Whenever Friday the 13th comes around, I always think of Michael Scott in The Office, who in the fourth season perfectly deadpans: “I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious.”
And I think we’re all a little stitious, but perhaps especially so in startups and venture capital. For a world that heavily emphasizes data, numbers, and tech, the moment I started asking around, my inbox began flooding with the superstitions of founders, VCs, and startup employees alike.
Consider Lisa Burton O’Toole, HearstLab VP.
“I do have a wardrobe malfunction superstition,” she said via email. “Female founders that have broken a heel or spilled coffee on their blazer in advance of pitching at one of our $100K pitch events most often go on to raise successful rounds. I see it as a sign of a founder’s resilience.”
And startup employees aren’t immune either. Anniston Ward, marketing manager at social media management platform Metricool, has a number of superstitions around social media posts and campaigns, from her TikTok logoff ritual to never posting on Sundays.
“Sundays are sacred no-post days; disrupting the quiet risks bad engagement karma for the rest of the week,” Ward wrote via email.
One superstition I heard over and over: Never talk about the deal until it’s done—and the money’s in the bank.
“Never talk about deals before they’re closed with the company! Even if it’s a sure thing,” Amplitude CEO Spenser Skates said via email.
“I am incredibly superstitious, and my golden rule is simple: Never speak of a win or an accomplishment until it’s fully sealed, signed, and publicly revealed,” added Tiya Gordon, COO and cofounder of itselectric. “Discussing a victory before it’s officially announced feels like inviting bad luck—like opening an umbrella indoors or tempting fate with unfinished business.”
In fact, if there’s one thing that came through in all this information that I crowdsourced, it’s that the chief sources of anxiety for so many are deals and pitches. Village Global investor Max Kilberg told Fortune via email that “some VCs are superstitious about meeting founders at a specific lucky coffee shop” and “inversely, some founders like to pitch in places they find to be lucky.”
Brendan Kamm, CEO at Thnks, takes it a step even further: “Before every big deal, I write thank-you notes to everyone involved. I don’t usually send them right away—sometimes not at all—but it’s my way of putting intention into the deal, like creating a binding pact with the universe. Every time I skip this step, it seems like something goes wrong. Maybe it’s the energy, maybe it’s the focus—but it always works.”
In his product management days, Thomvest Ventures principal Ashish Kakran paid homage to the demo gods and, now as a VC, he says he pays his respects to the FOMO gods.
“In this world, luck and a little superstition go a long way in keeping the tech running smoothly and the best investments within reach,” said Kakran via email.
If you’ve ever watched the movie Friday the 13th, you know that seemingly much of the movie doesn’t even take place on Friday the 13th itself. One day simply wasn’t enough time for the whole movie (which Kevin Bacon is in, by the way) to transpire. And that’s an essential thing about superstition—that it’s fleeting but persistent. So, while today is for talking about superstitions, in tech, knocking on wood is a year-round endeavor.
See you Monday,
Allie Garfinkle
Twitter: @agarfinks
Email: alexandra.garfinkle@fortune.com
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Nina Ajemian curated the deals section of today’s newsletter.
VENTURE DEALS
- Strider Technologies, a Salt Lake City, Utah-based strategic intelligence provider, raised $55 million in Series C funding. Pelion Venture Partners led the round and was joined by AXA Venture Partners and existing investors Valor Equity Partners, DataTribe, and Cyfr Capital.
- Aembit, a Silver Spring, Md.-based non-human identity and access management company, raised $25 million in Series A funding. Acrew Capital led the round and was joined by existing investors Ballistic Ventures, Ten Eleven Ventures, Okta Ventures, and CrowdStrike Falcon Fund.
- Nirvana, a New York City-based automated healthcare benefit verification platform, raised $24.2 million in Series A funding. Northzone led the round and was joined by Inspired Capital, Eniac Ventures, and Surface Ventures.
- Every, a San Francisco, Calif.-based finance and HR platform for founders, raised $22.5 million in Series A funding. Redpoint Ventures led the round and was joined by Y Combinator, Okta Ventures, Base10 Partners, and Formus Capital.
- Paymob, a Cairo, Egypt-based financial services enabler in Middle East and North Africa, raised $22 million in a Series B extension. EBRD Venture Capital led the round and was joined by Endeavor Catalyst and existing investors PayPal Ventures, BII, FMO, and others.
- Bounti, a San Jose, Calif.-based autonomous AI products developer, raised $16 million in seed funding. Google Ventures led the round and was joined by Floodgate, Bloomberg Beta, Haystack, and others.
- Metabase Q, a San Francisco, Calif.-based cybersecurity management company, raised $11 million in a Series A extension. SYN Ventures led the round and was joined by John Watters.
- PathPresenter, a Montville, N.J.-based image sharing platform for pathology, raised $7.5 million in Series A funding. AVANT BIO led the round and was joined by Barco NV and Modi Ventures.
- DELLI, a London, England-based independent food and drink platform, raised $6 million in a seed extension from Balderton and HV Capital.
- Campfire, a San Francisco, Calif.-based generative AI platform for AI-native life simulation games, raised $4 million in seed funding from Y Combinator, FundersClub, Immad Akhund, and others.
- Titan, a Cayman Islands-based DEX aggregator, raised $3.5 million in funding. Round13 Digital Asset Fund led the round and was joined by RN Financial Corporation and angel investors.
- Cavela, a San Francisco, Calif.-based automated product sourcing AI platform for e-commerce companies, raised $2 million in funding. XYZ Venture Capital led the round and was joined by Propel Ventures and Go Global Ventures.
PRIVATE EQUITY
- GI Partners acquired a majority stake in eClinical Solutions, a Mansfield, Mass.-based digital clinical software and services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- mPulse, backed by PSG, acquired Zipari, an Indianapolis, Ind.-based healthcare consumer experience technology company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Silversmith Capital Partners invested $40 million in Novatus, a London, England-based software and strategic advisory services provider for financial institutions.
- Quorum Cyber, a portfolio company of Charlesbank, acquired Difenda, an Oakville, Canada-based cybersecurity company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
EXITS
- Mastercard agreed to acquire Recorded Future, a Boston, Mass.-based threat intelligence company, from Insight Partners for $2.65 billion.
- Sullivan Street Partners acquired UKAT, a Borehamwood, England-based residential addiction treatment group, from Global Growth. Financial terms were not disclosed.
OTHER
- Sentry Insurance agreed to acquire The General, a Nashville, Tenn.-based an automobile insurance company, from American Family Insurance for $1.7 billion.
IPOS
- Bicara Therapeutics, a Boston, Mass.-based targeted therapy biotech company, plans to raise $264.6 million in an offering of 14.7 million shares priced between $16 to $18. Biocon, RA Capital Management, Red Tree Venture Fund, Omega Funds, Invus Public Equities, and TPG back the company.
- The General Partnership, a San Francisco, Calif.-based venture capital firm, promoted Ben Cmejla to partner.
