Context VC

Executive Summary: An Enlisted Combat US Army Artilleryman to Stanford University graduate to Startup Leader At Context VC, we primarily invest in military veteran founders at pre-seed and seed stages, with over 80% of our capital allocated to them. We also invest in fintech and consumer startups. Today, we highlight K. Holden Lindblom, co-founder of VetraFi. 👔Role Title: Co-Founder | VetraFi 🏡Hometown: Sweden ➡ North Carolina ➡ Massachusetts  🎖Military Background: I served 4-years in the US Army as a Forward Observer, where I served alongside units such as the 173rd Airborne (deploying to Afghanistan in 2012 with them) and the 101st Air Assault. ⚡Why did you join the military: I was a terrible student growing up, and I almost failed out of high school. I spoke with a recruiter because I didn’t believe I was going to be successful in college at the time. I saw the military as an opportunity for me to improve myself and serve my country. 15 days after graduating, I left for basic training. 🎓 Educational background: In 2017, I completed my undergraduate degree at Stanford University with the support and guidance of Service to School and Warrior-Scholar Project. 🏗️What are you building at VetraFi? At VetraFi, we are building a financial technology platform designed to support the next generation of service members as they enter the military. Our mission is to provide young service members with the tools they need to achieve financial stability and success. By offering products that help them build credit safely and responsibly, we aim to set them up for long-term financial health throughout their military careers and beyond. 🎉What gets you excited about building VetraFi? Building VetraFi excites me because, as a former enlisted service member, it allows me to support young service members with tools I wish I had when I joined the military. My experiences, from serving in the US Army to overcoming academic challenges and eventually graduating from Stanford, fuel my passion to create a platform that empowers service members. 📚Favorite Books: - Wool/Silo (trilogy) by Hugh Howey - Growth Mindset by Carol Dweck - Lord of the Rings (trilogy) by JRR Tolkien - Any comic book by Alan Moore 📽️Favorite Movies: 🎳 The Big Lebowski by The Coen Brothers 🚀2001 A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick 💍The Lord of the Rings (trilogy) by Peter Jackson ⛷️🤿⛵Hobbies: Cooking, traveling, skiing, sailing, scuba diving, video games 🏈Favorite Sports Teams: New England teams (bandwagoning) 💡What advice do you have about startups: “Founder market fit” is more important than you may realize. Not only does it provide you domain expertise, it is also a great motivator. It’s easy to be motivated in the short-term, but when the issue has affected you personally, or it is something you’ve experienced numerous times first-hand, then it’ll help keep you motivated to solve the problem.

Executive Summary: Thanking Teammates and Fantastic Human Beings - Carina Cho 1/ At Context VC we have a number of initiatives/programs/projects we are working on and it increases every day. We have some projects we are working on that we think will be really valuable for the startup community that we’ll be able to share soon. The frequent line we use is that good work creates more work, or opportunity creates opportunity. This is a less fancy way of saying the flywheel effect whereby w small wins over time can create momentum that leads to sustained growth. 2/ Here are a few initiatives that we work on: ➡️ Investing and supporting great founders and startup teams. At Context Ventures, we primarily invest in military veteran founders at the preseed and seed stage (we also separately invest in fintech and consumer startups agnostic of founder background). More than 80% of our capital to date has gone into investing in military veteran founders. ➡️The Military Veteran Startup Conference (she helped organize the first one!) ➡️ DiverseVC Conference ➡️ Creator Conference (she’s helping to organize this with Helen as we speak) ➡️We attend at least an event a month (she’s attended a number of military veteran events as a civilian ally) if not an event a week and we host roughly one event a month too 3/ None of this is possible without the fantastic team at Context Ventures & Media Mobilize who help make this happen. Today I’d like to highlight one of these fantastic professionals and human beings: Carina Cho 💼 Role Title: Chief Operating Officer at Media Mobilize, Associate at Context VC 🏠 Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia 🎓Educational background: Associate degree at Georgia State University, Bachelor of Business Administration at Parsons School of Design - The New School 📚 Favorite Books: - Dracula by Bram Stoker - The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein 📽 Favorite Movies: - 21 Jump Street (2012) - Any musical (The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Grease) - The Pianist (2002) - Catch Me If You Can (2002). 🎹 🐕 ✈ Hobbies: Piano, Dog rescue volunteering, Traveling & trying new cuisines 🎵 Favorite Bands/Artists: Muse, Queen, ELO, Shania Twain, Stephen Sanchez 💡 What advice do you have about startups: “People buy from you when they feel understood, not when they understand you.” I’ve attended conferences, went to networking events, met founders (across all stages of success) and the word I hear a lot is “grit.” There are always going to be obstacles that you can’t control but the one trait you cannot lack is grit. Have passion for what you do and persevere. Find your people. There is so much strength in unity and having a solid team will only contribute to more success. Once you find your team however, understanding what motivates them is key.

Executive Summary: Happy Independence Day & Highlighting Fantastic Military Veteran Founders, George Washington 1/ George Washington (GW) was born 2/22/1732 in Virginia. He had humble roots. After the death of his father he had to work to provide for the family. He started out as a surveyor, a job that he excelled in, probably due to his attention to detail. 2/ In 1752, GW joined the Virginia militia. He served as a British officer during the French and Indian War. During the war, he had two horses shot out from underneath him and his coat was pierced by four musket balls. This experience proved to be valuable later during the American Revolutionary War and was the reason he was later selected to lead the Continental Army. 3/ After his first war, he went back to civilian life. He married Martha Custis, a very wealthy woman, whose death of her first husband left her a wealthy widower, this significantly boosted GW’s social and economic capital. 4/ GW lost many battles during the American Revolution. The Battle of Brooklyn, which occurred in 1776, was a major loss at the onset of the war (as he had to abandon New York City). But he proved resilient and outwitted the British & Hessians at Trenton in a surprise attack on Christmas day. Although GW’s Army suffered many setbacks (Battle of White Plains, Brandywine, & others), the Army increasingly wore down the British through a war of attrition. This very same strategy that is now employed by enemies of America (North Koreans, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc…). The British surrendered at Yorktown in 1781 (with help from the French Navy). GW’s leadership, fortitude (especially during the desperate days at Valley Forge), & calm leadership outlasted the enemy. He has since provided inspiration to countless other revolutionaries and nation state founders: Toussaint Louverture, Simón Bolívar, Mao, Ho Chi Minh, etc…. 5/ The leadership of GW not only manifested itself on the field of battle. In 1783 he personally pacified the Newburgh conspiracy, a rebellion by disgruntled military veterans. This act further endeared him to republican principles such as civilian leadership and the rule of law. 6/ GW started many traditions and norms as the first president. The establishment of a cabinet and the peaceful transfer of power. His leadership and vision ensured stability in the new nation and created the foundation for the country's future success. By the time he left his second term in 1797, he had solidified his position as one of America's founding fathers and a personification of America's values. 7/ I believe GW is underrated right now (in this historical cycle/moment). He had flaws but his humility, equanimity, hard work, service, and love of one’s country is a reason we are able to celebrate America’s Independence Day. His fellow veterans called GW: "First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." I've included portraits & photos of GW I've collected over the years.

Executive Summary: Military Veteran Founders and Investors 1/ Yesterday, JPMorganChase convened their annual VetVC event, and it’s been their best one to date! 2/ My two favorite leadership phrases are: ➡ “Leadership is destiny.” ➡ “Take me to your leader.” I like these two phrases because one can quickly tell the quality of any organization (military, government, nonprofit, startup/business) simply by meeting and assessing its leader. It's clear through their actions that the leadership team at JPMorganChase from Jamie Dimon down, care about the military veteran business community 👏💯🙏. 3/ The event was a great way to meet new founders, reconnect with fellow military veteran VCs, and also meet with 2 founders we have already invested in. 🔥 France Q. Hoang of boodleAI who led a great panel on AI & Innovation with A.J. Bertone of IQT (In-Q-Tel) & Daniel Gwak of Point72 Ventures! 🔥 Jay Liew We brought our entire team at Context VC to this conference, and this event is a great way to end the first half of the year and has provided ample ammunition/firepower/inspiration for our plans for the second half of the year. I’m really excited about all the opportunities we have the second half of the year: ⚡Finding new companies to invest in ⚡Supporting existing portfolio companies ⚡Building out the military veteran startup ecosystem I am grateful for the team at Context VC and all of their hard work, tenacity/relentlessness, thoughtfulness, and execution mindset. 4/ I look forward to the many conversations I’ll be having today with founders and investors at the event. If you are at the event, then please say hello! 5/ One of the benefits of posting on LinkedIn is that it’s helped me connect with even more veterans. Yesterday, I didn’t finish my dinner and neither did Blake Hogan. So I cut off the portions where we had bitten into the meal and packed the food thinking I’ll be hungry later. I’m always feeling like I’m going hungry just a few hours after eating (reference, Temple of the Dog and Hungerstrike, one of my favorite songs). As I walked back to my hotel, Frank Lin, a US Army veteran stopped me and introduced himself. He told me about his summer internship in NYC and how he was heading home after going to the gym. We caught up, and I pleasantly found out that he’s an ambassador at Service to School! I’m confident that Frank and many other veterans are going to have great careers and build on top of the work that previous Americans and veterans have done. The future is promising 👏💯.

Executive Summary: DiverseVC Dinner Series & DiverseVC Conference 1/ Yesterday evening we convened another DiverseVC Dinner, with fantastic LPs and GPs from all types of backgrounds (race, gender, military veterans, etc…). It’s not an easy time for emerging VCs but it coincidentally is one of the better times to do early stage venture capital given tech innovations, the quantity and quality of startups, valuations, and how megafunds increasingly spend less time at the earliest stages as they focus on larger rounds given fund size dictates fund strategy. 2/ My close friend, Neil Devani, and our team at Context VC started DiverseVC last year and our conference brought together hundreds of GPs and LPs last year in San Francisco at the Marines’ Memorial. We’ve continued our annual event by supplementing it with smaller dinner events in other cities across the United States. We are excited to be organizing our next DiverseVC all day conference on 9/12/24. It’s going to be even better and bigger than our event last year. We have an incredible lineup of LPs and GPs  who will be attending, here are just a few of them: ⚡ Courtney Clyde of Recast Capital ⚡ Cynthia Hardy Maasry of Trinity Wall Street ⚡ Charles Pippen of GCM Grosvenor ⚡ Nate Leung of Sapphire Partners ⚡ David Aung of San Jose Office Of Retirement Services ⚡ Aakar Vachhani of Fairview ⚡ Trey Hart of 50 South Capital ⚡ Pamela Pavkov of TPG Next ⚡ Daniele Viappiani of GC1 Ventures ⚡ Rilwan M. of American Student Assistance 3/ It was great seeing old friends and colleagues yesterday evening. I look forward to working with many of them on deals in the years and decades ahead. 🔥 Dylan Ragonese 🔥 Sophie Purdom 🔥 Theron McCollough 🔥 Mike Sherbakov 🔥 Octavio Sandoval, CFA, CAIA 🔥 Adrianna Samaniego (she/her/ella) 🔥 Daniel Acheampong 🔥 Greg Feldman 🔥 Neetu P. 🔥 Melissa Dunn 🔥 Jamie Kramer 🔥 Carina Cho 🔥 Sean Park 🔥 John Aldrich 🔥 Eugene Tetlow 🔥 Maya Johnston and many more...but I've run out of how many people I can tag in this post 😂! 4/ Many thanks to our sponsors at Citizens & Juniper Squarefor sponsoring the event 🙏👏! 5/ Lastly, today is off to a great start as I kicked it off with an early morning ~5 mile run around Central Park, with Warren Cheng, my best friend growing up in Tallahassee. I needed that run given all the food I ate yesterday evening 🏃♂️!

Executive Summary: Highlighting Fantastic Military Veteran Founders, Kris Sandor, CEO and Co-founder of Readyly 1/ At Context Ventures, we primarily invest in military veteran founders at the preseed and seed stage (we also separately invest in fintech and consumer startups agnostic of founder background). More than 80% of our capital to date has gone into investing in military veteran founders. 2/ We will be highlighting some of the fantastic founders we are fortunate enough to partner with, and today we are featuring Kris Sandor, the CEO of Readyly. 👔 Role Title: CEO, Readyly 🏡 Hometown: Westport, CT (Originally from Kinnelon, NJ) 🎖 Military Background:  - US Navy nuclear submarine officer (USS San Juan, SSN-751) - Project Manager for the Russia Biological Threat Reduction Program at the - Defense Threat Reduction Agency - Policy Associate in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy (OSD-P) ⚡ Why did you join the military: To serve my country and be part of a mission bigger than myself. I wanted to be in a community that is ethical, mission-driven, and service-oriented while developing professional leadership skills. 🎓 Educational Background:  - B.S. in Political Science, United States Naval Academy (2001) - M.A. in Security Studies, Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service (2002) - MBA, Stanford University Graduate School of Business (2011) 📚 Favorite Books: - The Lean Startup by Eric Ries – Practical advice for startup efficiency and growth. - Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand – Impact of strong-willed entrepreneurs on the world. 📽 Favorite Movies: Military/spy genres, especially Hunt for Red October (of course). Also, The Big Short and Margin Call for their digestible insights into the financial crisis. 🌍 Hobbies: I enjoy spending time with my family, exploring our amazing part of the country, learning about new cultures, and constantly discovering new things on Wikipedia. 🏈 Favorite Sports Teams: US Navy Football. Although I’m concerned about the impact of new rules around paying college athletes on service academy recruiting. 💡 What advice do you have about startups: Starting a business is the hardest and most transformative thing you'll ever do. It will challenge you in ways you never anticipated, but it will also fundamentally change how you see the world, whether you’re shopping in a store, dining at a restaurant, or signing up a new SaaS vendor. Be prepared to make personal sacrifices for many years as you build your business. Most importantly, surround yourself with a supportive network of mentors and peers who can offer guidance and encouragement.

Executive Summary: Highlighting Fantastic Military Veteran Founders, Timothy Herman, CEO of UpEquity 1/ At Context Ventures, we primarily invest in military veteran founders at the preseed and seed stage (we also separately invest in fintech and consumer startups agnostic of founder background). More than 80% of our capital to date has gone into investing in military veteran founders. 2/ We will be highlighting some of the fantastic founders we are fortunate enough to partner with. Today, we are featuring Timothy Herman, the CEO and cofounder of UpEquity. ➡ Role Title: CEO of UpEquity 🏡 Hometown: Pleasanton, CA 🎖 Military Background: US Navy - Navy Pilot ⚡Why did you join the military: I wanted to fly and to serve our country. 🎓 Educational background: United States Naval Academy, Harvard Business School 📚 Favorite Books: ➡ The Hard Thing about Hard Things - anyone thinking about joining or founding a startup should read and re-read this book. So much useful advice that really resonated - especially when things (inevitable) get hard. ➡ The Five Dysfunctions of a Team - one of many great business books out there that has given my team a framework to discuss our team dynamics as we strive to build a more cohesive leadership team. 📽 Favorite Movies: Field of Dreams - One of the best baseball movies of all time. It resonates even more as my kids are starting to play baseball. 🏌️🛥️⚾Hobbies: Golf, Boating, Youth Baseball with my kids ⚾ 🏈Favorite Sports Teams: San Francisco Giants, San Francisco 49ers 💡 What advice you have about startups: ⚡ Optimize for your north star metric - which is most likely gross margin. ⚡ Measure everything. ⚡ Set goals publicly - hold yourself accountable to those goals.

Executive Summary: Fathers & Sons 1/ My dad visited us two weeks ago and Gary (14 yo) asked me: “how come you are so much bigger than your dad?” I replied quickly, that when he gets older his kids will likely ask the same question: “how come you are so much bigger than your dad?” I also told him that my father (his grandfather) and I hope that he’s not just bigger than us but better in all aspects; character, competence, health, generosity, work ethic, etc… 2/ Both boys are interested in military service and fortunately the (best) service academy (haha/lol), the United States Military Academy at West Point. I’ve told them it’s really difficult to get into the school and that whether they join the military is their choice. Because it’s hard enough if you want to do it, but it’s miserable if you are pursuing it because you are trying to live up to someone else’s expectations. 3/ Every year I realize that my dad is a lot smarter and wiser than I gave him credit for when I was a teenager. I hope our teenage kids will feel the same as they age. 4/ I once briefly talked to Jim Collins, the famous author of Good to Great, Great by Choice, Built to Last, and many other fantastic books. We were talking about family, work, startups, and kids and he shared the following quote that I think about almost on a daily basis: "Marriage is the ultimate joint venture. Children are the ultimate startups. I suppose that grandchildren ultimately become wholly owned subsidiaries." 5/ Postface: I’m thankful for the many mentors in my life who have had father-like influences in my life. 🙏 Pete Cowdrey (Public high school history teacher, Vietnam War veteran, & he’s perhaps who helped set me on my path to really loving history) 🙏 Mitch Rosnick (Team leader, he believed in me when others not just doubted me but asked me to leave West Point---I remember who you all are) 🙏 Phillip Cuccia (Napoleonic history expert) 🙏 Thomas Nimick (Chinese history expert) 🙏 Lance Betros (Military history expert) 🙏 Scott Cheney, PMP (Cobra Company Commander) 🙏 Charles Ford (Ghostriders Company Commander) 🙏 Rod Coffey (Battalion Commander, 3/2 SCR) 🙏 Les Denend (Vietnam War veteran & history aficionado) 🙏 Charles O'Reilly (Professor) 🙏 Steve Denning (believed in Service to School and in my potential even when I didn’t see it myself) 🙏 Timothy Young, David Hornik, & Paul Madera (their belief in me as I started Context Ventures, provided me with even more confidence) Any professional success that I’m able to achieve is heavily due to the Hsia women & the positive influence that all the above individuals have made in my life. 6/ “As we all know, time sometimes flies like a bird, and sometimes crawls like a worm, but people may be unusually happy when they do not even notice whether time has passed quickly or slowly” - Ivan Turgenev, Fathers and Sons “If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, we shall never begin.” - Ivan Turgenev