Evening update - 12 Apr 23
Today I…
#TodayI
Shared that I and many VCs are partnering with Focal's demo day.
Was pitched by Brad Jones of Meet Kinksters.
Was pitched by Filip Ceder of Lyckli.
Was pitched by Alex Lushnikov of trendi.
Had a call with a founder I am helping.
Used my network to dig into a startup on my shortlist.
Made some intros.
#LaterI
Have to pack for my trip to London tomorrow.
#Ifyoureadthisfar
I have a slot for coffee/breakfast tomorrow due to a late cancellation.
Experiment: send me a message or comment below and meet me at 116 Pall Mall at any time between 10am and midday. It could be just me (it's very short notice) or there could be a few of us. We will see!
https://goo.gl/maps/n7Po5WLRJgC8abHT6
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Focal demo day
I’m delighted to be partnering with Focal and collaborating with over 110 other VCs to help make early-stage fundraising more efficient and accessible.
I’m delighted to be partnering with Focal and collaborating with over 110 other VCs to help make early-stage fundraising more efficient and accessible.
Founders, if your startup is raising Pre-seed, Seed or Series A now or in the next 6 months please apply at https://www.gofocal.vc/.
The application window shuts at the end of 24th April ahead of demo day on 18th May.
I know the people running this (Hi Hector, Taos and Jack!) and they are great so you should definitely do this!
Evening update - 11 Apr 23
Today I…
#TodayI
Shared that obviously great startup ideas are terrible startup ideas.
Worked from home because my wife is away and the kids are off school.
Had a site meeting for our house build with Infinity Construction and DLM Architects Ltd.
Was pitched by Cally Russell of Together.
Updated my LinkedIn profile to show I am partnering with Focal. More to come tomorrow.
Caught up with Vinay Goel and Matthew Codd of Cosmic Partners and unbundled vc's founder support scheme.
Was pitched by Kris Jones (He/Him) of Magic Sauce Online.
Took my two youngest for their biweekly injections.
Attended a panel meeting.
#NowI
Have to feed the kids, take the bins out and clean the house before my wife gets home or I'm in trouble.
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
"That's a great idea!" = That's a terrible idea
The worst startup ideas are the ones where everyone says, "That's a great idea!"
"That's a great idea!" = That's a terrible idea.
The worst startup ideas are the ones where everyone says, "That's a great idea!"
If it's obvious there are either loads of people already trying to do it or, even worse, nobody is trying to do it.
If nobody is trying to do it, most likely many people have tried and failed and there is some non-obvious reason why it is hard.
Y Combinator talks about tarpit ideas - video in the comments. Peter Thiel talks about believing something about the world that nobody else believes. The classic question is why now.
How do you validate your startup idea without falling into this trap?
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Evening update - 6 Apr 23
Today I…
#TodayI
Shared the three beneficiaries of unbundled vc's marketing founder support scheme with Nicky Dibben.
Cycled to work.
Had my Important not Urgent day.
Caught up with Jamie Beaumont of Playter.
Spoke with Hector Mason of Episode 1 Ventures and Focal about an investment.
Postponed a founder call because of a migraine (not mine).
Renewed my driving licence.
Have a wonderful long weekend everyone!
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Founder support scheme - marketing with Nicky Dibben
I am delighted to announce the three founders who have been selected to be part of the unbundled vc founder support scheme - Marketing with Nicky Dibben are...
I am delighted to announce the three founders who have been selected to be part of the unbundled vc founder support scheme - Marketing with Nicky Dibben are...
drumroll...
Sheila Hogan of Biscuit Tin,
Daisy Harvey of Loom and
Mathew Norbury of FC Laboratories Ltd.
Sheila, Daisy and Mathew - I hope it is helpful!
unbundled vc now has three partners as part of its founder support scheme - Nicky Dibben, Matthew Codd and Samuel Cohen.
You can read more about it here - https://lnkd.in/e4gEENUv
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Evening update - 5 Apr 23
Today I…
#TodayI
Ran to my pilates class with Maria Jose Freeman (Fernandez) of Pilates Core Club. Thank you Runna for the inspiration.
Shared that I try and hold myself to the same standards I hold founders to.
Was pitched by Chris Byatte and Joe Wee of SPLACE.
Was pitched by Daniel Sozonov of Unison.
Got back to the founders chosen for unbundled vc's founder marketing support scheme with Nicky Dibben - more info tomorrow.
Was pitched by a founder who wishes to remain anonymous.
Chatted with Aldwyn Boscawen of Morale App.
Was pitched by Conor McKenna and Ben Greenock of Go Swag.
#NowI
Am going to collapse.
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Holding myself to high standards
I have a very high bar for who I will invest in. I know my criteria. I try and apply the same criteria to what I'm doing.
I try and hold myself to the same standards I hold founders to.
I have a very high bar for who I will invest in. I know my criteria. I try and apply the same criteria to what I'm doing.
Do I understand my customers (founders) and what they want? Can I meet those needs and can I make sure enough high-quality founders know I can meet those needs? Am I as determined and persistent and resilient as they are?
Those are the standards I hold myself to. Just because I'm allocating capital doesn't mean I can't figure out how to do my job better.
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Evening update - 4 Apr 23
#TodayI
Posted about doing things that don't scale to understand your customers intimately.
Had coffee with Kai Junghanns.
Had a client call to understand if an important client need was being met by a startup.
Was pitched by Charan Lakhanpal of Lastlove.
Was pitched by Rachel Curtis of Inicio AI.
Am receiving regular WhatsApp a day in the life updates of a startup I am considering investing in.
Attended Focal's (previously The Stage) update and partner kick-off. Founders, you can find out more and apply here - https://www.gofocal.vc/.
Was pitched by Nimrita Dadlani and Ramesh Touraney of Pivot.
#NowI
Am spending time with my son on his birthday.
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Do things that don’t scale to understand your customers intimately
Founders, on day one you need to understand the problem they are hoping your product will solve.
Do things that don't scale to understand your customers intimately.
Founders, on day one you need to understand the problem they are hoping your product will solve.
To do that you have to talk to them. Not try and guess what extra feature will make the difference or send a survey or email and ask for feedback. Actually call them up and talk to them.
Then you can adapt your product and messaging to reflect what your customers actually want.
That doesn't scale. It doesn't need to once you understand your customers intimately.
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Evening update - 3 Apr 23
Today I…
#TodayI
Posted my views on the quote "startups die of suicide not murder".
Listened to Harry Stebbings' podcast with Dara Khosrowshahi while running to work.
Was pitched by Merita Memisi of Bart.
Caught up with 🎥 Gabriel Isserlis of Tutti (visit www.tutti.space).
Had lunch with Matt Horton of Aztec Group.
Had coffee with Sean Cheong.
#LaterI
Am having pizza with a friend.
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Startups die of suicide not murder
This quote suggests it's about the execution and not the competition.
Startups die of suicide not murder.
This quote suggests it's about the execution and not the competition.
Whilst there is truth in this, the more competitors you have the harder it will be and if one is way ahead of you it can cap your upside. There are also winner takes all scenarios like marketplaces.
What do you think?
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Evening update - 31 Marc 23
Today I…
#TodayI
Didn't cycle to work because the wind speed was over 60km/h.
Posted about not doing what your customers ask.
Had a late breakfast with Trevor Nicholls of EaseeDo.
Chatted with Euan Cameron of Willo®.
Had a call with Alex Macarthur of Pocketlaw.
Was pitched by two founders who wish to remain anonymous.
Caught up with Roei Samuel of Connectd.
#NowI
Am taking my kids to see Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Don't do what your customers ask.
Provocative but true. Your customers will ask for features. You need to understand why, what problem they are trying to solve. Then build what solves that problem.
Don't do what your customers ask.
Provocative but true. Your customers will ask for features. You need to understand why, what problem they are trying to solve. Then build what solves that problem.
Sometimes that will be what they asked for. Sometimes you will delight them with something much, much better.
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Done is better than perfect
It's easy to get obsessed with perfect. It can be an excuse not to ship. You are much better shipping product and getting fast feedback than waiting.
Done is better than perfect.
It's easy to get obsessed with perfect. It can be an excuse not to ship. You are much better shipping product and getting fast feedback than waiting.
Even if you are launching, you can always launch again. Airbnb launched three times and no one paid attention to the first two.
Get your product out there, get feedback and iterate fast.
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Evening update - 28 Mar 23
Today I…
#TodayI
Shared Part III of the unbundled vc founder support scheme - Marketing with Nicky Dibben.
Ran to pilates.
Had pilates with Maria Jose Freeman (Fernandez) of Pilates Core Club.
Was pitched by Emilian Siemsia of Planky.
Had a quick catch up with Singe (StJohn) Deakins of CitizenMe.
Attended Wangie.app's Q2 focus meeting hosted by the one and only Monika Holod.
Was pitched by Isabella Sumner (currently raising 🙌🏻 🌱) and Till Janz of InHaus.ai.
Caught up with Larisa Budaeva of Nation.better to hear her progress and plans.
#NowI
Have to collect one son from football club, drop another at football training, collect him from football training and take him to table tennis and stay and watch the all-island finals with him. And get back to some founders. 🤷♂️
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Founder support scheme - Part III - marketing with Nicky Dibben.
Marketing refers to any actions a company takes to offer the right products and services and attract an audience through high-quality messaging. This means digging deep to figure out how your customers perceive the pain points you solve for them, who those customers are, and how you can best reach them.
Marketing refers to any actions a company takes to offer the right products and services and attract an audience through high-quality messaging. This means digging deep to figure out how your customers perceive the pain points you solve for them, who those customers are, and how you can best reach them.
Nicky Dibben is a 360-degree marketer who knows this back to front. She has huge experience helping you understand and craft your positioning and messaging. I'm delighted to announce that Nicky is Part III of the unbundled vc founder support scheme.
We are partnering to offer founders a free one-hour consultation with actionable feedback for any founders I invest in and can extend that today to three more founders who Nicky and I will choose. Either contact me directly or comment on this post.
The feedback goes just to you and I will never see it. It's there to help you, it's not DD.
There is more to come. Watch this space.
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Evening update - 28 Mar 23
Today I…
#TodayI
Shared my belief that the likely progression of AI means that founder strength is more important than ever.
Had coffee with Sean Cheong. To be continued.
Chatted with Jack Richardson about his plans and investing.
Was pitched by Cristina Cruz of Off U Go!
Spoke briefly to my bank.
Was pitched by Konstantinos (Kostas) E. Zachariadis and Marios Tsatsos, PhD of Adjoin Homes.
#LaterI
Have a parents' evening.
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Founder strength is more important than ever
AI is changing the world faster than ever. It's hard to know which business areas will be impacted the most. Founders will have to be more nimble than ever. Founder strength is therefore more important than ever.
Investment hypothesis:
AI is changing the world faster than ever. It's hard to know which business areas will be impacted the most. Founders will have to be more nimble than ever. Founder strength is therefore more important than ever.
Thoughts?
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic