Brian Friedman

What do creative technologists build? At Baukunst, we’ve spent the last few years answering that question in real time. We are a collective of builders — operators, designers, engineers, and investors — committed to advancing the art of building at the frontiers of technology and design. We lead pre-seed rounds with conviction, often as the first institutional capital a founder takes, and we invest deeply in the messy, magical early days of company creation. This deck is the portfolio behind that philosophy, or rather that portfolio that has grown up out of it. We have chosen to champion these companies, and they chosen to co-create with us. These are companies built by creative technologists, founders who think in systems, design for real people, and push beyond the familiar. 

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Witnessed his dad’s cancer battle, then built a startup that saves lives truly amazing, right...👀 Hey all, I'm back with an amazing, interesting post about the recent Startup Singam episode.⚡ This week's Startup Singam features diverse pitches from three cool startups.✨ 🔸Biodimension Technology Private Limited, 🔹Madras Sarees 🔸Kiddy animation studio Biodimension, a revolutionary biotech startup, is working on tissue engineering.🔥 Seeing his dad suffer from cancer and researching why chemotherapy didn't work, to creating tissues for international testing standards, is truly commendable.🙌🏻 This startup has great potential in testing medicines on lab-grown tissues and helping people graft their skin tissues for cosmetic purposes.💫 Next comes Madras Sarees. With an amazing backstory of watching sarees being woven on the streets of Kanchipuram, they built a brand after leaving a corporate job, driven by zeal and passion.🙌🏻 For the first time in the startup singam history and HNI backed a startup for their whole asking amount.⚡ Finally, Kiddy AI this season, the Startup Singam team is keen on bringing up student startups to help them raise funds or seek guidance. This startup infused cartoons into education by creating interactive games and puzzles explaining educational concepts.😇 Best wishes to all three amazing startups. Signing off, Hariharan Krishnan see you soon with an amazing post 💜 #investment #startups #startupsingam #studentpreneurs #entrepreneurs #innovation #idea #partner #funding #creativity

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Biosphere raised millions from Founders Fund and Lowercarbon Capital to Unleash Industrial Biomanufacturing at scale. Biosphere's cofounder Arye Lipman joined our latest podcast to discuss: - what is biomanufacturing - how Biosphere's UV bioreactors are 10x better than traditional bioreactors - what America with 10x cheaper biomanufacturing looks like - can we grow a steak without a cow? - is biomanufacturing "woke climate" or American Dynamism? - how Biosphere is working with the DOD - MAGA's view on biomanufacturing - Consciousness, dolphins and the CIA Check it out!

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Permits in California aren’t just a checkbox. They shape what actually gets built. If you’ve developed, designed, or built anything in CA, you already know: The difference between a smooth project and a stalled one often comes down to how well the product aligns with local codes before you start. One of the most overlooked opportunities right now is in small backyard structures. In many California jurisdictions, accessory structures under 120 sqft can be built without a building permit, as long as they meet specific requirements: • Height limits (often 8–12 ft depending on location) • Setbacks from property lines • No permanent utilities in some cases • Zoning compliance Sounds simple. It’s not. Because the moment you move from “concept” to “real product,” the complexity shows up: • San Francisco has stricter height and placement constraints than most cities • Some municipalities interpret setbacks differently • Fire-prone areas introduce additional requirements • HOA overlays can quietly override city allowances This is where most projects slow down, not in construction, but in misalignment. At Cerca Homes, we’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this upstream. Instead of designing a single product and forcing it into different jurisdictions, we’ve built a system that adapts: • A line of luxury studio shed units up to 120 sqft designed to fall within no-permit thresholds in most CA cities • Configurations that can be adjusted to meet specific local height or setback requirements • A panelized system that allows those adjustments without redesigning from scratch Because in California, the real challenge isn’t just building. It’s building something that can actually get approved, or in some cases, intentionally designed not to need approval at all. This isn’t about avoiding regulation. It’s about understanding it deeply enough to design within it. The projects that move fastest today aren’t just well built. They’re well positioned from day one.

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Resale is one of the fastest-growing sectors in commerce, but scaling it is complex. Product intake, authentication, pricing, and listing are still largely manual, slowing growth and limiting margins for retailers entering the resale space. HAMMOQ Inc. solves this by automating resale operations. Their AI-powered platform handles product listing, content generation, pricing optimization, and marketplace management, enabling retailers and recommerce platforms to scale sustainably and profitably. At Silicon Road Ventures, we invested in Hammoq because they’re powering the operational backbone of the circular economy, making sustainability not just a value, but a viable business model. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gyeuJgu9 Discover the exceptional founders who are forging the future of commerce: https://lnkd.in/gyikTJ3c #PortfolioCompany #CircularEconomy #AI #RetailTech #Automation #Recommerce

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Second-Time Founders Don’t Fundraise Like You - Here’s Why They do not send decks. They do not ask for intros. They raise in half the time and walk into the room with leverage you never see coming. In this new issue of HealthVC, we break down how experienced founders: Pre-bake the round long before the launch Sequence LPs to build layered momentum Use co-invest dynamics to reduce friction Manufacture FOMO before the first call is made If you’ve ever felt like your fundraising process is slower, harder, or more uncertain than others, this explains why. 📬 Read it now on Substack 

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Innovation in the "Femtech" Space: How Women-Led Startups are Solving Neglected Health Issues. View My Portfolio. For decades, significant aspects of women's health were sidelined as "niche" concerns. No longer. The rise of Femtech—technology-driven health solutions focused on women's needs—is a powerful market correction, and it's being led by women. At V For Vibes, we are inspired by the founders who are turning personal frustration into global innovation. They are building companies that address long-ignored areas, from reproductive health and menstrual care to menopause and sexual wellness. Why does this matter for business? Market Opportunity: Women make 80% of healthcare decisions. This isn't a niche; it's a powerhouse economic engine. Diverse Leadership: Women-led startups bring essential lived experience to the table, creating products that truly resonate. Investment in Impact: Supporting Femtech isn't just good ethics; it's smart economics, funding solutions for half the world's population. The success of Femtech proves that when we diversify leadership, we unlock innovation that changes lives and dominates new markets. #Femtech #WomenInTech #WomenFounders #HealthTech #Innovation #SexualWellness #InvestInWomen #BusinessStrategy #Startups #VForVibes #DigitalHealth

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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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I'm excited to share that Fieldstone Bio has just closed a new $5m seed round, led by Ubiquity Ventures alongside E14 Fund (Calvin Chin and Habib Haddad) and LDV Capital (Evan Nisselson)! Fieldstone Bio is a "software beyond the screen" company that has figured out how to turn microbes like bacteria into living sensors for environmental surveillance! The company works with customers across agriculture, defense and more to employ Fieldstone's living sensors to identify target chemicals, nutrients, pollutants, or pathogens in the environment with high precision at millimeter scales across vast areas. These microbes translate chemical data into visual maps using hyperspectral imaging and AI, enabling detection via drones, planes and satellites. I think this startup very elegantly weaves together the best of on-the-ground testing with the scalability of remote sensing — two technologies that were previously impossible to connect! Congratulations on the new funding to co-founders Patrick Stone and Brandon Fields (hence Field-Stone :) Check out the company's exclusive funding announcement in TechCrunch: https://lnkd.in/gdX5XM6c #agtech #defensetech #remotesensing #biotech

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