Momentum.'Ecosystem' #16
Your weekly guide on tech news, early stage fundraising and venture capital.
Welcome to the ‘Ecosystem’ newsletter! For access to all monthly events, archive or if you would like to support the project, become an annual subscriber.
Hello and welcome to issue #16! 4 months in, what is your number one reason for reading #Ecosystem? Irrespective of the motivation, I hope you are able to discover something new and of value in each newsletter.
One of the most effective ways for individuals who have achieved a high level of success or expertise in a specific field to give back to society is to openly share the knowledge accumulated along the way. Is their willingness to share greater than people’s overall desire to listen and learn?
“To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe.” - Marilyn vos Savant, Author
Do not solely observe. Act on your inspiration. Create momentum.
“Inspiration is a magical thing, a productivity multiplier, a motivator. But it won’t wait for you. Inspiration is a now thing. If it grabs you, grab it right back and put it to work.” - Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson(Co-founders, Basecamp)
Put very simply.
“Extreme people get extreme results. Working a lot comes with huge life trade-offs, and it’s perfectly rational to decide not to do it. But it has a lot of advantages. As in most cases, momentum compounds, and success begets success.” - Sam Altman (CEO, OpenAI) and (Former President, Y Combinator)
Until next week!
#EcosystemGiants Events
Join #EcosystemGiants at 5pm BST today(20 October 2020) to hear from Jean-Marc Patouillaud (Managing Partner, Partech). Tune in to find out how he became the founding partner at one of the top 10 VC firms worldwide, the qualities he looks for in early stage founders and his advice on structuring an effective startup board. RSVP here.
And more #EcosystemGiants news! It is an absolute pleasure to announce Oliver Holle (Managing Partner, Speedinvest) will join as the latest guest on Tuesday, November 3 at 5pm BST.
Oliver has over 15 years of entrepreneurial experience in the mobile and internet industries, founding one of the first European internet startups in 1997 (exited to US giant VeriSign in 2006 for €55M). In 2011, he returned to Austria to co-found Speedinvest, growing it from a VC firm with €10M AUM to a venture capital fund with more than €400M in capital, +150 portfolio companies, six offices in Europe and San Francisco, considered to be one of Europe's most active investors (according to Dealroom.co). He will share more about making the switch from entrepreneurship to venture capital, his reflections on a successful startup exit, how to choose the right investors and leadership tips on time management. RSVP here.
Supported by Kaiku, ParlayMe and Startups Magazine.
Links to the September, August and July recordings.
*Want to hear from other members of the Speedinvest team? Check the ‘Startup Go-To Resources’ section below for details for the bi-annual Marketplace Conference.
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.
Big raises and trends. Workout coaching app Future raises $24M Series B amid at-home fitness boom (Techcrunch). 'Future of living' startup Alfred gets a $30M investment from former WeWork CEO Adam Neumann (TheRealDeal). Electric vehicle maker Arrival, snaps $118 million from BlackRock to scale the production of commercial electric delivery vans (BusinessCloud). While Argyle raised $20 million to be the 'Plaid for employment records', entirely using Notion docs (Protocol).
New funds. Brighteye Ventures, Europe’s largest edtech fund secures a further $54m (Sifted). Samaipata launches a new €100m fund to invest in digital platforms across Europe (Sifted). Plus ex-Revolut employees angel investment syndicate Expansion Capital comes out of stealth. The firm invested in around fifteen early-stage tech (industry agnostic) start-ups since March 2020 (Sifted). In the US, 44-year-old venture firm Menlo Ventures closed its fifteenth early-stage fund with $500 million (Techcrunch), while the rise of the ‘solo capitalists’ continues - former teen startup founder Josh Buckley raises $150 Million for solo fund (Private Equity News) and Chelsea Clinton’s new venture capital fund, Metrodora Ventures now officially confirmed (first reported in ‘Ecosystem’ back in July!) via BusinessInsider.
Going remote. Dropbox makes remote working permanent for employees (CNBC). So does Microsoft (Forbes). Meanwhile in the UK, Deloitte closes four of its 50 British offices retaining the employees on work-from-home contracts(Reuters).
Fintech news. Payments giant Stripe acquires Nigeria’s fintech startup Paystack for $200M+ to expand into the African continent (Quartz). Around 2000 Robinhood accounts were compromised in a hack (Bloomberg). And sustainable finance. New fintech startup Treecard (backed by German search engine Ecosia) launches wooden debit cards and is to channel merchant transaction fee profits to deforestation projects (Fintech Magazine).
Funder
Founders, what are the questions you should be asking when choosing a VC? Deepka Rana (Associate, Northzone) highlights aspects of the founder-VC story rarely discussed such as fund cycles, partner dynamics (to avoid being left as an ‘orphan investment’) and ways to diligence
Naval Ravikant(Co-founder and Chairman, AngelList) on optimising for independence, why money doesn’t make you happier and why calm is a superpower in business. A must read/listen interview with bestselling author Tim Ferriss.
Sam Cash (Principal, Project A Ventures) on the importance of owning your distribution levers early on & a product-market fit framework to structure your scaling
Founder
‘As a board member and an investor myself, I’ve tried to at least never be a distraction or harmful to another company (“Do No Harm”)’.
Ryan Caldbeck (Founder, CircleUp)’s feedback letter to a former board member illustrates why founders should do reference checks before giving away a board seat and choosing the investor to partner with
From creation to exit (to Twitter) in 1200 days : The Startup Rollercoaster. Marie Outtier (Co-founder, Aiden.ai) on choosing a co-founder (mutually exclusive skills but an alignment on ambition and company vision), going for and securing the ideal clients first and the key lessons learned during these three years and three months
Twitter Highlight(s)
Ryan Caldbeck, Founder, CircleUp
Yasmin Moaven, VP Marketing and Communications, Pipe
Startup of the week
Shuffle, an app helping users discover the best ideas and stories locked up in long podcasts. You can also create your own clips and personalize them with interactive GIFs and text.
Tweet @getshuffleapp and founder @adayeoyh 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
The bi-annual Marketplace Conference December 1st and 2nd 2020 - an online and global edition! Join for keynote sessions, panel discussions and networking covering everything marketplaces: from design, strategy, growth hacking to fundraising. Organised by Autotech Ventures, Battery Ventures and Speedinvest x
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."
The B2B SaaS Pricing Masterclass - how subscription software companies price, package, and position their products
Raising Series A? The top 3 metrics that matter ahead of your funding roundFrom building a successful mass-market business to hiring and product execution - Sarah Tavel (General Partner, Benchmark) sets out the frameworks and guides to follow
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.