🚀 Kim Kardashian breaks into PE

Plus, we moved to New York!

Sep 11, 2022

We’re moving to New York! 🏙 After an incredible summer in LA, @omooretweets and I are spending the fall in Manhattan. We couldn’t be more excited to meet all of the incredible founders here - hit us up if you’re around!

Some exciting news - we moved to NYC for the fall! We’ve heard so much about the incredible entrepreneurial ecosystem that is thriving here, and we’re pumped to meet with early stage founders. Let us know if you’re around and interested in meeting up.

trending 📈

🎤 YC hosts Demo Day. YC held its Demo Day for its summer class this week. With 240 companies, this batch was significantly smaller than previous ones, which had ballooned to 400+ companies. The accelerator’s blog post about the composition of the batch has some interesting metrics - for example, 50% of the companies had applied more than once, and only 23% were based in the Bay Area pre-YC.

📱 Apple updates. Apple’s “Far Out” event featured a bunch of new hardware - including four iPhone models, two Watches, and a second edition of AirPods Pro. What stood out? The “dynamic island” feature in the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, which serves as a secondary display to show incoming calls, FaceID confirmation, and Maps directions. Apple is also now fully replacing physical SIM cards with eSIMS.

🍉 Misfits buys Imperfect. It was a big week for sustainable grocery delivery! Misfits Market announced it is acquiring competitor Imperfect Foods - terms of the deal were not disclosed. Misfits and Imperfect both started by allowing consumers to buy produce that would be discarded due to defects, and have since expanded into broader grocery. The combined company will be aiming for profitability by 2024.

🚗 Uber x Nuro partnership. A self-driving car may be delivering your Uber Eats order soon. Uber and autonomous vehicle startup Nuro have inked a 10-year partnership for Nuro to power food delivery in certain cities. This service will be rolling out first in Mountain View and Houston - the vehicles are best-positioned for more suburban areas, as they max out at 45 MPH.

💄 Kim K gets into PE. The newest private equity partner? Kim Kardashian. She’s launching SKKY Partners alongside Jay Sammons, former Global Head of Consumer, Media, & Retail at The Carlyle Group. The fund will focus on “high-growth, market-leading consumer and media companies.” Kim has built several brands of her own, including Skims, KKW Beauty, and the Kim Kardashian: Hollywood mobile app - so her move to help others scale their brands is less surprising than it may first appear!

what we’re following 👀

How to build successful fintech infrastructure - and what trade-offs to consider.

Peloton is now competing with its own customers to sell used bikes.

MrBeast brought 10,000 fans to a New Jersey mall to try his new burger restaurant.

Miramax and Quentin Tarantino have settled their lawsuit over who owns the rights to mint “Pulp Fiction” NFTs.

Olivia Moore @omooretweets

It's application season for student-run VC funds! (e.g. @DormRoomFund, @roughdraftvc, @contrarycapital) Every year, I get lots of Qs about how these programs are perceived if you want to break into VC - and if they're worth the time commitment. Here's my thoughts ⬇️

Thinking about joining a student-run VC fund? Check out Olivia’s thread (above) on the benefits of these programs if you’re interested in full-time roles in venture.

There are arguments to be made for why you should or shouldn’t get into VC right after school - but regardless of your timing, participating in a student-run fund can give you valuable skills and a network to kickstart a future investing career. It’s also a great signal of both (1) your ability to source and diligence startups, and (2) your legitimate + sustained interest in the role (VC is often less glamorous than it seems!).

If you’re interested in these programs, make sure to keep an eye on the deadlines - most are coming up shortly:

Contrary Capital (due 9/15)
Dorm Room Fund (due 9/30 - 10/14)
Rough Draft Ventures (due 9/30)

ICYMI, Dorm Room Fund announced this week that it’s spinning out of First Round Capital and raised a standalone $12.5M fund 👀 The firm will continue to write $40k checks into startups with student or recent grad founders. Read more from General Partner Molly Fowler here!