Firemark Ventures’ Post

As reported in Forbes Australia, (the highlighting is my own) it seems I've done OK at picking good Startmate startups to invest in after Demo Day - here's a table of the most valuable Startmate companies since 2012. Edrolo, Morse Micro and Sitemate were all startups I was unable to invest in because I didn't have the available capital. But now we have the M8 Ventures Syndicate on Aussie Angels, maybe we'll miss out on fewer of the big uplifts! https://lnkd.in/gDNU_q79

It was both a privilege and a truly rewarding experience to collaborate with FCMB Group and Heave Ventures as a participating startup in the recent hackathon. 🎉 Congratulations to the winners and all the #venture #startups shortlisted for the next round of #funding! One key takeaway from this experience is the importance of closely tracking the milestones and success metrics of these innovative solutions. Ensuring that progress is consistently measured will be vital for the long-term success of these initiatives. In addition, I’d like to suggest that FCMB Group consider reaching out to other participants with potential #funding, #investment, or #loan opportunities. This could help fuel the growth of many promising #startups, fostering implementation and preventing stagnation. 🚀 Once again, I’m grateful for the opportunity and look forward to a brighter future for #African startups! 🌍✨ #Innovation #StartupGrowth #AfricanStartups #Entrepreneurship #Hackathon #FundingOpportunities #FCMB #HeaveVentures #VentureCapital #BusinessDevelopment #TechInnovation #ImpactDriven #FutureOfAfrica

Some food for thought for your weekend... Dippin' Dots, LLC makes me very nostalgic for summers spent on the Great Lakes and going to Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH. The flash-frozen ice cream is so fun and delicious. Dippin’ Dots filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2011. Scott Fischer, who purchased Dippin’ Dots out of bankruptcy in 2012, started noticing there was interest from businesses who wanted to use the company’s flash-frozen process. Dippin Dots created other revenue streams that have helped it financially as sales to theme parks and other venues dried up during the coronavirus pandemic. You can find Dippin Dots frozen fat globules (yep!) in plant-based meats such as Beyond Meat, and they have also used their high-volume cryogenic freezing in pharmaceuticals, probiotics, and animal feed. I loved this story! It has it all: nostalgia, a failing business, a PIVOT, innovation, and a really ingenious strategy to use brand equity to capture new markets. On Angel Investors Ontario's Knowledge Hub, we have a course titled "Building Great Products" with Shawn Hewat from Wavy. In this session, Shawn discusses product development, product market fit at different stages of your startup, going through a pivot, and how to validate fundraising along the way. Watch here: https://lnkd.in/g_ahZ4bg Stay tuned to Knowledge Hub as we are launching more videos in our "Founder2Founder" series soon! #angelinvesting #startups #entreprenurship #innovation

Today we kicked off the inaugural session of a fresh cohort for Scaleup Vlaanderen featuring an engaging presentation Grant Thornton Digital and a down-to-earth talk by Iwert Goossens Gossoens. Insights were shared on investor perspectives and common pitfalls to avoid. The era of free money is ending, a reality we cannot ignore. But what does this truly signify, and how will it impact startups and scale-ups? We delved deeper into understanding the implications and navigating the changing financing landscape. #StartupFinance #EconomicShifts #StartupVenture #InvestmentInsights Frederik Tibau Catherine Van Eeckhaute Peter Verhasselt Gunthram Cornelis Patrick Coomans Nick Boucart Maarten Laruelle Mieke Mallants Guillaume Versteylen

We applied for InterTradeIreland Seedcorn last year and didn’t even make it past the first phase! Gigi Supplements hadn’t launched yet but we were sure we needed to raised money asap to make the impact we wanted - this couldn’t have been less true. Fast forward one year and we’re Regional Finalists!! And one of just three product based business amongst mostly tech companies, which myself & Lisa Hughes are very proud of because it’s stiff competition when it comes to competing against tech in the investment landscape! I’m a huge believer in everything happening for a reason and when I reflect on where we are now versus then, our application this year was worlds apart! Based on the incredible initial traction Gigi received on launch, we made a decision in January of this year not to raise money in 2024 and instead to reinvest everything to grow the brand and see how far we could get (with some invaluable support from Local Enterprise Office Fingal ) .. and it was the best decision we could have made for the company. Through the success of our first year (we’re only in month 10 post launch) we can now clearly demonstrate the opportunity and exciting trajectory we’re on which strengthens our pitch tenfold 🚀 We are incredibly grateful to have made it this far in what is arguably Ireland’s most competitive startup investor readiness competition and look forward to pitching at the Regional Finals on the 22nd of October! Rejection is redirection 💫 #irishstartups #femalefounders #femheath

🌟 Amazing Funds and Founders event at Tramshed Tech Cardiff yesterday evening, hosted by Walmer Group! (Thanks again James Campbell).  A full house, great hospitality and candid conversation discussing opportunities and strategies for Welsh founders alongside an incredible panel Debbie Taylor, Huw Bishop, and Cai Gwinnutt, with expert moderation by Richard Lee and a great set of pre-panel insights by Daniel Sawko of shipshape.vc. We covered a range of topics, including: 💼 SEIS and EIS Benefits – Welsh startups have significant potential to leverage SEIS and EIS for early-stage and growth funding. We explored how FounderCatalyst supports founders in maximising tax reliefs. 👀 Investment Attractiveness – As an angel investor, I shared what makes Welsh startups particularly attractive and how they can capture investor interest. 💡 Planning for Exit – I outlined the considerations founders should keep in mind when aiming to position their businesses for eventual exit. 🌍 Networking Beyond Wales – Being distant from larger hubs doesn’t mean missing out. We discussed ways Welsh founders can expand their networks effectively to attract investors outside of Wales. 🤝 Demystifying SEIS/EIS – we broke down some common misunderstandings and explain how to make these schemes work for their growth journey. Thanks again for an engaging and fun event. #Wales #Business #Startups #SEIS #EIS #Funding #AngelInvesting #Growth #Foundercatalyst

First funding round ✅ We officially closed an equity round with our VC and Angel Investors after 3 years building Kickbite. A huge thanks to the large pool of business angels (the backbone of early stage startups, you guys rock!!!!!!) and to our lead VC investor Backbone (that name actually makes sense Jan Claudio Muñoz 🤝) for the continuous trust and support! The last 3 years have been the most rewarding. Some quick facts: ✅ +150 monthly active users with a stickiness of +60% ✅ The trust of D2C category leaders such as Athletic Greens or Ankerkraut GmbH ✅ Tracked and analysed +60 Million website sessions in 2023 alone (What a crazy number) ✅ Achieved growth every year despite the challenging economics + a beta product until September 2023 To name a few, big thanks to: BackBone Ventures, Radboud Langenhorst, Ruurd van der Weide, Sjoerd van Berkel, Hugo Suidman, Daniel Schulz, Maren Frey, Andreas Burike, Matthias Frost, Mark Hoffmann, Daniel Offermann, Christian Terborg, Haike Spek, Dr. Hans J. Dohrmann, Nicolas Pless, Joris Willekens, Constantijn Weytingh, Ardan Bousché, Pawel Wierzbicki

It was an inspiring event ✨ for those who are starting a project and for those who would like to raise investments. Mostly I liked the following ideas: -you should move your project as far as possible without VC investments; - first who should believe in a project is you and your co-founders; - you should set up limits and deadlines to measure success/failure. Many thanks PULSE! 👍 #Luxembourg #Pulse #Startups #Investments #VC #InnovationLuxembourg

Regascold is among the #topten in the AC2 Startup #Competition of GründerRegion Aachen. 🌟 We utilize the cold energy that is usually lost in traditional regasification processes. As our co-founder, Sven Hudy, perfectly puts it: "The cold is already there; why leave it unused?". 🌬️💡Read the full article here. 👉 https://lnkd.in/eKtTtjAH

🏆 🇪🇺 Very happy to have been selected as one of the top Business Angels in Europe by Roundtable. Thanks Evan Testa and Julien Fissette for including me in the list! 🚀 Roundtable is launching their European Angel Investor Database today on Product Hunt today. Feel free to check it out. Links in the comments. #BusinessAngel #Angelinvestor #Startup cc: EWOR, Felix W. Schmitt