Public pitch - Tanuvi Ethunandan of Data Duopoly

#PublicPitch

Delighted to share, with permission, Tanuvi Ethunandan of Data Duopoly's video pitch.

Data Duopoly connects spaces, places and people using data and AI.

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

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Intentional self-improvement

I don't make New Year's resolutions. I am continually looking for areas I can improve.

Like us all, I have many of those in both my personal and professional life.

Professionally, I need to break down (unbundle) all the parts of venture capital, assess myself in each area and determine where to focus on improvement.

I have been relying on self-reflection. This feels more intentional.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Rest Less raises Eur6.8m

Delighted for Stuart Lewis, Sara Stephens and the whole team at Rest Less UK!

I led 1818 Venture Capital's first investment into Rest Less UK in my previous role and continue to be a huge fan of them and their mission.

In the new year, I will share how investing in Rest Less UK changed my life. No exaggeration.

Edit: How Rest Less changed my life.

Rest Less raises Eur6.8m

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublicun

Late update - 17 Dec 22

#YesterdayI

Had breakfast with a friend.
Shared Peter Graham of Kudo Insurance's video pitch.
Chatted with Marco Morgado.
Met a friend for coffee.
Had a founder call postponed.
Chatted with Paul Archer of Duel Tech.
Was pitched by Sean Conley of Stealth Startup and ran out of time.
Had another call with Sean Conley of Stealth Startup who is about to close his round.
Was pitched by a founder who wishes to remain anonymous.
Posted my 2022 learnings.

#ThisWas

My last post of the year.

#HaveA

Wonderful Xmas and New Year everyone!

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

2022 learnings - Reputation, Investment Process and LinkedIn

Reputation -

Reputation matters more than ever. Landscape means if you have a bad reputation you'll only get the deals other people don't want.
If you charge fees to companies for investing (I don't) there will be a whole load of deals you don't see. There are VCs that charge 5% or even 10% and sometimes monitoring fees on top of that.
If one of those companies is leading a deal, it can be a red flag, but reputation is the most important factor here.

Investment Process (credit to Fred Soneya for the question) -

Think hard about your investment criteria and make sure your process is designed to match that. Be intentional.
In my first meeting, I am trying to find out as much about the founder as I am about the business. I do that by asking how they got to this point of the business and how the product has changed from what they first thought it would be. If it has changed, how did you figure that out. I am trying to understand you and your skills by asking about the business.
Move fast if you can. Figure out if you are likely to change your mind with another meeting or day to think about it. If you won't, make that decision today. People appreciate promptness.
If you need another meeting at any stage then make sure you know what you are uncertain about and prepare how you will figure that out. If you are ill-prepared founders can tell and you still might not know if you want to invest. That serves nobody.
Know what your perfect pace of investing would be. Periodically adjust your bar upwards or downwards to reach that. Happily, I've had better deal flow than ever before so I've had to adjust mine upwards.
I do that by comparing an opportunity with the last three or four things I've committed to. If it's in the top half I will invest, if not then no. I will review after a few months and again compare my pace of commitments against perfect.

LinkedIn -

It's a grind, you have to post every day.
It's like a muscle, it gets easier over time.
Learn your authentic voice and stick to it. Don't try and copy somebody else's. People can tell.
If you have a genuine question in your post, people will comment and that can drive engagement. The question has to be real rather than just designed for comments.
Sometimes you have no idea which posts will get traction and which won't. Accept that.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Public pitch - Peter Graham of Kudo Insurance

#PublicPitch

Delighted to share, with permission, Peter Graham of Kudo Insurance's video pitch.

Kudo Insurance rewards better drivers with better car insurance.

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

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 15 Dec 22

#TodayI

Shared my investment performance in numbers.
Had a founder postpone because they got a huge order they need to fulfil.
Had a great coffee with Henry O'Brien of Mural and discussed all the things.
Finally got to share that I have invested in Dom Maskell and Ben Parker of Runna alongside Jon Coker at Eka Ventures .
Had a founder postpone for family reasons - hoping everything is ok 🙏
Got the train to Gatwick.
Spoke with a professional adviser.
Am meeting a friend for an early dinner at the airport.

#LaterI

Am flying home to see my family.
Have to write a few emails.

#TomorrowI

Will post my learnings since I've been unbundling.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Investing in Runna

Very excited to finally be able to announce that unbundled vc has invested in Dom Maskell, Ben Parker and the whole team at Runna in a round led by Jon Coker at Eka Ventures .

A super strong team, great product, crazy growth, great unit economics and a huge market. What's not to like?

Olympic athletes back £2m raise for sports app Runna

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Investing career by numbers

Investing career with numbers broken down into Angel, 1818 Venture Capital and unbundled vc because hopefully I am getting better!

Angel - £495k invested, £498k value, 1.01 multiple

1818 - £1.188m invested, £2.106m value, 1.77 multiple

unbundled vc - £706k invested, £940k value, 1.33 multiple

Overall - £2.388m invested, £3.545m value, 1.48 multiple

Notes:

Angel - 2018-2019.
Contains some early 1818 investments before I was partner.
The first £142k of my angel investing went to zero (not 1818).

1818 - 2019-2022.

unbundled vc - 2021-2022
£489k of the investments were this year with no opportunity for a valuation change. The remainder has a multiple of 2.08.
Any investments pre leaving 1818 were not in scope for 1818.

Overall - Contains some fund investments.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 14 Dec 22

#TodayI

Posted my Good and Bad of unbundled vc's 2022.
Had a no-show.
Prepared my numbers for tomorrow's "Investment performance" post.
Spoke with angel investor, NED and adviser Samantha Tubb who I haven't seen since we were at university together a long time ago!
Had the pleasure of meeting Farhan Lalji of Anthemis Group for coffee at his office to understand his investment remit.
Listened to the Twin Peak's soundtrack in honour of Angelo Badalamenti who recently passed away.

#LaterI

Am having dinner with an old colleague.

#TomorrowI

Will post my investment performance with amounts invested and current value broken down by the three stages of my venture investing career.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

The good and the bad of unbundled vc’s 2022

The Good and the Bad of unbundled vc's 2022.

Four categories:
Openness
Investing
Treating people right
Legal issues

Openness/building in public/posting every day -

Good - people really seem to respond to openness. There is not much transparency in VC. There aren't many other people doing this. It helps build an audience and empathy with people before I've even met them.
Bad - I had coffee with a friend and they asked how it was to build in public. I said it was easy when everything was going well. That evening was when I was described on Landscape as "the reason why British VCs get a bad reputation".
Good - serendipity. Many people have contacted me and said they have inbound requests about investment or their product after being mentioned on LinkedIn.
Bad - one VC was upset after I publicly committed to a startup. They accused me of disintermediating them because they were trying to raise directly from clients for that deal and it made it too easy for people to invest directly with the startup.
Good - serendipity meetup. It was great to meet so many interesting people, the atmosphere was just people making friendly connections, I know at least one person got work from this and one person got investment 😉

Investing -

Good - when I left my previous firm, I didn't know if anybody would be interested in talking to me because I am tiny in the VC world. I've had an incredible response from founders and have better opportunities to invest than I've ever had. Thank you everyone!
Bad - the direct counterpart to this is having to say no to founders who have great, highly investable businesses. It may look like I don't think you will succeed. That's far from the truth. I am not infallible. I will get some things very wrong.

Treating people right -

Good - it feels right. People respond to it. It's not that difficult.
Bad - giving feedback. It's hard to give feedback that is helpful. It can upset people. It takes considerable time and energy to do it right. I don't always give it as much time as I should.

Legal issues -

Bad - you may have seen me mention meeting professional advisers from time to time. Sadly this is lawyers. It consumes time, mental energy and money.
Good - once you realise you are not prepared to be pushed around and there is something you can do about it, it is energising standing up for yourself. That feels good.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update -13 Dec 22

#TodayI

Sent some emails in the early hours of the morning.
Posted unbundled vc's year in numbers.
Met Oluwatobi Oseni of Payshiga.
Shared Santiago Schmitt of FoodLama's video pitch.
Had Reuben sandwiches and chopped liver for lunch with Jonny Plein of Kuai Commerce (see photo).
Attended Playter's board meeting.

#NowI

Am going for post board meeting drinks with Jamie Beaumont, Nick Ellwood, Jon Cholak et al.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Public pitch - Santiago Schmitt of FoodLama

#PublicPitch

Delighted to share, with permission, Santiago Schmitt of FoodLama's video pitch.

FoodLama takes the guesswork out of finding the perfect products as you scroll, starting with food.

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

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

My year (four months) as unbundled vc in numbers

Businesses raising - 250
New businesses invested in - 4 - none of which are on my website yet for various reasons
Existing businesses invested in again - 1
New business commitments that have not yet closed (but should soon) - 2
Existing businesses I have committed to invest in again that have not yet closed - 3

LinkedIn:

Most impressions -103k - leaving 1818 Venture Capital to start unbundled vc - https://lnkd.in/eEm47zXT
Most likes - 167 - going all in on Spacemade - https://lnkd.in/eidGsR3Q
Most comments - 95 - everyone says their team is incredible - https://lnkd.in/efrZ8Z5W

YouTube:

Most viewed #PublicPitch - 245 - Hamish Blythe of Trilo - https://lnkd.in/e3s6DgKp
Honorable second - 231 - Caitlin Rozario of interlude - https://lnkd.in/eW5Jk2MS
Interesting fact - 62 of Caitlin's views came via YouTube itself.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 12 Dec 22

#TodayI

Posted about why I take the approach I do at unbundled vc.
Caught the 7am flight to Gatwick.
Had coffee with Damilare Ogunleye and Santiago Schmitt of FoodLama.
Met Susan Kabani of Ugenie.io and made her watch me eat lunch.
Spoke with a professional adviser.
Had a very enjoyable and much longer-than-planned in-person with Gary Izunwa of Tangent.
Had a call with a founder.
Was late to see Neil Goulder and AdLibretto perform Petticoat Lane the Musical at Toynbee Hall.
Posted about Willo®'s latest raise which unbundled vc participated in.

#NowI

Have to work on some emails. It may take some time.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Why I take the approach I do at unbundled vc.

Summary -

Treat people the right way, help them and stay fresh in their minds.
Then when someone is raising they will say, "You should talk to Marc".
When they raise, treat them right, help them as much as you can and they want and, if the deal is competitive, you are more likely to get into the round.

It's not rocket science.

Detail - what do I do?

Pitching and investing -

Anyone can pitch me from my website starting with a video pitch.
There is a clearly set out process.
There is an FAQ answering lots of the common questions founders have of VCs.
I make fast decisions and get them back to you fast.
Everyone gets feedback and I try and make it helpful.
I will share your video pitch if you want.
I will share publicly when I make an investment commitment if you want.
I will try and introduce you to relevant other VCs if you want.
I will help you in any other way I can. That has included recording client calls to share with other investors, helping with term sheets and strategic advice around the raise.
In general, treat people right.

LinkedIn -

I post content every day.
I post a #TodayI every day so everyone knows who I've been meeting, always with permission.
I share video pitches when I have permission to do so.
I repost significant posts from my founders and investee companies.

Why?

LinkedIn for these reasons -

To build a network.
To help founders.
So I am fresh in people's minds.

Process -

To do the right thing by founders. Too many VCs take advantage of the power imbalance between VC and founder by either not treating them with respect or as equals or forgetting to get back to them or a whole host of other issues.

It seems like treating people the right way is an edge in VC. It shouldn't be this way.

Summary, because it needs repeating -

Treat people the right way, help them and stay fresh in their minds.
Then when someone is raising they will say, "You should talk to Marc".
When they raise, treat them right, help them as much as you can and they want and, if the deal is competitive, you are more likely to get into the round.

It's not rocket science.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 9 Dec 22

#TodayI

Posted about what I intend to share next week.
Took sons 3 & 4 to school (wife still not well).
Had breakfast with a founder friend.
Had coffee with an old colleague.
Shared Chieu Cao of Mintago's public pitch.
Arranged some in-person meetings in London.
Intro'd a founder to some investors.
Collected son 1 from the airport
Collected sons 3 & 4 from school.
Watched Croatia beat Brazil on penalties with son 2.

#NowI

Have to do the exercises I didn't do this morning because yesterday evening was a late one.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Review of the year

Next week is my last working week of the year. I plan a series of posts reviewing the year.

Here's my current list:

1. How are my investments doing giving actual numbers - amounts invested, current values - broken down by stage of my investing career.
2. The top posts and public pitches and #TodayI's.
3. Why I take the approach I do with unbundled vc.
4. My top three good and bad things.
5. My learnings over the last three and a half months.

Please tell me what you'd like me to post about!

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Public pitch - Chieu Cao of Mintago

#PublicPitch

Delighted to share, with permission, Chieu Cao of Mintago's video pitch.

Mintago is an end-to-end financial wellbeing solution that helps employees have financially happier and healthier lives.

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

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic

Evening update - 8 Dec 22

#TodayI

Posted about AI and content creation - https://lnkd.in/gHnX9BMy.
Took the kids to school again (wife is still not well).
Met Barrie Baxter of Brixx Software for breakfast and was the fortunate recipient of his advice.
Attended another of my children's swimming galas.
Listened to Jamie Beaumont of Playter on the Riding Unicorns podcast - https://lnkd.in/g9tfabQS.
Was pitched by Chieu Cao of Mintago.
Worked on an important email relating to board issues (not Playter!).
Attended Paul Archer of Duel Tech's webinar on the future of social commerce - https://lnkd.in/gMpbiiR8.

#NowI

Have to collect dinner for the kids before going out to friends for dinner.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic