Public pitch - Madan Rajagopal of Ludimos

Delighted to share, with permission, Madan Rajagopal of Ludimos's pitch.

Ludimos is unlocking the potential of players and teams using AI, starting with cricket.

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

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

FTX brief take

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

Evening update - 14 Nov 22

#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

Public pitch - Edwin Chan of sixdegree

Delighted to share, with permission, Edwin Chan of sixdegree's pitch.

sixdegree is one place to connect to all platforms, all users and all digital worlds – in 3D.

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

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

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.

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

Evening update - 11 Nov 22

#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.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

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.

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

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 10 Nov 22

#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.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Founder LinkedIn hack

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

Evening update - 9 Nov 22

#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

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 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

Morning update - 9 Nov 22

#YesterdayI

Posted about my investment process and added it to my website FAQ.
Attended a site meeting for my house build - thank you Infinity Group and DLM Architects Ltd.
Had coffee with Kit Hobbs.
Was pitched by a founder who wishes to remain anonymous.
Was pitched by another founder who wishes to remain anonymous!
Made plans for a trip to London later in the month.
Attended an event hosted by Alma Angels and Chris Smith of Playfair Capital who I have recently invested alongside.
Got back to two founders.
Took the bins out.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

unbundled vc’s investment process

My process is:

1. Go to Pitch above and use the link to record a short video pitch using Willo.

2. Hear back before I go to bed two business days later if I would like you to schedule a thirty-minute call using Calendly and share a pitch deck. Receive feedback if not.

3. Shortly before the call I will watch your video pitch again and make notes so it is fresh in my mind. I will look at your pitch deck before the call but only briefly. I prefer to hear about the business in your words.

4. On the call I will start with a quick summary of my background and how I came to be here and interested in investing. Then I will ask you to spend more time sharing your background and how you come to be here, running your business and raising funds.

5. Then we have an organic conversation which will likely finish with me asking you about the investment round.

6. After that, you will have time to ask me questions.

7. After the call, I will get back to you before I go to bed two business days later with either a yes, a no with feedback, more questions, a request for another call or occasionally a request for more time. If the call was on a Wednesday the two business days may stretch into the weekend.

8. After that it is more organic though I aim to be as time efficient as possible so as not to waste anyone's time.

9. 98-99% of businesses get passed so please don't be offended. I will inevitably miss some incredible businesses though that is not my intention.

10. Even if I pass I still want you to win. You only win if you are providing something useful to the world that didn't previously exist. Make it happen.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 7 Nov 22

#TodayI

Posted about my investment commitment in Jonathan Nwosu, Min Sang Kim and Dakshesh Dharmadhikary of ClimaView AI.
Bumped into Marc Winn and discussed Pret A Manger's coffee subscription model.
Was pitched by Edwin Chan of sixdegree.
Chatted with Elliscia McKeogh about Investor Relations.
Attended lunch break meditation hosted by Katie Bisson at Guernsey Library.
Was pitched by Matt Pollen of Litta Hunters.
Attended a panel.

#NowI

Have to get back to two founders with feedback.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Investment commitment in ClimaView AI

Super happy to announce I have committed to invest in Jonathan Nwosu and Min Sang Kim and Dakshesh Dharmadhikary of ClimaView AI.

Financial institutions need to be able to calculate the sustainability of those they lend to (their Scope 3 emissions). Existing solutions use self-reported data which can't be relied on. ClimaView solves this problem by using transactional data and AI to calculate those emissions.

ClimaView has an important mission, an incredible founding team, and early traction, including a FTSE 100 bank, that demonstrates this is a real pain point not solved by others. I hope to be an investor very soon!

Links to their video pitch and an article on Tesla's self-reported emissions in the comments.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 4 Nov 22

#TodayI

Dropped son number two at school.
Realised I'd left my laptop at home.
Did the round trip to collect it (sigh).
Posted about forcing myself to make hard decisions in order to learn fast.
Chatted with Nairn Robertson of Active Teams.
Was pitched by Victor Ehinmowo of Vobb.io.
Had a catch up with Euan Cameron of Willo®.
Spoke with Peter Rostovsky and Joshua McSorley of Kupchiy.
Was pitched by a startup in stealth mode.

#ThisEveningI

Am having dinner with son number two.
Am going to watch a performance of Hamlet with son number two.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Hard decisions and investment size

Yesterday a founder asked me if it would be easier for me to make a smaller investment commitment.

It would and that is the problem. There are lots of great businesses out there. I could easily make twice as many investments of half the size.

I prefer to force myself to make hard decisions. I won't always get it right but I will learn much faster.

Having said that, I have an investment commitment I plan to tell you about on Monday I am really excited about.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 3 Nov 22

#TodayI

Posted about founder ambition.
Attended a fund update meeting.
Had coffee with Tom Whitby of Tradeworks.vc and Oracle Venture Capital.
Made an investment commitment.
Attended The Stage demo day co-hosted by Hector Mason.
Received three video pitches between 3.30 and 4.30.

#NowI

Am listening to an investor update.

#ThenI

Am getting the bus to town for a friend's birthday celebration.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Founder ambition

I am looking for founders with the ambition to build businesses that could return 100x or more.

Investing in startups is all about the option value. Without the chance of a huge exit, the value of your business is significantly lower.

This is precisely why venture-backed businesses can have high valuations with little revenue.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 2 Nov 22

#TodayI

Posted about differentiation and helping investors see it matters.
Was pitched by Chris Webb and Marc Hendriks of GreenGrowth Investments Ltd.
Had a call with Andy Taylor of Payful.
Had a second call with a founder.
Spoke with a prolific angel investor who mainly invests in female founders.
Was pitched by a founder who wishes to remain anonymous.
Went for a quick drink with a friend.
Got back to three founders who shared video pitches.

#NowI

Have to get back to four founders.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic