Lisa Dolan’s Post

Unearthing Investment Opportunities in Europe's Tech & AI Landscape As an investor, staying ahead of the curve is paramount. You constantly seek out the next big thing, the groundbreaking tech or AI startup poised to disrupt entire industries. But with venture capital reports overflowing with established names, where do you find the hidden gems – the early-stage companies with the potential to become unicorns? FundRight takes a unique approach to sourcing these European startups. We believe attending local events in vibrant tech hubs like Amsterdam is crucial. Here, the raw energy and innovative ideas are palpable. Just recently, I attended the Tech Makers Amsterdam https://lnkd.in/dWZzG-y2. The atmosphere was electric, brimming with passionate founders brimming with disruptive ideas. Beyond the Hype: Unveiling the True Potential But conferences and meetups are just the tip of the iceberg. The most promising startups are often hidden away, quietly building their empires. FundRight utilizes a multi-pronged approach to find these hidden gems: In-Depth Founder Analysis: We go beyond basic financial metrics, which aren't always available for early-stage startups. Instead, we meticulously analyze founders – their vision, team dynamics, and market understanding. Network Power: We leverage a robust network of angel investor groups and business angels across Europe. This allows us to tap into a rich vein of information and discover exciting startups before the mainstream catches on. Why We're Better for Early-Stage Startups: Traditional methods often rely on established metrics, making it difficult for fledgling companies to gain traction. FundRight bridges this gap by focusing on the core strengths and vision of the founders. This allows us to champion truly innovative startups with the potential to become the next big thing.

Syndicate One was founded to elevate the Belgian tech ecosystem. But you can’t fly blind, and we increasingly felt the lack of a truly comprehensive overview of our ecosystem to guide us forward. That's why we teamed up with Bain & Company and Sofina to create the first-ever State of Belgian Tech Report 🇧🇪 — a clear map of our ecosystem for entrepreneurs, investors and policymakers to make better, more informed decisions. After analyzing data, surveying 130+ founders, and conducting in-depth interviews, we found: 📈 Capital investment is growing, with 2024 poised for a record year, 💥 The ecosystem is maturing, with more exits expected, 🐣 Early-stage startups receive most of the funding, 🤝 A ‘mafia’ of entrepreneurs is emerging, but support remains fragmented, 🏆 Talent scarcity and ESOP policy hinder scaling. The Report is now live — dive in at syndicate.one/report, reach out, and help drive Belgium’s entrepreneurial future. It’s looking bright! 🚀 Grateful for your support Cedric Bovy, Narcis Savu, Yanni Vissers, Olivier Lippens, Nicolas Boschman, Céline Koyen, Robin Wauters, Alexis Eggermont, Giulia Van Waeyenberge, Constantin Jamar, Stefanie Broes, Willem Delbare, Thoralf Gutierrez, Hendrik Isebaert, Louis Opsomer, Adrien Roose, Thibaut Claes, Sven De Cleyn, Katrin Geyskens, Jürgen Ingels, Quentin Nickmans, Kamil Mieczakowski, Olivier Rousseaux, Matthieu Demolin, Yoram Wijngaarde, Jonas Winand, Frederik Tibau, Sarah Guemouri

The world keeps expanding, and we are growing further apart. It becomes even more crucial to stand alongside like-minded people. That's why we're dedicating this post to our appreciation of our partners from Kazakhstan, MOST Business Intelligence.😎 Basically, they are a business incubator that helps to grow successful and promising businesses, providing them with the best advice in tech. Look at how closely their goals align with ours: they too offer expert guidance to entrepreneurs, ensuring that startups attract investments in the tech field.🤌 In the Underdog Tech Award, MOST BI plays the role of the application analysts. Together with the other VA partners, they help us decide which attendees are worthy of making it to the shortlist. They leverage their 12+ years of experience in nurturing a new generation of outstanding tech entrepreneurs. They also helped spread the word about us, so more founders across the world could apply. We're happy our contestants are in such good hands! To find out which of the chosen finalists will take the first prize, please continue following our page. The announcement day is coming soon! #TechStartups #StartupLife #TechInnovation #StartupFounder #TechCommunity #InnovationUnleashed #StartupOpportunity

💯 𝐓𝐈𝐏 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐘: Apply to participate in the Startup Unit panel decision at GREENTECH FESTIVAL !!!   📍 The AG-Impact Startups of the Berlin Startup Unit brings together players from the impact ecosystem and promotes projects to make the location more attractive for impact startups. 📍 Panel Discussion will be on : 🔻 What do impact investors expect from founders?  🔻 What are the venture requirements?  🔻 When does a start-up become a venture case?  🔻 What alternative financing channels are there? 🔻 What do impact founders expect from investors?  🔻 How can the mission idea be preserved, how can mission drift be prevented?  🔻 What compromises should you be prepared to make? 📍 Benefits : 🔻 Access to the entire GreenTech Festival  🔻 Networking Opportunities 📅  On 16.05.2024 👉 Apply before 30.04.2024 at https://lnkd.in/gMhtS59y 📍 I'm an Ambassador for AsiaBerlin — a startup diplomacy initiative by the Berlin Government to facilitate cross-border collaborations among startup ecosystems. ☝️ Follow me for startup initiatives around the world !!! Startup Berlin, Berlin Partner für Wirtschaft und Technologie GmbH, #asiapacific #berlin #education #innovation #sustainability #entrepreneurship  

🏆L59 Pitch Competition 2024🏆 is proud to present this year's winners who split the 1M syndicate and the rest of the prize pool. The biggest congrats goes to: + Beholder earned the largest investment of 600,000 euros, + AskToSell took home 300,000 euros, and + GaltTec 100,000 euros. In total, Specialist VC and Estonian Business Angels Network (EstBAN) made an investment of one million euros, which is the largest of its kind in Europe for the second year in a row. When asked what will happen next, #Latitude59’s CEO Liisi Org said we will meet soon in #Asia and #Africa: “The next satellite event of Latitude59 will be held already later this year, in November, once again in Kenya where we are also looking for the best startups to improve the world. Similarly, we will soon be seen in Asia. The exact location is a bit of a secret still, so be ready for more information soon.” Latitude59 2024, which took place for the 12th time in Tallinn, Estonia, was visited by more than 3,500 people, including more than 900 startup representatives and 20 national delegations. Nearly 600 investors participated this year, the size of their managed portfolios totalling at least 30 billion euros. 195 speakers, 40% of whom were women, could be seen on Latitude59’s stages. In total, there were participants from more than 60 different countries worldwide. 🥳 Congrats to all the startups, thank you to all the friends and participants of this year's event, and see you next time - tickets to Latitude59 2025 in Tallinn are already available!

Together with Syndicate One and Sofina, we are thrilled to launch the first-ever 'State of Belgian Tech Report'! Read more below 👇 This report provides a clear, data-backed view of Belgium’s tech landscape to help #entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, and other stakeholders make informed decisions. We combined data analysis with a survey of 130+ Belgian startup founders and in-depth interviews with key figures who’ve already made a big impact on the ecosystem. Explore the key findings below, which highlight both the challenges and opportunities ahead for the Belgian tech ecosystem. For more insights, read the full report here 👉 https://lnkd.in/esGW6cvY This report marks an important step in fostering a more connected and thriving entrepreneurial community in #Belgium. Let’s build this future together! 🚀 #startup #scaleups #unicorns #techecosystem

Issue #104 of the Startups' Oasis Newsletter on a topic I knew nothing about before tons of hours of research: #OpenSource 🚀 I go into detail about: 1. Why this market is far more important than you might think, with tech giants and VCs even giving grants to vital projects 2. What's the business model behind "giving out software fo free" 3. Aleix Pérez's (from Criteria Venture Tech) expert view on the opportunity and GTM strategy behind it 3. Why I believe that Zylon by PrivateGPT, Genie, Penpot, Seqera, Qbeast, Argilla, Chainloop, Nuclia • AI Search & RAG as a Service and Latitude are the 9 Open Source startups to keep an eye on in Spain 👉 https://lnkd.in/dsBebzsU If you haven't done so yet, subscribe and join +4000 entrepreneurs and investors from the Spanish startup ecosystem 📩

Next week, on 23 April, we are hosting an exclusive in-person panel event and networking drinks in partnership with #Sifted100 to tackle the question of whether the UK is doing enough to safeguard and propel its #tech ecosystem in the face of mounting competition in Europe and the US?     Speakers include Sifted Head of Research, Jonathan Sinclair, Glenn Weinstein, CEO of Cloudsmith, and our Partner and Head of #VentureCapital, David Strong.    The panel will be taking a deep dive into the findings of Sifted’s recently published UK and Ireland Fastest Growing Startups Report 2024. The report shone the spotlight on the UK’s remarkable ability to produce some of the world's most successful #startups, particularly in the #fintech space.     It also highlighted the persistent barriers UK and Irish startups face when looking to #scale here, in comparison to their US counterparts and how some European counterparts are jostling to be the hub of choice for #AI, #deeptech and climate-focused technologies. Can the UK withstand the threat?    We’ll delve into existing proposals to better support UK startups going for #growth and what else is needed to transform the UK from a startup basecamp to the place to scale and eventually IPO. The panel will also consider the impact of impending #AI #regulation and how the UK and Ireland can take full advantage of emerging #ClimateTech and DeepTech opportunities.     To register your interest in attending the event please get in touch with events@marriottharrison.co.uk   https://lnkd.in/gkCbNqpx

Looking forward to moderating this discussion next week on the Sifted 100 Report and the state of the UK tech ecosystem - see details below to register to join us! #sifted100 #tech #vc

On stage right now at Ghent Slush'D, Perlego’s CEO dives into startup growth 🚀. With over $90M raised, 1M+ titles, and new AI tools, it's kind of a success story, right? Today, our portfolio company Perlego, often called the "Spotify for Textbooks," is making waves at one of Belgium’s largest founder and investor gatherings. Belgian CEO Gauthier Van Malderen is on the main stage, sharing “Scaling Secrets” and offering invaluable insights on what it takes to build a global company—a story that’s sure to inspire many Belgian founders. Perlego’s journey is impressive: 👉 Recently, they raised another $20M, bringing total funding to $90M, with support from industry giants. 👉 Their reach is global, partnering with over 250 institutions and publishing partners 👉 With this momentum, Perlego launched a cutting-edge AI-powered Research Assistant, making academic searches faster and smarter within a library of over 1 million titles. As Ghent Slush'D connects Belgium’s brightest #startups with the world, Perlego stands out as a prime example of how Belgian talent, strategic funding, and international partnerships can drive change in the EdTech landscape. Thanks to our Partner Olivier Tabery for the photo and for representing us at this outstanding event! Slush #entrepreneurship #venturecapital #investing #edtech