Eric Tarczynski
San Francisco, California, United States
14K followers
500+ connections
About
erictarczynski.com (personal), contrary.com (fund).
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14K followers
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Eric Tarczynski shared thisIf you're in college, are ambitious, and love tech, you should apply to be a Venture Partner. We think it is, bar none, the single most helpful program for young people interested in tech/venture. Applications just went live today: https://lnkd.in/gDspkkMF
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Eric Tarczynski posted thisUnder-discussed in venture: If you’re a mega-fund, you *have* to invest in hype cycles. - Need to capture the 1-3 generational cos to have a chance of putting up decent (~2-3x net) returns. - Need to stay relevant/marketing - Need to deploy capital If you’re not, can avoid entirely and still put up venture-scale (4-5x net+) returns. - Find mission-driven founders building for the next decade regardless of cycle - Run high-ownership - Keep your head down
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Eric Tarczynski shared thisI met Wiley Jones and Arnav Mishra in June of 2016. One of the most special parts of Contrary is that we can (and will) build relationships with people over decade-long periods before ever writing a check. We do this because 1) we want to build the most people-centric venture firm alongside ambitious builders – even if that means waiting a decade – and 2) we run highly concentrated. Wiley and Arnav are two of those people. It was clear even in 2016 that they had the rare combo of being both technically gifted + CEO-level clarity of thought. Nine years later, we’re fortunate to formalize the partnership with DOSS.COM and lead their seed – building the ERP that was promised – alongside Tomasz Tunguz and our good friends at Theory who’ve led their 18M Series A. More below on why we're excited about Doss: https://lnkd.in/gFbhPfnx
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Eric Tarczynski shared this4.8.25 - John Arnold, one of the most successful energy investors of all-time, on the pod to talk about the future of nuclear energy: - Why nonbinding siting/offtake agreements can give false confidence that SMRs/fusion are inevitable - Valley of death in funding between early venture and commercial scale - How a SpaceX-style milestone funding model could de-risk the path to commercialization YT: https://lnkd.in/gqSiWQjv Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gFrqkB8J Apple: https://lnkd.in/gQfhWKzM
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Eric Tarczynski shared this3.5.25 — Eric Glyman, co-founder/CEO of Ramp, joins the pod to discuss: - Their latest fundraise at 13B - Learnings from proactively cutting Ramp’s valuation to 5.8B in 2023 - Where Ramp is heading over the next 12 months + the day’s other headlines Links below, enjoy! Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gMnRJ5gv Apple: https://lnkd.in/gSdCZzY7 YT: https://lnkd.in/gS8F2sBM
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Eric Tarczynski shared thisExcited to launch Contrary's annual Tech Trends report — 300+ pages filled with the most important trends shaping tech, from AI to cell therapies to employee productivity. Full report here -- give it a read: https://lnkd.in/gpuZkMAv
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Eric Tarczynski shared thisHasn't always been easy, but Samir and Runik have kept their heads down and built something that large RIAs are running towards. Check out the launch today:Eric Tarczynski shared thisToday Runik Mehrotra and I are thrilled to announce Vise for RIA Aggregators—the first enterprise platform powering the trillion-dollar consolidation in wealth management 🚀 Our Platform Assets, which include both Vise’s managed assets for RIAs and assets on the Vise for aggregators platform, have propelled past $3.5B, over 350% growth since the start of this year In addition, we have also made key additions including Larry Raffone, Current Chairman and former CEO of Edelman Financial Engines—Barron’s #1 independent financial advisory firm in the U.S as an executive advisor and Chip Roame from Tiburon Advisors. The Aggregator Dilemma RIA Aggregators have emerged as the primary acquirer of financial advisory firms and have consolidated nearly $2 trillion in assets under management, with projections to reach $10 trillion over the next decade. Imagine acquiring an RIA firm and then facing the daunting task of integrating its portfolio management practices into a centralized investment framework. Aggregators excel at centralizing operations but they struggle to standardize investment management across their acquisitions. This is a time consuming process where they need to juggle enabling scale and efficiency while also providing the personalization that clients demand. Our Solution: Vise for RIA Aggregators Vise’s enterprise solution addresses this core challenge – and provides the industry's first integrated all-in-one solution. The platform effortlessly integrates an RIA aggregator’s investment models (including both advisor and home office strategies) and centralizes these models all within a unified, advisor friendly workflow. Features include: 1. Ability to consolidate advisor and home office strategies 2. Model customization to meet client needs 3. Investment solutions that address complex tax situations, locked positions, ESG preferences and direct indexing 4. Transition Reporting and Analysis Tools The benefits are immense - advisors can focus on their clients while Aggregators can focus on scale and efficiency. This launch marks a pivotal moment in empowering RIA aggregators and we’re excited to share this news with you! For the full story on the RIA aggregator revolution, check out my latest blog post: https://lnkd.in/eufq-jxPVise is Fueling the Trillion Dollar RIA Aggregator RevolutionVise is Fueling the Trillion Dollar RIA Aggregator Revolution
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Eric Tarczynski shared thisBeen pretty amazing to see what Research has become in just two short years. Tens of thousands of subscribers from top institutional investors, venture firms, journalists, and technologists.Eric Tarczynski shared thisTwo years ago, Contrary Research was born. Looking back, Contrary Research is a pulse on the world of technology! You can see it in the data... Since launching, we’ve grown to 75K+ subscribers, written nearly 1 million words, covered dozens of industries, and hundreds of companies. Here's just a few of the highlights from two years of coverage: • November 2022: The launch of ChatGPT (OpenAI) • February 2023: Stripe announces $4B fundraise + line of sight to $1 trillion in payments • Summer 2023: Hugging Face dominates the news with new features and a massive fundraise • August 2023: Zepto becomes a unicorn, raising $200M • September 2023: Instacart goes public! • October 2023: Revolut makes moves to get a UK banking license • November 2023: SHEIN files paperwork for an IPO • February 2024: Neuralink announces its first human patient • April / May 2024: Rippling announces a Series F at $13.5B and Ramp announces a Series D-2 at $7.65B • August 2024: Hadrian acquires its first company Follow along to see our coverage of the world’s most important private tech companies, and be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest updates in your inbox!
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Eric Tarczynski shared thisFrom incorporation to 5B in a little over three years -- just another day at Zepto. https://lnkd.in/gtivjEYkZepto, snagging $1B in 90 days, projects 150% annual growth | TechCrunchZepto, snagging $1B in 90 days, projects 150% annual growth | TechCrunch
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Eric Tarczynski reacted on thisI was in Contrary’s very first Venture Partner cohort while at Northwestern 🥹 and grateful to still be able to work with Eric Tarczynski after all these years. If you’re a student with a keen eye for tech & early stage startups, can’t recommend this enough!!Eric Tarczynski reacted on thisContrary Venture Partner applications are now open! If you're a builder on campus, interested in investing in exceptional startups, and want to be part of one of the most selective communities in tech, apply now. Contrary invests and works directly alongside exceptional founders to build enduring companies, from seed to scale. With this approach, we’ve been fortunate to back iconic companies like Ramp, Anduril, Zepto, and many others. Our Venture Partners are great builders and future founders who become the go-to resource for others on campus. As a VP, you’ll learn first-hand what it takes to build and invest in exceptional companies, from taking part in investment decisions to sitting in on fireside chats with seasoned founders and investors. Best of all, you’ll be joining and learning from the best community in tech. Most VPs go on to become venture-backed founders, early engineers/operators, or investors, and enjoy the support of Contrary’s network for life. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gvpske4f Apply here by Sept 13th: https://lnkd.in/gyC4ed5t
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Eric Tarczynski reacted on thisContrary's VP program has some of the brightest folks I've ever met. I highly encourage you to apply!Eric Tarczynski reacted on thisContrary Venture Partner applications are now open! If you're a builder on campus, interested in investing in exceptional startups, and want to be part of one of the most selective communities in tech, apply now. Contrary invests and works directly alongside exceptional founders to build enduring companies, from seed to scale. With this approach, we’ve been fortunate to back iconic companies like Ramp, Anduril, Zepto, and many others. Our Venture Partners are great builders and future founders who become the go-to resource for others on campus. As a VP, you’ll learn first-hand what it takes to build and invest in exceptional companies, from taking part in investment decisions to sitting in on fireside chats with seasoned founders and investors. Best of all, you’ll be joining and learning from the best community in tech. Most VPs go on to become venture-backed founders, early engineers/operators, or investors, and enjoy the support of Contrary’s network for life. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gvpske4f Apply here by Sept 13th: https://lnkd.in/gyC4ed5t
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Eric Tarczynski reacted on thisWoohoo! 8 years later and Contrary continues to grow into a power house of a venture firm. Eric Tarczynski was a first supporter of Red Leader when both of us were just starting out. What he and the firm have accomplished since is truly N of 1 in the venture industry. If you're a student and want to learn from the best, I highly recommend reaching out and applying for their program. They accept PhD students too! 😄Eric Tarczynski reacted on thisContrary Venture Partner applications are now open! If you're a builder on campus, interested in investing in exceptional startups, and want to be part of one of the most selective communities in tech, apply now. Contrary invests and works directly alongside exceptional founders to build enduring companies, from seed to scale. With this approach, we’ve been fortunate to back iconic companies like Ramp, Anduril, Zepto, and many others. Our Venture Partners are great builders and future founders who become the go-to resource for others on campus. As a VP, you’ll learn first-hand what it takes to build and invest in exceptional companies, from taking part in investment decisions to sitting in on fireside chats with seasoned founders and investors. Best of all, you’ll be joining and learning from the best community in tech. Most VPs go on to become venture-backed founders, early engineers/operators, or investors, and enjoy the support of Contrary’s network for life. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gvpske4f Apply here by Sept 13th: https://lnkd.in/gyC4ed5t
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Eric Tarczynski reacted on thisContinuity is something that compounds, and Contrary is a place that has established continuity like no other. It's rare to be in a place where I can nerd out over post-training techniques with the most exceptional students of my generation, and philosophize about parenthood with the founders who set out on the same journey a decade earlier.Eric Tarczynski reacted on thisContrary Venture Partner applications are now open! If you're a builder on campus, interested in investing in exceptional startups, and want to be part of one of the most selective communities in tech, apply now. Contrary invests and works directly alongside exceptional founders to build enduring companies, from seed to scale. With this approach, we’ve been fortunate to back iconic companies like Ramp, Anduril, Zepto, and many others. Our Venture Partners are great builders and future founders who become the go-to resource for others on campus. As a VP, you’ll learn first-hand what it takes to build and invest in exceptional companies, from taking part in investment decisions to sitting in on fireside chats with seasoned founders and investors. Best of all, you’ll be joining and learning from the best community in tech. Most VPs go on to become venture-backed founders, early engineers/operators, or investors, and enjoy the support of Contrary’s network for life. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gvpske4f Apply here by Sept 13th: https://lnkd.in/gyC4ed5t
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Eric Tarczynski reacted on thisEric Tarczynski reacted on thisContrary Venture Partner applications are now open! If you're a builder on campus, interested in investing in exceptional startups, and want to be part of one of the most selective communities in tech, apply now. Contrary invests and works directly alongside exceptional founders to build enduring companies, from seed to scale. With this approach, we’ve been fortunate to back iconic companies like Ramp, Anduril, Zepto, and many others. Our Venture Partners are great builders and future founders who become the go-to resource for others on campus. As a VP, you’ll learn first-hand what it takes to build and invest in exceptional companies, from taking part in investment decisions to sitting in on fireside chats with seasoned founders and investors. Best of all, you’ll be joining and learning from the best community in tech. Most VPs go on to become venture-backed founders, early engineers/operators, or investors, and enjoy the support of Contrary’s network for life. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gvpske4f Apply here by Sept 13th: https://lnkd.in/gyC4ed5t
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Eric Tarczynski reacted on thisWithout a doubt, Contrary and the VP program has been the single most impactful group of founders, investors and startup operators that I know, and has shaped the course of both my personal and professional career. It's been a privilege to meet, support and watch this exceptional group grow. We opened up applications today. Excited to meet the next generation of VPs!Eric Tarczynski reacted on thisContrary Venture Partner applications are now open! If you're a builder on campus, interested in investing in exceptional startups, and want to be part of one of the most selective communities in tech, apply now. Contrary invests and works directly alongside exceptional founders to build enduring companies, from seed to scale. With this approach, we’ve been fortunate to back iconic companies like Ramp, Anduril, Zepto, and many others. Our Venture Partners are great builders and future founders who become the go-to resource for others on campus. As a VP, you’ll learn first-hand what it takes to build and invest in exceptional companies, from taking part in investment decisions to sitting in on fireside chats with seasoned founders and investors. Best of all, you’ll be joining and learning from the best community in tech. Most VPs go on to become venture-backed founders, early engineers/operators, or investors, and enjoy the support of Contrary’s network for life. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gvpske4f Apply here by Sept 13th: https://lnkd.in/gyC4ed5t
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Eric Tarczynski reacted on thisEric Tarczynski reacted on thisFSH Technologies has raised a $25M Series A to make local government software that just works. Why? A quick snapshot of our work so far: 🏙️ Our average project directly impacts at least 57,000 people 💰 Our software distributed over $15.6M in grant funding 💪 Our team made it possible to run public programs that were previously cost and time prohibitive to serve at scale, equitably And we’re just getting started. I wrote down my philosophy behind why we can deliver these results. Full piece in the comments. Thank you to our Series A lead investors Lachy Groom, and Mark Kraynak at Acrew Capital, and Zach Goldstein at Operator Partners and Tamim Bazzi at Cooley LLP, for joining. Thank you to our Seed lead investors Eric Tarczynski and Kyle Harrison at Contrary, General Catalyst, Elizabeth Weil and Kevin Weil at Scribble Ventures, and Chang Xu and Lan Xuezhao at Basis Set, and Eliot Horowitz. Thanks also to the cities and counties of Philadelphia, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Somerville, Eugene, Denver, Poughkeepsie, New York, Houston, and so many more, for the chance to build the software your community deserved all along.
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Eric Tarczynski reacted on thisEric Tarczynski reacted on thisFive months of Operation Epic Fury consumed most of the U.S. long-range strike inventory. The reporting since has been an argument about exactly how much, and those numbers will keep moving as more leaks out. The number I can't get past is on the other side of the ledger. The plan to quadruple PrSM production lands at 550 a year. That's 1.5 missiles a day, at full ramp, several years from now. Every announced fix on key programs such as PrSM, THAAD, Tomahawk, PAC-3 MSE, is a solid rocket motor program, and every one of them runs through the same constrained supply chain a tier below the primes. Second-sourcing helps, but a second source for a solid motor is still a solid motor. It still needs a cast pit, a cure oven, an energetics-rated facility, and a workforce that takes years to certify. I wrote up the arithmetic, why high production rate elsewhere in the catalog doesn't transfer, and what a Pacific contingency would actually consume. First issue of Magazine Depth, a newsletter on the U.S. munitions industrial base. I'm the founder of Galadyne, where we build liquid-propellant missiles — so the last section argues for that architecture, and the piece says so up front.
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Robert Harary
Hot take: if you have users and revenue, you should tell investors that. You’d be shocked by how many decks I see that seem like totally philosophical idea-stage decks, then when I ask the founder about traction, they give me numbers that are nowhere to be found in the deck. No traction is too small. One customer is worlds different from zero customers. If you have any customer at all that uses your product, likes it, and/or pays for it, you’re ahead of so many early-stage founders raising on nothing but a dream. If you want to make sure your deck doesn't short-sell you, we do free deck reviews here: https://lnkd.in/gTK_SN2R #startups #venture #VC #founders #tech #fundraising #pitching #investors
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Parminder Singh
Deep tech is no longer a niche corner of the market; it now accounts for 28% of all VC funding in Europe, more than any other sector (Dealroom 2025). This includes areas like AI, clean energy, semiconductors, and quantum — but the bigger lesson is how investor appetite has shifted towards technologies and business models that can fundamentally transform industries. At Rex Capital, this resonates strongly. We back companies working in advanced areas like AI and biotech, but also those developing innovations that might seem simple yet have the power to disrupt entire industries. For us, it’s not about complexity for its own sake — it’s about the ability to change markets and scale impact. https://lnkd.in/eFfjFukF
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Michael Fanfant
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Arteen Arabshahi
SF VC Takeaway #2: Pricing expectations, performance bars, and what’s actually getting funded. One theme that came up repeatedly in SF was how far pricing expectations and performance bars have shifted, even compared to just a few years ago. A few things investors kept anchoring to: 1️⃣ Median Series A valuations are higher than their 2021 peaks, but fewer of them are getting done. 2️⃣ Capital is being concentrated into fewer and fewer companies (and lots of capital!) 3️⃣ “Good” progress is no longer enough and the bar for standout performance has moved in an AI-native world So what does “top performance” mean right now? One investor told me that top quartile seed companies in their portfolio are going from $0 to $2M in ARR in <12 months. Outside of pure traction numbers, a few other themes that came up to describe "top performance": 📈 Explosive early revenue ramps (or a very credible path to them) 📊 Strong velocity and momentum for 2 quarters in a row, even if the baseline is small. 🚀 Clear signals of category leadership, not just product-market fit. Sometimes shown by either domain expertise, speed of product optimization, or by lack of competition in the category. This creates a counterintuitive dynamic where it can be easier to fund a company with strong pedigrees in a hot space and no traction yet than a company that went from 0 to $1M ARR at what used to be considered a rapid pace. Pricing today is driven by trajectories, not moments in time. We used to say investors invest in lines not points; I think that's more true than ever now because crossing certain milestones doesn't carry as much influence as it once did. Finally, investors still say that valuation matters, but many of them are acting differently. Pace and belief in category-defining companies really sets the price; while slower growth gets scrutinized rather than discounted. One silver lining in the camp of durable growth: Series A rounds are happening so fast that many companies don’t yet have meaningful history of retention data. Large bets are being made on velocity before the durability is proven. Several investors told me the same thing: we may soon swing back to a market where retention, not growth, becomes the defining metric. Let's hope so. I'll share my third SF VC takeaway tomorrow!
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