Alex Levin

ESOPs are a retention tool that most startups design too loosely at the start. Vesting schedules, cliff periods, exercise prices, pool size relative to the cap table each of these decisions has downstream implications for hiring, fundraising, and eventual exits. Founders who build their ESOP policy before they need it rarely have to undo a bad one mid-round. The best time to get the structure right is before the first grant goes out. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gKcsbPNM #ESOPStructuring #StartupEquity #EmployeeStock #AbhijithPremanAndCo #APCALLP

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Founders are often optimistic about growth. Sometimes, that confidence leads to funding ideas that don't fully pan out. Royalty-based growth capital is structured to limit downside risk compared to traditional venture-backed paths. Vik Thapar of Cypress Growth Capital explains that, even if outcomes fall short of early expectations, founders often still exit with meaningful results because they retain the majority of ownership. 🎙️ Tune into the Private Equity Value Creation Podcast: https://lnkd.in/gxkEsH3Z 👇🏽 Find Us Here https://lnkd.in/gTdPMk8P #privateequity #privateequitypodcast #privateequityvaluecreation

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Founders drive late-stage deals. Messaging is founder-dependent. Expansion relies on personal relationships. Process is missing. Board expects scale. Revenue misses mount. CRO credibility erodes. Founder dependency becomes leadership liability. The harder truth: You can’t scale GTM on founder horsepower. Pushing harder won’t fix it. Neither will hiring sales without fixing the engine. You fix it by:  → Institutionalizing GTM process and messaging  → Shifting execution from founder to team  → Driving pipeline ownership across roles  → Building leadership trust through repeatable process Because when founders carry the number, leadership accountability is already compromised.

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Fundraising Is a Sales Funnel Takeaway: Treat investors like prospects. Context: Too many founders pitch randomly. Fundraising works when you build structure. Advice: Create a lightweight investor CRM (Airtable, Notion, HubSpot). Track stage: intro, 1st call, due diligence, soft commit. Follow up weekly—investors invest in the founders who stay top of mind. Closing thought: Your investor funnel is just like your customer funnel—build it, track it, close it. At SKIN STUDIOS, we help founders cut through the noise, launch scrappy, and evolve fast. Because in the startup game, speed of learning is your greatest edge. → sitg.studio | dom@sitg.studio | DMs open #foundertips #fundraising #venturecapital #startupadvice #skinstudios

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Founders often treat exit models like a checkbox in fundraising decks—just another slide to show potential returns. But an exit model should do more. It’s not about guesswork, it’s about mapping a path that’s grounded in reality. The real value comes when it reflects how the business could truly grow, scale, and create outcomes investors can believe in. Don’t just build slides—build exit models that investors can trust. www.CapMaven.co🔗 (exit planning, venture capital, financial modeling, founders, CapMaven) #exitplanning #venturecapital #financialmodeling #founders #CapMaven

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Great HLTH 2025. Some big trends I saw: - Drug distribution is going direct - Payers want vendors to take risk - Everyone has a chatbot - Behavioral health is maturing - FDA clearance is the new Series B - Post-discharge is a big opportunity - Diagnostics are becoming portable and ROI-oriented - Provider workflows are becoming consumer-grade

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Question for Founders 🤔 Is your scale-up running on startup-level insurance? It’s often set once, forgotten, and silently misaligned with reality as the business scales (yikes 😬) If your team, contracts, data, or leadership structure has changed, your cover should’ve too. We’ve distilled the 5 insurance policies every scaling business needs to know about in 2026. Read more in our latest blog 👇 https://lnkd.in/e8N-ymbg #NextLevelThinking #Insurance #EssentialInsurance

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