Public Pitch - Daniel Sawko of Ship Shape

Delighted to share, with permission, Daniel Sawko of Ship Shape's pitch.

Ship Shape is a Search Engine that lets you search individual investors at venture capital firms, portfolio companies and investment entities.

Please let me know if you would like an intro.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Down rounds

Earlier in the year a founder said to me, "I won't do a down round."

Always do the thing for your business that maximises the end point share price.

If that's a down round don't hesitate.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 25 Oct 22

#TodayI

Was pitched by Daniel Sawko of Ship Shape and finally learnt how to pronounce his surname correctly.
Posted about attending The Maydays Improv Residential and learning by placing yourself in difficult situations.
Had coffee with John O'Neill.
Shared 🎥 Gabriel Isserlis of Tutti.space - We are fundraising! (EIS available)'s video pitch.
Postponed a call.
Was pitched by Jonathan Nwosu of ClimaView AI.
Was pitched by Nadim Takchi of Livret P..
Was pitched by Tahir Farooqui of Smartlayer.ai.
Attended a panel meeting.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Public Pitch - Gabriel Isserlis of Tutti

Delighted to share, with permission, Gabriel Isserlis of Tutti's pitch.

Tutti is the Opentable for creative spaces.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Improv and personal growth

Four years ago I read an article saying placing yourself in difficult situations was a fast ticket to personal growth.

Three years ago I attended an improvisation residential having never done any improv before. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I sucked at improv but I had an incredible time.

The weekend just gone I attended the same residential for the third time. To make it hard for myself I signed up for exclusively musical improv courses (singing).

On the final course of the first day, everyone had to improvise a solo song. I was last to be picked and chose to pass, I couldn't do it.

The following day, in the first three courses, I improvised and sang my own song. I've never done that before. It felt incredible.

Personal growth is hard. Put yourself in difficult situations. I've had the most incredible experience with improv, have met amazing people and have a new pastime I never would have considered.

Go for it.

The Maydays

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investingpublic

Evening update - 24 Oct 22

#TodayI

Flew back from Birmingham.
Shared CatherineAnn Reid of Doqit's video pitch.
Had a call with Joel Yeap who supports early-stage founders.
Chatted with Susan Kabani of Ugenie.io.
Was pitched by CatherineAnn Reid of Doqit.
Was pitched by 🎥 Gabriel Isserlis of Tutti.space - We are fundraising! (EIS available).
Had an excellent call with a professional service adviser.

#NowI

Am going to watch the Doctor Who finale with my boys.

#TomorrowI

Will write about the incredible The Maydays Improv Residential I just attended.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Public Pitch - CatherineAnn Reid of Doqit

Delighted to share, with permission, CatherineAnn Reid of Doqit's pitch.

Doqit aims to reduce the time, cost and stress of life's admin.

Please let me know if you would like an intro.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 19 Oct 22

#TodayI

Posted about Chantal Epp of ClicknClear and Sky Nyla and the difficulty of female founders having children.
Spoke with Peter Mitchell of Future Planet Capital.
Was pitched by Rohit Shetty of ArtBrowser TV.
Was pitched by Andy Taylor of Payful.
Shared Carlo Fedeli of FlexSea's video pitch.
Was pitched by Bobby Devins of Odondo.
Had a call with Gary Izunwa from ZINC.
Met with a professional service adviser.
Flew to Birmingham and got an Uber to my hotel.
Listened to the football.
Got back to seven founders.

#TomorrowI

Am attending an improv residential run by the amazing The Maydays so am off for a few days.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Public Pitch - Carlo Fedeli of FlexSea

Delighted to share, with permission, Carlo Fedeli of FlexSea's pitch.

FlexSea aims to redefine single-use plastic packaging with an innovative seaweed-derived material.

Please let me know if you would like an intro.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Sky Nyla

There are few female founders. There are even fewer sole female founders. Those there are, don't talk about children because of the fear it will scare off investors.

Today let's celebrate the incredible Chantal Epp of ClicknClear and her very recent arrival, Sky Nyla, and let's try and normalise this.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 18 Oct 22

#TodayI

Posted that meat is not yet murder.
Had my haircut.
Realised I'd left all my chargers at home so rushed back and took the next two calls from home.
Chatted with Chantal Epp of ClicknClear who is back from maternity leave (more on that tomorrow).
Had a call with Sam Ettelaie who is helping LPs access first-time funds which typically outperform.
Had coffee and a piece of cake with Jo Stoddart of Locate Guernsey.
Shared Andy Taylor of Payful's video pitch.
Spoke with Roxane Sanguinetti of GHCO about angel investing.
Was pitched by a founder who prefers to stay anonymous.
Was pitched by James Freestone and Louis O'Connell-Bristow of Homemove.

#NowI

Have to get back to two founders.
Need to pack for my trip tomorrow.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Public Pitch - Andy Taylor of Payful

Delighted to share, with permission, Andy Taylor of Payful's pitch.

Andy created Payful to end late payments across the globe.

Please let me know if you would like an intro.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Meat is not yet murder

The only things that justify us eating meat are taste, health and price. It won't be long (5, 10, 20 years?) before none of these justifications is true.

I am not a vegetarian. I fully expect to be considered a barbarian by future generations for eating meat.

Inspired by Claire Cherry who has invested in businesses that may bring about this change and who walked in on me finishing a club sandwich when we met yesterday.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 17 Oct 22

Today I…

Ran 5k (new hobby? pastime?). My legs hurt.
Took a Pilates class with Maria Jose Freeman (Fernandez).
Posted to ask what founders want to know from VCs before contacting them.
Had coffee with Lance Plunkett of Found Tech.
Wished my brother happy birthday.
Met Claire Cherry of Ataraxia Partners and Joyance Partners for coffee.
Shared Sebastien Butler of Plusprop's video pitch.
Was pitched by a founder who wishes to remain anonymous.
Chatted with James Parkes of My Day App.
Received four video pitches.

Now I…

Am going to hear a dry run-through of
Daniel White - Holistic Health Expert's pitch and give feedback ahead of a pitch event.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Public Pitch - Sebastien Butler of Plusprop

Delighted to share, with permission, Sebastien Butler of Plusprop's pitch.

Plusprop is the first property portal in the UK designed for residential real estate investors.

Please let me know if you would like an intro.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Founders FAQ

Founders, would you like to know more about VCs before you contact them?

Comment to say what you'd like to know.

This is a cheat question because it tells me what to put in my FAQ and gives me content for future posts.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 14 Oct 22

Today I…

Had breakfast with Barrie Baxter of Brixx Software at Coco.
Chatted with David Levine about how he helps founders.
Beat David Levine to the punch with my post about not caring about exit strategies.
Spoke to a venture investor who is raising a fund.
Was pitched by Sebastien Butler of Plusprop.
Shared David John Kaye of Abaton's video pitch.
Had a call with Fearghal Power of Spark CrowdFunding and heard how they support Irish startups.
Postponed a call with a private investor.
Made some quick fantasy football decisions when I realised the deadline was today.
Was pitched by Jess Hodgson of Bounty Sports.
Heard a business I had committed to had received a term sheet, gave feedback on that term sheet and made two intros for founder DD.

Now I…

Am going for dinner with my wife.

Have a great weekend everyone!

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Public pitch - David Kaye of Abaton

Delighted to share, with permission, David John Kaye of Abaton's pitch.

Abaton's mission is to accelerate the commercialisation of intangible assets and intellectual property.

Please let me know if you would like an intro.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Exit strategy

Founders, I don't care about your exit strategy. If you are an early-stage business and are thinking about your exit strategy you are focusing on the wrong things.

Concentrate on building an incredible business. Then the exit will look after itself.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 13 Oct 22

Today I…

Realised I had a terrible review on Landscape.
Posted about that review and what happened and asked for feedback.
Had breakfast with Euan Cameron of Willo® at White Rock Cafe.
Had a call with Yoann Benhacoun of Upscalers and discussed our investment strategies and plans.
Spoke with Francesca Marsden of ZINC about their new cohort focusing on environmental impact.
Had a founder postpone because they need to focus on closing their round.
Had another postponement.
Fretted that this was because of the review.
Chatted with Bobby Phillips.
Attended two parents' evenings.
Got back to some founders.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic