Randall Crowder

🚀 Companies that innovate in physical industries move through three phases: research, development, and industrial scale. Research and development are critical, but at the end of the day, what truly matters is our ability to scale-to take innovation out of the lab and into the real world. That’s where impact happens. In defense, energy, manufacturing, construction, mining, and other foundational industries, scaling determines whether a breakthrough becomes a prototype or transforms entire sectors. At Eclipse, we’re focused on that last mile: industrial scale. It’s where our experience, time, and energy go, because scaling innovation is what drives real progress for the country and the world.

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🚀 Meet PACT, simplifying SBA-backed acquisitions with investors. Think YC’s SAFE, but built for Main Street M&A. 📘 What is PACT and why we built it PACT (Partnership Acquisition Commonsense Terms) is a free, balanced starting point for the agreements used in SBA-backed acquisitions with outside investors. For too long, SBA-backed acquisitions with outside investors have been the wild west: every deal is different, inefficient, and confusing, especially for first-time searchers raising capital. PACT gives everyone a common baseline so reviews are faster, expectations are clear, and operators can focus on acquiring the business. 🧩 SAFE for ETA Y Combinator’s SAFE gave startups a shared template that made early investing easier to execute. PACT brings that same idea to ETA. It teaches the key concepts in plain English, aligns searchers and investors on the economics, and sets a fair place to start. Our goal is for PACT to become the default baseline for investor-backed small business acquisitions using SBA loans. 🤝 Who contributed 🏛️ Legal input from top SMB M&A attorneys: Joseph Spina (Cullen and Dykman LLP), Mark Dittrich (Groundswell Advisors, LLP), and Eric Hsu (Clear Focus Law, PLLC) provided feedback on drafts. 💼 Early investor adopters: Jordan F. (Shareholder Ventures), Grant Hensel (Entrepreneurial Capital), Jason Ehrlich (Fruition Capital), Sean Smith (Search Fund Ventures), Adam Kaplan (ETA Funding Partners), Jacob Hall (Kando Capital), Tony Cappaert (Workbench Capital) and Adam Markley (PROX Search Capital) have adopted PACT on new deals. 🎓 Community support: Chelsea Wood and Walker Deibel at the Acquisition Lab and Buy Then Build have committed to start educating the community on how investor deals work using PACT. 👉 What to do next 🔍 Searchers: download the docs and ask your lawyer to start from PACT. ⚖️ SMB M&A Law firms: review the templates and send feedback so the next version is better. 💸 SMB investors: adopt PACT as your starting point and share redlines from real deals. This is a community-led standard, and we will keep versioning PACT as feedback comes in from all sides. 📝 Thanks: Special thanks to Joseph Spina for leading the legal drafting with me and helping shape a true middle ground. 🔗 Download PACT and see the key terms: ETAPACT.com (link in the comments) Let’s make investor-backed acquisitions clearer, faster, and fairer for everyone. 🚨 DISCLAIMER: PACT is not legal advice. Searchers must engage experienced SMB M&A counsel to review and tailor these documents to their deal.

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AI isn't just powering software. BrightAI just raised $51 million to automate inspection and other hardware-based AI capabilities. As Alexa von Tobel, co-founder of Inspired Capital put it: “So many people are so focused on the future of digital AI, but we’re excited about this new layer of AI: the physical world AI.” We are in the early innings of a series of AI-fueled innovations! https://lnkd.in/enhmafvH

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We’re thrilled to continue supporting Trunk Tools as they announce their $40M Series B. In just a short time, Sarah Buchner and the team have built something truly remarkable: an AI-native platform purpose-built for the realities of construction. It’s already helping general contractors improve jobsite safety, boost productivity, and navigate the complexity of modern builds. Construction is one of the largest and most operationally challenging industries in the world. Trunk tools is proving that applied AI, when deeply embedded in frontline workflows, can drive real impact where it’s needed most. More on the raise and their vision here: https://lnkd.in/dYmymA5y

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How do you build a fund that makes 40 new investments a year—and still stays high-conviction? I sat down with Charles Hudson, Founder and Managing Partner at Precursor Ventures, who has quietly built one of the most prolific early-stage portfolios in VC—nearly 500 investments and counting, including The Athletic, Juniper Square, and Carrot Fertility. We discuss what he’s learned from 600+ investments, how to evaluate “founder taste,” why central casting is surging again, and the surprisingly strong performance of his consumer bets. Charles also breaks down their unconventional reserve strategy, why they rarely take board seats, and how they’re preparing for a changing venture landscape. The link to Episode 488 is in the comment section below.

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The startup graveyard is full of first movers that didn't have the foresight to maintain their position long-term. Moats matter, even at the earliest stages. At Euclid, we've ranked the top moats for inception-stage Vertical AI startups: + Critical early: Domain expertise + velocity (but these erode over time) + Mid-stage: Data loops driving product improvement + partnerships + Growth: Brand, data gravity, and platform lock-in (these take time to build) While speed is inarguably more important in this era of AI, assuming moats don't matter (even at inception) is a mistake. Regardless of what you consider a "true moat", founders should consider their durable advantage from Day 0. Read more in our full essay on moats in Vertical AI here: https://lnkd.in/gTTgxbcR

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We have Rehan Jalil on the Infinite Curiosity Pod today. He's the CEO of Securiti. They've raised $156M in funding from amazing investors such as General Catalyst and Mayfield. Here are 7 key moments from the episode: 1. "Data security can’t be an afterthought. It has to be part of the data fabric itself." – On the need to embed security directly into data infrastructure. 2. "Our goal is to create a Data+AI command center for enterprises." – On Securiti’s broader vision beyond traditional data privacy. 3. "You can’t govern what you can’t see. That’s why discovery is step one." – On the importance of automated data discovery as the foundation for compliance and control. 4. "AI enables speed, but trust enables adoption." – Highlighting the critical relationship between AI automation and trust in enterprise environments. 5. "We learned at Elastica that simplicity wins, even in security." – On product lessons carried forward into Securiti. 6. "It’s not just about protecting data. It’s about unlocking it safely." – On balancing security with enabling data use, especially in LLM contexts. 7. "Good to Great is the one book I keep coming back to." – When asked about his favorite book and what continues to influence his leadership approach.

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