Mathilde Lyet

Whether you're a French startup founder or investing in the French tech ecosystem, this is a must-have resource: The Serena 2024 Edition of the Ultimate VC List is live! Fundraising can be incredibly time-consuming. That’s why, back in 2016, Serena created the Ultimate VC List to streamline the process for entrepreneurs in France. Now an interactive platform, it has supported over 100,000 entrepreneurs and VCs in the ecosystem. Some key trends Sébastien Le Roy and Maxime Furet spotted when putting this edition together: 🚀 The French VC ecosystem is thriving with new funds like Resonance, OVNI Capital, Yellow, and Varsity, signaling a vibrant and expanding market. 🌍 There’s increased interest from US and European funds for French startups, particularly in AI and climate tech, and a rise in non-traditional investors such as Business Angel Clubs and Family Offices (which are now covered by a new section). 🔧 Infrastructure investors are playing a critical role in funding innovative hybrid models amid global warming challenges. ♻️ The growing presence of impact VCs highlights the focus on socially and environmentally impactful investments.

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Sifted just released their list of the most promising SaaS startups in Europe. https://lnkd.in/erxJRGzi If you are looking to leave your corporate job for a startup but aren’t sure where to get started, do this. 1. Look at sifted lift of promising startups and pick 10 that really interest you. 2. Based on your skill set, use linked look up the lead of the department you think you would be interested in. For example, if you want to get into sales then look up the VP of sales. 3. Send them a DM on why you want to work for the company and what impact you could have in your first 100 days working there. Don’t send your CV until asked for it. 4. Follow up diligently every few days. If after the third try, no one has got back to you, move to the next 10 on the list. It sounds simple, and it is. Recruitment is the hardest thing for growth stage startups, and no one enjoyed paying 25% recruiter fees. Good luck

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4️⃣ SaaStock Fundraising Chatter: Finding the Right VC for You. A key takeaway from Tuesday’s post was how important it is to qualify your investors. With so many options, here's how to be strategic: 🔎 Qualify ruthlessly. Treat your investor funnel like a sales funnel. AlbionVC, for example, invests $1-10M in UK-based B2B software and deeptech. If you’re a Paris-based consumer marketplace raising $20M, it’s a non-starter. Founders waste precious time crafting outreach to funds outside their scope. 🥇 Prioritise Smartly. Rank your target funds by both appeal and likelihood of success. 💘 Find a Warm Intro. If you don’t know the fund directly, network like you would for sales. Get a concise, compelling intro via a mutual connection. Remember a “pass” could even lead to a referral to another, better-fit fund. 🎮 Sequence Pitches. Start with lower-priority VCs to refine your pitch with early feedback. Then, approach your top picks with a polished narrative. Generating interest early creates momentum in your process. ⚠️ Requalify Your VCs! It’s as important to assess us as it is for us to assess you. ➡️Ambition Alignment: Are their expectations aligned with yours? ➡️Personal Fit: Grab a coffee, breakfast, lunch, go on a walk: will you enjoy working with them for years? ➡️Support: What do you need? Do your diligence to ensure they deliver it. ➡️References: Talk to portfolio companies, successes and struggles. Were they fair? were they kind? ➡️Partner Stability: The partner who leads your investment will be emotionally and intellectually invested in you and your vision. They will be on call. They will fight for you when things get tough (bridge rounds, etc)…far more than someone who replaces them later. Also, high turnover at a fund could signal cultural issues. #SaaS #Fundraising #VC #AlbionVC

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How to navigate a YC Series A term sheet (so many of you have asked for this post) "How do you handle Series A fundraising?" "What are the key terms to watch out for?" "Can you break down the YC term sheet?" The short version is: Read carefully :) The long version? 1. Securities Offered → Series A Preferred Stock 2. Investment Amounts → Lead and other investors contribute 3. Convertible Notes → Convert into shadow series preferred stock 4. Valuation → Post-money, includes option pool 5. Liquidation Preference → 1x non-participating; sale = liquidation 6. Dividends → 6% noncumulative, paid if declared 7. Conversion Rights → Convertible to common stock, 1:1 ratio 8. Voting Rights → Preferred Majority approval needed for key decisions 9. Drag-Along Rights → Founders, investors, 1% stockholders support sale 10. Other Rights → Anti-dilution, transfer, registration, pro-rata, info rights 11. Legal Fees → Company covers up to $30,000 for lead investor 12. Board Composition → Lead investor appoints one director; common shareholders two 13. Founder and Employee Vesting → Standard 4-year schedule with 1-year cliff 14. No-Shop Clause → 30-day restriction on alternative financing Will this post be helpful for you? I don't know. All I know is every time I post about "how to navigate a YC term sheet", people appreciate it. Join thousands of founders and VCs who receive these insights in my biweekly newsletter at https://lnkd.in/e8tUxsTk And follow 👉 Igor Curic, CFA, MBA for more content like this!

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Do you want to come to Curry + Capital? I’m planning, every few months, to get investors together for a curry and good conversation. It’s informal, but a good chance to catch up with others in the startup world. The last dinner we did helped me see that many people have similar challenges (and opportunities !) at the moment, but there’s still a lot of positivity and energy about what’s happening in the startup world. Plus, it was just a great evening with some really great people. If you’re an angel investor or work in a fund, and you’d like to come along to one of the next dinners, please click the link in the comments below. Or DM your email and I will add you to the mailing list where we send out invites. #investment #startups #networking

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https://lnkd.in/epFgH79T You’ve probably read tons of articles about the different rounds of VC funding and all the associated terms, but how often do you come across something that really breaks down the numbers? Ever wondered how to keep track of your startup’s equity as you grow? Dive into our hands-on guide to cap tables, where I break down everything from your first seed round to that exciting exit moment.  By walking you through various scenarios and terms with comprehensive examples and visual aids, I offer a solid foundation for managing equity financing in startups. While real-world cap tables can be intricate, this primer ensures fair ownership and proceeds distribution, helping you maintain investor confidence and support your startup’s long-term growth.Let’s get your cap table game on point!

EIS is a godsend for investors and startups ! The benefits are huge: + Investors can write off 30% of their investment against their income tax bill. + Of that remaining 70% and if the business fails, investors can also benefit from a further 35% write-off (if in the top rate of tax). + So, if the company goes bust, that is up to 65% of your investment covered against your tax credits. + If investors hold their shares for three years, they have no capital gains tax on exit. + Investors can invest up to £1 million a year in EIS investment and up to £2 million in knowledge intensive EIS companies. There’s no question that it’s a challenging time to raise money right now, with EIS investment over 59% down on last year, but it will be even harder if you’re not EIS-able. With a new Labour Gov, Capital Gains Tax feels like it will get closer and closer with Income Tax over time - a big difference, so maybe that’ll have the (unintended) benefit of investors investing again as no CGT on exits. EIS will become even more important to the startup/tech ecosystem than it is now and we’re glad to see the UK Government protect it. The early-stage ecosystem would collapse if SEIS and EIS didn’t exist. For all the negative things that are said about the UK and doing business here, this is a real strength of ours. I’m always amazed at how many people still don’t know about it ! #eisfund #investment #ukstartupscene ------ If you liked this post, I also have a newsletter where I speak about topics like this in more depth. You can subscribe in the comments below. Thanks !

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Learn from OpenAI’s playbook: Prioritizing key projects and empowering a mission-oriented team are essential for startups aiming to make a significant impact 👇 ➡ 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗲: Sam Altman, CEO at OpenAI and Brad Lightcap, COO at OpenAI 🔌 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗿: Harry Stebbings, Founder at 20VC ✏ “20VC: OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Brad Lightcap on The Future of Foundation Models” ⭐ 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗜 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲: "There are two strategies to build on AI right now: [...] (1) to assume the model is not going to get better and then you kind of build all these little things on top of it; [...] (2) to build assuming that OpenAI is going to stay on the same rate of trajectory and the models are going to keep getting better at the same pace." ⭐ 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀: "At any given point in a company's life, there's only one to three things that really matter. And that spills over into how we run the team because [...] if we can align on what those things are, [...] then it helps me to translate down to the teams that I'm building." ⭐ 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗜 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆: "I think people criminally underrate how important it is and how much return you really get on just giving people access to the technology. [...] Someone who used to spend two days doing something now spends two minutes doing it and is freed up to do 85 other things in their daily life." ⭐ 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆'𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: "I watched what has happened to other tech companies when they just become the place you want to work because it's a good resume item. [...] I think companies that lose their mission orientation and get taken over by mercenaries usually come to regret that." ⭐ 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘂𝗻𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀: "Find a way to make sure that there's this very flat and even playing field when it comes to how you look to the team for perspective, decision-making, judgment, and creativity." ───── 👉 Follow me, Alexander Small, for tactics and strategies for building startups from industry-leading Founders, Operators and Investors

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Why SanFran as city is unique + Europe can’t compete ? 300 000 millionaires & 80 Billionaires Even without capital raising, the probability of good knowledge transfer about how to build substantial (software) businesses seems to be working better on an order magnitude in that city, than in Europe as a whole

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I just pitched Smart Role at a VC x Founders Event in Paris! 🎉 (As a new entrepreneur). It was my first time being in a room with so many investors and fellow founders. The event was organized by HubSpot, Deel, and SeedLegals. So it was a big opportunity to pitch! Last year, I would have been struggling to step into conversations and feeling out of place. But last week, it all went perfectly! It even felt natural. → the energy was positive, → the connections were real, → and the mutual support among founders and VCs made everything super enjoyable! I also used this opportunity to improve my “elevator pitch” to see: What gets people excited about Smart Role? What makes them lean in? Bref, during this event, a new Thibaut stepped in, and I’m so proud of it! For me, entrepreneurship is mostly about learning. Becoming the best version of yourself. And today, I’m glad for this improvement. I still carry my favorite self-improvement advice from my first manager at Google, Richie Somerville: “Do 1 thing every day that makes you uncomfortable.” What are your tips to get the most out of professional events? - Thibaut 🦊

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A woman co-founder built one of the most successful apps in Europe, without millions in VC money. Here’s how: Julie Chapon, along with François MARTIN and Benoit MARTIN, launched Yuka in January 2017. From day one, Julie knew they weren’t going to be just another startup chasing big fundraising. Yuka was about impact and value, helping people make healthier choices by scanning barcodes to see the real health impact of food and cosmetics. They grew fast, but on their own terms. By January 2018, they hit over 1 million users, far beyond their expectations. They raised a small round in June 2018, not from VCs but from business angels who aligned with their mission. It was just enough to grow the team and add cosmetics analysis, all while staying true to their values. Since then, Yuka has grown organically with their business model, proving that profitability and purpose can go hand in hand. Fast forward to today: Yuka has over 40 million users worldwide, including millions in the U.S., where it’s quickly become a favorite for conscious consumers. This is a success story about focus, transparency, and doing it without chasing the biggest checks. Know other women founders who’ve built successful startups without VC money? Tag them below. 👇 _____________________ 👋🏻 Hi there, welcome! ✨ I'm Sarah. I help women founders develop winning business models, gain market traction, and secure funding through my FundHER accelerator program. As a woman founder, follow me here on LinkedIn for insights and support to help you launch, grow and fund your startup.

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Y-Combinator Guide: How to Split Equity between Cofounders & When You Should (and Shouldn’t) Split… https://buff.ly/3WoVkav The Y-Combinator Guide delves into the intricate process of splitting equity among cofounders, outlining the crucial considerations and scenarios where equity division is warranted. Understanding the dynamics of equity distribution is essential for fostering a fair and sustainable partnership. By exploring real-world examples and statistics, cofounders can navigate this challenging aspect of startup collaboration more effectively. It is crucial to establish clear guidelines and agreements to prevent potential conflicts in the future. This guide provides valuable insights for entrepreneurs embarking on new ventures. #StartupEquity #CofounderCollaboration #venturecapital #startups

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"Platform" in VCs often feels undefined, and different at every firm. But one thing is clear: firms with dedicated platform teams are seeing higher investment returns. What is 'Platform' in VC? Think of it as a support engine for portfolio companies. Platform teams accelerate growth by providing: 1) Strategy & Growth 2) Talent Partner 3) Marketing & Brand Partner 4) Business Development & Partnerships Lead 5) Community Manager 6) Operations & Scaling Partner 7) Fundraising & Capital Advisor Platform in Venture Studios vs. VC Funds: The big difference? Timeframe. Venture Studio Platform: Involved from concept to exit, guiding startups from the very first spark of an idea. VC Platform: Steps in after the startup is funded, focusing on scaling and growth but not the initial concept phase. Both play critical roles—but understanding these distinctions helps founders and investors make the most of their platform relationships.

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Can a One Person One Billion Dollar VC exist? After an interesting talk a few weeks ago with Alexandre Covello, I tried to imagine if it was possible. With the raise of AI, and Sam Altman talking about the One Person 1B$ Company using AI, I was curious to see if AI could help solve every challenge a VC has to face during the lifecycle of a fund. Let’s try to break it down : 💸 Fundraising: Convincing LPs is super tough but AI could help analyze LP profiles and past investment behaviors to identify and engage the most likely prospects. More probable: you'll raise from your network anyway. 🔍 Due Diligence: AI with certain tools (OpenAI API, Perplexity, etc) could automate research and identify key risks in startups, streamlining the evaluation process. The solo GP would just have to meet founders.  👥 Network Access: ❌ AI can’t really help with this. The GP will more than likely already have a large network if he can raise 1B$. 🤝 Decision-Making: using certain models, AI can provide data-driven insights, simulations, and risk assessments to suggest an investment decisions without needing the research work of a whole team. ✨ Reputation: ❌ Again AI can’t help and it will be difficult for a solo GP to to compete with VC having well established reputation, track record and team of experts supporting their portfolio. ⚙️ Operational Support: AI can automate tasks like sourcing (with Harmonic), legal document management, compliance tracking, and financial reporting, allowing more time for strategic work. You can also use it to run predictive models to assess portfolio risks and optimize asset allocation. 📈 Scaling: AI-driven CRM (HubSpot already has some interesting features) and investment management tools can help manage a larger volume of deals and relationships efficiently, making it easier to scale. 🕞 Time Management: Last but not least handling multiple deals, portfolio support, and LP relations simultaneously can be challenging but virtual assistants can prioritize tasks, schedule meetings, and track deadlines, helping the manager stay organized amidst competing priorities. Now who I see doing this? Proven serial entrepreneurs like Reid Hoffman, top-tier VC partners from firms like Sequoia Capital, or high-profile influencers in tech and finance could leverage their networks to attract LPs just like (cc Harry Stebbings, again). But even with this, being the only person onboard would be challenging.  AI has drastically improved productivity in VC funds but I don’t think we’re there yet. 

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Unlike me, you don't need to look like a crazy scientist to deep dive into the VC World... 🤝 Thank you Molten Ventures Bindi Karia Andrea Kerwat Yasmin Cook for inviting me to speak about what we get to see from our FoF data (which is now tracking +2,500 companies) to a room full of different corporate teams. 👉 I found that conversations, no matter which sector the corporates were in, revolved around one key decision: when looking at the latest upcoming new technologies, at what point should you become a client, an investor, or an acquirer?

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Big companies tend to over invest. Start-ups have the benefit of starvation. In order to succeed 0 to 1 at a big company, you need to create scarcity. I'm paraphrasing Tanguy Crusson here on Lenny's Newsletter Podcast (link in the comments) but the spirit of this comment is so true. Tanguy developed Jira Product Discovery internally at Atlassian and highlights so many of the challenges of innovating at big companies: - Big companies tend to want to use a playbook that worked in their first market into a new opportunity, but that often fails. There are new nuances to learn in new markets and humility is required to acknowledge this. - Chances are new products are going to fail. Big companies need to acknowledge this to avoid overinvesting until there is sufficient signal from the marketplace. - New products/businesses at big companies need to be judged differently in the early stages than the cash cows that got the company big in the first place. Zero to one needs room to stumble and learn and iterate to find a path to become cash cows themselves. - "Why now" is often the most important question to ask (and one I hear from my friends at Madrona Venture Labs as well). Why do we need to do this now? It's hard to get resources at a big company outside of the core. A new product/business needs an urgency in order to get the necessary attention to succeed. #startups #0to1 #entrepreneurship #productmanagement

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This is interesting! Do keep working on it Naza Metghalchi! In our experience, we often see the desire to use existing tools (e.g. CoPilot) for individual activities that are actually enterprise processes in disguise. For example, drafting a policy or job description. Sure, one person could draft a JD, but in practice it involves a hiring manager's expertise, an HR leader (for org chart), a recruiter, and often other stakeholders. An AI equipped to help the initial author often fails to automate enough of the workflow to be considered valuable. Then, teams revert back to previous workflows. I'm curious to see where users draw the line between high/low complexity and individual/enterprise processes. And if this is a gradient, where along each axises will we find the most value addition?

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According to Harvard Business School, around 65% of promising startups fail due to co-founder disagreements. And yet the general thinking - according to YC - is that it’s still more advisable to look for a co-founder than to go solo. So if the pressure of finding your ideal co-founding team wasn’t enough, it becomes even more daunting when you’re aware of the risks. And yet, I find it interesting that some of the most successful partnerships arise more or less serendipitously. Take Dropbox as an example: initially a solo venture, Drew Houston was advised by Paul Graham to find a co-founder if he was serious about YC. Through friends of friends, he met his co-founder, Arash Ferdowsi, spent a grand total of 2 hours talking in a coffee house, and in his words, “got married on the first date”. Against all odds, the two had an incredibly successful collaboration that lasted 13 years. Embracing serendipity whilst actively seeking out compatible partners seems like a contradiction - but it’s often the case that when it does work, it’s really something to see. 🍀 Check out Drew's story below! #cofounders #founderstories #ycombinator #startups #founders

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Fundraising is a numbers game. But not just because most investors will say no. (though they will) The other reason is it takes some level of volume to find the best possible investors for your company. In the best case scenario, you don't want to just raise money you want to raise from the best investors possible. Unless you already know a ton of investors (and sometimes even if you do), you'll need to meet a lot of folks to figure out: - who you vibe with most - who sees the world similar to you - who shares your values - who understands your market the best - who else already shares or can get to the conviction you have on the opportunity you're pursuing - who's network can be uniquely helpful to what you're building etc. This is one of the times when cringe statements like "investor 🤝 founder partnerships are like a marriage" or "fundraising is like dating" bares some truth. You're not marrying your VCs. And fundraising is def not the same vibes as dating in most ways. But it is an evaluative process and it takes reps to find your people. When we were raised, I was surprised at how many investors I liked in general that didn't feel like good fits for the specific company we were building.

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