Tracxn super sketchy cold outreach
Dear Tracxn, here's how to do super sketchy cold outreach:
1. Email me sharing your services. This is fine. Targeted cold outreach is normal.
2. Receive a reply saying, not for me thanks. Reply sent so that I don't get the automated follow up.
3. Cold reply from a second email address saying, I know you said not for me, but here's why you should still use our service.
4. Get blocked and marked as spam. Which is probably why you sent from a different email.
I hope we can keep this highly effective technique between ourselves and that nobody cold replies on my behalf.
Mr Beast onboarding learnings
Mr Beast, a YouTuber, is expected to generate over $700m revenue this year. Last year it was £223m. He's a crazy good businessman.
He built an onboarding document for his 300-person production company. It's full of gold for anyone running or working in a high-intensity, fast-growing business. I learned a lot from it.
Find it here.
Edit: This post led to the opportunity to contribute to a Business Insider article. Link here.
Ctrl Alt in Dubai
Congrats to Matt Ong and the whole Ctrl Alt team on opening their office in Dubai where Robert Farquhar is joining to lead the expansion.
Ctrl Alt has partnerships with Liv Digital Bank / Emirates NBD and more will be announced very soon.
Ctrl Alt helps tokenise alternative assets and already has $150m under management in the UK and Europe. This will accelerate that.
unbundled vc is a proud investor. Link to article in the comments.
Smartest person in the room is fine
It's fine to be the smartest person in the room. Just never be in a room of people you can't learn anything from.
You can learn something from everybody. So if you think you're in a room of people you can't learn from, the problem is you.
I was in an Uber and the driver said to me, "As an employee, you treat your company the way they treat you." Super insightful.
There are learnings everywhere.
Time choices
Monday rant:
We spend half our time bemoaning that increasing wealth doesn't count because people work harder than ever, and the other half criticising the attention economy because people now have so many choices how they spend their time and we don't like their decisions.
What am I missing?
Era of abundance?
Are we approaching an era of abundance?
AI gets ever smarter.
Energy costs are trending to zero. The proportion of energy produced by renewables is growing much faster than demand. The cost of producing it is on a fast downward trend.
In aggregate, these will lead to an era of abundance. Go read the Iain M Banks Culture Series for an optimistic take on this.
What every other professional investor gets wrong - coming soon
To hear what almost every other professional investor gets wrong...
check out my upcoming podcast with David Levine.
I figure these things out by ignoring conventional wisdom and starting from first principles.
No, I won't answer what it is in the comments.
Coming soon.
David Levin podcast questions
I am recording a podcast very shortly with the wonderful David Levine of Manchester Angels.
What topics would you like us to cover?
ChatGPT reasoning test
Want to test ChatGPT's latest model, announced yesterday, that they claim has the ability to reason but don't have a subscription?
Ask me a question in the comments and I will share the answer.
Nervous about investment terms
A founder messaged me today, nervous about "counter-entrepreneurial investment terms". I was able to tell him what normal looks like.
Founder - "Being candid, I’m not convinced by some of the VCs in Europe - some of the terms seem counter-entrepreneurial and closer to to PE."
Me - "What terms in particular do you mean and I can let you know how standard they are."
Founder - "1.5x liquidation preference and an anti-dilution clause are two that have been mentioned to me. Also value capping SAFE (which concerns me that the next investors would also get that valuation so keeps the value artificially low)."
Me - "SAFE is quite normal and doesn't prevent a higher valuation in later rounds. 1x liquidation pref is normal, should not be higher."
"Anti dilution you should avoid unless it's only for the next round in which case it's basically the same as a SAFE with a cap."
"One benefit of a SAFE is you can do a Seedfast (SeedLegals standard terms SAFE) and it saves time and money negotiating legals."
"Hope that's helpful."
Founder - "Yes it is - thank you."
Exit plan = red flag
Investing in startups is like buying options - there is very little intrinsic value, it's all about the upside.
That's why backing businesses with the biggest potential outcomes is so important - it maximises the value of that option.
That's why an exit plan is a red flag - it caps the upside and its value.
The hard problems are worth solving
The hard problems are the ones worth solving. If it's easy, why isn't it done?
I had coffee this morning with Ross Guilbert who is heading to UCL to do a Masters in AI (and forgot to take a selfie 🤦♂️). During our chat I realised how much I am drawn toward tackling hard problems.
I did it with poker and AI. I did it with trading and AI.
Now, I'm doing it with venture investing - and, on the side, with standup.
Every founder is doing the same. By definition, it's not easy, and there is no guarantee of success. But these are the things with the great rewards.
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➕ Follow Marc Cohen for deep yet concise insights into venture investing, startups, fundraising and AI.
Ask me anything - a LinkedIn experiment
❓ Ask me anything - a LinkedIn experiment.
💡 Write a post with your question about venture investing, startups, fundraising or AI, and tag Marc Cohen and unbundled vc and I’ll do my best to provide a thoughtful answer.
I aim to share deep yet concise insights on these topics.
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❤️ Like, ♻️ Share and 💬 Comment so more founders and investors can ask me anything.
➕ Follow Marc Cohen for deep yet concise insights into venture investing, startups, fundraising and AI.
Venture investment decisions are simple
Fundamentally, venture investment decisions are simple.
• How big a multiple could you achieve?
• What is the likelihood of getting there?
• How fast might that happen?
Everything you do - every process you build, every question you ask, including those on founder strength - should be in service of those three key questions.
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➕ Follow Marc Cohen for deep yet concise insights into venture investing, startups, fundraising and AI.
The power of growth
🚀 For startups with revenue, the biggest single predictor of future growth is current growth. Strong growth compounds amazingly. Just see the chessboard.
Yes, sometimes growth can be bought uneconomically (Hi WeWork). But fundamentally this is why investors value it so highly.
That's why your growth rate directly impacts your ability to secure funding. And why explosive growth can drive those huge multiples and valuations.
Without enough growth, you will need to convince investors you are at an inflection point. That is a much tougher job.
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♻️ Repost so more founders and investors appreciate the power of growth.
➕ Follow Marc Cohen for deep yet concise insights into venture investing, startups, fundraising and AI.
Suggestions for LinkedIn tagline
Hi LinkedIn, I need your help.
I'm looking to add a "Follow me for..." tagline to my posts so people know what to expect from my content.
Any suggestions?
How I Used ChatGPT to Write "Venture Capital’s Wild Ride"
People have asked me how I worked interactively with ChatGPT to write my latest article, "Venture Capital’s Wild Ride." So, I thought I’d share the process.
I started with rough notes on how the 2021 venture capital boom impacted the Channel Islands. I used ChatGPT interactively to refine the structure, clarify key points, and create engaging section titles like "The Market Reverses Course" and "The Promise of AI."
It wasn’t just about editing - ChatGPT helped me reword complex ideas, improve the flow, and ensure every section fit seamlessly into the overall narrative.
I even used ChatGPT to write this post! If you’re interested in the full conversation that led to the final article, check the comments for the link.
When to transition to full time
Founder - "When do you think would be the right time to transition into this full time?"
- One question is are you definitely going to give this a go full time or is it conditional on either fundraising or some early traction that convinces you it is worth it? the answer will depend on your risk appetite, your confidence in success, your financial situation, and how easy it will be to return to what you were previously doing if it doesn't work out. I'd start by considering those factors.
- Obviously the more time you dedicate to it the greater the chance of success but that's not an independent consideration, hence your need to answer those other questions first.
- I think that might be it - you need to figure those things out before you know the answer.
- Investors 'should' be fine with you not being full time until you've raised if that's your path but they will insist on it post raise
Female Founder office hours at Sifted Summit
I will be at Sifted Summit again next month, with my weirdly distorted head, doing female founder office hours for Alma Angels with 49 other investors for 100 founders. 🎟 Get your ticket to Sifted Summit with 15% off with the code Alma15 - link in comments - and Sifted will contact you to register.
During the day, I will most likely just find a spot and stay there. Please come and say hi.
