Evening update - 19 Apr 23
Today I…
#TodayI
Shared the upcoming deadline for Focal's demo day.
Took the kids to Easter Camp.
Chatted with Taos Edmondson, CFA of dmg ventures and Focal.
Had coffee with Victoria Holyoak and found out about her upcoming product launch.
Asked for startup lawyer recommendations. Thank you everyone who helped.
Spoke with Daniel Sozonov of Unison.
Caught up with Larisa Budaeva of Nation.better.
Was pitched by Rui Mirra Santos of GoWizi.
#NowIHaveTo
Collect the kids from Easter Camp.
Drop one at and collect him from football training.
Have our season finale Pizza and Mandalorian Night.
Lawyer recommendations please
Founders, can you recommend a lawyer for a pre-seed round, please?
Founders, can you recommend a lawyer for a pre-seed round, please?
Ideally, you've used them yourself.
Looking for that magical sweet spot of good and relatively inexpensive!
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Focal demo day deadline approaches
Founders, Focal is a demo day supported by over 100 VCs (and me!)
Founders, Focal is a demo day supported by over 100 VCs (and me!)
This is a great chance to get their attention and thousands of other investors with just one application.
Run by Hector Mason of Episode 1 Ventures, Taos Edmondson, CFA of dmg ventures and Jack Richardson of Focal, your deadline is 24th April.
What are you waiting for?
https://www.gofocal.vc/
Evening update - 18 Apr 23
Today I…
#TodayI
Posted about Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Dropped the kids at Easter Camp.
Was pitched by Julia Shareiko-Jensen of to500in100.
Had coffee with Alasdair Milroy of Breaking the Mould Accounting.
Attended a Holocaust Remembrance Day event. Thank you Darren Vogel for organising.
Was pitched by a founder who wishes to remain anonymous.
Chatted with Sanjay Bowry of Vita Mojo.
Holocaust Remembrance Day
We remember those who died and we remind ourselves that without vigilance this could happen to anyone.
Today is Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day.
I am not religious. I am Jewish.
We remember those who died and we remind ourselves that without vigilance this could happen to anyone.
Look out for your freedoms, look out for discrimination against anyone and remember that if you don't speak up, who will.
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Evening update - 17 Apr 23
Today I…
#TodayI
Posted about the sunk cost fallacy.
Took my sons to Easter Holiday Camp because my wife is away.
Met someone for coffee.
Had a pre-podcast prep call with Aarish Shah of Nothing Ventured.
Chatted with Cat Middleton of The Venture Collective (TVC) and heard about how they invest in underrepresented founders.
Made an investment commitment.
#NowIHaveToFinishEarlyAnd
Collect my sons.
Referee my son's football birthday party.
Feed them.
Pass out.
Sunk cost fallacy
Sunk cost fallacy is brutal. It makes you persist when it's very wrong to do so.
Sunk cost fallacy is brutal. It makes you persist when it's very wrong to do so.
Reframe the question: if you were at this point for zero cost would you stop?
If so stop, if not persist.
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Evening update - 14 Apr 23
Today We…
#TodayWe (Dylan Cohen and I)
(I) shared that I'd never been to a music festival.
Had a late postponement due to ill health (not ours).
Met Isabella Sumner (currently raising 🙌🏻 🌱) and Till Janz of InHaus.ai for coffee and lunch.
Caught up quickly with Euan Cameron of Willo®.
Made our way to Gatwick.
#NowWe
Are waiting for our flight home to Guernsey.
#TopTip
itsu has great sushi and, as importantly, power sockets.
Have a great weekend everyone.
What have you never done that you're embarrassed to admit
It's the first day of Coachella and I'm embarrassed to admit I've never been to a music festival.
It's the first day of Coachella and I'm embarrassed to admit I've never been to a music festival.
What have you never done that you're embarrassed to admit?
Don't leave me on my own here, please!
Evening update - 13 Apr 23
Today I…
#TodayI
Shared why I deliberately don't focus on particular investment areas.
Flew to London.
Had coffee with Hoa Doan, Alex Lushnikov, Josh Smith, Anthony Collias, Dylan Cohen and Anita Borishade at 116 Pall Mall (pic below).
Went with my family to see my father-in-law in hospital.
Had dinner with Daniel Sozonov and Rory Popert of Unison.
What areas are you interested in right now
I often get asked by founders, "What areas are you interested in right now?"
I often get asked by founders, "What areas are you interested in right now?"
I deliberately don't have any. Some of my best opportunities I wasn't interested in until I heard about them from the founders.
I do have strong views about the world which influence my decisions.
If you're interested, ask me specific questions about the world, future, sectors or anything in the comments and I will either answer them there or in a future post.
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Evening update - 12 Apr 23
Today I…
#TodayI
Shared that I and many VCs are partnering with Focal's demo day.
Was pitched by Brad Jones of Meet Kinksters.
Was pitched by Filip Ceder of Lyckli.
Was pitched by Alex Lushnikov of trendi.
Had a call with a founder I am helping.
Used my network to dig into a startup on my shortlist.
Made some intros.
#LaterI
Have to pack for my trip to London tomorrow.
#Ifyoureadthisfar
I have a slot for coffee/breakfast tomorrow due to a late cancellation.
Experiment: send me a message or comment below and meet me at 116 Pall Mall at any time between 10am and midday. It could be just me (it's very short notice) or there could be a few of us. We will see!
https://goo.gl/maps/n7Po5WLRJgC8abHT6
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Focal demo day
I’m delighted to be partnering with Focal and collaborating with over 110 other VCs to help make early-stage fundraising more efficient and accessible.
I’m delighted to be partnering with Focal and collaborating with over 110 other VCs to help make early-stage fundraising more efficient and accessible.
Founders, if your startup is raising Pre-seed, Seed or Series A now or in the next 6 months please apply at https://www.gofocal.vc/.
The application window shuts at the end of 24th April ahead of demo day on 18th May.
I know the people running this (Hi Hector, Taos and Jack!) and they are great so you should definitely do this!
Evening update - 11 Apr 23
Today I…
#TodayI
Shared that obviously great startup ideas are terrible startup ideas.
Worked from home because my wife is away and the kids are off school.
Had a site meeting for our house build with Infinity Construction and DLM Architects Ltd.
Was pitched by Cally Russell of Together.
Updated my LinkedIn profile to show I am partnering with Focal. More to come tomorrow.
Caught up with Vinay Goel and Matthew Codd of Cosmic Partners and unbundled vc's founder support scheme.
Was pitched by Kris Jones (He/Him) of Magic Sauce Online.
Took my two youngest for their biweekly injections.
Attended a panel meeting.
#NowI
Have to feed the kids, take the bins out and clean the house before my wife gets home or I'm in trouble.
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
"That's a great idea!" = That's a terrible idea
The worst startup ideas are the ones where everyone says, "That's a great idea!"
"That's a great idea!" = That's a terrible idea.
The worst startup ideas are the ones where everyone says, "That's a great idea!"
If it's obvious there are either loads of people already trying to do it or, even worse, nobody is trying to do it.
If nobody is trying to do it, most likely many people have tried and failed and there is some non-obvious reason why it is hard.
Y Combinator talks about tarpit ideas - video in the comments. Peter Thiel talks about believing something about the world that nobody else believes. The classic question is why now.
How do you validate your startup idea without falling into this trap?
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Evening update - 6 Apr 23
Today I…
#TodayI
Shared the three beneficiaries of unbundled vc's marketing founder support scheme with Nicky Dibben.
Cycled to work.
Had my Important not Urgent day.
Caught up with Jamie Beaumont of Playter.
Spoke with Hector Mason of Episode 1 Ventures and Focal about an investment.
Postponed a founder call because of a migraine (not mine).
Renewed my driving licence.
Have a wonderful long weekend everyone!
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Founder support scheme - marketing with Nicky Dibben
I am delighted to announce the three founders who have been selected to be part of the unbundled vc founder support scheme - Marketing with Nicky Dibben are...
I am delighted to announce the three founders who have been selected to be part of the unbundled vc founder support scheme - Marketing with Nicky Dibben are...
drumroll...
Sheila Hogan of Biscuit Tin,
Daisy Harvey of Loom and
Mathew Norbury of FC Laboratories Ltd.
Sheila, Daisy and Mathew - I hope it is helpful!
unbundled vc now has three partners as part of its founder support scheme - Nicky Dibben, Matthew Codd and Samuel Cohen.
You can read more about it here - https://lnkd.in/e4gEENUv
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Evening update - 5 Apr 23
Today I…
#TodayI
Ran to my pilates class with Maria Jose Freeman (Fernandez) of Pilates Core Club. Thank you Runna for the inspiration.
Shared that I try and hold myself to the same standards I hold founders to.
Was pitched by Chris Byatte and Joe Wee of SPLACE.
Was pitched by Daniel Sozonov of Unison.
Got back to the founders chosen for unbundled vc's founder marketing support scheme with Nicky Dibben - more info tomorrow.
Was pitched by a founder who wishes to remain anonymous.
Chatted with Aldwyn Boscawen of Morale App.
Was pitched by Conor McKenna and Ben Greenock of Go Swag.
#NowI
Am going to collapse.
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Holding myself to high standards
I have a very high bar for who I will invest in. I know my criteria. I try and apply the same criteria to what I'm doing.
I try and hold myself to the same standards I hold founders to.
I have a very high bar for who I will invest in. I know my criteria. I try and apply the same criteria to what I'm doing.
Do I understand my customers (founders) and what they want? Can I meet those needs and can I make sure enough high-quality founders know I can meet those needs? Am I as determined and persistent and resilient as they are?
Those are the standards I hold myself to. Just because I'm allocating capital doesn't mean I can't figure out how to do my job better.
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic
Evening update - 4 Apr 23
#TodayI
Posted about doing things that don't scale to understand your customers intimately.
Had coffee with Kai Junghanns.
Had a client call to understand if an important client need was being met by a startup.
Was pitched by Charan Lakhanpal of Lastlove.
Was pitched by Rachel Curtis of Inicio AI.
Am receiving regular WhatsApp a day in the life updates of a startup I am considering investing in.
Attended Focal's (previously The Stage) update and partner kick-off. Founders, you can find out more and apply here - https://www.gofocal.vc/.
Was pitched by Nimrita Dadlani and Ramesh Touraney of Pivot.
#NowI
Am spending time with my son on his birthday.
#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic