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

Helping brands that use Shopify+Klaviyo 2X their email and SMS revenue with 1:1 personalized graphics. Founder/CEO. Follow me to make money with email.

“Email marketing is dead.” That’s what they say. But if your emails aren’t making money, it’s not because email is dead... its because they’re boring.

I’m Lou Mintzer, CEO of Grid & Pixel. We help 7-9 figure Shopify brands scale with 1:1 creatives that autoplay in 99% of inboxes. We bring email and SMS campaigns to life with eye-catching, personalized graphics.

We’ve partnered with Shopify, Klaviyo, Omnisend, and Sendlane to keep things drop-dead simple, allowing you to spend less time tweaking templates and more time driving revenue. With 5 stars, 100+ reviews, and features by Shopify and Klaviyo, we’re proving that personalized content doesn’t just look better—it performs better.

Before Grid & Pixel, I spent 12 years as Chief Product Officer at Homesnap, leading the development of the award-winning real estate app before selling it to CoStar Group for $250M in 2020 and rebranding it to Homes.com.

I’m also an Advisor to the First Street Foundation and moonlight as a Venture Partner at NextGen Venture Partners, where I love working with entrepreneurs and helping to identify and support big ideas.

But enough about me—let’s talk about you.

If you’re a Shopify brand looking to drive reliable, repeatable revenue with flows that actually convert, get started today by installing the app for free:

https://apps.shopify.com/gridandpixel

Or, if you’re a marketing agency that wants to do more with less, take on more clients, or provide an increased level of service, check out our partner program:

https://gridandpixel.com/partners

Or just send me a DM - break your routine and harness serendipity!

Because the only thing that’s truly dead is boring content.

Lou Mintzer 🦅

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗜𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗧𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝗢𝘂𝘁

It’s not the discount.
It’s not the product.
It’s the way the offer is framed.

Most promos go straight into pitch mode.
Hard sell. All caps.
“BUY ONE GET ONE” energy.

And people feel that instantly.
We’re wired to resist anything that feels salesy, even when the deal is good.

I saw a promo recently that stopped me scrolling.
Same offer. Totally different framing.

Instead of shouting the deal, it positioned it as sharing.
Buy one for yourself.
Give one to someone you care about.

Same promo.
Completely different feeling.

It didn’t feel like a transaction.
It felt human.
Like a moment worth passing along.

That’s the real unlock.
The best promo emails don’t push harder.
They reframe the offer to match how people already think and behave.

Same deal.
Better psychology.

Follow me for more insights on 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵, 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀.

Boring emails are dead. I help Shopify+Klaviyo brands make more money with thumb-stopping content.

𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿-𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁?

Between ops, inventory, ads, and email, content becomes the thing you “get to later.”
So posts get rushed.
Creatives get recycled.
And feeds start to feel… flat.

It’s not because you don’t care about marketing.
It’s because doing it consistently is exhausting.

That’s the gap Grid & Pixel fills.

Your products turned into clean, scroll-stopping vertical videos
ready for Reels, TikTok, Shorts, and ads
without starting from scratch every time.

The message still feels like you.
The format finally fits the platform.
And the system handles the repetition.

Less scrambling.
More showing up.
More momentum.

Built for founders who want marketing to feel lighter, not louder.

See the first comment to book a quick demo with us 👇

𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗞𝗹𝗮𝘃𝗶𝘆𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀. Most e-commerce brands aren’t looking at the right signals.

Insight from our latest webinar: Unlocking Email & Lifecycle Growth with David Visser, CEO of Zyber - Shopify Premier Partner.

Quick gut check:
Do you actually know what % of your revenue email is driving?
Is your account leaning more campaigns than flows?
Do you know your popup submit rate off the top of your head?
When’s the last time you checked deliverability?

If any of those made you pause, this clip is for you.

In a few minutes, this breaks down the 3 metrics plus one honorable mention that quietly reveal whether a Klaviyo account is scaling or stalling.

No hacks.
No theory.
Just the signals that matter.

Watch till the end.
You might spot the exact thing holding your account back.

Simple signals.
Clear leverage.

#ControlTheControllables

𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗭𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗴 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘆.

The best decisions don’t come from the smartest person in the room.
They come from working with people you actually enjoy thinking with.

When the team feels good, learning stays alive.
Ideas get challenged without ego.
Decisions get sharper over time.

That’s the real startup edge.
Not talent alone.
But a group that gets better together, every day.

Build with people you learn from.
The rest compounds.

Ecommerce brands are hooked on discounts. And yeah, it’s quietly wrecking their margins. 

𝗔 20% 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀. 𝗜𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗲 40–60% 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁.

And it gets worse.

Customers who only buy at 40% off show way lower loyalty.
They’re not sticking around.
They’re waiting for the next deal.

So you’re not really building customers.
You’re building a list of people who leave the moment someone else offers 5% more.

Pause for a second.

If discounts disappeared tomorrow…
What would your emails actually say?
Why would anyone open them?
Why would someone choose you over a sea of lookalike brands?

Once the coupon code is gone, the real thinking starts.

About the product.
About the customer.
About why the brand exists at all.

That’s where strategy finally shows up.

The truth usually lives in the feedback.
The glowing reviews.
The brutal ones too.

That’s where you see the gap.

Brands communicate intention.
Customers experience reality.

And customers don’t care how hard something was to build.
They care if it delivered.
If it solved the thing.
If it was worth telling someone else about.

That gap is everything.

It’s where “maybe later” turns into “I need this now.”

And when that clicks, everything downstream improves.

Your welcome flow gains direction.
Your abandoned cart addresses real hesitation.
Your post-purchase emails reinforce the right reason to return.

Email stops being noise.
It becomes the throughline.

The thing that makes a stranger feel understood before they ever buy.

Enjoy the quiet moments this weekend.
That’s usually where the clearest thinking shows up.

Back to building tomorrow.

taplio

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Lou Mintzer 🦅

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The Battle

Jason Kirby

Lou Mintzer 🦅

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Jason Kirby's LinkedIn Performance

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