Mark Bishop’s Post

As a #startup founder what to focus on when in doubt ? And there are loads of doubts ! What will be the outcome of this action, how will the team react ? What will the investors think ? 🤔 That’s the part of this hustle….. So knowing what to do in this case is superbly helpful. I for one ☝🏽 focus on WHY I started . The solution, the value add, if it improves the solution, if it adds more value. It’s a simple choice for the long run.

If you're a start-up founder, here's why you need to understand graduation rates 👀 Getting into this juicy data from Carta, you can see that a higher share of seed startups made it to series A within 2 years in the boom times than are making it in more recent cohorts. This jump from seed to series A is measured and referred to as the graduation rate and is incredibly important to early-stage investors. For most early-stage investors, this is one of the key metrics they will be judged on by LPs (the investors in a VC fund). For founders, the jump from seed to series A is largely driven by your growth rate on various metrics: revenue, users, logos, etc. Being back on the founder side, I'm now more aware of how investors view graduation rates. It directly impacts: 👉🏼 Your likelihood of raising subsequent funding. 👉🏼 How you assess product-market fit and whether you're tracking the right metrics. 👉🏼 How you allocate resources to drive growth. If you're considering raising a series A round, do a deep dive into your company metrics and benchmark them against investor expectations. #founders #vc #startup #investment

Want a behind-the-scenes perspective on what it’s like for startups to scale globally? 🚀 Get a unique and global perspective on this week’s First Cheque podcast episode deep diving into early-stage investing. 💰 Co-hosts Cheryl Mack from Aussie Angels and Maxine Minter from Co Ventures interview Christina Fa from NewView Capital about the dynamic world of growth stage investing and building the NewView portfolio focused on FinTech, SaaS, and digital health. 🦄 Listen to the episode for more early-stage investing lessons: ✅ The nuances of growth-stage investing and why it's pivotal for scaling proven ideas ✅ The importance of secondary transactions in providing liquidity to early investors and founders ✅ A look at different ecosystems: US's mature talent pool vs. Australia's hungry workforce ✅ Exciting opportunities in AI and emerging technologies With a truly global perspective on scale, Christina has experience living and working across the globe in APAC, the US and Europe. 🌏 After starting her career in M&A at UBS in Sydney and New York, Christina was in the Corporate Finance team at Google in Mountain View and was an investor at Atomico in London investing in early-stage enterprise software and consumer services in Europe. 🎯 Tune in to the latest First Cheque episode for Christina's insights from experience scaling companies across the world. 🎧 --- Follow the First Cheque podcast here: https://lnkd.in/gWEDF7hR Thanks to our sponsors for helping to make this episode of First Cheque possible. Vanta: Vanta automates up to 90% compliance, getting you audit-ready quickly and saving you up to 85% of associated costs. Join 7,000 global companies like Atlassian and Dovetail that use Vanta to build trust and prove security in real-time. Get 10% off here: https://lnkd.in/gzcRN4jA Scendar: Scendar is the OG startup accounting firm in Australia. Free 1-hour consultation about your Business' growth plans and finance needs. https://dayone.fm/scendar Turo: Turo is the world's largest carsharing marketplace and it's the perfect app for travel. Download the Turo app and book cars from $38/day. https://dayone.fm/turo #venturecapital #vc #investments #seedcapital #angelinvestors #startupfunding #funding #startupinvesting #capitalraising #capitalraising

Ever wonder why so many founders are opting for SAFEs over traditional priced rounds? SAFEs—Simple Agreements for Future Equity—have only been around for a decade, but they’re already dominating early-stage fundraising. In the first half of 2023, over 83% of all pre-seed deals on Carta used SAFEs, and that number’s only rising. Here’s what founders love about them: SAFEs - 🚀 No Valuation Hurdle: Avoid setting a valuation early on. - ⚡ Quick and Cost-Effective: Less legal back-and-forth; saves time and money. - 💼 Investor-Friendly Terms: Offers valuation caps and conversion discounts. - 🔄 Automatic Conversion: When you raise your next priced round, SAFEs convert automatically to equity—no renegotiation needed.    Priced Rounds - 📈 Valuation Set-Upfront: Investors know their equity stake immediately. - 🔍 More Structured: Includes due diligence and longer timelines. - 🔒 Predictable Dilution: Clear terms help manage dilution expectations. In today’s fast-paced startup landscape, SAFEs let founders stay focused on growth without getting bogged down in lengthy valuation discussions. For many, that flexibility is game-changing. As more early-stage founders choose SAFEs, they’re proving that speed and simplicity are here to stay. #founders #entrepreneurship #SAFE #venturecapital #fundraising --- Enjoy this? Follow Elana Gold for venture capital, angel investing, and startup insights

As a matter of fact, SAFE is safe for both, founders and the investor; It avoids that tussle between the two over a hyperinflated perceived valuation by founders and a hyperdeprecated valuation offering from investor. They are effectively just saying: ‘Let’s take a rain check on this conversation and first do what is important- the execution’ #Startup #founders #startups #funding #accounting #audit #export #financialmodelling #pitchdeck #business101 #businessplanning #businessplan #funding #vcfunding #angelinvesting #entrepreneurs #entrepreneurship #startupmentor #scalability #scalable #cloudmigration #hardware #cpu #appdesign #diversification #productdesign #offering #cloud #business #vc #founder #fund #idea #concepts #interesting #general #possible #ticketsize #max

Whilst interest rates remain high, many startups and businesses are feeling the pressure. But here’s the thing: even in this tough financial environment, growth is still possible. It just might take a fresh look at how you manage capital, cash flow, and your overall strategy. SmartCompany spoke with Matt and Planet Startup CEO, Marc Orchard (one of our amazing partners at 🚜), to get their insights on what founders and businesses need to consider during these uncertain times. In times like these, mastering financial literacy, choosing the right funding strategy, and managing capital and risk become more crucial than ever for startup success - it’s all about understanding your financial levers, securing the right capital, and making smart adjustments to keep your business moving forward in this challenging environment. Read more 👇 https://lnkd.in/g7BytWAQ

The VC lottery isn't always worth the ticket price Many founders trade away their freedom chasing unicorn dreams Success doesn't require explosive growth or giving away half your company. After spending 20 years in corporate roles, I chose to bootstrap my startup. The decision wasn't easy, but it aligned with my vision of building something sustainable rather than chasing rapid scaling. Three reasons I chose bootstrapping: 1. Control matters more than speed. VCs push for rapid growth, often at the expense of building solid foundations. Bootstrapping lets you validate and iterate without external pressure to hit arbitrary metrics. When your building a system around methodologies that prioritize iteration and small incremental improvements, it just makes sense to practice what we preach. 2. Sustainable growth beats hypergrowth. When you're not burning through VC cash, you're forced to focus on real customer problems and revenue. This can create stronger product-market fit if you do it right. 3. Freedom to pivot. Without investors breathing down your neck, you can adjust your strategy based on customer needs rather than board expectations. Sure, bootstrapping means slower growth. But it also means keeping control of your vision and building something that lasts. Does that mean we will never seek institutional capital? No. I can't even pretend to see into the future, and what our needs may be at that time. But, for now, I am enjoying the opportunity to build the vision I see, rather than jeopardize that vision for rapid growth. What factors would influence your funding decision? #StartupLife #FounderJourney #Bootstrapping #VentureCapital #EntrepreneurshipAfter40

I could've been a much better VC. I know this now, as a startup founder and CEO for nearly three years. Being an operator puts in sharp contrast a lot of my beliefs and ideologies back then. When I go back to investing, I will be a stronger investor because of this amazing experience. BUT there is one thing that I know we did perfectly at Karavan. We invested based on our own conviction. This was something Jawad Mian always pushed. Doing our own research, building our own thesis, and if we believed in the founders and the opportunity space ---> writing that damn check and wiring the money REGARDLESS of who else was in/not in, lead closed/not closed, big names/no names, etc etc. We weren't spraying, we were actually quite selective. But not because of others. Jawad would push us hard: what do WE know? what do WE believe? how do WE feel? As a nano-VC writing small checks, we were often still the first check in. IF we believed, we believed. Other funds behaviors' were not our business. Once we were in, we did our darnest to help close the round. We shared our investment memo as needed, we jumped on calls with other investors/funds, we put in a lot of elbow grease, pulled every imaginable string. We were investing in a bull run, which meant back then having our own convictions meant we stayed away from any FOMO (and sat out of many high FOMO deals). But having a strong internal conviction for funds today, in a bear market, is even more critical, where so many large funds (that should not be this risk averse) wait on the fence to see 'who else is in' or 'get a lead first'. It is fascinating to have been a VC in a bull run and now to be a startup founder in a bear market. We are lucky to have phenomenal investors backing us, who do invest based on their own conviction. But I see so many startups also suffer in this environment - lists of yesses, no one ready to pull the trigger. So much more to learn! #venturecapital #investing #emergingmarkets

How to Liquidate Founder Equity Post-Termination?   #FounderEquity #LiquidationOptions #StartupAdvice Hey fellow founders 🚀 Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you were terminated from your own startup and now you're wondering how to liquidate your founder equity? 💰 Here are some thoughts and suggestions bas... Source: https://lnkd.in/gKUYk2M9

💸 One of the biggest benefits I've found since joining Antler is how much of a one-stop-shop we can be with respect to funding. We're not just the Residency program, we're there and willing through seed, Series A and beyond. James McClure speaks to this much more eloquently than me in the article.