Meet the VC: Connor Sundberg from Amplify.LA

January 24, 2024

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Connor Sundberg

Amplify.LA

Meet the VC is a monthly panel event hosted by Escalon and its partners. This month, we had an engaging discussion with  Connor Sundberg from Amplify LA to discuss fundraising, investment thesis, the current investment climate and more with our partners Trinet,  Decrypted Law, and Arc.

About Connor Sundberg

Connor has been investing in Pre-Seed teams on behalf of Amplify, a first-check venture fund in Los Angeles, for the past 5+ years. Prior to that, Connor worked in data science and risk analytics roles for a variety of financial firms, and studied Neuroscience and Business Administration at the University of Southern California. Connor is focused on leading the initial rounds of funding for strong technical and product teams tackling problems across financial services, healthcare, commerce, heavy industry, and other software verticals. 

About  Amplify.LA

Amplify is a first-check venture fund in Venice, CA dedicated to making early lead investments in the most promising Pre-Seed software companies, and is a leading institution in the Los Angeles venture capital scene. Since 2011, Amplify has backed dozens of companies, which together have gone on to raise billions of dollars in funding, with exits to Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and many more. Amplify is currently investing out of its fifth core fund, and typically writes checks from $250k-$1M.

Learn more at https://amplify.la/

About Escalon

Escalon offers all the essential business services needed to maintain a company. A single, trusted resource for everything from part-time CFO services and HR, to accounting, tax, payroll, and insurance.

Experience the peace of mind of having all your company’s back-office needs running seamlessly in the background. Escalon is centered around the idea of making life easier for serial entrepreneurs and savvy CEO’s.

We’re with you at every stage. Our strategic advice and efficient services in finance & people-related matters enable us to escort early stage companies through transformation into large enterprises or successful exits.

Meet our partners

Trinet

TriNet is a professional employer organization, or PEO, that provides small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with full-service HR solutions tailored by industry. To free SMBs from HR complexities, TriNet offers access to human capital expertise, benefits, risk mitigation and compliance, payroll and real-time technology. From Main Street to Wall Street, TriNet empowers SMBs to focus on what matters most—growing their business.

Learn more at https://www.trinet.com/

Decrypted Law

Decrypted, a new type of legal services provider, was founded by former “Big Law” attorneys from Cooley LLP’s Silicon Valley office who sensed there must be a better way to serve entrepreneurs. From our experience in Big Law, we observed recurring client concerns. Most entrepreneurs complain that contacting an attorney feels like an emergency room visit, that the services are ambiguous and confusing, and that they struggle with knowing the risks or the benefits of preventative legal care until it is too late. While many attorneys typically overpromise and underdeliver, they still manage to drop off surprisingly high bills after each consultation or project.

We designed Decrypted differently. Decrypted operates more like a business and less like a law firm. We prioritize being founder-friendly. We are innovative and proactive. Our pricing is transparent. We provide subscription plans for those seeking ongoing legal guidance, without uncertainty about monthly costs. We use upfront fixed-fee pricing for your specific projects. We readily provide “bundles” for many popular and standard services.

We also use the same tech stack as you, combined with today’s best legal tech tools – Zoom, Dropbox, Asana, Slack, Calendly, Google Workspace, DocuSign, Stripe, and many more – to make our communication and partnership as seamless and effective as possible. Although many attorneys focus on reasons why you can’t do something, we focus on finding innovative solutions and “yes if” answers to facilitate your ideas and ambitions. We don’t bury you in legalese. We tell you in plain English which risks are worth taking and which aren’t, which risks require immediate attention, and which can wait.

We’re here to be your confidante and ally, someone who can help you navigate the legal landscape so that when you’re lost or unsure, we can guide you down the right path, not someone you reluctantly call when you are out of options.

Learn more at https://www.decryptedlaw.com/

Arc

Arc diversifies startup deposits with up to 100% coverage across multiple FDIC, SIPC and government-backed accounts, while allowing companies to earn up to 5.20% APY. Coverage includes $250K FDIC insurance on checking and savings accounts, $500K SIPC insurance on Money Market Funds & & $5M FDIC Insurance with BNY Mellon Pershing.

Learn more at  http://www.arc.tech