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Welcome to the 21st edition of The Good News Newsletter—proudly serving over 3,376 founders! Here, we break down the latest insights from our weekly Investor Office Hours sessions and equip you with tools to help you secure capital, customers, and talent for your business.

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INTRODUCING - FEATURE DAY: Founders Uncut Convos (Tulsa Tech Week)

Date: TODAY, Tuesday, September 23
Where: Gradient
Hosts: Darrel Frater & Rodney Walton
Presented with support from: Tulsa Innovation Labs, Regent Bank, and Visible Hands

We’re bringing candid, no-fluff conversations with standout founders who are building real companies in and beyond Tulsa. Expect unfiltered lessons, practical playbooks, and the connections to move your venture forward.

What to expect

• Founder spotlights and live “uncut” interviews

• Tactical sessions on fundraising, sales, and growth

• Real stories from the Tulsa ecosystem — wins, losses, and what’s next

RSVP: https://lu.ma/igu9sdid

Special thanks to Tai Nehisi for leading the charge on Tulsa’s first Tech Week. You don’t want to miss it.

— Darrel Frater

Office Hours Recap:
We are now partnering with the Startup Community led by @TheBestOfAdam on X to bring our Office Hours to over 159,000 community members!

Session #1 - Ashutosh Kumar, CEO & General Partner at Expert Dojo

Stage: Pre-Seed & Seed

Industry: Sector-agnostic & geo-agnostic — focused on backing exceptional, high-hustle founders globally

Check Size: $50K–$100K initial investment, with follow-on capital available up to $1M

How to Apply: Submit your application through Expert Dojo’s website or connect directly with their team on LinkedIn. Ash recommends putting key metrics and traction on the first slide of your deck (skip overly “fancy” pitch decks).

Key Takeaways from Session:

1. Trust & Relationships Matter Most: Ash emphasized that early-stage fundraising is a long game — founders should start building trust with VCs well before they need capital and stay optimistic even after rejections.

2. Focus on Customer Love: Don’t just build a “minimum viable product” (MVP); build a “maximum lovable product” (MLP). Customer validation should come first, and customers should be your earliest investors.

3. Act Like a Unicorn Founder: Operate professionally from day one, report regularly to investors, and maintain discipline. VC funding can be a blessing or a curse — raise only what you need, when you need it, and stay resourceful.

Session #2 - Jason Jacobsohn, Founder & Managing Partner at Propellant Ventures

Stage: Pre-Seed & Early Seed

Industry: B2B Tech — FinTech, AdTech, PropTech, Logistics, Supply Chain, Future of Work, HealthTech

Check Size: $25K - $500K

How to Apply: Best to connect through a warm introduction via Jason’s network or a trusted referral. Jason is approachable, but stresses that founders should tailor their outreach to Propellant’s thesis and avoid spammy, generic emails.

Key Takeaways from Session:

1. Relationships Drive Deals: Almost all of Propellant’s investments come through trusted referrals. Founders should start building investor relationships 6–12 months before raising, regularly sharing updates to build trust and stay top of mind.

2. Be Investor-Ready Early: Have a data room prepared with deck, financials, and key materials. Jason’s process is efficient — from first call to wiring funds can be as fast as 2–3 weeks — but only if founders are organized and transparent.

3. Raise Enough, Plan Ahead: Founders should expect fundraising to take 2x longer and require 2–3x more capital than initially estimated. Plan for at least 12–18 months of runway to avoid desperation and maintain leverage in investor conversations.

Funding Resources:

💰 Resources of the Week:

Character Labs - $150K | Deadline: 9/24/2025

Poker Power x IFW Small Business Grant - $100K | Deadline: 9/26/2025

a16z speedrun - $1M | Deadline: 9/28/2025

DoorDash Local Business Disaster Relief Fund - Up to $15K | Deadline: 9/29/2025

Cornerstone Grant by Square - $10K | Deadline: 9/30/2025

She's Connected by AT&T - Up to $50K | Deadline: 9/30/2025

Catalyst by Beemok - Up to $1M | Deadline: 9/30/2025

Agora Venture Competition - $10K | Deadline: 9/30/2025

Fat Tire: Take the Year Off Content - $100K | Deadline: 9/30/2025

HuCapital Pitch Competition - $5K | Deadline: 10/3/2025

HBCUniverse Brunch HTX - Pitch Comp - $2,500 | Deadline: 10/10/2025

The Tools Competition - Up To $300K | Deadline: 10/15/2025

NAACP Powershift Entrepreneur Grant - $25K | Deadline: 11/1/2025

Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA) - $150K | Deadline: 11/3/2025

Techstars: NYC Accelerator - $220K | Deadline: 11/19/2025

Strategic Supply Chain Initiative - Up to $5M

Tulsa Remote - $10K | Rolling

💸 Alternative Funding Sources:

Access up to $2M in non-dilutive debt financing. Request information here.

Raise up to $5M in equity capital through a Community Round. Request information here.

Interested in 1 on 1 support from Darrel? In preparation for launching my own fund, I will be working 1 on 1 with select founders as an advisor. Interested founders can learn more and consider submitting their company here.

🎙️ Podcast of the Week: He Spent 5 Months with Customers Before Building—Then Grew to $10s of Millions ARR | Aviv Leibovici, Co-founder of Buildots

Summary:
Aviv shares the unglamorous but critical early days of Buildots, where he spent nearly five months on construction sites observing, asking questions, and carrying pastries just to gain insider trust. This immersive research led to the insight that construction’s biggest pain point wasn’t lack of software, but lack of reliable, real-time progress data. Aviv details how Buildots leveraged 360° reality capture and computer vision to create a product that shifted contractors from reactive firefighting to proactive risk management — ultimately driving 3–4x annual growth and $10s of millions in ARR.

Why I recommend it:
This episode is a masterclass in founder-market fit and customer obsession. Aviv proves that true product-market fit comes from living with your customers long enough to feel their pain — then building a solution simple enough to become indispensable. It’s a must-listen for founders tempted to build too soon, reminding us that the best products are born in the field, not just in Figma. You can listen here.

✨ Inspiration

💬 Tweet of the Week

🎵 Song of the Week

🙏🏽 Scripture of the Week

That’s all for this week’s edition of The Good News Newsletter. We hope you found these insights valuable as you continue your journey to securing funding.

What’s next?

This week is Tulsa Tech Week so we won’t have Office Hours this Friday.

We will be back for Office Hours on October 3rd.

If interested in joining and/or pitching, please register here.

You can see the full list of past and future VCs on this Calendar.

Be on the lookout for our newsletter next week where we’ll bring you more actionable advice, resources, and success stories.

Let’s All, spread ‘The Good News’

Best,
Darrel Frater
Co-Founder
The Frater Family Foundation
Linkedin | Twitter/X | 609-804-5999

P.S. - If you enjoyed this newsletter, forward it to a founder you know who could benefit from these insights!

P.S.S. - Got ideas or suggestions for The Good News? Shoot me an email at [email protected] for us to discuss!

About TFFF: The Frater Family Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the family office of Darrel and Roselly Frater, dedicated to promoting human prosperity through entrepreneurship. To learn more, reach out to Darrel Frater directly.