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

With over 17 years in capital markets and public‑company leadership, I help small‑cap companies stand out through strategic branding, marketing and clear communication. 

Through my personal brand, I share educational content on marketing best practices for small‑caps, demonstrate how to turn complex market and mining concepts into digestible stories, and show how storytelling differentiates our industry. 

My mission is to elevate small‑cap visibility and credibility, teach peers about the importance of branding and scalable AI tools, and show the broader public why responsible mining matters in everyday life. If you’re ready to transform your brand narrative, let’s connect.

I specialize in:

→ Investor storytelling: turning complex results into simple, investable narratives
→ AI-powered branding: strategies that build trust, credibility, and visibility
→ CEO & corporate LinkedIn optimization: profiles and pages investors follow
→ Executive LinkedIn thought leadership: aligning personal + company voices for authority
→ Digital asset creation: articles, eBooks, decks, videos, and more
→ Digital footprint audits: exposing gaps that limit visibility and credibility
→ Content repurposing: transforming one milestone into multi-platform investor touchpoints

👉 At Bullvision Consulting, we believe attention is the new currency and visibility is credibility.
📩 Ready to sharpen your digital footprint? Book a call here https://shorturl.at/K6I9T or DM me.


📲 Why digital visibility matters. The facts:

🔹 91% of institutional investors have made recommendations or decisions based on digital or social media; 88% say equities they cover should maintain a digital/social presence. (Brunswick Group)

🔹 After IR sites, investors look you up: LinkedIn (7.83/10) and Google (7.81). (Brunswick Group)

🔹 LinkedIn now has 1B+ members and 65M+ decision-makers. (LinkedIn Business Solutions)

🔹 48% of institutional investors expect customized content tailored to their interests. (Social Media Today)

Anna Dalaire

It’s getting hot in here.🔥
Global Change for Children
just crossed $37,000 raised.
And the thermometer is still climbing.

The industry is buzzing.
2025 closed strong.
2026 is already off to a solid start.📈
Exploration and mining are heating up.

So is this event.
Tuesday, January 27
4:30 PM
Moose’s Down Under – Vancouver📍

This isn’t about optics.
It’s about outcomes.

Global Change for Children Society doesn’t talk about impact.
They deliver it.

In 2024, GC4C funded and physically helped build a four-room school in rural Guatemala.

Board members were on the ground.
Not endorsing. Not partnering. Building.

That’s why this resonates with mining.

We understand long timelines, risk, and execution.
We understand that showing up matters.

This event is simple:

Come have a drink. 🍺
Network with industry peers.
Bid on auction items
Know you’re doing something meaningful.

How you can help:

→ Donate – even $5 moves the needle
→ Swing by the event – tickets start at $25 (online or at the door)
→ Bid on an auction item
→ Bring a colleague
(𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴)

The goal is $100K.🌡️
This is the mining industry at its best.
When it walks the talk.

If you want more context on 𝘸𝘩𝘺 I support GC4C and how this organization operates, read this week's related article
🔗 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 👇

𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.

-----

Small-cap branding + AI-powered marketing strategies
Educator. Storyteller. Brand builder for capital markets. Follow Anna Dalaire

Small‑Cap Branding & AI‑Powered Marketing Strategist | Amplifying Visibility & Credibility | 17+ Years Capital‑Markets Leadership | Educator, Storyteller & Brand Builder

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