Morning update - 9 Nov 22

#YesterdayI

Posted about my investment process and added it to my website FAQ.
Attended a site meeting for my house build - thank you Infinity Group and DLM Architects Ltd.
Had coffee with Kit Hobbs.
Was pitched by a founder who wishes to remain anonymous.
Was pitched by another founder who wishes to remain anonymous!
Made plans for a trip to London later in the month.
Attended an event hosted by Alma Angels and Chris Smith of Playfair Capital who I have recently invested alongside.
Got back to two founders.
Took the bins out.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

unbundled vc’s investment process

My process is:

1. Go to Pitch above and use the link to record a short video pitch using Willo.

2. Hear back before I go to bed two business days later if I would like you to schedule a thirty-minute call using Calendly and share a pitch deck. Receive feedback if not.

3. Shortly before the call I will watch your video pitch again and make notes so it is fresh in my mind. I will look at your pitch deck before the call but only briefly. I prefer to hear about the business in your words.

4. On the call I will start with a quick summary of my background and how I came to be here and interested in investing. Then I will ask you to spend more time sharing your background and how you come to be here, running your business and raising funds.

5. Then we have an organic conversation which will likely finish with me asking you about the investment round.

6. After that, you will have time to ask me questions.

7. After the call, I will get back to you before I go to bed two business days later with either a yes, a no with feedback, more questions, a request for another call or occasionally a request for more time. If the call was on a Wednesday the two business days may stretch into the weekend.

8. After that it is more organic though I aim to be as time efficient as possible so as not to waste anyone's time.

9. 98-99% of businesses get passed so please don't be offended. I will inevitably miss some incredible businesses though that is not my intention.

10. Even if I pass I still want you to win. You only win if you are providing something useful to the world that didn't previously exist. Make it happen.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 7 Nov 22

#TodayI

Posted about my investment commitment in Jonathan Nwosu, Min Sang Kim and Dakshesh Dharmadhikary of ClimaView AI.
Bumped into Marc Winn and discussed Pret A Manger's coffee subscription model.
Was pitched by Edwin Chan of sixdegree.
Chatted with Elliscia McKeogh about Investor Relations.
Attended lunch break meditation hosted by Katie Bisson at Guernsey Library.
Was pitched by Matt Pollen of Litta Hunters.
Attended a panel.

#NowI

Have to get back to two founders with feedback.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Investment commitment in ClimaView AI

Super happy to announce I have committed to invest in Jonathan Nwosu and Min Sang Kim and Dakshesh Dharmadhikary of ClimaView AI.

Financial institutions need to be able to calculate the sustainability of those they lend to (their Scope 3 emissions). Existing solutions use self-reported data which can't be relied on. ClimaView solves this problem by using transactional data and AI to calculate those emissions.

ClimaView has an important mission, an incredible founding team, and early traction, including a FTSE 100 bank, that demonstrates this is a real pain point not solved by others. I hope to be an investor very soon!

Links to their video pitch and an article on Tesla's self-reported emissions in the comments.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 4 Nov 22

#TodayI

Dropped son number two at school.
Realised I'd left my laptop at home.
Did the round trip to collect it (sigh).
Posted about forcing myself to make hard decisions in order to learn fast.
Chatted with Nairn Robertson of Active Teams.
Was pitched by Victor Ehinmowo of Vobb.io.
Had a catch up with Euan Cameron of Willo®.
Spoke with Peter Rostovsky and Joshua McSorley of Kupchiy.
Was pitched by a startup in stealth mode.

#ThisEveningI

Am having dinner with son number two.
Am going to watch a performance of Hamlet with son number two.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Hard decisions and investment size

Yesterday a founder asked me if it would be easier for me to make a smaller investment commitment.

It would and that is the problem. There are lots of great businesses out there. I could easily make twice as many investments of half the size.

I prefer to force myself to make hard decisions. I won't always get it right but I will learn much faster.

Having said that, I have an investment commitment I plan to tell you about on Monday I am really excited about.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 3 Nov 22

#TodayI

Posted about founder ambition.
Attended a fund update meeting.
Had coffee with Tom Whitby of Tradeworks.vc and Oracle Venture Capital.
Made an investment commitment.
Attended The Stage demo day co-hosted by Hector Mason.
Received three video pitches between 3.30 and 4.30.

#NowI

Am listening to an investor update.

#ThenI

Am getting the bus to town for a friend's birthday celebration.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Founder ambition

I am looking for founders with the ambition to build businesses that could return 100x or more.

Investing in startups is all about the option value. Without the chance of a huge exit, the value of your business is significantly lower.

This is precisely why venture-backed businesses can have high valuations with little revenue.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 2 Nov 22

#TodayI

Posted about differentiation and helping investors see it matters.
Was pitched by Chris Webb and Marc Hendriks of GreenGrowth Investments Ltd.
Had a call with Andy Taylor of Payful.
Had a second call with a founder.
Spoke with a prolific angel investor who mainly invests in female founders.
Was pitched by a founder who wishes to remain anonymous.
Went for a quick drink with a friend.
Got back to three founders who shared video pitches.

#NowI

Have to get back to four founders.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Why does your differentiation matter

Founders, every pitch deck contains a chart or table showing you offer features your competitors don't.

Make sure your customers care enough about those differences or they don't matter.

Make sure your investors have a way of understanding why your clients care about those differences.

It's not enough that they matter or that you say they matter, help us validate that they matter. Then it's easy to invest.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 1 Nov 22

#TodayI

Posted about paying for blue ticks on Twitter.
Prepared a backup website because Squarespace had issues.
Was figuring out how to switch the DNS settings.
Saw Squarespace had resolved their issues and didn't need to (wipes brow).
Had breakfast with Paul Matthews of Ravenscroft Group.
Had a call with a professional adviser.
Spoke with Jonathan Nwosu.
Chatted with a founder who has previously bootstrapped and is starting a raise.
Checked the WIP FAQs on my site and they look OK.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Blue ticks

Elon Musk wants to charge $10 or $20 a month for a blue tick on Twitter.

I would pay without hesitation. It adds credibility and it would take me years to get a blue tick.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update (delayed by Squarespace bug) - 31 Oct 22

#TodayI

Submitted funds for an investment.
Was pitched by Abhishek Dadoo of Fewcents.
Had a call with a VC to share investment areas.
Posted my typical investment size.
Had coffee with Robert Dorey of Astaara .
Submitted funds for another investment!
Was pitched by Michael Blakley of Equitas.
Was pitched by John Downie of SteadyPay.
Was pitched by a founder who wishes to remain anonymous.
Got a work in progress FAQ up on my website.
Thought I'd broken my website because black writing on black backgrounds.
Spotted there is an issue with Squarespace that is the cause.
Am waiting for them to fix it and am nervous I broke it while trying to fix it.
Got the bus home.
Went trick or treating with sons 3 & 4.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Investment size

I invest £50k first tickets into startups. I can invest up to £200k in total into a business.

The first £50k is easier to get than the next £150k because I could invest it into three new things and have better portfolio diversification.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 28 Oct 22

#TodayI

Spoke with Matthew Bradley of Tikto Capital and shared our respective investment strategies. Matt is looking to "buy breakeven or profitable tech companies in Europe and provide them with growth capital, knowledge and network."
Had a no-show.
Was pitched by Abhimanyu Dasgupta and Vijay Anand of Unravel.
Was pitched by a founder who wishes to remain anonymous.
Had a second call with a founder. We will have a third next week.
Had to postpone another second call with a founder.
Attended a board meeting.

#NowI

Need to sleep.

Have a great weekend everyone.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Percentage ownership

I don't care about my percentage ownership in a business.

I care about investing the right amount of money at the right valuation in incredible businesses.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 27 Oct 22

#TodayI

Posted about info for founders new to venture capital.
Spoke with Victoria Ross (CCBI) and Mairi Henderson of Scottish Development International. Their role is to help Scottish startups find potential investors. They keep a list of your criteria so you only get sent what is relevant. If you are an investor and want to be less London-centric you should contact them.
Had a call with Philip Fortuna, founder coach extraordinaire. We are making plans. I am getting free coaching/counselling in the process!
Shared Jonathan Nwosu, Dakshesh Dharmadhikary and Min Sang Kim of ClimaView AI's video pitch
Attended a Black Founder Demo Day run by Barclays Eagle Labs. A pleasant surprise to hear Gary Izunwa present.
Signed docs on an investment.

#NowI

Have to take son number two to football training.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Public Pitch - Jonathan Nwosu, Dakshesh Dharmadhikary and Min Sang Kim of ClimaView AI

Delighted to share, with permission, Jonathan Nwosu, Dakshesh Dharmadhikary and Min Sang Kim of ClimaView AI's pitch.

ClimaView AI is building the next generation of AI software to power sustainable finance.

Please let me know if you would like an intro.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Founder resources

I sometimes meet founders with great ideas but no knowledge of venture capital which they need to be able to raise.

What are some great resources to point them to, please?

I will host the links here on the website.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 26 Oct 22

#TodayI

Posted about down rounds.
Was pitched by Sam Miller of Atlas AI (Techstars AI 2021) and ran significantly over time discussing AI.
Had to postpone a call with a fund.
Shared Daniel Sawko of Ship Shape's video pitch.
Had coffee with MATHEW GULLY at hidden treasure Patois.
Was pitched by Guy Manos of CineLogic Ltd.
Received confirmation I am in a round for a new investment.
Received docs to sign for another new investment.
Had afternoon tea at Christies with a friend (see photo).
Took sons 2, 3 & 4 to see Black Adam.

#NowI

Have to catch up on all my emails and get back to five founders.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic