Specter Monitor is a data-driven newsletter for investors interested in learning about the latest market trends, signals, and opportunities. Our audience includes some of the most legendary VC investors in the world. We’ll work hard to bring you actionable insights into what’s happening in today’s markets while celebrating data-driven wins and predictions. ✨
Driving Efficiency and Alpha: How Picus Capital Leverages Specter’s Insights
Discover how Picus Capital drives efficiency and maximizes alpha in their investment process using Specter’s powerful data insights. Learn about their approach to identifying top founders, mapping emerging markets, and scaling operations with data-driven precision..
🔮 Talents of the Week
Specter monitors real-time global talent movements to spot investment opportunities before anyone else.
🪄 Predicted: Vinod Jayaraman (US, 2023): Co-Founder at NeuBird.ai
Advantage on Latest Funding Round: 368 Days
Description: NeuBird is a first-of-its-kind cloud-based generative operations platform for enterprises.
Prev. Experience: Vinod Jayaraman co-founded NeuBird.ai in November 2023, where he currently serves as Co-Founder. Previously, he was Chief Architect at Pure Storage's Cloud-Native Business Unit for 3 years. Jayaraman also co-founded Portworx, serving as Co-founder and Chief Architect for over 9 years until its acquisition by Pure Storage. He held senior engineering roles at Dell Technologies and Ocarina Networks, which was acquired by Dell. Jayaraman's earlier experiences include positions at F5 Networks and NTT MCL, focusing on networking and protocols.
Total Funding: $45M / $22.5M Latest Seed on 12-2024.
Notable Investors: M12 - Microsoft's Venture Fund, Mayfield Fund, Prosperity7 Ventures, StepStone Group, AIspace Ventures.
👻 Opportunity: Shereen Shermak (US, 2023): Founder at Choose K
Choose K
Prev. Experience: Shereen Shermak is currently Founder at Choose K and Chief Operating Officer at DANNCE.ai. Previously, she was Chief Business Officer and Co-founder at Atlantic Quantum, developing scalable quantum computers. Shermak also served as Interim CEO at Nth Party (acquired by Magnite) and was CEO and Co-Founder of Nth Party, Ltd. Her earlier roles include Executive Director at Boston Women's Workforce Council, CEO at Launch Angels, and various positions at Currensee, Fidelity Investments, and State Street. Shermak holds an MBA from MIT Sloan, an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School, and a BSE in Civil Engineering from Duke University.
🎱 Strategic Signals
Specter analyzes the online and social activity of leading investors and industry insiders to predict upcoming funding rounds and acquisitions.
🪄 Predicted: Stigg (EU, 2021)
Advantage on Latest Funding Round: 756 Days
Description: Stigg is a platform that enables SaaS companies to be nimble in their pricing and packaging.
Total Funding: $23.9M / $17.5M Latest Series A on 12-2024.
Notable Investors: Cerca Partners, Emerge Ventures, Red Dot Capital Partners, Redseed, Unusual Ventures, Srinivas Somayajula, Scott Williamson, Ofer Smadari, Sam Lee, Tal Lev-Ami, Nir Nahum, Guy Fighel, Calendly, New Relic, Nir Nahum.
👻 Opportunity: Liam Bolling (US, 2024): Co-Founder at Stealth AI Startup
Liam Bolling
Description: Liam Bolling co-founded a stealth AI startup in November 2024, where he currently serves as Co-Founder. Previously, he worked at Google for nearly 6 years, most recently as a Product Manager on the Gemini API team. Bolling also co-founded Clipjoy, a digital greeting card company, and Ellie Calendar, an iOS calendar app. He held roles at Microsoft as a Program Manager and founded several startups, including EventList LLC and GreekRide. Bolling's early career includes internships at Tumblr and Microsoft, as well as founding a web consulting business while in high school.
🍒 Cherry-Picked Companies
Specter tracks the performance of millions of companies and identifies the ones who are likely to increase in valuation.
🪄 Predicted: EzDubs (US, 2022)
6 Months Growth: Web: -21.4%; Team: -16.6%; Social: 2.1%
Description: EzDubs enables real-time dubbing/translation of calls, voice messages, and texts.
Total Funding: $4.7M / $4.2M Latest Seed on 12-2024.
Notable Investors: Amino Capital, Amjad Masad, Ben Firshman, Goodwater Capital, Jared Friedman, Unpopular Ventures, Venture Highway, Eight Capital, Y Combinator.
👻 Opportunity: Privy (US, 2021)
6 Months Growth: Web: -97.2%; Team: 60%; Social: 3.9%
Description: Privy creates authentication, authorization, and data control tooling to enable developers to create products that keep users safe.
Total Funding: $26.3M / $18M Latest Series A on 11-2023.
Notable Investors: Sequoia Capital, BlueYard Capital, Archetype, Paradigm.
That’s all for this edition of Specter Monitor!
Stay tuned for the next updates and feel free to share with your friends.
