benny guadarrama

Exploring the trades prev: @seedscout @mygreenapp @packedapp @yelp @asu. YC alum

[benny guadarrama @bennytypes]

I think I’ll make a pinned tweet now…

[benny guadarrama @bennytypes]

@Mat_Sherman @founder_arena 🚀🚀🚀

[Mat Sherman @Mat_Sherman]

I am excited to launch @founder_arena, the new front door to Silicon Valley (feel free to let yourself in).

I will explain how it works, but first I need to explain why we need this in the first place...

[benny guadarrama @bennytypes]

@Mat_Sherman Always all love ❤️🫡

[benny guadarrama @bennytypes]

What a ride it was. Working alongside Mat has been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. I have a tremendous respect for him, he put his heart into everything for the mission. Thank you to everyone involved thru the years. RIP Seedscout. The story will continue.

[Mat Sherman @Mat_Sherman]

PSA: I shut Seedscout down. Several factors arose that made keeping the entity more of a risk than an asset.

I want to thank my investors who bet on an outsider with an ambitious vision to democratize venture capital. We achieved that vision, but we didn’t find the business model to sustain it.

Thank you to our early adopters and core founder community for supporting us through the various iterations as we worked to find a viable model.

Thank you to those who supported Seedscout as mentors or venture partners to our founders.

Thank you to Travis, Benny, and the rest of the folks who were on the core team, whether for two days or two years.

And thank you to my wife for dealing with insane chapter of my professional journey, especially as we brought our first child into the world 366 days ago.

Seedscout was a struggle. We built innovations, but we were unable to capitalize on them due to various challenges. However, if Seedscout accomplished anything, it was turning me into an insider.

Before Seedscout, I knew five investors. Now I know hundreds.

Before Seedscout, I was connected only to the AZ ecosystem. Now I’m connected globally.

Before Seedscout, I was blind to how this industry operated. Now I can see more clearly than ever.

I don’t know what the future holds for me. What I do know is that I can’t unsee what I’ve seen. There is still work to be done to improve this industry, and I have little faith that anyone else will approach it the way I know I can. But those answers, solutions, and ideas must wait.

For now, I’m taking a break—from founding, from fighting, and from the struggle. I’ll likely get back on the horse another day to finish what I started.

As I said in 2019, “It’s an insider’s game. I got pattern recognition; once I’m in, I’m giving everybody else admission.” The job is half done.

Thanks for reading. RIP Seedscout.

[Mat Sherman @Mat_Sherman]

Pick Arizona

[benny guadarrama @bennytypes]

@Mat_Sherman Fits went hard too 👀

[Mat Sherman @Mat_Sherman]

The top pre-seed investors in my network:

@dunkhippo33 (Hustle Fund)
@TurnerNovak (Banana)
@AlexPallNY (Mantis)
@FrancisPSantora (Angel)
@gjain (Afore)
@kenny_tucker (Angel)
@chudson (Precursor)
@ericries (Angel)
@rrhoover (Weekend)

Who else should I know in the pre-seed space?

[benny guadarrama @bennytypes]

@cory ASU

[Mat Sherman @Mat_Sherman]

The @Seedscout House #3 Aftermovie
#SSH3

[Mat Sherman @Mat_Sherman]

Two years ago in Vegas with @badbennymx for @NBA Summer League.

(They were the best of times. They were the worst of times.)

[Mat Sherman @Mat_Sherman]

Introducing IntroFlow. Superconnector? Start a social directory, invite people you know, then let them request intros to each other without requiring any work from you. It takes directory owners minutes to setup and no time to manage. Make it free or charge members for access.

[Mat Sherman @Mat_Sherman]

In April, my cofounder and I will be launching new community platform. We rethought what was needed in this space with first principles, and landed on something special. Turns out, DMs and channels were never needed in the first place. Join the waitlist today 👇

[Mat Sherman @Mat_Sherman]

Seedscout Networks is officially in beta. If you want to test it out (by starting a network or joining a network), DM me. This is the future of community building.

[Mat Sherman @Mat_Sherman]

.@seedscout got a new customer at 6:50pm this evening. He sent an intro request to an investor at 7:08pm. He was introduced to that investor at 7:16pm. This is the closest thing to magic we could have ever built. Take away middlemen, just let people connect when they want to. 🪄

[twour @twourtravel]

😏

[benny guadarrama @bennytypes]

Never sleep on team @seedscout !!!!! Vamos!!!!!

[Mat Sherman @Mat_Sherman]

i'm sorry but I'M SO GOD DAMN PROUD OF THE TEAM FOR SHIPPING SUCH AN AMAZING PRODUCT. @badbennymx, Noah, Travis, Peter...ya'll MVPs. Lets go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mat Sherman @Mat_Sherman]

Is this @seedscout or LinkedIn?

[Mat Sherman @Mat_Sherman]

i'm sorry but I'M SO GOD DAMN PROUD OF THE TEAM FOR SHIPPING SUCH AN AMAZING PRODUCT. @badbennymx, Noah, Travis, Peter...ya'll MVPs. Lets go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mat Sherman @Mat_Sherman]

We are adding mentors to Seedscout like hot cakes. Here's a few few ones (Mentors are people you can trigger an auto intro to on the Seedscout platform, meaning you get guaranteed access to them for a call). Calls are 30 minutes long. Feel free to take it off SS afterward.

👇👇