Greetings 👋. It's our October edition of No Half Sends. For some reason, fall ‘24 just feels different. It feels a little more hectic, a little more…on edge. It feels like there’s more happening and no matter how much I try to get ahead of my to-do list, there’s always more piling up! Anyone? Maybe it’s good problems to have or maybe it’s just that time of the year. Or the…election - eeek, let’s not bring that up again, we’re all exhausted already. Although, I think a satirical accounting ad that looks like a political campaign could be pretty funny.

I’m late enough on getting this to you, so let’s get going…

To frame our update: we help growth companies elevate their financial and operational data through tech-forward accounting, finance, and data services.

Let’s Dive In 👇.

💥 TL;DR

1. Budget | Forecast 2025

2. How Gusto is Developing AI

3. $39M for Denver-Based Fund

4. We’re on the Move

5. The Popular Halloween Costumes

🇺🇸 BUDGET | FORECAST 2025

In a few short weeks, we’ll be t-minus 8 weeks from 2025. If you haven’t started thinking about next years’ budget or forecast update, now is the time. It doesn’t matter how it gets done - mail in it, at person your local community center, or scribble it on a paper and get your ‘I budgeted’ sticker. 2025 you will thank you.

Let’s put these two up against one another in a quick matchup:

Your budget — this is the plan that you put in place to cement the bold and aspirational plan for the year. The one where you say, we’re going to invest in infrastructure! We’re cutting the deficit! We’re going to build a … unified data warehouse! This is what you set in stone for the year and everyone has to rally behind it, whether it makes sense in hindsight or not.

Your forecast — This is the veteran advisor who looks at the fresh budget and says, “Listen, I know you wanted to cut that deficit, but here’s what happened…It’s time to recalculate.” This is the tool that adjusts as the landscape shifts and tempers the original lofty goals with a little friend called reality. It’s dynamic, flexible, and checks back in throughout the year saying, “Remember that grand plan? Yeah, time to adjust.”

Let’s recap. Budget is running for what we wish would happen; the forecast is what we think will actually happen once the dust settles. Both are tremendously important and now is the time to get started.

🚀 Need to know: Startups

> Every Tech Company is Investing in AI. Hey! It’s Eddie from Gusto! Eddy and Gusto believe that non-technical team members may have more to contribute to their AI development than the hiring of specifically trained AI engineers (of which everybody and their mother is claiming to be at the moment). I actually think that they’re onto something here. Eddie says, “The main thing that changed recently is that the interface to create ML and AI application has become much more accessible to anybody.” (How does Gusto think about AI development?)

> Gen AI investment in Q3 - $3.9 Billion. That number doesn’t even count OpenAI’s $6.6B round. Whoa. The crazy part is that there is ample evidence that hallucinations will continue to a high degree and the legal cases against GenAI are just the beginning to a really long road facing training large scale models. Not to mention that there are predictions / research that more than 80% of AI projects will fail. I’m not betting against AI, but some of the simplest problems that exist in business today aren’t going to be able to solve them with the next generic tool that charges $20/mo. (Here’s the Q3 Funding Roundup)

Are you fundraising/hiring? Know someone who is? Want to be featured? Give us a shout and some feedback on what’s working, what could use improvement, and how we can better serve our clients, community, and industry - [email protected].

🏗️ Colorado Startups: Our Backyard

> ‘Why the hell don’t you fix it?’ I think this mentality is a great part about what separates the Colorado ecosystem from other startup hubs. It’s not just that an opportunity exists for a scalable company, but a problem that needs to be solved despite the odds. The University of Colorado is a staple for innovation in our broader ecosystem and they recently hosted a startup symposium showcasing local innovation. Check out some of the amazing startups, products and technologies here.

> A Fresh $39M for a Local Fund. Another overwhelming ethos that’s displayed in our local startup scene is - doing a lot with a little. Stretching capital, resources, and talent further than most think possible. That’s what the team at Range Ventures is doing. Their 3-person team of Adam, Chris, and Hayfa are making moves. They recently raised an additional $39M for their second Fund and have a track record of investing in our backyard! (More on their raise here, it’s paywalled though)

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🏔️ Sending it in the Wild

> In September, we discovered that in-person events aren’t only back, but quite possibly more engaging than ever. Check out our participation in Denver Startup Week, Outdoor Industry Funding Summit, and Intuit Advisory Council. Check out these pics 🤘

> The next few weeks/months continue our tear of educating others, educating ourselves, and travel for the team at Full Send! Here are our list of upcoming events:

• Intuit Connect (Las Vegas)

• NYC - Advisory Board Meetings

• Digital CPA (Denver)

• Home for the Holidays!

Clickbait: You want to be Raygun for halloween too? So does everybody else. Here are the 20 most popular halloween costumes, according to Google search 🐨

✌️ Roman @ Full Send

Why No Half Sends? We’re on a mission to elevate financial data through high quality accounting and finance services, building more knowledgeable and engaged team members, and engaging in our industry to move accounting and finance forward.

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