Many believe great leaders are born, not made. Those who subscribe to this worldview feel that if you don’t exhibit strong leadership ability from a young age, there’s little chance you ever will. Yet, the truth is that great leaders are made. Effective leaders invest time and energy, whether consciously or subconsciously, to develop key skills that empower them to mobilize others. That’s good news because it means anyone can become a successful leader as long as they’re serious about developing their skills. If you’d like to become a more effective leader in your organization or industry, here are the most important skills you should develop to reach that goal.

Entrepreneurs Alex Taub and Michael Schonfeld once built software tools for the social media boom. Now they’re hoping to provide the plumbing for a new one in the Wild West of Web3. After launching a new venture, Upstream, upon the sale of their previous startup, SocialRank, in early 2020, Taub and Schonfeld have shifted Upstream’s focus more to groups using cryptocurrencies recently. This past November, they launched Upstream Collective, a product to help manage decentralized autonomous organizations (or DAOs). After finding early traction with users, they’ve now raised $12.5 million in Series A funding led by Boldstart Ventures to expand. The round, which values Upstream at $80 million after investment, included a gaggle of investors including Tiger Global, Ibex Investors, Vayner Fund, Panoramic Ventures, Alpaca VC, Human Ventures and Blumberg Capital. Crypto specialists, including Fenbushi Capital and The Medici Group, also joined in.

Business owners are in a bit of a pickle these days. The supply chain is still a mess, historic inflation is increasing the cost of literally everything, and the Great Resignation and a disengaged labor pool continue to take a substantial toll on productivity. While there is not much any single organization can do to settle down the economy or get distribution channels back on track, there is a lot business owners can do to combat the nagging labor shortage. It boils down to investing in the people you already have, motivating them to professionally excel, and inspiring them to align with your company Vision.

While the crypto market has lost $2 trillion in value since November 2021, the venture arm of the $24 billion hedge fund run by Steve Cohen, the man who inspired the “Billions” TV show, last week announced it had invested in its fifth crypto company, a decentralized finance firm that provides data and trade execution services for institutions.

For venture capitalist David Blumberg, the pandemic took him from his ancestral home of California across the country to Florida. Realizing that he was no longer chained to his fixed, physical office in San Francisco, he took the plunge and moved over 3,000 miles in order to take advantage of the up-and-coming vibe of Miami, as well as the state’s business-friendly regulations and taxes. David learned how to take advantage of the pandemic and was able to recognize it as — as he puts it — a catalyst of virtualization, innovation, and decentralization. Blumberg is the founder and managing partner of Blumberg Capital, a private Venture Capital firm investing in early-stage IT, digital media, social media, mobility, Internet, e-commerce, payments, SaaS, and tech-enabled services. He also serves as a board member of Credorax, Trulioo, IntSights, and Slync.io. David holds an undergraduate degree from Harvard University and an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Listen to today’s episode of Investing in Florida Technology and find out how David made the leap from studying government to becoming a venture capitalist, how he embraces virtualization, and why he believes that the 21st century will be one of massive innovation and productivity for office and service work. #venture_capital #startups #tech #vc #invest

Elias Torres is the founder and CTO of Drift, the world’s leading conversational marketing and sales platform. Drift helps businesses connect with customers who are ready to buy. After just three years in the market, Drift has become one of the fastest growing SaaS companies of all-time and was named to the Forbes Cloud 100, LinkedIn Top 50 Startups, Entrepreneur’s Top Company Cultures, Boston Business Journal’s Best Places to Work, and SaaS Company of the Year by the NEVCA. Listen to today’s episode of Investing in Florida Technology and hear how Elias made the incredible leap from struggling to take orders in English at his fast food job as a teen to becoming Chief Technology Officer of his own company. He also discusses dealing with imposter syndrome, starting with a new company just weeks before the 2008 crash, and the major expansion plans he has for Drift. #marketing #SaaS #tech #startups #technology

We’re excited to announce that Upstream has raised a $12.5M Series A, led by boldstart ventures, with participation from Tiger Global, Vayner Fund, Fenbushi Capital, existing investor Ibex Investors, & more.

The number of startups and entrepreneur investments has grown drastically amid the uncertainty of the past few years. Although acquiring funds for a business has never been easy, venture capitalists are now spending less time than ever looking at each pitch deck. Especially in an age when time is money, VCs aren't just saying no to a few opportunities here and there — they're saying no on a massive scale. One leading VC firm, Andreessen Horowitz, reveals just how difficult it is to hear "yes." According to an interview, the firm invests in just 0.7% of the startups its team investigates each year. Though the firm doesn't reveal all its selection secrets in the video, it does emphasize the importance of the pitch. #entrepreneurship #startups

"A story without a message is like a person without a soul." - Stan Lee Good VPM tells an organization’s story in the simplest, clearest way. For all our cognitive sophistry, we humans are attracted to a clear and simple narrative. The slickest blockbuster can feel like nothing more than hours of colorful noise if there is no clear story providing a payoff. In the same way, investing in data visualization that is not driven by clarity about the key things that people need to know (and need to know now) can become little more than digital wallpaper.

Although there may be some time before inflation is felt at a personal and business level, higher prices are here to stay, and according to financial experts, analyzing investing strategies, keeping cash available and reducing unnecessary costs to operations might be key ways to come afloat during these times.