Late budget takes
1. Updated SEIS and EIS allowances are fantastic for #venturecapital.
1. Updated SEIS and EIS allowances are fantastic for #venturecapital.
2. Lower top-rate taxes encourage people to work harder and generate wealth and stay in the UK while they do so.
3. High budget deficits are bad - it's never clear if the increased growth from lower taxes will translate into enough growth to justify them.
4. Weak sterling will help the economy in the short term. In the long term, a strong currency is a sign investors have confidence in your economy and ability to keep on top of inflation.
5. The Bank of England has lacked credibility on inflation for some time. While they should move faster on rates and QE reversal if taxes are cut and growth is higher, relying on them to do so is unwise.
#founders #startups #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Evening update - 26 Sep 22
Today I…
Today I…
Took the kids to school
Had a no-show
Shared that I will be in Manchester for coffee
Was pitched by Bradley Gough of Groubook
Shared Iva Gumnishka of Humans in the Loop's video pitch
Arranged to meet three people in Manchester
Gave feedback on a fund I am considering committing to
Had a founder postpone because of urgent personal matters (good luck!)
Had a call with Felix Atkin of Sharesy
Shared the pitch deck of one of my businesses that is raising with another fund
Passed an investment opportunity
Am introducing an investor to 1818 Venture Capital
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Public pitch - Humans in the Loop
Delighted to share, with permission, Iva Gumnishka's pitch.
Delighted to share, with permission, Iva Gumnishka's pitch.
Humans in the Loop provides humans-in-the-loop to collect, annotate, and validate the data needed for bias-free AI.
Let me know if you would like an intro.
Coffee in Manchester
Many VCs are London-centric.
Many VCs are London-centric. Despite being based in Guernsey, most of my trips to the UK are to London. This time it's different.
Manchester #founders, entrepreneurs and investors, please schedule a coffee and share with your network.
Meet me for coffee in Manchester
#startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Evening update - 23 Sep 22
Today I…
Today I…
Took the kids to school.
Had a call with Nick Ellwood at Playter.
Was pitched by Michael Curds at hya.
Spoke with Kevin Maxwell about #venturecapital and PR.
Had a call with Euan Cameron at Willo®.
Had coffee at Muse with a friend who gave me good advice.
Spoke with Jan Deruyck at Guud about his investment round.
Collected the kids from school.
Fed them pizza (sorry wife).
Watched The Rings of Power with them.
Put them to bed.
#founders #startups #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Fair’s fair
My wife is away for ten days to build her incredible interior design business.
My wife is away for ten days to build her incredible interior design business.
I am sole carer for the kids in her absence - school runs, homework, food, all the usual things.
Historically, and highly stereotypically, I have been the breadwinner and she has taken care of home and family.
Now, as is only fair, I have to adjust to my share of the duties. I am finding the adjustment process difficult!
In the meantime, until the end of next week, I may be slower than normal to respond to emails, messages etc.
Wish me luck!
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Evening update - 20 Sep 22
Today I…
Today I…
Had virtual breakfast with Sofia Senhaji Rhazi Belcadi to discuss various deals in our pipelines. Sofia has a great e-commerce business and is building an angel portfolio.
Spoke with an adviser.
Needed to postpone four meetings to deal with personal admin - sorry people!
Had a call with Nicky Sugarman at Stanhope Capital Group and S4S Ventures around one particular deal and what each of our investment criteria are.
Spoke to Leo Ringer at Form Ventures around our investment criteria, sharing deal flow, and their unique thesis of investing in #startups with public policy exposure where their expertise can help.
Tomorrow and Thursday I am in the UK having family time.
Now I have to go home and pack for me and my eight and nine year old.
See you all on Friday!
#founders #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
The power of brand
Three weeks ago, at the request of my 12-year-old son, I attended the KSI boxing match at the O2.
Three weeks ago, at the request of my 12-year-old son, I attended the KSI boxing match at the O2. There were 8 fights, largely between YouTubers. KSI is a YouTuber with 24 million subscribers.
23 years ago I attended Holyfield vs Lewis II in Las Vegas, a huge heavyweight world title unification fight.
The KSI event was so much better. Everyone cared about every fight and the atmosphere was incredible.
5 years ago nobody imagined YouTubers boxing would sell out the O2. The power of personal brand has just begun. I can only imagine what it will look like in 5 or 10 years' time.
Your view may differ. But a strong view about the world will help you build or invest or both. As long as you are right.
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Evening update - 16 Sep 22
Today I…
Today I…
Had breakfast with a colleague.
Attended a co-invest presentation.
Had a call with 2 #founders.
Spoke with Shuey Gordon about deal flow.
Had a great call, as always, with Nick Gregg of Blenheim Chalcot.
Spoke with Mayur Upadhyaya about what he is building at Contxt. #devtools
Had a call with old friend Kevin Cummings of McDermott Will & Emery.
Made a plan with a founder to spend time reviewing their financial model next week.
Have a great long weekend everyone.
#startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Founder mental health
Ruby Wax spoke brilliantly about mental health and her mental health journey at the Guernsey Chamber of Commerce dinner yesterday evening.
Ruby Wax spoke brilliantly about #mentalhealth and her mental health journey at the Guernsey Chamber of Commerce dinner yesterday evening. She is funny, compassionate and not afraid to speak her mind.
We don't talk enough about founder mental health. We expect them to work all hours and take very few holidays and meet our crazy expectations. There is an extent to which this is necessary for success but there is always a balance and it can't be at the expense of mental health.
As investors we need to do all we can to recognise this and support our founders however we can. Please know that you can reach out and will be taken seriously and treated with 100% confidence.
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Evening update - 15 Sep 22
Today I…
Today I…
Spoke to Fred Soneya from Haatch to share our investment criteria so we can share relevant deal flow.
Had coffee with superstar financial planner Bobby Phillips.
Bumped into Matt Horton of Aztec Group and had a good chat.
Had a call with Esha Vatsa at Forward Partners to discuss a specific deal and to share investment criteria.
Had a late pitch cancellation because they don't need any more funds.
Spoke to Andrea Sommer at Hive Founders about how they support female #founders.
Sent some pass emails with feedback.
Confirmed I will be attending the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) summit in London on Oct 6th.
This evening I have a table with friends at the Guernsey Chamber of Commerce annual black-tie dinner to hear Ruby Wax speak on leadership.
Current status: trying and failing to tie my bow tie.
Great investors
To be a great investor you have to do three things:
To be a great investor you have to do three things:
1. Have great deal flow.
2. Choose well.
3. Help your companies.
My job is to get better at all three every day. I take that very seriously.
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Evening update - 14 Sep 22
Today I…
Today I…
Met an angel investor to compare notes on our pipelines.
Had a call with Amory Poulden at D2 Fund to share investment criteria and pipeline.
Met Geoff Miller for coffee.
Met Francis Snoding CTA of LTS Tax Limited for coffee.
Had a call with Tatseng Chiam of RideTandem. RideTandem is launching a raise next month and is absolutely killing it.
Heard a portfolio company has secured another VC in their round.
Made four founder intros to funds.
Now I'm going for Chinese food with a friend.
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Public pitch - Guud
Delighted to share, with permission, Morgane Leten and Jan Deruyck's pitch.
Delighted to share, with permission, Morgane Leten and Jan Deruyck's pitch.
Guud is a women's health brand that elevates women's menstrual health.
Let me know if you would like an intro to the #founders.
Evening update - 13 Sep 22
Today I…
Today I…
Had my hair cut by James Bransford.
Had a call with an angel investor about a business they are considering.
Had a no-show for a call with an old uni friend.
Chatted with Daniel Williams about his startup Hunch.
Was pitched by Shona Chalmers and Mark Apter of Roomix.
Was pitched by Tim Silbermann and Miles Bailey of RWRD.
Was pitched by Jan Deruyck of Guud.
Chatted with Daniel Rosenberg about angel investing.
Had a meeting about promoting #fintech in Guernsey.
Had a meeting with Public Health Guernsey.
Now I have to:
Take the bins out.
Feed the kids.
Reply to #founders to meet my internal SLA.
I have a glass of wine. I may need another.
#startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
The importance of founders
Why are #founders important in #startups?
Why are #founders important in #startups?
In #venturecapital there are so many critical decisions between now and exit, the difference between a good and great founder can be 10x.
What am I looking for in a founder?
The ability to be compelling. The most important founder skill is sales. You need to be able to sell to investors, to clients and to persuade employees to join a business that may not exist in a year.
What is my most common #feedback?
Not compelling enough about why I should invest. The most common reply is to explain why the business is great. This misses the point. I listen to learn about you, not the business.
#buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Evening update - 12 Sep 22
Today I…
Today I…
Was pitched by Pavel Gertsberg, the Fluffiest CEO at Fluffy. Fluffy's round will be closing soon.
Had a call with Puja Balachander about how to get into Angel investing.
Met Suzanne Noble of Startup School for Seniors to pick her brain on how she has developed such an incredible brand and following.
Chatted with Bird Lovegod about how he's doing good in the world.
Had a call with Ellis Hudson 芮德森 at Blenheim Chalcot.
Chatted with Gordon Campbell at ClickBoost - Paid Media Agency about pay-per-click and how I learn from his content.
Was pitched by Rafael Guper at UJJI about how they plan to provide the skills needed for the future of work.
Spoke to Tristan Pieper, Venture Consultant.
Phew!
Later I will have a zoom and a glass of wine with my good friend, Nick Davis. Nick is co-founder at Alto.Ski, a demon WordPress developer and a fellow Fantasy Premier League obsessive.
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Feedback
Since I started unbundled vc 13 days ago, I have been approached by over 60 #startups.
Since I started unbundled vc 13 days ago, I have been approached by over 60 #startups.
Unfortunately, I have to pass the vast majority of them. I try to give honest feedback to every one of them.
#feedback is important. Giving honest feedback kindly is hard.
#founders and investors, how do you do it?
#venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Evening update - 9 Sep 22
Today I…
Today I…
Met Lucas Johnston for coffee and chatted about what he is building at umber.
Spoke to Euan Cameron and Andrew Wood at Willo®.
Had a no show.
Got back to six of the seven #startups who shared video pitches - powered by Willo® - over the last three days with passes or next steps. Those I passed got honest feedback.
Introduced an investee company to a fund they will be a good fit for.
Followed up with both a founder and a fund I am strongly considering investing in.
Walked to Victoria Station via Buckingham Palace which was understandably busy.
Got the train to Gatwick.
Later I fly home to see my family who I need to spend lots of time with this weekend as I have been away all week.
Now, ramen.
