Marc Cohen Marc Cohen

Evening update - 18 Nov 22

Today I…

#TodayI

Had breakfast at White Rock Cafe with Max Wong, Dip. IoD, FRSM to debrief on yesterday's mock Oxbridge interviews (picture below).
Was pitched by Anabel Maldonado of PSYKHE AI.
Had a call with Rob Kniaz of Hoxton Ventures to understand his investment strategy.
Posted about unbundled vc's serendipity meetup next Wednesday in London.
Had a call with a founder postponed.
Was pitched by Daniel Samosir Botcherby of Kalda | The LGBTQIA+ mental wellbeing app.
Was pitched by a founder who wishes to remain anonymous.

#NowI

Am having a quick call with Jamie Beaumont of Playter.

#LaterI

Will watch a movie with the kids.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

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Marc Cohen Marc Cohen

It’s happening!

The unbundled vc serendipity meetup is happening next Wednesday evening!

The unbundled vc serendipity meetup is happening next Wednesday evening!

You don't have to sign up to attend but it's super helpful to have an idea of numbers. Depending on numbers I may move the venue and then you will be automatically notified.

https://www.linkedin.com/events/unbundledvcserendipitymeetup6999330766601998337/

Looking forward to meeting some of you in person!

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

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Marc Cohen Marc Cohen

Evening update - 17 Nov 22

Today I…

#TodayI

Posted about my commitment to go all in on Euan Cameron and Andrew Wood and the whole team at Willo®.
Prepared for mock Oxbridge interviews by rapidly having to relearn A-level Maths and Physics.
Had a call about venture investing with David Arroyo i Calahorro of Diario SPORT.
Had coffee with and was fortunate to be able to pick the brain of the amazing Tamara O'Brien on brand and marketing.
Helped at a local school with mock Oxbridge interviews.
Didn't get most the things done I planned to. Apologies if I was meant to get back to you today.

#NowI

Am heading to The Véyaon Awards to celebrate entrepreneurship in Guernsey, hosted by Digital Greenhouse Guernsey. It's remember how to tie my bow tie time again.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

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Marc Cohen Marc Cohen

Evening update - 16 Nov 22

Today I…

#TodayI

Chatted with CTO as a Service and Co-founder of UN1TY, Mike Ozanne.
Had a call with the impressive Eileen Burbidge of Passion Capital and Fertifa.
Posted about my hunger to learn.
Had lots of time blocked out for admin.
Shared Alistair Sergeant of Equantiis's public pitch.
Chatted with Jake Frank about how he gets time-constrained entrepreneurs in amazing shape.
Was pitched by Kimberley Page 🌎 of isosconnect.
Reviewed some investment documents.
Signed some (different) investment documents.

#NowI

Am going for an early dinner with a friend.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

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Marc Cohen Marc Cohen

Public pitch - Alistair Sergeant of Equantiis

Delighted to share, with permission, Alistair Sergeant of Equantiis's pitch.

Delighted to share, with permission, Alistair Sergeant of Equantiis's pitch.

Equantiis helps business leaders deliver the best possible customer experience in the most operationally efficient way.

Please let me know if you would like an intro or feel free to reach out directly.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

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Marc Cohen Marc Cohen

Evening update - 15 Nov 22

Today I…

#TodayI

Had my hair cut by James Bransford.
Posted my FTX take.
Chatted with Caitlin Rozario of interlude.
Had breakfast with haggis with Tom Langford of Potting Shed (picture below).
Shared Madan Rajagopal of Ludimos's public pitch.
Spoke with Michael Engle of 1414 Ventures.
Had a call with a professional adviser.

#LaterI

Have a Pastoral Parents' Evening.
Have to take the bins out.

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Marc Cohen Marc Cohen

FTX brief take

I read Matt Levine's blog yesterday evening (recommended). It looks as if this is as bad as it could be.

I read Matt Levine's blog yesterday evening (recommended). It looks as if this is as bad as it could be.

Barely any liquid funds.
Billions of assets that were their own highly illiquid tokens marked at impossible-to-achieve valuations.
An $8bn balance sheet entry marked as "Hidden poorly internally labelled account".
Client funds lent to Alameda Research which owned huge amounts of FTX tokens. This means Alameda research can't sell those tokens or it may kill FTX. FTX can't ask for the money back because Alameda will need to sell the tokens.
After the crypto crash earlier in the year, FTX bought up cheap assets which had client funds. It appears it did this to lend those to Alameda to keep it running when its assets had also been killed in the crash.

If all the above is true, and there is a lot we don't know, then people are going to jail and investor reputations are going to be ruined.

As always, interested in your thoughts.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

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Marc Cohen Marc Cohen

Evening update - 14 Nov 22

Today I…

#TodayI

Posted about unbundled vc's serendipity meetup in London next week.
Was pitched by Caitlin Rozario of interlude.
Had a chat with Ben Osborne-Young of Vauban from Carta about their new low-cost offering, Atom SPV.
Shared Edwin Chan of sixdegree's video pitch.
Attended Monday Meditation at Guille-Allès Library.
Was pitched by Tom Griswood of Late Space.
Spoke with Guillaume Kloof of Valley Date Tech.
Booked a haircut.
Had a quick call with Paul Archer of Duel Tech.

#NowI

Have to help son number four with his maths homework that was due in last Friday.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

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Marc Cohen Marc Cohen

unbundled vc serendipity meetup

Founders have told me they have had requests about their product or for meetings as a result of being mentioned in #TodayI.

Founders have told me they have had requests about their product or for meetings as a result of being mentioned in #TodayI.

I love serendipity. I'm in London next week and would like to generate some serendipity by hosting a meetup after work on Wednesday 23nd.

If you like the idea, would like to attend or have a location suggestion, please comment.

If there is enough interest, I will post details nearer the time.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

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Marc Cohen Marc Cohen

Evening update - 11 Nov 22

Today I…

#TodayI

Posted about figuring out team strength in a pitch.
Had a breakfast postponed.
Consulted on upcoming Guernsey legislation.
Had a meeting postponed.
Had no other meetings!
Scheduled meetings with four founders
Continued to plan my London trip including meeting in person founders I have committed to.
Got my founder resources page live (see comments for link and call outs).
Finally shared info about the unofficial unbundled vc founder ski trip.

#NowI

Am going home to take the kids to see Wakanda Forever.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Photo of Guernsey this morning.

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Marc Cohen Marc Cohen

Everyone says their team is incredible

In recent pitches I have stopped asking about the team because "everyone says their team is incredible." That makes it hard to learn anything from the answer.

In recent pitches I have stopped asking about the team because "everyone says their team is incredible." That makes it hard to learn anything from the answer.

I want to know about team strength. How should I handle this?

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

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Marc Cohen Marc Cohen

Evening update - 10 Nov 22

Today I…

#TodayI

Had an early call with Edgar Smith of Digital Assured.
Bumped into Tamara O'Brien in town when we were both searching for good porridge.
Put a Willo® sticker on my laptop.
Posted a founder LinkedIn hack.
Had a call with a founder.
Booked a call with Ben Osborne-Young of Vauban from Carta because founders often ask how to set up SPVs for angels.
Was pitched by Tobias Nolan of Candle.
Chatted with Singe (StJohn) Deakins of CitizenMe.
Had coffee with my neighbour-to-be and discussed boundaries.
Was pitched by Tom Neill of Time to Spare.

#NowI

Have to get back to two founders.
Need to catch up on the exercises I didn't do this morning.
Have to collect son number two from football training.

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Marc Cohen Marc Cohen

Founder LinkedIn hack

Personal posts get far more views and reactions than company posts. Get your company to repost your personal posts (without comment).

Personal posts get far more views and reactions than company posts. Get your company to repost your personal posts (without comment).

Then your company feed shows your posts with many likes rather than the lower exposure you'd get if you posted directly from there.

Help me out and make sure this post isn't the exception, please!

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/marcnigelcohen_founders-startups-venturecapital-activity-6996392056893931520-FwnJ

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

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Marc Cohen Marc Cohen

Evening update - 9 Nov 22

Today I…

#TodayI

Was pitched by Madan Rajagopal of Ludimos.
Was pitched by Dee Murray and Emma Wilkinson of Menopause Experts Group Limited.
Had a call with Andy Taylor of Payful.
Posted about my most commonly asked question by founders.
Had a great chat with Min Sang Kim and Dakshesh Dharmadhikary of ClimaView AI who I have committed to invest in.
Had a meeting postponed.
Made a number of intros.

#LaterI

Am having an early dinner with Barrie Baxter of Brixx Software.
Am watching live comedy by Jason Byrne with my wife and friends!

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

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Marc Cohen Marc Cohen

How I work with founders

The question I get asked most by founders is how do you work with a business after you've invested.

The question I get asked most by founders is how do you work with a business after you've invested.

The answer is it is up to the founders.

I will only invest if I think you will win if you never speak to me again but that is far from my intention.

It can be anything from just receiving a quarterly update to being one of your go-to people if you have a specific issue or need strategic advice.

I will be there for you if you need it.

#founders '#startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

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