Stuart Landesberg

Construction and demolition (C&D) waste in the U.S. is an over $300 billion industry entailing millions of jobs. CurbWaste has been taking the industry out of the pen-and-paper age, and that’s why we are proud to invest in its $28M Series B. The round, led by Socium Ventures, builds on the $10M Series A we led at the end of 2023. Since then, CurbWaste has grown its customer base to about 150 haulers over 40 states and continue to scale three digit y/y revenue growth. Customers include leaders such as TKI, Capitol Waste and Super Waste. The comprehensive CurbWaste platform provides order and route management, live tracking, automated invoicing, and real time data reporting. The New York-based company will be using the new round to fund additional enterprise offerings and deepening its AI-powered automation. Curbwaste's founder & CEO, Michael Marmo, hails from four generations in the waste management industry which provides him with a degree of familiarity and expertise required to drive the industry into a new era. As Mike told @WasteDive: "We’re not a grow-at-all-costs business, we’re very much a customer-focused business. We’re asking companies to trust us with their business, and I take that very seriously." Congratulations to Mike and the CurbWaste team. Honored to be an ongoing part of the CurbWaste journey! Socium Ventures, TTV Capital, B Capital, Mucker Capital, John Onwualu, Lizzie (Guynn) Hartley, Patrick Harmon Lopez, and David Yang.

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I spoke with Christien Louviere of BDE Capital about his journey from a $330mm exit to becoming an independent sponsor. Christien shared excellent insights for folks looking to partner with business owners, rather than buy sellers out completely. Below are a few of the topics we covered: - Why he moved from “zero-to-one” startups to a buy-then-build strategy - How Christien's background shaped a focus on growth vs. cost-cutting - Why 20–40% rolled equity is central to his deal structures—and how it builds trust with sellers - Using scenario analysis with AI tools to evaluate management teams and uncover hidden key-person risks - How to identify when a $3–5M EBITDA company truly has a middle management layer—or is still founder-reliant For anyone investing in or buying small businesses, Christien’s approach provides a fresh lens on growth, alignment, and deal structuring. 🎥 Watch the full interview here → https://lnkd.in/ekfkaiej 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://lnkd.in/e86Agx6V

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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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Don't Build a Better Wheat Farm" - Why Defensibility Stakes Are Higher in Deep Tech Just published a new piece on my "Ignore the Confusion" blog, building on thoughtful insights from Eric Ver Ploeg at Tunitas Ventures about startup defensibility. Eric's core thesis: Too many startups pitch like wheat farmers - "huge TAM, slow incumbents, growing market, domain expertise" - but fail to think through long-term defensibility until it's too late. From a deep tech perspective, the stakes are even higher: ** Unlike software, deep tech founders must commit to defensibility strategies from day one - their funding depends on it ** Patent vs. trade secret decisions are often difficult to reverse and shape your entire competitive strategy ** Even "picks and shovels" providers (the tools that make industries more efficient) become commodities without proper moats The key insight that resonates: Defensibility can't be retrofitted. Whether you're building software or deep tech, your moat must be architected into the business model from the start. Thanks to Eric Ver Ploeg for sharing these insights on startup strategy and letting me build on his framework from a deep tech lens. Read the full post: https://lnkd.in/dEj_iF-Q #DeepTech #StartupStrategy #Defensibility #VentureCapital #Innovation

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This week in #AmTech: Grid Aero raised $20 million in Series A funding co-led by Bison Ventures and Geodesic Capital, with participation from Stony Lonesome Group LLC, Alumni Ventures, and returning investors Ubiquity Ventures, Calibrate Ventures, and Commonweal Ventures (that's us!). Grid builds low-cost, autonomous cargo aircraft capable of carrying thousands of pounds over thousands of miles, enabling resilient logistics for defense, commercial, and humanitarian operations in contested or remote environments. Founders: Arthur Dubois, Brandon F., Chinmay Patel, PhD.   Barnwell Bio raised $6 million in Seed funding led by Twelve Below, with participation from Max Ventures, Dorm Room Fund, Banter Capital, Planeteer Capital, AgVentures Alliance, Daybreak Ventures, Alumni Ventures, and AgLaunch Farmers. Barnwell Bio uses genetic sequencing to monitor poultry barns for early signs of disease, giving farmers advance warning of threats like avian flu before outbreaks spread and force mass culls that drive up egg and chicken prices for consumers. Founders: Michael Rhys, Casey McGinley, Jake Byrnes.   Standard Nuclear raised $140 million in Series A funding led by Decisive Point, with participation from Chevron Technology Ventures, StepStone Group, XTX Ventures, and existing investors WELARA, Fundomo, Andreessen Horowitz, Washington Harbour Partners LP, and Crucible Capital. Standard Nuclear manufactures advanced nuclear fuel for next-generation reactors, serving defense, space, and industrial customers as the nation's only independent supplier not tied to a specific reactor design. Founders: Kurt Terrani, Thomas Hendrix. #VC #VentureCapital #Investing #Startups #DeepTech #DefenseTech #Aerospace #Energy #AgTech #Agriculture #Technology

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