When You Build in Public, the Community Builds With You.

Welcome to The Good News Newsletter—proudly serving over 4,067 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 for your business.

Missed the live session? Listen to the recording here.
Want to join the next session? Check out the full list of investors here.
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🌟 Building In Public - MeetAnyone.co: The Community UI/UX Upgrade

This week has been a powerful reminder that when you build in public, you don't just get users—you get co-builders. The most incredible breakthroughs often come not from internal strategy sessions, but from the generous hands of your community.

The Challenge: Good Function, Better Experience

MeetAnyone’s core function—creating high-quality, warm introductions—has been successful. However, we knew the initial interface, while functional, could be clearer, warmer, and more reflective of the quality of the connections it facilitates. A better UI/UX (User Interface/User Experience) was a major priority.

The Community Answer

Instead of hiring an external design agency, something extraordinary happened: A founder within our own community, who understood the mission and values of MeetAnyone deeply, volunteered their talent.

What We Gained:

• Speed and Quality: The founder dove in immediately, revamping the look and feel of the platform with incredible speed and professional quality.

• Mission Alignment: Because they are a part of the ecosystem, the new design isn't just aesthetically pleasing; it is perfectly optimized for connection, clarity, and trust—the core principles of MeetAnyone.

• The Power of Shared Ownership: This experience reinforces a core faith-inspired principle in business: Generosity attracts generosity. When you share the journey (publicly), others feel invited to share their gifts (community).

What We Learned This Week:

• Building a 'Table' Not a 'Tower': When you focus on creating a supportive space (a table) where everyone is an equal contributor, you tap into exponential talent and goodwill that money simply can't buy.

• Community is Your Best R&D: Your best talent, critics, and co-founders are already within your user base, waiting to contribute.

• The "Good News" is Shared: Every victory becomes a communal celebration, and the platform’s success is no longer just the core team’s responsibility, but a shared mission.

MeetAnyone is not just a tool; it's a movement built by those who believe that genuine connection should be the foundation of entrepreneurship.

👉🏾 If you want better introductions and a community of generous builders, join us at MeetAnyone.co.

🙏🏽 The Good News - Investor Office Hours

Office Hours Recap:
It was a great week featuring two guests running a hybrid fund/studio model, emphasizing the importance of getting "in the field" with founders. We continued to use Chatter Social for the sessions, which is proving to be a highly valuable way for founders and VCs to connect via video for genuine interactions.

🛠️ Session #1 - Chris Davis, COO & Managing Partner at RightShift Ventures
RightShift Ventures is the venture arm of Intuitio Labs, a product studio with 65+ designers, engineers, and product experts who build fast, scalable solutions. This unique structure allows them to build products with their portfolio companies.

Stage: Pre-Seed through Series A stages.

Industry: Industry agnostic, but they primarily avoid Government Tech and Agriculture Tech. They prefer true digital products over IoT solutions.

Check Size: They invest in opportunities that come through their Product Studio and Accelerator.

How to Apply: Engage with their ecosystem—Product Studio or Accelerator. Chris also recommends connecting on LinkedIn for updates on their accelerator applications and emerging tech insights.

Connect with Chris through our Directory on MeetAnyone.

Key Takeaways from Session:

1. MVP is a Continuum: Don't view an MVP as a fixed product with 50 features. It progresses from an early testable product to an early usable product, eventually leading to a fully fleshed MVP.

2. Prioritize Ingenuity & Connection to the Problem: Chris looks for founders who demonstrate the ability to do "a lot with a little" before seeking investment. He also likes to hear about the founder's connection to the problem and the solution they're building.

3. Studio Value-Add: Building First: The RightShift accelerator focuses on building from day one. Their Demo Day goal is for founders to present and demo an actual product.

4. CTO/Technical Support: They help technical team members, especially new CTOs, with things like setting up different platforms, managing sprints, and product roadmap management.

🌍 Session #2 - Ebony Bogui-Akinyi, Founding Partner & Managing Partner at Think Forward VC
Ebony Bogui-Akinyi is a fund manager for Big Red Ventures (Cornell) and the Founding Partner of Think Forward VC, a hybrid venture fund and studio backing bold, underestimated founders building solutions for Africa.

Stage: Pre-Seed & Seed

Industry: Fintech, HealthTech, and ClimateTech , specifically for founders building solutions for Africa (diaspora or continent-based).

Check Size: $20,000 (Big Red Ventures), $25K - $100K (Think Forward VC)

How to Apply: For Big Red Ventures, check out their website and upload your deck. For Think Forward VC, connect with her on LinkedIn.

Connect with Ebony through our Directory on MeetAnyone.

Key Takeaways from Session:

1. Get in the Field (VC Role): Ebony believes investors need to be "in the field" , acting as a co-founder and champion. This means making connections, frequent check-ins, and leveraging their network.

2. Pitch for Clarity, Not Perfection: Your deck must clearly convey the problem and solution, using concise descriptions (e.g., "the Robinhood for dogs") to make the concept easy to grasp.

3. Soft Skills & Coachability Matter: VCs look for coachable founders who are open to conversations and feedback. Being defensive is discouraged, even if you ultimately decide not to take the advice.

4. African Market Challenges: Founders building for Africa face a double challenge: building a solution and building the necessary infrastructure (e.g., to overcome electricity problems, paper-based records). They also emphasized that building trust and distribution takes immense creativity.

Funding Resources:

💰 Resources of the Week:

Visible Hands VHNYC 2026 Fellowship - $10K | Overlooked Founders in NYC | Deadline: 12/31/2025

AI Unleashed: Industry Disrupters Challenge - $10K | AI Founders | Deadline: 12/31/2025

The Sage Impact Entrepreneurship Program - Up to $50K | Deadline: 1/5/2026

Google Play Apps Accelerator - Early Stage App Companies | Deadline: 1/7/2026

NewSchools 2026 Grant - Up to $250K | Edtech Founders | Deadline: 1/8/2026

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? I am opening my schedule to meet 1 on 1 with a select group of founders. Interested founders can book time here.

🎙️ Podcast of the Week: He Solved Africa's $1 Trillion Food Waste Crisis Using Orange Peels and Faith | Faith Driven Entrepreneur

Summary:
Join host Justin Forman in Nairobi, Kenya, as he sits down with Jean-Paul Nageri, co-founder of KaFresh, for an extraordinary conversation about finding divine solutions hidden in plain sight. Jean-Paul's entrepreneurial journey began when he watched his father's banana harvest spoil, seeing a calling rather than just a problem.

The episode explores a concept Jean-Paul calls "God Engineering", which led to a breakthrough: a natural biotech solution preserving produce 10x longer using only natural plant oils, unlocked from orange peels. The conversation delves into why expensive Western solutions like cold storage don't work for African farmers and how looking to creation itself can provide answers to massive problems. This episode is a powerful look at how faith, science, and entrepreneurship combine to solve real-world challenges.

Why I recommend it:
This episode is a pure shot of inspiration for any founder wrestling with big, complex problems. It reinforces the principle that true innovation often comes from unique insight and a deep sense of calling, not just capital or scale. Jean-Paul’s story is a beautiful reminder that God "leaves clues" for solutions, but it takes discernment to see them. If you are feeling like the "underdog" in your industry, this will encourage you that God often chooses the unconventional person for the biggest plans.

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?

We are back this Friday with more investors!

​​For session #1 we have Devon Triplett, Founder and Managing Partner at 021T Capital.

​021T is a venture capital firm backing intelligence-era companies with $1T+ potential, most often writing the first-check.

For session #2 we have Will Allen, Partner at Magarac Venture Partners.

​Magarac Venture Partners is an early-stage VC firm backing extraordinary founders across the Midwest.

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. - Fundraising and need intros to investors? Try our new tool, MeetAnyone.co.

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.