Jeff Hoffman

Most founders chase visibility. Very few understand credibility. On February 26th at Venture Week Miami, we’re hosting #PRtalks: From Visibility to Credibility, a practical session on how founders build trust that actually converts. We’ll break down: • When PR actually makes sense for your stage • How earned media, podcasts, and partnerships compound authority • How to pitch yourself without sounding desperate or salesy • The reputational funnel: visibility → trust → conversion → leverage Led by karla cobreiro (cobreiro comms) and Andrea Lievano Macias (PRPARATODOS), founders who have built credibility engines for real operators. If you’re fundraising, selling, or positioning for partnerships, narrative is not optional. Miami founders, investors, operators, see you at #Mindspace Downtown Miami. Link in comments

20

4 Comments

🔔 Attention Miami founders, investors, and startup ecosystem players! 🔔 If you're raising or thinking about it, this is one you won't want to miss. Very excited to be participating on this panel tomorrow night (March 17th) at The LAB Miami, where we will bring 5 distinct fundraising perspectives together for what promises to be an insightful conversation. Here's who's on the panel: 🦄 2x Founder Michael Assraf - $60M raised across 2 companies (Vicarius and Flamingo) 💸 VC investor Anuj Maheshwari, CFA of Fuel Venture Capital - an investor in Replit's $3B Series C round 😇 Angel investor Sonja Markova - Executive Director at University of Miami Cane Angel Network 🚀 Serial entrepreneur Sam Payrovi of ARKHAUS - pursued alternative funding and raised across crowdfunding and private investors 📈 Early-stage investor & advisor Ryan Martin (me!) - Managing Partner at Five Spheres and Investor-in-Residence at Seaworthy Collective Moderated by Grace U. - angel investor and Director of Founder Institute Miami. We'll get into the things nobody puts in a pitch deck: → When you're too early to raise (and what to do instead) → How angels and VCs actually evaluate early-stage companies → What fundraising mistakes keep costing founders → Why "alternative" funding isn't a consolation prize If you're building in Miami, this conversation was designed for you. 📍 The LAB Miami | ⏰ 6:00 PM | 🗓️ March 17th Hosted by Founder Institute - the world's largest pre-seed accelerator, with an alumni base that's raised $2B+ in funding. RSVP link in the comments 👇

53

10 Comments

It's an honour for Creative Destruction Lab to be featured as Builder of the Week by Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario | Agence fédérale de .... This recognizes the dedication of our global network of CDL mentors, partners, staff, and students who support ambitious founders as they tackle some of the world's toughest challenges. Thank you to the Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, the FedDev Ontario team, and the Department of National Defence/Ministère de la défense nationale for their leadership and commitment to builders in the innovation ecosystem. Read more about CDL Defence: https://lnkd.in/eEdQDYdF

127

7 Comments

Dear friends, I’d like to share with you an article I found particularly interesting. Thank you Sindhya Valloppillil!   Consumer interest in wellness and longevity has never been higher: the global wellness market is valued at $5.6 trillion, and the longevity economy is projected to reach $1.4 trillion by 2029. Yet, despite this momentum, many high-profile startups in the sector are collapsing. The reasons are clear: fast-growth venture capital models often clash with the slow, trust-based nature of healthcare and prevention. Longevity isn’t about hype or branding—it requires clinical rigor, sustainable operations, and above all, trust. The article highlights several key points: - Longevity is about extending healthspan, not just lifespan. - Many failures (Forward, Ever/Body, Modern Age) stemmed from weak clinical foundations, poor retention, and fragile consumer trust. - What’s working are clinician-led models, hospital-backed initiatives, and projects rooted in real science. - The companies that succeed will need to combine medical credibility, operational resilience, and consumer empathy. The message is clear—and I want to close with the article’s final observation, which I find particularly relevant: “The wellness gold rush hasn’t cooled—it’s just colliding with reality. Consumer appetite for longevity is still strong, but the era of hype without substance is ending… What’s left isn’t a dead sector—it’s one under pressure to grow up, back up its claims, and earn the trust it once assumed was automatic.” #Longevity #Wellness #Healthspan #HealthcareInnovation #Trust #FutureOfHealth https://lnkd.in/eZtDWjzb

192

37 Comments

Our modest step to bring us closer to the amazing patients we are already meeting and who will help us design best possible eyewear (that according to them, will "change quality of lives for so many"). The bonus for Founder Members is that they will receive their eyewear from first batch fabricated on our Asian manufacturing line.

3

🚀 Catapult Ventures 📍 Offices: Los Altos (United States) 📈 Investment Stages: Seed, Series A 🧠 Focus: Automation, Robotics, AI, IoT, Hardware, Embedded Systems, Software, Industrial Manufacturing, Automotive, Aerospace, Agriculture, Construction, Healthcare, Consumer Electronics 📖 Catapult Ventures invests in pre-seed and seed-stage startups at the intersection of hardware, embedded systems, and software. They focus on founders creating competitive advantages through interdisciplinary thinking and often lead or syndicate with other investors, reserving capital for subsequent funding rounds. 🗓️ Founded: 2017 💼 Portfolio: Advanced Farm, Anello Photonics, Camect, Elroy Air, Flightwave, Oculii 🌐 Website: https://catapult.vc 🔎 More at projectstartups.com #venturecapital #Automation #Robotics #vcfunding #startup #vc