Tom Richards

Want a demo of Deal Lite? Happy to give a personal demo https://lnkd.in/erspFMm9 At Deal Lite, we capture data on funding rounds. We focus on UK technology businesses only. Here’s a snapshot of what we have captured over Monday and Tuesday of this week. Our data includes: - 4,346 venture-backed UK tech companies. - 3,920 venture capitalists who have funded them. - 1,859 business angels who have funded them. - 6,512 funding rounds We focus on giving you timely information so you can do something about it. In most cases, our customers use us as a lead generation service. We are not attempting to replace expensive databases you already subscribe to, e.g. Pitchbooks. We sit alongside them, offering you bite-sized leads and information you can act on today. Accordingly, we have priced both Deal Lite News and Deal Lite Web App to be affordable to everyone. Book demo: https://lnkd.in/erspFMm9 Deal Lite website: https://deallite.uk Deal Lite weekly deal news: https://lnkd.in/efmz5xBP #UKtech #UKTechInvestments #TechInvestments #Investments

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Throughout the years I have talked to Italian startups (many are impressive) and occasionally have been surprised by companies solely focused on the Italian market, which will seem limiting for a typical US VC investor or entrepreneur, mostly (I speculate) because of the goals of their strategic investors. In the, US the domestic market is large enough to support a single market strategy, and still most companies focus on a global footprint, with rare exceptions (e.g. Zillow only expanded to Canada; OfferUp is US only). In Israel, where the domestic market is tiny, all startups (especially consumer internet startups, e.g. the many free-to-play game companies) are default-global. If you focus on a single market, it'd better be big, because as copycats emerge across the world, catching up to a global footprint may no longer be an option.

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Wednesday pod drop Ep 129: Is customer obsession overrated? - with Morgan Fowles, CEO at TALA ………… I first met Morgan when we were both on the panel of a Sourcerie event. The topic of that discussion was customer obsession. Although we covered a lot, I had loads more questions. So it was rad to get the opportunity to talk to her about this in more depth. Spoiler alert: customer obsession is NOT overrated. We discussed why customer obsession is not a box ticking exercise, the power of involving customers in the product development process, why understanding the customer profile is both qualitative and quantitative, how creators play a significant role in modern branding dynamics and why customer obsession should be a core value from the start. Apple: https://lnkd.in/ej3SVYZ7 Spotify: https://lnkd.in/eTWpPYDv CC: Megan King, Kristin Cardwell, Sophie Dorn ………… This podcast is brought to you by our mates at Shopify ⚡️ Check them out here: https://lnkd.in/eXqaYJfE #podcast

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Did you know HSS ProService Marketplace isn't just a front end system that triggers an email to a team? Whether you're creating a booking, making an amendment or off-hiring a product, updates are sent directly to our supplier instantly, meaning there are no hidden surprises! No hidden surprises = no invoice queries! To find out more about the above or see what other features we have that could help streamline your processes visit: https://okt.to/SzGe6U #ProService #Construction #Maintenance #FitOut

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This is how white male allies can help their female and/or minority counterparts. By PAYING ATTENTION to the makeup of their communities and networks, and then publicly and actively trying to do something about it. Bravo Josh Ades! As for my two cents on the problem: one of the best ways to increase diversity in your community to intentionally cultivate a more diverse range of members and advocates at the beginning. As they begin to bring their networks in, you benefit from a naturally diverse effect instead of trying to fix it later. In the startup/dev world this is often the "First Female Engineer" problem.

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Rant time: I HATE calling government agencies. They do everything wrong, which startups get SO right! Today I tried to call HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to change a phone number on my account. Their security questions were: - Not set by me, but by then - Super oddly specific - Tedious and long-winded All whilst your struggling to understand an outsourced call agent over the phone. What TERRIBLE UX. - I mean seriously, why does it all suck? It’s like when you go to renew your drivers license, and they ask you to bring; - Your birth certificate, - Passport, - Proof of residency. So you go there and after 30 minutes of waiting, they inform you that you forgot to bring an original signed copy of the Declaration of Independence! What more do you need? The 10 commandments? On the two stone tablets? Startup founders, take this as a “what NOT to do.” Everyone knows government agencies suck, and even though they have all these questions, their security SUCKS too. We can develop 2FA and even 3FA security systems, using biometrics and CHOSEN security questions, to make an easier experience for our customers. What do you guys think?

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Huge thanks to Luke Dalton for taking the time and having the patience to deal with the team on this. Lukes professionalism and SEO Strategies are first class and will definitely put your organisation ahead of your competitor's. I'd highly recommend his work to any of my connections. Feel free to reach out if you need an intro! #SEO #J6S #Strategy

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Who the hell are these jokers? Here's how you find out (and get loads more insight on AI, business, when tech goes wrong and a tone more interesting stuff) head over to https://lnkd.in/exkMZneM and sign up for the best 5 minutes of AI-ness you'll get this week, or any week. Every week. Including the odd AI art piece that terrifies and arouses in equal measure. Also if you actually have any idea who these people are. Let me or Tom Head know. Ta. #beginswithb

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I'm excited to let you all know about an upcoming webinar I am hosting with top UK VCs on the topic of giving yourself the best chance of raising a Series A 🙌 Off the back of the benchmarking report I published for Episode 1 Ventures "The Definitive Guide to Raising a Series A in the UK in 2024", I will be joined by the following to discuss some key trends and topics: Simon Murdoch - Managing Partner at Episode 1 Laura McGinnis - Principle at Balderton Capital Nelly Markova - Partner at Molten Ventures Sasha Vidiborskiy - Partner at Atomico Among other things, come find out: - What are the critical metrics you need to hit? - How fast should you be growing? - How should you think about retention? - How do funds think about product-market-fit? - How should you think about competition? - And how mature does your GTM function need to be? Raising your Series A is tough, only 1 in 5 Seed-backed companies make it. Join me on Monday 13th May at 5pm UK time to help give yourself the best chance of a successful raise. Link to sign up in the comments below along with a link to the report... Thanks to OrbitalX for managing the webinar!

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You’ve got the product and the features, but is the message clear? On this week’s episode of Minimum Viable Podcast, Anthony Pierri 🎸, co-founder of FletchPMM, broke down how companies can avoid common messaging hiccups using his experience helping over 300 companies (including GC) do just that. One strategy is distinguishing between features, capabilities, and benefits: — Features are the tools — Capabilities explain what users can do with them — Benefits are the outcomes that matter Leading with capabilities drives clarity—something Anthony helped us achieve at General Collaboration by reshaping our homepage messaging. Watch the full episode to see how Anthony helped us refine our messaging to help people better understand what we offer: https://lnkd.in/eKHZGFSG

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Our latest podcast episode is now live, today we invited Rogan Sage from Embeddable to chat all things embedded analytics 📈 Takeaways 👇 → What makes Embeddable’s headless approach unique and developer-friendly → The biggest challenges software companies face with customer-facing analytics → Rogan’s personal journey and tips for navigating growth in early-stage tech startups → Best practices for go-to-market strategies and building a growth-focused team → Tips for hiring the right talent for growth roles and go-to-market strategies If you want to build fast, interactive customer-facing analytics directly into your product, this episode is for you 👌

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🎉 Exciting News! ThirdRetail has secured SEIS advance assurance within 24 hours of self-application! 🚀 🔍 What is SEIS? The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) is a UK government initiative designed to encourage investment in early-stage startups. It offers tax reliefs to investors, making it easier for young companies like ours to raise capital. 👋 Who are we? ThirdRetail is revolutionizing offline distribution for D2C brands! 🏪 We're the Airbnb of retail shelves, making it affordable and accessible for direct-to-consumer brands to scale their physical presence. Our AI-powered platform removes cross-channel blindspots, providing seamless integration between online and offline retail. 💡 Our mission: - Empower D2C brands to expand offline - Optimize retail space utilization - Bridge the gap between digital and physical retail 🤝 Calling SEIS Funds! Are you interested in being part of the third channel of retail sales? We're currently raising our pre-seed round and would love to chat with SEIS funds looking for exciting investment opportunities. Let's connect and explore how we can shape the future of retail together! 📈 Anil Junagal #RetailTech #SEIS #SEISFUNDS #Startup #D2C #Retail #Marketplace #B2B #SaaS

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This is a fabulous, hands-on, practical review of Helen Bird's first year in Product Operations. One thing I dislike these days is this constant needs for ultra-high level, ultra-generic articles and descriptions of jobs. What I really like here is the detail, the in-the-weeds problems solved. Because we are all professional and practical enough to take what she have done and apply it to our own situations. This is a great read for all aspiring or early-stage Product Ops professionals. Well done Helen.

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Techcelerate needs following partners - M&A - Fundraising - Recruitment - Software product development - need a representative in North West We have tech companies exploring funding and IPOs. Please check our partner fees before you get too excited https://lnkd.in/dhyams3Q Please don't email thinking I need above services for Techcelerate itself. We need partners to help our Tech Founders and Tech Companies. I will be ignoring all emails that do not meet this specific need. 😀 Always research before shooting from the hip! Thank you. hashtag #IPOs #techstartups #fundraising #investments #techinvestment

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2024 is no better than 2023. UK Tech investment landscape surely can't get any gloomier than this, could it? Up to date data from https://deallite.uk Please note we only cover UK Tech Companies. #techinvestment #venturecapital #vc #privateequity #equityinvestment #equity #tech #uktech #techcelerate #deallite #deals #techdeals #funding #techfunding #investment #seed #seriesA #preseed #growthcapital

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If you're considering adding a new product, don’t just follow the data — listen to your gut. Tara Seshan, who’s led product teams at Stripe and Watershed, cautions against only taking an analytical approach to growth bets. “Intuition is a huge driving factor in when you should be multi-product. Making those calls based on instinct can help you hit home runs rather than just singles and doubles.” Tara shares more of her product wisdom here: https://lnkd.in/dcnA-4fK And for more advice on going multi-product, check out this guide on The Review: https://lnkd.in/ey2ybEun

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A who’s who of GenAI monetisation are giving a roundtable webinar and is a MUST attend for all interested in this. AI pricing luminaries include: 🥊 Steven Forth - Co-founder & CEO at Ibbaka 🥊 Kyle Poyar - from OpenView & Growth Unhinged 🥊 Michael Mansard - Principal Director of Subscription Strategy at Zuora Michael will share key quantitative findings from his recent excellent GenAI monetisation series. It is just as important to be innovative around GenAI pricing as GenAI itself, and traditional SaaS pricing models may not cut it. New pricing paradigms could be the order of the day. Get it on your calendar! https://lnkd.in/ecPtEd9W #GenAI #AIStrategy #ProductManagement

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