The CQ | Imagination Isn't Just Creativity. It's an Act of Defiance.

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The highlights reel from the company showcase at our 2025 AGM

By Kirsten Green, Founding Partner

@kirstenagreen | @forerunnervc

Just over two weeks ago, we hosted our annual investor meeting at the Exploratorium in SF, where 19 extraordinary early-stage companies took the stage. The venue choice was deliberate: the Exploratorium embodies discovery, creativity, and endless possibility. If our gathering had a theme, it would be The Courage of Imagination.

True imagination isn’t just creative thinking. It’s often an act of defiance that requires genuine bravery. It takes courage to envision a world that doesn’t yet exist — and to sit with profound uncertainty, dwelling in possibility rather than demanding immediate proof. Most critically, it requires the vulnerability to act on these visions: to invest time, capital, and reputation in something that exists only in one’s mind.

That’s exactly what we witnessed at our founder showcase. In one electric session, the courage of imagination came alive:

• 92 million women need a better way in healthcare, and a founder who won’t stop until they have it — Kara Egan

• A company on track for a billion-dollar annual GMV run rate, redefining what’s possible in the category — Nicolas le Jeune

• AI for parenting that understands the chaos, the joy, and everything in between — Alan Charming Chan

• A future where we go from 40 apps to just three, as finally, someone tackles the life admin fatigue we all feel — Brad Kowalk

No safe bets, incremental advancements, or obvious plays. Just founders brave enough to build the future they see so clearly, even when others don’t.

What We’re Talking About on Slack:

1. More working-class Americans than ever are investing in the stock market. Among those earning $30,000 to $80,000, 54% now have taxable investment accounts—half of whom started investing in the last five years, thanks in large part to commission-free trading, social media stock tips, and investing apps like Robinhood and Webull that make it easy to trade. Among newer investors, 45% have invested over $5,000, and 40% are planning to hold assets for at least a decade for long-term goals. Americans with below-median incomes now account for 11% of investment dollars flowing into retail brokerage accounts, up from about 6% between 2010 and 2015. Since early 2020, the S&P 500 has surged nearly 130% including reinvested dividends, with an annualized return exceeding 15%, creating unusually high gains for many recent investors. “Newer investors who bought in at higher prices are more likely to face losses if the market takes a turn.”

2. To find workers, hospitals are training teenagers. Hospitals across the U.S., particularly in rural areas, are facing huge labor shortages. Human resources advisory firm Mercer projects a deficit of 100,000 workers by 2028, especially among nursing assistants, which is troubling in the face of an aging population. Last year, Ballad Health, based in Tennessee, spent $70 million on traveling nurses to fill staffing gaps. That prompted them to launch a program that will train 200 high school students to become licensed practical nurses by 2029, starting at $23/hour. Similar programs are expanding nationwide: Bloomberg Philanthropies is investing $250 million in 10 programs in several states, and the newly opened healthcare-focused high school, Northwell School of Health Sciences in NYC, enrolled 240 students in its first year. Not only do these initiatives address workforce shortages and offer career alternatives to expensive college paths, but “research suggests that students who enroll in classes with a focus on career and technical training tend to perform better academically and have higher attendance rates.”

3. America is minting lots of cash-strapped millionaires, reports Bloomberg. Today, there are over 24 million millionaire households (nearly one in five), and a third of them have only been minted since 2017. However, most of their wealth is illiquid: In 2023, households with $1–2 million in net worth had 66% of their assets tied up in home equity and retirement accounts. Because inflation and rising interest rates have put more strain on modern millionaires’ finances, these “ barely-millionaires” can’t afford the traditional markers of affluence, considering most luxuries cost double what they did less than a decade ago. “This is one of the indirect causes of the frustration some younger people feel about not being able to enjoy the standard of living of their parents. They think a million dollars should solve all their financial problems, when today they really need to be thinking of $10 million.”

4. Wellness is the new nightlife. Rosewood Mayakoba in Riviera Maya offers moonlight yoga and alcohol-free full moon celebrations. The new Soho Farmhouse Ibiza is focusing on health retreats complete with a 24-hour gym, thermal baths, and NAD+ infusions. A cultural shift is driving the trend: Only 54% of Americans now say they drink alcohol, the lowest since Gallup began tracking the figure in 1939, and many now believe even moderate drinking is unhealthy. “These new wellness offerings are getting increasingly competitive as the wellness tourism trend—valued at $830 billion, according to the Global Wellness Institute—grows exponentially in popularity. Guests are more willing to shell out for things like yoga under the stars or IV drips in Ibiza as they spend less at the bar.”

5. As the holiday season nears, retail adopts a more cautious outlook. With inflation, tariffs, and declining consumer confidence, retailers are expecting slower growth of 2.9% to 3.4% in sales compared to 4.2% in 2024. Deloitte projects total holiday sales between $1.61 trillion and $1.62 trillion, and e-commerce to grow 7% to 9% to about $305–$310.7 billion. About 75% of surveyed Americans plan to trade down or buy less if prices keep rising, and they noted they’d reduce spending on nonessential sports equipment and home improvement items, and will buy beauty products and toys instead. Coresight Research predicts 52% of Gen Zers will increase their spending this year, compared to the 29% of the general population who said the same, though some of that would be due to rising prices. Still, 47% plan to buy more gifts overall, over twice the rate of the general population.

6. WSJ takes a look at how young people learn to be unhappy. Rising concerns about youth mental health may be unintentionally reinforcing the belief that psychological distress is inevitable among young people. While anxiety and depression rates have increased, it’s not the full picture. Data from over 85,000 college students shows that nearly 50% identify as being happy with their lives, challenging the narrative of widespread misery. “Students regularly post self-deprecating social-media comments about how stressed they are, detailing their deteriorating mental health and inability to stop doomscrolling. These declarations are more than venting or seeking social support. For some, they’ve become signals of virtue. Students who want to improve the world—and we believe most do—seem to believe that happiness implies insensitivity to others’ pain.” This perceived emotional norm may lead young people to suppress positive emotions, which research shows can lower well-being more than suppressing negative ones.

7. There’s a shocking disparity between how high-income and low-income earners feel about the economy. According to JPMorgan’s Cost of Living Survey, high-income respondents gave an average confidence rating of 6.2 out of 10—more than half rated it between 7 and 10. Meanwhile, low-income respondents gave it just 4.4 out of 10—less than a quarter rated it between 7 and 10—creating a 30-point disparity between the groups, which highlights what the economists call a “K-shaped economy.” Nearly 60% of high-income consumers said monthly bills are becoming easier to manage compared with six to 12 months ago, while only 37% of middle-income and 30% of low-income respondents said the same. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment rating over the last two years has backed up these findings, with the top one-third of earners having averaged 25% higher than the bottom third.

8. Have you hugged your job today? In a major turnaround from the “Great Resignation” of 2021 and 2022, “job hugging” describes how workers are clinging to their current jobs amid economic uncertainty and a cooling labor market. In August, only 22,000 jobs were added, and June saw a loss of 13,000 jobs, the first decline since December 2020. Tariffs, immigration raids, and anxiety over AI disruption are contributing to job market instability, even though actual displacement by AI remains low. Holding onto jobs can hinder career advancement and financial growth, as job-switchers typically earn higher raises. “Though worker turnover is expensive for employers, having a team of stressed employees who don’t want to be there isn’t ideal, either. ‘Churn’ is a bad word among bosses, but some amount of it can be healthy.”

Portfolio Highlights

• CNBC, Inc., Axios, and TechCrunch cover Oura’s $11 billion valuation with a new $900 million fundraise. TechCrunch also speaks to Dorothy Kilroy, Oura’s chief commercial officer, about how the company is attracting more young women users.

• Fast Company names the Teal Wand as one of the Next Big Things in Tech 2025.

• Business of Fashion recognizes Daydream as a Fashion AI Startup to Watch.

• Time interviews Zahi Fayad, professor of radiology and director of the biomedical engineering and imaging institute at Mount Sinai, about a study he’s leading on how health tracking devices like the Oura can help us live longer and healthier.

• In Fortune, David Stout, founder and CEO of webAI, writes that while the likelihood of the AI bubble popping is high, sustainable and efficient artificial intelligence will endure.

• Axios reports that Duos raises $130 million to scale its technology and operations across Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, and ACA marketplace plans in the U.S.

Job of the Week:

Growth Marketing Manager at Topline Pro, the Shopify for home services pros.

There are ~3370 open jobs at Forerunner portfolio companies — check ‘em out.