Pietro Cammerini

Dropbox reviewed 100,000+ pitch decks to determine the perfect deck 👇 Here are the Key Insights: 1️⃣ Length of Pre-Seed Decks: The average deck contained 19 slides. 2️⃣ Investor Meetings: On average, founders engaged with 52 investors before successfully raising funds. 3️⃣ VC Engagement Time: Venture capitalists spent an average of 2 minutes and 42 seconds reviewing each deck. 4️⃣ Focus on Traction: Pitch decks that secured funding saw VCs spending 28% more time on their traction sections. 5️⃣ Business Model Scrutiny: For decks that didn’t receive funding, VCs spent 233% more time examining the business model sections. After this extensive study, Dropbox created a Pitch Deck Template: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟭𝟮 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗸👇 Source: Rubén D. Find this helpful? [ 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 ] Anything to add about this subject? [𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁] Nice story, Marcel. Next! [ 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 ] #startups #startuplife #startup #founders #entrepreneurship

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Bumping this… I’ve had 5 or so interesting conversations, 2 that may lead to deals, in the past week. Demand > supply for quality IT MSP / Cybersecurity MSSP companies. We have options with UK, US and Gulf based buy-side partners. All quality buyers with good reputations. Timing good for UK based owners, given election and CGT uncertainty. There’s also potential for mergers / rollups, which is a nice, simple way for all to benefit from scale - without the need to build organically. DMs open for friendly and confidential chats. #openequity

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Making the right technology investments is key to e-commerce success in the GenAI era. BCG X and Boston Consulting Group (BCG)'s latest article, 'The Pragmatist's Guide to E-Commerce,' highlights the importance of strategic build-or-buy decisions, uncovering how to leverage external providers and custom solutions effectively: https://on.bcg.com/45nRkcZ #BCGatCannesLions #ECommerce #Ecommerce #GenAI #CustomerExperience

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London, UK based venture capital firm Balderton Capital ("Balderton") recently raised two new funds. 💸 Total of $1.3Bn : (i) $615Mn Early Stage Fund IX and (ii) $685Mn Growth Fund II, from a global mix of LPs including British Patient Capital. 💡 Investing in technology sector founders from #Seedstage to #IPO across #artificialintelligence, #fintech, B2B #SaaS, #digitalhealth, #mobility, #gaming and #marketplace. 🌍 #Europe 📈 Since 2000, Balderton has invested in 275+ technology companies incl. Revolut, Dream Games, GoCardless, Contentful, Aircall, Wayve, Crowdcube, Wagestream, Photoroom, Vestiaire Collective, ZOE, among others. 💭 “At Balderton, we believe the best way to change the world is to build a business – and that many of these world-changing businesses will be built in Europe. As a firm, our mission is simple: to be the partner of choice to the founders starting and growing those European technology companies. These new funds put us in a position to do just that.” - Bernard Liautaud, Managing Partner at Balderton. 🗞️Silicon Canals - European Technology News https://lnkd.in/ggrmRtib 👏 For the #AudaciousInvestors unleashing innovation and empowering tomorrow🚀 Bernard I Suranga I Rob I James I David I Daniel I Rana I colin I Fiona I Cayetana I Adrian I Rachel I Greta I Magda I Team Balderton … #venturecapital #vc #funds #startups #entrepreneurs #funding #tech #UK #entrepreneurship #technology #innovation #venture #fund #london

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Active VC investors in Europe have decreased by over 50% due to industry struggles. Leah Hodgson of PitchBook provides insights into the declining number of deals and the focus on supporting existing portfolios. https://lnkd.in/eaxZeWiw #Venture #VentureCapital #VC

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Two sizable announcement in On-Site Commerce Media yesterday, as Criteo becomes the supply engine for much of MSFT commerce media demand and Moloco invests in Topsort to bring more ML / performance to Topsort's supply partners. Both highlight the strategic position of accessing these supply relationships and the challenge in creating / maintaining them as more scale and tech comes into the ecosystem. Links in comments #CommerceMedia #AdTech

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Despite England’s loss at the Euro 2024 last night in Berlin, the UK has retained its crown for venture capital investment! 🇬🇧👑 Data from Dealroom, a global provider of data and intelligence on start-ups and tech ecosystems, revealed that UK start-ups and scale-ups raised £7.4bn during the first six months of the year. That’s a 16% increase from the same period last year, accounting for nearly one-third of all venture capital funding in Europe! Some standout funding rounds include: • Wayve, the autonomous vehicles technology firm, raised £861m in May. • Credit technology company Abound secured £400m. • Highview Power, focused on long-duration energy storage, raised £300m. • Online bank Monzo gathered £150m. • Electric vehicle charging group Char.gy raised £100m. The second half of the year looks promising with Index Ventures announcing it has raised $2.3bn in two new funds to invest in start-ups, with a significant portion expected to be deployed in the UK. Tech companies specialising in energy attracted the lion’s share of funding, with £4.3bn across Europe, followed by generative AI companies, which attracted £2bn. Having been deeply involved in the UK tech sector, I’ve witnessed the resilience and innovation driving these impressive numbers. The UK continues to be a powerhouse for tech innovation and investment, and it’s exciting to see the impact these investments will have on the future of technology and sustainability. What are your thoughts on the future of UK tech investments?

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Sales processes Of products and services Of businesses Planning ahead Here’s a thought👇🏼 The wheels of profitable commerce depend on sales, so it’s always a bit strange that in the UK that sales people are still somehow under rated. We talk of technical founders and non technical founders, we talk about operations teams, we talk about fund raising, we rightly focus on client segmentation, and we should be talking about client needs. And so the list goes on. But rarely about the art and skills of selling. We talk about it obliquely when we talk of product market fit and go to market strategies. Because guess who makes those cogs go round? Sales teams do. Who provides the feedback mechanism? Sales people do. Marketeers design the messages and claim the strategy, they build the plans and write the content, they pick the channels, they quantify and qualify the feedback. All good and vital. Investopedia tells us that “Marketing refers to the activities a company undertakes to promote the buying or selling of its products or services. Marketing includes advertising and allows businesses to sell products and services to consumers, other businesses, and organizations.” However sales is the main event that makes this business happen. So many cost lines and sales teams are the revenue line. The content conversations on here talk about fund raising and then celebrate exits. I’ve rarely seen content about sales processes and an even rarer sight is talking about selling businesses. The latter is going to be part of the cycle unless you are focussed on building an evergreen family business. It’s definitely going to be part of the cycle if you have taken in external capital because that’s how they will crystallise their profit . It makes me think we all better have a plan for that leg of the journey so that it’s not full of surprises. Let’s hope more people start writing about it and then it’ll start being discussed openly. #ThinkLikeAClient #GrumpyOptimism #TechStartUps #VentureStudios #Innovations Footnote: all my content is written daily by me with no additives or tricks. If it interests you please tag the 🔔 in my profile to get it delivered straight to you. Otherwise if you search #GrumpyOptimism and #GrumpyOptimist you’ll find my library of past posts. Never recycled, always fresh.

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Postman, once valued at $5.6Bn, has recently seen secondary deals at a 30-40% discount. This markdown highlights a broader trend of declining valuations in the SaaS sector, which typically sees 10-15% discounts in secondary markets. Founded in 2014, Postman’s API tools are pivotal in enterprise tech, with plans starting at $14/month. Despite a successful $225Mn Series D in 2021, raising its valuation to $5.6Bn, recent rounds show early investors partially exiting at reduced valuations. For the latest secondary coverage and trading SaxonWeber | ShareWell #secondaries #saxonweber

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An underappreciated factor in UK VC right now, is the number of firms *only* investing in portfolio companies. ** The effect of funds, particularly the larger/later-stage funds, concentrating their funds on portfolio companies has a dramatic effect on the market. Because the new deals to later-stage funds, are likely the portfolio companies of earlier stage funds. And if the former falls/reduces/stops; the earlier stage funds have to devote more capital to their portfolio than was originally modelled. And it gums up the entire system. And it’s currently affecting all levels of funding, from growth down to seed stage funds. #founders #vcfunding #startups ** I’ve used ‘only’ as a catch all for 100% allocation to portfolio (as some funds are) through to significantly increased levels of portfolio funding (as the majority are).

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How can Venture Capital and Platform Organization paradigms reinforce each other? https://buff.ly/48koaNx Venture Capital provides the necessary financial resources and strategic support to emerging businesses, enabling them to scale rapidly. Simultaneously, Platform Organizations, with their network-driven models, offer scalable infrastructures that can enhance the value of investments by facilitating innovation and expansion. This synergy not only accelerates growth but also fosters a collaborative ecosystem that benefits all stakeholders involved. For more insights, visit: https://buff.ly/48koaNx. #VentureCapital #PlatformEconomy

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🚀 International & UK Acquisitions – 170+ Off-Market Deals on DealDirect in Q1!🌍 🥁 I’ve been banging the drum at Virtualnonexecs about the momentum around off-market deals, and it’s clear the market is responding! 170+ deals listed in the first quarter alone on DealDirect, covering both UK opportunities and international acquisitions. 🥁 These opportunities are exciting for a number of reasons but largely because they are not brought to us by brokers; they are delivered directly from the boards of the companies themselves. OFF MARKET! One exciting opportunity: A confidential market leader in financial software solutions, established in 1993, that’s ready for the next phase of growth. With a solid foundation in Turkey, it’s primed for international expansion. Key Financials: - Turnover: £2.1 million (68% YoY growth) - EBITDA: £1m (65% YoY growth) - 103 highly educated employees (46% hold engineering degrees, 33% informatics) With prestigious ISO certifications and a portfolio of clients extending credit to their customers, this business is a standout in its field. Whether you’re looking at international acquisitions or seeking homegrown UK opportunities, now’s the time to explore. If you're an adviser or buyer looking to get involved in off-market deals, reach out - there’s plenty of opportunity! #MergersAndAcquisitions #DealDirect #BusinessGrowth #InternationalExpansion #OffMarketDeals #Virtualnonexecs #BoardAdvisors #BusinessBuyers

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#London’s emerging innovators: 10 early stage startups you should be keeping an eye on

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"Funding Collapse sends investment in start-ups to six year low" The Times today covering the shocking stats that VenturePath uncovered, with our partner Beauhurst. Great quotes from supporters Michael Moore CEO, BVCA and Julian David CEO, techUK. * UK VC funding at Series A is -44% from last year, and worsening * Q3 24 is down a staggering 57% from Q2, itself down from Q1 * 9 in 10 seed funded startups cannot access Series A VC funding, the next 'rung on the funding ladder' * Just 32 future scaleup companies across the whole of the UK were able to access their first VC funding round in Q3...a 6 year low * Half a billion less capital is going in to UK scaleups at Series A, than just 2 years ago! As the UK scaleup funding gap widens, we are losing ground against other countries, at both startup stage (a position the UK worked hard to achieve, since 2011), and for scaleup support. OECD data: 13th in the world for scaleup support, and that's before Series A funding access dried up. I get that its confusing. Another report (BBB, Nations & Regions) released this week spoke of positive trends in private investment, stating "The data for Q2 2024 shows that investment value has continued to grow". Great, I love to see optimistic data. But under analysis that bundles venture with private equity (later stage), where a few megadeals skew the numbers. Otherwise the exact opposite is true. Our independent research here, for the UK ScaleUp Investment Mission, is laser beam focussed on Series A. The funding round where companies move from the c.1m startups launched each year, through the 2,179 that access seed funding, into the rarefied category of being recognised as future scaleups, attracting Series A funding (£2-10m). The UK venture landscape is currently funding just 248 pa of these companies, and declining. We've been sharing this urgent call for support with the new Government since the day after the election. I've personally met with several Ministers, and spoke to all the relevant Government departments. I will shamelessly repeat loudly what is at stake. UK scaleup funding at Series A has nearly halved in a year, and continues to decline steeply, more than halving in the last quarter. VenturePath developed The UK ScaleUp Investment Mission to convene the scaleup support ecosystem and £7bn of funders to help address this problem, to improve nationwide access to VC investment, and create more venture-backed successes. We have clear support, clear recommendations to reverse this decline in UK scaleup investment, and have made a clear ask of Government for participation in this, to ensure immediate action is taken to create the conditions for success for UK scaleups, ensuring the focus on growth isn't undermined by lack of capital, or equitable access to it. Government decision makers, we'd love your interest, to progress to action. HM Treasury: Rt Hon Rachel Reeves Spencer Livermore James Murray & CC Poppy Gustafsson (welcome to the debate).

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Is your grocery store stuck in the pricing dark ages? Most retailers are still relying on outdated methods to price their products, leaving serious money on the table. In this week's The Lobster Talks episode, Tanvi Surti, co-founder and CEO of Luca, explains how her company is using the power of AI to revolutionize retail pricing. Tune in to discover: -The common pricing mistakes retailers make (and how to avoid them!) -How machine learning can unlock hidden profits in your inventory -The future of pricing in the age of AI and big data Watch the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/evBciahb #retail #AI #pricingstrategy #machinelearning #grocery #technology #startups #ecommerce #YC #LobsterTalks

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