Peterson Ventures

Hey! It’s been awhile, and I wanted to share something special. I’m having the time of my life building SchoolAI. We just raised $25M to help teachers and schools reach every student, every day, and yes – we’re hiring. We have an incredible team, and you should come join us. (And if you want the full story–why I started SchoolAI, what we’re building, and where we’re going–read on.) 🚀 Why We're Building SchoolAI My first classroom job was teaching keyboarding to more than 300 students a day (thrilling, right?). You can't even know that many people. Let alone help them on a personal level. So what actually happened is I got to know the most engaged 20-30 kids and the hardest 20-30 kids every semester. The middle 80% stayed pretty anonymous. I think about that 80% a lot. Not just because it’s the majority of students, but because I was one of that 80%. We're putting AI to work to help teachers and schools reach not just the most engaged, or the hardest, but everyone in between. 🙌 Better Classroom Experiences Today our Classroom Experience Platform combines 3 things: - Coteacher: A copilot for teachers that helps with classroom prep and administrative work. This is sort of table stakes, so we built a great one. - Spaces: Safe, managed AI tutors, games, and lessons for students. - Experiential Data: We help teachers see how every one of their students is doing, why, and what to do about it. Most importantly, we’ve built a foundation for helping students, teachers, parents, and school leaders see and hear each other in new ways, so they can make school and learning better for every kid. 👊 Come Make School Awesome With Us We’re making school awesome for students–and the teachers, parents, and school leaders who support them–by finding out what they need and making it happen. We’re having a blast doing it, have an incredible team, and need people (like you!) to help get to the next level. If that sounds like your thing, let’s talk. 🙏 A Note to the Builders & Believers Fundraising is a starting line, not a finish line. But it’s a useful milestone to reflect on what we’re building and thank everyone who’s helped to make it happen. There are too many people to thank here, but I’ve tried to capture as many as I could in a blog post on the website. Please check it out. For now, I’ll thank Nikitas Koutoupes and Will D. from Insight Partners for leading the round, and Stephanie Palmeri from NextView Ventures, Phin Barnes from The General Partnership, and Taylor Jones from Peterson Ventures for betting on SchoolAI early. Our early design partners, especially Jared Covili and Anthony Godfrey in Jordan School District. And the many hundreds of thousands of teachers building and using SchoolAI every day. The incredible team I get to build with every day. And of course, my wife Becca, who has always had my back when I want to do crazy things. Thank you to all of you for being a part of making this happen. Here’s to making school awesome. 🙌

We loved having Ben Capell, Managing Director at Peterson Ventures, join the Silicon Slopes Show! Check out the full episode on the Silicon Slopes App and YouTube channel!

🚀 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 $𝟲𝟱𝗠 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗕 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗹 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗘𝗿𝗮 💳 We’re thrilled to announce our latest milestone: Clutch has raised $65 million in Series B funding led by 𝗔𝗹𝗸𝗲𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, with 𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝘁𝘇, 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀, and 𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 Ventures. This funding empowers us to continue revolutionizing how credit unions deliver products and services to their members and communities With 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟯𝟱 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗱, including 𝘀𝗶𝘅 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, we’re proud to empower these member-centric institutions with innovative tools and strategies to deliver exceptional value to their communities. This new capital enables us to: ✅ 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ✅ 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 ✅ 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 -all to 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝘀, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘀. 💡 Ready to learn more about how Clutch is transforming the credit union movement? 👉 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: https://lnkd.in/gFsGJ6qe #WithClutch #FinancialInnovation

🚀 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 $𝟲𝟱𝗠 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗕 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗹 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗘𝗿𝗮 💳 We’re thrilled to announce our latest milestone: Clutch has raised $65 million in Series B funding led by 𝗔𝗹𝗸𝗲𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, with 𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝘁𝘇, 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀, and 𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 Ventures. This funding empowers us to continue revolutionizing how credit unions deliver products and services to their members and communities With 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟯𝟱 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗱, including 𝘀𝗶𝘅 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, we’re proud to empower these member-centric institutions with innovative tools and strategies to deliver exceptional value to their communities. This new capital enables us to: ✅ 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ✅ 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 ✅ 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 -all to 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝘀, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘀. 💡 Ready to learn more about how Clutch is transforming the credit union movement? 👉 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: https://lnkd.in/gFsGJ6qe #WithClutch #FinancialInnovation

Announcing Mobly’s $4.3M Seed Round: Buckle Up! Today, I’m thrilled to share a major milestone in Mobly’s journey: we’ve raised an oversubscribed $4.3 million seed round, co-led by Jump Capital (Saaya Pal and Jason Felger) and Eniac Ventures (Kristin McDonald and Timothy Young,) with continued participation from our pre-Seed lead Peterson Ventures (Taylor Jones,) and other insiders Tenzing.vc (Josh Oeding,) Element Ventures (Jeff Danley,) Jeron Paul and Francis Santora. This moment marks an exciting new chapter for Mobly as we continue building what we believe will become the System of Record for Event Marketing. First, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude. To our employees: You’re literally the best! It takes a lot of faith and grit to join a brand new team at an unproved company, and catch the same vision that we’ve had. Your resilience is inspiring! To our incredible customers: thank you for believing in our vision and trusting Mobly to help power your event marketing strategies. Your feedback, creativity, and partnership have been at the core of everything we’ve built so far, and we’re committed to continuing to deliver value to you every step of the way. To our investors: thank you for your support, your guidance, and for believing in what we’re building—and in the team behind it. The Problem We’re Solving Events have always been a critical channel for marketers—whether it’s a lunch and learn, a flagship conference, or an intimate networking session. But as the role of events has evolved and grown, event marketers have been left without the tools to truly succeed. Event marketing often feels like a fragmented process: endless spreadsheets, manual processes, disconnected systems, and an overwhelming amount of data that’s difficult to measure or optimize. At Mobly, we asked ourselves: why doesn’t event marketing have its own platform like every other GTM function does? Why is there no centralized system purpose-built for marketers to seamlessly manage the full lifecycle of their events—while also connecting it to their broader marketing stack? We knew there was a better way. And that’s why Kris and I started Mobly. Our Mission Mobly is designed to be the System of Record for Event Marketing. We empower marketing teams to plan, execute, and measure the impact of their events all in one place. But this is about so much more than just software. Events are about creating connections, driving engagement, and amplifying a brand’s impact—and our mission is to help marketers do that more effectively than ever before. With Mobly, marketers can finally focus on what they do best: creating exceptional event experiences that drive meaningful results. What’s Next This Seed round is not just a funding milestone—it’s fuel for the next phase of our journey. But most importantly, we’ll stay laser-focused on helping our customers achieve their goals. Thank You, Zach

Very excited for the upcoming panel we're hosting during Utah Tech Week with founders building vertical-specific, application-layer AI startups: 🏫 Caleb Hicks from SchoolAI (education) 🏭 Jowanza Joseph from Parakeet (GRC/manufacturing) 🏥 Loren Larsen from Videra Health (healthcare) 🏛️ Isaac Hales from Jetty Labs (insurance) These founders are seeing rapid revenue growth and high customer demand for their AI-native applications. Come learn how these founders are leveraging the latest advancements in AI to automate workflows and increase productivity in their target industries. Registration link in comments, lunch will be provided!

Anatomy Secures $19M Series A to Transform Healthcare Financial Operations 🚀 📬 We're excited to announce our Series A funding led by Canapi Ventures! Anatomy's AI-powered lockbox is set to revolutionize how healthcare practices manage their financial workflows. 27% of medical insurance payments and 79% of dental practice payments still arrive as paper checks. Anatomy is changing the game by digitizing these processes, saving healthcare providers countless hours of manual work. Ready to transform your practice's back-office workflow? Learn more at anatomy.com Thank you Aaron Weitzman for the write up in Axios!

🚨 Big News! 🚨 We're excited to announce a partnership between Leland and LinkedIn to bring career coaching to LinkedIn Premium members! Starting today, millions of LinkedIn Premium members will have access to a free month of Leland to build their career, develop in-demand skills, and reach professional goals across hundreds of different categories. Leland access is being rolled out among four other perks for Premium members: Spotify, The Wall Street Journal, name.com, and Duolingo. What a group. So, if you are a Premium member, make sure you take advantage of this exclusive perk by clicking "Your Premium features" or looking out for an email from the LinkedIn team. If you aren't a Premium member yet, go try it out! You'll get access to a wealth of resources, including this exclusive Leland trial. Big thank you to the LinkedIn team who made this possible. Can't wait to see all the lives we change together through this partnership. #linkedin #partnership #premium

It was so much fun teaming up Peterson Ventures x Joel Peterson for a BBL today Stanford University Graduate School of Business to share some nuggets of wisdom from Joel's latest class Engineering a Remarkable Life. It's been about 15 years since I've sat in a lecture hall with Joel teaching, and I loved getting to transport back to the student's seat at the GSB for an hour. Some of my favorite nuggets from Joel's talk: 💭 Remarkable life = person to be + someone to love + work to do 📋 "A goal without a plan is just a wish" 🫶 Focus on enduring motivators like duty and love (versus force, fear and rewards) as part of building meaning into life ⏳Values = where you spend your money + time + mindshare (if where you spend your time, money and mindshare don't align with what matters to you, reallocate!) Shout out to Winston Huynh for organizing a great event and our MBA Fellows there to support Priscilla Russo, Paige Frank, Karan Agrawal, Tyler James and Vanessa Moore!

Announcing Leland's $12M Series A led by Forerunner! Forerunner has an incredible track record of backing iconic consumer brands and marketplaces like Warby Parker, Chime, Glossier, Inc., ŌURA, Faire, Zola, The Expert, and others. We couldn't be more excited to welcome Eurie Kim to the board and partner with her and Forerunner to take Leland to the next level. Also participating in the round are GSV Ventures, inVest Ventures, and our early investors like FJ Labs, Contrary, Peterson Ventures, and GSBackers. We’re also proud that dozens of Leland coaches and customers participated, in addition to leading marketplace founders, operators, and angels from companies like Instacart, Handshake, LinkedIn, Pluralsight, Mercado Libre, and others. With this fresh capital and support, we're well positioned to accelerate our vision of unlocking human potential by making the world's expertise more accessible. In the past year alone, our coaches have helped hundreds of thousands of people in over 70 countries break into top schools or companies, develop new skills, prepare for interviews or tests, and pursue goals across dozens of unique categories. While a fundraise is never a destination, it certainly represents an opportunity to reflect on the progress we’ve made and thank the community who has helped us get this far. So, THANK YOU! We know the biggest opportunity is ahead of us, and we’re excited to be building a world-class team to go after it. If you want to join us, we're hiring. if you want to partner with us, shoot me a DM. And if you are interested in working with a coach or coaching the next generation, we'd love to have you in our community. Big thank you to Deborah Quazzo, Ben Capell, Kyle Harrison, Eric Tarczynski, Jason Bornstein, Lauri J. Moore, Karen Chi, Glenn Borok, Jeff Weinstein, Jose Marin, Jen Yang-Wong, Jason Chen, Taylor Jones, ilana stern, Aaron Skonnard, Gary Williams, Martin Rudigier, and the many others who have made this possible through your support! Here's to the next chapter of helping people reach their most ambitious goals. (TechCrunch coverage in comments)