In this conversation, Hector Mason, a partner at Episode 1 Ventures, shares valuable insights into early-stage fundraising, misconceptions founders have, and what excites investors about startups. He discusses the importance of understanding customer problems, the significance of hiring standards, and the evolving landscape of venture capital. Hector emphasizes the need for founders to stay close to their customers and the impact of execution pace on investment decisions. The discussion also...

In this episode, Sriram Gollapalli, a seasoned entrepreneur and angel investor, shares insights into the world of angel investing. He emphasizes the importance of the founder's qualities over the business model itself, discusses the challenges and opportunities in B2B and B2C investments, and provides valuable advice for underrepresented founders. Sriram also highlights the significance of storytelling in pitches, the traits that make a successful founder, and the essentials of a compelling...

In this conversation, Nick Telson-Sillett interviews Marcus Lang, a partner at Speedinvest, who shares insights from his unique journey as an operator-turned-investor in the SaaS space. Marcus discusses the importance of understanding the founder's journey, the role of gut feel in assessing potential investments, and the ideal composition of founder teams. He emphasizes the opportunities presented by AI in traditional industries and the evolving importance of go-to-market strategies. Finally,...

In this conversation, Jason Kirby, co-founder and CEO of Thunder VC, shares his insights on the venture capital landscape, the importance of understanding what it means to be a venture-backable business, and the various funding options available to startups. He emphasizes the need for founders to assess their goals, the market potential, and the implications of pursuing venture capital. Jason also discusses the significance of profitability and offers practical advice on crafting an effective...

Tom Bradley, a partner at Salica Investments, discusses the importance of nurturing startups and specializing in specific sectors. He emphasizes the need for venture capitalists to provide assistance and expertise to help companies develop and scale. Tom also highlights the significance of building durable businesses with defensibility and solving big problems. He shares insights on team evolution, hiring, and the importance of being flexible and open to feedback. Tom also discusses...

Paul Lehair, Partner, at Albion VC, discusses the key factors they look for when investing in startups, including product-market fit, revenue potential, and differentiation from competitors. He emphasizes the importance of clear storytelling, traction, and customer satisfaction. Lehair also shares insights on investing in AI companies, the challenges of competitive markets, and the value of scenario planning to avoid failure. He concludes by highlighting the significance of personalization...

Mike Soutar, a media entrepreneur and angel investor, discusses his approach to angel investing and what he looks for in founders and startups. He emphasizes the importance of learning new things and being attracted to ideas that make sense. Soutar is comfortable investing in sectors he may not know well, as long as he can understand the problem the startup is solving and the market opportunity. He values founder market fit and looks for founders who have an unconventional viewpoint and can...

Dan, co-founder and partner at SuperSeed, shares insights on early-stage investments and what founders can do to differentiate their businesses. He emphasizes the importance of having a clear vision and position in the market, rather than relying on technical moats. Dan also discusses the role of competition and the need for founders to have a long-term strategy. He advises founders to focus on their ideal customer profile (ICP) and consider expanding into new territories or customer...

Sarah Drinkwater, an influential pre-seed angel investor and founder of Common Magic, discusses the importance of community in technology companies. She defines community as a combination of utility and belonging, and emphasizes the role of community in connecting audiences to products and enabling long-term resilience. Sarah believes that community-building is not suitable for every company and depends on the specific audience and problem being solved. She also highlights the traits she...

Andrea Pacini, a renowned presentation coach and Head of Ideas on Stage UK, shares tips on how to improve your pitching skills. He discusses the differences between in-person and online presentations, emphasizing the importance of technology setup, audience interaction, and delivery. Pacini highlights the significance of familiarity and preparation in building confidence, as well as the structured process of developing a compelling message. He introduces the POST-IT framework for pitching to...

David Pakman, Managing Partner at CoinFund, discusses his experience at Apple and the impact of the company on the music industry. He also shares insights into the future of crypto beyond coins and the exciting businesses in the crypto space. Additionally, he provides advice on what makes a compelling pitch deck. Takeaways Apple's ability to attract top talent and its focus on user experience were key factors in its success.Spotify has revolutionized the music industry by pioneering the...

Annelie Ajami, founder of Anamcara Ventures, shares insights on what she looks for in pre-seed startups and how founders can impress investors. She emphasizes the importance of the founding team, including their domain expertise, unique insights, narrative, technical capabilities, and clarity of thought. She also discusses the significance of a founder's motivation and determination. Annelie highlights the value of warm introductions and resourcefulness in getting in touch with investors....

In this episode of Pitch Deck, Nick Telson-Sillett, founder of trumpet, interviews Peter Nixey, an operator, investor, and AI expert. Peter shares his interest in businesses with clear value propositions and emphasizes the importance of solving real problems that people are willing to pay for. He also discusses his venture builder, Inaugural, which focuses on creating AI companies. Peter explains the different layers of AI and the potential for builders to create applications on top of AI...

Summary In discussion with Nick Telson-Sillett, founder of trumpet, with Fred Soneya, an operator turned VC, discusses his approach to pre-seed investing and what he looks for in early-stage companies. He focuses on investing in businesses that have identified a pain in the present and are starting to identify a buyer who is willing to pay for a solution. Fred emphasizes the importance of understanding the market, defining the ideal customer profile, and having a revenue-driven mindset. He...

Summary Kirsten Connell, an investor at Octopus Ventures, shares insights on pre-seed investing and what investors look for in startups. She discusses the importance of traction and metrics at the seed stage, but notes that pre-seed investments are less impacted by this shift. She emphasizes the need for exceptional founders who have identified a real need, can build an MVP, and have a clear plan to take their product or service to market. Kirsten also discusses the challenges and...

Pitch Deck is coming back! Some news from Nick about what is round the corner for the re-booted Pitch Deck. Pitch Deck is sponsored by trumpet

Jay is a serial entrepreneur and has founded 3 successful businesses worth over $500m: Yieldify, Reachdesk & Screenloop He now spends his time in 3 areas: (1) Building tech companies through his startup studio Blissgrowth (2) Co-hosting the podcast Happy Millionaire - which is in the top 10 in Apple and Spotify: It's 2 friends having fun and talking about startups, success and happiness stories  (3) Angel investing - he has done 40 deals so far. His passion is to bring more joy to work...

Founding Partner of the multi award-winning Concept Ventures, largest dedicated pre-seed fund in the UK ($60m). Reece has invested in 80+ start-ups from idea to unicorns (6 in total) and been ranked as one of the Top Asian Tech Investors on numerous occasions by Diversity UK. Prior to founding Concept, Reece built and sold several start-ups in the software space, 1 of which was successfully exited, 1 a complete disaster and 1 is still going today. Passionate about giving back, Reece has...

Chris founded Divido in 2014, now the world’s largest white-label platform for Buy Now Pay Later. As founder/CEO Chris took the company to 10 countries and onboarded over 100 clients including Mastercard, HSBC and BMW. They have raised over $50m are recognised as the 83rd fastest-growing company in Europe by the Financial Times '21 and achieved 1250% revenue growth over three years until 2020. Chris is also an investor with Seedcamp, who have backed over 350 startups including the likes of...

Amory started life out in investment banking before moving into the energy sector and VC moving to Shell Ventures as Venture Principal. Shell Ventures an arm of the oil company,  invests in early-stage companies that have reached proof-of-concept focused on fintech/insurtech/mobility and clean tech. He is now founder of his own $20m fund, D2 and looking to do 10 deals this year and a further 10 next year, focused on lean startups that don't need further funding to get to Series A and then the...

Novo was co-founder of Syft that was acquired by Indeed.com in a multi-million pound deal and is now known as Indeed Flex, the online marketplace for temporary staffing in the UK and US supplying workers to the hospitality, retail and logistics sectors. Since exiting Syft. Novo has also angel invested and has around 15+ companies in his portfolio including BYP (Black Young Professionals), Tinto (mothers community app) and Ufurnish (marketplace for buying furniture across  retailers) Show...

Henry de Zoete is an alumnus of Y Combinator and in 2014 co-founded The Big Deal which uses tech to facilitate collective bargaining for consumers. In 2018, he went on to establish Look After My Bills, a tech start-up that became the largest auto-switching service in the UK, saving families money on their gas and electricity. After raising global investment and securing the best deal in the history of BBC’s Dragons’ Den, Look After My Bills was acquired by Go Compare in July 2019.  He is...

Rupa is an entrepreneur, angel investor and senior advisor to corporates, government and private equity. She has started several businesses over the last decade across the property, media and technology industries. She is an active angel investor in under-represented founders with 24+ company investments and an LP in five venture capital funds run by diverse partners. She was recognised in 2021 as Top 20 Female Angel Investors in the U.K. by the Angel Business Association and is also a...

I'll be taking a quick summer break and will be back in September with some more great guests.