Evening update - 7 Oct 22

Today I…

Went public with my commitment to invest in Morgane and Jan at Guud.
Had another call with founder coach Philip Fortuna. Thank you Philip and looking forward to seeing how else we can work together.
Shared Evan Mcgloughlin of Weeve's pitch video.
Had a walk and talk with Michael Eisenberg who is an early-stage investor and compared our investment styles.
Had lunch with Aditya Nagarsheth and a founder who is raising.
Met Ayo Disu and Kunle Campbell to chat about what they are building at OCTILLION.
Had a quick call with Nick Gregg.

Now I…

Am going to meet some friends for beer and curry.

Have a great weekend everyone.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Public pitch - Weeve

Delighted to share, with permission, Evan Mcgloughlin of Weeve's pitch.

Weeve uses immersive learning to help you pick up languages without trying.

Please let me know if you would like an intro.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Investment commitment - Guud

Super happy to announce I have committed to invest in Morgane Leten and Jan Deruyck and the whole team at Guud.

Morgane was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in 2016. In 2020 she and her husband Jan founded Guud to elevate women's menstrual health.

Guud has an important mission, fantastic growth and unit economics, and a team that can solve any problem thrown at them. I am very happy I will soon be an investor.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 6 Oct 22

Today I…

Spent the day at the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) annual summit.
Attended an excellent panel moderated by Thorold Youngman-Sullivan of 1818 Venture Capital.
Bumped into and has good chats with Ioto Iotov, Aditya Nagarsheth, Martin Punt, Marc Buchner, Rupert Pleasant, Henry Freeman, Shane Hughes, Camille Bourke and many more.

Now I…

Am having post event drinks.

Random Thought…

The event feels very old school. All the men apart from me are wearing blazers or suits and ties. Every business they invest in has #founders who look and sound very different. There is a huge cultural disconnect.

#startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Decent human beings

Yesterday evening I had dinner with two #founders I have committed to invest in. As well as being great founders with a great business, they are decent human beings.

Founders and investors, make sure your investors and who you are investing in are decent people whose company you enjoy. You will be spending a long time with them on the journey.

I will talk about the business and why I am investing tomorrow.

#startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 5 Oct 22

Today I…

Had coffee with a founder who wishes to remain anonymous.
Had coffee with Aarish Shah of Projected.
Shared Shwetank Tamer of Cooee®'s public pitch.
Had coffee with an angel investor.
Had a postponed coffee because of rail strikes.
Needed the coffee because I arrived at my hotel after midnight last night.

Now I…

Am going for dinner with two #founders I have committed to invest in. I hope to be able to share shortly.

#startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Public pitch - Cooee

Delighted to share, with permission, Shwetank Tamer of Cooee®'s pitch.

Cooee® uses personalised notifications to drive customer engagement and boost revenues.

Please let me know if you would like an intro.

Powered by Willo.

#startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Managing pitches at scale with Willo

Most VCs have the same investment process - send a deck, meet an associate, maybe get a call with someone more senior.

Sometimes you never hear back.

My process is different.

It starts with the thesis that #founders are critical and to understand if #startups are good investments, you need to hear from founders in their own words.

That's why Willo® is the most important part of my investment process. It allows me to hear from founders in their own words at scale.

I am proud to be an investor in Willo®.

Read more here.

Evening update - 4 Oct 22

Today I…

Met Matt Bird of aboard. Matt is building the product e-commerce needs for recurring revenues when clients love your brand but don't want to spend the same amount every month. We had a wide-ranging chat about aboard, unbundled vc and the #venturecapital ecosystem.

Had a cancellation due to gastroenteritis.

Had coffee with Al Kenny who coaches two #founders I have invested in. We had a great conversation about how to support founders.

Have had time to work things other than just meetings including building a mailing list using Intuit Mailchimp and how else I can support founders.

Spent the day working from Neo in Manchester with this very cute dog, Ellie, in attendance.

#NowI

Am going for dinner with Aysha Madha before I get the late train to London to beat the rail strike.

#startups #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Old married couple

Random personal post (stop reading now):

A couple a weeks ago, my wife and I were arguing about something. My 12yo accused us of being an old married couple.

This triggered a mindset change for me.

We used to argue and I would get angry that we'd had this argument before and why couldn't she just she that I was right. I'd expend more mental energy on the angry than on the argument.

Now, sometimes, I can view the disagreement as one we might still be having in 30 years time and see us as the old married couple, very much in love, still bickering about the things we have always bickered about.

With that mindset I can see it affectionately.

#mindset #love #learning #marriage

Evening update - 3 Oct 22

Yesterday I…

Flew to Manchester with two of my boys to attend the XLH UK Patient Family Day. This is the genetic condition my two youngest have. It was the first time they met anyone else with their condition.

Today I…

Had a call with the fantastic Deepali Nangia of Speedinvest to discuss a specific investment and to understand how Speedinvest operates. Deepali invests in female and diverse founders.
Was pitched by Lisa O'Mahony and Petra Kolesarova of SPEEQO.
Had lunch with a friend I haven't seen since before the pandemic.

Now I…

Am writing this while Andrew Wood of Willo® puts his kids to bed. Then we are ordering a curry.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

How to get honest feedback

#founders, if you've ever struggled to get honest feedback on an idea or product, read The Mom Test Book by Rob Fitzpatrick.

I am re-reading it now.

"You aren't allowed to tell them what their problem is, and in return, they aren't allowed to tell you what to build.

They own the problem, you own the solution."

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Mom-Test-customers-business-everyone-ebook/dp/B01H4G2J1U/

Thank you again Edgar Smith for the recommendation.

#startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 30 Sep 22

Today I…

Had a call with Mark Costello from hubb.
Spoke to Charlie Weavers-Wright at Haatch about deal flow.
Met Ben Parker at Runna.
Had lunch with Sasha Kazantseva-Miller.
Was pitched by Greg Freeman of Data Literacy Academy.
Arranged some meetings in Manchester and London for next week.

Tomorrow I am a taxi service for one football training session and two birthday parties.

Sunday I head to Manchester.

Have a good weekend everyone!

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Strong views weakly held

Strong views weakly held is an old trading aphorism. To be a financial markets trader you need the confidence to trade and the courage to change your mind.

I am a blockchain sceptic. I have many smart friends who believe otherwise. That means I could be wrong. I remain open-minded.

What strong view do you hold where you might have to admit you are wrong?

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 29 Sep 22

Today I…

Was pitched by Pete Cooper and Dan Strang of Coopah. Congratulations Pete on your recent arrival!
Chatted with Jake Casson of MONET - always great to catch up with you Jake!
Had a call with Andrew O'Neill at Act Venture Capital to share our investment sectors so we can share relevant deal flow.
Was pitched by Chris Fernandes of Bodii.
Was pitched by Iva Gumnishka of Humans in the Loop.
Was pitched by Aarish Shah of Projected.

Thank you #founders for your time today.

This evening I need to rest.

#startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Robux = Cigarettes

Historically, cigarettes were used as currency in prisons because prisoners could not access cash.

My children negotiate in Robux, the internal currency of Roblox, because they are not allowed to with their pocket money.

Robux fulfils the same purpose for them that cigarettes did in prisons.

If you can find a product your kids care about as much as Roblox, invest in it fast. Roblox has a market cap today of $23bn.

(Excuse for random Porridge clip for old people like me.)

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 28 Sep 22

Today I…

Took the kids to school.
Has a quick call with Jamie Beaumont at Playter.
Had breakfast with Matt Falla and chatted about #startups and #mentalhealth.
Posted about reaching (now over) 100 startups I have been offered to meet.
Was pitched by a founder in stealth mode.
Had another call with another founder in stealth mode.
Had a meeting postponed - Nick I hope you are feeling better soon.
Chatted with Alex Farcet about his Impact Investing Syndicate and am making him an introduction.
Reviewed two more video pitches.
Continued to make plans for my trip to Manchester and London next week.
Sent over thirty emails.
Spoke to fifteen people on WhatsApp.

Now I have to make that introduction and check my fantasy football team.

#founders #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

100 startups in 29 days

29 days ago I started unbundled vc. This morning I was offered the chance to meet with the 100th business that is raising.

Not all of them are in scope. Not all of them I wanted to meet. Not all of them wanted to meet me.

Thank you to everyone for every intro I've been offered.

Please keep them coming!

#founders #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 27 Sep 22

Today I…

Had breakfast with Barrie Baxter, owner of Brixx Software
Had a call with Philip Fortuna, a founder coach. Given the conversation we had, I would imagine he is a very good coach. I am looking forward to our follow-up call.
Was pitched by Jonathan Holtby at Flex Data, Inc which measures soft skills from video games.
Had a call with Ross Tuffee about his new startup and how we can connect Guernsey and Scotland entrepreneur support networks.
Chatted with my friend who runs the stealth startup I have invested in.
Spoke to Oliver McGuinness at RightIndem about how he is growing his business.

This evening I have to review two video pitches, get back to two founders, book flights and hotels for my trip to the UK next week, and take the bins out.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Public pitch - Projected.ai

Delighted to share, with permission, Aarish Shah's pitch.

Projected is starting with a forecasting tool that #founders can share with investors and aims to build a true virtual CFO for SMEs.

Please let me know if you would like an intro.

#startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic