Prota Monthly Newsletter:: December 2021
Welcome to the Prota Monthly Newsletter for December!
Look for new issues of this newsletter on the 3rd Thursday of every month.
Click here to view this newsletter in your web browser
At Prota, we believe in human flourishing; in the power of the human spirit to build companies and grow value for communities.
Our core values and beliefs can be summarized by G.E.E.K.:
- Generosity
- Empathy
- Excellence
- Kindness
Our purpose is to promote human flourishing by investing holistically in entrepreneurs.
🎉 2021 in Reflection by Will Little
Hi everyone 👋. What a year! We hope you are able to take time off in the coming weeks to rest, reflect, and rejuvenate.
Even though we grew to almost 500 people in our Slack group and there was an enormous amount of extremely exciting activity happening across our Labs, Studios, and Ventures division all year, in many ways 2021 was a significant struggle operationally to keep up with the growth. Thanks for bearing with us!
Under the recent new leadership of Laura and Eon (see below), we have many areas of improvement in the works to help surface more information across the ecosystem, route talent to founders we are partnering with, strengthen trust networks, allocate capital more efficiently to our new and existing portfolio companies across multiple funds, and ensure a high-quality experience for all the founders, investors, talent, and partnerships in our community.
It’s easy, of course, to celebrate the notable wins this past year that *are* public knowledge in our portfolio but what is even more impressive is the huge list of all the early stage stories that aren’t yet public. We’ve hinted at these stories in these newsletters and weekly Tuesday calls, but we’re all eagerly waiting for the appropriate time when we can get more public about what’s going on behind the scenes.
As you know, at our core we believe in promoting human flourishing by investing holistically in entrepreneurs. This includes not only more obvious social impact investing, but also support for founders - including a large fraction of underrepresented founders - that are working to improve our environment, our mental and physical health, and meaningful connections between human beings. Not only this, but we ourselves are investing in infrastructure to more directly support the growing number of founders and talent in our ecosystem that are working tirelessly to build products and services for their communities.
Looking forward, 2022 promises to be a massive season of growth as we serve more clients in Studios, ideate more products/services in Labs, and allocate more capital in Ventures. I’m especially keen on our deal flow and opportunities in Web 3, HealthTech/MedTech, Smart Cities, EdTech, FinTech, CPG, and Hardware/IoT.
If you or anyone you know is starting a company, we would love to work with you. Please feel free to reach out to Laura Yunger directly (laura.yunger@protaventures.com) and say hello, as her and her team will be ramping up our operational efficiency to serve hundreds of more founders in 2022 with great experiences within our ecosystem.
📃Founder Update
Bird Buddy: After the resounding success of several crowdfunding campaigns for its gamified smart bird feeder, Bird Buddy has raised an $8.5 million seed round. Its first product will ship in a few months, but it’s just the start of what the company hopes will be a new approach to using tech to better enjoy nature. Click here to read more!
Stix: The First-Year Success Story Of A Golf Equipment Company Started During The Pandemic. Click here to read more!
Figment: They announced in Q2 that they raised $50 million from both Institutional and Strategic partners in the largest funding round to date for any staking provider. Click here to read more!
BrewVide had a successful kickstarter campaign this year. Click here to read more!
📣Announcements
We are thrilled to announce two new additions to the Prota Leadership!
Laura Yunger, Director of Pipeline Experience
Laura joins Prota after decades of success managing operations and driving revenue in the financial services industry. Laura has earned her reputation as a trusted advisor by consistently delivering results to founders and entrepreneurs through her astute insights, dependability, and integrity.
Laura will be tasked with managing Prota’s pipeline, and all the new opportunities that come through the ecosystem. She will ultimately be responsible for all things related to deal flow for Studios Projects, Labs Engagements, and Ventures.
Most recently she served as CEO and Founder of Saltare, a valuation enhancement consultancy providing advisory services to business owners seeking to scale their businesses or exit at their best possible valuation. Community driven and a true proponent for advancing value for individuals and businesses, Laura is an avid angel investor in early-stage companies, member of the Chicago Finance Exchange, and serves on the board for the Chicago chapters of Ellevate Network and the Exit Planning Exchange. Laura is an avid hiker, beginner surfer, foodie and bourbon enthusiast.
Eon Washington, Director of Operations
With over 20 years of Finance, Accounting, and Business Strategy experience. Eon will be responsible for the internal operations, management, and execution of long-term strategy related to Studios Projects, Labs engagements, and Ventures (e.g. Prota App, Entity Structure, Legal, and Fundraising, Corporate Finance and Accounting).
Prior to joining Prota, Eon was a Managing Director at Valler Holdings, a boutique investment firm that specializes in the acquisition of Middle Market Tech and CPG businesses. In a previous role, Eon was the Sr. VP of Business Development at SaaS developer, Fusion Labs. In addition to his business strategy background, Eon spent 10 years as an ERP consultant to SMEs and Non-Profits. Eon graduated from Hampton University with a B.S. in Finance/Accounting and lives in Chicago, IL. In my free time, I am an avid cyclist and enjoy watching bad true crime shows.
🎙️Check out The Prota Podcast
Episode #20: We get to know one of the Managing Directors of Prota. We talk with Scott Sutherland, who is quite possibly one of the most interesting people I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to. He talks with us about dirt biking, golfing, welding and the pivotal moments that lead to his extraordinary life.
Episode #19: We talked with Shandel Sutherland, managing director of Prota and founder of the Shandel Group. She talks with us about how she uses her experience as a life coach to raise people and their businesses to a higher level of success.
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Search for “The Prota Podcast” in your favorite podcast app and it should show up (if not, let us know). We certainly welcome any reviews to help us get off the ground. Thanks!
📆Prota Weekly Call Highlights
December 14, 2021 We were joined by Crystal Berger from Expert Bookings Online. EBO is a product that makes it easier for digital platforms, local and national networks and even podcasters to discover, vet, and book on-air talent. Conversely, her company is tackling the booking and DEI challenges that publicists, professional conferences, corporate events, and even virtual communities face when seeking talent for internal and external content offerings by providing diverse experts on-demand. Click here to check out her podcast with Will Little. Will is the Prota Contact for this venture. If you are interested in learning more, helping out or have any questions, please contact Will.
December 7, 2021 We were joined by Nicolas Ibanez from EasyMD. One of the most complete telehealth solutions available on the market today, offering an array of benefits ranging from 24/7 telemedicine, digital pharmacy, digital lab (mobile phlebotomy) and dental services. It allows patients to connect with a wide range network of specialist, phycologist and other health professionals at the patients convenience. The Prota Contact for this Venture is Yasser Said. If you are interested in learning more, helping out or have any questions, please contact Yasser.
November 30, 2021 We were joined by Abdullah Mirreh from Wareeg. Wareeg enables every tourist to explore endlessly with convenience through a platform where tourists and locals are connected by Time, Location, and Hobbies. This is the modern way of traveling, from a flight attendant who wants to Wareeg to a local who is looking to make an extra stream of income. This is the true purpose of Wareeg. Taking a step back from the traditional tour guides or even Googling reviews on what to do when and how, Wareeg provides a personalized connection to every destination. Curiosity awaits, Wareeg endlessly! The Prota Contact for this Venture is Azzam Hajyousif. If you are interested in learning more, helping out or have any questions, please contact Azzam.
November 23, 2021 In lieu of a guest due to the US holiday, we joined one another to share what’s on our minds. It is always a success when we get together to collaborate on ideas.
Are you interested in helping with any of these projects? Please reach out to the contact mentioned for more information.
🎤Prota Events
Mark your calendars, beginning in 2022 we will be hosting two new events monthly.
January 6, 2022 at 4pm Central Time we will have our first Prota Meet and Greet. This is the perfect time to get to know each other and ask questions. We will hold these on the first Thursday of each month. If you are interested in the Prota Meet and Greet Click here for an invitation.
January 27, 2022 at 5pm Central Time (back by popular demand) The Prota Happy Hour. Some exciting ventures have come from these social sessions. We will hold these on the last Thursday of each month. If you are interested in the Prota Happy Hour Click here for an invitation.
📌Help Wanted
Part time Product Developer for testing features on a decentralized Electronic Health Record.
Part time Web3 Developer for building an Electronic Health Record platform using SSI principles.
Part time Software Engineer for a Telehealth platform build.
Part time UX / UI developer.
Full or Part time Full Stack Senior Developer
Part time Mobile Developer
If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please reach out to Yasser Said.
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🛍Founders Corner
After a loss, celebrate life together with LifeWeb 360. Click here to learn more
Visualize and navigate your path through life with Own Trail. Click here to learn more
Travel the world from your kitchen table with GLOMADO. Click here to learn more
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We would like to thank each and every one of you for being part of the Prota Team! We are looking forward to 2022 being full of more stories of Human Flourishing and opportunities to make an impact. Happy Holidays!
📧We’d love to hear from you!
Looking to get more involved in Prota? Do you want to share a story of human flourishing? Do you have content you would like to contribute to future newsletters? Would you like to nominate a colleague who is walking the walk? Contact us below!
Managing Director, Office of Organizational Development
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