How to get honest feedback

#founders, if you've ever struggled to get honest feedback on an idea or product, read The Mom Test Book by Rob Fitzpatrick.

I am re-reading it now.

"You aren't allowed to tell them what their problem is, and in return, they aren't allowed to tell you what to build.

They own the problem, you own the solution."

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Mom-Test-customers-business-everyone-ebook/dp/B01H4G2J1U/

Thank you again Edgar Smith for the recommendation.

#startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 30 Sep 22

Today I…

Had a call with Mark Costello from hubb.
Spoke to Charlie Weavers-Wright at Haatch about deal flow.
Met Ben Parker at Runna.
Had lunch with Sasha Kazantseva-Miller.
Was pitched by Greg Freeman of Data Literacy Academy.
Arranged some meetings in Manchester and London for next week.

Tomorrow I am a taxi service for one football training session and two birthday parties.

Sunday I head to Manchester.

Have a good weekend everyone!

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Strong views weakly held

Strong views weakly held is an old trading aphorism. To be a financial markets trader you need the confidence to trade and the courage to change your mind.

I am a blockchain sceptic. I have many smart friends who believe otherwise. That means I could be wrong. I remain open-minded.

What strong view do you hold where you might have to admit you are wrong?

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 29 Sep 22

Today I…

Was pitched by Pete Cooper and Dan Strang of Coopah. Congratulations Pete on your recent arrival!
Chatted with Jake Casson of MONET - always great to catch up with you Jake!
Had a call with Andrew O'Neill at Act Venture Capital to share our investment sectors so we can share relevant deal flow.
Was pitched by Chris Fernandes of Bodii.
Was pitched by Iva Gumnishka of Humans in the Loop.
Was pitched by Aarish Shah of Projected.

Thank you #founders for your time today.

This evening I need to rest.

#startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Robux = Cigarettes

Historically, cigarettes were used as currency in prisons because prisoners could not access cash.

My children negotiate in Robux, the internal currency of Roblox, because they are not allowed to with their pocket money.

Robux fulfils the same purpose for them that cigarettes did in prisons.

If you can find a product your kids care about as much as Roblox, invest in it fast. Roblox has a market cap today of $23bn.

(Excuse for random Porridge clip for old people like me.)

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 28 Sep 22

Today I…

Took the kids to school.
Has a quick call with Jamie Beaumont at Playter.
Had breakfast with Matt Falla and chatted about #startups and #mentalhealth.
Posted about reaching (now over) 100 startups I have been offered to meet.
Was pitched by a founder in stealth mode.
Had another call with another founder in stealth mode.
Had a meeting postponed - Nick I hope you are feeling better soon.
Chatted with Alex Farcet about his Impact Investing Syndicate and am making him an introduction.
Reviewed two more video pitches.
Continued to make plans for my trip to Manchester and London next week.
Sent over thirty emails.
Spoke to fifteen people on WhatsApp.

Now I have to make that introduction and check my fantasy football team.

#founders #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

100 startups in 29 days

29 days ago I started unbundled vc. This morning I was offered the chance to meet with the 100th business that is raising.

Not all of them are in scope. Not all of them I wanted to meet. Not all of them wanted to meet me.

Thank you to everyone for every intro I've been offered.

Please keep them coming!

#founders #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 27 Sep 22

Today I…

Had breakfast with Barrie Baxter, owner of Brixx Software
Had a call with Philip Fortuna, a founder coach. Given the conversation we had, I would imagine he is a very good coach. I am looking forward to our follow-up call.
Was pitched by Jonathan Holtby at Flex Data, Inc which measures soft skills from video games.
Had a call with Ross Tuffee about his new startup and how we can connect Guernsey and Scotland entrepreneur support networks.
Chatted with my friend who runs the stealth startup I have invested in.
Spoke to Oliver McGuinness at RightIndem about how he is growing his business.

This evening I have to review two video pitches, get back to two founders, book flights and hotels for my trip to the UK next week, and take the bins out.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Public pitch - Projected.ai

Delighted to share, with permission, Aarish Shah's pitch.

Projected is starting with a forecasting tool that #founders can share with investors and aims to build a true virtual CFO for SMEs.

Please let me know if you would like an intro.

#startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Late budget takes

1. Updated SEIS and EIS allowances are fantastic for #venturecapital.
2. Lower top-rate taxes encourage people to work harder and generate wealth and stay in the UK while they do so.
3. High budget deficits are bad - it's never clear if the increased growth from lower taxes will translate into enough growth to justify them.
4. Weak sterling will help the economy in the short term. In the long term, a strong currency is a sign investors have confidence in your economy and ability to keep on top of inflation.
5. The Bank of England has lacked credibility on inflation for some time. While they should move faster on rates and QE reversal if taxes are cut and growth is higher, relying on them to do so is unwise.

#founders #startups #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 26 Sep 22

Today I…

Took the kids to school
Had a no-show
Shared that I will be in Manchester for coffee
Was pitched by Bradley Gough of Groubook
Shared Iva Gumnishka of Humans in the Loop's video pitch
Arranged to meet three people in Manchester
Gave feedback on a fund I am considering committing to
Had a founder postpone because of urgent personal matters (good luck!)
Had a call with Felix Atkin of Sharesy
Shared the pitch deck of one of my businesses that is raising with another fund
Passed an investment opportunity
Am introducing an investor to 1818 Venture Capital

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Public pitch - Humans in the Loop

Delighted to share, with permission, Iva Gumnishka's pitch.

Humans in the Loop provides humans-in-the-loop to collect, annotate, and validate the data needed for bias-free AI.

Let me know if you would like an intro.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Coffee in Manchester

Many VCs are London-centric. Despite being based in Guernsey, most of my trips to the UK are to London. This time it's different.

Manchester #founders, entrepreneurs and investors, please schedule a coffee and share with your network.

Meet me for coffee in Manchester

#startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 23 Sep 22

Today I…

Took the kids to school.
Had a call with Nick Ellwood at Playter.
Was pitched by Michael Curds at hya.
Spoke with Kevin Maxwell about #venturecapital and PR.
Had a call with Euan Cameron at Willo®.
Had coffee at Muse with a friend who gave me good advice.
Spoke with Jan Deruyck at Guud about his investment round.
Collected the kids from school.
Fed them pizza (sorry wife).
Watched The Rings of Power with them.
Put them to bed.

#founders #startups #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Fair’s fair

My wife is away for ten days to build her incredible interior design business.

I am sole carer for the kids in her absence - school runs, homework, food, all the usual things.

Historically, and highly stereotypically, I have been the breadwinner and she has taken care of home and family.

Now, as is only fair, I have to adjust to my share of the duties. I am finding the adjustment process difficult!

In the meantime, until the end of next week, I may be slower than normal to respond to emails, messages etc.

Wish me luck!

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 20 Sep 22

Today I…

Had virtual breakfast with Sofia Senhaji Rhazi Belcadi to discuss various deals in our pipelines. Sofia has a great e-commerce business and is building an angel portfolio.
Spoke with an adviser.
Needed to postpone four meetings to deal with personal admin - sorry people!
Had a call with Nicky Sugarman at Stanhope Capital Group and S4S Ventures around one particular deal and what each of our investment criteria are.
Spoke to Leo Ringer at Form Ventures around our investment criteria, sharing deal flow, and their unique thesis of investing in #startups with public policy exposure where their expertise can help.

Tomorrow and Thursday I am in the UK having family time.

Now I have to go home and pack for me and my eight and nine year old.

See you all on Friday!

#founders #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

The power of brand

Three weeks ago, at the request of my 12-year-old son, I attended the KSI boxing match at the O2. There were 8 fights, largely between YouTubers. KSI is a YouTuber with 24 million subscribers.

23 years ago I attended Holyfield vs Lewis II in Las Vegas, a huge heavyweight world title unification fight.

The KSI event was so much better. Everyone cared about every fight and the atmosphere was incredible.

5 years ago nobody imagined YouTubers boxing would sell out the O2. The power of personal brand has just begun. I can only imagine what it will look like in 5 or 10 years' time.

Your view may differ. But a strong view about the world will help you build or invest or both. As long as you are right.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 16 Sep 22

Today I…

Had breakfast with a colleague.
Attended a co-invest presentation.
Had a call with 2 #founders.
Spoke with Shuey Gordon about deal flow.
Had a great call, as always, with Nick Gregg of Blenheim Chalcot.
Spoke with Mayur Upadhyaya about what he is building at Contxt. #devtools
Had a call with old friend Kevin Cummings of McDermott Will & Emery.
Made a plan with a founder to spend time reviewing their financial model next week.

Have a great long weekend everyone.

#startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Founder mental health

Ruby Wax spoke brilliantly about #mentalhealth and her mental health journey at the Guernsey Chamber of Commerce dinner yesterday evening. She is funny, compassionate and not afraid to speak her mind.

We don't talk enough about founder mental health. We expect them to work all hours and take very few holidays and meet our crazy expectations. There is an extent to which this is necessary for success but there is always a balance and it can't be at the expense of mental health.

As investors we need to do all we can to recognise this and support our founders however we can. Please know that you can reach out and will be taken seriously and treated with 100% confidence.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 15 Sep 22

Today I…

Spoke to Fred Soneya from Haatch to share our investment criteria so we can share relevant deal flow.
Had coffee with superstar financial planner Bobby Phillips.
Bumped into Matt Horton of Aztec Group and had a good chat.
Had a call with Esha Vatsa at Forward Partners to discuss a specific deal and to share investment criteria.
Had a late pitch cancellation because they don't need any more funds.
Spoke to Andrea Sommer at Hive Founders about how they support female #founders.
Sent some pass emails with feedback.
Confirmed I will be attending the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) summit in London on Oct 6th.

This evening I have a table with friends at the Guernsey Chamber of Commerce annual black-tie dinner to hear Ruby Wax speak on leadership.

Current status: trying and failing to tie my bow tie.

#startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic