Janet Bannister

How to think about the founder who won’t take “No.” for an answer. Regulatory barrier? They find a workaround. Technical limitation? They build around it. Market rejection? They pivot the approach. Funding door slams? They find another way in. Too many investors see this and think, "Difficult. Stubborn. Won't listen." I see it differently, "Problem solver. Unstoppable. Will find a way." The smooth-talking sales founder who charms everyone is often the bigger risk. The enthusiasm and charisma is great for getting funding, but doesn’t always translate to the ability to find their way around barriers. When building a startup, finding ways around barriers is the single most important skill. Don’t give up on the first, “No.” The founder who sees barriers as challenges to overcome... that's who builds something special.

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I’m thrilled to announce defy.vc’s investment in Birches Health as part of their $20M combined Seed and Series A funding round, alongside incredible partners like AlleyCorp, General Catalyst, Will Ventures, and others. As someone deeply passionate about backing companies that tackle important problems for our society, I couldn’t be more excited about what Birches is building—a national virtual clinic dedicated to treating gambling addiction and related behavioral disorders like gaming, sex, porn, and internet addictions. What excites me most is Birches’ innovative health assurance model: proactive, accessible, and affordable care that’s evidence-based and delivered right at home. With the explosion of legal sports betting—think nearly $1.5 billion wagered on this year’s Super Bowl alone—we’re staring down a looming public health emergency. Traditional options like hotlines or generic therapy fall short for this high-acuity issue, but Birches changes that by offering specialized therapy from trained clinicians, multimodal treatment, and peer support, all covered by major insurers like United Healthcare, Cigna, Aetna, and Blue Cross Blue Shield. It’s available in all 50 states, breaking down geographical and financial barriers that have left so many without help. The impact is already profound: 96% of patients report an improved quality of life, and 94% give Birches a 5/5 rating. By partnering with state governments, payors, and policymakers, Birches is pushing gambling addiction into the spotlight of behavioral health conversations, where it’s been neglected for too long—often leading to shame, worsened outcomes, and higher suicidality risks. This funding will supercharge their growth: expanding the provider network, boosting clinical excellence, scaling infrastructure, and deepening insurance and state partnerships to meet surging demand. Very excited to partner with Elliott Rapaport and the entire Birches team! See more about our POV in the blog post linked in the comments. #GamblingAddiction #BehavioralHealth #HealthTech #VentureCapital #Innovation

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In venture, it's really easy to overthink the current iteration of the product/idea and to underthink the founder and their vision. Like Ed Catmull explains in Creativity Inc, great people will find their way to great ideas and build great things, and bad builders will botch great ideas. Yes, the product and how the founder is thinking about it can give you a lot of insight into the thoughtfulness and ability of the founder. But make no mistake that the founder is everything, especially at the earliest stages. Invest in great people building in a direction you believe in. Don't overthink the current iteration.

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The Full-Stack Venture Capital BDC model, led by Capital Q Ventures Inc. in our flagship fund CAPQ BDC Inc., is purpose-built to meet institutional investors and portfolio companies where they need us in the capital stack. This structure aligns seamlessly with the Total Portfolio Approach (TPA) that CalPERS is already implementing. It seems CalPERS has moved beyond mere discussions. Under the leadership of CIO Stephen Gilmore, the board has been guided through educational sessions, defined a comprehensive risk framework, and is now moving toward the operational launch of TPA. TPA enables decision-making that prioritizes portfolio-wide impact over rigid asset-class allocations. It emphasizes dynamic capital deployment based on marginal value—an approach mirrored in how CAPQ BDC Inc. dynamically allocates capital across venture capital, private credit, and private equity to deliver a multi-asset total return for our fund investors and co-investors in our portfolio companies. https://lnkd.in/eMkTjAgg

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Innovation in the "Femtech" Space: How Women-Led Startups are Solving Neglected Health Issues. View My Portfolio. For decades, significant aspects of women's health were sidelined as "niche" concerns. No longer. The rise of Femtech—technology-driven health solutions focused on women's needs—is a powerful market correction, and it's being led by women. At V For Vibes, we are inspired by the founders who are turning personal frustration into global innovation. They are building companies that address long-ignored areas, from reproductive health and menstrual care to menopause and sexual wellness. Why does this matter for business? Market Opportunity: Women make 80% of healthcare decisions. This isn't a niche; it's a powerhouse economic engine. Diverse Leadership: Women-led startups bring essential lived experience to the table, creating products that truly resonate. Investment in Impact: Supporting Femtech isn't just good ethics; it's smart economics, funding solutions for half the world's population. The success of Femtech proves that when we diversify leadership, we unlock innovation that changes lives and dominates new markets. #Femtech #WomenInTech #WomenFounders #HealthTech #Innovation #SexualWellness #InvestInWomen #BusinessStrategy #Startups #VForVibes #DigitalHealth

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I've always admired founders and leaders who build for the future. Alexandre de Vigan, the CEO of Nfinite (www.nfinite.app), is one of them. His story is fascinating: from a frustrated M&A attorney to a founder who built a company that is now solving one of AI’s biggest challenges. Nfinite is a super exciting Physical AI tech startup because they're building the data foundation for a new era of intelligent systems. Their initial e-commerce success, which created photorealistic 3D product visuals with a reported 77% cost reduction, wasn't just a business model—it was a data-gathering machine. They have amassed one of the world's largest libraries of 3D data, which is now being used to train AI models for robotics, autonomous vehicles, and AR/VR. It's a powerful lesson in seeing an opportunity where others see a problem, and it's a perfect example of a company that is both deep in its initial market and broad in its future vision.

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Advocating for change in venture capital can feel like shouting into the void. I know, I've been doing it for years. Every quarter, the same conversations resurface about the lack of progress funding diverse founders. But by the next quarter, the numbers have barely moved. As I shared with Bronwen Clune of Capital Brief yesterday (link in comments), that’s one of the reasons I left venture capital to join Birchal. Instead of continuing to shout into the void, I wanted to help build an alternative pathway to capital: one where diverse founders, industries, and business models can thrive on their own terms. Birchal's latest Funded! 2025 report shows exactly why this matters. While just 15% of venture capital went to teams with at least one woman founder last year, crowdsourced funding delivered double the representation to 32%. Women-only teams received 5% of total CSF capital, compared to 2% in VC. It’s proof that when you give everyday investors a say, they back a more diverse, more representative, and more innovative Australia. If you’re curious about what the future of inclusive investment looks like, check out the full Funded! report (link in comments) 👇

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I'm happy to announce that Founder Institute is bringing on Paul O'Brien as our first Head of Public Affairs. Paul joins FI with decades of experience tackling the systemic reasons startups and local ecosystems fail due to misaligned policy, underperforming startup programs, or institutional neglect of the realities of launching endurable businesses in today's economy. From Austin to Silicon Valley and beyond, Paul has championed the idea that education is infrastructure, and that cities should treat entrepreneurial development as essential as roads, broadband, and water. At FI we couldn't agree more, and as AI transforms our economy I believe the future of our society will be found at the convergence of how we teach, how we govern, and how we serve entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, I speak to government and economic development officials every week that are completely neglecting the education and development of new entrepreneurs in their regions. In his new role, Paul will help us push FI's mission to empower communities of entrepreneurs forward through Policy Engagement, University and Civic Integration, and Ecosystem Accountability. If your city, university, or organization is ready to integrate structured entrepreneurial incubation and acceleration with policy and capital strategy, now’s the time to connect! 🔗 Read the full announcement - https://lnkd.in/eenwHujW (and welcome on board, Paul! 👏 )

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