Advice. 'Ecosystem' #41
A weekly guide on tech news and early stage fundraising. Aiming to open access to the venture industry for less networked founders and junior VCs.
For access to all monthly events, archive or if you would like to support the project, become an annual subscriber⭐ New to ‘Ecosystem’? Find out what it is here.
Hello and welcome back to ‘Ecosystem’, issue 41 (a post-holiday edition!)!
In this newsletter, you will learn:
Why and which Silicon Valley scaleup is facing a mass employee exodus?
How to manage your time effectively - the top 5 (remote) work principles to follow to maximise productivity according to a solo capitalist
10 powerful lessons from Warren Buffett - that have little to do with investing
How to build the ultimate MVP framework
Timeless words of wisdom on early stage investing and life from the latest #EcosystemGiants guest, the fabulous Soraya Darabi
The most thoughtful piece of content I came across over the last days was an article with 99 pieces of advice (from founding executive editor of Wired, Kevin Kelly). More broadly, it made me reflect on giving/receiving advice - and reminded me of a quote that goes along the lines of:
Be mindful people speak from where they are at life. Make sure who you listen to is who you want to be. Or in other words, be careful about taking advice from someone you’d be unwilling to trade places with.
On the above-mentioned article, you are bound to find a quote that speaks to you (send me the one that resonated with you the most!) and remember:
“Advice like these are not laws. They are like hats. If one doesn’t fit, try another.”
Thank you for choosing the ‘Ecosystem’ newsletter as the read on tech news and early-stage fundraising! Your feedback and support help to drive it forward:
“I find the ‘Ecosystem’ project very valuable for me to understand what’s happening in the world of VCs in the tech space, that it has become a pivotal guide for my day-to-day work in supporting SMEs and start-ups with raising money and investment. Tzvete has been extremely helpful in working with me to connect the best VC contacts with the most successful early-stage businesses, and with this growing network it has tremendously helped our organisation accelerate tech deployment in our connected places sectors.” - Cera Wong, SME Development Manager, Connected Places Catapult
For those of you in the UK, I hope you had a great long weekend - and to the ones who celebrated Orthodox Easter, may it have been a fantastic opportunity to reconnect with your loved ones!
See you next time! ☀️
#EcosystemGiants
Last week’s #EcosystemGiants guest was truly special! In one of the most candid sessions, Soraya Darabi (Co-Founder and General Partner, TMV) shared more about her journey from the world of media to raising two venture funds and why she is investing in purpose-driven businesses. We spoke about building conviction and long-lasting relationships; and the importance of having compassion for the founder experience. Because the investors of tomorrow are the ones who founders can relate to today. Few memorable takeaways from our chat:
There are inherent similarities between the world of media, startups and venture
‘The most successful people ask the most thoughtful questions.’
“It’s certainly encouraged to think like a journalist, and in some ways act like a marketer. VC is a funny game where you have to be curious, be well-researched; introverts are at a disadvantage in this business. Maybe there’s an inverse correlation between how well known your firm is and how loud your most recognizable partner is. It is a business that values research, thoughtful judgment, and analytical skills; as well as soft skills: the ability to communicate well, to write eloquently, and to be able to understand with compassion, what a founder might be experiencing, so you can appeal to them as a coach, in addition to a player.”
Serendipity, relativity and luck
“It's really fascinating how much of investing does come from your own personal life experience. So as it pertains to bias or unconscious bias in a snide way, I can point to all the funding that's gone into golf apps over the last few decades. We know who plays golf and we know why those apps have received financing... The world can be tribal. Maybe it's my job in life to find the immigrant kids who want to start ‘Future of work’, upskilling businesses. I just hope that with TMV, being a very diverse team, more red wells, and more tiny hoods are accounted for.”
Becoming an investor
“Venture is an industry predicated upon relationships. The underlying element to what makes those relationships transactional is a deep and thoughtful awareness around finance. It occurred to me that I had to study up - VC became sort of an aspirational light at the end of the tunnel. I recognized this is probably who I want to be, but I can't be that person yet. I needed more on the ground experience and to start investing with my own capital to make sure I'm good at this.”
Overcoming imposter syndrome and addressing the ‘confidence gap’
“Imposter syndrome held me back from putting a flag in the ground and stating that I was an investor – and it wasn't until I had invested in three or four unicorns that I actually felt like proudly saying it. I taught myself conviction around building up my own confidence - the confidence gap in the United States affects women and minorities, even more so than anyone else. It also timed itself serendipitously, with a lot of very compelling founders (ie Casper) taking a chance on me – welcoming me on their cap table and believing in me and the value-add I could bring as an investor.
The investors of tomorrow are the ones who founders can relate to today
“Being an entrepreneur, building something, getting your hands dirty, really understanding the messy middle and 'the hard thing about hard things' (all those, those venture clichés that have become books!) is paramount for having compassion for the founder experience. Ultimately, the best VCs of the future will have some humbling experiences from their own personal life story that they can draw upon when making thoughtful investments in the future.”
You may also find Soraya on Twitter or if you are an emerging fund manager, be sure to check her community Transact Global. Stay tuned for a longer summary of the conversation with Soraya (there really was a lot of wisdom shared!) - subscribe to ‘Ecosystem’ to get the post delivered straight to your inbox :)
Many thanks to community partners Startups Magazine, ParlayMe, FemGems, Kaiku for the support!
Who is the next #EcosystemGiants guest? She is the Queen of Gen Z VC; and despite being only in her early 20s, has already built up a strong personal brand in venture and become a role model for hundreds of newcomers, looking to break into VC. Keep an eye out for an email this week!
Innovation Ecosystem Updates
Trending. Basecamp’s ban on political talk prompts mass employee exodus - and a wave of Twitter announcements (Bloomberg). Live audio content is the next ‘Stories’, according to Spotify’s Daniel Ek (Techcrunch). Elon Musk is hosting Saturday Night Live - the latest on the why and when (The Atlantic). The Gates’, the billionaire power couple, running the world’s largest private charitable organization to go their separate ways. Is the split the natural next step for Melinda, following her long journey away from Bill’s shadow? (Reuters).
Miami Tech Week wasn’t planned but the FOMO is real - founders and funders flock to the beach for an impromptu bacchanal-like event for funding (Wired). 👇
London news - Stride VC raises a second $138.6M seed fund (in 10 weeks!), and is on the lookout for a third partner (Techcrunch). What does the post-Covid future for the ‘Square Mile’ hold? Empty offices to be converted into homes and lower rents to be offered to upcoming startups (Reuters). Top of the pot : how big can the luxury cannabis-infused products market get? (FT) And finally, as the global population approaches 8BN (and research in reverse aging further expands!); how long can we live? (NY Times)
Massive rounds. Out of Amsterdam, Messagebird raises the largest Series C in Europe at $1B; and acquires Twilio rival SparkPost for $600M (Silicon Canals). Berlin-based Razor Group that buys up promising Amazon sellers and grows them into bigger, multi-channel businesses closes $400M to scale its own efforts in the space (Techcruch). Spanish travel tech startup TravelPerk secures $160M in Series D equity and debt funding to power global growth (PYMNTS).‘Hot’ Cloud storage startup (and Amazon S3 service competitor!) Wasabi nabs $112M; and looks to strengthen its brand and open new datacenters (Venture Beat). German fintech Vivid Money (dubbed a Revolut competitor designed specifically for the Eurozone!) with a new $73M cash injection to build the new financial super app for the continent (Techcrunch). And a large Series A round out of Ireland - drone delivery startup Manna secures $25M and expands to the UK (FT).
Scoop: Having already bagged $150M to date, Finnish sleep-tracking startup Oura is reportedly preparing a new fundraise at a $800M valuation (Bloomberg).
Acquisitions. Facebook’s Oculus division snatches another popular virtual reality game developer - Downpour Interactive, the studio behind the hit multiplayer military simulator Onward (The Verge). Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever to buy holistic wellness and lifestyle business Onnit (BusinessWire). And another acquisition by a tech giant - IBM to purchase Turbonomic, a provider of ML-infused application resource management and network performance management software - in a deal worth up to $2BN (Techcrunch).
Sustainability. Investment in Agrifood tech has increased at a 50% CAGR during the last decade; only in 2020, startups raised $22.3BN in funding (FoodDive). From marketplaces to shelf-life technology : 70+ companies helping to cut down on waste (Food Hack). Inside the $20M prize saving the world - who are the CARBON XPRIZE winners? (Wired) and apply by 12 May to join Techstars Sustainability Accelerator (in partnership with The Nature Conservancy) and get up to $120k in funding. The climate solution adding millions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere - why California’s carbon credits not only fail to achieve real carbon savings but incentivize more pollution? (ProPublica) US President Biden signs law that makes sesame the ninth major food allergen - and will see research in deadly allergies increase (Axios).
Wins for women. Another week, another female-led business debuted on the London Stock Exchange (with shares jumping as much as 42% on first day of trading and market value going up from £1.7BN to almost £2.4BN!) via Guardian. Congratulations to CEO and Co-Founder of British cybersecurity firm Darktrace, Poppy Gustafsson for the firm’s successful London IPO. 👏 Plus, who is Romi Savova, the founder who took PensionBee public last week? An excellent recollection essay by angel -> IPO investor in the business, Deepali Nangia (Venture Partner, Speedinvest). TIME’s first ever 100 Most Influential Companies list highlights the 100 businesses making an extraordinary impact around the world. The dedicated issue spotlights three impressive cover women - CEOs, making a difference Reese Witherspoon (Hello Sunshine), Mary Barra (General Motors) and Sara Menker (Gro Intelligence).👏
*Hardly a win but speaking up against the status quo is not easy - Britt Caldwell (formerly Marketing Director, Webflow) takes a bold stance against toxic work environments and behaviors; raising the issue of female rivalry and power struggle in business. Do you agree with her?
"The world is finally waking up to the fact that none of us can move forward when half of us are held back. The data is clear: empowered women transform societies.” - Melinda Gates (Founder, Pivotal Ventures and Co-chair & Co-Founder, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation)
Funder
To optimize for deep work, I take fewer meetings and learn from the sidelines…The investors that move fast and with conviction are ones that come prepared. I find blocking time before and after a meeting is an effective way to come prepared and deliver value after the first meeting: make customer intros, source new candidates in your network, and circulate notes with next steps.
Brianne Kimmel (Founder, Worklife Ventures) shares the guiding principles for how she works (remotely) as a solo capitalist
Molly Fowler (CEO, Dorm Room Fund) on investing in students and identifying future trends early
Everett Randle (Principal, Founders Fund) and angel investor Jason Calacanis discuss Tiger Global’s strategy as the tech-focused crossover hedge fund moves at an unprecedented speed and scale in venture capital - what are the implications for the investing ecosystem?
Founder/Operator
“The goal of CS is to be the bridge between the product and the people who use it. The CSM’s objective is to help customers find more value in the product…To measure the success of a Customer Success team, companies need to ask how well the team drives adoption, maturation, and value.”
Linda Lin (Director Customer Success, Gong; formerly Slack and Zendesk) on effective account management and the difference between customer success/support
“It’s time to also start paying attention to data. The combination of qualitative and quantitative feedback will give you the insights you need to keep building successful features and products. It is important to keep track of the feedback you receive, categorise it, prioritise it and generate insights.”
Menia (Asimenia) Laina (PM, Proxymity) gives the 101 on product development in going from idea to launch - and the importance of listening to your early users
Twitter Highlight
Startup of the week
Where only talent ‘rises’ to the top
Soufflé Club is a new professional community, strongly reliant on trusted referrals. A place where founders, investors and tech talent address thought-provoking questions that can prove their expertise in a field (answers get ‘upvoted’ based on merit) - and build a (professional) identity for themselves, that goes beyond what a resume can convey. Understand what someone is good at, how they think and view the world prior to working with them.
Tweet @SouffleClub to share they were featured in ‘Ecosystem’!
Do reach out to me if working on a product advancing one or more of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Startup Go-to Resources
How to hire an independent board director
Negotiating a term sheet? The most common clauses, provisions and patterns found in a 2020 analysis of 94 VC final Seed, Series A and Series B term sheets by PwC Raise + The ultimate guide to term sheets at seed by ByFounders (re-shared!)
The ultimate MVP framework - measuring and proving user retention
Creating effective slide headlines for your deck - a guide by Hustle Fund Co-Founder, Eric Bahn
What is a pre-seed round and how to raise one?
Questions to ask yourself when stuck
The Three Rules of Freemium by Christoph Janz (Co-Founder and Partner, Point Nine Capital)
All about PR - a launch checklist and the 10 rules of media relations to follow as a founder - as advised by Lightspeed Venture Partners
Top 10 mistakes first-time SaaS founders make - and how to avoid them
50 Best Pitch Deck Examples from YC & 500 Startups
How should a bottom up company think about B2B pricing and packaging? via A16Z
Simple yet efficient - the financial plan for Series A fundraiseThank you for reading another ‘Ecosystem’ newsletter! What feedback do you have for me (likes/dislikes)? I would greatly appreciate if you share this with contacts (founders, tech operators & investors) who may find the content helpful🖤 Connect with me on Twitter