Hi {{first name | there}}!

May is racing by and there is much to look forward to as summer approaches. First, our Fundraising Mastermind next cohort launches on May 20th. Then, New York Tech Week begins in early June, and our Pitches & Panels Event kicks off on June 1st evening.

But we’re also preparing.

We’re getting ready for our biggest ever New York Climate Week on September 18th, 2026. Last year, we had several partners, 45 speakers, and 15 different programs.

Our themes for Wallet Max's Annual Emerald Summit & Bold World Awards Competition 2026 will be “Fundraising Community” and “AI Sustainability”, with a special emphasis on “Enterprise Transformation”. If you are interested in sponsoring, speaking, partnering, volunteering, or joining a pitch competition as a startup or investor, you can reply this email and connect with us ASAP.

All things considered, this issue mirrors the enthusiasm of April’s Earth Day as the Wallet Max team and community continue to develop or invest in sustainable tech solutions.

Keep reading and share this newsletter with your climate-conscious founder friends.

We are very excited to be hosting a curated fundraising event in Deep Tech/AI during New York Tech Week on June 1st. Every year, this event brings together startup founders, investors, operators, and corporate ecosystem builders for an engaging night of networking, investing, professional advancement, and learning.

Save your seat to:

​We have an amazing lineup of startups, investors, and executives confirmed for the pitch competition and the panel discussion, including:

​​​Register to save your seat and dive into our ecosystem of Deep Tech/AI leaders today 👇

Eventbrite.com/e/deep-techai-startup-pitches-and-investor-panels-nytechweek-event-registration-1987307425005

The next 12-week sprint for the Wallet Max Fundraising Mastermind will begin on May 20th. This cohort will run from May 20th to August 5th, with LIVE discussions, workshops, and hands-on activities every Wednesday from 9-10 AM PT/12-1 PM ET.

Unlike other programs, this mastermind is designed as a repeatable 12-week sprint you can join multiple times as your raise evolves.

Each sprint provides:

This isn’t just a sit-there-and-take-notes course. Most time spent isn’t in the mastermind, but in actively identifying investors and performing outreach. And as many founders know, every sprint builds momentum, helping you stay consistent and supported throughout the 6–9 month fundraising process.

Don’t wait. Jumpstart your fundraising and join today 👇

Defining ethics is one thing. Applying it in real systems is another. In this episode of Women in AI Talks, I interviewed Manail Anis Ahmed, Responsible AI Lecturer, Columbia University to answer a critical question: How does responsible AI move from principle to practice?

“AI is one of those technologies that causes social transformation, what I like to call techno-social change,” notes Manail. “How can it be responsible? It can be responsible by considering that it is not yet available to everyone around the world.”

Benefits, requirements for ethical AI use, and resource-usage differ widely across the globe. The first step to responsibly using AI is documenting these variations.

Over the course of this interview, we explore:

✅ Where responsible AI frameworks fall short in practice
✅ How policy, research, and culture intersect in AI decisions
✅ What it takes to make AI governance actionable

Watch the full replay of our interview below:

I had the pleasure of teaching an accelerator class at the Funding Breakthrough Lab, with a focus on early-stage companies raising capital. Over the years, I’ve developed a unique perspective on how crowdfunding does not give up your equity while providing customer and product validation.

Crowdfunding is one of the most efficient pathways to prove demand, secure capital, and build a pipeline of future customers. Yet most campaigns underperform. Why? The founder focuses on fundraising alone instead of designing a holistic early-market strategy.

That’s why I used this session to show participants how to design a long-term value campaign with practical frameworks, campaign assets, and execution tools.

Earth Day takes place on April 22nd every year, and the 2026 theme was “Our Power, Our Planet.” The emphasis was renewable energy and community action, with events taking place as early as April 18th.

It’s an exciting time to take action. Official Earth Day campaigns mobilize volunteers and planet-conscious people on key initiatives. This year, there were four major drivers:

Both individuals and organizations got involved. Essential Utilities is one example, turning Earth Day into a month-long event. Over the course of 30 days, this organization donated $1.3 million in grants and empowered employees to volunteer 1,450 hours, resulting in cleaning 300 bags of litter and other debris and planting close to 3,500 native trees among other activities.

Seeing communities come together is what makes Earth Day and April, overall, such an amazing month. We really do have the power to make our world a better place.

Renata Aráuz-DeStefano, investor at Pivotal Ventures, a Melinda French Gates company, backs women-led venture capital funds and makes mission-aligned early-stage investments.

Renata has spent over a decade bridging the finance and social impact sectors, having held roles in microfinance, investment banking, social enterprises, and venture capital. ​A proud SEO and Toigo alumna of Ecuadorian descent, Renata is passionate about increasing access to capital for diverse General Partners (GPs) and founders and building a bench of future capital allocators who reflect the changing demographics of the US.

In this interview, we dig deep into Renata’s experience investing and how to use capital to boost inclusion. She offers insight into pivotal moments in her journey and how tapping into her power lended itself to venture capital.

“I grew up bridging different cultures, different socioeconomic classes, and even different countries,” says Renata. “I grew up in poor and working class neighborhoods. Then I spent my summers in Ecuador with my dad's side of the family. At the same time, I was on scholarship attending an elite private school.”

Renata expresses a world of contrasts. Being around a lot of differences made her really value diverse perspectives, value folks from different walks of life, and different backgrounds. And it helped her to identify areas of inequality and how venture capital can fill in the gaps. Get the full story in the replay below 👇

The podcast is hosted by Wallet Max Founder & CEO Bhuva Shakti, and is for anyone interested in learning from investors and founders shaping thoughtful, practical solutions.

Want more than advice from investors? Check out our full podcast library, updated at the end of the month, every month.

Startups, whether at the Pre-Seed stage or Late-Stage stage, thrive in networks. Investor, academic, policymaker, nonprofit, and executive feedback can create a positive development loop that leads to improved end-products and funding.

The Wallet Max Community offers startups access to these professionals and more. Founders can also tap into advice from mentors, coaches, and fundraisers, learn from our library of recordings, save with discounted tickets to events, and access member-specific areas of events.

One major event that all Wallet Max community members benefit from is our annual Emerald Summit event. This single summit provides founders with chances to win funding through our Pitch Competition and tap into additional cash and tech prizes via our Bold World Awards.

Learn more about joining our community and consider signing up for Emerald Summit today.

Wallet Max’s Planet Positive Hub is ideal for investors seeking to grow their network with policy makers, founders, academics, nonprofits, and executives working in climate, technology, and finance.

Get involved with Emerald Summit (Sept 18, 2026) here: getwalletmax.com/summit

🎯 Discover all of our events, and how you can get involved with the virtual and in-person community initiatives: getwalletmax.com/events

European VC Fundraising Shows Signs of Rebound

New analysis from Proskauer of 32 funds representing €8.1 billion highlights renewed momentum, sharper fundraising terms, and evolving strategies as competition for capital intensifies. This data showcases a number of key insights including fundraising period shifts, hurdle rates, and recyclability.

VC fundraising ticks up

U.S. venture capital fundraising is rebounding unevenly in Q1 and most capital is flowing to a handful of large managers and AI deals. Essentially, the threshold to securing capital is higher than ever and managers seeking funding will need a strong track record to attract investment.

For the first time, startups in Texas raised more VC money than those in Massachusetts

Pitchbook recently reported that startups based in Texas raised $5.8 billion, while Massachusetts startups raised only $5.3 billion in Q1. This raises questions about whether Massachusetts will lose its 3rd place ranking to the long star state given ongoing shifts in the investing that affect both areas.

Head of Fund Accounting - StepStone Group

The Head of Fund Accounting is a senior leader within StepStone Group Private Wealth (“SPW”) responsible for investment and fund valuation, liquidity and leverage strategy, budgeting, regulatory and financial reporting to boards, regulators, auditors, and lenders. General responsibilities include overall management of fund accounting, NAV oversight, financial reporting, and related governance for private market retail investment products. Master’s degree in accounting preferred; CPA required.

NFX Fellows Application 2026-2027

The NFX Fellows program is currently live for current and incoming Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley, and MIT students. To apply to the NFX Fellowship, you can fill out the application. Fellows get the chance to learn sourcing, evaluating, and supporting companies and startups while building relationships with student founders and entrepreneurship communities.

Venture Scout - Accelerate Ventures

Accelerate Ventures is a fully funded VC fund focusing on the Sports, Technology and Culture sectors. The team is looking for a full-time Venture Scout in London, England to assume several responsibilities, including proactively sourcing and screening new investment opportunities, conducting market research, and building a network of founders and investors.

Discover more funding and hiring opportunities in our online member-only community.

There’s a particular kind of fatigue that comes from being the only person in the room. It’s not just about representation. It’s a constant mental calculation; Will my words land? Will they hear my idea or will this be interpreted as defiance?

You learn to hold your tone, your expression just right, until self-monitoring becomes a muscle memory. Spaces never designed for you feel like a second, invisible, job.

It’s important to speak anyway. Because your voice might be the difference between a flawed plan and a resilient one.

This is a challenging and exhausting lesson to learn. Get all the insights and frameworks in the free lesson on my website 👇

In my upcoming book on risk, Everyday Risk Wisdom: Your Risk Management Guide to Thrive in a Complex World as an Overlooked Business Leader, I cover a variety of lessons from my career.

In “Being The Only One” lesson from my book, I delve into how access is about outcomes.

Explore my book website below and get notified when this lesson is available for free!

What does it look like to be the outside voice? It can be lonely, or empowered. Read the list of action steps below.

Which one has helped you the most?

Read the lesson for my “Being The Only One” action steps. Explore my book website below and get notified when this framework is available for free!

There are many events coming up. For those looking for fundraising help, our Mastermind begins on May 20th. Sign up now before this cohort closes. If you are also interested in attending our Pitch Competition at NY Tech Week, get your ticket today. The event is only in two weeks, after all.

Just don’t forget the registration deadlines for both events are coming up quickly.

And, of course, the Wallet Max team is psyched that the countdown for Emerald Summit is officially ON! If you are interested in sponsoring, speaking, partnering, volunteering, or joining a pitch competition as a startup or investor, please let us know.

It takes a village to build a better world. And we’re grateful to have you as a part of our village at Wallet Max.

Thanks for supporting us to build a better world!

Bhuva Shakti, Founder of Wallet Max and Bhuva’s Impact Global.