Adam Miller

A Venture Studio ignored venture and won. They built for Cashflow, not Venture. Here is how they did it: 20 years ago, an Atlanta-based venture studio operated with a unique approach. Instead of targeting VC or Private Equity, they  focused solely on cash-flow businesses like  professional service firms.  Here are 2 powerful lessons every studio can learn from their model: ------ 1. Funding Mechanism: A Line of Credit - Companies were funded via a line of credit, not equity capital.  - Portcos had to become cash flow neutral within 18 months—recycling capital quickly.  - Reduced funding needs = Faster scalability. This setup created discipline. Each month, portfolio founders had to justify every dollar spent. Want to hire McKinsey? Nope—do it internally.  Result? Founders learned to obsess over cash flow—an essential entrepreneurial muscle.  --- 2. Picking Founders Wisely  Successful founders were not running from bad employers. Instead, they were executives who always dreamed of building something but lacked the timing or resources earlier in life.  These proven leaders had:   - Strong networks   - Deep domain expertise   - Relentless drive to finally fulfill their vision  They thrived almost every time.  P.S. Which of these lessons resonates with you? 👇 Best, Matthew Burris

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Searching for startup investors here on LinkedIn, Google, or Reddit? Stop. You might be wasting months and precious runway. Here's what to do. After 7 startups and helping raise over $100M, I know finding the right investor is an infuriating process. But there’s a system to it. Here’s my investor-finding tier list, based on 25 years in the trenches (I've tested them all): Google & Reddit: You’ll get flamed, ignored, or worse, scammed. Serious investors aren't scrolling Reddit for deal flow. This is the fastest way to waste your time. Google is also filled with services that will leave you disappointed. Who can you trust? PitchBook: A powerful tool with great data. The problem? It costs tens of thousands of dollars. It's overkill for most early-stage founders who need to be scrappy. LinkedIn: The approach everyone should be using. You can research investors, understand their thesis, and build real relationships. But it's a major commitment. You have to be active and build your personal brand for it to work (which you should be doing anyway). Crunchbase: A fantastic, cost-effective starting point. You can find out who invested in similar companies, download lists, and cross-reference contacts. It’s a huge step up from guessing. Smart Tools: This is why I joined Startups.com. We built an investor-matching tool where I essentially baked my brain and entire process into an AI. It analyzes your deck and matches you with verified, relevant investors. It automates the outreach I used to do manually for hundreds of hours. Try our pitch deck analyzer and investor matching tool for free here: https://lnkd.in/ds2HPMZ3 The Combo: The real magic happens here. Use a smart tool like Startups.com to build your target list and automate initial outreach. Then, use LinkedIn to warm up those leads, build relationships, and show them you’re a founder worth backing. It’s not just about finding an email address. It's about combining intelligent automation with genuine human connection. Watch this video for my full tier list: https://lnkd.in/dbxsNmTT

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🔥 I raised $40M in venture capital for my last startup. But getting a ~$2.5M SBA loan? Way harder. 💸 (Read that again.) 👀 With venture, you can go from term sheet to close in 30 days. Good luck getting an SBA loan funded on a business acquisition in under 3 months from start to finish. The SBA and the bank will do more diligence and paperwork on you and the business than all your VCs combined. 🔍📑 The closing process is night and day. Raising VC is like having TSA Precheck and skipping the 3-hour line ✈️. With a government-backed loan, you’re in that long line, piles of paperwork, rounds of diligence, and countless steps before you get the green light. 🛂 And yet… I’d still choose an SBA loan to buy a boring, profitable business over raising venture capital again. Why? Because with VC you’re dependent on investors and chasing runway, where 99% of startups never turn a profit 📉. With ETA, you step into a business that already throws off cash 💵 and you actually own your destiny 🔑. Owning a business that generates real profits beats relying on the next round of funding to survive. 🚀💪

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Now is the best time to be investing in venture capital. It should be part of every accredited investors portfolio mix. Why? AI + Speed + Talent = Unprecedented Returns 🟣 AI: Artificial intelligence and robotics are transforming every industry right now, from SaaS to healthcare. 🟣 Speed: New companies are launching and becoming billion dollar businesses in record time, measured in months, not years. 🟣 Talent: Large companies are shedding tens of thousands of workers that are joining startups to help them scale. If you are not investing in venture, then your portfolio will miss this historic moment. In my view, that's a big mistake. Find an industry or segment that you are passionate about, and back a manager investing in that segment to get started. Happy to help.

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VCs notoriously lack transparency. If you're looking to fundraise, are in the process, or are tired of hitting the fundraising brick wall, "What VCs Really Think of Your Startup" is for you. This guide breaks down the criteria VCs use to evaluate startups, tailored to business models like B2B SaaS, D2C, and Deep Tech. You’ll learn how to align with their expectations—or decide if VC funding is even the right path for your business. Here’s the truth: most startups won’t secure venture capital, and that’s okay. VC funding is a tool, not the goal. Whether you’re navigating the billion-dollar market test, bridging the funding gap, or building traction, this guide provides actionable insights to help your startup thrive—with or without venture capital. Founder VC #VentureCapital #Startups #Entrepreneurship #Innovation #Technology #Funding #BusinessGrowth

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🚨 VC Fund Alert: Creative Capital Ventures Launched €18M to Back Bold Ideas in Tech, Media & Consumer Innovation 🚀 In a time when capital efficiency and strategic value-add matter more than ever, Creative Capital Ventures Group (CCV) stepped in with an ambitious new €18 million fund — and a vision to raise €50 million by Q1 2025. Backed by Saratoga Capital Partners, Anthill Ventures, and a network of institutional & private investors, this Lisbon- and London-based venture studio brought a bold new model to early-stage VC. 🔥 🎯 What’s the play? 18 initial investments + 11 follow-ons by the end of 2024 Sectors: Tech, Digital Media, Consumer Products High-growth focus on: sports tech, entertainment, immersive IP, and wellness 💡 Why it matters: As CCV’s John D. put it: “The fund provides critical capital and helps scale innovative startups. We aim to foster long-term success for ambitious entrepreneurs.” But this isn’t just another VC fund... 🎥 Immersive IP & Creative Capital: Rich Britton is doubling down on entertainment innovation: “This fund comes at the right time — immersive content and music rights are redefining how we consume and create.” 🔧 Execution-focused Acceleration: With Pivotal, CCV’s venture studio, the fund promised “hands-on tactical support from strategy to execution,” said Dominic Joseph. 🧠 CCV’s track record is real: 150 startups impacted 20 companies founded 6 successful exits 📈 With structured investment in early-stage tech and IP assets, this fund blends venture-like returns with enhanced downside protection — a playbook that speaks directly to today’s LP mindset. 💬 If you're an LP looking to diversify into high-upside, creative-led ventures, or a founder innovating at the crossroads of tech and culture — this is the fund to watch. 🎧🎮📱 #VentureCapital #TechStartups #ImmersiveMedia #IPInvesting #ConsumerInnovation #SportsTech #WellnessEconomy #CreativeEconomy #LPs #VCFunds #EarlyStageVC #Fundraising #StartupAcceleration #CreativeCapitalVentures #PivotalStudio

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Last week AZ-VC Managing Partner, Jack Selby, posted about a significant corporate loss for the State of Arizona. While the post isn’t specifically about the state of the VC market in Arizona it highlights some of the shortcomings of a market we love – but when it comes to our relationship with AZ (like other active V.C.s in the state), well… it’s complicated. Here is a redacted rundown (due to length) of my full take on the AZ Venture Ecosystem. (Full article linked in the comments.) Those of us in the Arizona market have heard the rumblings of the sleeping giant in “The Silicon Desert“ for decades, only for those promises to continually fall short. It feels like there is momentum to some, but the reality is there are some serious shortcomings in this market marked by three key factors. Corporate Involvement From where I sit, this is the biggest issue with the State of Arizona, and it’s a real blocker to success. We have very few fortune 500 companies headquartered here, currently 10, if you walked into any restaurant or bar in the state and surveyed the guests, I’d set the over under at ‘1’ for the number of people who can name the biggest company in our state. Therein lies the problem. The biggest company in our state, Freeport McMoran (a global mining company) is not involved. They have no community presence and certainly aren’t supporting the venture community... Access to Talent Arizona State is the largest research and innovation university in the country, yet I rarely see talent bursting out of their doors to start a homegrown company. Even when great talent does emerge from ASU, they’re often bursting through those doors and right on out of the state to chase more established ecosystems in other regions. The University of Arizona boasts a massive and highly accredited medical college, despite that I am hard pressed to think of a SaaS founder to come out of the program looking to solve one of the umpteenth problems in the medical profession... Founders with Exits Which leads me to the third and final ingredient, founders with exits. Highly visible and successful founders who have a massive exit is a win, it must be celebrated and also re-invested, in order to grow the ecosystem. Gregg Scoresby, Managing Partner at PHX Ventures is a great example of this. He successfully exited CampusLogic and now gives back to the ecosystem through his Seed fund at PHX Ventures... How do we awaken the sleeping giant that is the “Silicon Desert?” A unified and intentional effort, driven and curated by our capital allocators, with backing from our corporates, schools, and successful founders would be one hell of a start.

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🚨 Entrepreneurs, beware! 🚨 Scammers are constantly evolving, and one of the tricks I see a lot is targeting small business owners and entrepreneurs with official-looking notices demanding fees for government registrations. A prime example is Federal Processing Registry, Inc., which has been flagged by the Better Business Bureau for misleading entrepreneurs into paying unnecessary fees. I received a "2025 Annual SAM Registration Renewal Form" from them (which I've redacted). Everything about the form was designed to hide the fact that this is a private company seeking to charge $599 for something that costs $0 to actually do directly with SAM.gov. This is SHAMEFUL. Scams like this prey on business owners who are trying to stay compliant with regulations but may not be familiar with the actual processes. They use urgent language, official-looking letters, and even government-sounding names to pressure entrepreneurs into paying. 👉 How to protect yourself: ✅ Always verify any business registration requirement with official government agencies. ✅ Be skeptical of unsolicited notices demanding immediate payment. ✅ Check for complaints on the BBB website or your state’s Attorney General’s office. ✅ When in doubt, ask a trusted advisor before paying anything! Entrepreneurship is already hard enough without scammers taking advantage of those building their dreams. Let’s look out for each other—share this to help fellow entrepreneurs stay informed! #Entrepreneurship #ScamAlert #SmallBusiness #FraudPrevention #StartupTips

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Thinking a lot about how to help Buoyant Ventures portfolio companies stay focused amidst all the national turmoil. This also applies to me and my team. The pace of bad news is overwhelming and seemingly by design. Here are some thoughts. 🤿 Put your oxygen mask on first. Get good sleep, try to eat healthy, cut back on substances. Create and protect a healthy morning routine so you start the day grounded. You need to be clear-headed to be a good leader right now. More clear-headed than ever before. Your employees, investors, customers are counting on you to lead and are looking to you for motivation. They may be scared, reactive, depressed, spiraling. Show them strength and compassion. 🙏 Find something to be grateful for every day. Your health, your family, your friends, nature, music, books. Get outside for fresh air and sunshine and exercise. Find some joy every day. We are all lucky to be alive, and we don't know when our time is up. ✋🏼 Ask for help. Be brave enough to be vulnerable and ask for help from your team, family, investors, community. You will most likely be happy to learn that many people want to help and want you to succeed. Asking for help is a sign of strength and also a way to give those around you something positive to contribute. 🩷 Live your values. Many of us working on climate solutions are doing so because we care deeply about creating a future that is more sustainable, resilient, heathy than today, for future generations. I am disheartened by some firms and companies changing their missions and values to reflect current economic and political stresses. Climate change is the same urgent global crisis that it was last year, and the devastating effects of extreme natural disasters will not slow down just because we stopped talking about them or scrubbed data from federal websites or cancelled grants. In fact, the opposite will happen. Things will get worse faster. To my fellow VCs, entrepreneurs, and LPs, what other advice do you have for coping with this turmoil and uncertainty? Abe Yokell Joshua Posamentier Gabriel Kra Chanel Damphousse Ernst Theodor Sack Emily Kirsch Jane Woodward Clay Dumas Sierra Peterson Sarah Sclarsic Tom Steyer Dawn Lippert Andy Karsner Michael Bruce Brandon Middaugh Erika Basham Aaron R. Sanjeev Krishnan Lyndsey Boucherle Tom Ferguson Kareem Dabbagh Ph.D. Rick Zullo John Balbach Joe Aguilar Michelle Carr Nikhil Vadhavkar Eddie Obropta Yanzhi (Ann) Xu Patrick Finch Hudson Hollister 🏢 Christopher Naismith Matt Zimola Kate Sanner Forest Frizzell Rob Cirincione Saleh ElHattab Adam Rimmer Chris Gladwin

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