Community Newsletter #61
Build faster, show up smarter, and finally understand why your raise feels harder than it should. All in one newsletter 👊
Hey team! 👋 🌸
Spring is here, and we are not slowing down, allergies be dammed. Here’s what we got for you this month:
Workshop recap: We wrapped our live Claude Code build session — catch the replay in our Founder Hub!
Coming April 14: Personal branding workshop with 3x LinkedIn Top Voice Natalie Riso. Yes, even if the phrase makes you want to eye-roll 🙄 😅
Venture with Leslie: Do you know the only 3 reasons why VCs invest? You should… and you should know which box you’re in.
Resources: Our always-live grants & accelerators list is freshly updated!
Let’s get to it!
🔥 Coming up on April 14th: The Founder’s Guide to Building a Personal Brand
feat. Natalie Riso — Head of Startups at Rho · 3x LinkedIn Top Voice
You already have a personal brand. The question is whether it’s working for you. Natalie Riso joins us for a practical, zero-fluff session on turning your online presence into a real business asset — for sales, partnerships, and hiring. Built for founders who are heads-down building and don’t have time to waste.
📍 Tuesday, April 14 | 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET | Virtual
👉 RSVP here
💡 ICYMI: The 2-Person Startup, 10-Person Team: Claude Code for Founders
Logan Currie has raised $1.4M and written zero lines of code. Last week, she built a live investor dashboard in 30 minutes in front of 150+ founders — then turned it into a full investor update with one prompt. The room hasn’t been the same since! Replay, starter kit, and Chief of Staff templates are waiting for you in the Founder Hub.
📣 There Are Only 3 Reasons VCs Invest — and You Need to Know Which One You're Chasing
Faith. Opportunity. Evidence. Every VC round comes down to one of these three — and they’re sequential. No investor skips steps.
The catch: the gap between them has never been wider. AI has supercharged the earliest rounds and raised the bar everywhere else. If you’re somewhere in the middle — real traction, still needing capital — the math is working against you in ways most founders don’t see coming.
The latest Venture with Leslie breaks it down clearly and tells you exactly what to do about it depending on where you are.
Worth a read before your next investor conversation!
Deadlines are moving fast! 🏃♀️ Here’s a few things that might spark your attention right now 👇
Grants & Accelerators
Y Combinator: accepting applications for the Summer 2026 Batch funding cycle. The batch will take place from July to September in San Francisco. You can also apply to future batches (Fall, Winter, and Spring) Applications due on Star Wars day (May the 4th 🤓)
Startup Battlefield 200: The world’s most promising early-stage startups. Selected by TechCrunch. Trained, tested, and put on a global stage. Startup Battlefield brings together 200 standout companies to showcase at Disrupt and compete for a $100K equity-free prize, investor attention, and the kind of media exposure that can change the trajectory of a company overnight. Nominate yourself, a fellow founder, or a portfolio company by May 27th
Demo26: DEMO (April 22nd) is the largest student-run entrepreneurial conference in Southern California, annually bringing together startups, investors, and students for a day-long event
Neurodiverse Entrepreneur Program: Through partnership with Autism Angels Group, The Neurodiverse Entrepreneur Program increases business leadership opportunities for people with developmental and/or cognitive differences such as autism, dyslexia, learning disabilities, ADD/ADHD, and other related diagnoses. Selected NDEP Companies will receive over $19,000 in Grants and Services: Apply by April 15
Women Founders Network: Women Founders Network 14th Annual Fast Pitch Competition will open applications for the 2026 season on April 1. The winner gets a $25k cash grant. Apply by May 31
That’s a wrap for now! See you on the 14th 👋
Graham & Walker is an early-stage venture fund backing extraordinary founders and ideas that break the mold. By founders, for founders, built on and for a powerful founder community.