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 internationalization and the attributes of a great pitch deck. Keywords startups, venture capital, nurturing, specialization, scaling, defensibility, team evolution, hiring, flexibility, feedback, internationalization, pitch deck Takeaways Nurturing startups is crucial for venture capitalists, who provide capital and expertise to help founders develop and scale their companies.Specializing in specific sectors allows venture capitalists to better influence the success of the companies they invest in.Building durable businesses with defensibility and solving big problems is key to long-term value.Team evolution involves a combination of commercial and technical leadership, value alignment, and the ability to delegate and make necessary changes.Being flexible, open to feedback, and constantly thinking about what's next are important for success.Internationalization should be approached strategically, with a focus on proving success in the home market before expanding.A great pitch deck should highlight the problem, unique solution, team capabilities, and provide unique insights that make the reader learn something new. Titles Strategic InternationalizationAttributes of a Great Pitch Deck Sound Bites "We believe that those companies can benefit from assistance along the way." "Our level of specialism is able to better influence the outcome for the companies that we invest in." "We like there to be a combination of commercial and technical leadership in the business." Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Background 06:33 Building Durable Businesses with Defensibility 08:53 Team Evolution and Hiring Strategies 13:22 Flexibility, Feedback, and What's Next 17:16 Strategic Internationalization 19:49 Attributes of a Great Pitch Deck Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.