I'm a serial entrepreneur who has raised $145M+ and has had multiple exits. I'm now on a mission to support founders with their capital strategy and acquire the capital they need to grow their businesses. Thunder.vc is a tech-enabled investment bank for founders, by founders. 

When it comes to supporting the founders in our Thunder.vc community, here are some free resources that can help you with your capital-raising efforts. 
- $100M Exits newsletter & Podcast 
- Sign up at http://blog.thunder.vc 
- Free list of AI-recommended VCs specific to your business - https://web.thunder.vc/list-of-investors-vcs-for-founders  
- Free tool to source lending partners for your working capital needs - https://lp.thunder.vc/apply-for-working-capital-for-your-startup-company



Securities are offered through Finalis Securities LLC Member FINRA / SIPC. Thunder X Capital, LLC is not a registered broker-dealer, and Finalis Securities LLC and Thunder X Capital, LLC are separate, unaffiliated entities.

Jason Kirby

I took an entire month off traveling 12,822 miles with my wife and 2 kids... here's what I learned about myself...

I miss working 😅

Jokes aside, family and being the best Dad to my girls, and husband to my wife, are my highest priorities.

Building a great company with great people is #2

It's because I'll never forget meeting a billionaire for the first time in college and having a friend ask him what his biggest regret was in life (he was 89 with $2.5B), the man broke down in tears saying he'd give up all the money if he could have the time back with his kids and first wife. His kids had disowned him and only cared about the money and he was divorced 3 times. He was going to die alone, but filthy rich.

That experience shaped my entire life 20+ years later. I'll never be a billionaire, I won't work as hard as it takes to achieve that level of financial wealth. I won't sacrifice my family for an excess of money and power. 

I chose to slow down during these recent holidays to maximize time with my family and truly be present to make sure I didn't lose sight of my priorities and it was the best decision of 2025.

I hardly took any meetings and only made progress on a few urgent client initiatives. I occasionally had work on my mind, but I felt I truly let go for the first time in a long time. 

I'll never get this time back and despite my passion for my work, family is and will always be #1.

Now I'm feeling refreshed and excited for what Thunder.vc will achieve in 2026 after growing nearly 3x growth YoY in 2025. 

PS: if you've been waiting for me to get back to you on LinkedIn or email for a month, now you know why #sorrynotsorry

4x Exits, $100M+ Raised. Helping founders raise/exit with clarity, control, and conviction.

He went from VC intern to raising $76.5M as a first-time founder. Here’s what no one tells you about that jump.

Most people see the headline:
✅ $3.5M pre-seed0
✅  $13M seed
✅  $60M Series A

What they don’t see is the long-term game of relationship building and how, sometimes, that's not enough.

In the latest $100M Exits episode, Nelson Mills, co-founder of Vatn Systems, breaks down what it actually took to raise $76.5M in under 2.5 years, and why the first fast raise almost created dangerous blind spots.

A few hard-earned truths:
🫢 Raising fast can create false confidence
🤯 Being a former VC helps… until it doesn’t
💸 Capital gives you a shot, not success

If you’re fundraising right now, this episode is a reality check, especially if you're aiming to build a real moonshot. Watch the full episode in the article below or on your favorite podcast platform. Just search for $100M Exits.

Watch the full video here Raising capital looks clean on Twitter. It isn’t. In this episode, Nelson Mills walks through what it actually took to raise

Open article: The Playbook Behind a $76M Journey From VC Intern to Founder by Jason Kirby • 2 min read

The Playbook Behind a $76M Journey From VC Intern to Founder

Warm intros didn’t raise Andrew D'Souza's last round.
AI did.

Andrew is the founder of Boardy, and before that, built ClearCo into a $2.5B company.

When it came time to raise again, he didn’t spin up a spreadsheet of VCs or ask friends for intros.

Instead, his AI product created inbound investor demand.

One firm he’d never heard of:
🤔 Discovered the company organically
🤝 Had their entire partnership talking over a weekend
💸 And moved from first contact → conviction in days

No chasing. No “just circling back.” 

Here’s the uncomfortable truth Andrew breaks down on $100M Exits:

Founders don’t lose because there’s no capital.
They lose because attention is misallocated.

Too many investors chasing the same 50 deals.
Too many great founders stuck outside the room.

AI changes who hears about you, and how they hear about you.
That’s the real leverage.

We unpack the full story, the psychology behind it, and what it means for anyone raising in 2026. Check it out in the link below.

Also, be on the lookout for Boardy to be raising a fund... just a rumor 😉

Watch the full video here AI isn’t just a tool for fundraising; it is becoming the third cofounder. In this episode, Andrew D’Souza shares how Bordy.a

Open article: The Playbook Behind an AI-Led $8M Fundraise by Jason Kirby • 2 min read

The Playbook Behind an AI-Led $8M Fundraise

Here are the 7 lessons from Eric Friedman’s exit every founder should know before selling.

Eric Friedman built eSkill for 20 years before selling it, but not before running into every M&A trap founders fall into.

Here’s the tactical playbook he wishes he’d had:

1️⃣  Don’t trust an LOI until they’ve done real homework.
The best LOI he received came from the buyer who actually analyzed the business in detail.

2️⃣  Always expect a retrade.
If macro conditions change, your price changes; expect it.

3️⃣  Don’t get locked into exclusivity without protection.
Negotiate a mid-process “price reaffirmation.”

4️⃣  If you choose an earnout, make sure it’s revenue-based.
EBITDA earnouts are a death sentence.

5️⃣  Assume you will NOT be running the company post-close.
Your ability to hit targets goes to zero.

6️⃣  Understand your buyer's playbook, not just their offer.
Do they actually get your industry?

7️⃣  Multiple bidders = protection.
It’s the only leverage you have.

This episode is a tactical masterclass in avoiding M&A landmines, based on Eric's story. 

Follow me for more exit stories from experienced founders.

Watch the full video here Eric Friedman spent 20 years bootstrapping eSkill into one of the largest skills-testing platforms online. He ran three full

Open article: The Earnout Trap Every Founder Underestimates by Jason Kirby • 2 min read

The Earnout Trap Every Founder Underestimates

For the love of startups, do NOT take that Shopify (QB, PayPal, etc.) loan… I just watched one kill a founder’s shot at real capital.

I get why founders take them.
- They’re fast.
- No board approval.
- No pitch deck.
- Money hits your account in days.

But here’s the part no one explains 👇

These loans don’t just cost you money.
They cost you options.

This founder had a solid business:
 • $6M revenue
 • Clean margins
 • Predictable revenue
 • Strong growth

They needed short-term working capital.

Shopify offers money in a few clicks.
 • No calls.
 • No covenants.
 • No “bank nonsense.”
 • They take it. ~$500k.

Two weeks later, we introduced them to a Tier 1 lender:
 • Much lower cost of capital
 • 12-month interest-only w/3-year term
 • Scales with the business
 • Designed to be refinanceable or exit-friendly

But then the lender doesn't like Merchant Cash Advances (the correct term for these platform loans); it's a hard pass for them, it's a negative signal.
 • Daily revenue sweeps
 • Senior claim on cash flow at the payment processing level
 
Result?
 ❌ Lender walks
 ❌ Term sheet pulled
 ❌ Founder stuck w/ waiting until the MCA is paid off to create new options

The “easy” loan made the company unbankable.

Here’s the part founders miss 👇

These platform loans don’t compete with banks.
They compete with your future self.

They’re fine if:
 • You’ll never raise debt again
 • You don’t care about lender quality
 • You don’t plan to sell or refinance

But if you want:
 • Tier 1 lenders
 • Institutional debt
 • PE or strategic buyers
 • Real leverage in negotiations

These loans quietly shut those doors.

🔥Hot take 🔥
The most expensive capital is the capital that blocks better capital.

Before you click “accept,” ask:
“What will this look like to a serious lender in 6 months?”

If you’re a founder and unsure what capital path actually keeps options open, drop a comment or DM me.

I’d rather you be slower than stuck. 😉

You know you're deeply connected to the startup ecosystem when you start...

Recognizing the names on the testimonials section of a new company pitching you 😅

Not long ago, I would be looking at a new deck or website for a company asking for money that caught my eye, and I'd always think the testimonials were total BS or made up, especially for pre-seed companies.

But recently, I'm coming across so many testimonials from different startups where I actually know the person referenced in the testimonial, and they're legit. 🫡

I've been investing and advising for 5+ years now and have on average 25+ external meetings a week, averaging over 1000+ meetings a year. 

I guess it was inevitable that this would start to happen. 

For 2026, one of my goals is to make 1,000 intros, if there's someone you want to know that I'm connected to, tag them in the comments below or DM me and I'll do my best to make that happen. 

Fair warning, if I don't know you and you ask for the intro, I will require a call at the minimum befote making any intros. 

Also, if you're on the receiving end of my intros, don't worry, I'll only send stuff that's highly likely to be relevant.

Bill Gurley laid out exactly what startups get wrong, and it’s brutal.
VCs can smell these mistakes from a mile away.

Bill Gurley doesn’t waste words.

At the PEF Community ChapterX event last month, he broke down the 3 biggest things startups consistently get wrong.

1️⃣ Outsourcing product to dev shops
“If your plan is to hire a dev shop, you’re dead on arrival with VCs.”

Why? It screams that you can’t attract technical talent. Founders need builders, not vendors.

2️⃣ Filling boards with ‘career’ members who don’t think
Too many boards are stacked with audit/comp committee types.

Gurley: “They don’t bring independent thought… they bring peer review.”

Great boards lead. They challenge you, not just check boxes.

3️⃣ Hiring compensation consultants
His Munger quote says it all:

“I’d rather put a viper down my shirt than hire a compensation consultant.”

If your board can’t figure out how to pay people without a 3rd party deck… It’s the wrong board.

Startups don’t fail because they’re not working hard enough.

They fail because they set up the game wrong from day one.

👉 Attract a real team.
🧠 Build a board that thinks.
💸 Align incentives in-house.

Do that, and you’ve already outperformed most of your competition.

Most founders would kill for this headline:
Bootstrapped to $100M+ in revenue. No VCs.

But that wasn’t the end of the story...

Matthew Whyatt built a software business from age 22 and scaled it to over $100M in sales. From the outside, it looked like the dream. Inside, the foundations were weaker than anyone realized.

In our latest $100M Exits episode, Matt breaks down:

🥸  Why revenue success can mask real risk
😵 How founder instincts quietly destroy value
😨 The moment the business started to unravel

This is not a flex episode. It’s a post-mortem.

If you’re scaling fast and assuming the exit will sort itself out, read this before you repeat the same mistakes.

Watch the full video here Matthew Whyatt built a software business from scratch, bootstrapped it, and scaled it past $100M in total revenue. From the 

Open article: How a Founder Bootstrapped to $100M Without VC and Why It Fell Apart by Jason Kirby • 2 min read

How a Founder Bootstrapped to $100M Without VC and Why It Fell Apart

CEO @ Cubish

My passion for technology started at 8, when my grandmother gave me a Compaq 286, my first computer. I took it apart to understand how it worked, and I haven’t stopped since.

Augmented Reality is my greatest passion, not just a technology, but a true revolution. It’s a way to amplify the world as we know it and imagine new possibilities.

Today as CEO of Cubish S.r.l.

Cubish is a geolocated social network built on Spatial Web technology that divides the Earth's surface into over 5.1 trillion cubes, each covering 100 square meters. Each cube acts as a geolocated container where anyone can create one or more Cube Domains, digital spaces for videos, audio, images, documents, interactive content and much more. Thousands of Cube Domains can coexist in a single cube, creating a unique layering of digital experiences and allowing users to leave content anywhere on Earth.

In the future, Cube Domains will be organized by quality through a merit-based system that highlights relevance, usefulness and impact, ensuring the most valuable content is prioritized. Cubish is an open, general-purpose system, just like the web once was.

Cube Domains are anchored to real-world coordinates and can expand into other cubes across streets, squares, shops, buildings and public or private spaces, even locations far apart. Each expansion can host different content depending on the location, creating a rich, distributed, geolocated digital network.

"It is like taking a web domain or a social network and spreading it across the real world."

Today it starts with data. Tomorrow, immersive technologies like Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), Extended Reality (XR) and more will be fully integrated. The team envisions Cubish as a geolocated social platform where people, communities, businesses and content coexist within the same spatially organized, interactive digital layer.

It is the first true Spatial Web, designed to bring the web fully into the real world and create an intelligent, living digital layer seamlessly integrated into the physical space around us.

Cubish S.r.l., an innovative startup officially registered in the Business Register (VAT: IT10724711212), has 26 cofounders, including two corporate entities. Cubish is protected by PATENT PENDING No. 102025000004906, filed March 10, 2025.

Dorian Lazzari

📝On January 27th, at the Sala Matteotti of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, I will participate as a speaker in the national conference “Overcoming Passivity in the Relationship with Digital Technology.”
The event will be moderated by Gabriella Carlucci, former Member of Parliament, always committed to building bridges between the creative industry, entertainment, and institutions.

The main topic is restoring the centrality of people in a digital ecosystem that often turns us into passive spectators. In this context, as CEO of Cubish, I will present the vision of the Spatial Web: a concrete example of how technology can interact with physical space and real human needs, reducing digital stress and enhancing content.

🕘 Event starts: 
Tuesday, 27 January - 09:15 UTC+1

Other speakers participating in this multidisciplinary discussion include:

Hon. Luciano Ciocchetti – Vice President, XII Social Affairs Committee, Chamber of Deputies

Andrea Bellandi Saladini – Founder, Accademia Civica Digitale

Massimiliano Farace – Co-founder of Yes Us Interaction , event organizer

antonio centomani – Director, Screenwriter, and Director of Photography

Simone Massetti – Journalist and PR Strategist

Marco Accordi Rickards – Lecturer and Founder, Vigamus

Dorian Lazzari – CEO of Cubish, Expert in Tech Innovation and the Spatial Web

Andrea Concas – Lecturer and Art Manager

Marco Marchese Borrelli – Artistic Producer and Media Artist

Francesco Cariati, Honorary President of ASE - Association for European Development and member of the Yes Us Interaction staff.


A dialogue between Institutions and Innovation to design a more ethical, conscious, and human digital future.

The live broadcast will be available on the official event page:

https://lnkd.in/d7M9aaEE

One cube at a time 🧊 The Spatial Web has just begun.


Camera dei deputati AGID - Agenzia per l'Italia Digitale Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia EU Digital & Tech StartupItalia Italian Tech Forbes Italia Wired Italia Fortune Italia Il Sole 24 Ore Il Mattino Corriere della Sera Osservatori Digital Innovation Roma Capitale Consulta Roma Smart City Lab Startup Geeks EIC - European Innovation Council Tecnologia & Innovazione Impresa e innovazione European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) 

#CameraDeiDeputati #GiacomoMatteotti #Roma #AgendaDigitale #SpatialWeb #StartupItalia #TrasformazioneDigitale #Innovazione #Futuro #Tecnologia #HumanCentric #Tech #News #Digitale #Istituzioni #PubblicaAmministrazione #Cultura #Arte #Turismo #AffariSociali #Phygital #ImmersiveTech #Notizie #EcosistemaDigitale #Cubish

CEO @ Cubish | Spatial Web Ecosystem Builder | Immersive Innovation

There’s a moment when you realize this isn’t a trend.
It’s a planetary alignment. 🌏🌎🌍

Technologies that evolved separately for years are now aligning at the same time.

And when complex systems reach a planetary alignment, the result isn’t incremental. It’s a phase shift.

XR, VR, AR
Finally mature enough to disappear.
Because the best technology is the one you don’t notice.

IoT
Not connected objects.
A distributed nervous system.

Digital twins
Not static simulations.
Living models, synchronized with the real world.

AI
Not an assistant.
A cognitive engine that interprets, anticipates, decides.

And then there’s the point where everything converges.

✨ The Spatial Web.

The flat web is over.
Scrolls, feeds, windows… useful, but limited.

The next web is spatial.
Persistent. Contextual. Navigable.

A digital layer anchored to the real world,
making it programmable.

Here, algorithms don’t compete for your attention.
They work for you!

Here, interaction is no longer driven by clicks, but by position, presence, intent.

Here, technology steps out of the spotlight
and becomes invisible infrastructure.

This isn’t an upgrade.
It’s a change in architecture.

When XR, IoT, digital twins and AI align within the Spatial Web, a new product doesn’t emerge.

A new way of being human with technology does.

The future isn’t coming.
It’s aligning.

And once the planetary alignment is complete, the effect is inevitable.

🔷The real question isn’t if it will happen.
It’s who will be ready when it does.


#SpatialWeb #XR #AR #VR #MR #DigitalTwins #IoT #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #IA  #HumanCentric #FutureOfTechnology #TechInnovation #EmergingTech #SmartCities

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