Putting the “Fun” in “Fundraising”
Hi, my name is Jacqueline Ros Amable but most people call me Jackie. I’m the CEO & cofounder of Matereal. We are on a mission to decarbonize and detoxify the global plastics supply chains because we want to live in a healthy, sustainable and equitable world — A Matereal World. We are building the world we want to live in via novel chemistry and AI to prove to the world that we can make plastics without petrochemicals (The Future of Petrochemicals, IEA, 2018) and other toxic chemicals such as isocyanates (Broughton, 2005). We are tackling head on the fact that petrochemicals account for 15% of oil & gas consumption and are working to replace those toxic supply chains with plastic replacements grounded in circular, regenerative and renewable inputs.
Recently we announced our successful financing. I want to thank our incredible partners the Collaborative Fund, Better Ventures and many more for their belief in our mission. We did a formal announcement recently but I wanted to write something more personal that hopefully brings a bit of joy to your day and if you’re a founder (whether it be of a startup or fund) reading this — something to make the journey feel less lonely. I put together some songs, ideas, and work I did to improve my craft as a CEO to get here. And so in my true nerdy way I’m going to do this via the playlist that kept me sane through this process. Fun fact, music is one of the things that brings me the most peace, joy and inspiration. When pitching my first investors at Foundry for the first $3M I ever raised I wrote and sang an original song for them. I guess it’s my way of connecting with people when I’m trying to find common ground. But before I get to the playlist, some background.
Before I was the CEO of this company, I was the CEO & founder of another company called Revolar where we made wearable safety devices for loved ones. In other words, I’m a glutton for complex business challenges with physical products. This next bit I debated adding but since it comes up in investor and ecosystem surveys it felt worth mentioning. Also maybe you read this whole thing and think “Woah there’s someone like me, or woah I didn’t expect to have so much in common with someone so different from me.” That’s my long way of saying I have a unique background for being a VC-backed founder. For one I’m Latina, and while I won’t rattle off the data, there’s sadly not a lot of us. I’m also bi, I literally have no clue how many of us identify that way. I went to a public university and I’m neither an engineer nor an MBA grad. I’m also the mom of a toddler and undoubtedly overly casual in my syntax. Basically there is nothing in my background, other than my excellent track record of execution, that explains why I’ve had the distinct honor of being one of the only Latinas ever to raise millions from institutional investors. But what I do know is that all that aside, I was born to do this work.
I’ve thought a lot about why me? Why do I get this privilege? And let’s be abundantly clear, it’s a privilege to have worked, and continue to work, with some of the best VCs in the game. Both times with companies that in most cases would scare the pants off of most investors. I don’t have the answer to those questions, but I do know that I’m doing what I was put on this earth to do and I believe that with every fiber in my being.
What makes me so confident of this fact? My first company was simultaneously successful and a total failure. By the end of that journey I wasn’t just burnt out, I was devastated. I stood for survivors of sexual violence and got to work with an incredible team that together delivered products I’ll always be proud of. At the end of that journey we crashed brutally. But during that journey, I got the opportunity of a lifetime to see the plastics supply chain up close and personal. After that venture I spent 6 years trying to find my way, trying to convince myself to do what my father (RIP) wanted so badly for me — to find a steady, well paying job that would bring me stability. And one dream job after another, eventually I could no longer ignore the call. Entrepreneurship is a calling and since I can remember I have heard its siren song in my mind calling me back to build. And so now, after years of soul searching, I can say unequivocally that I want to be the most impactful and prolific builder of companies this world has ever seen. What can I say? I’ve never lacked ambition.
But this journey is hard and lonely IF you let it be. And fundraising, which is often described like dating (literally hate that metaphor) has never been natural for me. I’ve also come to the conclusion that it isn’t just like dating — it’s like polyamorous dating. You need not only that investor to like you, but their partners as well, and you need to like all of them back! As someone who historically was never great at dating, but great at being a workaholic, it’s a concept that constantly brought me anxiety. Even I had to LOL when this fundraise hit a tense moment and literally every advisor I have was like “Jackie, just play it cool.” And we all laughed because we know I’m a lot of things but someone who plays it cool is not one of those. I’m intense, I’m passionate, I’m very nerdy but blasé? Pretend I don’t care when the one and only planet we can exist on is at risk? I’m a mom as I mentioned, I literally don’t have time for that distinct variation of mind games. I’ve got an endless list of problems to solve and I prefer to work with people who respect my time and I’ll respect theirs.
Now, the playlist, which is dedicated to all my fellow founders, especially the first time founders I’ve had the honor to work with. I tried to put this in some semblance of order but I’m writing this to remind my fellow startup CEOs in climate that while what we are tackling is grave, attitude is everything.
- The day I announced to my board at Venture For ClimateTech that I was stepping down as Managing Director to join one of our portco’s, now Matereal, I cried (yes I cried omg get over it) and I knew in my heart of hearts that I would “Never Gonna Not Dance Again”. Funny enough dancing is something both of my cofounders from both companies and I share. Whether it’s Andrea or Phil, we love to dance! Thank you both for always getting weird with me — you have no idea how much it means that I can be completely myself with both of you. Andrea is still my bestie and now we dance with our kiddos. Cofounders are special people and I have always treasured mine and feel honored beyond reason that they chose/choose to work with me.
- In building Matereal, my team and I will be “Defying Gravity”. This song resonates with me in many ways. I love the musical Wicked because I think it’s a great analog for what we see in big industry. This total unwillingness and squashing of truth for the sake of a dollar. Well we are going to prove that you can ship insanely successful plastics without poisoning the world in the process. I’ve been told more than once that with our success incumbents will declare war against us once we start to show success. All I can say to that is I make a wonderful partner and you don’t want me as a competitor. I’m “Not Giving In”, I’m made of “Titanium” and I’m standing on the right side of history so consider this my olive branch. Let’s work together to clean up your supply chains, but let’s be clear — we are cleaning them up.
- The fact is I’m just like my country, I’m young, scrappy and hungry and I am not throwing away “My Shot”. I reject the rhetoric that these problems are too big to be fixed. If I have to work “Non-Stop” to prove it, so be it. I’ve put in the work over the last six years to come back stronger, faster, better so that you will “Remember the Name” -Matereal. For one, I took finance class after finance class. Music is my language and “The World es Mi Familia” but in VC land everyone is fluent in finance. Don’t just delegate this you need to be able to understand things like why certain companies should focus on EBIT and not EBITDA, etc.
- Don’t be afraid to be yourself. I’ve been given advice frequently to play the game. I ran a process, I didn’t play a game. In a totally radical concept — I like me. I like who I am and if I’m going to work with investors, I don’t want to pretend for years to be someone I’m not. But in order to not play games, you can’t skip steps, you have to dig deep and do the hard work. In that same vein, some people say I’m too nice but you know what I like most about that? I repel assholes. They can’t stand me because once they realize that my being nice does not = me being a pushover they shut down. Who knew being so nice made me a “Rebel Girl”? Also my last name literally means nice in Spanish so how weird would that be if I wasn’t.
- To investors who can’t figure out why their portfolios lack diversity consider “Maybe You’re the Problem”. Jokes aside, most investors are not bad people. They have very very hard jobs and I have respect for what they do. I’ve managed a thesis, I’ve had to turn down founders I absolutely adored because they just didn’t make sense for our thesis. Rejection is part of this process but when those moments come this song keeps me sane. It’s called “Pronoia” and it’s all about the idea that maybe the rejection is there for your protection and I truly do believe that if you follow a tight process you will find your people and realize that the no’s were a gift. And for investors who only show excitement when a founder has a term sheet from a big name firm, the only thing I can tell you is I’m not a “hollaback bitch”. I want to work with brave people and it shows when you’re not one of those.
- But “One Way or Another” I was going to find my people even if I am “Just a Girl”. I’ll be honest, I was terrified that maybe with my first company I got lucky and that I would be seen this time as “Nothing New” or that maybe they wouldn’t embrace that I’m a “Grown Woman”. I was worried that because I was a “Mother” people would think I couldn’t handle it which absolutely blows my mind. Being a mom has given me superpowers I could never have imagined building my first company. It’s an advantage. It makes me ruthlessly prioritize — no chance at revenue on the other side of that rainbow? I’m not going. It doesn’t progress my business? I’m not doing it. I also think it makes me a more realistic manager of people.
- At the end of the day what I’m most proud of is that I did it “My Way” in accordance with my values and I’m eternally grateful to the partners who are joining us and to my cofounder for trusting me and bringing me into this role of a lifetime.
- To my amazing partner in life, thank you. Thank you for flying with me everywhere so I don’t have to be without our baby. Thank you for driving me to all of my customer visits because I hate driving. Thank you for making v1 of the website and listening to all of my ideas and helping bring them to life. You are my secret weapon and you are “Simply the Best.”
- Here’s to a new age of building and I’m coming at ya hot with my “Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels” Okay maybe not the smoothest way to bring that song into this mix but it’s such a fun song that always brings me energy when the coffee just isn’t hitting hard enough.
Finally, through this raise the world and my community has been through so much. In those moments there is a song I listen to that constantly reminds me why fighting for peace and equity will always be core to who I am. I am a member of a global community, yes of course a proud American, but I was raised all over the world. My friends come from all backgrounds and no amount of media can convince me that my friends, at home or abroad, are my enemies. So if you want something that reminds your soul of that I highly recommend The General.
With love and abrazos,
Jackie
