Rief Ventures News

Welcome to the first issue of the Rief Ventures newsletter. We will be sending this bi-weekly to our portfolio companies, LPs, and network. The goal of this newsletter is to give you insight into what we are thinking, what we're up to at the fund and our ventures elsewhere, and be helpful wherever possible. Feel free to respond to this email with any questions, suggestions, or thoughts.

Our General Thoughts On The Market

It's a challenging time for all technology businesses given the uncertainty for what 2023 will bring. We have seen public multiples come down over the last year, and that has trickled down all the way to seed stage financing.

We are seeing many companies tightening their belts by pulling back on marketing spend, non-critical software, and headcount. Across the portfolio, our founders are diving deep to truly understand their unit economics and runway, while working on a path towards being "default alive".

However, the best founders will find a way to continue to delight customers and improve their product, regardless of market conditions and revenue growth. They will ignore the market turbulence, and focus on improving their core products. In a world of infinite cash over the last few years, founders were able to do everything they wanted to, execute average at best, and still succeed. We believe the founders who spend the next year staying lean and focused will be the most successful, and come out of 2023 ready to grow when the market rebounds.

If you want to discuss staying focused, business financials, or anything else, do not hesitate to reach out.

What We're Consuming:

• Some great market data from Cooley, including Series D Deals Dropped 78% in Q3.

• A tweetstorm from David Friedberg on what some predictors have wrong about Generative AI.

• An interview with Open AI CEO Sam Altman | AI for the Next Era.

What We Are Up To:

• We have the opportunity to offer co-working space at Morning Brew. Hit Austin up for a portfolio company discount.

• Take a listen to Austin on the My First Million podcast.

• We have access to an incredible talent pool in Sri Lanka for 1/3 the price of U.S. talent. Oceans sources EAs, growth marketing, finance, operations, and more. Austin just hired from Oceans and was so impressed, he became a co-owner.

Miscellaneous:

• Newsletters: As you know, Austin loves newsletters and newsletter ads. Morning Brew has some extra ad inventory in Q1. If you are looking to test out newsletters, shoot Austin an email and he will loop you in with the right partnerships team. If Morning Brew is out of your price range, check out Ad Astra. They work with a variety of newsletters and help brands get in front of the right audience.

• CES: Austin will be in Vegas at CES from January 4th-6th. If you are going to be there, shoot us a note. Would love to meet up!

Best,

Austin & Blake