Steven Walchek started his first company in college, faxing loan documents by hand. He went on to build and exit a venture-backed fintech alongside his father. Then he started another company to solve a problem inside his own.
Most founders look outward for problems to fix. Steven's latest venture, Liminal, came from turning inward. On this week's Skin in the Game, he and @Saxonbaumer dig into that mindset, what enterprise-ready AI infrastructure actually looks like, and why distribution and trust are outpacing the technology itself as competitive advantages.
He also makes a case for why right now is one of the best times in history to build. Watch or listen to the full episode - link in bio.
What does your first call with a prospect look like?
At @heyiris.ai , Ben Hills and his team show up to call one with a fully personalized product demo. Thanks to AI, what used to take days of setup is nearly effortless, and their prospects get their hands on something built specifically for them right out of the gate.
This shift compressed their sales cycle considerably.
Take note: the founders rethinking what AI makes possible across their whole business (not just their product) are the ones moving and scaling the fastest.
Wish You Were Here?
Chips for Charity is ONE week from today:
✨ Old Vegas glam
🍸 Open bar & fabulous food
🎰 Casino games
🎶 Live music
…and the opportunity to make a lasting impact.
Spots won’t last - grab your tix (in bio) and join us for a night that gives back
April 17 - Hyde House Studio
#ChipsForCharity #VintageVegas #PartyWithPurpose #TampaBayEvents #GiveBack #OldVegasVibes
Miami isn’t slowing down, it’s leveling up.
Saxon Baum shares how the ecosystem is resetting, where the biggest opportunities are, and why the real work is just beginning.
We’re proud to be building alongside the founders shaping what’s next. 🚀
Read more at the link in bio.
Abe Smith was at Zoom when the company went from 10 million to 300 million active users in four months. He was at WebEx before Cisco's $3.2B acquisition. He's one of the most globally experienced operators in enterprise SaaS, and he's an LP at Florida Funders.
He sat down with @Saxonbaumer on the newest episode of Skin in the Game to unpack all of it: the growth, the culture, the founder instincts it takes to see around corners, and whether Florida has what it takes to produce the next big AI company. Get his insider perspective wherever you listen to podcasts.
Congratulations to our Fund 2 portfolio company @flexsuperapp on being listed as one of The Most Innovative Companies in 2026 by Fast Company. Coming in at #12 on the Finance Companies list puts Flex ahead of Plaid, Circle, Juniper, and others. Also on the list are giants such as Anthropic, Nvidia, and Ramp. The recognition speaks to Flex's $1B+ in annual card payment volume, $500M+ in bill pay volume, and revenue that quadrupled in 2025.
Flex is building the financial operating system for mid-market businesses that have long been overlooked by both consumer-focused fintechs and enterprise software. Glad to be in their corner as an early investor.
Thrilled to share that @worthscore has announced its $30M Series A led by Fulcrum, TTV, and Amex Ventures. Founded by Sal Rehmetullah and Suneera Madhani (the brother/sister duo behind Orlando’s first Unicorn, Stax), Worth is tackling a glaring gap in financial services: while consumers get approved for credit in seconds, small businesses are stuck waiting days or weeks. Their AI-powered platform is changing that for financial institutions at scale by unifying business identity, risk, and financial data into a single real-time decisioning engine.
Proud to have this team in our Fund 3 portfolio as they build the infrastructure for faster, smarter SMB onboarding and underwriting.
FLF (@floridafunders ) Venture Summit 2026 🎥
The speaker lineup featured leaders across venture, technology, and sports investing, including @geoffreywoo , @braxtonberrios , @francissuarez , @melmedina305 , @davidpolitis , @thatbrownsugar , Managing Partner @saxonbaumer , and more alongside founders and investors shaping the next generation of companies across the country.
Hosted @themotorenclave in Tampa, the summit brought together hundreds of members of the startup ecosystem for a full day of conversations, insights, and high-signal networking.
Panels covered venture market trends, operator-led investing, athlete investors entering the venture space, and how emerging ecosystems like Florida are building long-term innovation economies.
