RSVP here; see you soon!

AL

For the first time, 2 JamPad founders have graced the national tabloids. This morning, an article in the WSJ was published speaking about corporate governance and young founders’ take on it.

Adam Laor of Sinatra, and Max Bregman of BreatheEV, were 2/3 founders featured, alongside Lean Startup author & LTSE founder, Eric Ries. It’s an exciting time for the city of Phoenix, as founders begin to think & perform at clips never seen on a local maximum.

Cheers to many, many for features in the journal from many, many more of our founders.

JP

Happy new year, AZ tech ecosystem.

As you all know, I, Adam, started AZ’s premier founder group, JamPad - a place where founder energy and community spirit in is nothing short of magnetic. As I've grown, I continue to believe increasingly in the power of connection and collaboration (particularly between hackers & painters), and now, I'm excited to extend this energy beyond our tight circle to all the brilliant founders across Arizona.

JamPad BBQ’s - Open to Everyone

I'm thrilled to announce that I'll be hosting weekly BBQs at my Pad in Arcadia, exclusively for startup members in our increasingly vibrant Arizona ecosystem. Here's what you need to know:

• When: Every Saturday night, starting at 7 PM.

• Where: Adam's pad in Arcadia (the place where ideas sizzle along with the steaks!)

• Who: This is for you, the dreamers, hackers, and painters of Arizona's startup scene. And there's a twist - bring along at least one other person from our ecosystem to fuel the collaborative spirit.

Agenda: What's on the menu? Here's a sneak peek:

• Savor the Flavor: Get ready to indulge in some mouth-watering steaks, perfectly grilled to fuel our conversations.

• Relax and Unwind: Dive into our hot and cold tubs, toss a football, or engage in a spirited game of frisbee.

• Network and Connect: Most importantly, this is a chance to mingle with fellow founders and key stakeholders in our ecosystem.

RSVP Information: Excited? So are we! To join us, simply RSVP at this link. Let's make these nights to remember!

Closing Remarks

As we step into this year, it's time to do more, to move faster, and to continue making waves in our ecosystem. It's about collapsing the wave function, creating impact, and enjoying the journey together. I can't wait to see you all, share stories, ideas, and maybe even forge the next big collaboration under the stars of Arcadia.

See you on Saturday!

~ AL

The world of startups is an exciting but challenging one; it’s much like an intellectual sport. It requires the right execution, guidance, connections, and support to transform a startup into a successful business. Good news - JP has been doing just that.In its inaugural cohort, JamPad unclouded two exceptional founders, Danny Friday of Sail and Max Bregman of BreatheEV. Let's dive into their journey and see how JamPad helped them navigate the tumultuous waters of founder-ship.

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Go-to-Market Ideation & Industry Connections

JamPad excels at helping founders refine their ideas and create a solid go-to-market strategy. For Danny Friday, founder of Sail, JamPad's mentorship and workshops proved invaluable in this, particularly around discovering the concept of distribution led growth. From connections to leaders at top healthcare systems & banking partners around the globe, to securing his first LOI, Sail is beginning to take shape as an exciting new healthcare startup. Max Bregman, the co-founder behind BreatheEV, experienced a similar transformation, as through JP, he secured his first location for launch & beyond. 

Founder EQ

Running a startup is guaranteed to at SOME point be emotionally taxing. JamPad places a strong emphasis on founder emotional intelligence (EQ), recognizing its vital role in long-term success. Through tailored coaching and workshops, Danny and Max were able to enhance their leadership and decision-making abilities. As a founder, it’s vital to treat yourself like a pro-athlete; from your food, sleep, and physical activity, it’s incredibly important to be fully optimized for success. 

Investor Connections

Playing the game in startups is arguably the most important KPI for a founder to have who has aspirations of building a massive business. While most say PHX is a desert for capital, JamPad's extensive investor network came to the rescue. Both Danny and Max received introductions to potential investors in JP’s network as well as a “school of hard knocks”-like introduction to social capital management, which ended up circulating the initial pre-seed rounds for each company. As time kills all deals in VC, these connections facilitated significantly smoother fundraising processes for both companies.

Final Thoughts

JP’s first cohort has been a strong step in the right direction of churning out pre-seed back-able founders in AZ. If you’re interested in applying for cohort 2, click here. Cheers to continuing to do the work needed for the valley’s early stage founders.

JamPad is the dynamic community that’s rapidly emerging to foster innovation, collaboration, and growth for the city of Phoenix’s status ecosystem. We are poised to become the state's premier startup community, if not already. However, it is important to recognize one thing:

JamPad will not wait for anyone to "hop on board" – the time to get involved is now, before the rocket leaves the ground.

In this blog, we will explore why JamPad is a force to be reckoned with and what we’re up to.

Igniting the Flames of Greatness

JamPad is at the forefront of cultivating innovation & raising ambition within the Phoenix startup ecosystem. By bringing together a wide range of hackers, artists, and investors, JamPad serves as a catalyst for the top breakthrough ideas to become AZ’s headline disruptive solutions. Our vibrant community encourages out-of-the-box thinking and collaboration, creating an environment that nurtures innovation and pushes boundaries. We are anti-dogma.

PS, while we like founders that are cockroaches, we bet on unicorns. Please never call our city a sea of cockroaches again. You know who you are ;)

AZ’s Tier 1 Community

One of the defining features of JamPad is its commitment to fostering a supportive ecosystem for early stage startups. The community provides access to mentorship, resources, and expertise that are crucial for startups to thrive. JamPad's network includes seasoned founders, industry experts, investors, and advisors who are dedicated to empowering and guiding the next generation of innovators in our state. By getting involved with JamPad now, you can tap into this network and benefit from the wealth of knowledge and support available.

1. Early Mover Advantage: The startup landscape is highly competitive, and those who seize opportunities early often gain a significant advantage. By joining JamPad now, you position yourself at the forefront of a rapidly growing community, opening doors to potential collaborations, partnerships, and investments. Waiting on the sidelines means missing out on the chance to connect with influential individuals and gain exposure within the rapidly growing Phoenix startup ecosystem.

2. Access to Capital: Securing funding is a critical milestone for startups, and we at JP recognize this. We actively connect entrepreneurs with investors in our network who are eager to support the most promising early stage companies in the valley. By engaging with JP, you can tap into a vast network of investors actively seeking innovative ideas and groundbreaking startups. With access to capital, you can accelerate your growth, scale your business, and unlock new opportunities.

Vibrant Events and Workshops: JamPad hosts a myriad of events, workshops, and conferences designed to foster knowledge sharing, collaboration, and skill development. These gatherings provide an excellent platform for networking, learning from industry leaders, and staying abreast of emerging trends. By participating in JamPad's vibrant events, you can enhance your entrepreneurial skill set, build meaningful relationships, and gain exposure to the latest industry insights.

Final Words

JamPad is the driving force propelling Phoenix's startup ecosystem to new heights.

Our commitment to fostering innovation, providing support, and connecting entrepreneurs with capital & customers is unmatched in this ecosystem.

The time is now to get involved with our vibrant community. By joining early, you position yourself for success, gaining access to invaluable resources, mentorship, and a network of like-minded individuals. Don't wait for the rocket to leave the ground – hop on board now and become a part of the movement that is reshaping the fabric of one of America’s biggest cities.

Team JP

As stated in my last LinkedIn post, JP threw a massive after party to wrap PHX Startup Week. Over 200 people showed up on < 48hrs notice.

Today, I’m proud to announce the future of what’s become a pivotal “club” for Arizona’s technology & startup ecosystem:

Y Combinator for Arizona

We’re becoming the first 0-1 onramp for founders building companies on a venture-backed scale. Details below:

• We’ll be cutting founder friendly checks on market terms

• 2 batches annually (summer & winter)

• Program duration is 90 days & only for AZ-based startups

• A massive demo day will ensue at the end of the program, which will include local & Bay Area investors (allowing locals first bite)

• More details to come soon

That’s right… exciting times. On that note, one last key detail:

I’m Stepping Back From JamPad

The slope of Sinatra’s growth has gotten steep in the last few months, and is only increasing exponentially from here on out. With that being said, I’m fading out of all ecosystem building roles until further notice. So, who will run JamPad?Ilene Smith (JamPad mom) and Mat Sherman (one of the best startup scouts around). I trust these two to execute and continue making this city what it can and will be.

Chapter 1 for me locally is done, as the local maximum has been conquered.

• Caused a ruckus with JP; bent the city of PHX’s reality. Pissed some people off (all the whole building dozens of bridges).

• Landed the golden goose at Sinatra, one of that states hottest startups

So, what’s next for me?

Time to give Arizona its first Uber with Sinatra. See you all on the other side,

Adam Laor (AL)

JP is throwing an after party this Friday night (4/28) at 7p for the valley’s techies to come wrap up PHX Startup Week!

Please sign up here to get on the waitlist - we’ve already got > 100 people on the list & it’s only been 1hr, so first come first serve.

See you there,

AL

I’ve had lots of people ask lately me how much money the founders in JamPad have cumulatively raised for the companies they’re working on... and decided to take it upon myself to tally that number.

$17,330,000

JP has been around for ~ 1yr. I continue to be proud of what we’re doing for this city. Job well done, founders.

A Final, Very Important Note!

To all you JP founders: there are certain pockets of this ecosystem that have decided to “dislike” us. Some even tell me to my face:

We hope you fail so we can make a meme out of you :)

This is comical (let alone childlike from adults over the age of 40) & has happened to me personally at least 6 times IRL, let alone the hundreds of occurrences behind my back.

Now, why is that you ask? It’s because the world is full of jealousy and envy. Leave them be…. don’t instigate.

Founders: If anyone questions you or your ability to build, do the following:

• Look them in the eye

• Smile & give yourself a nice chuckle

• Tell ‘em we’ll see you around, with grace!

There’s no room in our city for hatred towards some of the most brilliant individuals our city has to offer on the company building front. Phoenix needs to band together towards a central North Star to help make this place what it can be. With that being said, I want all operators that talk down to young founders in this city to remember one thing….

No founders? No ecosystem.

AL

JamPad is an Arizona-based mafia of tier-1 potential tech founders; it’s where builders in our state with aspirations & chops to build billion dollar companies go for community, as well access to infrastructure to go from 0-1, and beyond. Today, I’m excited to announce Cohort 1, 2023 of new founders to the mob.

Daniela Alpert

It was over a year ago when I met Daniela one night at Culdesac. A few weeks ago, after I got off stage for a panel I was speaking on, Daniela re-appeared, this time permanently! She just left her last startup which was based in SF/Miami, Shyft, which was a great success:

• Raised over $30M

• Served over 400k customers in 68 different countries

• Achieved an NPS of over 70

She’s also an NFX Guild member, joining in 2017, as well as a lead mentor in TechStars Miami. Now, Daniela is shifting (haha, no pun intended) her focus to more of the community sidae of things for AZ. Think, “top of funnel” for the state. It’s much needed, and she’s the pioneer to do it. I couldn’t be more excited to see what she does for our city.

Ryan Pace

Dr. Pace is a man after my own heart. While in high school, he too built up a 6 figure portfolio in crypto from the ground up. Today, he’s the founder of Involio, which to date has raised a $1.4M pre-seed round.

Ryan describes Involio as a new place for investments, portfolio trades, and thesis to be verified & shared publicly or monetized with a private community. The platform supports all markets, including stocks, crypto, NFTs, forex, and commodities.

Hannah Eherenfeldt

Hailing from the biomedical engineering program any Tulane, Hannah has already stacked up a wealth of experience in the MedTech world at the following companies, to name a few:

• Salk Institute for Biological Studies

• California Institute for Biomedical Research

• New Orleans BioInnovation Center

• National Science Foundation

Today, Hannah is the co-founder at ReSutrure, a startup that creates the most realistic training platform for open vascular surgery. Using novel materials and a simulated surgical environment, they can replicate a variety of surgical procedures with high levels of accuracy. Her goal at ReSuture is to improve patient outcomes by ensuring surgeons are fully prepared before entering the operating room.

Last but not least…. they just secured grants to go build their product totaling > $1.2M!

Closing Thoughts

I’m really ecstatic to announce the latest members of the mob. Congrats to you all. It’s been off to the races in 2023 thus far for all founders, and the slope is only increasing from here on out. Back to building!

AL

Brian Sowards is JP’s black beard & Chief Sage Officer. Today, JP reveals his latest startup; Drivetrain.

Groundwork

DT is designed to help founders make the transition from founder-led sales to a scalable revenue organization. It is the first built-for-purpose program of its kind and promises to de-risk this challenging leap. One of the biggest challenges that founders face when building a sales team is finding the right person to lead it. According to research, 70% of first VPs of sales only last 11 months in the role. This is a staggering statistic, and it highlights the difficulty of finding someone who can build and lead a successful sales team.

There are several reasons why first VPs of sales struggle in their role. First, they often lack the experience needed to build a scalable sales organization. Second, they may struggle to navigate the complex sales landscape, which is constantly evolving. Finally, they may not have the support they need to succeed.

Where Drivetrain Comes In

The company provides founders with a fractional Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) and team. This includes coaching, revops (revenue operations), hiring, management, and enablement. In essence, Drivetrain provides founders with everything they need to build and scale a successful sales organization.

By providing founders with a fractional CRO and team, Drivetrain helps to de-risk the transition from founder-led sales to a scalable revenue organization. The company's program is built specifically to address the challenges that founders face when building a sales team. By providing hands-on support and coaching, Drivetrain helps founders to develop the skills and processes needed to build a sustainable, scalable sales organization.

Last Words

Overall, Drivetrain is an innovative solution to a complex problem. I & the rest of JP are excited to watch black beard and his team execute this to a win (a much deserved one, I might add…). Onwards,

AL

I’m really busy. Thus, I had ChatGPT summarize my visit to Venture Cafe Phoenix recently, where I chatted about raising capital to > 100 people. Here’s what it came up with:

Recently, Adam Laor, a seasoned entrepreneur, spoke on a panel at Venture Cafe Phoenix about how to raise capital for your startup. According to Laor, raising capital is all about playing the game, which can be broken down into three key components: network, metrics, and pattern matching.

Firstly, having a strong network is crucial to successfully raising capital for your startup. This includes building relationships with investors, advisors, and mentors who can help guide you through the fundraising process and connect you with potential investors.

Secondly, metrics play a crucial role in demonstrating the potential for growth and success of your startup. Investors want to see data that shows traction, revenue, and user engagement.

Finally, pattern matching is the practice of looking at past successful investments and finding commonalities among them. This helps investors make informed decisions about where to invest their money, and as a founder, understanding what investors are looking for can help you tailor your pitch and increase your chances of securing funding.

Overall, Laor's insights highlight the importance of approaching fundraising strategically and understanding the key factors that can make or break your chances of securing investment.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was great conversation. Thanks goes out to Melissa Lamson & co for the invite.

Phoenix ands its founders are final getting to hear how the insiders work in Silicon Valley; not only that there is a game to be played, but tactically how to play it. At the end of the day, IMO, founders that win in startups are those with the highest rate of learning & reapplication of such data. If the founders in our backyard can consume this & reapply the knowledge tactically, we’ll get to being a nationally respected tech hub even faster.

Cheers to rate of learning, playing the game, and most importantly, OpenAI :)

AL

Zack Cox of Pidgi has closed a pre-seed round by PHX Launch. While Zack has decided the keep the amount out of the public eye, funds will be used to supercharge the startup to product market fit.

What is Pidgi?

While Dr. Cox was at SAP, he noticed members of the revenue team found that their strongest sales opportunities included previous buyers & product users, but unfortunately, these were the hardest leads for the SAP team to find, as the process was very manual.

Essentially, Pidgi tracks when a former customer changes their job & traces them down to create a new customer out of their new employer. Whitty stuff, Zack.

Closing

Pidgi’s pre-seed round brings JamPad’s cumulative funding within the group to a whopping $4,438,000, and we’re barely past 12 months of existence. We’re excited to see Zack build Pidgi into a success for the ecosystem. Meantime, back to building companies & laying infrastructure for founders & funders in the city of Phoenix to leverage.

Once again, congrats, Zack.

The cat is out of the bag: JamPad sponsored a masquerade with > 300 of the top funders and founders in Arizona, on the rooftop next to Sam Fox’s hotel on Camelback & 44th (yes, across the street my my third home, The Henry…)

I wrote a thoughtful piece on my version of Twitter, LinkedIn, about how the valley has brought a feeling of enchantment to all of us.

AL

Josh here. Recently, I had a call with a fantastic founder last week about raising a round of investment.

The conversation centered around leverage, speed, and in his words and one of my newest phrases “apply leverage to collapse the wave function.“

Let’s begin.

What is a Wave Function?

In quantum mechanics, the act of measurement or observation is thought to cause the “wave function” of a quantum system to collapse from a superposition of multiple states to a single state.

The collapse of the wave function is only associated with the act of measurement or observation of a quantum system. The mere existence of a quantum system does not cause its wave function to collapse, only when an observer interacts with the system, the wave function collapses.

When an observer measures the position or the momentum of a quantum particle, the wave function of that particle collapses to a single position or momentum.

Founders, this is your world. You’re having many conversations with investors & stakeholders about what could be. Their responses and your relationship with them is in a superposition of possible outcomes:

• they might invest

• they might introduce you to people

• they might join your team

• they might be helpful

So on and so forth.

Founders, it’s time for you to look at each roadblock in front of you as a wave function, and begin applying leverage to collapse it. In other words:

1. What are the things on your plate that are uncertain? Not “in progress” but specifically not moving along and could go many different ways—a superposition of states

2. Why are they uncertain? Why isn’t it going faster, collapsing?

3. What leverage you can acquire or currently have?

4. Reduce the friction

5. Collapse it.

6. Rinse & repeat

Example Scenario

“You’ve been speaking with an Angel Investor for some time and they say they are interested in investing”

The Superpositions:

• Capability: their liquidity

• Risk appetite: the amount of $ they would invest

Why isn’t it going faster?

• Because you haven’t sent them a SAFE & wire instructions

• Because they’re waiting for other investors to invest first

What leverage can you apply?

• Send them a SAFE & wire instructions

• Send the other investors a SAFE & wire instructions

How do you reduce friction?

• Have all documents ready to go immediately (e.g. prefilled forms or services like Clerky, Gust Launch, Stripe Atlas, or LTSE Equity). Make it easy for them to wire.

Collapse it

• Sign and wire. Great. Now you have the money in the bank. Next.

• If they don’t do it, now you know they’re not going to. Great, now you’ve saved yourself weeks of back and forth. Next.

There are many other scenarios you’ll likely come across:

“A potential team member might join”

“Someone might be able to introduce you to some great people”

“Your customer might sign a big contract”

“X person/entity might be able to do Y thing”

Collapse them.

Don’t let the fear of a bad outcome prevent you from seizing a great one.

Picture your next major milestone as a company; there are likely 2-3 small tentacles (action items) that immediately sprout (hint: those are wave functions!).

Now, ask yourself honestly, “why isn’t this happening faster?”.

Once you do you’ll look around and realize all wave functions around you have collapsed at a significantly faster speed than you had anticipated, all because you applied leverage in those areas.

Why is This JP’s Theme for 2023?

Here’s what’s on the scorecard for JP going into 2023:

• 4 founders on the brink of closing their pre-seed rounds (of which all already have teams & products in market)

• 2 founders 1 step away from shifting out of “startup” mode to “company” mode (scaling to MM’s in ARR, raising large institutional rounds of capitol)

• 7 founders between 1 and 2 degrees shy of getting out of the wilderness period.

Most of you know I have little to no patience for, well, anything.

We’re on the brink of more special magic happening in the valley, and why not make it happen faster.

More on this at “Mom’s” next month….

AL & JH

JamPad started in October 2021 as a talent pipeline for Sinatra. It quickly began attracting founders in the ecosystem after I decided to (fish out of water, in my case) cast a beacon for the best hackers and painters to band together & build an ecosystem in the desert. A tribe began morphing after a dinner at Culinary Dropout with Josh, Tim, & Mat, as well as some (very) late night chats with Josh at WeWork. Today, we’re transitioning into a new period of JamPad and the ecosystem in Arizona. It’s the end of the beginning & time to turn the mob into a more of a highly exclusive fellowship.

Let’s dive into what’s next:

2022

JP caused a ruckus in AZ last year. From ruffling feathers of previous ecosystem taking heads to having teenagers raise millions of dollars. Here’s a look back at some of the quantitative the mob threw up last year:

• > 2,000 applications & 13 tier 1 potential founders and companies identified

• > $3.5M raised by JP founders in 2022

• 8/13 companies already have product in market with paying customers

• 4 1517 members (group spun out from the Thiel Fellowship)

In 2022, JP was very loose as it tried to find its identity within Arizona’s startup ecosystem. Anyone with some understanding of “the game” and any trajectory that seemed respectable got in. Well, all those people have been kicked out effective immediately. Not permanently, but most certainly for now. Moving forward, there’s now a real bar to meet if one wants to get into JamPad.

What is the Bar?

We want to attract a cohort of founders who are building tech startups on a tier 1 trajectory (SF) , but based in AZ. Here’s what that breaks down to:

• Levels of ambition - we’re not interested in someone who’s long term game is to to build and flip then go hang on their yacht in a 36 months. There’s no issue with this, but it’s not our cup of tea. Now, small stepping stones for someone like a first time founder? 100%, we like & encourage that. In general, we want those chasing the biggest thing they can fathom & are willing to commit every fiber in their bones to achieve it.

• Pattern matching - most don’t understand they need to literally become whatever founder stereotype they’re closest to for investors to have an easier time parting with their money at the beginning stages of a company. Most investors are judging (at early stage, that is) if you look & sound similar to someone they’ve bet on successfully in the past. There are multiple categories for this, but that’s for a different blog.

• Warm nodes - JP founders are interesting because they’d be just as successful without JP as they are with it. Having the ability run lunches, dinners, and stack positive equity is an art few today have. That skillset opens doors to accumulating nodes that are networked, thus allowing you to become networked.

• Charts - say what you want, but the reality of VC today is few startups get funded without some kind of revenue or traction. That is unless you’re an insider, but you’re likely not if you’re reading this. At the end of the day, so long you have happy paying customers, you’re ahead of most anyways. Knock this domino down, you’ve accumulated a large amount of leverage for when you kick off your fundraise.

• Vibe check - we want a mix of retro Silicon Valley + NYC mafioso. The retro SF world brought a culture and a cohort of people who wanted to build hardware and software that not only re-engineered how humans live their daily lives, but tested the limits of human consciousness through a combination of art & science. In terms of mafioso, most of you know I’m from NYC & was raised by the aristocratic elites of NYC & the mob. We want to bring the energy of “take what you want, don’t wait for anyone to give it to you” that NYC has to the valley. Additionally, the ruthless shell of a mobster that has extraordinarily high demands & expectations for those around them is how most of us operate personally, yet with a soft & squishy interior that cares like no other for those around them & would do anything to watch their brothers succeed.

So, What’s JP’s Goal?

JP is here to provide AZ founders who are on a tier 1 trajectory infrastructure to go from 0 to 1. We then pump them to our deep network on the west coast for distribution and capital through JP founders & friendlies. All this results in lots of attention & resources being directed to AZ & its best founders, which achieves our goal; put Arizona on the map as a nationally respected startup & tech hub.

Final Words

As we begin 2023, this is a year where founders within the ecosystem will catapult to new heights; for some, that may include closing their first round of funding to begin building. For others, it’s going from startup to company. It’s a big year for Arizona’s tech scene - a lot on the line.

Let’s mobilize.

AL

Quite the saga with FTX recently!

In the latest clip of The Jam by JamPad, Zack Cox & Adam Laor discuss the fallout & whether something like this gets chased up with the likes of Theranos or WeWork.

Raising a seed round in the turbulent markets of VC currently is a tall task - or is it? The founder of SaaStr, Jason M. Lemkin, recently had some advice to founders around the guise of "not expecting the next round to come"...

On the latest clip of The Jam 🎙, Zack Cox & Adam Laor deep dive those comments & offer a frame for founders still trying to crack the network of Silicon Valley.

Enjoy! 🛫

In the latest clip of The Jam, Zack & Adam discuss the shake down of the instant delivery market. 🚗

Companies such as #gopuff are laying off workers by the thousands. #instacart has completely changed their business model. And other startups like #gorillas are on the verge or are already going bankrupt. 

Is instant delivery really all that sustainable? Here’s the outlook for 2023 & beyond. ⏩

In the latest clip of The Jam, Zack Cox & Adam Laor cover TechCrunch's latest article on whether or not Silicon Valley is "dead" as well as the future of the tech landscape around the US, amongst other things.

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Enjoy!

Software is about to eat the creative industry, and it appears film could be the first part. Zack Cox & I chat about it on the latest clip of The Jam Podcast. Enjoy!

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