Ashley Nelson’s Post

How to Master the Early Stage Phase? Last week, our colleague Thomas joined the Fintech Fringe panel at London Tech Week to discuss "Navigating the Early Stage Landscape.” Moderated by Amelia Isaacs, Future of Finance Reporter, the session provided founders with insights for securing early-stage investment. Alongside Thomas, industry experts Hattie Willis - IfWeRaise, Meera Bissoondeeal - 13books Capital, and Ivan Maryasin - Monite joined the discussion. Here are some of the tips they shared: 1. Fundraising Market ▪ Competitive Market: Despite a tightening market leading to fewer deals, those that do occur remain highly competitive. There's a noticeable growth in pre-emption of upcoming investment rounds across all stages as VCs compete for the best deal flow. ▪ Valuation Trends: Pre-seed and seed rounds continue to hold strong valuations, significantly above the long-term average. However, the valuations of many later-stage rounds remain depressed due to uncertainty in potential exit timelines and the overall environment. 2. Fundraising Process ▪ Focus on Fundamentals: There is a renewed focus on demonstrating necessary growth rates and traction or having a clear narrative for future acceleration. ▪ Building Relationships: Engaging with target VCs between fundraisings to build a relationship and learn who may be the best fit for your journey can be time well spent. ▪ Preparation is Key: The first meeting is crucial. Properly preparing and understanding the person and organization you are speaking to is essential for the best chance of success. This is true for both VCs and founders to ensure the best fit. #MotiveVentures #FintechWeek #EarlyStageInvestment #StartupFunding #VCInsights

Every year the Blackfinch Ventures team holds an annual portfolio event, where we talk about some of the highlights of the year and bring together the founders of some of the leading companies in our portfolio. 2023 was yet another stellar year for our portfolio companies, in terms of growth targets achieved, new business won, and award-winning technology created and distributed. So we’re delighted to share our 2023 Portfolio Event Highlight reel. #Ventures #VCT #Founders #VentureCapital #VentureCapitalists #HighGrowthFirms #TechCompanies #Investing #TaxRelief [Capital at risk. Benefits of tax-efficient investments are subject to change and personal circumstances.]

- VC “platforms” are BS. - The money flood has spawned an explosion of VCs. - Family offices offer hassle-free capital, but big money is always big money. - J.D. may not be as good a friend to tech as he might seem. #venturecapital #vc #LP #GP

VCs add way less value than they think. A thought from Sabina Wizander that we still debate on at EUVC Today, we are joined by Gregory Dewerpe, solo GP of A/O. Investors usually underwrite that 50-60% of the portfolio will go to zero. So, when a company struggles. They are very quick to put them in this bucket. To not only lose interest. But also become comfortable with the idea of failure. I have seen it time and time again. Something I will never be ok with. We fight for every single one of our companies. #venturecapital #startupfunding #europe

Europe is producing unicorns and decacorns at the same rate as the US 🦄 I recently wrote on sifted about US VCs coming over despite the downturn. And now we read of the merger La Famiglia + General Catalyst. US LPs will be next. Lesson? Europe has finally matured entrepreneurial talent and ambition matching the US. But investors are still 'lagging behind' the scale of opportunity. Which means a massive untapped potential still to exploit by new VCs launching and exploring different areas, niches and sectors. From #deeptech to #climate, #health, #defence (that we focus on) and even new areas within the more traditional tech: European tech growth is just getting started. But it's ripening fast! The only bitter-sweet part of the news is that I still don't see as much interest from local #FamilyOffices, #PensionFunds and #WealthManagers as there is in the US for its #VentureCapital scene. --- Data: Dealroom.co

🌍 Mastering Exits in VC! Here are some reflections from today’s fireside chat with EstVCA Chair Kaari Kink and Creandum General Partner Staffan Helgesson held at EBAN - European Business Angel Network Congress in Tallinn. 🙌 How to navigate the environment of lack of exits and liquidity: ⚪ If you’re an LP, dividing your investment ticket over 2-3 funds might make sense to diversify and not depend only on one fund’s returns. ⚪ The 3rd fund is the hardest to raise so there might be pressure on the second fund to push for exits and show returns. It’s important to understand that this industry is about riding the winners and not backing out too early. ⚪ Often the best returns come several years after the initial 10+1+1 year fund term so fund managers and LPs should expect a longer holding period, even as long as 18 years, and not get stuck on numbers on the paper. ⚪ That said, selling parts of your position in later-stage rounds and recycling the capital as well as providing LPs with some liquidity is a reasonable strategy. ⚪ It helps to be transparent with LPs at the start that the fund holding period may be longer to ensure good companies can grow to exits. Equally, it helps if you don’t ask LPs to pay for the “overtime” but get approval for holding the positions. ⚪ When it comes to companies that are not obvious winners in the portfolio, it’s important to ask tough questions. Mainly, is this company a complete platform or a feature? If the latter, it might make sense to be part of someone else’s offering and merge. ⚪ The one principle Creandum always promotes is to involve a professional banker: “I have never seen an exit where not including a banker gets you a higher price”. ⚪ Times are never as bad as u think, better times come faster than you think. European landscape is still relatively early in its development but there’s much reason to stay bullish. ⚪ The biggest mistake angels and VCs can make is throwing good money after bad money. When the startup struggles to raise the next funding, it’s a strong sign from the market and you should strongly consider if committing more capital is the way to go. #exits #vc #ebancongress

Deceptive valuation of VC-backed startups--once VCs stop providing subsidies, most unicorns face bankruptcy, and billions of dollars in valuation collapses Time to avoid deception and focus on nurturing hidden potential: www.the-waves.org

Everyone says that angel invest is simple and bring high rewards But no one talks about the fact that angels usually have to take decisions after meeting only 1 or 2 times with founders they don't know, and usually without any tractions yet (often no product, no revenue) 👉 After 15 investments done with Upscalers, we have certainly created a unique and powerful setup to take better decisions Here is how we works: 1. We centralize deal flow 2. We do a first (long) 45 min call with the CEO to validate his personality, ambitions, as well as the potential market size 3. We bring the best 2-3 Upscalers' members to do a 1H DD call with the founders to challenge them 4. If we get green lights and willingness to invest from these members, we move forward 5. We introduce the deal to Upscalers' community. This is where top operators from Berlin, Paris, London, SF, Tel-Aviv, can share their points, challenge and questions, and come up with questions for the Q&A 6. We do a 45min Q&A session for everyone willing to join and meet the founders. 7. Only after this process, which is done in a super short timeframe (usually 10 days), we are able to take a decision. As we are still at the early days of Upscalers, we need some time to see how we perform. 📊 However, angel investing is also embracing a journey of supporting founders, learning from peers, and have fun. And this has been more than validated already. ✅ #angelinvestors #angelinvesting #venturecapital #vc

No one has a list of investors they can "hook" you up with. No one. I have been in business for 30 years on Wall Street and Main Street and no one has a ready-made qualified list of investors. Just because an investor invested in something doesn't mean he will invest in everything. Real investors do not advertise and do not put their names and contact information on a list for someone to sell. They do not want startups spamming them with worthless deals. Real investors can find their own places to invest their money. If you want to find investors specific to your deal book a call with Dr. Michael N. Brette,J.D. via email and get your questions answered and discover your options to getting investors to CALL you. If you are raising $5 million or more book a call now. #capitalraising #investorsgroup #financingoptions #startupfunding

The VC secondaries market is booming, with Hamilton Lane leading the charge by launching a record $5 billion fund. This surge in activity signals a shift in the #investment landscape, offering new opportunities for liquidity and growth. Why is this important? Secondary transactions provide a vital avenue for early investors to exit and re-deploy capital, fueling further innovation in the #VC ecosystem. Learn more about what's driving this trend in PitchBook's Q&A with Hamilton Lane’s managing director, Matt Pellini, here👇