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Barney Balmforth's journey is a testament to calculated risk-taking, resilience, visionary leadership, and two pivotal lessons: the importance of taking calculated risks and pursuing meaningful endeavors. These values, along with the inspiration to work hard, drove Barney's career in the high-stakes world of tech and biotech startups. His latest startup, Biofidelity, has attracted funding from top-tier investors like Agilent Technologies, Octopus Ventures, BlueYard Capital, and SBI Investment.
Robby has a candid chat with Chad Fowler, the General Partner & CTO at BlueYard Capital. They delve into the nuances of software maintenance, the evolution and challenges of managing software projects, and insights from Chad's tenure as CTO of Wunderlist. They discuss the importance of building software in small, manageable pieces to facilitate easy updates or replacements, the counterintuitive perspective on unit testing's impact on maintainability, and strategies for keeping software up-to-date by redeploying to new platforms.Additionally, Chad shares his thoughts on the current industry layoff trends, emphasizing the value of adaptability and resilience. The conversation also touches on the relevance of mentoring in the tech industry and the potential implications of AI and large language models on software engineering careers. Chad's philosophy on software development, emphasizing pragmatism, adaptability, and the continuous reevaluation of problems to make them smaller and more manageable, permeates the discussion.Book Recommendations:The E-myth Revisited by Michael E. GerberZen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. PirsigHelpful Links:WunderlistThe Passionate Programmer by Chad FowlerChad on X/TwitterChad on LinkedInThe Privacy PodcastBlueYard CapitalThanks to Our Sponsor!Turn hours of debugging into just minutes! AppSignal is a performance monitoring and error tracking tool designed for Ruby, Elixir, Python, Node.js, Javascript, and soon, other frameworks. It offers six powerful features with one simple interface, providing developers with real-time insights into the performance and health of web applications. Keep your coding cool and error-free, one line at a time! Check them out! Subscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Keep up to date with the Maintainable Podcast by joining the newsletter.
Hampus Jakobsson is a General Partner at Pale Blue Dot, a Swedish seed-stage ClimateTech fund investing in startups that reduce and reverse the effects of climate change.He was previously at BlueYard Capital, before that an angel with >100 angel investments. And before that, a serial founder.This is an EPIC conversation between two European Climate Tech fund managers. Hampus shares a TON of insights and opinionated views. You don't want to miss out! Fundraising for a fund vs fundraising for a startupHow to do fundraising the right wayWhy smaller funds are better than large onesHow they run investment decisions internally and invest when they fall in love with the foundersListen and LearnPale Blue Dot's fund structure, scope and geographyThe reasons why fundraising wasn't actually that painful for themThe importance of filtering out the wrong LPs up front Why emerging Climate fund managers need to specialize today to raise their fundHow to steal deals from bigger brands generalist funds Why fund managers should actually ‘reverse pitch' entrepreneurs to convince them they are good investorsHow they've designed an entire investment process around PASSION, PRIDE and LOVEThe surprising simplicity of their investment decision process (with a voting scale: Hell Yes, Yes, No, Hell No) and the absence of Investment CommitteeGreat founders have some super power and extreme skills to sell to anybody or build anything that makes it hard to say noWhy Hampus thinks it's way nicer to raise for a fund than to raise for a startupThe gold question to help investors commit: ‘What can I do to help you decide?”The #1 tip to raise a fund: start small and show a track record as a fund managerThe reason why emerging fund managers outperformYour fund size is your strategy and it's important not to balloon your fund sizePale Blue's ideal portfolio construction: 30 deals with 10% shareholdingHow Pale Blue opens up their entire DD process to founders via a Notion PageWhy they originally intended to do a €40m fund and created two scenarios: €40m or €80m funds to test the marketWHEN and HOW to do a fund announcement in the mediaNever announce when you're not ready to absorb inbound (investors, media, job seekers, customers) Main advice to emerging fund managers: figure out your unique angles (niche, vertical, geography, belief system) and set up a hyper local or hyper verticalized fundWhy fund managers should NOT be capital allocators and instead people that care about people and businessesShow LinksPale Blue Dot portfolio companies' jobs https://paleblue.vc/jobs Connect with Hampus on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hampusjakobssonCausal App for portfolio modeling https://causal.app Final NoteMake sure to subscribe to our newsletter to get notified when we publish Part 2. If you liked Part 1, you will LOVE Part 2 ! Another epic conversation to dig into Hampus' macro views on how to crack this climate fight and how we should deviate from a pure capitalistic...
Talking to Chad Fowler, you quickly realize what true leadership means. Chad has extensive experience leading large technical organizations such as LivingSocial and 6Wunderkinder, being a venture partner at BlueYard Capital, and now - helping make the Internet safer as Chief Product Officer at DEVCON. Did I mention that Chad also is a musician? In this episode, I talk to Chad about his work, lessons learned from music and travel and how those apply to life and career, and what is the approach to consider for one to carve out a path towards an executive role.
Show Notes [1:46] - Why BlueYard and the vision for the fund [3:33] - How the thesis received by the LPs and people you were trying to raise funds from? [5:10] - Is there a breakdown of where the current funds come from and does it impact your investments? [6:22] - Your investments by region [9:44] - What stage do you invest in and why are there no multi-stage VCs today? [12:06] - What kind of VC are you and how many investments do you make? [13:53] - How do you develop depth and expertise in niche areas you invest in? [16:40] - What kind of companies and entrepreneurs are you finding across Europe and Why? [18:58] - Why has entrepreneurship in Europe gone native and what is still missing? [25:00] - How has the crisis impacted your business? What are you doing differently now? [30:35] - Are US VC doing something different? [32:51] - In the short term will money from the US and Asia continue to flow into Europe or will European VCs have to come together more? [34:35] - Effect of Brexit [35:56] - As an entrepreneur looking for funding, does your pitch need to be different in today's environment? What should entrepreneurs know? [37:46] - What should entrepreneurs look for in a VC? [40:56] - What are the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make when looking to raise money? [43:26] - Talk about 3 of the portfolio companies - protocol labs, Pitch.io, Bitbio Links:Book recommendation: The Road, Blindness
Hampus Jakobsson is a Swedish serial entrepreneur & investor who has had numerous stints in the business world - including as the EMEA Mergers & Acquisitions Director for Blackberry and most recently as a venture partner with BlueYard Capital.Hampus brings a fascinating rational view to the climate change discussion which is rooted in his extensive business experience, scientific background and angel investing in climate companies. He views climate change investing as a currently underserved industry which is why he is using his capital to fund riskier ventures that, if successful, could exponentially advance our fight against climate change.We spoke at length about his background and how he ended up here, how he thinks about climate startup investments, what are some of the industries he's invested in thus far, common misconceptions that people have about Nuclear technology (and why they are irrational) and his framework for scaling individual climate change impact which anybody can use to figure out how they can contribute.HAMPUS' RELEVANT LINKSTwitter Profile: https://twitter.com/hajakMedium: https://hajak.se/@hajakTIMECODES02:35 - Where Did He Start off? Hampus' Background14:58 - About Climate Startup investing & why it's an underserved industry25:16 - Some of Hampus' investments28:43 - Common misconceptions when it comes to nuclear technology35:23 - The need to stop fossil fuel subsidies & phase out coal41:12 - A framework to understand how each person can work to tackle climate change53:24 - Science vs Politics vs Businesses vs SocietyLINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEA framework for scaling your climate change impact - https://hajak.se/a-framework-for-scaling-your-climate-change-impact-c3abcb9d4dfe
Seit vielen Jahren investiert Ciaran O’Leary in deutsche Technologiefirmen. Früher als Partner beim Wagniskapitalgeber Earlybird – seit vier Jahren mit seinem eigenen Fonds BlueYard Capital. Sein Fokus liegt auf Deep Tech und Blockchain – zwei Technologiefelder, in denen Deutschland aus seiner Sicht echte Chancen hat. Im Anschluss daran schauen wir nach Singapur, von wo aus Dirk van Quaquebeke seit Jahren in junge Tech-Firmen investiert. Zunächst hat er in Indien selbst Unternehmen aufgebaut. Nun investiert er mit seinem Fonds Beenext von Singapur aus in Start-ups in ganz Asien. Bei Handelsblatt Disrupt erklärt er, was die jungen Firmen dort unterscheidet, welche Länder außer China sich am schnellsten entwickeln und in welchen Feldern die Start-ups dort stark sind. Und am Ende noch ein Gespräch mit Handelsblatt-Redakteurin Dana Heide in Peking, die von den zunehmenden Problemen deutsch-chinesischer Forschungsprojekte berichtet. +++ Anzeige +++ Der global tätige Investment Manager Schroders wurde dieses Jahr mit dem Goldenen Bullen als Fondsgesellschaft des Jahres in Deutschland ausgezeichnet und überzeugt mit einer breit aufgestellten Produktpalette und nachhaltigen, innovativen Investment Lösungen. Mehr zur Global Investor Study finden sie hier: Schroders.de/GIS. Informationen zum Gewinner des Goldenen Bullen hier: Schroders.de/Gewinnertypen.
The SaaS Podcast - SaaS, Startups, Growth Hacking & Entrepreneurship
Hampus Jackobsson is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor and venture capitalist. He's currently a venture partner at BlueYard Capital, a VC firm based in Europe and an angel who's invested in over 80 companies. The Show Notes BlueYard Capital Lifex Ventures Minut Aula Nordic Makers Adobe Dropbox Hootsuite Marketo Salesforce Hampus's Blog Hampus on LinkedIn Hampus on Twitter Omer on Twitter Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to the podcast Leave a rating and review Follow Omer on Twitter Need help with your SaaS? 1. Join SaaS Club Plus: our membership and community for new and early-stage SaaS founders. Join and get training & support. 2. Join SaaS Club Launch: a 12-week group coaching program to help you get your SaaS from zero to your first $10K revenue. 3. Apply for SaaS Club Accelerate: If you'd like to work directly with Omer 1:1, then request a free strategy session.
The SaaS Podcast - SaaS, Startups, Growth Hacking & Entrepreneurship
Hampus Jackobsson is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor and venture capitalist. He's currently a venture partner at BlueYard Capital, a VC firm based in Europe and an angel who's invested in over 80 companies.The Show NotesBlueYard CapitalLifex VenturesMinutAulaNordic MakersAdobeDropboxHootsuiteMarketoSalesforceHampus's BlogHampus on LinkedInHampus on TwitterOmer on TwitterEnjoyed this episode?Subscribe to the podcastLeave a rating and reviewFollow Omer on TwitterNeed help with your SaaS?1. Join SaaS Club Plus: our membership and community for new and early-stage SaaS founders. Join and get training & support.2. Join SaaS Club Launch: a 12-week group coaching program to help you get your SaaS from zero to your first $10K revenue.3. Apply for SaaS Club Accelerate: If you'd like to work directly with Omer 1:1, then request a free strategy session.
Chad Fowler was the CTO of Wunderlist prior to its acquisition by Microsoft. Since the acquisition, Chad has become the general manager of developer advocacy at Microsoft. He also works as a venture capitalist at BlueYard Capital, an early stage investment firm. I’ve had a lot of fun talking to Chad, because he can move The post Future Architecture with Chad Fowler appeared first on Software Engineering Daily.
Chad Fowler was the CTO of Wunderlist prior to its acquisition by Microsoft. Since the acquisition, Chad has become the general manager of developer advocacy at Microsoft. He also works as a venture capitalist at BlueYard Capital, an early stage investment firm. I’ve had a lot of fun talking to Chad, because he can move The post Future Architecture with Chad Fowler appeared first on Software Engineering Daily.
We are delighted to be joined today by Philipp Banhardt from Blueyard Capital and Alan Ho from Google in a live podcast from Google's offices in Munich to recap the recent quantum leap meeting organized by Blueyard and Google which brought together academics, industry representatives, quantum startups and venture capital people to discuss the current status and future challenges in creating a new industry sector based on quantum technology Follow us on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/mequanics check out our website http://www.h-bar.com.au New Scientist article mentioned https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23130894-000-revealed-googles-plan-for-quantum-computer-supremacy/
In this interview, Ciarán O'Leary talks about his new fund, BlueYard Capital and his plans for investing in the European scene. We look into the realities of being a founder in Europe and evaluate the level of opportunity available within its startup ecosystem.