David Eiras

My shout-out for this week is a different one. Not a startup, but a book. The Fundraising Field Guide was written by Carlos Eduardo Espinal MBE. Here is why I think it is a kick-ass book helping founders decipher fundraising. 👉 Is designed specifically for early-stage, high-growth tech startup founders. 👉 Is a guide that explains fundraising through practical advice. 👉 Lays a good foundation on all things fundraising-related. 👉 Adds both the soft and hard challenges encountered. So, here is my thank you note to Carlos! For launching an updated version of this guide. Get the book here 👉 https://buff.ly/4byUywn #venturecapital #startupfunding #fundraising #europe

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𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 80/20 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁, 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀? If you've been following me for a while, you know that I take very seriously the pursuit of the best risk vs. return ratio; that is, I seek the highest possible returns while minimizing risks as much as possible. In Naval Ravikant's Almanack, he mentions something that, although obvious—we often overlook the simple and effective—resonated deeply with me: which is that the judgment of what to do is much more important than putting in energy and hard work. For example, someone who sets up a bakery in the wrong location will waste a lot of energy trying to make it work, due to the flawed initial idea. Investing is no different. So, what is the 80/20 rule that, when applied with good judgment, will lead to the best results? I've concluded that it is investing in secular trends. When you invest in a major trend, even if you make mistakes along the way, these mistakes will not be very relevant. If you invest in a sector that is not as promising, any mistake can cost you a lot of profitability. And what are the big secular trends currently? That was the theme I discussed in the last Investor Letter, my weekly Newsletter where I share insightful insights for every investor. Sign up to receive it every Saturday in your inbox: https://lnkd.in/dATHGMV8

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How do you drive value when fundraising? In the absence of a clear guide, many founders and their boards will chart a steady and linear progression in value, supported by revenue or profit growth, starting at the implied valuation of the initial investment and heading towards a target valuation with valuation reference points to validate this approach. In determining the target value it is worth remembering that business values for scaling growing businesses are typically derived by considering three different methodologies - find out more in this article. https://lnkd.in/e4CH-HH7 #fundraising #valuecreation #investments

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NOTWICS would like to alert founders to this lovely message I got from my good mate Tom Britton @ SyndicateRoom This excellent Cambridge based pre-seed and seed stage VC is looking for top founders and hopefully this is the first of many funds ringing the bell saying they are now deploying 💥 - akin to top man Dan Bowyer’s LP post yesterday. The winds of change are coming - funding is coming back From Tom “Hey Chris - We've partnered with Carbon13 to launch their next Climatech SEIS fund. The fund will open to investors on Tuesday and aims to deploy in the current tax year. And on Carbon 13 Carbon13 companies have gone on to raise up-rounds totalling more than £38m. The average age of their cohort participants is 37, a quarter hold PhDs and 63% of their teams are mixed gender”. Their portfolio now has 71 ventures across five key sectors: chemicals and materials, energy, food systems, enabling platforms and the built environment. Founders find out more here and get applying https://lnkd.in/es6EvuN5 Or Direct Message Tom for more Apologies for spelling mistakes - rushing to host a huge defence tech breakfast with FieldHouse Associates and others #startups #scaleups #vc #angel

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Thank you, Finlay Kerr It was a pleasure to join the conversation. I enjoyed sharing my experiences and reflecting on my wonderful time at The American University in Cairo , as well as discussing our work at Den VC , the opportunities we provide for startups, and the importance of sustainable business growth. Looking forward to hearing feedback from listeners and happy to connect with anyone interested in equity investment or sustainability in business. Link to the full podcast: https://lnkd.in/dU7RGr_Y #SustainableGrowth #StartupFunding #EquityInvestment #VentureCapital #DenVC #AUCAlumni #Entrepreneurship #BusinessGrowth #Sustainability #InvestmentOpportunities #Leadership #Innovation #ImpactInvesting #Networking #PodcastInterview

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Numbers & insights from a deep tech venture studio that launched 11 companies (all are active) in the last 7 years, reaching £85M valuation across the portfolio: 1. Post Urban, initially bootstrapped by Luke Robinson, an academic with a PhD in physics from Cambridge, now operates with external funding from a UK-based fund. 2. Launched 5 companies during the first 5 years and 6 companies during the last 2 years. 3. All 11 completed pre-seed rounds; 1 of them got Series A, 2 of them are approaching their Series A. 4. The startups have collectively raised ~£25M in venture capital, in addition to receiving grants. The total valuation of the 11 companies is ~£85M, half of which have not yet undergone subsequent funding rounds. 5. Initial equity splits: the venture builder 20%, CEOs of startups 35% (vests over 4 years), CTOs – 20-25%, employees 10-15%. 6. The initial valuation of startups was £2 million, with £300K invested by the venture builder. The last 2 startups were at £3.5-4M initial valuation. 7. Building deep tech ventures requires significantly higher initial funding because these projects need more time to develop demonstrable products. Two portfolio companies hit £1M in ARR. 8. The venture builder has increased the capital for the last 2 startups to ensure they reach meaningful milestones. The CEOs of the startups were able to secure additional funding through their networks, £350K and £450K, respectively. 9. The deep tech investor pool is smaller than that for sectors like SaaS, which requires a stronger proof of concept and market readiness to attract funding. 10. 3-4 times, potential customers became investors in Post Urban Ventures. This is a great approach because it secures investment and validates the concept by gauging whether these potential customers truly believe in the solution and its market necessity. 11. They don't start with a technology or an idea; instead, they integrate insights about global problems and, by actively engaging with advisory boards, founders, and industry experts, identify pain points and align them with technological solutions. 12. They do not bring universities in as co-founders but source scientists or professors to contribute to research and development. This involves leveraging academic expertise to support the technical aspects of startup projects until a prototype is developed. 13. The studio maintains strong connections with major academic institutions, including Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial College, and UCL, supporting its deep tech focus and facilitating access to new technologies and potential founders. 14. Areas of focus in deep tech: AI (Knowledge Graphs, NLP, DNNs, Computer Vision, Edge AI, Active Learning), Quantum Technologies, Biotech, AgTech, Enterprise SaaS. Watch the full interview to gain insights into the portfolio companies, handling IP collaborations with universities, key challenges, and team construction: https://lnkd.in/dCi7fZ7G

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When celebrities invest cash into startups they often get lower valuations in exchange for promotion. And I believe that is exactly what happened with Ronaldo’s latest investment in wearable technology company WHOOP. The Portuguese soccer icon just invested and became an official global ambassador for Whoop, the wearable technology company. “Whoop has had a transformative impact on my life both on and off the pitch,” Ronaldo said in a statement. “I wear Whoop while training, sleeping, and recovering. It’s been one of the most important tools helping me elevate my game and monitor my health.” The financial details of the investment have not been disclosed, but according to Whoop, the deal represents one of Ronaldo’s “most significant investments to date.” Although it could definitely be true that Ronaldo invested cash, I don’t believe he paid the full price for it (but this is just an assumption). Often when celebrities invest, they get discounted valuations or do a part equity deal in exchange for promoting the company. Ronaldo for example has 629 million followers on Instagram and is the most followed person on the platform. One post about a company and the website will probably blow up (which is exactly what Ronaldo did this morning btw announcing his partnership with Whoop). Besides getting a financial injection, most often the startups receiving the celebrity investment also gain a lot of social exposure, which they normally have to pay millions of dollars for. So it makes sense to do a part equity deal or offer a lower valuation. What do you think? 

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Access the #London-Funded Startups List. Check out the list of startups in #London that have secured funding, available for you at any time. Find the list here https://lnkd.in/d5hEbrVA #startup #startups #vc #venturecapital #investmentbanking #privateequity #managementconsulting #b2b #founders #entrepreneurs

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Podcast discussion with @practicalvc's @davemcclure on the dynamics, strategies, and outcomes of VC investments: • the 'Spray and Pray' approach • mastering portfolio management • the evolution of the accelerator landscape, including YCombinator's pivotal role

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🌱 Calling all Seed Founders! 🌱 Are you an early-stage startup seeking investment? My latest article is a comprehensive guide to the UK's SEIS and the investors participating in it. Here's what you'll find inside: ✨ Understanding SEIS for early-stage 💼 Must have documents to secure funding 🕵‍♀️ List of 24 active SEIS funds across sectors If you represent a SEIS fund not yet featured, feel free to comment below or reach out to me directly. 💬 I'd love to include you and help connect more founders to the right investors. Link to article in the comments 🔗

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The Cambridge UK tech ecosystem has a value of $191 billion, more than the value of Spain and Italy’s tech ecosystems combined. Cambridge and Oxford have proven to be incredibly valuable contributors to UK and global innovation. This is why so many European governments want their leading universities to emulate Oxbridge. Meanwhile, Spain and Italy have done rather terrible jobs to date of enabling and nurturing tech success in their respective countries. https://lnkd.in/ebcNsqDN #vc #venturecapital #startups #entrepreneurs #entrepreneurship #tech #technology #innovation #money #business

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Executive Summary: The “UK Venture Capital Financial Returns 2024” report by the British Business Bank provides an in-depth analysis of #theunitedkingdom’s #venturecapital (VC) performance, offering insights into the sector’s #returns, #resilience, and comparative global standing. This analysis is particularly relevant given the evolving #economiclandscape, where #macroeconomicfactors like #inflation, #marketvolatility, and #geopoliticaluncertainties have intensified. Key Findings and Trends: 1. Resilient Returns and Sector Attractiveness Despite global economic headwinds, the UK’s VC sector has shown a steady return profile, making it one of the attractive destinations for high-risk, high-reward investments. Returns in the UK VC market remain competitive with those in #theunitedstates and #Europe, driven primarily by growth in sectors such as #fintech, #healthtech, and #climatetechnology. These industries continue to attract both #domestic and #international #capital, underscoring the UK’s robust #innovationecosystem. 2. Increased Capital Flows Amid Caution While the total volume of capital invested has increased, there is an observable trend toward more cautious investment decisions. Funds are directing resources toward later-stage companies with proven business models and clearer paths to profitability, rather than early-stage, high-risk ventures. This strategic shift reflects investors’ current priorities on stability and predictable returns over rapid expansion. 3. Challenges from Valuation Adjustments and Exit Opportunities Rising inflation and market volatility have impacted valuation assessments, resulting in more conservative estimates and slower growth projections for high-valuation startups. Additionally, exit opportunities—whether through #IPOs or acquisitions—have become more constrained, with many #investors opting to hold positions longer, expecting better valuation conditions in the medium to long term. 4. Global Positioning and Strategic Implications The UK VC sector’s growth trajectory positions it strongly within the global market, yet the report emphasizes the need for sustained support to maintain this momentum. In light of increasing international competition, the British Business Bank highlights strategic priorities for nurturing high-growth sectors, supporting startups across stages, and enhancing capital accessibility to bolster the UK’s position as a hub for innovation. The British Business Bank’s report underscores the importance of a proactive approach to support the VC landscape, recognizing that robust policies and capital investment will be crucial in maintaining the UK’s competitive edge and fostering #sustainableeconomicgrowth.

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Has 'venture-backed' been replaced by 'bootstrapped' as the badge of honor? While economic downturns have undoubtedly hit everybody, bootstrapped startups have shown remarkable resilience. Sofia Faustino's insights only prove the viability of the bootstrapped model. Her data shows top-quartile bootstrapped companies reach $1M ARR only four months later than VC-backed companies. Barely a blip. This really challenges the whole “you need VC money to grow fast” notion. Sure, going bootstrapped doesn’t make you recession-proof and may slow growth, but it tends to be more sustainable in the long run, especially in niche markets where rapid scaling isn’t always necessary or beneficial. It begs the question: Is VC funding worth the significant equity dilution? Is the "grow fast or die" mentality fading away? How do we strike a balance between bootstrapped anti-fragility vs. VC’s rapid scaling? Are we overvaluing speed at the expense of long-term value creation? Either way, building a boot-strapped, profit-led firm to then realize a rationale and less feast-or-famine exit via acquisition seems like the best of all worlds (but we're biased)... What's your take? Credit: Chart Mogul and Crunchbase News Click 'Follow' for your regular dose of insightful micro SaaS content. For the love of the game... #Startups #Fundraising #Investing #VentureCapital

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What Do Angel Investors Look for in a Startup, Their Decision-Making Process: Founders' Grit: "Demonstrate resilience and determination in the face of challenges." Traction Traction Traction: "Show evidence of market demand and growth potential." Coachability: "Be open to feedback and willing to learn from others."

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