As a writer I my biggest struggle is with burying the lede. So I’m just going to get right to it:

We crossed 1,000 subscribers and I genuinely cannot keep up.

I say that with love and mild panic.

When I started this thing, I was writing to roughly 30 people, at least 12 of whom were friends from childhood. Now we're at 1,100 and climbing, and the deal flow, the DMs, the Forbes pitches, and the "hey quick question" emails are coming in faster than I can respond. So: thank you.

Now onto the next 1k!

This issue is a little packed. We've got some asks up top (yes, plural), then I'm taking you to New Orleans for a full 3rd Coast Venture Summit debrief with companies you need to know about.

Let's get into it.

📰 I'm writing a Forbes piece on agentic AI in the CFO stack and I need sources.

If you or someone you know is the right fit and can commit to resharing the article and amplifying on your channels (LinkedIn, newsletter, etc.) within 7 days of publication, I want to hear from you. If that amplification commitment isn't possible, please hold off on pitching.

💰 This newsletter is looking for a sponsor.

Here's why you should care:

If you want your brand in front of an audience of decision-makers who actually read, reply to this email and let's talk.

That's how someone described New Orleans to me at the summit and they were not wrong. I've been to a lot of these conferences and I left this one genuinely energized, which is not something I say often.

🔧 Build-A-Way: If you've ever waited three days for an invoice from your HVAC guy, you understand the problem. Build-A-Way lets plumbers, electricians, and HVAC techs create invoices by speaking into their phones. That's it. No app navigation, no typing on a job site with dirty hands, no chasing down paperwork at the end of a long day. The home services industry is massive, chronically underserved by software, and full of skilled tradespeople who got into the business to fix things, not do admin. Build-A-Way gets that. Simple wedge, big market.

🏛️ Munivestor: Municipal bonds are one of the most reliable, tax-advantaged investment vehicles in the country and almost nobody outside of wealth management talks about them. Munivestor is changing that by making the civic finance space accessible and legible to a broader audience. This is the kind of company that matters beyond the return profile: when regular people can invest in the infrastructure of their own communities, something shifts. I've been saying for years that financial literacy has to include asset classes that have historically been gated. Munivestor is doing the work.

🛡️ Hand Technologies: Born out of Mississippi State University research, HAND makes next-generation composite materials for U.S. defense applications. Think advanced resins that enable faster production of high-performance structures used in some of the most demanding environments on earth. Deep tech, defense-focused, and rooted in the Gulf South.

🔩 Arculus Solutions: Pipeline infrastructure for the energy transition. Arculus helps companies retrofit existing pipes for CO2 transport, reduce operating costs in oil and gas, and safely blend hydrogen into current infrastructure. Instead of building from scratch, they're making what's already in the ground work for where energy is going.

The Gulf South is having a moment. I'm paying attention and you should be too.

If you’d like to connect with any of these companies, simply reply to this email.

✍🏽 On Forbes, I covered why Nubank’s road to the US market isn’t as straightforward as it may seem, food supply chain manufacturing company Anchr’s seed round, EarnIn’s expansion of Live Pay, and my recap from Venture Week Miami.

🎧 This week on Money Memories, I spoke with Raymond Haines from Operation Hope. He shares how his mother’s front porch cookouts taught him important lessons in marketing and community.
👉 Listen on NPR, Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts

📌Arizona charges Kalshi with criminal misdemeanor

📌Senegal stripped of Africa Cup of Nations title over walkout protest in final

If you find this valuable, here are a few ways to support Bear and the Bull (most of which are free):

Till next week,
Ilona

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