SkyDeck Newsletter

May 17, 2023

SkyDeck launches Batch 16 with Midas series fireside chats

Brian Bordley (left) and Amit Kumar from Accel (right) speak to Batch 16 founders at Berkeley SkyDeck.

SkyDeck was pleased to kick-off the opening weeks of Batch 16 with a series of intimate Midas series fireside chats, featuring Amit Kumar (Partner, Accel), Shuo Yang (Partner, Lowercarbon Capital), and Bobby Yazdani (Founder and Partner, Cota Capital), with more Midas and Unicorn fireside chats to come as the batch continues. Moderated by Brian Bordley (Partner, Berkeley SkyDeck Fund), the VCs discussed a range of topics, including the power of immigrant VCs and founders, pre to post product-market fit, and the link between profit and social impact.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is hosting “Funding Your Startup: What Investors are Looking For and What Women Entrepreneurs Need to Know,” a panel featuring women who are experts in funding and entrepreneurship, including Caroline Winnett (Executive Director, Berkeley SkyDeck). Targeting women entrepreneurs, independent inventors, and small business owners, the panel will discuss the venture capital process, how to protect your business, and more, on May 24th, 10am PT, at UC Berkeley. Learn more and register here.

Healthcare startups! Apply for the Digital Health Foundation Awards & win up to $50K

UCSF’s Digital Health Hub Foundation is holding their 5th Annual Digital Health Awards, the largest awards event in the digital health industry. Healthcare startups across 14 award categories have until June 30th to apply. Winners will receive up to $50k in grants and awards, access to sales and partnership opportunities, and will be highlighted at the 2023 HLTH Conference’s grand finale event in Las Vegas. Learn more about the awards here and apply here.

Chon Tang on alternative financing options for startups

In Forbes, Chon Tang (Founding Partner, Berkeley SkyDeck Fund), and other Forbes Finance Council members, offer 15 alternative financing options for credit-constrained startups that may not have access to traditional financing methods, such as self-directed IRAs, crowdfunding via fractional NFTs, and more. Tang suggests purchase order financing, particularly for SaaS startups, as this method “has been used for decades by businesses that had a customer in hand, but needed to borrow money to build the product.” Read the full article here.

SkyDeck Startup News

Compiify
Compiify (Batch 16, Cohort) is a compensation intelligence platform empowering companies to attract and retain employees by making data-driven and equitable pay decisions. The company just closed $1M in pre-seed funding.

WASD3R
WASD3R (Batch 16, Pad-13) provides an easy-to-use blockchain infrastructure for game developers, promoting independent development and a diverse game ecosystem through open-source Web3 interfaces. They recently raised $1.1M.

CYQIQ
CYQIQ (Batch 16, Cohort) has developed an NLP-powered SaaS tool for consultants that automates data analysis and more. They’ve launched their 2.0 Prototype that generates strategic analysis (like SWOT) at the press of a button. Sign up for access here.

Dermose
Dermose (Batch 16, Pad-13) develops biosensors to screen which hair growth drugs are effective and ineffective for individual patients. They've launched their analysis technology and are offering free testing to the first 250 volunteers. Sign up here.

Decoditive
Decoditive (Batch 16, Pad-13) uses AI-based neuromarketing solutions to predict consumer behavior for websites, ads, or web apps. They’ve released Version 2 of their fully-automated tool that generates instant feedback on uploaded designs. Get the app here.

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