <br>Three Takeaways from Our Interview</strong> — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/how-eniacs-tim-young-measures-founders-three-takeaways-from-our-interview.html): Discover key insights from Outlander VC’s interview with Tim Young, founding partner of Eniac Ventures. Learn how Tim evaluates founders through integrity, leadership, and self-awareness. He shares the importance of trustworthiness, the “Would I Work for This Founder?” test, and the understanding that no founder is perfect. These takeaways offer valuable lessons for both investors and entrepreneurs seeking success in the startup world. (804 words, 2024-10-02)
- [24 Women-Led VC Funds to Pitch in 2024 (and How) — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/24-women-led-vc-funds-to-pitch-in-2024-and-how/index.html): Discover the rise of women-led VC firms in 2024 and how they're driving diversity and innovation in the startup ecosystem. Explore 24 top women-led venture capital firms and learn how to pitch them for funding. (1,517 words, 2024-09-04)
- [<strong>Top VC funds investing in dual-use & defense technology</strong> — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/top-vc-funds-investing-in-dual-use-defense-technology.html): Discover the top VC funds for defense and dual-use technology startups in 2024. Learn how to pitch your venture and secure funding from leading investors. (957 words, 2024-07-02)
- [How learning velocity can make or break a startup — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/how-learning-velocity-can-make-or-break-a-startup/index.html): Discover key insights from venture visionary Mercedes Bent of Lightspeed Venture Partners. Learn about essential traits for startup founders, including the importance of learning velocity, and gain valuable tips from one of the top investors in the industry. (1,043 words, 2024-05-28)
- [Three Big Founder Takeaways from CRV’s Saar Gur — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/three-big-takeaways-crv-saar-gur/index.html): We had the pleasure of sitting down with CRV’s Saar Gur, who has invested in household-name companies like DoorDash, Ring, Patreon, and AirTable. The three big tips? Lead with honesty, dare to be weird, and chase big markets with bigger conviction. (886 words, 2024-04-26)
- [Outlander Spring Showcase Roster — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/outlander-spring-showcase-roster-2024/index.html): Meet our 5 of our early-stage portfolio companies pitching at the Outlander Spring Showcase: Crow Industries, HavocAI, Lula Convenience, Skyways, and Tryby. (871 words, 2024-03-20)
- [Top Early-stage Advice from Unicorn Founders — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/unicorn-founders-earlystage-advice/index.html): Building a successful startup requires a founder with exceptional vision, intelligence, character, and execution to navigate the inevitable ups and downs. In the Outlander Unicorn Rodeo Series, we sat down with founders Blake Hall of ID.me, Fritz Lanman of Mindbody & ClassPass, Jonathan Neman of sweetgreen, Josh Reeves of Gusto, Matt Pohlson of Omaze, and […] (983 words, 2024-02-27)
- [Insights from Venture Visionary Mike Maples, Jr. of Floodgate Fund — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/mikemaplesjr/index.html): Outlander VC's Venture Visionaries series explores what sets exceptional investors apart. First up, we have Mike Maples Jr. from Floodgate Ventures. Mike is a renowned venture capitalist known for his keen eye for breakthrough startups and his ability to identify successful founders. We'll dive deep into the key characteristics that make founders successful and the traits that set breakthrough startups apart from the rest. Mike will also share his insights on the role of an investor as a co-conspirator, working closely with founders to drive their success. (1,103 words, 2024-01-04)
- [From First Check to AI Unicorn, Why We Bet Early on Scale AI + Imbue — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/from-first-check-to-ai-unicorn-why-we-bet-early-on-scale-ai-and-imbue.html): AI startups have been hot recently, with a reported $75 billion invested in the space in 2020 alone. In 2016, however, AI felt like something from Star Trek, and while the ideas were fascinating, many investors wondered, “How will you make money?” Admittedly, it is hard to predict how foundational technologies will create value but I’ve always hedged my bets on exceptional founders first and foremost, which is what led me to write first checks into two AI unicorns back in 2016. (1,377 words, 2023-11-29)
- [Outlander Fall Showcase Roster — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/fallshowcase-2023/index.html): For 14+ years, we’ve been investing in unicorns like Lyft, Wish, Gusto, and Scale at the earliest stages. Now, meet 5 of our current early-stage portfolio companies that presented at our 2023 Outlander Fall Showcase!  From innovations in AI/ML in computer vision, Mar/AdTech in consumer product sampling, future of work via flexible talent marketplaces, paid membership and SMB community building, […] (1,081 words, 2023-09-13)
- [Founder’s Guide: Preparing Beyond the Pitch — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/preparing-beyond-the-pitch/index.html): While a great deck and pitch are imperative, they’re just the tip of the fundraising iceberg—especially in today's market, where investors do more diligence before writing a check. Here’s how we coach our portfolio founders through the two critical “closers” of a successful fundraising strategy: consistent follow-ups and a robust data room at the ready.  (1,044 words, 2023-08-30)
- [The Importance of Timing Your Next Raise — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/the-importance-of-fundraising-timing/index.html): The journey of startup fundraising is a process of risk removal. At each Series, certain risks are expected by investors, certain risks diminish, and the company gets more valuable as they do. With enough foresight, founders can leverage the timing of their raises and control the answer to the age-old startup question, “What are we worth?” Here’s how serial founder and venture capitalist Eric Feng advises founders to think about and time their next round of funding. 👇 (877 words, 2023-07-28)
- [The Founder’s Guide to Navigating Co-founder Conflict — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/navigating-cofounder-conflict/index.html): Based on the hard-learned lessons in failed co-founder relationships and founder advice on handling co-founder conflicts, this Field Guide explores the 4 steps for keeping the resolution process productive: clear expectations, proactive touchpoints, data-driven communication, and support from neutral third parties. (1,342 words, 2023-06-29)
- [Founder’s Guide to MVP & Product Development — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/founders-guide-to-mvp-product-development/index.html): Early-stage product development is critical for turning your vision into a successful business. Here's how MVPs can effectively validate their assumptions, gather user feedback, and iterate toward building a robust product.  (755 words, 2023-05-30)
- [7 Questions to Best Support Founders — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/7-qs-to-support-founders/index.html): Over the last 15 years, I’ve funded visionary founders building everything from robot delivery fleets to web3 creator economies and everything in between. Excited as I was by every new venture, I quickly realized that—like our founders—expertise in every moving piece of the now 150+ investments was impossible and tactical advice was not Outlander VC's role to fill. So instead, we learned to ask the right questions to support our founders in forging their way into the unknown.   (713 words, 2023-04-26)
- [Outlander Spring Showcase Recap — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/2023-spring-showcase/index.html): Here’s a sneak peek of the startups pitching at the Outlander Spring Showcase: from innovations in robotic automation to fintech marketplaces for investing in private funds to no-code field data platforms to B2B manufacturing marketplaces to consumer health tech for care data tracking, you don't want to miss these pitches! (739 words, 2023-03-17)
- [From Vision to Execution, Why We Bet Early on Lucy Guo’s Passes + Scale AI — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/why-we-bet-early-on-lucy-guo/index.html): At Outlander VC, we bet on brilliant founders at the earliest stages using our Founder Framework. Outstanding founders like Lucy exhibit strength across the vision, intelligence, character, and execution categories of this framework. We grabbed time on Lucy’s busy calendar to dig into her founder journey and revisit a few reasons we’ve been bullish on her from day 1. (1,553 words, 2023-02-28)
- [Remote-First Startup Best Practices — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/remote-first-startup-best-practices/index.html): Remote-first startups have quickly become the ecosystem’s new normal. Many founders are opting for remote/hybrid teams to tap into a global talent pool and the added flexibility of working from anywhere. With input from some startup veterans and remote work experts, here’s what every founder needs to know to build a happy, high-performing virtual team. (540 words, 2023-01-26)
- [Top 5 Startup Optimizations to Try Before Hiring + Building — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/top-5-startup-optimizations/index.html): When challenges arise for early-stage startups, VCs often advise founders to hire or build their way out of trouble. But with limited funds, people and time, early-stage founders must be strategic in their problem-solving. So, while the weight of your neverending to-do list may make hiring and building seem appealing, we recommend reaching for a […] (634 words, 2022-12-20)
- [Ask an Investor: Cold Outreach Do’s + Don’ts — IRL Edition — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/cold-outreach-101-irl-edition/index.html): When you’re face-to-face with a prospective investor, finding the right opening to pitch your vision, convey traction, and make a clear ask is a tall order—especially at large events. So, we surveyed our network of top-tier investors to see which in-person introduction strategies Do and Don’t work to help you stand out from the crowd. (624 words, 2022-10-26)
- [1 to 500: Recruit + Retain Top Talent Like Former Ziprecruiter SVP of Sales — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/recruit-retain-top-talent-kevin-gaither/index.html): As your startup grows, hiring a team to turn your vision into reality creates an inevitable founder dilemma: how do you find top-tier candidates and inspire them to join you? How can you effectively screen for rockstar candidates at scale? And once you’ve assembled your dream team, how do you keep them inspired by your vision long-term? Luckily, we hosted former SVP of Ziprecruiter and people expert Kevin Gaither for an Outlandish Speaker Series, where he shared his tried-and-true recruitment best practices and lessons from his mistakes along the way. (846 words, 2022-08-31)
- [3 steps to 25x more website conversions — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/3-steps-to-25x-more-website-conversions/index.html): The pandemic changed how we do business, pushing sales teams to adapt to new, more virtual-than-ever strategies for reaching customers. Before the pandemic, many companies nurtured leads in person through dinners, meetings, events, etc. Now, the #1 sales and marketing asset for your business is its website because, in a virtual-first world, your company’s website is your new storefront. Nobody knows how critical website conversions are more than Eric Sikola, President and Chief Operating Officer of Qualified.  (667 words, 2022-06-09)
- [The future of consumer product marketing — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/the-future-of-cpg-marketing/index.html): Accelerated by the pandemic, consumer preferences have evolved along with the shift to digital marketplaces, and consumer product goods (CPG) brands need more effective ways to convert customers. (586 words, 2022-03-31)
- [OutPitch 3.1: Leveling the playing field for underfunded founders — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/outpitch-3-1-stonks-edition/index.html): We know how time-consuming raising capital can be, especially for early-stage startups relying heavily on cold intros to investors. OutPitch 3.1 is how we’re leveling the playing field. (304 words, 2022-02-27)
- [Choosing the right co-founder — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/choosing-the-right-co-founder/index.html): When it comes to choosing a co-founder, I’ve learned there’s no hard and fast path to success. In fact, I think most entrepreneurs would agree that finding and choosing an excellent co-founder is more of an art than a science. That being said, below are some tried and true ways to set yourself up for success. (761 words, 2022-02-22)
- [The Why and How of Pre-Product User Interviews — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/preproduct-user-interviews/index.html): 40% of startups fail because they lack product-market fit. But convincing startup founders to pause product development in order to conduct customer interviews is a tough sell. Here's why you should do it anyway. (1,389 words, 2022-01-22)
- [Meet the OutPitch 2.0 Champion: Levantr 🏝 — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/meet-levantr-outpitch2-champion/index.html): After a fierce live competition from our five early-stage tech startup finalists, Levantr won a $100,000 investment as the OutPitch 2.0 Champion. We caught up with founder and CEO Jennifer Hong and the OutPitch judges to dig into what this win means for the Levantr team. (847 words, 2021-12-08)
- [OutPitch 2.0 Finalists — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/outpitch-2-roster/index.html): Meet the 5 early-stage tech startups competing live at OutPitch 2.0: AlphaRora, F3TCH, HyperC, Levantr, and MRGN. (521 words, 2021-11-23)
- [Invest in the future of Atlanta: Andre Dickens — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/for-the-future-of-atlanta/index.html): In the last few years, Atlanta has birthed several multi-billion dollar tech companies, including SalesLoft, Calendly, and Rubicon just to name a few. But now, we are sitting at a critical crossroads in terms of our city’s future leaders. We need an ethical, progressive mayor who wants to engage with the startup and venture community, and Andre Dickens has impressed me since day one. (545 words, 2021-11-12)
- [3 Tips for Perfecting Your Early-stage Pitch — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/perfecting-your-pitch/index.html): As an investor, I’ve seen a lot of startup pitches—the good, the bad, and the ugly. These are some of the best tips and tricks I’ve learned along the way to prepare, perfect, and present your pitch so that investors want to hear it. (1,132 words, 2021-11-10)
- [Outlander Demo Day Roster — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/outlander-demo-day-roster/index.html): Meet five of the game-changing early-stage startups that Outlander VC invested in since our launch! View the event recording, pitch decks, and more. (863 words, 2021-09-05)
- [Ask an Investor: Cold Outreach Do’s + Don’ts — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/cold-outreach-dos-donts/index.html): First impressions matter—especially when you’re making a cold introduction to a potential investor. We surveyed our network of pre-seed investors to determine what elements of a cold outreach are most likely to work in a founder’s favor and what aspects of a cold intro compel them to immediately delete. (956 words, 2021-08-31)
- [KPIs vs. North Star Metrics for Early-stage Startups — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/north-star-metric-101/index.html): While every company’s goals will differ, successful companies build their business model around their North Star Metric, i.e. the top-line metric used to define the company’s growth. Broadly, investors want to see traction in one of these six NSM categories: revenue, customer growth, consumption growth, engagement growth, growth efficiency, and user experience. Here's how to get started. (1,028 words, 2021-08-08)
- [Early-stage Recruitment Funnel + Hiring 101 — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/earlystage-recruitment-101/index.html): Early-stage startup recruitment comes with a unique set of challenges. First, it is extremely difficult to get responses to job postings. Second, a growing number of professionals—especially in the technical realm—just don't reply to recruiters. Instead, they want to hear directly from the startup’s founder, which leads us to the third challenge: recruitment is a full-time, specialized job that founders do not have time for.  (1,756 words, 2021-07-20)
- [Finding Ome x Successfully Rebranding Early-stage Startups — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/finding-ome/index.html): A startup’s early momentum relies not only on the founding team’s outlandish vision but also on how effectively that mission is articulated in its external business strategy. From the tone of your messaging to how you visually display your solution, every contact point you have with potential investors and customers creates the overarching narrative that […] (1,337 words, 2021-07-12)
- [Video: Powering the Future of Automation — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/video-the-future-of-automation/index.html): On April 23, 2005, ‘Me at the Zoo’ was the first video ever uploaded to a then little-known site called Youtube. This moment was an inflection point that precipitated the explosions of video-first social media services over the next 15 years: TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. Moreover, it was a harbinger of much broader changes to […] (886 words, 2021-06-23)
- [7 Legal Fundamentals Every Startup Needs to Get Right — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/7-legal-startup-fundamentals/index.html): Forming a new startup is an exciting time filled with optimism and potential. Finding the right people for your team, landing some early investors, and building out your product are all thrilling milestones. But just as important (if not quite as thrilling) are some key legal fundamentals that you’ll have to nail early on. Every […] (1,245 words, 2021-06-04)
- [Meet City Shoppe, the OutPitch 2021 Champion from Austin, TX — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/outpitch-2021-city-shoppe/index.html): Out of 150+ applications and fierce competition from the six early-stage tech startup finalists from across the Southeast, here’s the pitch that won City Shoppe the title of OutPitch 2021 Champion: As the virtual applause faded, we caught up with CEO and co-founder Ash Cintas and the OutPitch 2021 judges to dig deeper into how City […] (938 words, 2021-05-20)
- [An Investor’s Guide to a Persuasive, Winning Pitch  — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/investors-guide-to-a-persuasive-winning-pitch/index.html): A pitch deck is a critical communications tool for all startups—it is how you tell the story of your venture, make your introductions to investors, and more. However, it doesn’t take much Googling to see that everybody’s got their own opinion of the right and wrong ways to put together a deck or how to […] (995 words, 2021-04-21)
- [Tech to Battle WFH Burnout and Isolation — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/tech-for-wfh-burnout/index.html): As we lap the one-year anniversary of the global shutdown and shift to working from home, companies are evaluating the long-term pros and cons of employing a distributed workforce, and according to Chris Herd, “Remote work isn’t going anywhere.” As the founder of Firstbase, a startup helping companies manage remote employees, Herd reports that even […] (1,777 words, 2021-03-24)
- [Lo Toney x Outlandish Speaker Series — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/lo-toneys-outlandish-speaker-series/index.html): For February’s Outlandish Speaker Series, we spoke with Lo Toney of Plexo Capital. Lo Toney is the Founding Managing Partner of Plexo Capital, which he incubated and spun out from GV (Google Ventures), based on a strategy to increase access to early-stage deal flow. Plexo Capital invests in emerging seed-stage VCs and invests directly into […] (2,562 words, 2021-03-10)
- [Talli: A Smart, Simple Solution for Care — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/talli-spotlight/index.html): For us, Talli has always been love at first Demo Day. 💙 In the fall of 2020, Outlander VC’ Founding Partner Leura Craig happened upon Lauren Longo pitching at Launchpad2X. Immediately, Leura was intrigued by the badass female founder determined to help new parents with innovative, intuitive tech. With Lauren’s background in user experience and software […] (2,110 words, 2021-02-24)
- [Founders Turned Venture Capitalists — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/founders-turned-venture-capitalists/index.html): The Partners at Outlander VC share one very important commonality: experience as founders. Each of us turned to venture capital to solve a problem we faced while sitting on the other side of the pitch deck, and we are now uniquely positioned to mentor founders based on this shared understanding. From the barriers facing minority […] (1,519 words, 2021-02-10)
- [Coco: $5.5M raise, robot delivery fleet + core team expansion — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/coco-5m-raise/index.html): In November of 2020, Coco raised an additional $5.5M from Sam Altman and Jeff Kearl (Pelion Ventures) to expand our robot delivery fleet across Los Angeles and to grow our core team. Since then, we’ve grown to a team of 70+ people, deployed 50 new robots, and launched multiple cities within LA County, where we […] (304 words, 2021-02-10)
- [Outlander’s Founder Framework — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/founderframework/index.html): Mistake: Emphasizing company potential over people potential When I began investing over a decade ago, I evaluated deals using a holistic lens: a well-built company with an innovative product made for a good investment. Using this company-centric framework, I invested $1M into 20 companies during my first year that I thought had a good shot […] (1,026 words, 2021-01-27)
- [The South – A Great Place to Call Home — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/the-south-a-great-place-to-call-home/index.html): Over the years, I’ve had many opportunities to move outside the Southeast. I repeatedly heard that if I wanted to work with the brightest minds at the best organizations, I’d need to relocate. I wasn’t convinced of that logic then, and I’m not now. I’m a Louisiana native. I moved to Atlanta for my first […] (516 words, 2020-12-05)
- [The Case for Investing Early — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/the-case-for-investing-early/index.html): During the last seven years of my investing in startups, I’ve had the chance to meet a lot of really smart people with some interesting ideas. Many of them had a minimum viable product (MVP), several had only a PowerPoint, and a few had just a story to tell about the problem they wanted to […] (787 words, 2020-10-23)
- [We are Outlanders — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/we-are-outlanders/index.html): What happens when a Jewish girl from South Alabama who started her career in interior design but then moved into tech meets a guy who grew up homeless in Sacramento and then served in the Marine Corps and became a tech investor? Well, beyond getting married (which is an entirely different story), these two outlanders […] (657 words, 2020-09-30)
- [How ProducePay is Flipping Agricultural Finance on its Head — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/how-producepay-is-flipping-agricultural-finance-on-its-head.html): Food production isn’t keeping up with the global demand, as Earth’s middle class is expected to double – with consumption levels alongside it – by 2030. The population’s demand for nutrients has outpaced production since the mid-1990s, with the most acute shortages occurring in developing economies. Drought and erratic weather conditions from global climate changes […] (1,341 words, 2016-02-22)
- [The Relaunch of Codalytics — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/the-relaunch-of-codalytics/index.html): Growing up in his family’s apartment in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles, Bardia Dejban learned at a young age to bounce back from tough times. By the time he turned eighteen, he had survived multiple near-death experiences from which he pulled himself back to full health. Those incidents seared a distinct appreciation for seizing the […] (1,502 words, 2015-10-22)
- [The 4 Ways Investors Find Great Startups — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/the-4-ways-investors-find-great-startups/index.html): Investing in seed stage startups can be exhilarating and highly lucrative, but it can also be incredibly risky and time consuming. Identifying the most promising new companies requires a lot of cutting through the weeds – I interact in one way or another with well over 2,000 entrepreneurs a year and take meetings with over […] (1,385 words, 2015-10-06)
- [What are AngelList syndicates? — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/what-are-angellist-syndicates-who-leads-them/index.html): In my prior posts, I gave an overview of how entrepreneurs and investors can make the most of AngelList, the top online platform for startup investing. In it I recommended that both entrepreneurs and new angel investors focus on using AngelList’s syndicates as their method of accessing high-growth startup investments. A syndicate is an investment vehicle that acts like […] (1,231 words, 2015-09-23)
- [Rinse: the Art of Launching in a New City — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/rinse-the-art-of-launching-in-a-new-city/index.html): At Arena, we have been active investors in mobile-first marketplace startups – the sphere of startups using mobile apps to connect consumers with services they need at the press of a button. These marketplaces partner with a network of partners/contractors on the supply side to respond in real-time to customer demand for a given product […] (1,988 words, 2015-09-22)
- [The Truth about Raising Money on AngelList — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/the-truth-about-raising-money-on-angellist/index.html): To explain why our team here at Arena is so bullish on crowdfunding that we tied our model to it, I find it helpful to draw an analogy to another trend I’m passionate about: online education. The early wave of online degrees and online universities created a stigma around online learning – people associated online […] (1,666 words, 2015-08-27)
- [Service: How to Start-Up in 60 Days — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/service-how-to-start-up-in-60-days/index.html): Michael Schneider started exploring the idea of an “on-demand customer service” app just 60 days ago. Two months in, he has already raised a pre-seed funding round, made his first two hires, helped over 500 customers in 5 countries, and fields inbound inquiries daily from prospective new investors. A startup on this level has achieved so […] (1,872 words, 2015-08-22)
- [AngelList 101 for Entrepreneurs and Investors — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/angellist-101-for-entrepreneurs-and-investors/index.html): One of the biggest trends in tech and finance over the last decade has been the rise of equity crowdfunding platforms like AngelList, enabling small investors from around the world to find and invest together in privately-held companies. For startups, this provides a whole new financing source where they can promote themselves to receive investments from individuals that they never had access to previously. Crowdfunding also democratizes investing by allowing small investors to pool their capital into one large investment, accessing opportunities they couldn’t tap into on their own. (1,355 words, 2015-08-14)
- [HONK. The startup disrupting AAA — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/honk/index.html): Corey Brundage is dressed in his uniform of dark jeans, purple HONK t-shirt and grey HONK hoodie, sipping coffee from a “Baltimore Towing Company” mug. We’re sitting on the couch in the lobby of his company’s new Los Angeles office - home to a team of 50 with enough space to handle their expected doubling in headcount […] (2,195 words, 2015-07-22)
- [Airbnb, My $1 Billion Lesson — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/airbnb-my-1-billion-lesson/index.html): I discovered Airbnb on August 12, 2008 and six weeks later gave them a term sheet for their entire seed round. But in the (literal) final hour, it fell apart. It’s an unusual story and one of several key experiences that shaped my approach to investing in startups. Over the last seven years, I’ve discovered […] (2,757 words, 2015-07-01)
- [Fitmob and ClassPass Team Up to Revolutionize Fitness — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/fitmob-and-classpass-team-up-to-revolutionize-fitness.html): One of our first portfolio companies, Fitmob, recently joined forces with competitor ClassPass to take on the fitness market together. We caught up with founder Raj Kapoor post-merger to get his perspective from the founder’s seat. (996 words, 2015-06-20)
- [5 Questions I Ask Before Investing — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/fieldguide/5-questions-i-ask-before-investing/index.html): To sort through deals effectively, you need a methodology to filter the gold from the dirt. Crafted from 7 years of angel investing (and a decade before that of operational experience and research into people, business, and conflict), here are 5 critical questions to ask before you invest. (1,670 words, 2015-06-05)

## About Pages

- [Team — OUTLANDER](/content/outlander-vc/team/index.html) (1,730 words)

## Resources

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