Virraj Jatania

Part 3 of Hiperpool’s MBB Global Salary Index: Purchasing Power After looking at gross salaries and net salaries in each country, we have now incorporated cost of living (including rent) to compare purchasing power across the group. To generate the proprietary purchasing power score, we’ve used net salary figures and triangulated cost of living from three reputable indices. The scores are relative to the lowest scoring country, with a baseline index of 1. If you’d like to check out Part 1 (gross salaries) and Part 2 (net salaries) please follow the links below. https://lnkd.in/eq6KpT7X https://lnkd.in/edw-gtwT We will compile all three parts, along with the great input and feedback received, into a final comprehensive report soon.

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Expanding internationally via marketplaces isn't simple. You need to know: ✅ Consumer appetites and behaviours ✅ Which channels will work for you ✅ How to get your product in market ✅ P&L Forecasting ✅ Route to launch At RippleEffect we help you get the above right so that you can grow your marketplace business. We're offering an initial free audit to give you the best idea of the opportunity available to you in your chosen locales. Reach out via this link to book in an intro call ----> https://lnkd.in/eYs9yaPu #amazon #marketplaces #internationalgrowth

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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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#Manchester based past SkilledUp Life tech startup customer Cytix raises £1.6 million Seed investment from Manchester based Praetura Ventures founded by David Foreman. Michael Rees well done. Limited Partner (LP) in this case is Northern Powerhouse Fund II operated by British Business Bank British Business Bank North of England Delyth Lloyd Edwards. Simon Cunnington SkilledUp Life helped Thomas Ballin and the team during the earliest stages of the tech startup when they were self-funded and bootstrapping. I also had the pleasure to mingle with Ben Armstrong at Techcelerate when they were just starting up and trying to build the first version of the product. Both Ben and Thomas stood up as a strong pair of co-founders. They came from the same industry, worked for the same boss and knew the market inside out. They knew how to innovate the market and slice a portion of the market for themselves. They also had a superb unfair advantage in addition to above. The pair was perfect to start a tech product company. Let me explain why. When you talk about building tech startups, especially at the very earliest stages, you need to two people: - Some one who can code and build - Thomas Ballin - Some one who can sell - Ben Armstrong Having been in the tech startup world for 20 years, I rarely see this ideal combination. I knew they would go places. And they had. A massive congratulations from me to Thomas, Ben and the team. My only regret was I could not convince them to join Techcelerate. 😁 Here's the story https://lnkd.in/ec7VzXp2 covered by Deal Lite. Here's the story about Pre-Seed round https://lnkd.in/eR4UQ9fi I look forward to reading the story about Series A investment not too long in the near future. Congrats all. A good day for #Manchester! 🥂 Oh, by the way, we have a ton of #cybersecurity volunteers on https://skilledup.life Here is a bunch of Manchester tech startups who are leveraging SkilledUp Life as they self-fund and bootstrap their businesses in the early stage. These companies are cash-efficient and understand how hard the journey is: - Dustid run by Michael Livingstone - Orakly run by Craig A. Taylor - also a Techcelerate member - mutuals run by eddy D. SkilledUp Life de-risked Cytix over 20 months period. SkilledUp Life is here to give a leg up to tech startups in early years. #Cytix #Cybersecurity #Manchester #TechManchester #SkilledUpLife

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Looking forward to speaking on the SeedLegals stage at the Rare Founders DemoDay on Monday. Alongside Beth Carter and Eva Dobrzanska, we will be discussing👇 Deal Sourcing in the UK: Uncovering Hidden Gems & Emerging Trends. We spend a lot of our time scouring the UK looking for great founders to back so we have some insights to share ! If you’re coming along, please say hi or DM me. Or come along to the talk. See you there ! #ukstartups #dealsourcing #techinvestment

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What a week at ThirdRetail!🚀 We took the stage at Rare Founders London’s Largest Demo Day on Monday🎤, sharing the spotlight with 7 other amazing marketplaces that are truly changing the game in the UK and beyond 🌍. It was incredible to see 100 of the UK's most promising startups from pre-seed to series-A, handpicked from hundreds, pitch their game-changing businesses to a room full of investors and industry leaders. The questions were 🔥, and the 1:1 investor and industry operator meetings? Even better! Some stimulating conversations came out of those. Some great validation from folks in retail was the highlight🙌 The best part is that I finally got an opportunity to F2F with so many amazing founders, operators, and investors, all thanks to Vasily Alekseenko and the Rare Founders team! If you want to check out the incredible list of startups, here's a great recap from Startups Magazine: https://lnkd.in/e2aTRU9m 🏬 Midweek was all about customers, hitting the ground with retailers. Anil Junagal and I always love our time on the field! We onboarded a stunning new store in a prime location with a 40% shelf expansion in a single onboarding📈—talk about the multiplier effect, and demand for the right brands leading to sustainable in-store rev-ops. Retailers want more revenue and better products on their shelves while removing underperforming ones 🚀. The feedback has been 🔑. Ending the week by gearing up for another controlled pilot with a fantastic brand starting in November, thanks to an investor/operator who's all in and excited to test with us. At the end of the day, it’s about creating real value for both brands and retailers 🤝. The weekend? Not quite yet! 😅 We’ve got one more big call and tech work ahead, but it's safe to say this was one of our most productive weeks yet 💪. Love the momentum though! 🔥 #startups #entrepreneurship #retailtech #innovation #ThirdRetail #founderslife #buildingthefuture

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On the 20th of Nov, 🌵Dan Archer and I will host a Founders Round Table dinner in London. Our main topics of discussion will be profitable growth going into 2025 and building a healthy pipeline through marketing. Dan, we will provide some context around his growth survey data. If you are reviewing your agency's growth strategy for next year and would like to have a conversation with us and fellow agency founders over dinner, follow the link below to book your spot. We look forward to seeing you there. https://lnkd.in/eUagwQR3 #agencyfounders #agencyleadership #agencylife #agencyowners #profitability #cactus

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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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LOOKING FOR INVESTMENT? 💰👀 Fuel Ventures 🚀 is one of the most active early stage tech investors in the UK. We back disruptive & ambitious founders at all the early stages: 👉 Concept/Pre-Seed 👉 Seed & Seed+ 👉 Series A stages 170 Investments and counting… 🚀 We look for/focus on fast growth digital/tech businesses. We like software, platforms fintech, e-commerce, B2B and B2C with super ambitious hard working founder/s or founding teams, companies that have large global growth potential with multibillion market opportunities. We really want to see companies that have the potential to deliver x100 potential growth, mostly meaning £1billion+ future market cap potential. 📈🚀 We have funds that can invest from Concept/Pre-Seed, Early Seed, Seed, Pre-A and A stages, so if your at any of these stages we are keen to hear from you. The best way for us to take a look at you business if you are looking for investment is to submit the business to our web form for me and our investment team of 8 people all get it directly into their inbox to review within our process, we review weekly in our investment meetings and will come back to you if we spot something of interest that gets us excited. So be punchy, ambitious and bold! Please do highlight why your business is special, the market size and opportunity and any traction or progress achieved. Please submit the business here: https://lnkd.in/d6AK2rjy

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Are you an early-stage company looking for Pre-Seed, Seed and Series A Round funding? ⬇️⬇️ - We cater to startups looking for investment ranging from £150k to £10Mil, specifically within the UK/EU. - Our investor network is eager to delve into diverse sectors, maintaining an open approach to ALL industries. - Particular interest lies in sectors such as: • SaaS • Fintech • Marketplaces & Platforms • Computer Vision & NLP • Enterprise Technology • Industrial Automation • The Transition to Sustainable Energy • Artificial Intelligence & Data Analytics • Software Development Tools 🚀 Jumpstart your funding journey by registering at FundMyPitch.com and create your pitch today to link up with our wide-ranging network of investors. #fundraising #angelinvesting #startups 🤝 Know a startup on the lookout for investment? Help spread the word

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This chart from Dealroom is telling. The UK is not the friendliest or simplest place to raise and run a venture fund, yet we are one of the top three tech ecosystems by investment size. How is this possible? Simples, most of the funding is coming from the US. What does this mean? The UK is doing a fantastic job attracting foreign investments, but its tech ecosystem is heavily dependent on said foreign investors. When things are going well, this may not seem significant. However, any crisis that leads to a pullback of international capital will leave UK's startup investment sector in serious trouble.

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How do you craft a compelling story for investors when fundraising? Use these GTM metrics 👇 1️⃣ Target Market & ICP 2️⃣ Conversion & Velocity 3️⃣ Align ICP to Market Penetration Swipe to learn more about how to craft a compelling story with them to attract and engage investors. Need more insights on how to best prepare to fundraise? I'm always happy to chat. #VentureCapital #Startups #Fundraising #Investors #StartupFinance

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Compare this to founders and startups from developing Asia. The avg pre-seed round would be around €100K and Founder's salary would be around €10K PA. Startups with lower burn will be invincible as Innovation and tech tools aren't geo-restricted anymore. #Startups #VentureCapital #Investment #Innovation #Funding

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We're now raising our pre-seed round and are looking for investors who actually know what they're doing with consumer or social apps. Know anyone who'd be interesting to speak with? Tag them below or give us a hand and make an intro. Whether you're an Angel or VC, If you're not a dinosaur and actually see the new untapped potential in AI & Social, hit us up. AI's about to change how people connect, and Gen z desperately needs something real. we're gonna make it happen with KLIK-Social No bs, just real connections.

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Breakfast with founders 🥐 Today I met with Scarlet Amies Scarlet is the founder of MASAJ - Contemporary massage in London, designed to combat the negative effects of city living. We spoke about: - Barry's, Third Space and CrossFit - the positive and interesting growth mechanisms that these businesses and communities have taken to grow. Particularly with a strong focus on experience and retention. - The journey into building a brick and mortar experience in a world flooded with tech, platforms and APIs. By focusing on the core challenges of customers and therapists alike, MASAJ has built a proposition that really taps into the every day busy lives of Londoners, whilst solving what is lacking in the massage industry. - Utilising venture debt within a blended fundraising strategy to accelerate expansion efforts, particularly in capex-dependant industries that rely on being operational quickly to start paying back revenue. - Owning an investment narrative to attract the right type of investors. It's easy in a world of tech investors to get drawn into that world. But SaaS comes with it's own challenges and investor theses that could deviate a really exciting experiential proposition like MASAJ away from it's core values. - Using customer data and feedback to create a solid go to market and expansions plan. Often we think we need to search far to find these answers, but they're sitting within the very same customers that keep coming back. If you're looking to experience something new and different, do check out MASAJ. I for one, can't wait to visit soon! ----- If you're a founder keen to meet, I'd love to have breakfast with you in London. Investors, sign up to Table for Ten dinners. Link to waitlists are in my featured section. Naturally, I can't meet with everyone, but I'll always try to make time to speak!

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🚨 Funding Alert: It's the last day of October, and 2024 is slipping away faster than you think... You know it, I know it – the funding world moves at LIGHTNING speed ⚡️ Timing is everything, and opportunities vanish in the blink of an eye. If you're aiming to land a funding deal before year's end, we've got your back! 💪 At Magdalena Reith, we're offering a special Q4 deal: Book a pitch deck package before November 15th and get a FREE one-pager 🎁 Your strategic conversation starter that turns "Maybe later" into "Let's talk!" Looking to finish Q4 strong and slingshot your startup into 2025? Here's what you get in our Q4 Power Package: 🎯 Expert guidance  🎁 FREE one-pager  💼 Professional pitch deck  ⏰ Priority completion (optional) Reach out via DM or drop a comment below to learn more and lock in your package before November 15th! #StartupFunding #PitchDecks #Startups

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“Hey Marc - what exactly do you do at Planet Startup?” I get this question pretty regularly. Planet Startup is a vCFO studio for seed to series B startups, specialising in B2B SaaS companies. Rhys and I love helping founders raise more capital, save more time and scale more effectively.   Here’s how we make it happen: 🚀 Sprints – Think of these as fast paced workshops designed for founders who need to make smart decisions, fast. From capital raising, business models, revenue streams, group structures, cap table challenges, exit planning or acquisition requests, our sprints cover it all. Whether it’s a 2 hour session or a 2 day intensive, we’ll help you tackle those pressing issues with so you can move forward with certainty.    💯 Projects – Need export support on a key financial project? We got you. From investor ready financial models, ESOP planning, DD support through investment or acquisition, chart of account updates, transitions from cash to accrual accounting, we’ve helped countless high-growth companies get it right, the first time. ⚡ vCFO – For founders who want the benefits of a full time CFO, without the full-time cost. For seed to series B companies that need ongoing finance support but aren’t quite ready for an in-house CFO, we’re here.  From bookkeeping & payroll, to financial modelling, capital raising, commercial decision making, pricing, strategy and performance, we’ll be your bridge until you’re ready to hire internally. Over the last 12 months, we’ve worked on 47 client engagements, managed 10 vCFO relationships, supported 7 fundraises, celebrated 1 exit and 1 active acquisition. It’s been quite a ride! Now, we’re gearing up for our financial client intake of 2024, setting founders up to scale and secure investment in early 2025. If you’re leading a seed to series B tech company, especially in the B2B SaaS space, we’d love to chat and see how we can help. Here’s the link to check us out – even if we’re not quite the right fit, we’re always happy to point you in the right direction! https://lnkd.in/gm_K3gNj (And…keep an eye on us, we’ve got some exciting news coming soon!) *** Hey! I’m Marc, and we’re a team of vCFO’s supporting seed to series B tech companies to raise investment and scale globally. If you’re a founder looking for a sprint, a project, or ongoing vCFO support, let’s connect. https://lnkd.in/gm_K3gNj #startups #scaleups #planetstartup #finance #vcfo #finance #investmentready

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🚀 We're raising up to £500k of EIS Qualifying equity to power the next phase of growth at The Wealth Mosaic! 🚀 After 7 years of building a loyal community of over well over 10,000 subscribers and 150,000+ website users, The Wealth Mosaic is ready to monetise its strong global network within the wealth management industry. 🌐 Why Invest? - The Wealth Mosaic is the leading digital vendor directory for the wealth management sector, connecting 30,000+ contacts and generating 24 million impressions annually. - With our new strategy, we’re unlocking scalable revenue streams through subscription-based access and enhanced member services. - Our goal: to revolutionise engagement, positioning, and discoverability for vendors of all forms across the global wealth management sector. A true shop window to support an increasingly complex and changing market. 📈 Join Us on Our Journey  We're seeking sophisticated investors and UHNW individuals to join us in this advanced subscription agreement, with a target raise of up to £500k to fuel our ambitious plans for growth. 🔒 To learn more about this opportunity, please contact us directly to access our investor deck. Due to initial positive interest, we anticipate closing the funding round on 20th December 2024. #Fundraising #WealthManagement #DigitalDirectory #TheWealthMosaic #InvestmentOpportunity #EIS #DirectInvesting #PrivateBanking #TWMMembers #WealthisChanging #DigitalMarketplace #VendorDirectory Mungo Guy-Vaughan Hamlet Marc Bussell Lea Espanta John Marcus Pangilinan Mike Iles Simon Ramery Greg Simidian Jamie Keen Ian Max Ewart Ian Woodhouse Phil Watson Efi Pylarinou Alois Pirker April Rudin Christian Jedlicka Pamela Cytron Nat Clarkson Kendrick Wakeman, CFA Jasmine Willis Keith MacDonald Steve Dyson Michael Walford-Grant Ivan Schouker James Goad Philip J. Weights Mark Yeo Tee Shen, CAIA, FRM Gar Chung Alessandro Tonchia Gregor Mueller Marc Oliver Hauser Brigitta Gyoerfi, CFA Gareth Davies Beth Goldstein Marshall Smith Keith MacDonald Sharmil Patwa John Pepin Dr Mario A Bassi Capital at risk.

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