Alex Mathé-Cathala

What would happen if all VCs disappeared ? It might be crazy to think about this because it would require all LPs to stop financing new funds. You still think it’s crazy ? Think about it twice. Some LPs are so big that when they stop financing VCs the ecosystem shrinks. And one of this investors it the Public Investment Fund (PIF).  You might have never heard of it but it’s Saudi Arabia’s $925B sovereign investment vehicle. PIF had previously invested $45B in SoftBank’s Vision Fund (famously known for its investment WeWork) and in others funds like Ardian. But now that VC seems more and more like a bursting bubble to investors, PIF has decided to focus on domestic projects and developing Middle East’s startup ecosystem. So money stopped flowing to US and european VCs. This might be part of the cause we’re seeing less deals in later stages lately. And less capital means, that more funds will have to fight for less cash. And only big names and the best investors that take advantage of automation and data will have access to funding in the future. 

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Don’t stack post-money SAFEs. I know YC backs them & I, as an investor, love them. But for founders, 1 post-money SAFE is fine—2+ can be deadly: What if I told you I’ll lead your seed round but I want: 1- Full ratchet anti-dilution rights. If your next round is say at a 50% lower valuation, my share price gets lowered by 50%. 2- Anti-dilution against future options. If you if you increase the size of your ESOP, 100% of the dilution goes to founders and existing employees. 3- Anti-dilution against future notes. If you raise a pre-or post money SAFE or a convertible note, only the founders and employees get diluted, not me. You’d tell me I’m crazy, right? You’d at least tell me it’s not market, not standard? But it is market, it is standard, and it’s called a post money SAFE. #startups #founders #venturecapital

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Tired: Podcasts by VC firms Wired: Private podcasts by VC firms 20VC Fund (via Eric Newcomer) : "Stebbings is known for his podcast, and he told me it was a central selling point for his LPs. A novel perk he is now offering is an investor update in the form of a private podcast, where he interviews portfolio company founders about their growth and prospects." Anu Hariharan's Avra (via Mario Gabriele): "Avra holds alumni sessions and an off-the-record podcast. There is no real difference between these two products. Both feature Hariharan holding a conversation with a prominent founder, operator, or technologist, using her expert prodding to deftly direct the discussion." Any others?

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I led 20 deals and spoke to thousands of startups in the last 6 years. Here's how I'd expect a good cold email to be structured👇🏻 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭: 𝐁𝐧𝐝𝐥 - $𝟑𝐌 𝐒𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝, 𝐔𝐒-𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 Hi Elena, I'm Alex, the founder of Bndl, a U.S.-based company. We're currently raising a $3M Seed round with a great consumer-focused VC as the lead investor, [name of the VC]. I'm looking for partners to fill the rest of the round. I looked through your portfolio and believe we align well with your thesis. Below is a quick overview of Bndl. Please let me know if you'd be open to a conversation. Best, Alex *** The global video streaming market is currently valued at $50B, projected to hit $330B by 2030. Yet, 85% of U.S. households can afford only one streaming service. Only 7% can afford six or more. Bndl makes streaming accessible for all, offering top shows across major platforms for just $20/month. Users can access everything through Bndl, instead of subscribing separately to HBO just to watch "House of the Dragon," Hulu just for "The Kardashians," or Amazon Prime just for "The Boys." ▪️ Traction: $10k MRR; ongoing negotiations with Disney+ and Netflix; integrations with HBO, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. ▪️ Team: Alex, CEO – 5 yrs in VC (One Ventures, Two Ventures); John, CBDO – ex-Netflix, ex-Spotify; Emily, CTO – ex-Reddit, ex-Stripe. ▪️ Backed by: XX, YY, and angels from Wise, Google, and Revolut. We're raising a $3M round, led by [name of the VC], and expect to close within the next month. [Brief note on the lead investor]. P.S. a catchy picture for your attention 🐾

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SAFE is a tool to accept investment with minimum paperwork and negotiation with investors. It's really good at the beginning and helps both investors and founders save time. You just need to understand how the tool works to use it correctly. Mistakes happen when people don't know how it works: ✅ There’s nothing wrong with using a Valuation Cap. As a founder, you should understand that if you raise funds at a valuation lower than the valuation cap in your SAFEs, you’ll end up giving away a larger portion of your company. That said, you really want to pay attention whether the SAFE contains the MFN (Most Favorable Nation) provision or not and make sure you understand how this provision works. ✅ There’s nothing wrong with anti-dilution protection against future options. In fact, it gives investors a clearer understanding of the minimum equity they’re receiving and prevents founders from manipulating the Cap Table after the investment is accepted. If you’re a founder using a SAFE or an angel investor, please take the time to familiarize yourself with this tool and understand how it works. It’s only a 5-8 page document and is well-written (kudos to the YC lawyers).

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I’ve been recently coaching dozens of startups preparing for the French Shark Tank program’s 5th season. One mistake many Founders make is misunderstanding how Investors make valuations. Here’s a quick breakdown. *** 1. Go-No-Go Factors Most factors Founders think impact valuation actually influence the investment decision. For example: • Strength of the IP • Market size • Team’s experience These elements help VCs decide whether to invest but don’t directly affect the valuation. *** 2. Equity Ownership The primary concern for Investors, be they angels or VCs, is their equity stake—which depends on the amount raised and the valuation. Angels who invest time may demand higher equity, while VCs balance this against their fund size. The investment must “move the needle” given the power law in VC. *** 3. Risk-Return Profile Many VCs use a version of the venture capital method to assess risk and return. They estimate future business value based on financial projections and then discount it back to present value with their target return, which is commensurate with perceived risk. *** Example Consider a startup with €200,000 in sales, aiming for €5 million in revenue in 3 years. They seek €200,000 in investment at a €3 million valuation, arguing that years spent developing IP, a large target market, and recent growth justify this valuation. However, from a VC’s perspective, even if the startup hits its numbers (hum hum), this translates to a potential €10 million exit value at best—resulting in a 3x return, which many Investors will find insufficient given the high risk involved. *** For more details, check out the link below 👇 Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences!

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November 28 2024 – 5 Notable Articles To Read 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲: Heathrow’s new biggest shareholder backs airport expansion 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆: In June, the French private equity firm Ardian agreed to acquire a 23% stake in Heathrow, as part of a £3.3B ownership restructuring at the airport that also involved Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund purchasing a stake. 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲: Financial Times 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸: https://lnkd.in/djuS4NQy 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲: UniCredit makes €10B offer for Italian rival BancoBPM 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆: The deal would establish one of Europe's most valuable lenders without affecting Commerzbank AG's investment. 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲: Financial Times 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸: https://lnkd.in/d_yAFtYX 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲: AI Boom Makes 139-Year-Old Cable Company Japan’s Hottest Stock 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆: Fujikura Ltd. has capitalized on the booming demand for data centers. The company represents a classic "picks and shovels" investment, benefiting as tech companies and utilities invest heavily in the infrastructure required to support AI development. 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲: Bloomberg 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸: https://lnkd.in/ddMANxk6 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲: AI Will Make Insurance Human Again 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆: The future of claims adjusting in insurance lies in collaboration between AI and human adjusters. Rather than replacing adjusters, AI is designed to handle their most repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus more on assisting claimants. This approach creates a system where adjusters can concentrate on making well-informed decisions. 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲: Forbes 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸: https://lnkd.in/dgnrtgmV 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲: Mubadala Capital agrees C$12.1B deal for Canadian asset manager CI Financial 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆: The asset management arm of Abu Dhabi’s state investment fund aims to increase its presence in North America. 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲: Financial Times 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸: https://lnkd.in/dukv_ca8 #news #business #research #investment #ai

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It was news last year. It has now become standard procedure. #Secondaries once the preserve of large private equity managers are becoming increasingly accessible to their #VC counterparts. Thanks to Timothy Motte for giving me a space to shed some light on this emerging trend in #venturecapital. Read below and subscribe to his must read newsletter "The Realistic Optimist". A must read for anyone interested in a highly documented, yet refreshing, cross-border perspective on everything #entrepreneurship, #startups and #investing. Enjoy!

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The 3 deadly mistakes new entrepreneurs make: (And how to avoid them) - Mistake #1: Not validating the market 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Do a lot of market research, launch a waitlist, build an MVP, and gather customer feedback super early. - Mistake #2: Ignoring cash flow 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Create a detailed budget sheet from day 0, monitor expenses, and don’t spend money on stupid things. - Mistake #3: Not listening to customers 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Be open to adapting your product or service based on what they need rather than what you think works. - Mistake #bonus: Hiring too soon 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Outsource what’s needed to grow the business until you generate enough revenue and/or raise funds. P.S. What would you add to the list? --- ♻️ Repost to your network And follow Georges Diab for more!

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🚀 The Key to Successful Fundraising: Investor Targeting 🎯 I came across a great point today: Your 1st pitch → 2nd meeting conversion rate is a crucial KPI for fundraising. If it’s under 30-50%, it could be a sign that something is off—often related to targeting the right investors or refining your pitch. In my own fundraising journey for a fitness & wellness project, my initial conversion rate was stuck around 10-15%. The turning point? Focusing on investors who had a genuine connection to the industry. It wasn't about casting a wide net; it was about finding those who truly "got" the vision. 🌟 🔑 Here’s what made the difference: - Reaching out to an amateur triathlete who understood the need for the solution. - Connecting with a former fitness coach who shared the mission. - Engaging an entrepreneur with a background in supplements, who saw the potential. The result? A jump to a 70% conversion rate. It taught me that fundraising is as much about aligning with the right investors as it is about the pitch itself. 💡 Pro tip: Dive into the investor’s portfolio rather than their "about" section. It gives you a real sense of where their money is going. Who else has seen a shift in results after refining their investor targeting? Drop your stories below! 👇 #FundraisingTips #StartupGrowth #InvestorRelations #VCtips #EntrepreneurJourney

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Soooo pretty much how French VC has always been. VC firms suing each other. LPs firing GPs. LPs taking funds back. VCs suing entrepreneurs. It's always been a dramatic scene. 🇫🇷 🐓🍷🥖 https://lnkd.in/eK8JbgDA #vc #venrurecapital #startups #entrepreneurs #entrepreneurship #tech #technology #innovation #money #business

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Top 10 family offices for startup investments : list, a first of its kind, sheds light on the investments by some of the biggest names in family offices, from Bernard Arnault’s Aglaé Ventures to Laurene Powell Jobs’ Emerson Collective and Peter Thiel’s Thiel Capital. It also reveals names that are little known outside the secretive world of family offices — the private investment arms of wealthy families — but that have become major players in the world of venture capital and private markets Number of deals in 2024 The horizontal bar chart shows the top 10 family offices worldwide per the number of deals done from January through early November 2024. Table with 3 columns and 10 rows. 1. MaelstromArthur Hayes Family Office 22 22 22 2. Motier VenturesGuillaume Houzé Family Office 21 21 21 3. Atinum Investment 15 15 15 Emerson CollectiveJobs Family Office 15 15 15 Hillspire LLCEric Schmidt Family Office 15 15 15 6. Premji InvestAzim Premji Family Office 14 14 14 Thiel CapitalPeter Thiel Family Office 14 14 14 8. Aglaé VenturesBernard Arnault Family Office 13 13 13 9. Horizons VenturesLi Ka-Shing Family Office 12 12 12 MEMG Family OfficeRanjan Pai Family Office 12 12 12 Source: Fintrx Data as of November 2024 Key Points ·        CNBC partnered with Fintrx to analyze single family offices that made the largest number of investments in private startups in 2024. The top 10 family offices for startup investments made over 150 investments combined this year, in everything from biotech and energy to crypto and artificial intelligence, according to a new analysis.

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I was very disappointed when I read this post. It’s an example of a core problem with raising from VCs——bullsh*t criteria filters. It’s lazy and arrogant investing at its finest. 1- Passing because of a “signal”. This is just a weak excuse to not speak with a founder. If there is one thing I’ve learned as an investor, it’s that decks rarely tell the story well. With all the dynamics of early stage company building, relying solely on “minor flags” to pass is just a cheap excuse to not speak with someone. 2- Founder not “paying attention to detail”. Attention to the correct details is important. This type of “detail” is ridiculous. As an outsider, you have no idea what their document management is like. They may have updated the document that very day. You’re getting upset about naming conventions like it means that they can’t possibly build a billion dollar company. It doesn’t matter. 3- Being butt hurt when you realize you weren’t the top of their list. This one makes me laugh the most. What an arrogant stance to take. “Oh, I wasn’t your first call? Go jump off a cliff.” It doesn’t strike people like this that it may have taken months to network their way into the person that he knew so they would get an introduction so this investor would take it seriously? Note, “I was sent a fund deck the other day” means that it was a referral, presumably from someone they know and trust. 4- Fundraising must be tough because you’ve been in market for at least two months. Cut me a break. It’s hard for every company in this environment. Most of the best performing VC investments in history struggled to raise money in their first few rounds. And most of the company who raised huge amounts with no friction end up Hindenberging. This is so lazy and biased. These investors also tend to be logo investors—eg who else is committed to the raise. 5- Saving time by not taking the meeting. A VC cannot possibly take a call with every deck that comes across their desk. However, especially when it comes from a referral, and things sound “pretty good”, give it the benefit of the doubt. Especially when it’s so hard to tell a story to hundreds of investors who all have different expectations for “the perfect deck”. Your obligation to your fund LPs means you turn over every rock. Make the time. Pass it to an analyst to hear the full story. Don’t look for weak excuses like this to pass. If you’ve experienced at fundraising, I’m sure none of this is a surprise to you. Fundraising is extraordinarily difficult. If you’re new to venture fundraising, this is just one example in a sea of irrational behavior exuded by VCs and the analysts that filter deals for them. Buckle up. **Thanks to Alex Dunsdon for sharing this investor screenshot with his network first.

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If you're less than $3M ARR... It's not how you're going to get to $100M ARR ❌ A common theme I often see with founders is focusing too much on the big $100M ARR future vision... It always goes something like this: 1️⃣ We have something 🙌 2️⃣ (dot dot dot) 3️⃣ And then we'll do something different and something different again to get to $100M ARR And then only talking about how great life will be once they get there But if you're less than $3M ARR, it's the (dot dot dot) that needs to be articulated, not what the company will look like at $100M Here's an easy way to think about it... If you want to hit early venture scale (that is going from $1M ARR to $10M ARR in 24 months) then you can't do something different. Said another way... Your first segment / first use case should be able to get you to $10M ARR Capital efficient (venture scale) growth comes from doing the same thing over and over and over again So make sure you can clearly articulate the dot dot dot and why it'll lead to that $100M ARR future vision 💪 Happy Friday! -- ♻️ Repost to help a founder in your network Click 'visit my website' at the top of this post to register for my Seed to Series A session

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Actually to be precise, it is the cap-only or cap/count SAFE. It is not the discount only SAFE. The big issue is that the cap-only SAFE has become the dominant SAFE flavor. Cap-based conversion is a recipe for unintended consequences - the additional problem is that depending on the conversion price relative to the cap and the post-SAFE non-equity fundraising, you can't tell in advance who bears these consequences. I think discounts make more sense all around - they create a pre-determined premium for the investor for being an earlier risk taker. Actually, although I have rarely seen it, I think a variable discount SAFE actually best aligns founder and investor interests. It would have a discount rate that would increase the longer the SAFE was unconverted.

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