WHY AWSM EXISTS

Using startups as a way to shift the status quo.

We believe design, digital and diversity are the superpowers of the 21st century that if expanded to ordinary people, could produce extraordinary outcomes—this is the reason we exist, to realize... A World Serving Many (AWSM). 

~100

million startups created each year

$137

billion invested by venture in 2019 in the US

90%

of all venture-backed startups fail

1.8%

# of venture-backed startups led by a Latinx founder (1.0% for Black founders)

No one succeeds alone. To help underrepresented founders close their skill gaps AWSM offers coaches, eduction and capital access to pre/seed-stage teams to help them move faster, smarter in identifying A Way to Startup Mastery (AWSM).

WHAT AWSM MEANS / FOR FOUNDERS

Counsel to escalate vs. merely accelerate.

Your success champions  

As a community, AWSM curates a peer network with 1:many sessions to address needs as they arise and share strategies from serious founders succeeding against the odds.   

Active accountability coaching

Helping high potential founders clear obstacles (from within and without) with day-to-day, week-to-week virtual sessions and tools to aid scaling.   

The talent & capital access to scale

AWSM combines talent, concept and capital together through introductions to professionals and demos with angels, family offices and seed funds dedicated to dual-bottomline returns.   

WHAT AWSM MEANS / FOR FUNDERS

Born to help grow & spread your angel wings.

Leveraging experience to realize value. The smartest founding teams know the benefit of support to address growth needs as they scale. With AWSM, Angels have an opportunity to learn how to de-risk opportunities leveraging their operational knowledge as an unlock to growth.

Build Angel muscles

Identify opportunities, assess potential and be additive to founders without the overwhelm. Be a great investment partner and learn how to protect yourself from downside risk (within reason).

Increased access to impact opportunities  

As a curated network, AWSM brings together emerging tech investors eager to learn with high potential founders & teams serious about creating the next generation of world-class technology companies. 

Quality introductions & capital access

AWSM combines potential, concept and capital together by offering introductions to and demos with progressive angels, family offices and seed funds dedicated to dual-bottomline returns. 

Even the most brilliant of founder teams can use support to aid growth needs as they scale. On the end, there are increasingly more funders seeking impact-driven startups with meaningful ideas to support. 

MEMBERSHIP = MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS

Linking impactful founders with emerging funders.

Membership FAQs

AWSM serves as a conduit and bridge to the key things that founders need to be successful, a community of like minds willing to strategize, accountability coaching and real access to capital to fuel their world changing ideas.

We work more as a “venture catalyst“ organization connecting founders, talent support and the investors without predetermination of equity or any obligation.

To be of utmost benefit to founders, at launch there is no cost for founders and funder members. To support more direct 1:1 coaching and talent coordination for founders who are more mature (late-seed to post Series A) there may be some costs incurred to support coaches engaged. That said, it is our intent to utilize support from corporate, family office and venture fund partners to defray most operational costs (which are currently minimal).

Professional development, access to talent and real operational value is what AWSM is for.  The goal is to an organization in service of and sustained by active members.

YES. At launch, we are best setup to work with existing and emerging angel investors, pre-seed/seed-level venture funds and impact investors making investments in early companies.

AWSM de-risks opportunities and provides a layer of validation for seed/early-stage investors using a design-centered framework coupled with a structured approach to achieving sustainable traction. Through the AWSM membership, we create various opportunities for founders and funders to organically connect. From our newsletter to virtual showcase events, and angel bootcamps—at our core AWSM helps impact investors discover high-potential founders and teams.

AWSM differs through its focus on “escalation” vs. acceleration. Simply put, we believe with the speed of technology and the depth of problems that could be solved going fast is not enough, but going in the right direction is what truly matters. Ensuring you are solving the right problem, seizing the right opportunity with the right velocity.

YES, helping dedicated founders solving meaningful connect with emerging seed-stage capital partners is one of the core reasons AWSM exists as an organization. That being the case we are also formed to help equip and empower founders to help each other through connecting through any one of the communication channels we have in place (Slack, Zoom, LinkedIn group and Meetups) to leverage the true effects of a network.

Yes and no. Although we were founded in the US we are completely committed to creating a model that can be shared and refined across geographies to build vibrant ecosystems within local communities. If you’re interested in expanding AWSM chapter please get in touch at hello@awsm.vc with "new chapter" in the title (and thanks in advance).

As an organization, AWSM represents a curated community of founders and funders dedicated to realizing change leveraging the power of new venture creation.
WHAT AWSM STANDS FOR

Driven by four AWSM beliefs...

1. Networks matter, ecosystems improve outcomes

Simply put, you can't be AWSM alone. We believe extraordinary founders and investors recognize the need to meet and stay connected to other smart, ambitious peers to build traction to increase the potential of successfully scaling from idea to product and product to company.

2. Growing up is > starting up

We believe how you grow is more important than where you start from. AWSM stands for an impact driven, human-centered approach to scaling coupled with purpose to create sustainable growth models that holistically aid the performance of founders and teams.

3. Maintain an extreme bias toward action

With a myriad of decisions to make from team to strategy to product we believe the best opportunities require a decision frameworks fed by data and intuition based on external input. We aim to push ourselves as an organization and support the teams we work with knowledge, resources and feedback to help them do the same.

4. An Agile-based approach to performance

While lean, rapid and agile oftentimes are to apply to products, we leverage the accountability and velocity gaining benefits of these methodologies to help founders learn quickly and run their operations nimbly to best solve for (or at least adjust for) an ever changing landscape.

Resources & News

Evergreen articles, interviews and relevant current news to help emerging founders and funders build capabilities to realize the future.

You are AWSM, let's stay connected!

Thoughts on how we can be more awsm? Let us know:

hello@awsm.vc

Our passion is to work closely with progressive companies, organizations and individuals committed to shifting the status quo. Sound like you?  Let's talk & find a fit.