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Eric Poto
Founder & Managing Partner at Novra Capital
Professional Background
Eric Poto is a highly esteemed financial professional and the original Founder of Novra Capital, boasting over 15 years of dedicated experience in the finance industry. Known for his insightful strategies and innovative approach, Eric has established himself as a leader among his peers, particularly in the niche areas of capital raising for private equity, venture capital, and alternative investments. His expertise spans early-stage rounds, and he has played an instrumental role in raising an impressive sum exceeding $45 million for various start-up companies during their Angel and Series A funding stages.
A significant aspect of Eric's prowess lies in his deep knowledge and experience in the Pre-IPO and Secondary Market space. With a remarkable track record, he has successfully closed transactions on high-profile companies such as Spotify, Airbnb, Impossible Foods, and Uber. This accomplishment illustrates not only his influential role in the capital markets but also his keen insight into preliminary investment opportunities that can yield considerable returns.
Before establishing Novra Capital, Eric served as a Senior Vice President in Alternative Investments & Private Equity at RHK Capital. In this capacity, he was charged with the critical mission of forging strategic partnerships while engaging family offices and qualified investors to participate in exclusive Alternative Investment deals. With a keen understanding of the investment landscape, Eric and his capable team placed considerable emphasis on fundraising for early-stage VC and Capital Markets projects, further enhancing their reputation and reach in the investment community.
Prior to his tenure at RHK Capital, Eric was a Senior Partner at The Harrington Group within Merrill Lynch. His focus was on delivering results for ultra-high-net-worth clients, which ranged in worth from $10 million to multiple billions. Here, he worked closely with individuals, family offices, and institutional investors to cultivate new business relationships and open new avenues for the company's Global Wealth Management platform. His role also included steering efforts in alternative investments, which involved real estate asset transactions and corporate project financing on both the debt and equity fronts.
Eric began his illustrious career with global wealth management at Wells Fargo Advisors, collaborating with The Bartlett Group. There, he was pivotal in managing fixed income strategies and developing laddered municipal bond portfolios, also enhancing business development initiatives within the group.
In the initial stages of his career, Eric contributed to the Municipal Bond Sales department at Chapdelaine & Co. This formative experience allowed him to hone his skills alongside notable brokers, including his father, Alfred Poto, a Managing Partner and veteran of over 40 years on Wall Street. This legacy undoubtedly inspired Eric’s career path in financial services, giving him profound insights into the industry.
Education and Achievements
Eric's academic journey set a solid foundation for his successful career in finance. He completed his Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) at the prestigious University of San Diego, where he gained comprehensive knowledge crucial for his future endeavors in wealth management and alternative investments. Prior to his undergraduate studies, he obtained an Associate's Degree from Marymount College, Palos Verdes, which further enriched his educational background.
Eric has also earned several esteemed licenses that signify his expertise in the investment industry. His qualifications include Series 7, Series 63, Series 66, Series 79, and the Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) license. These credentials underscore his commitment to maintaining high industry standards and providing valuable guidance and insights to his clients.
Achievements
Throughout his illustrious career, Eric has amassed a plethora of achievements that highlight his skill set and dedication to the financial sector. Here are a few of his notable accomplishments:
- Founder of Novra Capital: Establishing a firm that specializes in capital raising for early-stage startups marks a significant milestone in Eric's career. It speaks volumes about his entrepreneurial drive and industry knowledge.
- Capital Raised: A remarkable achievement of raising over $45 million in Angel and Series A funding for start-ups demonstrates Eric's significant impact on the entrepreneurial ecosystem and his ability to attract investments.
- High-Profile Transactions: Closing transactions involving globally recognized companies such as Spotify, Airbnb, Impossible Foods, and Uber illustrates Eric's expertise in navigating the Competitive Landscape of the Pre-IPO and Secondary Markets.
- Leadership Roles: Serving as Senior Vice President at RHK Capital and as a Senior Partner at Merrill Lynch's Harrington Group denotes a consistent trajectory of leadership and influence in the finance industry, where he successfully advised ultra-high-net-worth clients and institutional investors.
- Philanthropy: Beyond his professional accomplishments, Eric is notably active in various philanthropic endeavors within New York City and the Hamptons, giving back to the community and contributing to meaningful initiatives.
Currently residing in Manhattan, Eric Poto enjoys a vibrant lifestyle enriched by his passions for travel, surfing, mixed martial arts, and cheering on the New York Giants football team. His diverse interests not only add depth to his personality but also reflect his dynamic approach to life away from the fast-paced world of finance.
Conclusion
Eric Poto stands out as a remarkable figure in the finance sector, whose blend of entrepreneurial spirit, expertise in capital markets, and leadership acumen has propelled him to great heights. As the founder of Novra Capital, he continues to influence the financial landscape positively and empower the next generation of investors and entrepreneurs through strategic funding channels and guidance. With his impressive resume and enriching life experiences, Eric's contributions will undoubtedly resonate in the industry for years to come.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Clay is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Clay as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Clay offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Clay takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Clay encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Clay work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Clay is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
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