Podcasts about connect ventures

Rory Stirling, a partner at Connect Ventures, shares his journey into the investment world and discusses the changing landscape of venture capital. He emphasizes the importance of choosing the right investor and building a long-term relationship based on shared values and vision. Stirling also highlights the increasing competition in the industry and the need for differentiation through specialization. He touches on the impact of AI and other emerging technologies on the tech world and identifies exciting trends in areas such as biology, finance, and climate. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Background 03:04 Choosing the Right Investor 08:00 Competition and Better Product Offerings 12:12 The Transformative Potential of AI 15:03 Differentiation Through Specialization

We are honored to be starting this 2024 Masterclass edition with an amazing guest to talk about a topic every founder wants to hear about: How to Build your Fundraising Strategy. Francesco Simoneschi is the Founder and CEO of TrueLayer, Europe's leading open banking platform. TrueLayer developed an open banking payments network that allows banking institutions such as Revolut and companies such as Williams Hill (the betting site) to power faster and safer online payments. Founded in 2016, TrueLayer is backed by a stellar roster of investors including Stripe, Tiger Global, Connect Ventures and Anthemis. It has received $272m of funding in total, with its latest $130m round in 2021 valuing the business at $1bn.  Francesco is also an investor himself. Before founding TrueLayer he helped create an angel fund called Mission and Market. This Masterclass was powered by BCG and Bizplace. Unlocking the potential of those who advance the world is crucial for BCG, and this purpose has been leading the firm for 60 years now. Over that time BCG has supported companies and organizations in their process of growth and strategic transformation. BCG supports start-ups and scale ups with the same care, to help them scale faster. If you're a founder and are interested in working with them you can email MILtheseeds@bcg.com. BizPlace is a boutique financial consultancy specializing in the VC world. Since 2017, it has been supporting innovative startups and SMEs, offering entrepreneurs strategic consulting services, fundraising, and facilitated finance to enhance and grow their business ideas. BizPlace positions itself as a catalyst in the growing Italian VC ecosystem. If you are a founder or an investor interested in collaborating with them, you can reach them at info@bizplace.it. Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@madeit.podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@madeitpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

In this episode, we're joined by Pietro Bezza, co-founder and managing partner at Connect Ventures. Pietro shares a framework he calls “minimal viable category design,” which focuses on helping early stage startups have the right conversations about the problem they're solving and their plans for evangelizing it. Listen now to find out: The challenges of pursuing “product/market” fit instead of “market/product” fitWhat Pietro looks for when evaluating early stage startups for investmentWhy understanding the timing and evolution of your category is keyThis episode was hosted by John Rougeux and Mike Damphousse. This episode is sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.live

In der Rubrik “Investments & Exits” begrüßen wir heute Daniel Wild, Gründer und Aufsichtsrat von Mountain Alliance. Daniel bespricht die Finanzierungsrunde von Retorio und Aikido.Das KI-Startup Retorio, ein Spin-off der Technischen Universität München, hat in einer neuen Finanzierungsrunde 9 Millionen Euro erhalten. Angeführt wurde die Runde von SquareOne aus Berlin. Weitere Investoren sind unter anderem Porsche Ventures, Storm Ventures und mehrere Family Offices. Mit dem frischen Kapital plant Retorio die globale Expansion, insbesondere den Markteintritt in den USA. Das 2018 als KI-Recruiting-Plattform gegründete Unternehmen bietet mittlerweile eine videobasierte KI-Coaching-Plattform an. „Auf diese Weise können sich Unternehmen deutlich schneller auf neue Marktgegebenheiten einstellen und im immer härteren globalen Wettbewerb behaupte", erklärt Dr. Christoph Hohenberger, Co-CEO von Retorio.Aikido Security, eine Software-Sicherheits-App für wachsende SaaS-Unternehmen, hat in einer von Notion Capital und Connect Ventures geleiteten Seed-Runde 5 Millionen Euro eingesammelt. Hinzu kommen Investments von Inovia Capital Precede Fund I, angeführt von den Partnern Raif Jacobs und dem ehemaligen Google-CFO Patrick Pichette, sowie eine  Reihe von Angel-Investoren, darunter Christina Cacioppo, CEO von Vanta. Das 2022 gegründete Startup  hat es sich zur Aufgabe gemacht, die SaaS-Sicherheit mit einem All-in-One-Tool zu vereinfachen, das verschiedene Funktionen für die Anwendungssicherheit zusammenfasst.

For the second episode of Season 3 "Listening to our Customers" - we'll be listening to Flora Devlin. Flora is currently a coach for product leaders and a product advisor with Connect Ventures.  She previously worked as a Product Director at Monzo where she managed a team of product managers and led the strategy, vision and direction for about 50 product people. Flora has also worked in both product and data roles at Intercom and Hootsuite. Listen in for some unique insights into product challenges from someone who has led product teams and now coaches product leaders! Flora's top resources to up-skill in product: The making of a manager - Julie Zhou  Universal principles of design - William Lidwell Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t: Steven Pressfield  The coaching habit - Michael Bungay Stanier Crossing the chasm - Geoffrey Moore Designing your life - Bill Burnett and Dave Evans Insight - Dr Tasha Eurich  This season of POP is brought to you by BTRT ("beetroot"). Sign up to their private beta here.

In der Rubrik “Investments & Exits” begrüßen wir heute Jenny Dreier, Director bei EQT Ventures. Jenny spricht über die Finanzierungsrunden von Anybotics und Faks. ANYbotics hat in einer von Walden Catalyst und NGP Capital angeführten Serie-B-Finanzierungsrunde 50 Millionen US-Dollar eingesammelt. Das Unternehmen entwickelt Roboter und arbeitet zurzeit an einem robusten vierbeinigen Roboter mit Namen ANYmal X. Es wurden nach eigenen Angaben bereits Vorbestellungen von Gas-, Öl- und Chemieunternehmen in Höhe von 150 Millionen US-Dollar verzeichnet, darunter PETRONAS, Shell, SLB, Outokumpu, Siemens Energy, BASF und Vale. Mit dem frischen Kapital möchte das 2016 in Zürich gegründete Startup international expandieren und die Entwicklung der KI-Fähigkeiten des Roboters verbessern, um den automatisierten industriellen Betrieb zu revolutionieren. Die Roboter von ANYbotics sollen insbesondere an Arbeitsplätzen in gefährlicher Umgebung zum Einsatz kommen, um die Sicherheit der Mitarbeiter zu verbessern.Die französische Plattform Faks hat in einer Finanzierungsrunde 5 Millionen Euro aufgebracht, um die Kommunikation zwischen Apotheken und Lieferanten zu digitalisieren. An der Runde beteiligten sich Connect Ventures, Seedcamp und Cocoa Ventures. Das in Paris ansässige Unternehmen unterstützt Apotheken bei der Verwaltung des Kundendienstes, indem es die Kommunikation mit Lieferanten an einem Ort zusammenführt. Die SaaS-Lösung wurde bereits erfolgreich in Frankreich eingeführt und hat einen beträchtlichen Marktanteil erreicht. Das 2020 von Corentin Geoffray, Clément Goupy und Félix Pignard gegründete Unternehmen hat nach eigenen Angaben bereits eine führende Position auf dem französischen Markt inne und arbeitet mit 60% der Apotheken in Frankreich zusammen.Hier geht es zu ANYbotics. 

Our guest this week is Tony Jamous, CEO @ Oyster™Oyster is a distributed talent enablement platform that allows growing companies to tap into the global talent pool and offer their remote workers around the world, a great employment experience. They have raised over $220 million from the likes of Connect Ventures, Slack Emergence, Salesforce Ventures. PayPal Ventures and others.Tony joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss the future of work, the traits of successful founders, creating a healthy schedule and much, much more!Don't forget to like, subscribe and follow The Riding Unicorns Podcast on our socials and your chosen podcast platform to stay up to date!

Watch this conversation on YouTube- https://youtu.be/uA3zc2_os3s    You'll learn: Why saying I want to be healthy is a wrong question? Why do people stop going to the gym after a few weeks? How to drive habit changes using a framework? How the biopsychosocial approach helps in understanding health and illness? What is Circadian Rhythm and what role does it play in our health and longevity? How can you become disciplined with your habits? Shiva Subramanian, Founder and Chariman of the Connect Venture Group of companies, is one of India's foremost impact and sustainability enterpreneurs. He is an International Management and Finance graduate from United World College of SEA and Nottingham University (U.K). His vision behind transforming health and sustainability in India is to bridge the gap between Health and the Environment by creating an expertise rich corporate ecosystem to observe, research and develop the interrelations and connections between the two. This has enabled him to build great products and companies and being a mentor-leader of great teams. What makes his companies successful are the impactful solutions they provide and the possibilities that lie in the future. We have a telegram community for our listeners. Join here- https://theinspiringtalk.com/telegram   For brand collaborations and opportunities, send us an email at  hi@wyn.studio   Read full episode notes at https://theinspiringtalk.com/   Send me a voice message: https://theinspiringtalk.com/speak   Connect with Shiva Subramanian    Website LinkedIn   Follow the Inspiring Talk on Facebook http://theinspiringtalk.com/facebook   Twitter http://theinspiringtalk.com/twitter Instagram http://theinspiringtalk.com/instagram

Pietro Bezza is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of thesis-led venture capital firm, Connect Ventures. Specialising in investing in seed companies, Connect was the first to invest in unicorns such as TrueLayer, Typeform and Oyster. Long-time listeners will be aware that this is not the first time we have had a member of the Connect Ventures team on the show. In fact, in Season 2 we invited Sitar Teli to discuss all things product. This time round though we invited Pietro onto the show to double down on product and to discuss a myriad of different subjects. In fact, the episode kicks off with James and Hector learning about how cheese played an essential part during the early part of Pietros career. Following this, the trio also go on to cover the topics of whether founders should be using Doc Send and if having board members is worth it or not. Make sure to like and subscribe to the Riding Unicorns podcast never to 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.

Francesco Simoneschicofondatore, insieme a Luca Martinetti, e amministratore delegato di TrueLayer, l'azienda tecnologica leader nella costruzione di infrastrutture finanziarie aperte a qualsiasi azienda, ovunque nel mondo. In TrueLayer, Francesco si concentra sulla strategia di prodotto e commerciale, costruendo partnership con le principali intuizioni finanziarie del mondo. Negli ultimi dieci anni, Francesco ha fondato, gestito e fatto crescere diverse aziende tecnologiche di successo negli Stati Uniti e in Europa, tra cui la piattaforma di analisi Staq.io, acquisita da Playhaven, e la piattaforma di marketing mobile Upsight. Francesco si è laureato in Economia e Gestione dell'Informazione alla London School of Economics e in Ingegneria Informatica all'Università La Sapienza di Roma. App, siti e link utili TrueLayer  Connect Ventures Sito personale Pietro Bezza  Pietro Bezzaè fondatore e Managing Partner di Connect Ventures, azienda di venture capital basata a Londra specializzata in fondi di investimento Seed con focus su b2b SaaS e fintech. Pietro è stato il primo believer, primo investitore e siede nel consiglio di amministrazione di alcune delle tech companies di successo in Europa, come Citymapper, Typeform, TrueLayer, Oyster, Soldo. Prima di Connect Ventures, Pietro ha co-fondato a Milano nel 2001 Neo Network, start up di contenuti e applicazioni digitali, acquisita nel 2008 dal gruppo De Agostini. Pietro ha una formazione umanistica, laurea in economia e 5 anni di brand management. Parmigiano di nascita, Pietro vive da 10 anni a Londra con la moglie Stefania e i suoi due figli Leonardo e Mattia. Continua disciplinatamente ad amare l'Inter, il prosciutto di Parma e Checco Zalone.

Francesco Simoneschi cofondatore, insieme a Luca Martinetti, e amministratore delegato diTrueLayer, l'azienda tecnologica leader nella costruzione di infrastrutture finanziarie aperte a qualsiasi azienda, ovunque nel mondo. In TrueLayer, Francesco si concentra sulla strategia di prodotto e commerciale, costruendo partnership con le principali intuizioni finanziarie del mondo. Negli ultimi dieci anni, Francesco ha fondato, gestito e fatto crescere diverse aziende tecnologiche di successo negli Stati Uniti e in Europa, tra cui la piattaforma di analisi Staq.io, acquisita da Playhaven, e la piattaforma di marketing mobile Upsight. Francesco si è laureato in Economia e Gestione dell'Informazione alla London School of Economics e in Ingegneria Informatica all'Università La Sapienza di Roma. App, siti e link utili TrueLayer Connect Ventures Sito personale Pietro Biezza Pietro Bezza è fondatore e Managing Partner diConnect Ventures, azienda di venture capital basata a Londra specializzata in fondi di investimento Seed con focus su b2b SaaS e fintech. Pietro è stato il primo believer, primo investitore e siede nel consiglio di amministrazione di alcune delle tech companies di successo in Europa, come Citymapper, Typeform, TrueLayer, Oyster, Soldo. Prima di Connect Ventures, Pietro ha co-fondato a Milano nel 2001 Neo Network, start up di contenuti e applicazioni digitali, acquisita nel 2008 dal gruppo De Agostini. Pietro ha una formazione umanistica, laurea in economia e 5 anni di brand management. Parmigiano di nascita, Pietro vive da 10 anni a Londra con la moglie Stefania e i suoi due figli Leonardo e Mattia. Continua disciplinatamente ad amare l'Inter, il prosciutto di Parma e Checco Zalone.

In der Mittagsfolge sprechen wir heute mit Tino Keller, Co-Founder und Managing Director Germany von Accountable. Das Berliner TaxTech konnte seine Finanzierung auf insgesamt 10 Millionen Euro für weitere Internationalisierung erweitern. Das deutsch-belgische FinTech, das 2019 gegründet wurde, positioniert sich als Steuer-App für Selbstständige. Accountable möchte Selbstständigen mit seinem Service ermöglichen, ihre Steuererklärungen mit wenigen Klicks über die mobile und webbasierte App einzureichen. Prominente Köpfe aus der Gründungs- und Fintech-Szene setzen dabei auf die Steuer-App, darunter 10x Founders, die Billie-Gründer Matthias Knecht und Christian Grobe sowie George Pallis, ehemaliger Marketingdirektor von Deliveroo und Transferwise. Stride.VC, Connect Ventures und mehrere Business Angels investieren Ende 2021 bereits 6 Millionen Euro in Accountable. Mit dem frischen Kapital will Accountable in Europa expandieren und weitere Finanz- und Steuer-Services launchen, um zur ersten europäischen Finanz-Plattform für Selbstständige zu werden.

Sitar Teli is a founder and Managing Partner at Connect Ventures, a thesis-led, pan-European, seed stage VC. With over 14 years experience in early-stage investments in both consumer and B2B companies, Sitar has become an expert on growth, culture, building high performance teams and finance strategy. Most notably Sitar led the Series A round for SoundCloud when working for Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures. The product and design specialist sat down with Riding Unicorns to discuss how she transitioned from investment banking into venture capital, the future of the remote workplace and the different approaches the US and Europe take to product.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.

UK-based open banking bulk payment startup Comma has raised £4.34 million ($6m) in a Seed round of funding led by Octopus Ventures and Connect Ventures. They were joined by investors Village Global, and the founders of Wagestream, Peter Briffet and Portman Wills.

Mark Pettit joined London-based venture capital firm Connect Ventures in 2016 as Head of Finance. Earlier this year, he was made CFO, and sees his new job as assisting the partners in making strong financial and investment decisions, putting the firm on the front line of SaaS, fintech and digital health.“My role was to come in and take as much of that finance slack away from the partners [as possible] so they can focus on the areas where they can make a big difference,” Mark says.One of his first missions has been driving the team toward using data management software that helps create a more reliable source of truth, which the entire firm can look at when making decisions. Mark has also helped create a KPI framework which Connect Ventures can use when deciding which early stage startups to invest in. On this episode of The CFO Playbook, Mark lays out how he manages day-to-day workflow as a CFO, the challenges of growing a small venture capital firm's finance team, and his outlook on the future of remote work.Connect with Mark on LinkedIn.Connect with our host Ross on LinkedIn.If you want a better way to track and control your team's spend, checkout Soldo.com.

In today's episode of the Dear BAMf podcast, Keji Mustapha of Connect Ventures talks about how to delight your customers with meaningful gifts.

Produced by Foundersuite.com, "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Jack Mardack of OysterHR.com, an HR platform for distributed workforces. In this episode, Jack talks about remote workforce trends and how that has changed during the pandemic, becoming a B Corp, the importance of "alignment of ambition" with VCs, how to project your mission out into the world, and more. The Company recently raised a $20 million Series A round led by Emergence Capital. The Slack Fund (Slack’s strategic investment vehicle) and London firm Connect Ventures are also participating. How I Raised It is produced by Foundersuite, makers of software to raise capital and manage investor relations. Foundersuite's customers have raised over $2.5 Billion since 2016. Create a free account at www.foundersuite.com

Tony Jamous is the CEO at Oyster - a talent platform that enables companies to hire great people anywhere on the planet. Previously Tony co-founded Nexmo – a cloud communications platform – & led them to a $230m exit! We explored: How Nexmo grew from 10m to 100m ARR in 6 years & how leadership style & organisational structure evolved at each stage of growth Why Nexmo chose to exit via M&A in preference to the IPO route chosen by their US competitor Twilio How Oyster reduces inequality by lowering the barrier for companies in any country to hire talent in any country  How virtual organisations reduce the differentials between extroverts & introverts and improve employees' mental health Why Oyster partnered with Connect Ventures as an investor who shared their goals for “Impact 2.0” in preference to other VCs who's interest was purely ROI  For more insights into Oyster's platform check out https://www.oysterhr.com/ & for advice on hiring diverse, high impact, B2B software scaleup leaders head over to https://alpinasearch.com

For this episode Lois and Petra have the pleasure of chatting to Keji Mustapha, Head of Network and Operations at Connect Ventures. They discuss Keji's journey into VC, her role in connecting the fund's community, and the importance of sharing best practice to accelerate learning. Then Keji flips the script and asks what we wish we'd known before getting into VC. Connect Ventures Keji's LinkedIn

Our guest in this episode is Rory Stirling - Partner at Connect Ventures - the London based Venture Capital seed firm is a product-focused, seed stage firm investing across Europe. They are singularly focussed on investing in purpose-led founders, obsessed with solving hard problems at scale, by creating products and companies that people love. Previous roles...- Partner and co-founder at BGF Ventures.- Partner at MMC Ventures.Previous investments include...- Software: NewVoiceMedia (acquired by Vonage plc for $350m), Triptease, Marvel, Masabi, Reevoo, Somo, Brightpearl, Base79 (acquired by Rightster plc).- Marketplace: Appear Hear, LoveHomeSwap (acquired by Wyndham), Hubbub.- Consumer: Gousto, AlexandAlexa (acquired by The Luxury Kids Group), Wool and the Gang (acquired by Crafts Group Holdings), Pact, Tyres on the Drive, PayasUgym.

During my recent media tour of India, I had the pleasure of meeting many brilliant individuals who are doing very cool things in the health, fitness and biohacking arena in India, and one of the most impressive tours and meetings I had was with the good folks at , in Bangalore. Connect Ventures is blending everything from advanced lab and biometric testing of blood, biomarkers, genetics and the gut, to personalized nutrition and fitness programming, to the development of high-end nano-material segment for environmental cleanup to Nanotechnology, Agro-Technology, Water and Waste Treatment, Food Grade Enzymes for Sugar, Distillery, Brewery and Tea Industries, Nutraceuticals and Next Generation Agricultural Technologies. We explore all these factors on today's extremely interesting and educational episode, which I recorded while touring Connect Ventures. My primary guest on today's show is Shiva Subramanian. Shiva is a graduate from United World College of SEA and Nottingham University (U.K.) in International Management & Finance, Shiva Subramanian is at the forefront of India's entrepreneurship market. His primary business interests were in textiles, the production & export of Coffee and F&B ventures in various locations across Bangalore. Today as head strategist of Connect Ventures, he handles multiple roles as communicator, decision maker and leader to drive our vision of transcending. A constant source of inspiration to his team, he is also a prolific sportsperson and a thespian with over 27 years of training in different forms of Martial Arts. In this episode, you'll discover: -The "ecosystem" within Connect Ventures...8:40 Fill in the gaps in the environment; human sustainability is contingent on environmental sustainability 17 ventures that are self-funded The goal is for people to live "supernaturally" Preserve natural state of land, soil, etc.; no fertilizer or pesticides The Blockchain can be used to track ingredients, farming methods, etc. Proper education = demand for better quality products -Why healthy soil is so vital for sustainability in agriculture...14:36 Soil has become alkaline due to years of fertilization and pesticides Going organic is a 5 year process (decreased productivity) Water for farming is also contaminated Connect Ventures creates products that allows farmers to grow healthy product while transitioning to an organic model "Allowing nature to do its job" -How biodegradable plastic came about...21:13 Starch in a plastic machine; similar to beeswax in texture Adjusting for a certain economic level of a people Landfill system that contributes to a sustainability model of farming Single use plastics being banned results in widespread unemployment Biodegradable plastic makes single-use plastic sustainable; cost is comparable to regular plastic "Love" includes loving the planet we live on -How Connect Ventures is reducing the level of organic waste...28:08 A ton of waste becomes a ton of gas which = a kilowatt of power Cost of carbon nanotubes is drastically reduced -The philosophy behind working out at Connect Ventures...31:52 The gym on the property is inspired by Japanese martial art ninjutsu Grandmaster Hasaki Matsumi developed concepts and principles used in their business practices Flow... We respond to sound, air, energy waves. Trying to create order out of the chaos Gym is similar to a cross fit facility Oxygen therapy Lots of deep tissue work prior to working out , low level therapy is highly efficacious BGF podcast w/ Ryan Lowery EMG, to increase velocity Neuromuscular advantage: muscular awareness that allows you to move fast and precisely -Inside the "health office" at Connect Ventures...52:31 "Health by Design" Lots of radiation issues due to cell phone towers; 20k watts in the area Listen to AI Biome (check the spelling) Anti-fungal paints and floor cleaners Connect Ventures is a partner w/ all the other companies discussed; not a holding company There's a lack of a model on how to optimize a living environment Mold, mycotoxins, EMF shielding Plants in the office contribute to a clean environment as well -The story behind all the personal care products at the facility...1:03:18 Small businesses in the area are the beneficiaries Reetha - soap berries Repurpose water used to wash food (laundry detergent, floor cleaner) -Metabolic testing and cardio coaching...1:06:48 Lack of funding for data on Data determines standards for the local population Google your city + "metabolic testing" -Whether or not there is an ideal diet for the typical Indian man or woman...1:16:26 Microbiome is very diverse compared to other populations Industrialization has contributed to constipation and low bone-density Quantify to get an approximation and go from there Can't just buy a book and decide on the right diet; requires a lot of digging -The snack room and biofeedback devices...1:21:30 I Feel Well device for meditation Prayer and meditation throughout the day; constant connection with the spirit and higher power Gimmicks can lend themselves to real motivation -And much more... Resources from this episode: -BGF podcasts mentioned: - - - - - - Episode sponsors: -: The ultimate recovery formula, Kion Flex is a bioavailable blend to support joint comfort, mobility and flexibility, and bone health. Ben Greenfield Fitness listeners, receive a 20% discount off your entire order at when you use discount code: BGF20. -: A wellness company specializing in innovative nutraceuticals made from healing hive compounds and plant-based ingredients. Get 15% off your order when you use discount code: BEN -: Activewear and athletic clothing for ultimate performance. Vuori is built to move and sweat in, yet designed with a West Coast aesthetic that transitions effortlessly into everyday life. Receive 25% off your first order when you use discount code: “BEN2020" -: I’ve been using Four Sigmatic products for awhile now and I’m impressed by the efficacies of their mushroom products. I use them. I like them. I support the mission! Receive 15% off your Four Sigmatic purchase when you use discount code: BENGREENFIELD Do you have a question for me, Krishna or Shiva about this podcast? Leave your thoughts, questions and feedback below!

Produced by Foundersuite.com, "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Maria Chatzou, CEO of Lifebit.ai. Lifebit is developing an intelligent genomic platform designed for biodata analysis. The Company went through Techstars then raised GBP 2.25 million of seed funding led by Connect Ventures and Pentech Ventures. Beacon Capital, Tiny VC and London Co-Investment Fund also participated in the round. In this episode, Maria talks about raising venture capital in the UK, the London genomics scene, her "3 phase" approach to fundraising, what it really takes in terms of time commitment and hustle, tips for closing the round and much more.

Keji Mustapha is on mission to empower early-stage startup Founders to have the right leadership skills from the outset, and is Head of Founder Network at Connect Ventures. Gillian meets Keji to uncover why businesses need some form of hierarchy, what to look for when building your first team, and the importance of having space and time to reflect as the company grows. Connect Ventures is a VC firm that supports product Founders. Keji focuses on adding value to Connect’s portfolio companies after investing in them, and bring the community together. By training product Founders to become better leaders, Keji has seen companies go from seed and beyond. Links mentioned in this show ‘Play Bigger’ by Al Ramadan, Dave Peterson, Christopher Lochhead, Kevin Maney https://ConnectVentures.co Hosted by Gillian Davis, co-author 'First Time Leader; Foundational Tools to Inspire and Enable Your New Team' this podcast is to inspire managers to step up and lead their teams. We talk to those on the front line and get managers to share what has worked, what hasn't and what resources they have tried and tested. This podcast is powered by OverTime an agency that helps new leaders build great teams, products and, companies. For more information, visit https://www.OverTimeLeader.com.

Pietro Bezza is a tech founder turned venture capitalist. Pietro co-founded Connect Ventures, an early stage VC fund, in 2011 and the fund has invested in companies like Citymapper, Typeform and Soldo. Pietro discusses: Why he decided to invest in Typeform after having become a delighted user of their product How Typeform decided the time was right to expand into the States The vital role “perpetual learnability” plays in a company's ability to scale-up The unique challenges of hiring talent during the scale-up stage in terms of both cultural & skillset diversity  Head over to http://www.connectventures.co for more details on Connect Ventures and check out www.alpinasearch.com for advice on globally scaling your B2B software venture  

In the latest podcast, Sitar of Connect Ventures talks to Carlos Espinal about the issue of growth in startups. They discuss the importance of Product focus and User Experience with the impact on virality. After completing her studies at Duke University and a brief work experience in Investment Banking, Sitar decided to move into the early stages of Venture Capital. This lead to her to go against her initial plan and move to the UK to join the well known Doughty Hanson where she lead investments including Soundcloud. Along the way, Sitar got to meet her current partners at Connect ventures and soon enough discovered that they shared the same long term vision for the company which resulted in Sitar joining in as a Managing Partner. With investments in both Citymapper and Typeform, Sitar shares her view on why product focus is such a key differentiator for Connect Ventures. Related bio links: Carlos: uk.linkedin.com/in/carloseduardoespinal / @twitter.com/cee Sitar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sitar / @twitter.com/sitar - www.seedcamp.com - www.carlosespinal.com - https://twitter.com/sitar - http://connectventures.co.uk/

Go to the website of London-based Connect Ventures and the first thing you’ll see is three statements: They invest early. They are product focused. They are hands on. But what drives this approach to investing in young startups? I spoke to Managing Partner Pietro Bezza to find out.

Sitar Teli is Managing Partner at Connect Ventures and has been a venture capitalist for eight years, focusing on early-stage investments in both consumer and B2B companies. Previously with Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures, where she led their Series A round in SoundCloud, she has experience with content, gaming and ecommerce startups. Sitar has a dual degree in Mechanical Engineering and Economics from Duke University. A special thank you to Mattermark for providing all the data displayed in today's show and you can find out more about Mattermark here!     In Today's Episode You Will Learn:   1.) How did Sitar make her way into the wonderful world of VC?   2.) How does Sitar approach the difficult task of saying no to entrepreneurs? What is the framework she has adopted over her 8 years in venture? 3.) There are a large amount of sources of capital for business in the seed stage, why did Sitar believe this was the stage with the most opportunity? Is too much capital chasing too few deals? 4.) With the increasing prominence of crowdfunding, is it a viable alternative to VC? Is Sitar concerned that quality deal flow is being lost to Crowdfunding? 5.) What is driving the growth of the European tech startup scene? 6.) Prior to making investments such as that of Citymapper, one obviously has to look at the team and the product. So what do you look for in a founder and what to you makes a great product?    Items Mentioned In Today's Episode: Sitar's Fave Book: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay Sitar's Fave Blog or Newsletter: Benedict Evans Newsletter Sitar's Fave Apps: Outlook, Sunrise, Citymapper Sitar's Most Recent Investment: Knyttan   As always you can follow The Twenty Minute VC, Harry and Sitar on Twitter here! If you would like to see a more colourful side to Harry with many a mojito session, you can follow him on Instagram here!      Free Ebook: How to boost your Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) by over 100%   Have you ever wished more of your website visitors would convert into a sale, signup or referral? If so, you need Loyalty Bay. With their saas conversion optimizer tool they increase any conversion metric by offering potential customers a choice of personalised rewards to get them to convert. They work with large enterprises like Virgin Media through to startups and have increased conversions on average by over 100%. Free 30 day trial at www.loyaltybay.co.uk

Bill is a managing partner at Connect Ventures. He has 10 years working in venture capital and startups, having worked as an investment manager at Amadeus Capital and in a variety of operational roles at several California based startups. He is on the boards of Citymapper, Knyttan, Marvel, RetentionGrid, Secretsales, and TOTEMS. In this Seedcamp Academy podcast, we talk about Bill’s history and draw on his experience of participating in many board meetings. What are their true purpose? When and how should you be setting up your ideal board? And what are some of the best practices for founders to get the most of them.