Harlem Capital’s Post

I speak to early-stage tech founders everyday and almost everyone struggles with financials. This is often related to a lack of understanding in - cost structure - sales pipeline - price structure - business model The business acumen is often uncharted territory to a techie - not so fun compared to tech innovation! 🤯 But a #startup is a business, not a project or a hobby. You have multiple strategic decisions to make and you can easily get lost if you don't focus on the right things and take action. On 7 June 16.00 CEST I'm hosting the first 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 webinar. Together with my Co-host Mira Maralova, we will take you step by step to build a financial model and establish your strategic focus from day 1. Navigating the uncertainties of early-stage tech ventures is hard enough and you shouldn't be doing it alone. 𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝟯𝟯+ 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝘉𝘰𝘯𝘶𝘴: 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘋𝘔 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺! -- Hello 👋 I am Irene, a strategic advisor for early-stage tech ventures. I am on a mission to empower 500 tech founders in Europe by 2025 and currently we are at 170+. Follow and connect if you know any founder we can help.  🙌   

Join Our Mentor, Irene Verheijen, for the Founder Focus Webinar! At Digital Bonds AI, we have greatly benefited from the expertise and guidance of Irene Verheijen, MBA. Her insights have been invaluable in refining our financial strategies and business model. We are excited to share that Irene, along with her co-host Mira Maralova, is hosting the first "Founder Focus" Webinar on June 7th at 16:00 CEST. This is a fantastic opportunity for early-stage tech founders to gain a deeper understanding of: - Cost Structure - Sales Pipeline - Price Structure - Business Model Navigating the complexities of a startup can be challenging, but with Irene's strategic guidance, you can make informed decisions and set a strong foundation from day one. Join us and 33+ tech founders for this valuable session. Register now with the link in the comments, and don't miss out on the chance to win a live financial model-building session! Let's take action together and drive our ventures towards success. #Startup #TechFounders #FinancialModeling #StrategicPlanning #DigitalBondsAI

It is such an honor to bookend my time at Lightspeed with the news that the 2024 Data-Driven VC Landscape report named me a top 20 thought leader and, more importantly, recognized Lightspeed as a top 20 data-driven VC firm for the second year in a row. I have been fortunate to be involved in building the data teams from the ground up at two of the top 20 data-driven firms, and it's gratifying to see former colleagues like Yuriy Groysman, Ilya Kirnos, and Chris Farmer at SignalFire also featured prominently. Special thanks to Dr. Andre Retterath for putting the report together! You can find the full report here: https://lnkd.in/gbBa2hdj The data-driven VC ecosystem has grown tremendously from just a handful of people a decade ago. While much progress has been made in leveraging data for sourcing, due diligence, portfolio support, and access, there is still much work to be done. I'm excited to see how this space continues to evolve. On a personal note, after over five and a half years at Lightspeed, I am stepping away from my role. I'm incredibly grateful to Lightspeed, especially Ravi Mhatre, Christopher Schaepe, Peter Nieh, Barry Eggers, Alex Taussig, Bradley Twohig, and Jeremy Liew for taking a chance on me years ago. It was a pleasure to work among world-class investors and operators across the globe to help founders build enduring companies. It filled me with a sense of wonder when everything aligned – when data pointed to a company's growth trajectory, and renowned Midas list investors pursued those founders. My thanks to the Lightspeed data team (Tin Kyaw, Eric Wayman, Len Frenkel, Radhika M.) and Carmen Buenrostro for making each day enjoyable, even as we navigated a pandemic while trying to bring data to venture capital. Over the next few months, I'll be spending time with family, traveling, and reconnecting with friends. I'm currently fascinated by using data-driven strategies for secondary investing and cohort-based customer acquisition financing. Please reach out if you'd like to discuss data and venture further. More to come!

This recent framework and breakdown by Sequoia Capital on how to think about product-market fit, the breakdown into archetypes and how they should determine how your company operates, is one the most interesting pieces that I have read for a long time.

🌟 New on the Blog: Navigating Success with Financial Analytics 🚀 Dive into our latest essay, where we unravel the power of financial analytics in the startup world! 💡 From strategic decision-making to securing investor funding, discover how mastering financial analytics can be your game-changer. Perfect for startup owners seeking growth and sustainability. 💼 ✨ Check it out now at https://lnkd.in/gNnHhSbb #StartupSuccess #FinancialAnalytics #DataDrivenGrowth #SmartPlanAnalytics 📈🔍

Stop using arbitrary metrics to determine business success. Too many times, I see startups targeting a number rather than an outcome. Let's revisit what we're trying to achieve and create metrics to match it. Your KPIs should tell you where your business needs extra time. We use KPIs at Guidepost and sometimes they are great and other times they get thrown out. Check out our process in our blog post in the comments! #blogpost #financialanalysis #kpis #metrics #fpanda #fractionalcfo

Why settle for cheap solutions when you can innovate smartly? Understanding the diverse financial landscapes of our clients, we've mastered the art of crafting scalable digital solutions that align with various budget scopes. From startup ventures to large-scale enterprise projects. Our flexible budgeting approach ensures that your vision is optimized for financial efficacy. We help create and grow ventures efficiently. Our process reduces risk by using past experiences and technologies. Our method taps into executive-level expertise. Using our flywheel model, founders can test ideas rapidly without constant team changes, guided by seasoned professionals. Discover our approach to crafting solutions on our services page: https://lnkd.in/dfhA32Ab #venturestudios #innovation #OperationalExcellence #BusinessTransformation #FutureOfWork

Decision-Making - 4 Frameworks To Making Smarter Decisions SMARTER stands for: - Seek context - Manage the data - Assure confidence - Reveal insights - Take a stand - Execute decision - Relay results 👍 Give this post a thumbs up ➕ Follow me for more Startup Tips Credit: Rachel Turner, VC Talent Lab #decisionmaking #smarterdecisions #thoughtprocess

Introducing our second Keynote Speaker! Swish Goswami built a multi-hyphenate career by the age of 26. He has started six high-impact ventures across four industries and is currently the CEO and co-founder of Surf, a tech company providing brands with a better way to engage and understand consumers while compensating them for their data. Swish co-founded Surf with the vision to build an equitable data economy. This revolutionary browser extension passively rewards over 300,000 people for their everyday browsing and helps them save when shopping with their favourite brands. Since its launch in 2021, the company has made two acquisitions and raised over $8M from several NBA players, unicorn founders, and venture firms. Wondering how Artificial Intelligence is reshaping the landscape of work? During his presentation Swish will explore the implications of AI technology on job roles, the skills that will be prioritized, and how businesses can adapt to stay ahead. From automation to augmentation, this talk will cover the evolving dynamics between humans and machines in the workplace, providing actionable insights for businesses looking to thrive in this new era. Register via the link in our bio or www.accountex.ca/canada . . . #accountex #accountexcanada #accountex2024 #canadianaccountant #cpdcredits #accountingevents #accountants #bookkeepers #entrepreneurs #cfos #financeprofessionals #accountingeducation #accountingandfinance #networkingevents #torontoevents

You've aced the investor pitch, but now it's time for due diligence. Check out our latest blog post to discover why a well-prepared startup data room is a game-changer: https://lnkd.in/gHUYH9rF #VirtualDataRoom #VDR #DueDiligence