British entrepreneur.
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In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, I speak with Elliot Riley-Walsh, founder and CEO of Valart, a platform revolutionising how collectors manage their prized assets. Launched in September 2023, Valart provides an agnostic solution for collectors to catalogue, value, and manage their collections—whether it's fine art, classic cars, trading cards, or even Lego! With AI-powered valuation tools, end-of-life planning, and NFT creation for provenance, Elliot and his team are creating a much-needed digital solution for collectors worldwide. What makes Valart's growth strategy unique? Instead of relying on traditional direct marketing, Elliot is focusing on strategic partnerships with wealth managers, auction houses, and insurance companies to build trust and credibility. His goal? To reach 1 million users in the next five years—but the biggest challenge is convincing collectors to trust a new digital platform with their valuable assets. During our conversation, we explore:
In today's 40 Minute Mentor episode, we're revisiting our popular episode with the brilliant Alice Bentinck MBE, Co-Founder of Entrepreneur First and author of “How to be a Founder”. Frustrated by a business landscape that found latent talent shackled by predetermined career paths, Alice set out to challenge cultural norms when she co-founded Entrepreneur First in 2011 – an accelerator that celebrates and invests in talented, ambitious individuals and looks to match-make Co-Founders to launch successful businesses. In this episode, Alice shares everything from her early career to challenging the norms of entrepreneurship and backing diverse talent.
with @matthewclifford @smc90This special episode is all about regional innovation — at both a systems and people level.We cover what does and doesn't work in making certain places become hubs of innovation and economic growth (aka “innovation ecosystems”). But we also discuss — going back and forth between the structural and individual — when to intervene for entrepreneurial talent; the nature of ambition, yearning, and finding one's path; and more broadly, mindsets for navigating risk/reward and dynamism in different regions including London and Europe. We also discuss new ways of funding breakthrough R&D at a national level, tech trends of interest including crypto, and much more.Our special guest — in conversation with editor in chief Sonal Chokshi, who also brought him to the a16z Podcast over 8 years ago in its first-ever UK roadshow in December 2015 — is Matt Clifford, who's played an important role in the London entrepreneurial and tech ecosystem since 2011. Matt is the Chair of Entrepreneur First (which he co-founded with Alice Bentinck over a decade ago); and is also the Chair of the UK's Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA). [Before this episode was recorded, Matt was also the Prime Minister's representative for the AI Safety Summit — which he helped organize at Bletchley Park (the historic home of computing in the UK); after this episode was recorded, Matt was appointed by the UK secretary of science to deliver an “AI Opportunities Action Plan” to the UK government, which was just announced last week.]Fittingly, this episode was recorded live from Andreessen Horowitz's first international office, in London; for more on our efforts there, and other content from there, please visit a16zcrypto.com/uk.As a reminder: None of the following should be taken as investment, legal, business, or tax advice; please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information -- including a link to a list of our investments.
Finding the ideal Co-Founder is one of the most critical decisions a Founder will make. In this episode, Alice Bentinck, CEO and Co-Founder of Entrepreneur First, shares how to create world class productive partnerships and finding your market edge. With over a decade of experience building entrepreneurial teams that have created businesses worth billions, Alice has seen what it really takes to get a business of the ground in the first 90 days. From identifying complementary skills, to conducting successful market research, to putting practicality before passion - Alice covers the full spectrum of establishing a powerful Co-Founding partnership. ____________ Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders Personio - all in one HR platform: https://personio.com/secretleaders Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/. You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes.
In this week's Solo Sunday, Alexis delves into her tips for beginning a new era. Tune in as she discusses her product faves, the importance of leaving your comfort zone, and more! 2:01 Smart tip of the week4:48 Superficial tip of the week7:18 Life update!10:33 Setting your anchor – the power of prioritization11:16 Making friends in a new environment12:42 Leaving your comfort zone to experience motivation, growth15:30 The stress of social comparison16:12 Instagram Q&A!17:54 Starting a new job the right way19:02 Importance of staying grounded20:23 Why work friends are crucial21:51 Take advice from good leadersResources/MentionedHow to Be a Founder: How Entrepreneurs Can Identify, Fund and Launch Their Best Ideas by Alice Bentinck and Matt CliffordRhode Glazing MilkRhode Peptide Glazing FluidRhode Barrier Restore CreamRhode Peptide Lip TreatmentNEW Too Classic Terry Cloth RobeToo Collective WebsiteToo Collective Affirmation TextsFollow Too Collective on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toocollective/?hl=enFollow Alexis on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexisbarber/?hl=enFollow Alexis on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexisbarber_?lang=enSubscribe to Alexis on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7-YnRrflV9g6nLMWUkwDtAAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
If you want to get in contact with us you can reach us via email at associatedpodcast@gmail.com as well as on Twitter (@associated_pod). We are trying to understand our listeners better so we can make better content. You can really help us out by filling out our listener survey which you can find here (https://airtable.com/shraJVvUNv6D7PkDP). Description: In the penultimate episode of Season 8, Danielle and Tunde interview Alice Bentinck, one of the co-founders of Entrepreneur First. Fresh out of a grad program at McKinsey and Co, Alice and her co-founder Matt felt that there was an opportunity to shake up the early stage VC scene and founded Entrepreneur First (EF). Fast forward 12 years, EF has built more than 600 startups across 6 countries that are collectively worth more than US$10B. In this episode, Alice dives deeper into the genesis of EF and the complexities of their business model, unraveling some fascinating twists and turns along the way. She also outlines some of the unique challenges the EF team face such as identifying 'talent investors' as well as exceptional potential founder profiles at pre-ideation stage. A favourite discussion topic of ours is when Alice talks about the importance of social capital during fundraising, so keep your ears pricked for that golden nugget of wisdom!
In the second part of Greg's conversation with Alice Bentinck, the co-founder of Entrepreneur First, they dive deeper into the topic of diversity and inclusion in the tech industry. Alice shares her vision and mission behind Code First: Girls, a not-for-profit organization that has taught 30,000 women to code for free while they were at university. She explains why diversity is not only a moral imperative but also a strategic advantage for startups and investors. She also reveals the simple fact that every founder needs to understand to succeed in the competitive and fast-changing world of technology. If you missed the first part of our interview, where Alice talks about how to be a founder and her new book “How to Be a Founder”, make sure to check it out. And don't forget to subscribe to the Startup Science Podcast for more inspiring and informative episodes with the best minds in tech.
What does it take to be a founder of a successful tech startup? How do you find the right co-founder, idea, and market? How do you overcome the challenges and uncertainties of building something from scratch? In this episode of the Startup Science Podcast, Greg talks to Alice Bentinck, a co-founder and General Partner at Entrepreneur First, an international talent investor that supports individuals in building tech companies. Alice shares her insights and advice on how to be a founder, based on her experience of creating and investing in hundreds of startups across the world. Whether you are an aspiring founder, a curious student, or a seasoned entrepreneur, you will learn a lot from Alice's wisdom and stories. Tune in and discover how you can unleash your potential and create an impact with technology.
This year has seen Jimmy's Jobs talk to some of the most influential minds in the UK.From Rishi Sunak and Andrew Bailey right through to Martha Lane Fox, these are the thinkers and shapers of the British economy, the voices that generate headlines and shape the national debate. Today's guest is a worthy addition to this list- Matt Clifford is the founder of Entrepreneur First - a unique institution in the UK economy that backs entrepreneurs for who they are as much as their ideas. We had Matt's co-founder, Alice Bentinck, on the show late last year and since then the pair have written a book - “How to be a Founder” has since become one of my go-to recommendations and I thoroughly recommend it.Matt has recently taken up a new position as CEO and Chair of the new Advanced Research and Invention Agency- or ARIA for short - where he'll oversee the funding of transformational UK science and technology. It is based on the DARPA model from the United States which was so influential behind the founding of Silicon Valley. We talk a bit in this show about the UK recreating Silicon Valley, and it's a theme that I am picking up this week in my Times column. I will be republishing that through my email newsletter on substack this week, just check the link below to sign up. In this episode we discuss:How to be a Founder- why did he write the book?Finding your edge.Being elite but not elitist.Getting underprivileged people into entrepreneurship.The myths of what makes an entrepreneur.The competition for investors in the VC industry.Matt's thoughts on the wider technology ecosystem. How will the pandemic change the world of entrepreneurship?Building co-founding relationships remotely.What will be the effects of this year's political issues in building the UK economy. What is ARIA - the Advanced Research and Invention Agency.How the UK can become less silo'd between academia, policy and business. Building talent outside the ‘golden triangle'. What are the most exciting places of innovation in the UK? The pressure of being such a big name in the business industry.Why willpower is rechargeable and the danger of valourising founders.The collision of biology and softwareSubscribe so you don't miss any new episodes, releasing every Wednesday.You can up to Jimmy's substack here for weekly content on the future of work, technology, and politicsAlso make sure you subscribe to The Shift- you can find it here on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts. Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
When you're someone who's as ambitious and driven as founders tend to be, it can be hard not to merge your personal identity with your company - despite all advice to the contrary. No-where has this been clearer than the conversations we've had this season of ‘The Founder's Mindset' .In this episode, Alice Bentinck and Gena Gorlin reflect on the insightful conversations we've had around entrepreneurship and personal identity. They share their learnings, including on how to deal with failure when it feels close to home; what motivates and inspires the most successful founders; how to reconcile differences in motivation between you and your co-founder; how to cope with stress; and how to build resilience. We hope you've found these conversations as valuable and thought-provoking as we have. Subscribe to The Founder's Mindset so you never miss an episode. This is a podcast from Entrepreneur First. Learn more at joinef.com Thank you to Woolly Mammoth Media for consulting on and producing the show.
How do you constructively give feedback, and manage conflict in a co-founding relationship? What does genuine productivity look like? What are the non-negotiables? When is it time to break up? In this episode, Matt Clifford and Alice Bentinck share their advice, drawn from working with hundreds of co-founding teams. They're joined by guest founder Leonie, to discuss how she should approach trialing partnerships, and support a founder who's doubting their co-founder's commitment to their company. For more insights on how to work with and test your co-founder, Matt and Alice's book ‘How to be a Founder' is out now. Visit howtobeafounder.com for more information and to order your copy.
What skills and behaviours should I look for in a co-founder? Should I co-found with a friend, or stranger? How many people should I co-found with? How do I find them in the first place? Having helped hundreds of founders identify the right person to build a company with, Matt Clifford and Alice Bentinck set out to answer these questions in Episode 2 of How to be a Founder - The Podcast. They're joined by guest and aspiring founder Melat, to explore what she should be looking for in a future co-founder, and answer a letter from an entrepreneur wondering if they need a co-founder at all. For more insights on how to find your co-founder, Matt and Alice's book ‘How to be a Founder' is out now. Visit howtobeafounder.com for more information and to order your copy.
The “talent investor" Entrepreneur First was created with a mission to connect founders no matter where they are in the world, and recruits and backs them at the very earliest stages. By focusing on connecting individuals rather than defined teams, they've gained a unique perspective into what makes good ideas, and how the right co-founder dynamics can bring it into reality. Now, they've gathered some of their main insights into a book: "How to be a Founder: How Entrepreneurs Identify, Fund, and Launch Their Best Ideas." Bentinck and Clifford join Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman to discuss the book and their vision for the future of entrepreneurship. You can read a transcript of this interview here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/how-to-be-a-founder/
The insider knowledge you need to found a global startup. Welcome to How to be a Founder, hosted by Alice Bentinck and Matt Clifford. Over the last ten years, Alice and Matt have worked with thousands of founders to create companies now worth billions. Accompanying the launch of their new book, ‘How to be a Founder', in this podcast they'll be sharing their insights and learnings, while answering burning questions from real life founders. Think of them as your startup agony aunt - and uncle. So sit back, relax, and explore ‘How to be a Founder'. You can find out more about ‘How to be a Founder' the book, and purchase your copy, at howtobeafounder.com
Victor and Aswin, co-founders of Theo, have an ambitious goal: to revolutionise delivery using semi-autonomous robots. The team are moving at lightning pace. But it's not always been easy to get investors to buy into their bold vision of the future. They join psychologist Dr Gena Gorlin to explore how they've been able to keep their convictions strong in the face of all the noes. Gena and co-host Alice Bentinck reflect on the conversation throughout, pulling out valuable learnings for other ambitious founders. Subscribe to The Founder's Mindset so you never miss an episode. This is a podcast from Entrepreneur First. Learn more at joinef.com Thank you to Woolly Mammoth Media for consulting on and producing the show.
We're kicking off Season 2 with an extra-special episode, as Entrepreneur First's co-founders Alice Bentinck and Matt Clifford share what they've learned about themselves and their partnership over 10 years and $10B+ of portfolio value. In this season, we'll be featuring a wide range of guests from every stage of the founding journey, from pre-seed, to exit, and beyond. Through these conversations, we'll get inside the head and heart of our guests, extracting insights that you can apply to your own journey as we go. Today, Dr Gena Gorlin speaks with Alice, along with her co-founder Matt, to learn about their journeys as co-founders of Entrepreneur First. It's been ten years since they both left their jobs at McKinsey to start EF. Since, they've produced over 500 companies worth over $10B. In June 2022, Alice and Matt announced the raise of EF's $158M Series C to power the next generation of founders. So it doesn't look like things will be slowing down anytime soon. EF has become a world-leading authority in how to find the right co-founder and build a globally important company. But what about the co-founders of EF themselves? Has it always been smooth sailing for Matt and Alice? What have they learned about themselves and each other along the way? And how do you learn to trust somebody enough to build your life's work together? Subscribe to The Founder's Mindset so you never miss an episode. This is a podcast from Entrepreneur First. Learn more at joinef.com Thank you to Woolly Mammoth Media for consulting on and producing the show.
My guest today is Alice Bentinck, co-founder of Entrepreneur First. Entrepreneur First, or EF, invests pre-company by systematizing the way that talented individuals find co-founders, develop ideas, and scale into companies. They're an incubator of teams and ideas on a mission to create impactful companies that, without their help, wouldn't exist. I first spoke with Alice's co-founder, Matt Clifford, over two years ago and have been fascinated with EF's model of investing ever since. Please enjoy my conversation with Alice Bentinck. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Canalyst. Canalyst is the leading destination for public company data and analysis. If you're a professional equity investor and haven't talked to Canalyst recently, you should give them a shout. Learn more and try Canalyst for yourself at canalyst.com/Patrick. ----- Today's episode is brought to you by Brex. Brex is the integrated financial platform trusted by the world's most innovative entrepreneurs and fastest-growing companies. With Brex, you can move money fast for instant impact with high-limit corporate cards, payments, venture debt, and spend management software all in one place. Ready to accelerate your business? Learn more at brex.com/best. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Show Notes [00:02:33] - [First question] - Overview of what Entrepreneur First is today [00:05:57] - How she identifies the people to bring into each cohort and convince them to quit their job to join EF for eight weeks [00:10:10] - Categories of the main types of people who join the EF program [00:12:32] - What she's learned about negative screening at the first stage of recruits [00:14:07] - Positive signals she looks for in early admissions [00:17:46] - What the program itself feels like as a participant [00:21:29] - Reasons partners tend to fail and whether or not EF advises equity splits between founders [00:24:49] - How important the idea is that the team will be working on [00:28:04] - Exercises she enjoys doing with the new cohorts around social norms [00:30:38] - How the experience looks physically in each city [00:32:57] - Categories of data collected as the cohorts unfold and making investment decisions [00:36:46] - Ways the companies mature after EF and what kinds of investors fund the next stage of their startups [00:40:55] - Why aren't there ten EF style initiatives or organizations [00:44:26] - Motivations for the change in their holding company structure [00:46:48] - The love of product and ideas she's playing with right now [00:51:49] - Cities she has her eye on that EF is not a participant in today and criteria that makes a city desirable for EF [00:54:03] - A piece of software that EF could benefit from that doesn't exist yet [00:55:30] - The keys to her harmonious relationship with her co-founder Matt [00:59:01] - National and international impediments that directly impact company building [01:01:36] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for her
Welcome to the first episode of The Founder's Mindset, the podcast where we find out how to better understand the way our minds work in the early days of founding a company. Throughout this series, Alice Bentinck and Dr Gena Gorlin will be exploring common mental challenges that founders face. Each week, Gena will be talking to a different guest at various stages of their start-up journey. Then Alice and Gena will be debriefing on the session, taking away valuable learnings which you can apply to your own founder experience. When Gena first met Fabien Koutchekian, he was struggling to communicate the magnitude of his business to investors. Throughout his EF journey, he learned the value of openness and honesty, which is what we explore in this week's episode. Subscribe to The Founder's Mindset so you never miss an episode. This is a podcast from Entrepreneur First. Learn more at joinef.com. Thank you to Cofruition for consulting on and producing the show.
The Founder's Mindset explores the minds of young entrepreneurs through the early days of founding a company. While challenges are inevitable in business, how we respond to them can be the difference between success and failure. Each week, clinical psychologist Dr Gena Gorlin will sit down with different guests at various stages of founding their company. They will discuss the obstacles they have faced on their journey and the behaviours and mindset they used to overcome them. Then Gena, alongside host Alice Bentinck, will debrief on these challenges and analyse the learnings we can all take from their experiences to hopefully avoid making the same mistakes. Subscribe to The Founder's Mindset so you never miss an episode. This is a podcast from Entrepreneur First. Learn more at joinef.com. Thank you to Cofruition for consulting on and producing the show.
On this episode of the Tech Leaders Podcast - Women in Tech series, we are joined by the inspirational Alice Bentinck; co-founder of Entrepreneur First and Code First Girls - where she's worked tirelessly to give others opportunities that they otherwise wouldn't have had to become entrepreneurs, as well as encouraging more women into the tech sector.Alice opens up to discuss how she got to where she is today, what mistakes she made along the way, how she grew her business and what advice she'd give to others as well as why she thinks ambition is key to everything an entrepreneur can achieve and shouldn't be seen as a bad word. 02:26 - Introduction to Alice & Entrepreneur First04:20 - Giving permission to be ambitious07:20 - Alice's First Startup Process10:25 - How Networking attracted the head of LinkedIn12:31 - The Story of Code First Girls16:34 - Alice's Advice on growing your network18:15 - Gender Diversity in the Tech and entrepreneurship sectors22:27 - Alice's Journey into Coding24:46 - How to stay resilient26:30 - How Business owners can create a culture encouraging female ambition30:42 - What is Web 3.0?
Matt Clifford is the co-founder of Entrepreneur First. One of the most successful British accelerators, specialising in supporting the most talented engineers they can find to build companies from scratch. Their programmes are in London, Singapore, Toronto, Bangalore, Paris and Berlin. EF aims to give those who get in the best possible chance to build a world-class technology company. EF have helped over 3000 people build 500 companies with over $5bn portfolio value. Matt Clifford - Twitter 'Why start a startup?' - Matt Clifford, Entrepreneur First, excellent three hour video Entrepreneur First Youtube Entrepreneur First channel CAMentrepreneurs About Matt Clifford Matt Clifford is co-founder and CEO of Entrepreneur First, which he started with Alice Bentinck in 2011.Matt sits on the board of Code First Girls, which he co-founded in 2013 to teach young women how to code. Matt started his career at McKinsey & Co. and holds degrees from Cambridge and MIT, where he was a Kennedy Scholar. He was awarded an MBE for services to business in the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours. About Richard Lucas Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded, led and/or invested in more than 30 businesses, Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre-schools to leading business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership
Alice Bentinck MBE is one of the co-founders of Entrepreneur First, one of the world's leading talent investors that helps people develop their startup ideas. Away from EF Alice is also one of the founders of Code First: Girls, an organisation which offers free web programming courses for women in university. In 2015 Alice was named one of the Fifty Most Inspiring Women in European Tech by Inspiring Fifty.James and Hector sat down with the former McKinsey Management Consultant to discuss what drove her to launch her own business, what Entrepreneur First looks for in potential founders and why it is important to adapt to different business cultures when expanding globally. Make sure to like and subscribe to the Riding Unicorns podcast to never miss an episode. Also don't forget to give Riding Unicorns a follow on Twitter and LinkedIn to keep on top of the latest developments.
Thoughts in Between: exploring how technology collides with politics, culture and society
I'd like to introduce you to The Entrepreneur First Podcast, my new show with EF co-founder Alice Bentinck.Together, we've been talking to some of the brightest entrepreneurs who have ever set foot in an EF office about what it takes to build a business from the ground up.In this episode I speak to Alex Dalyac, co-founder and CEO of Tractable, EF's first unicorn. We're joined by LinkedIn's co-founder and Chairman, Reid Hoffman.Reid and Alex share what they believe are the most important tenets of founding a successful business - particularly in the earliest stages - and how aspiring founders can launch a startup heading for unicorn status.This is the only episode of The Entrepreneur First Podcast that is going to appear on this feed. To hear more, search for The Entrepreneur First Podcast wherever you listen.Thanks to Cofruition for consulting on and producing the show. You can learn more about Entrepreneur First at www.joinef.com.
Our guest today is Alice Bentinck, co-founder of Entrepreneur First.EF (as it's more commonly known) celebrate their tenth year this week and co-founders Alice & Matt have gone from strength to strength - even fostering their first billion-dollar company in Tractable … which also happens to be the UK's 100th unicorn.But it has not been plain sailing - as you'll hear today.There are many myths around entrepreneurship that I try to challenge on this podcast, one of which is that entrepreneurs are born not created. I believe it has never been easier to be an entrepreneur and is now a much more credible career choice than even 10 years ago … However, the number of tools and options available can also make it more difficult to know where to turn.EF looks to solve this by matching you up with a co-founder and learning the basics of entrepreneurship from some of the very best …and we are probably just at the beginning of their journey.A big thank you to all you listeners for powering us into the top 15 of Apple business podcasts ….If you are enjoying the series, it makes a massive difference if you could rate us on iTunes.It is wonderful to read reviews such as the one by Charles Fletcher of Navigate Politics or hearing from people like Eben Owen who has recently got a job having been inspired by the guests on the podcast.You can find out more on our website or get in touch via hello@jobsofthefuture.coYou can follow us on social media:Instagram: @JimmysjobsTwitter: @JimmysjobsAnd most importantly on LinkedInIf you'd like to see more information about the job roles being offered please look at my Twitter @jimmym
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by the Co-Founder of Entrepreneur First and Code First: Girls, Alice Bentinck MBE. Frustrated by a business landscape that found latent talent shackled by predetermined career paths, Alice set out to challenge cultural norms when she co-founded Entrepreneur First in 2011 – an accelerator that celebrates and invests in talented, ambitious individuals, and looks to match-make Co-Founders to launch successful businesses. Almost 10 years later, Entrepreneur First has launched over 300 companies with a value of well over £2billion, which is testament not only to their passion for the work they do, but also to their tenacity in the face of adversity in those early years. During our conversation we cover some really interesting and insightful areas, including: - The most important traits to look for when you’re investing in talent and how to shift culturally pre-determined career paths. - The many benefits of having a Co-Founder with a different skill set to you and how you can make the most of this relationship. - And the importance of diversity in the workplace, and what businesses need to do to get through to diverse candidates. It was such a pleasure talking to Alice. She talks so openly about the importance of learning from your mistakes and always moving forward. If you’re thinking about launching a startup from scratch or are looking to attract a more diverse talent pool, you won’t want to give this episode a miss. We’d love to hear your thoughts on this episode, so please do get in touch at james@jbmc.co.uk If you want to find out more about Alice, take a look at his LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicebentinck/ If you want to find out more about Entrepreneur First, head over to – https://www.joinef.com/
Thoughts in Between: exploring how technology collides with politics, culture and society
Alice Bentinck is co-founder of Entrepreneur First (EF), the world's leading talent investor. I've worked with Alice for nearly a decade and she is one of the deepest thinkers about talent and innovation I know. In this conversation, we talk about lessons from building EF through the lens of some of TiB's favorite themes. We discuss how to identify great founders, the consequences of the pandemic for innovation, institution building, and lots more. ----------------Thanks to Cofruition for consulting on and producing the show. You can learn more about Entrepreneur First at www.joinef.com and subscribe to my weekly newsletter at tib.matthewclifford.com
To mark Women’s History Month, we’re serving you the secret sauce of four incredible female founders: Alice Bentinck, co-founder of Entrepreneur First; Debbie Wosskow, co-founder of AllBright; Saasha Celestial-One, co-founder of Olio; and Tamara Lohan, co-founder of Mr and Mrs Smith.Although the numbers for female-founded businesses are improving, it still remains that of the 6 million businesses in the UK, only 1/5 are run by women. There are twice as many male entrepreneurs as female ones. And only 1% of startup funding goes to female-founded businesses.“When I started, there was not a whiff of any kind of VC money specifically for female businesses, there were no female networking clubs, there were no female support groups, there was nothing.”In this one-off episode, recorded at our live event for International Women’s Day 2020, these founders share some of the toughest moments they’ve had in their careers, they discuss access to funding, and why there has never been a better time to become an entrepreneur, if you’re female. “I suppose my coping mechanism is to try and ignore [imposter syndrome] and just focus on solving the problems that will make my business better and more valuable, rather than constantly worrying about my own performance.”We chat about:Their toughest moments as entrepreneursFunding as female entrepreneursThe shifting gender balanceTackling imposter syndromeLinks:https://www.secretleaders.com/alice-bentinckhttps://www.secretleaders.com/allbright-debbie-woskowhttps://www.secretleaders.com/saasha-celestial-onehttps://www.secretleaders.com/tamara-lohanWant to receive our podcast on a weekly basis? Subscribe to our newsletter!
Got a side project? Join the Out of Hours sprint here: https://www.outofhours.org/courses/sideprojectsprintMy guest today is Alice Bentinck - most well known as the founder of Entrepreneur First: the world's leading talent investor: building startups teams from scratch across the world.Today, we're here to talk about her side project - Code First Girls. Code First Girls are on a mission to help women rewrite their future. Their website reads: “Through the power of community, change can and will happen.” Their active community of coders, trainers and coaches is one of the largest in the UK, facilitating women to break into and excel within the industry. They have since taught over 20,000 girls to code, and connected them with over 50 top employers.We explore why scale matters, how to know if corporate sponsorship is the right revenue model for you, why non-profits need a business models and whether new ideas are best built under pressure. I hope you enjoy! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
What makes a good founder? How do you build a strong co-founding team? In this episode, we catch up with Matt Clifford and Alice Bentinck from Entrepreneur First (EF), who have been backing talented individuals pre-team and pre-idea. They've pioneered a new model of company creation, which involves bringing together extremely talented people from academia and industry to build the next generation of globally ambitious technology startups from scratch. EF has been producing incredible DeepTech companies around the world, including at STATION F in Paris. Their program at STATION F is currently recruiting for talents to join them in April 2021. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Alice Bentinck and Matt Clifford founded Entrepreneur First in 2011 with a mission to expand the global network of entrepreneurs and investors – so that one's geographical location doesn't make or break whether they have the opportunity to participate in the startup ecosystem. The "talent investor" organization recruits and backs individuals at the very earliest stage: before they have a team, or often even an idea. Greylock general partner and Entrepreneur First board member Reid Hoffman sat down with Alice and Matt to discuss how the organization has evolved over the years, the surprisingly positive impacts of the pandemic on company-building, and what they see for 2021 and beyond.
In this episode, we will be talking about Entrepreneur First, a program that was established in Europe and Asia in 2011 and has recently launched in Canada. Entrepreneur First was founded by Alice Bentinck and Matt Clifford, and is the world’s leading talent investor. They help entrepreneurs find a co-founder, develop an idea, and start a company. To date, Entrepreneur First has worked with over 2000 individuals to initiate more than 300 companies, with a combined net worth of $2 billion. Today’s guest is Rachel Zimmer. She is the General Manager of Entrepreneur First in Canada. Many know Rachel for co-founding 5Crowd, which was acquired by SGSCO in 2016. Rachel reflects on some of her past struggles, embarrassing moments and experiences that have shaped her as an entrepreneur. As we discuss the early stages of a startup, she emphasizes the importance of conducting sufficient research that may prevent future product market fit issues. Moreover, we talk about women in entrepreneurship. Rachel gives her best advice on being a female leader in the business world and overcoming self-doubt, including imposter syndrome. We talk about the importance of establishing a clear vision for oneself before embarking on the long and demanding startup journey. Entrepreneurship looks sexy but it isn’t. Rachel stresses the importance of being easy on oneself and preparing for necessary sacrifices. The entire startup journey can be challenging and intimidating, but doing what one is truly passionate about can make the process more enjoyable, and potentially more rewarding. Lastly, Rachel mentions Holly Gonzalez and Anna Caravaggio, for their approaches to communication, relationship building and the effective management of tense situations.Entrepreneur First applications close on August 28th, 2020. If you are interested in applying, click on the link below: https://jobs.lever.co/joinefnow/0b785d4c-3a6e-4597-829e-fcafb06cae2b?_ga=2.260627913.553409686.1592905466-916163216.1592905466Good Luck!
Alice Bentinck is the co-founder of Entrepreneur First, the world's leading talent investor, and Code First: Girls. With these organisations, she is training the next generation of founders around the world. Challenging ideas about acceptable communication and behaviour in professional relationships, this week’s episode is a great insight into building partnerships that last, and improving diversity in startup culture.
Matt Clifford (@matthewclifford) and Alice Bentinck (@alicebentinck), co-founders of Entrepreneur First, join Erik on this episode.They discuss:- What EF is all about and why Matt says that being an entrepreneur is one of the highest-leverage ways to change the world.- How to do ideation well, and how they think about it differently from traditional VC firms.- What they’ve learned about good founding teams and what makes a good co-founder match.- The challenges around changing the culture around entrepreneurship.- How they think about expansion and what their future will look like.- How to encourage more people to become founders.Applications for the summer vintage of our Network Catalyst accelerator are now open! The early decision deadline is May 15th and final deadline is June 5th. Learn more and apply today at www.villageglobal.vc/network-catalyst.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.
Matt Clifford (@matthewclifford) and Alice Bentinck (@alicebentinck), co-founders of Entrepreneur First, join Erik on this episode.They discuss:- What EF is all about and why Matt says that being an entrepreneur is one of the highest-leverage ways to change the world.- How to do ideation well, and how they think about it differently from traditional VC firms.- What they’ve learned about good founding teams and what makes a good co-founder match.- The challenges around changing the culture around entrepreneurship.- How they think about expansion and what their future will look like.- How to encourage more people to become founders.Applications for the summer vintage of our Network Catalyst accelerator are now open! The early decision deadline is May 15th and final deadline is June 5th. Learn more and apply today at www.villageglobal.vc/network-catalyst.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.
Alice Bentinck and Beccy Speight join James Ashton to discuss campaigning conservation, fashioning leaders from founders and megalomaniac tendencies. Alice Bentinck is the co-founder of Entrepreneur First, a venture that turns talented individuals into entrepreneurs. Since it began in 2011, more than 1,200 people have been through the EF programme, creating 230 start-ups worth a collective $1.5bn. Bentinck began her career at the consulting firm McKinsey and chose founding EF over a job at Google. She also set up Code First: Girls, a charity that has taught 5,000 girls to computer code for free while at university. Beccy Speight became chief executive of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds earlier this year. The RSPB is the largest conservation organisation in Europe, with more than 1.2m members, over 2,000 employees and around 12,000 volunteers. It maintains over 200 nature reserves which are home to 80pc of the UK’s rarest or most threatened bird species. Speight joined the 130-year old charity from the Woodland Trust where she had been chief executive since 2014. Prior to that she spent 14 years at the National Trust, rising to become director for the Midlands region. Find out more @leadingpod or www.leadingpod.com
Alice Bentinck MBE has helped catalyse over 75 start-up companies around the world via her incubator 'Entrepreneur First'. With investment from illustrious business leaders including Reid Hoffman of LinkedIn, who is now also a board member, Entrepreneur First focuses on funding ambitious individuals across Europe and Asia - and started from the so-called Silicon Roundabout in London's Old Street. Alice now also runs Code First: Girls, an organisation dedicated to helping female university students of arts subjects learn skills to allow them to work in the technology sector. And it all started with raising goats.In this episode of Women Tech Charge, Alice talks to Anne Marie Imafidon about her journey in the tech industry - including what she did when her peers told her she was crazy.Join the conversation: use the hashtag #WomenTechChargeSubscribe to the Evening Standard on YouTube for exclusive Women Tech Charge video clips as well as news, lifestyle and tech videoFind more tech news coverage at Standard.co.uk/techFollow Alice Bentinck on Twitter @Alicebentinck, Code First Girls @CodeFirstGirls and Entrepreneur First @join_efWant to join Entrepreneur First? Visit the website https://www.joinef.comTo find out more about Code First: Girls visit https://www.codefirstgirls.org.ukFollow Anne Marie Imafidon on Twitter @aimafidon, and instagram @notyouraverageAMIFollow the Evening Standard on Twitter @eveningstandard and Instagram @evening.standard, and join our Tech group on FacebookPlease subscribe, rate and review Women Tech Charge on Apple Podcasts, Acast, Spotify or wherever you listen. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Alice Bentinck, co-founder of Entrepreneur First, tells John Thornhill about her mission to harness the entrepreneurial talents of a new generation of people from diverse backgrounds. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
MONEY FM 89.3 - Prime Time with Howie Lim, Bernard Lim & Finance Presenter JP Ong
Leading talent investor, Entrepreneur First (EF) released the results of a global study on the perceptions towards ambition and motivations for entrepreneurship amongst Generation Z individuals who are 18-30 years old. So much has been said about millennials and how they’re taking over the world but perhaps some insight should be gleaned into how the NEXT generation feels in terms of world domination when it’s their turn. The survey found that 1 in 2 young Singaporeans are likely to start their own companies, more so than individuals in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, but behind their peers in Hong Kong and India in the region. Alice Bentinck, co-founder of Entrepreneur First gives us more insights.
In this episode I speak to Matt Clifford about talent investing, how big long term projects can start small, and financial innovations. Matt is the CEO and co-founder of Entrepreneur First. Entrepreneur First, abbreviated as EF, is a fascinating system. It starts with cohorts of around fifty to a hundred ambitious, talented people who want to start companies but might not even have an idea to build around. Key Takeaways The mental model of predictable vs. unpredictable value. The idea that hypothesis testing speed predicts success even in projects where you won't see real results any time soon. The idea of money as a commodity that fuels innovations Background on EF (context for some of the podcast) EF then helps cohort members pair up into teams and get companies off the ground. Matt and Alice Bentinck started EF in 2011 and the history is kind of a crazy story: it started as a non-profit and now has raised a massive fund from LPs. One of the highlights in the story that really put EF on the map was a company named Magic Pony that sold to Twitter for an unconfirmed 150 million dollars eighteen months after starting at EF. There are links to Matt talking more about both the structure of EF and EF's history in the show notes. EF is a fascinating innovation system because it challenges many ideas that have basically become gospel in the startup world - everything from "if someone isn't willing to start a company in a garage with no income they don't have what it takes" to "only founding teams with a long working relationship can succeed." Resources Matt on Twitter (@matthewclifford) Matt's weekly newsletter EF on Wikipedia Magic Pony exit referenced in podcast Matt speaking at Startup Grind about how EF works Ideas Capital as a resource like any other Adverse selection The best CEO of a deep tech business often doesn't know the best CTO of that business Predictable value vs Unpredictable value Predictable market does not necessarily mean existing markets Basically logic-able innovations Job as founder is to lay out 18 month roadmaps Think of VC as a financial product Providing optionality to the founder Income sharing, with optionality The power of finance innovations Misalignment of incentive between VCs and entrepreneurs because VCs have a portfolio
Welcome to Le Wagon Live! This week, we’re talking to Alice Bentink. Alice started her career at McKinsey & Company and went on to co-found Entrepreneur First, an organisation that helps the world’s most ambitious technologists build their own tech startups from scratch. They have more investments in AI than any other fund in Europe!She also set up Code First Girls, a not - for - profit that has taught over 5,000 women to code for free whilst still at university. She’s a really inspirational woman, and has some amazing stories, so sit back and enjoy!Podcast and music production : yoann.saunier.me See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jake Woodhouse is a member of the current EFLD10 cohort. Up to this point on the podcast I’ve spoken to EF Co-Founders Matt Clifford and Alice Bentinck as well as the founders of some of EF’s most exciting companies. But who better to speak to get a flavour of what EF actually does than someone in the middle of the current cohort in London – and that’s exactly what today’s episode with Jake is all about. Jake studied Management at University before working in the shipping industry for several years as a broker. He then developed an interest in startups, pursuing deals as an angel investor and launching his own energy tech startup before joining EF’s tenth London cohort that started at the beginning of April 2018. In this episode Jake and I discuss: - The initial experiences of the EF cohort at the program’s kick off weekend - The co-founder dating process on the program and the importance of having tough conversations - Jake’s insights into the balance between theory and practice in entrepreneurship This was a great first hand insight into the EF experience and what it’s actually like to be on the cohort, so you’ll definitely get an understanding of the mechanics of the EF process and some great insights into everything from finding a co-founder to developing a product.
Alice Bentinck co-founded EF with Matt Clifford in 2011, back when people thought the idea of inorganic team building was crazy. Seven years on, with the EF model validated from a number of successful exits and investment from Linkedin Co-Founder Reid Hoffman it’s clear that Matt and Alice weren’t that crazy after all. In this conversation with Alice we talk about the mechanics of the EF process and how it actually works, discussing a range of topics including: - The process of choosing the right co founder - The early days at EF and initial resistance to the idea of inorganic team building - The importance of focus and the difference between building a product and building a startup This was a great conversation and you’ll definitely leave with a deeper understanding of the EF process and some great insights into everything from finding a co-founder to developing a product.
In today’s episode I kick off the podcast by speaking to EF Co-Founder Matt Clifford. Matt Co-Founded EF with Alice Bentinck back in 2011 and since then EF has gone from strength to strength, building hundreds of companies worth over $400m including Magic Pony Technology, Tractable and StackHut. After starting London, EF has now set up additional programmes in Singapore and Berlin and recently raising funding from LinkedIn Co-Founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman to continue scaling the EF mission globally. In this episode Matt and I discuss: - Why the risk of starting a company isn’t as big as you think and the two kinds of risk that prospective founders often confuse - How the world has moved from writing cheques to writing code and why technology entrepreneurship is the best career path for ambitious people - How EF has formalised its offering to serve the different parts of the startup path – from helping you find a co founder to getting you funded This was a fascinating a conversation as always with Matt and you’ll definitely get a sense of some of the driving ideas behind EF and insights into the current state of tech entrepreneurship.
In this episode you will learn;Where the idea for Entrepreneur First came from originally, and howthat’s evolved through the yearsHow to start a business with nobusiness model whatsoeverThe best and worst company ideas she’s everbeen pitched.What they look for in individuals that gives them theconfidence to just give them cash and help them to develop valuableideasAnd lots more of course...Key QuotesAs an entrepreneur - where do you stop and the company start?I wantpeople to eventually see me as the greatest AI leader globally (andfun fact she is pretty certain EF is currently the biggest investorin AI technology in Europe)“We look for megalomania in our founders - this crazy belief that if everything else goes wrong, we’ll be ok - that’s pretty important for resilience.Entrepreneurs always come upwith the same ideas - so what we enjoy is trying to push people tothink a bit more uniquely. But I’ve heard probably every singledating and food delivery concept you’ve ever thought of.Top Advice:Get a mentor or professional coach - it creates huge value forfounders - so much so they use a bunch of them for their founders, tomake sure they’re mentally balanced.How important a ‘growth mindset’is for resilience and how she tries to embed that within her teams.Strong beliefs, weakly held.What makes you special? Think about thatbefore thinking about what you want to do. And then think big.Other Fun Facts:Magic Pony Technology was 18 months old from Entrepreneur First and sold for £150m to Twitter, with only 15 people - the founders had never met each other before they started.In one University they work with, more people join EF than join the financial services sector now!
The Twenty Minute VC: Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
Alice Bentinck is Co-Founder at Entrepreneurs First, the accelerator program that puts founders first! Previously, Alice worked at prestigious consultancy firm McKinsey & Co, before turning down an offer from Google to found Entrepreneur First alongside Matt. She taught herself to code, and founded Code First Girls in 2013 to help more women get into tech. She sits on the board of Sherry Coutu's Founders4Schools, is on Imperial College London's Department of Computing Industrial Liaison Board, and acted as the Prime Minister's expert on startups at the Northern Future Forum. She has been recognised in Management Today’s 35 under 35 and the Evening Standard’s Top 1000 most influential Londoners. In Today's Episode You Will Learn: 1.) How Alice came up with the idea for EF and why she decided to found the company? 2.) What would Alice recommend is the best way to build a company from scratch? EF is for technical individuals, what can non technical individuals do? 3.) What would Alice say makes a great founder? Has she seen any commonalities in the great founders that have exited EF? 4.) What is Alice's opinion on equity divisions within startups? What is the right way to approach the topic? 5.) What should teams focus on in the first 100 days of their startup? What is the 20% that produces 80% of the results? 6.) What has been the hardest aspect of growing the business and how did Alice overcome it? As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC and Alice on Twitter here! If you would like to see a more colourful side to Harry and many a mojito session, you can follow him on Instagram here!
WATCH: http://londonrealacademy.com/episodes/alice-bentinck-entrepreneur-first/ Alice Bentinck is the co-founder of Entrepreneur First, the leading pre-seed investment programme for Europe’s best technical founders. After McKinsey & Co, Alice turned down an offer from Google to found Entrepreneur First. Alice taught herself to code, and founded Code First: Girls in 2013 to help more women get into tech. Alice sits on the board of Sherry Coutu‘s Founders4Schools, is on Imperial College London’s Department of Computing Industrial Liaison Board, and acted as the Prime Minister’s expert on startups at the Northern Future Forum. Alice has been recognised in Management Today’s 35 under 35 and the Evening Standard’s Top 1000 most influential Londoners. Alice Bentinck on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AliceBentinck Entrepreneur First on Twitter: http://twitter.com/efLDN WATCH MORE SILICON REAL EPISODES: http://londonrealacademy.com/silicon-real/