Action.'Ecosystem' #15
Your weekly guide on tech news, early stage fundraising and venture capital.
Welcome to another ‘Ecosystem’ newsletter! Thank you for being part of this journey from the very beginning! For access to all monthly events, archive and expert-led workshops become an annual subscriber.
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” - Lao Tzu
It’s a Chinese proverb we have likely heard not once. Other than expressing a deep insight about avoiding procrastination, it is an affirmation that big things commence with simple beginnings.
“Everybody wants to get rich immediately, but the world is an efficient place; immediate doesn’t work. You do have to put in the time. You do have to put in the hours, and so I think you have to put yourself in the position with the specific knowledge, with accountability, with leverage, with the authentic skill set you have, to be the best in the world at what you do.” - Naval Ravikant
Once on that road, you can only see how far you’ve come by glancing back. Similarly, if you do not like where you’re headed, it is never too late to change course. In the final quarter of 2020, challenge yourself to set ‘systems’ outside of your comfort zone as it is this discomfort that will result in growth. Tomorrow is not promised. Start today.
“Intentions don’t matter. Actions do. Inspiration is perishable—act on it immediately.” - Naval Ravikant
#EcosystemGiants Events
Jean-Marc Patouillaud, Managing Partner at leading venture capital firm Partech joins me as the next #EcosystemGiants guest at 5pm BST on Tuesday, 20 October 2020! Tune in to find out more about his journey to becoming the founding partner at one of the top 10 VC firms worldwide, how he assesses global markets, teams(he has a long track record of successful exits including IPOs) and his advice on what makes the best startup board members (he currently serves on the board of Dayuse, Happytal, Lifen, Sigfox and Privitar). Join the conversation - RSVP here.
Supported by Kaiku, ParlayMe and Startups Magazine.
Links to the September, August and July recordings.
Innovation Ecosystem Updates
Whether you are an investor, a founder, an operator, a corporate or a friend. My top (about) 5 news stories this week that you may find of interest too.
World's super-rich get 1/4 richer during the Coronavirus pandemic and the number of billionaires hits a new time high (The Guardian). The list spots many tech entrepreneurs (Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk) but falls short on women with cosmetics founder Kylie Jenner one of the very few mentioned.
Buys and sells. Remember Quibi? The video streaming app that raised $1.8 billion and was off to a rocky start in the height of the pandemic looks for a buyer (The Information). The bullish case for cloud communication software remains strong. Twilio acquires customer data infrastructure startup Segment for $3.2 billion (Forbes)* and MessageBird becomes Europe’s newest unicorn, raising a $200 million Series C round at a $3 billion valuation (Tech.Eu)
*Twilio’s $3.2B acquisition of Segment unpacked by Semil Shah(Founder & General Partner, Haystack)
Progress halted. Quarterly VC funding for female founders tanks to a three-year low(Techcrunch). Even in the Nordics (leaders on gender equality) 93% of the billions of venture capital dollars invested into local startups in 2019 went to all-male teams(Sifted). More food for thought. SPACs are springing up left and right to take public privately held companies - and they are mostly organised by men (Techcrunch). And finally, female-founded equity-backed businesses were the worst affected by the pandemic - but are now fighting back(City AM).
Across the Pond, social media platforms race to implement features to limit election chaos (Intelligencer). Twitter changes how retweets work to fight misinformation (The New York Times), while Facebook bans US-based political ads indefinitely after the presidential election (The Verge)
UK News. Snapchat launched a shareable augmented reality experience (Local Lenses) on London’s Carnaby Street (Wired). AI cameras to monitor social distancing and lockdown restrictions (developed by startup Vivacity) (Evening Standard). Queen's Birthday Honours 2020 released with June Angelides (VC, Samos Investments) and Sheridan Ash (Women in Tech Leader, PwC) among the recognised for services to women in technology (BBC) 👏👏👏
Funder
Every now and again a fintech playbook emerges. Jax Vullinghs (Principal, AirTree Ventures) looks into the ‘Square opportunity’ and how the company positioned itself with an accumulating advantage at the centre of commerce, transforming the way people interact with their finances
Ethan Ruby (VP Analystics, Craft Ventures) maps out early B2B prospecting for seed stage startups - a practical step-by-step guide for building a pipeline of prospective customers once you’re out of first degree connections that want to use your product
Chamath Palihapitiya (CEO, Social Capital) reflects back on lessons learned in life/business, fractionizing ownership and the massive need/opportunity to tackle climate change. A podcast conversation with Shane Parrish (Founder, Farnam Street).
On the topic of climate change and impact, Shaper Impact Capital’s latest newsletter features seven carefully selected companies addressing a range of UN Sustainable Development Goals. SIC is a platform to connect impact startups (seeking investment) with social impact investors, angels and funds (looking for an impact-driven market-competitive financial return). An all-voluntary project founded by Global Shapers.
Impact startups currently fundraising - apply to be featured, impact investors - sign up to diversify your dealflow pipeline or reach out to me directly to find out more.
Who becomes Startup CEO among co founders? Both? Not exactly! Garry Tan (Co-founder, Initialized Capital) on a mistake made in a A16Z partner meeting in 2010
Founder/Operator
How is work done on the inside of a hyper-growth company? Patrick McKenzie (Content and Communications, Stripe) on team culture, working to ‘get more done’ and the reason why Stripe’s economic model is better than most software businesses
Steve Bartel(Co-Founder and CEO, Gem)’s Startup Hiring 101 : A step-by-step guide on attracting and retaining the best talent - templates and best practices
Finding Product/Market fit the Superhuman way. Read the key points (‘How would you feel if you could no longer use the product?’) of a recent podcast interview with Superhuman’s founder and CEO, Rahul Vohra or listen to the entire recording here
Take care of your mental health. Inspired by last week’s World Mental Health Day, a throwback to an ‘Ecosystem’ conversation on finding resilience in times of adversity with founders inc Devika Wood (Co-Founder, I am Arla) and Edward Shenderovich (Co-founder and Chairman of Knotel)
Twitter highlight(s)
Elizabeth Yin, Co-founder and General Partner, Hustle Fund
Jack Butcher, Founder, Visualize Value
Startup of the week
Novus, a next-gen digital banking and lifestyle app for a sustainable future (‘bank with purpose’). Creating a positive impact for every transaction made and rewarding users for leading a conscious lifestyle.
Follow @novus_world to let them know they have been featured in ‘Ecosystem’!
In my current day-to-day role, I look at supply chain tech. What are the early stage impact companies in the space I should know about? Email me.
Startup Go-To Resources
What You Do Is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business Culture by A16Z's Ben Horowitz."Because your culture is how your company makes decisions when you're not there."
Advice on how to get advice - how founders can maximize the expertise of advisors they’ve already assembled; insights summarised by First Round Capital. Have you hired a broker to help with your fundraise?
Raising Series A? The top 3 metrics that matter ahead of your funding round
From building a successful mass-market business to hiring and product execution - Sarah Tavel (General Partner, Benchmark) sets out the frameworks and guides to follow
A Customer Acquisition Playbook for Consumer Startups - driving growth by picking 'the right lane'. Tips by a former growth specialist and product lead at Airbnb
Founder Narrative Fit - what is it, how investors detect it and why they invest in it. A great podcast interview of Katherine Boyle (Partner, General Catalyst) with useful tips for founders and anyone working in venture.