Interplay

NEW in Rho: You can now create virtual vendor cards straight from mobile. Assign a cardholder, set limits, configure spend settings, and create a new vendor on the spot.

Most VCs fund <1% of what they see. That means 99 of every 100 founders hear no — and founders take their company personally. It's their baby. A successful VC has to tell 99% of parents their baby isn't the one. Don't take the no personally. The math forces it.

Heading to PILMMA Super Summit in San Antonio? Stop by Booth 26 to see how Lawmatics helps personal injury firms streamline intake, automate workflows, and drive growth. We can’t wait to connect with you in Texas! 🤠

We're hiring an Operating Partner inside the Interplay Studio.Built a company. Sold it. Want to do it again on a portfolio of new builds?Diligence, CEO hires, 0-1 operational lift on every studio co. Part-time, remote.Apply: interplay.vc/jobs?ashby_jid…

The biggest mistake founders make with their board: they treat the meeting like a status update. Good board meetings flip the ratio. 45 min on KPIs, two hours on the one strategic problem you're actually wrestling with. That's where boards earn their keep.

Rho has a very particular set of skills. Receipts don't stand a chance. Rho Gmail Connector finds them, pulls them in, and matches them to the right transaction automatically. No forwarding rules. No manual uploads. Link in comments.

We’re excited to announce that @KnotAPIs is now live with @CashApp. The Cash App Card is one of the largest debit card programs in the United States. With Knot's CardSwitcher™, Cash App cardholders can instantly add their card across the merchants they use most, including Amazon, Apple, Walmart, Uber, and 100+ more, without ever leaving the app. Cash App has always focused on creating intuitive financial experiences. Knot builds on that by driving activation and spend for Cash App, reducing churn and abandoned carts for merchants, and giving users a frictionless way to use their Cash App Card. We’re proud to power an even more seamless Cash App Card experience and excited for what’s ahead. More to come.

Spending situations change. Your card limits should too. Rho now lets you switch limit types on existing cards (annual, monthly, weekly, daily, or no limit).

We're proud to share that @interplay Ventures portfolio company @olliepets has been acquired by Agrolimen. This is an exciting outcome; the Ollie team deserves a big congratulations on building a defining brand in the human-grade pet food space. Read more about our investment and the Ollie story here: interplay.vc/blog/ollie-is-…

Stock options are a common form of equity compensation that startup founders use as a tool to attract talent, reward early contributors, and enable others to share in the future growth of their company. Here is a great guide from us. linkedin.com/pulse/stock-op…

𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆: 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐚𝐰𝐬, 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐬 𝐚 𝟐𝟎-𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 From 200+ portfolio companies to 9 unicorns, 15 co-founded startups, and a half-billion-dollar platform — this conversation is a masterclass in building an institution, not just a fund. Highlights from my conversation with Mark Peter Davis (@mpd ) (0:00) Introduction (0:31) Evolution and counterintuitive lessons in venture investing (3:25) Reconciling investment worldviews and managing liquidity (7:35) Decision-making and aligning VC incentives with LP interests (12:03) Building an enduring institution and measuring success (18:07) Achieving access to competitive deals and proprietary deal flow (24:24) Competitive tension's impact on investment support (27:19) Integrity and resources in VC partnerships (30:02) Entrepreneurial experience's value in venture capital (32:24) Startups' challenges and the role of pattern recognition (35:24) Unlearning and cognitive restructuring in entrepreneurship (37:23) Mastering the complexities of long-term entrepreneurship (38:11) Timeless advice for aspiring entrepreneurs and enduring success (41:51) Closing remarks 🎥 Full episode below 👇

RT @mpd: Congrats to Tyler Maloney, Nick O'Brien, and the entire TeachMeTo team on their $3M raise as they build the go-to marketplace for…

Voice AI is having a moment - where do we go from here? We’re seeing a surge of AI startups building voice-first products—and for good reason. Voice agents are now reaching (and in some cases, surpassing) call center-level performance, with faster, more natural, and more human-like interactions. But with the market getting crowded, the big questions for investors and founders are: - Which wedge products will win? - Which teams can build lasting, venture-scale businesses? - Where is the real long-term opportunity? We dove into 45+ venture-backed companies in the voice AI space to unpack the trends, team profiles, and product strategies that are shaping the future of this category. If you're building a voice AI startup, we’d love to connect and hear what you’re working on. Dive into the full piece from Caroline Elliott, Senior Associate on our Venture Capital team, here: interplay.vc/blog/investing…

Big news from the Interplay team: @andybilinsky has joined us as a Partner to lead our Studio. Formerly referred to as our Foundry, our Studio is the division of Interplay that builds new companies from scratch. We come up with ideas internally, diligence them hard and when we can’t kill them… we build them. We partner with outstanding CEOs to cofound these new ventures. With 12 ventures achieving product-market fit, roughly 1,000 jobs created, and 5 exits, it's been an incredible ride so far. Andy brings deep operational chops, having built and sold two companies, and a sharp focus on sales and marketing that will be a major asset to our founding teams. If you want to start a new venture and work on a vetted idea with us as a partner, drop Andy a line. Get the full story on Andy and our Studio here: interplay.vc/blog/new-studi…

Are you a founder looking to fundraise for your company? Are you unsure about what laws and rules need to be followed when raising funding from your friends, family, and angel or venture capital investors? #fundraising #startups linkedin.com/pulse/how-do-i…

A Deep Dive into the Evolving Venture Landscape. For decades, all eyes were on Silicon Valley. But new data tells a more nuanced story. We dug into 25 years of venture data across 6 U.S. regions and surfaced some surprising trends. interplay.vc/blog/venture-c…

As a founder or employee of a startup, how do you protect yourself against dilution. Eric Broad shares some great ideas here. #bowerylegal #antidilution #equityadvice #startuplegal #venturecapital #founderadvice

Startups face countless hurdles, but few are more daunting than going head-to-head with a well-funded incumbent. In this week’s pod episode, Phuong Ireland and I break down the playbook for winning as the underdog: - Nail a niche - Iterate faster than they can blink - Build a brand people feel - Deliver a customer experience that’s unforgettable Whether you're bootstrapping or fresh off a seed round, this is must-know territory for any founder looking to turn scrappiness into scale. A friendly heads up, this ep is the last one for a few months as we pause the pod for the summer. Thanks for listening and enjoy your summer - we’ll be back from a new studio, recharged and ready to roll.

Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) can eliminate capital gains tax on up to $10M. If you're a founder, early employee, or investor—this is a powerful tax benefit to know. Hear Eric share more information about the advantages of QSBS. 💸🔥 #QSBS #startups #founderadvice

An 83(b) election is a proactive filing made with the IRS that allows an individual who receives restricted stock to elect to be taxed on the aggregate value of the entire stock grant at the time of grant, rather than paying tax piecemeal. linkedin.com/pulse/understa…