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 
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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

This is the story most founders never post on LinkedIn. Most founders only focus on the upside.
 
Very few imagine the moment they stop being CEO.

James Rose scaled his first business to millions in revenue rapidly. Everything was going up and to the right...until it wasn't anymore.

Then the market turned.
The business collapsed.

And suddenly, he had to do the unthinkable: become an employee again.
Not because he wanted to. Because he had to. Family to support, lifestyle to maintain, and unsure of what the next big idea would be. 

That transition of losing the company and the identity was harder than the failure itself.

I chose to have James on because he had some amazing insights around this transition. It took him over a decade to get back in the saddle as a founder again, but he's managed just fine. His life wasn't over. 

But he was practically unemployable outside of sales. He was "over qualified"

So he dropped his ego and aspiration for a VP role and took a mid level sales job and grinded. It was tough, but it worked for him.

In this episode of $100M Exits, James breaks down:

- The emotional toll founders don’t talk about
- Why identity gets dangerously tied to the title
- How this moment reshaped how he builds today

I felt this was an important story to share as most founder don't know what's next after a failure. James's story is a ray of hope for the hopeless founder wondering what to do next. 

See the full episode in the article.

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

Watch the full video here This is not a story we discuss often on this podcast, but I felt Jame's story of having to "get a job" after scaling a multi

Open article: From CEO to employee, the pivot no one prepares for by Jason Kirby • 2 min read

From CEO to employee, the pivot no one prepares for

Yesterday I spoke my partner Oliver Low about a founder who just lost 2/3rds of their revenue right before making an acquisition. 

It was a total death to the founder. In their mind, how could they, in good faith (and legally) acquire a company with their stock if they just had a massive hit like that. 

This roll up acquisition strategy was designed by my partner and I to help them clear their pref stack and ensure the founders had a solid paid day for their efforts.

No one expected their anchor client to change management and drop the contract 🤯 

We empathized with the founder, and they ultimately just want to throw in the towel, wind down the company and return the $0.25 on the dollar back to their investors. 

I honestly respected them for that. They've had it hard enough on their journey, to reboot after a hit like that and all their plans crumble before their eyes...could they really put in another 5+ years to turn it around and clear their pref stack...is it even worth it?

Sometimes it's just better to quit...yes...the nasty Q word. We're often don't as founders "never give up" "never quit"

But sometimes, it's economically illogical to keep going from their perspective. 

The company needs a recap to ditch their toxic cap table that's holding them back, raise more cash or sell to someone who has cash to perform the AI roll up strategy. But the founders don't the energy or the desire to put up that fight.

It's a great business otherwise, just the prefstack makes it not worth it. 

It's a reality that more and more founders are running into when they can't grow fast enough to exceed their past valuations or pref stacks. 

If you know founders facing these issues, tag them in the comments and let them know they're not alone. 

I spend my days helping founders navigate these situations. 

For this particular founder, I might acquire the business myself and put in a CEO to execute the roll up strategy. There's always a creative way to solve every problem, but the incentive has to be there to make the juice worth the squeeze...never forget that part.

If your CAC is rising, your only defense is LTV.
Brian Ree built one of the highest-LTV businesses in fashion & sold for $700M

Here’s the playbook that led to a ~$700M outcome:

- Make LTV your North Star (not revenue).
- Improve gross profit per order before scaling traffic.
- Control supply chain via private label.
- Track 52-week cohort spend religiously.
- Use AI to predict product-level expected value.
- Optimize retention before increasing paid spend.

My takeaway from Brian, especially in the world of DTC today, growth doesn’t fix broken unit economics. It magnifies them.

While competitors chased top-line revenue, DailyLook engineered durability.
The result? Stronger margins, better retention, strategic leverage in M&A.

Watch the full episode below.

Watch the full video here Brian Ree’s journey with DailyLook is a reminder that survival precedes scale. When growth stalled and capital dried up, he 

Open article: How Brian Ree Turned a DTC Crisis Into a $700M Exit to Victoria's Secret by Jason Kirby • 2 min read

How Brian Ree Turned a DTC Crisis Into a $700M Exit to Victoria's Secret

When Kris Rudeegraap raised $100M from SoftBank for Sendoso, it didn’t start with a term sheet.

It started with a coffee.

SoftBank came inbound in late 2021.

Within days, that coffee turned into partner pitches.

Two weeks later, he was told:

“Block your entire calendar. We’ll tell you the day before Masa is ready.”
No private jet to Japan, like he was told, just a Zoom grid with a dozen SoftBank partners and Masa Son at the center.

Masa wasn’t casual.

He knew the numbers.

He asked pointed questions about growth velocity.
He grilled the US partners about how big this could get.

Then: silence.

A couple weeks later, Kris got the term sheet.

But the wire? Delayed for months...MONTHS because of international transfer reviews.

But once that $100M was real, expectations changed overnight.

Not subtly. Overnight.
At the time, Sendoso was around ~$50M ARR.

They had already raised roughly $65M prior.

With $165M+ in preferred capital stacked, the thinking wasn’t defensive.
It was:

“How fast can we double again?”

So what did they do?
They hired. Aggressively.

Kris said they ramped up to roughly 30 recruiters just to fuel hiring across go-to-market.
SDRs. AEs. Marketing. Post-sales support.

Because in 2021, the math felt simple:
More heads = more revenue.

Top-down target said “double.” Bottoms-up math didn’t get them there. So they changed the inputs. Turn on the hiring flywheel.

In hindsight, that wasn’t irrational, but tt was consistent with the rest of the market raising stacks of cash.

But then 2022 hit.

And the same company, with the same strategy, suddenly had to pivot. Growth at all costs pivoted to conserve and generate profit. He hired all those people and before they could generate a dollar of revenue, he had to lay them all off 😬 

The board conversations change when capital isn’t cheap anymore.
Which leads to two uncomfortable truths:

1️⃣ Mega-rounds distort decision-making
When you have $100M in the bank, the pressure to justify it shapes behavior. You optimize for scale, not resilience.

2️⃣ Capital amplifies strategy, it doesn’t fix it. If your go-to-market motion works, capital accelerates it. If it’s fragile, capital magnifies the fragility.

I talk to founders everyday wanting to raise capital, but they often don't realize the burden that comes with it. 

But kudos to Kris, he took the medicine, built an advisory board of over 100 experts, and navigated the storm to acheive amazing results being a leader in his category. 

If you want to hear the full story, check out my latest podcast on $100M Exits.

Watch the full video here Raising $100M doesn’t solve your problems; it magnifies them. Kris shares what founders rarely talk about: the operational w

Open article: How Sendoso Raised $100M From SoftBank by Jason Kirby • 2 min read

What color box are you in? 

If you're not in the green at the very least...I don't think we can be friends. 

I'm in the redbox  🦞 

This also explains the mega valuations we're seeing in AI. Real revenue is being generated at a scale and speed never seen before, and we're barely scratching the surface.

Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Top Shelf Ventures - a venture and private equity fund focused on the biggest opportunities in the multi-trillion dollar alcohol & vices industries. 

Also Co-Founder of Uncharted with Michael Loeb: a community of world class founders and investors anchored by a monthly dinner series and annual summit. 


Goal and growth-oriented, and obsessively entrepreneurial, I am passionate about creating, scaling and growing great businesses. My experience and passions lie at the intersection of technology, media, CPG and communication. I have a background in acting/production, which has been a fundamental building block for how I approach business, communication, and people.

Avid athlete (Ironman, weightlifting, ice hockey, etc)
 

Feel free to reach out! (Will do my best to reply🙏!)

Noah Friedman

Incredibly proud to have co-founded OuterSignal with Zach Z..

I couldn't be more energized about the platform, team, and future we're building.

I've started several businesses. Sat at the heads of many tables. Invested in plenty of companies. Haven’t seen anything quite like this company and this team. 

OuterSignal is a customer intelligence platform that powers 1:1 personalization at every level. We’re mapping the observable universe - unifying data and action to deliver 100x outcomes for consumer brands.

With OuterSignal, brands can: 

→ Identify VIPs, influencers, and celebrities the moment they order 
→ Analyze customers by age, occupation, social following, property value, and dozens of attributes 
→ Personalize email and SMS flows based on who your customers actually are
→ Surface BD leads—execs, investors, journalists, retail buyers already buying from you

Incredibly excited about the future OuterSignal is ushering in. 

And I’m proud to be a part of this rocket ship. 

LFG! 🚀

Noah Sanborn Friedman

Founder & Investor | OuterSignal | Top Shelf Ventures | Uncharted

Hemp THC beverage sales went from $400K in 2020 to nearly $600M last year. 

I'm incredibly bullish on this market. 

IF it can clear a big hurdle: The regulatory pathway clears (I’m cautiously optimistic). And the alcohol industry plays nice. 

The alcohol industry is world-class at scaling concepts that are already working. Those guys know distribution, manufacturing, and navigating regulation better than anyone. But innovation? 

Not their strongest suit. 

Hemp THC beverages is one of the most compelling innovations in the broader vice category in years (maybe decades). It’s a fairly young category, but the data, product-market-fit, and potential is undeniable. 

My take is simple: these two industries should be learning from each other. 

Right now, we’re seeing resistance from some parts of the alcohol industry. I think that’s down right silly. 

Big alcohol should be looking at hemp thc beverages as just another part of the broader ecosystem. From my view, it should actually be the “4th category” (wine, spirits, beer, hemp THC). 

Collaboration would be a huge get for both parties. 

The innovation of hemp THC combined with the wisdom and infrastructure of alcohol distributors…it’s a perfect match. 

Whichever big alcohol players stop playing scared first are going to get a massive head start.

When Top Shelf Ventures invested in Gratsi in 2022, they were doing about $1M a year. 

In 2026 they’ll probably crack 9-figures. 

They’re one of the fastest growing wine brands of all time. 

Proud to shout this incredible team out and be on this insane journey with them. Couple reasons why they’ve been such an impressive growth story:

1) They broke the boxed wine stigma. 

Legacy boxed wine brands retail for $10-$20 a box.

Gratsi sells boxed wine for $50 a box and they’re outselling the legacy players.

Nobody’s been able to pull this off…they’re redefining the category. 

2) They run subscriptions like pros and hit retail hard at exactly the right time. 

Online sales are doubling year over year and retail is exploding. This brand will be on every shelf in America in the next few years. 

3) They’re an OuterSignal client. 

For a business so reliant on subscriptions and online orders, personalization matters. These guys use our platform to create memorable and authentic outreach consistently. 

I’ll send 2 boxes of Gratsi Red to whoever comes up with the best explanation of what OuterSignal actually does in the comments.

OuterSignal is an absolute rocket ship right now and hiring for a few key roles. 

1) Head of Growth: own, manage, and 10x our (already exploding) demand generation funnel and overall GTM motion. 

2) Account Executives: nurture and close a rapidly-growing pipeline of companies deeply excited to buy what we’re offering 

We’re building what I firmly believe will be a generational company. 

If you’re the type of operator who wants to be overly managed and handed a playbook…scroll on. 

If you want autonomy, ownership, speed….

And the chance to build something meaningful with serious upside. 

Let’s talk.

If you or someone you know is the best growth marketer in the room - or a sales athlete who can close like a machine - reach out.

What you say doesn’t really matter to most people. 

How you make them FEEL does. 

It’s my first barometer when meeting new people. 

I ask myself: “Did I leave that conversation feeling more energized, or less energized?”

Is it positive energy, or negative energy? Can I feel their passion?

I’ve learned to trust my gut on that. Funny thing is it has very little to do with what people actually say to me. 

If you can transmit enthusiasm, belief, experience, people associate you with those feelings. Sometimes it's as simple as making people feel seen. 

This shows up literally everywhere:

Fundraising - do investors feel more confident, or cautious? 
Hiring - do candidates feel excited or uneasy after talking to you? 
Sales - do prospects feel understood, or numerical? 
Leadership - do people feel safe being honest with you, or nervous? 

I keep telling other founders to take improv classes, because this is exactly what you refine on stage. 

And no, you can’t get away with spouting nonsense. You do need something to say. 

But how you leave people feeling is what they’ll actually remember.

Now that pretty much anyone can create great software…what becomes the new tech moat? 

We had a fascinating convo about this at the latest Uncharted dinner. 

Been thinking about this a lot. The consensus was around two answers:

1. Taste: In a world where everyone can build, knowing WHAT to build (and how it looks / feels for the end user) will still separate the great from the good. 

2. Distribution: The difference becomes all about your network, relationships, and ability to distribute. 

I would actually take this a step further. I think in totality, the difference will be rooted in a combination of network effect, data advantages, and depth of integration into a customer’s workflow. 

If your solution offers a data advantage that compounds over time, it’s a lot harder to replicate - even if the software wrapper can be recreated. 

And if it becomes an integral and deeply embedded part of your customers processes– one where end users are trained, and depend on your tool / platform daily– it’s a lot harder to rip and replace. 

Example:

Vibe coding a delivery app is in theory fairly straightforward. But a vibe-coded delivery app is certainly not going to be DoorDash overnight. Recruiting drivers, selling into restaurants, and building a continuously improving consumer experience based on billions of consumer interactions became the real differentiators.  

So in my view ticking those three boxes (distribution, data, and integration) - that’s your new moat. 

Thoughts? 

Also - the next Uncharted dinner is planned for March 19. 

If you want to apply for a seat at the table, comment “UNCHARTED” and the team will shoot you a DM.

There’s literally never been a more exciting time in the history of commerce. 

Here’s why: 

Personalization and efficiency are finally connecting. We’re living through a renaissance.

I think about the most delightful experiences I’ve ever had as a customer. 

A handwritten note waiting for me in a hotel room after a 9-hour flight. 

A glass of single malt from an airline after hitting a mileage milestone. 

Moments that weren’t rooted in what I bought, but who I am as a person. 

And those moments are coming back. It’s interesting - because that’s how business used to be done. You go into a shop, have a chat with the vendor, and buy something.

Each time you went back, they’d learn something new about you. And you build a relationship. 

For years, ecommerce killed that. Efficiency skyrocketed and it got way easier to buy and sell pretty much anything, but…

That personal element disappeared. 

Now, incredible tech is making personalized moments repeatable at scale. Ecomm tools that tell you about who your customers actually are, not just what they bought. 

And I’m 100% here for it.

Saudi Arabia just quietly lifted a 73-year alcohol ban (kinda). 

Most people will read that headline and think it’s about an evolving culture. 

It isn’t. At least not entirely. The license to drink only applies to (very) wealthy foreigners. 

It’s really about capital and economics. 

Saudi Arabia is serious about attracting foreign talent, tourism dollars, and global events. 

So something like this demonstrates how desperately they want to compete economically. 

Because despite what media reports might be communicating…a lot of successful people are still pretty interested in doing business over a few glasses of wine. 

So much so a country notorious for its rigidity on this idea is suddenly flexing. 

When you’re trying to:

Compete with Dubai
Host a World Cup 
Diversify away from oil

You need to attract high-skilled expats. Booze has been there this whole time - it just existed privately, diplomatically, or on a black market. By formalizing the category, Saudi is signalling long-term economic intent. 

Just another reason why vice is such a durable asset class.

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