The StartUp to ScaleUp Game Plan: Recent Episodes
Gary Reeman
Welcome to another episode of Startup to Scale Up Game Plan. In this episode, we sit down with Yann Lechelle, a visionary leader, serial entrepreneur, and the CEO of Probabl.ai, a startup that's transforming decision-making through artificial intelligence. Join us as we delve into Yann's journey, from his early days of coding on rudimentary machines to pioneering deep learning and founding multiple tech companies in Paris.
Yann's story is a compelling narrative of persistence and innovation. He shares the pivotal moments that steered him towards creating Probabl, an AI-driven company with a mission to democratize data science and enhance decision-making processes across various industries. From his first encounter with computers at the age of ten to his groundbreaking work in AI during the early 90s, Yann's experiences offer invaluable insights into the evolution of technology and entrepreneurship.
Discover the core inspiration behind Probabl.ai and how it aims to transform the landscape of data science with open-source technologies like scikit-learn. Yann explains the dual mission of Probabl: building commercial solutions to sustain the core open-source mission and enabling global value creation from data. He also touches on the challenges and opportunities that come with balancing open-source elements and commercial viability.
As we navigate through the conversation, Yann candidly discusses the complexities of managing expectations within the open-source community and the broader market. He highlights the importance of maintaining transparency and quality, ensuring that Probabl meets the high standards set by its community of millions of data scientists worldwide.
Yann also reflects on his entrepreneurial journey, sharing lessons learned from past ventures and the larger mission of creating a level playing field in the tech industry. He envisions a future where AI not only augments human capabilities but also addresses some of the most pressing global challenges, from climate change to public health crises.
In a thought-provoking segment, Yann explores the potential and pitfalls of AI, emphasizing the need for ethical considerations and societal dividends. He raises critical questions about the future of human skills and knowledge in an AI-dominated world, urging for a balanced approach that integrates both technological advancements and human values.
Finally, Yann outlines his ultimate vision for Probabl: a sustainable, mission-driven company that stands the test of time. He discusses the possibility of an IPO and the importance of perpetuating the mission through continuous innovation and community engagement.
This episode is not just a deep dive into the technical and entrepreneurial aspects of AI but also a philosophical exploration of its implications for humanity. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, an entrepreneur, or someone curious about the future of AI, this episode promises to leave you inspired and contemplative.
For more insights into Probabl head over to https://probabl.ai/ and for advice on hiring leadership talent for AI startups & scale-ups check out https://alpinasearch.com/
On today's episode I interviewed Eyal Malinger, Managing Partner at Resurge Growth Partners.
We delved into Eyal's journey through the venture capital world, exploring his strategies for identifying high-potential ventures and his vision for the future of tech entrepreneurship. From his early days as a software engineer to his roles at McKinsey, Oaktree Capital and Beringea, Eyal shares the pivotal moments that shaped his career and led him to establish Resurge Growth Partners.
Join us as Eyal unveils the thesis behind Resurge Growth Partners, a fund designed to bridge a critical gap in the market. He explains how the traditional venture model, with its focus on exponential growth, often overlooks companies that have solid products and teams but don’t fit the high-growth template. These "orphaned" ventures, as Eyal calls them, are the businesses Resurge Growth Partners aims to support, providing them with the resources and guidance needed to thrive.
Eyal also sheds light on the fund's geographical focus, emphasizing the importance of proximity and hands-on involvement in the UK, Europe, and Israel. He discusses the fund's control-oriented approach, contrasting it with the typical venture capital model and highlighting the importance of cultural alignment and shared goals with portfolio companies.
The conversation takes a fascinating turn as Eyal addresses the challenges of transitioning a company from a growth-focused to a profitability-focused model. He shares insights into the introspective journey CEOs must undertake and the importance of open communication and self-awareness among founders. Eyal also discusses conflict resolution strategies within leadership teams, offering practical advice for maintaining alignment and ensuring a company's trajectory remains on course.
As we explore the future of tech entrepreneurship, Eyal provides a candid assessment of the current market landscape, the impact of technological advancements, and the evolving trends in sectors poised for innovation. He also discusses the fund's strategic approach to exits, emphasizing the importance of EBITDA and the potential for strategic acquisitions.
Throughout the episode, Eyal's passion for identifying and nurturing undervalued companies shines through. He shares his vision for the future of Resurge Growth Partners, aiming to establish the fund as a key player in the venture special situations market. Eyal's insights into leveraging technology, building networks, and fostering open communication offer invaluable guidance for entrepreneurs and investors alike.
Don't miss this compelling narrative as Eyal Malinga takes us on a journey through the venture capital landscape, offering a fresh perspective on unlocking hidden potential and driving sustainable growth. Tune in to gain a deeper understanding of the innovative strategies shaping the future of tech entrepreneurship.
Unlock powerful venture investing insights at https://resurgegrowth.com/ and discover expert advice on hiring high-impact leaders to drive software venture growth at https://alpinasearch.com/
Welcome to an exciting episode where we delve into the cutting-edge world of artificial intelligence and machine learning with Ben Gutkiewicz, the co-founder of Superlinked. Join us as we explore how Superlinked is transforming the landscape of AI-powered software, making it accessible and efficient for organizations worldwide.
Superlinked stands at the forefront of AI data processing, turning complex data into vector embeddings at an unprecedented scale. With a $9.5 million seed round led by Index Ventures and Theory Ventures, Superlinked is poised to meet rising market demands and expand its product capabilities.
In this episode, Ben takes us through his journey, sharing the evolution of Superlinked from its inception to its current state as a platform empowering machine learning engineers and data scientists. He elaborates on the primary value proposition of Superlinked and the critical problems it solves for its users, emphasizing the importance of control over data and the quality of AI-generated results.
Ben provides a fascinating insight into vector embeddings, the language of generative AI models. He explains how Superlinked helps organizations turn both unstructured and structured data into vector embeddings, enhancing the performance of applications like chatbots, recommendation systems, and more.
We also delve into the strategic pivot that Superlinked made with the launch of ChatGPT, moving from a full-stack recommendation system to a more versatile platform. Ben shares the inspiration behind this shift and the impact it has had on their product and market strategy.
The episode further explores Superlinked's recent funding journey, highlighting how Ben and his co-founder Daniel navigated the investor landscape to secure significant backing. Ben discusses the importance of timing, networking, and making a compelling case to potential investors.
Additionally, we learn about the geographical strategy of Superlinked, with teams spread across Hungary, Israel, London, and Silicon Valley. Ben explains how they maintain alignment and cohesion across these diverse locations, leveraging tools like Notion and Zoom, while also fostering a strong company culture through regular in-person gatherings.
We also touch upon Superlinked's educational initiatives and community-building efforts, including their VectorHub platform and strategic partnerships with key players in the AI and machine learning ecosystem.
Finally, Ben shares his vision for Superlinked's future, aiming to become the standard for vector embeddings in the AI industry. He also reflects on the entrepreneurs and innovators who have inspired him, including Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and Steve Jobs, and how these influences shape his approach to building and leading Superlinked.
Join us for an enlightening conversation that promises to inspire and inform anyone interested in the dynamic world of AI and machine learning.
For more insights into Superlinked, check out https://superlinked.com/ and for advice on recruiting leadership talent at AI startups & scaleups head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Richard Thornton's’s story begins with his early career in consulting and his serendipitous entry into the tech industry in the early 2000s. He joined a digital data collection business that was looking to disrupt the market research industry. This venture-backed company gave him his first taste of working with venture capitalists and shaped his 20-year career working for B2B, technology-enabled, and SaaS propositions. Richard's career trajectory saw him transition from individual sales contributor roles to C-level positions, running sales, marketing, partnerships, alliances, and customer success teams.
These experiences, both good and bad, have equipped Richard with invaluable insights that he now brings to his role at J12 Ventures. As an Operating Partner, he works post-investment with portfolio companies, guiding them through the scaling process.
Richard shares his reasons for transitioning to a portfolio approach to working life. After 20 years of high-pressure roles, he wanted to spend more time with his family. He also felt he had achieved as much as he wanted within the insights sector and was eager to apply his knowledge across a broader range of businesses. Now, Richard divides his time between his role at J12 and his positions as a board member and strategic advisor for several UK-based scale-up businesses.
In this episode, Richard delves into the importance of hiring the right talent and the critical role that plays in the success of startups. He emphasizes the need for a robust, objective-driven hiring process and shares his approach to identifying key traits in potential hires. Richard also discusses the significance of growth hacking and provides examples of successful strategies he has witnessed.
Looking to the future, Richard highlights emerging trends in sales and technology that will impact startups. He discusses the challenges and opportunities presented by an increasingly informed buyer landscape and the role of automation in sales processes. Richard also shares his thoughts on maintaining a human touch in a world increasingly dominated by technology.
Join us as Richard Thornton offers a wealth of knowledge and practical advice for aspiring entrepreneurs and seasoned professionals alike. Discover the key ingredients for scaling success and the future trends shaping the startup ecosystem.
To learn more about Richard Thornton and J12 Ventures, visit J12 Ventures and connect with Richard on LinkedIn
And for insights into hiring senior talent for software & saas ventures, check out https://alpinasearch.com/
In today's episode, I interviewed Stefan Bader, a two-time founder and the current CEO of Cello—a SaaS scale-up pioneering the way B2B companies incentivize referrals.
Stefan shares the pain points he encountered as Chief Revenue Officer at Shore, a company akin to Square but focused on European markets. His growth team faced challenges in implementing a user referral program. The lack of suitable third-party solutions led Stefan to a pivotal realization: there was a significant business opportunity in creating a B2B referral system. Thus Cello was born, aimed at enabling users to refer software to others and share in the revenue generated.
In this episode, Stefan delves into the key components of a successful B2B referral program, explaining how Cello addresses them. He talks about different types of referral programs, from user and affiliate referrals to influencer and value-added referrals. Stefan emphasizes the importance of native integration into the user journey and setting the right incentives to drive successful referrals.
Stefan also discusses the psychological aspects behind referrals, revealing how user psychology plays a crucial role in influencing customer behaviour. His insights into leveraging intrinsic, extrinsic, and social incentives offer a fascinating glimpse into the science behind Cello's early success.
Moreover, Stefan touches upon the concept of advocacy and how Cello fosters it among its users. By amplifying positive experiences and leveraging user psychology, Cello helps companies accelerate word-of-mouth growth at a fraction of the cost of traditional customer acquisition channels.
As Cello continues to grow, Stefan shares his vision of creating a go-to-market operating system for digital products, expanding beyond user referrals to include various growth loops. He also discusses the challenges and benefits of being a remote-first company, highlighting their approach to maintaining communication, collaboration, and culture in a dispersed team.
Stefan reveals why his second hire at Cello was a VP of People, a move that goes against conventional wisdom. He explains how this decision has helped build a strong team culture and attract high performers from the very beginning.
Stefan's journey is filled with valuable lessons for any entrepreneur. From the importance of shipping fast and treating fundraising like a sales process to making impactful people decisions and constantly adapting to change, his experiences offer a wealth of knowledge.
One of the most intriguing aspects of Stefan's story is the concept of the "reality distortion field," a term famously associated with Steve Jobs. Stefan explains how this ability to make people believe in your vision, even when it seems crazy, is crucial for sales, fundraising, and overall success.
Join us in this compelling episode as Stefan Bader takes us through his entrepreneurial journey, the creation of Cello, and his vision for the future. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or a seasoned professional, Stefan's insights are sure to inspire and inform.
For more Cello insights head over to https://cello.so/ & for advice on hiring senior talent for B2B software ventures check out https://alpinasearch.com/
In this captivating episode of "Startup to Scale Up," we delve into the Nordic startup ecosystem with Robin Egerow, Managing Partner at Goose Valley Ventures. With a track record investing in companies like Klarna, Lunar Bank and Receipt Hero, Robin brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table.
We kick off the conversation by uncovering the intriguing origins behind the name Goose Valley Ventures, inspired by majestic Nordic landscapes.
Our discussion then shifted to ethical considerations in venture capital, particularly the Mensarius Oath—a set of principles that Goose Valley Ventures has embraced to ensure they operate with the highest moral and ethical standards. Robin provides insights into how they assess startups not just on commercial potential but also on their positive impact on the world.
As we explore Goose Valley’s investment thesis, Robin emphasizes the paramount importance of trust and loyalty in the relationship between investors and founders. He likens this bond to one that should be as strong as marriage, underscoring the critical role of trust in their decision-making process.
In light of the mental health challenges faced by many founders, Robin discusses Goose Valley's proactive approach to supporting founders, including mentorship programs and safe spaces for open dialogue. He highlights the importance of recognizing founders as individuals with lives outside their startups.
Robin also shares his perspective on the dynamic startup ecosystem, the impact of emerging technologies like AI, and how Goose Valley stays ahead of the curve by maintaining a focused investment strategy. He recounts memorable pitches and success stories, including the innovative approach of the Icelandic neobank, Indo, which captured over 10% of the market within a year.
Towards the end of our conversation, Robin offers sage advice to his younger self and to budding VCs — stressing the importance of staying calm, taking challenges one step at a time, and enjoying the journey. His relaxed yet insightful demeanor makes this episode a treasure trove of wisdom for anyone interested in the world of venture capital and startups.
Join us for a fascinating conversation filled with practical insights, personal anecdotes, and a genuine passion for fostering innovation and positive impact in the startup world.
For more insights into Goose Valley Ventures, head over to https://goosevalley.vc/ and for advice on recruiting senior talent for B2B software ventures check out https://alpinasearch.com/
In this episode, we dive deep into the world of AI-driven productivity with Gabriel Hubert, the Founding CEO of Dust. Dust is a Paris-based SaaS scale-up that's redefining team collaboration and efficiency through the power of generative AI. Supported by global venture capital giants like Sequoia, Dust is on a mission to break down information silos and empower teams to thrive in a fast-paced, data-driven world.
Gabriel shares the innovative ways Dust leverages large language models and text transformer models to act as the glue between various forms of unstructured text and data. By doing so, Dust ensures that the right people have access to the right information at the right time, eliminating the need for endless meetings and fostering a more autonomous and purposeful work environment.
We explore how Dust's adaptable platform meets the diverse needs of different teams and industries, providing high-performance, customizable AI assistants tailored to specific use cases. Gabriel discusses how the platform integrates seamlessly into existing workflows, whether as a web app, Slack bot, or API, making it an indispensable tool for fast-moving teams.
Discover the early adopters of Dust's revolutionary technology, including companies like Alan Healthcare, Qonto, and Payfit. These organizations, characterized by rapid growth and a commitment to innovation, are harnessing the power of Dust to navigate internal information chaos and stay ahead in their respective fields.
Gabriel also delves into the metrics used to measure Dust's impact on team performance and efficiency, emphasizing the importance of both quantitative and qualitative feedback. He highlights the potential productivity gains across various job functions, not just software development, and how Dust aims to free up employees' time for higher-value tasks.
The conversation takes an introspective turn as Gabriel reflects on his journey from Silicon Valley to Paris, drawing lessons from his Stanford experiences and also from his time at Stripe. He shares valuable insights on maintaining a high hiring bar, building a culture of transparency, and fostering a diverse and inclusive team environment.
Finally, we explore the vibrant startup ecosystem in Paris and the unique advantages it offers for companies like Dust. And Gabriel outlines his vision for the future of AI as one of collaboration and augmentation, where humans and machines work together to achieve greater efficiency and innovation.
Join us for an inspiring and thought-provoking discussion on how Dust is transforming team productivity and what it takes to build a successful AI-driven startup in today's dynamic tech landscape.
For more AI driven productivity insights head over to https://dust.tt/ & for guidance on hiring senior talent at software and AI startups and scaleups check out https://alpinasearch.com/
In this episode, Gary Reeman interviews Pete Daffern, a three-time CEO and two-time president with a track record transforming fledgling companies into thriving unicorns. With $50 billion worth of software transactions under his belt, Pete’s insights are gold for any startup or scale-up looking to navigate the treacherous waters of growth and expansion. Currently, Pete leverages his extensive experience to serve on various boards and as an Operating Partner at PeakSpan Capital.
Pete delves into the pivotal lessons he has gleaned from decades of leading technology startups and scale-ups. From the early days of bootstrapping companies in the late '80s to the disciplined approach required to manage operational cash flow in more mature business, Pete emphasizes the critical importance of having the right people at every stage of a company's growth. He reflects on the transformative mentorship he received from industry stalwarts like Sue Lethbridge and the impact of building a stage-appropriate leadership team.
Pete explores the intricacies of scaling a business, the challenges of identifying the right talent and knowing when to make tough decisions about leadership changes. Pete shares a fascinating anecdote about Godfrey Sullivan's strategic approach at Splunk, illustrating the importance of focusing on winnable battles to drive sustained growth.
This episode also covers the crucial elements of defining an Ideal Client Profile (ICP) and how it should inform every aspect of a company's strategy, from product development to market positioning.
The conversation takes an interesting turn as Pete discusses the paradigm shifts that have shaped the tech landscape, from the advent of the internet to the current revolution in artificial intelligence. He shares his enthusiasm for AI applications that deliver meaningful, differentiated use cases, drawing on examples from his work with companies like Amplience.
As the episode draws to a close, Pete offers invaluable advice to founders of new AI businesses, emphasizing the importance of customer engagement and product-market fit. His stories and insights provide a compelling narrative that is both educational and inspiring for anyone involved in the tech industry.
Don't miss this episode filled with actionable insights and real-world examples of what it takes to scale a technology company from startup to unicorn. Tune in to hear Pete Daffan's journey and learn from one of the industry's most experienced leaders.
This episode of the Startup to Scale-Up Game Plan was brought to you by AlpinaSearch. Head over to www.alpinasearch.com for advice on scaling your technology startup and recruiting high-impact senior executives.
Marcel van der Heijden, a Partner at leading B2B software venture capital and growth equity firm, Fortino Capital, describes the challenging environment for B2B SaaS funding during the past two years.
Marcel brings us up-to-date with the status of the B2B software and SaaS funding landscape as of April 2024, the emergence and rise of AI-based products and services.
Marcel imparts valuable advice to startups, founders, and board members - he underscores the significance of reassessing changing market dynamics, cultivating strategic partnerships, networking with industry stakeholders, comprehending market conditions, and staying prepared for acquisition offers to evade impulsive or suboptimal decisions.
For more Fortino insights head over to https://www.fortinocapital.com/ and for advice on recruiting leadership talent for B2B Saas ventures check out https://alpinasearch.com/
Richard Anton, General Partner at Oxx, discussed the past, present and future of B2B SaaS investing.
Richard shared insights about the evolution of the sector during the past 2 decades and explained why he believes Europe will strongly grow its share of global B2B SaaS investing despite the traditional Silicon Valley hegemony.
Richard delved into topics such as the rise of generative AI, the emergence of Product-Led Growth (PLG), and the importance of organisational health in a tech venture's success. Richard emphasized the importance of solid product-market fit, diverse and balanced teams, and the capacity to build and defend a company's moat. He also shared his investment philosophy which prioritizes growth-oriented, category-defining companies with proven "founder-market fit".
For more Oxx insights check out https://www.oxx.vc/ & for advice on hiring exceptional leadership talent for B2B Saas & AI ventures head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
In the latest episode of The Startup to Scale-Up Game Plan, host Gary Reeman invites Mark Beeston, Founding Partner at Illuminate Financial, to share his career journey, investment strategies, and insights into the fluid dynamics of the financial market. Illuminate Financial is a venture capital firm known for its expertise in investing in enterprise software companies catering to financial services businesses.
We go over how Mark leveraged significant changes he had observed in the financial markets to build Illuminate Financial. A noteworthy suggestion from Mark is the centrality of charisma, energy, and being coachable for startup teams. He accentuates that being coachable does not merely imply following directives, but it signifies being receptive to constructive dialogues about shared experiences and potential risks.
We delve into Illuminate Financial's collaborative engagements with JP Morgan, Barclays, and other major banks supporting the portfolio. These collaborations primarily focus on solving problems, catering to clients' needs, investing in resolutions, acquiring potential enterprises, and remaining updated with innovation opportunities. Mark underscores the importance of these symbiotic relationships, which revolve around a culture of persistent and progressive change.
Mark reveals his reflections on the past decade by drawing upon profound insights into the venture capitalist environment. These reflections provide start-ups and other investors with valuable perspectives. Learn from Mark's experiences as he discloses the essential lessons from his journey for example the significance of fostering long-lasting business relationships.
In the latter part of the conversation, we probe into the abundant potential of financial markets and portfolio companies in the coming decade. Mark lays out some exciting opportunities posed by the institutional adoption of advanced technology and blockchain rails. The episode winds down with a personal anecdote about Mark's love for cars and his approach to striking a work-life balance.
In this insightful episode, uncover the complexities of business partnerships, financial entrepreneurship, and venture capitalism from Mark Beeston’s expert viewpoint.
For additional insights into Illuminate Financial check out https://www.illuminatefinancial.com/ and for advice on hiring senior executives into enterprise software ventures head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Adam Liska is the co-founder & CEO at Glyphic – funded by Point72 Ventures – who’ve developed an AI co-pilot to make sales teams more productive, improving conversion rates & increasing revenue.
Adam discussed:
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Why he felt the market was ready for a fast-moving LLM product company even before OpenAI released ChatGPT
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Overcoming the challenges of transitioning from working at a large corporate to becoming a startup founder
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Key AI trends including multimodality – training LLMs not just on text but also on all the podcasts & videos on the internet
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Why he feels people are over-indexing on AGI versus developing, releasing & enhancing great AI products
For more Glyphic insights check out https://www.glyphic.ai/ & for advice on hiring exceptional leaders for AI startups & scale-ups head over to https://alpinasearch.com/about-us/
Jason Foster is the CEO of groundbreaking biotech firm Ori who've raised $130m in funding from the likes of Novalis, Octopus & Amadeus.
Jason also runs his own angel investment portfolio & supports over a dozen healthtech & Saas ventures as a Board member/advisor.
We explored:
- Ensuring a smooth handover from a technical founder to an incoming professional CEO
- Why startups need to prove they've a viable business model - not just a glossy deck!
- How to be nimble & adaptable to overcome global upheavals like supply chain shocks & plunges in VC funding
- Why carrot & stick incentives drive inferior employee performance
- Learning to trust your team to hire the best talent
For more insights into Ori check out https://oribiotech.com/ and for advice on hiring C Suite talent for VC-backed startups and scale-ups head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Hannah Meiton is a Founding Partner at the Nordic VC fund, Ampli Ventures who invest in the Nordics’ leading SaaS ventures.
We explored:
- How Hannah transitioned from a career as a senior operator to building a VC firm
- Why the tough decisions that keep her awake at night are always about people
- Her passion for investing in individuals who demonstrate grit, a clear vision, & creative ways to solve problems
- How Ampli Ventures is shaping their portfolio companies’ approach to ESG including D&I – for example helping 1 company increase their percentage of female employees from 10% to 40% within 12 months
For more insights into Ampli Ventures, check out https://www.ampli.vc/ & for advice on recruiting exceptional leaders into SaaS startups & scaleups head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Amrit Sami is a VC at Mercia Ventures who's taken an unconventional route into the world of venture capital.
We explored:
- how to break into the VC community as an outsider
- the support system startup CEOs need to build to ensure their businesses survive & prosper
- the importance of talent diversity when companies are building their leadership teams
- how to leverage micro-testing to make key product & market decisions
For more Mercia Ventures insights check out https://www.mercia.co.uk/ventures/ & for advice on hiring leaders for your Saas venture, head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Seth de Hart is a Venture Partner at Point Nine – he also advises other B2B SaaS startups on building & optimizing go2market
We discussed
- Why product-market fit trumps effective sales processes & sales expertise
- How to ascertain if you have true product market fit
- The mistakes CEOs make in hiring sales leaders
- How to expand a successful European business into the US
- How AI can help improve your sales process
- Why sales, as a career, is treated differently in The States versus Europe & other geos
For guidance on B2B saas sales & go2market check out https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethdehart/ and for advice on hiring B2B SaaS leadership talent head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Jonathan Organ is a Founding Partner at Axiom Equity – a new breed of B2B Saas investor who aim to challenge convention & think outside the box.
We discussed:
- Jonathan's varied operational & investment career path & network
- the gap in the market for growth equity providers between VC & leveraged PE style investors
- the traditional VC approach to making bets on many companies – the majority of which will be ignored & ultimately fail
- Axiom's aim to partner closely with, & to add significant value to, every single company they invest in: "This is individuals' lives we're talking about"
For more Axiom Equity insights check out https://www.axiomequity.com/ & for guidance on recruiting exceptional B2B SaaS leadership talent head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Barrie Hadfield is the founding CEO at mindset.ai – a B2B saas venture who make every piece of content easily accessible via a unique combination of generative AI & advanced knowledge graphs.
Barrie’s a serial entrepreneur who’s founded 5 companies, employed thousands of people globally & launched several products that went on to be market leaders.
We explored the extraordinary impact generative AI has had on his business over the past 12-18 months - and the exponential progress Barrie envisages for software engineering productivity in the next 3-5 years.
We also discussed:
- the importance of building & maintaining a company's culture as your business scales
- the value of having a professional coach to steer you through entrepreneurial challenges
- why Saas businesses & investors need to focus on LTV instead of ARR
For more insights into mindset.ai check out https://www.mindset.ai/ & for guidance on hiring leadership talent for B2B Saas startups & scaleups head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Kashish Gupta is the co-founder of HighTouch, a Saas scale-up helping companies sync customer data across different back-end databases and systems. HighTouch has raised $90m from investors like Databricks, Bain Capital and Iconiq.
We delved into HighTouch's journey, discussed their strategic relationships with Databricks, Snowflake & Hubspot, and explored their unique approach to data management.
Some key takeaways include:
- why software startups should prioritize & invest in marketing from their inception
- the benefits of launching multiple products early in your venture's evolution - contrary to the advice of most investors!
- how to hire senior execs you genuinely trust & delegate key responsibilities to them
- why "the human connection is the most important thing" - with colleagues, partners & customers
- the importance of listening carefully to your customers & staying humble
For more insights into HighTouch check out https://hightouch.com/ and for advice on recruiting leadership talent for B2B software startups & scaleups head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Maria Palma is a General Partner at Kindred Capital - a London HQ VC who describe themselves as an ‘equitable venture’ fund where every founder they back becomes a co-owner of the fund.
Kindred have raised £266m across 3 funds & have backed startups like FiveAI, which was sold to Bosch in 2022, and Atlas ML, which was sold to Meta within a year of raising a seed round from Kindred.
Maria explained why:
- Kindred's equitable venture model nurtures mutual support & learning across their portfolio
- there's so much imposter syndrome amongst European founders
- Europe is taking the lead in creating businesses that combine AI with leading-edge science
- the VC funding model is directly responsible for creating Gartner Hype Cycles
For more insights into Kindred Capital check out https://kindredcapital.vc/ and head over to https://alpinasearch.com/ for advice on hiring leadership talent for software startups & scaleups
Dan Bowyer is a Partner at SuperSeed Ventures a VC fund investing in technical founders who love business automation.
Dan has a radically different background to your typical VC - his career spans modelling, performing in a boy band & presenting kids TV shows before switching over to tech, entrepreneurship and eventually VC.
Dan’s passionate about startups innovating and changing the world – he believes that startups can help tackle many societal problems.
We discussed:
- Dan's atypical journey to becoming a VC
- Venture capital's role as a brutal mechanism designed to make money from outliers
- Why we must bring more women into positions of power in tech, in venture capital and in politics
- Why successful founders need to progress beyond mental health & develop exceptional mental strength
For more insights into SuperSeed check out https://www.superseed.com/ & for head over to https://alpinasearch.com/ for guidance on recruiting exceptional senior talent for software ventures
Jamie Akhtar is the Founder & CEO at Cybersmart, a cybersecurity scale-up, funded by VCs including Oxx & British Patient Capital, dedicated to helping SME's safeguard their data.
We explored:
- “Alive in 25” – the whatever-it-takes playbook to ensure your software venture will survive the next 2 years
- Healthy work-life boundaries & the importance of regular wellbeing practises like qigong
- Why Jamie reduced his leadership team from 5 to 2, the emotional strain of that decision, & the 16 step process Jamie followed to ensure he effectively communicated that decision to the entire organisation
For more Cybersmart insights check out https://cybersmart.com/ & for advice on recruiting senior executives for B2B software startups & scale-ups head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Guy Rubin is the CEO & Founder of Ebsta, the Revenue Intelligence Platform for Salesforce & Hubspot customers. Ebsta helps high-performing business development teams engage with more target accounts, helps sales teams close deals faster, & helps customer success teams retain happier customers.
We explored why:
- 70% of sales reps are missing their targets
- the deviation between the top reps & everyone else is wider than it's ever been
- Ebsta has made "more pivots than hot dinners"!
- prospective entrepreneurs must pay careful attention to their choice of co-founders
- markets & competitors will overtake you if you base your business on selling features instead of real products
For more revenue intelligence insights check out https://www.ebsta.com/ & for advice on hiring leaders for B2B Saas ventures check out https://alpinasearch.com/
Magnus Karnehm is a Principal at Left Lane Capital – Magnus heads up their European office
We explored Left Lane's unique approach to venture capital – running their fund like a sales team with each investor speaking to 25+ companies a week giving them exposure to off the beaten track sectors as well as the hot and trendy sectors.
We discussed the traits of startups that scale efficiently from $1m to $10m ARR - in particular data obsession
We also discussed the mistakes that can hinder a Saas venture's trajectory - e.g. moving upmarket too early
With great candour & humility, Magnus opened up on his journey of self exploration since embarking on the Hoffman Institute process after his father passed away last year.
We discussed how important it is for a VC to maintain peak personal performance as their decisions - and the support they provide to their portfolio companies - are so impactful.
For more insights into Left Lane Capital check out https://www.leftlane.com/ and for advice on hiring leadership talent for software ventures head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
More information on the Hoffman Institute process can be found at https://www.hoffmaninstitute.co.uk/
Maarten Stolk is the CEO & co-founder at Deeploy - a Dutch startup helping businesses build explainable and responsible AI
We discussed:
- Why people fear losing control of their AI models
- Challenges with AI model compliance - especially in heavily regulated industries
- Why companies always run into problems with their AI deployments!
- Key learnings for startups looking to sell & deploy enterprise-class software
- How to ensure everyone in your team is aligned on the same mission
For more insights into Deeploy, head over to https://www.deeploy.ml/ & for guidance on recruiting impactful leaders for software startups & scaleups head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Ed Keelan is a Partner at Octopus Ventures focused on B2B SaaS. As well as identifying & nurturing disruptive SaaS startups, Ed's actively involved in various initiatives addressing D&I topics - including neurodiversity - within the VC sector.
We discussed:
- What do VCs really care about when evaluating startups & entrepreneurs?
- Why many SaaS businesses that raised money during the VC bubble need to refocus on unit economics and "Swiss army knife" talent
- The importance of all types of diversity, including neurodiversity, in VC - Ed, who himself is dyslexic, is involved in several D&I initiatives
- The struggles faced by “the forgotten 90%” in VC portfolios - one CEO told Ed “I wake up most days just wishing someone would tell me what to do” - and a few crucial steps overwhelmed CEOs can take to address their challenges
For more insights into Octopus Ventures head over to https://octopusventures.com/ & for advice on recruiting exceptional leaders for startups & scale-ups check out https://alpinasearch.com/
William Tunstall-Pedoe's claims to fame include, in his first startup, Evi – which he sold to Amazon - creating the AI technology that now powers Alexa in 100s of millions of devices globally, coding the AI software behind the anagrams in the Da Vinci Code, and calculating that April 11th 1954 was the most boring day in history!
William’s latest venture – Unlikely AI – who’ve recently raised a $20m seed round led by Amadeus & Octopus - is his most ambitious venture yet & could radically change the future of software & AI development
We explored:
- why does the world need a contrarian approach to AI?
- thinking big - aiming to change the world
- creating magical products that delight customers
- codifying the company's culture
- mentoring & investing in dozens of startups
For more insights into Unlikely AI head over to https://unlikely.ai/ & for advice on recruiting exceptional leaders for startups & scale-ups check out https://alpinasearch.com/
William Tunstall-Pedoe's claims to fame include, in his first startup, Evi – which he sold to Amazon - creating the AI technology that now powers Alexa in 100s of millions of devices globally, coding the AI software behind the anagrams in the Da Vinci Code, and calculating that April 11th 1954 was the most boring day in history!
William’s latest venture – Unlikely AI – who’ve recently raised a $20m seed round led by Amadeus & Octopus - is his most ambitious venture yet & could radically change the future of software & AI development
We explored:
- why does the world need a contrarian approach to AI?
- thinking big - aiming to change the world
- creating magical products that delight customers
- codifying the company's culture
- mentoring & investing in dozens of startups
For more insights into Unlikely AI head over to https://unlikely.ai/ & for advice on recruiting exceptional leaders for startups & scale-ups check out https://alpinasearch.com/
Ambre Soubiran is the CEO at Kaiko – a cryptocurrency market data provider who in June ‘22 raised a $55m Series B led by Eight Roads. Kaiko aims to become the Bloomberg of the blockchain & cryptocurrency worlds!
We explored:
- Why Ambre gave up a successful banking career to build a blockchain startup
- How blockchain data services will empower decision-makers across many industries
- Why being too early can become a competitive advantage in a data-centric market
- Why successful entrepreneurs should obsess less about fundraising- it's not how about raising money, it's how you spend it!
- How to ensure a diverse international culture from Day 1
- How Ambre handled closing a Series B & giving birth to her baby on the same evening!
For more insights into Kaiko head over to https://www.kaiko.com/ & for advice on hiring leaders for B2B SaaS scale-up heads over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Ambre Soubiran is the CEO at Kaiko – a cryptocurrency market data provider who in June ‘22 raised a $55m Series B led by Eight Roads. Kaiko aims to become the Bloomberg of the blockchain & cryptocurrency worlds!
We explored:
- Why Ambre gave up a successful banking career to build a blockchain startup
- How blockchain data services will empower decision-makers across many industries
- Why being too early can become a competitive advantage in a data-centric market
- Why successful entrepreneurs should obsess less about fundraising- it's not how about raising money, it's how you spend it!
- How to ensure a diverse international culture from Day 1
- How Ambre handled closing a Series B & giving birth to her baby on the same evening!
For more insights into Kaiko head over to https://www.kaiko.com/ & for advice on hiring leaders for B2B SaaS scale-up heads over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Bastian Karweg is the Group CEO at Echobot & Leadfeeder – these 2 saas ventures were recently acquired & merged by Great Hill Partners to create a ground-breaking sales intelligence & go-to-market platform & appointed Zoominfo's former CEO, Derek Schoettle, as their Chairman.
We explored:
- the strategic thinking & ambition behind the Echobot & Leadfeeder "arranged marriage"
- the opportunity to combine PLG with sales-led growth in an impactful go-to-market strategy
- key challenges & opportunities of unifying the 2 brands & the platforms
- the "unfair advantage" of having Zoominfo's former CEO as your Chairman!
- how to build a culture of trust throughout your business
- the ways in which the pandemic has super-accelerated digital adoption in Europe
For more insights into Echobot & Leadfeeder check out https://www.echobot.com/ & https://www.leadfeeder.com/
And for advice on recruiting exceptional leadership talent for B2B Saas scale-ups check out https://alpinasearch.com/
Bastian Karweg is the Group CEO at Echobot & Leadfeeder – these 2 saas ventures were recently acquired & merged by Great Hill Partners to create a ground-breaking sales intelligence & go-to-market platform & appointed Zoominfo's former CEO, Derek Schoettle, as their Chairman.
We explored:
- the strategic thinking & ambition behind the Echobot & Leadfeeder "arranged marriage"
- the opportunity to combine PLG with sales-led growth in an impactful go-to-market strategy
- key challenges & opportunities of unifying the 2 brands & the platforms
- the "unfair advantage" of having Zoominfo's former CEO as your Chairman!
- how to build a culture of trust throughout your business
- the ways in which the pandemic has super-accelerated digital adoption in Europe
For more insights into Echobot & Leadfeeder check out https://www.echobot.com/ & https://www.leadfeeder.com/
And for advice on recruiting exceptional leadership talent for B2B Saas scale-ups check out https://alpinasearch.com/
Tariq Rauf is the Founder & CEO at Qatalog - backed by $18.5 million in funding from VCs like Atomico, Mosaic & Salesforce Ventures - whose digital work hub enables organisations to scale fast with transparency, automated knowledge flow, & tightly aligned teams & projects.
We explored:
- How Tariq started coding when he was 6, built his 1st software business when he was 12, developed software for major corporations throughout his teenage years & then chose to re-train as an architect!
- How architects learn to anticipate, & accommodate in their designs, rapid growth in user numbers unlike software designers who typically fail to plan for this
- The "productivity paradox" - why are productivity tools destroying productivity?
- Why Covid has, by accident, enabled us to find the ideal working environment for knowledge workers
- Will the latest generation of employees ever embrace 9-5 working practices & daily commutes?
For more insights into Qatalog check out https://qatalog.com/ & for guidance on recruiting exceptional leaders for B2B software scale-ups head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Thor Olof Philogène is the Co-Founder & CEO at Stravito who've sold their AI-driven saas research & insights platform directly to blue chips like Mcdonalds, Electrolux & Pepsi Lipton.
We explored:
- Applying the Eric Ries concept of “validated learnings” when launching a SaaS business
- How a small European venture can sell enterprise SaaS directly to blue chips like McDonalds
- Why focus is your best friend - and how to retain that focus as your business grows
- The advantages of front-load your hiring
- How to build an effective autonomous culture
For more Stravito insights check out https://www.stravito.com/ and for advice on hiring exceptional leaders for B2B Saas scale-ups head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Alex Mifsud is the CEO & Founder at embedded finance disruptor Weavr – who recently raised a $40m Series A led by Tiger Global. Other investors include QED, Anthemis, LocalGlobe, Mubadala Capital and Seedcamp.
Alex walked me through his:
- journey from academia to tech entrepreneurship
- learnings - including "how to go as fast as possible without the wheels coming off"!
- product philosophy: "put yourself in the shoes of customers and start designing the solution you would love to have if you were them"
- views on hiring & diversity: “the danger of cloning versus the danger of lone wolves”
- perspectives on the challenges of being a tech entrepreneur: “if it were a very straight line it would be a really boring job”!
For more insights into Weavr check out https://www.weavr.io/ and for guidance on hiring leaders for B2B SaaS scale-ups head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Jack Macfarlane is the CEO at DeepStream Technologies.
DeepStream's SaaS solution delivers a seamless, visible & automated procurement experience to clients like Maersk and BritishVolt.
DeepStream was originally backed by TechStars and angel investors - before raising a Series A, led by Beringea, in 2021
Jack discussed:
- Switching from investment banking to become a tech entrepreneur
- Ensuring your employees develop a shared winning mentality & contribute to the company's vision
- Navigating the path from your startup dream to the reality of scaling your business
- Diversity – building an eclectic mix of people from the outset
- Why Procurement is changing from a cost centre to a profit-generation centre
For more insights into DeepStream check out https://www.deep.stream/ and for advice on recruiting leaders for your SaaS scale-up head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Jussi Maatta is CEO & Founder at the Finnish health tech disruptor, Buddy Healthcare.
Buddy's platform helps healthcare providers reduce their huge waiting lists & enhance the patient experience.
We explored:
- implementing agile processes right the way across your organisation
- how a company's name can encapsulate the company's culture and ethos
- the pandemic's impact on the demand for virtual care solutions and better patient experiences
- how Russia's invasion impacted the team's Ukrainian developers
- staying fit & healthy to cope with the stresses & strains of leading a SaaS startup
- hiring a dynamic team of diverse individuals to help shape & deliver the company's vision
For more insights into Buddy Healthcare check out https://www.buddyhealthcare.com/en/
And for guidance on hiring leadership talent for B2B saas scale-ups, head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Sven Lackinger is the co-founder & CEO at Sastrify - a rapidly scaling SaaS venture who’ve raised $23m dollars from major VCs like HV Capital and FirstMark for their SaaS procurement solution.
We explored:
- Why 4 co-founders is too many - you're better off with 2 co-founders who then hire “experts” for the other c-suite roles
- The benefits of hiring world class talent anywhere in the world & how to build a completely remote team & culture
- Why Sastrify has launched so many virtual cultural initiatives like Friday Checkouts – where people thank a colleague for something they’ve done and share their weekend plans - and global online chess tournaments to build friendships across timezones and countries
- How Sastrify are creating a new product category to enable large enterprises to procure and operate their software
N.B. This episode was recorded in early March 2022 - shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine
For more insights into Sastrify check out https://www.sastrify.com/ & for advice on hiring leaders to scale your B2B SaaS venture head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Sampo Parkkinen is the CEO & founder at Revieve whose SaaS platform uses AI, AR & computer-vision to help brands and retailers like Number 7, Superdrug & JC Penney personalise the customer experience and build long term customer relationships.
We explored:
- Why scaling yourself - as a leader - is the hardest thing to do as an entrepreneur
- “The Power Focus” – learning not to chase every opportunity and not to try to put out every fire
- How & when to transition your SaaS business from focusing on SMBs to winning large enterprise clients
- Why e-commerce is moving from transaction driven to relationship driven - shaking up the entire consumer brand experience
For more insights into Revieve check out https://www.revieve.com/ & for guidance on recruiting leaders talent for B2B SaaS scale-ups head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Jonas Thordal is the Co-founder & CEO at Weld – funded by VCs like Frontline Ventures & Cherry Ventures
Weld aims to build the world's most customer-centric data company - empowering customers to unlock the full potential of their data.
We explored:
- Building a utopian culture – how to eliminate politics, tedious decision process & hierarchies
- Why one of your earliest hires should be a People Ops person to prioritise your cultural values
- Recognising that, even if you've a great product, people are what will make or break your company
- Developing a company-wide mindset of getting product out there, failing fast, learning & iterating
- Minimising stress & burnout in a fast-paced startup - including the benefits of meditation to help each individual achieve focus, prioritisation & clarity of purpose
For more insights into Weld, head over to https://weld.app/
And for advice on recruiting exceptional leadership for B2B SaaS ventures, head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Malcolm Burenstam Linder is the Founder & CEO at Series A funded Alva Labs whose digital hiring platform helps organisations improve the quality & diversity of the talent they recruit.
We explored:
- why combining data-driven AI & machine learning with psychometrics helps companies improve the quality and diversity of the talent they hire
- as we struggle with a global pandemic & a horrific European war, should companies behave like elite sports teams & provide their employees with personal coaches & therapists?
- the challenges of transitioning from being a hands-on but chaotic entrepreneur - who tries to wear every hat - to a confident business leader who delegates to a highly effective leadership team
For more insights into Alva Labs check out https://www.alvalabs.io/ & for advice on recruiting world class leaders for B2B SaaS scale-ups head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Hubert Rachwalski is the CEOat Nethone who in 2021 were named Poland’s fastest-growing company in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50
Nethone provides machine learning-based fraud prevention solutions to online retailers and financial institutions
We explored:
- the arms race that pushes software innovators like Nethone to continue to develop advanced technologies and AI to keep pace with the criminals
- the importance of educating banks & merchants on the risks they face from fraud
- how a European SaaS startup can sell to international enterprise clients from Day 1
- how Nethone has successfully hired strong senior talent remotely but faces increased competition in their home market, due to the pandemic, from overseas employers
For more insights into Nethone head over to https://nethone.com/ and for advice on recruiting stellar leaders for B2B Saas ventures head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Please note, this interview was recorded over 2 weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine - hence we did not discuss the implications of the invasion during the podcast
Simon Bird is the CEO & co-founder at RevLifter who combine AI, hyper-personalization, data, algorithms, and cutting-edge UX and design to enable retailers to personalise their online offers.
Revlifter raised their Series A from Gresham House Ventures & Maven Capital Partners - they’ve rapidly scaled to $10m ARR and sold to online businesses of all shapes & sizes including blue chips like New Balance, Harvey Nichols, Staples and AT&T.
Simon discussed:
- How he formulated a successful SaaS business concept on the back of a napkin in a London café!
- Learning the good, the bad and the ugly of startup leadership by investing in start-ups before you launch your own business
- Lessons for European Saas businesses looking to replicate their success & their culture in The States
- “If you’re gonna hire people, they should really be telling you what to do rather than the other way round”
- The dangers of being too hands-on as a CEO in terms of your mental & physical health – learning how to let go!
For more Revlifter insights head over to https://www.revlifter.com/ and for guidance on recruiting exceptional B2B SaaS startup & scale-up leaders check out https://alpinasearch.com/
Arthur Nobel is a Principal at Knight Capital, having previously worked at Rocket Internet & co-founded Flexpat where he went through both the startup hype and the trough of disillusionment!
Arthur wrote the best-selling book “Leaders of Growth” and hosts the Leaders of Growth Podcast.
We explored why:
- The concept of a single product-market fit needs to be re-configured as a continuous journey of multiple product-market fits
- Arthur's goal - as a VC - is not to make money but to help others succeed & achieve their vision
- Market-timing is crucial - pre-pandemic, Arthur launched a company to help businesses hire remote workers – but companies did not at that time want remote workforces so the business failed
- The character of your ideal employee should change significantly at each stage of a company's evolution
- Entrepreneurs need to quantify their competitive advantage and optimise for this across their entire business
For more insights into Knight Capital head over to https://www.knight.capital/
And for guidance on recruiting exceptional leaders for B2B SaaS scale-ups, check out https://alpinasearch.com/
Nicola Ebmeyer is the co-founder at Gain.Pro - a 3 year old European SaaS fintech looking to become the Bloomberg of the private finance market!
Gain.Pro already has a stellar list of loyal clients like Bain, Mckinsey, 3i and BCG - their ARR has consistently grown at well over 100% YoY and they've delivered exceptional NRR & NPS
Nicola explained how Gain.Pro was established from the get-go with a clear understanding of unit economics & a clear path towards profitability.
We also explored:
how a large consultancy like McKinsey provides an excellent career foundation for wannabe entrepreneurs how to ensure you only build products your clients truly need why customer feedback should be treated as a "gift" & never as a problem focusing every employee - whether they be commercial or technical - on a common set of KPIs
For more Gain.Pro insights check out https://www.gain.pro/ & for guidance on recruiting leadership talent for European B2B SaaS scale-ups head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Dr Shay David is the CEO at retrain.ai – a startup developing the world’s leading AI talent intelligence platform to unlock talent insights and optimize the hiring, retention, & upskilling of their employees.
Shay’s previous venture was Kaltura which he took from inception to $100m+ in revenue – Kaltura ipo’d in 2021.
Shay discussed:
why he wanted to build a software venture to address a global societal problem how retrain.ai will solve the generational skills gap & help get 1 million people back to work key tenets of building a successful software startup: customer centricity, data centricity & focusing on the fundamentals why the US is becoming less of a priority for international software ventures
For more insights into retrain.ai head over to https://www.retrain.ai/ and for advice on hiring exceptional leadership talent for SaaS scale-ups check out https://alpinasearch.com/
Oliver Edholm is a teenage entrepreneur shaking up the world of AI & ecommerce!
Oliver launched the ecommerce SaaS startup "Depict" - funded by Northzone & EQT - after a spell at Klarna
Depict uses AI to deliver Amazon-quality product recommendations for any e-commerce store enabling small & medium-sized retailers to compete on a level playing field with their largest competitors.
Oliver explains how he:
dropped out of school after having his worldview transformed by Nick Bostrom's book “Super Intelligence” became the youngest AI researcher in the world at age 15! 1st met his co-founder Anton, & seeded the idea for Depict, at “Effective Altruism” began his entrepreneurial journey, despite a lack of retail relationships or startup experience, at the start of the covid pandemic & joined Y Combinator
He outlined some key Y Combinator learnings including aim for 100% clarity - even if you're only 80% accurate - in all your communications
And he explained how meditation can "change the operating system of your mind" - could meditation be a tool that would help other entrepreneurs handle their scale-up challenges more effectively?
For more insights into Depict check out https://depict.ai/
And for advice on hiring exceptional leadership talent to scale your B2B SaaS venture, head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Neta Meidav is the CEO of Vault Platform. In 2017, inspired by the #MeToo movement and her own experiences with harassment, Neta left her job as a climate adviser to found Vault.
Vault is a Series A scale-up pioneering TrustTech - a new category of ethics-enabling workplace technology helping companies address compliance, risk, and HR challenges.
Neta explained how Vault helps with a range of work issues - including ethics, bullying, racism & sexual harassment. By giving people a voice, "you help them to speak up...you automatically create a more diverse environment".
We discussed the challenges of being a female tech entrepreneur in a male-dominated sector - studies have shown that female founders face different funding criteria & are actually asked different questions by VCs!
We explored the founder's privilege of surrounding themselves with great minds & wonderful human beings - and experiencing how "the magic happens" when exceptional people get together.
Neta also explained why she believes hybrid working is an inferior model - hence Vault, due to the pandemic, has switched from WFO to WFH - and we discussed how companies can ensure the magic still happens when teams are working remotely.
For more insights into Vault check out https://vaultplatform.com/
And for advice on hiring global leadership talent for B2B SaaS startups & scale-ups, head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Jan Andriessen & Mick Mackaay are Partners at HenQ - a Dutch-based VC investing in European B2B software startups addressing "unexplored problems" & "defining their own markets".
They've an exceptional track record backing unproven leadership teams who've subsequently scaled massively e.g. SendCloud - who now have 400 employees, 23,000 ecommerce clients & in September 2021 raised a follow-on round of $177m!
We explored HenQ's refreshing approach to VC investing. For example, HenQ:
are dismissive of the metrics that VCs & startups typically obsess over - who gives a damn about TAM?! are a fully remote VC firm - deal-sourcing is almost entirely outbound and digital use advanced algorithms to identify very early stage businesses to invest in typically invest in younger founders who lack a proven track record yet demonstrate the personal traits - e.g. obsessiveness & attention to detail - HenQ believe determine startup success are dismissive of the excessive emphasis VCs traditionally place on charm & charisma aim to ensure every one of their portfolio companies will be successful - this contrasts sharply with the traditional VC model that assumes 1 in 10 portfolio companies will generate huge returns hence the fate of the other 9 matters less
For more insights into HenQ and their stable of successful B2B Saas scale-ups check out https://henq.vc/ & for guidance on hiring exceptional leaders for B2B Saas ventures head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Judith Dada is a General Partner at La Famiglia - a European VC investing in early stage digital disruptors like buynomics and y42.
We explored a wide-range of topics including:
“Learning the craft of VC” is more important than a business school education Migration should be viewed as a powerful driver of growth - hence society's perceptions need to change Migration and remote working can help startups overcome some of their talent scarcity & diversity challenges Augmentation may have more long-term impact on productivity than automation technologies Ethical & philosophical considerations are important for the future of AI - the research of experts like Oxford University’s Luciano Floridi provides thought-provoking insights
For more information on La Famiglia check out https://lafamiglia.vc/ & for advice on hiring leadership talent at software ventures head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Eva-Valerie Gfrerer is the founding CEO at MorphAIs - the pioneer in AI-driven VC investment.
MorphAIs uses a data and technology driven approach to reduce human error & bias & make investments more accurate, transparent and inclusive.
Eva discussed many data-driven VC topics including:
❇️ entrepreneurial talent is equally distributed – it’s the access to capital that isn’t
❇️ AI-led decisions can drive more inclusive VC investments and enhanced returns
❇️ data-driven behavioural science may help investors evaluate even subtle criteria like passion & perseverance
For more insights into Morphais head over to https://morphais.com/
And for guidance on recruiting world class leaders for B2B startups & scaleups, check out https://alpinasearch.com/
Niels Brochner is a co-founder at Contractbook who provide document & contract automation to 150,000 users across more than 100 countries.
Contractbook, based out of Copenhagen and now also NYC, have raised $43m – mostly from US VCs Tiger Global, Gradient & Bessemer Venture Partners
Niels discussed:
How to create a culture where people actually want to come to work – where they’ll have the best 5 years of their working life! Why US VCs are more supportive & impactful than European VCs How to identify talent with “StartUp IQ” even if they are not proven rockstars! The lessons business leaders can learn from exceptional sports champions like the NBA’s Steve Kerr
For more insights into Contractbook check out https://contractbook.com/ & head over to https://alpinasearch.com/ for advice on recruiting exceptional start-up & scale-up leaders
Henry Alty, Investment Director at Gresham House Ventures, invests in process & workflow automation software, digital transformation, & scale-ups looking to improve the use of data & analytics
We explored:
the opportunity to build profitable, sustainable, scale-ups - "camels" - that many investors overlook in their search for unicorns how to scale from 3m-5m ARR to 10m-20m+ ARR - founders must be prepared to invest in expensive leadership talent, & to relinquish control of key functions, to build a genuine scale-up how Gresham's combined PE & VC expertise delivers value to growth companies seeking investors in an increasingly crowded market
why founders should take extensive references & really dig into the approach & track record of prospective investors - just as they should do when hiring senior talent
why companies who embrace ESG criteria are well-positioned for the challenges of the next decade
For more insights into Gresham House Ventures check out https://greshamhouseventures.com/
And for guidance on recruiting leadership talent for growth ventures, head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
John Goulding is the CEO at Workvivo - an employee engagement and communication platform venture he co-founded in 2017 to create an engaging virtual workplace & replace the intranet.
Workvivo’s growing 200% year-on-year & has over half a million users across more than 80 countries with 100% customer retention!
Workvivo is backed by Zoom founder Eric Yuan, Frontline Ventures & Tiger Global.
We explored how:
effective CS & strong customer retention fuels great product ideas & makes companies a better, more enjoyable, place to work in a culture that focuses on speed enables you to outmanoeuvre much larger competitors creative employee backgrounds, typically under-valued in the tech sector, are becoming increasingly crucial in shaping successful tech ventures virtual teams and remote working has improved employee creativity during the pandemic young European SaaS ventures can achieve huge success in The States
For more insights into Workvivo check out https://www.workvivo.com/
And for advice on scaling B2B software ventures, head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Gary Brotman is the CEO at Secondmind - a UK start-up who've raised $51m from VCs like Amadeus, Atlantic Bridge & Passion Capital to help companies achieve sustainability through machine learning.
We explored:
Is building a purpose-driven culture and brand crucial for any business looking to become a market leader?
How does Secondmind leverage ML to help automotive innovators meet future environmental and regulatory challenges?
How can you find the signal in the noise to solve business problems?
Why are usability and trust top priorities for any SaaS venture?
How can SaaS ventures overcome the challenge of scaling products from research “magic” to impactful commercial products?
For more insights into Secondmind check out https://www.secondmind.ai/
For advice on successfully scaling B2B software ventures head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Yusuf Ozdalga is a Partner at QED Investors and a Board member at Fidel API, Wayflyer, GetGround, Capitalise, Weavr, and Rest Less. He’s also a Jiu Jitsu bronze medalist!
During our interview we delved into mental health and addiction issues and the Operation Lighthouse initiative:
After 1 of their Partners, Greg Mazanec, died from opiate addiction, QED researched the mental health challenges faced by startup investors and founders. They discovered that – due to the huge pressure founders and startup investors are exposed to, they are many times more likely than most to suffer from depression, suicidal thoughts, ADHD or bipolar disorder. So QED and Greg's family together launched Operation Lighthouse to destigmatise mental health and addiction and provide resources to enable people to overcome these challenges tps://theoperationlighthouse.org/
We also explored Yusuf's learnings from Jiu jitsu - and how these might help us in our professional lives - including how to handle unexpected developments and how to remain resilient in the face of powerful opposing forces.
And we discussed how people need to be more open-minded about paths so success - in life, in investment, and in business - there are always diverse approaches and perspectives you can leverage and deploy.
Yusuf explained how QED are leading by example on diversity issues and pushing their portfolio companies to measure and improve their progress with D&I
We also explored some of QED's major success stories like Wagestream - which is a superbly performing scale-up and a strong legacy that Greg Mazanec has left behind.
For more insights into QED check out https://qedinvestors.com/ and for support on mental health and addiction challenges head over to https://theoperationlighthouse.org/
For start-up and scale-up leadership advice - take a look at https://alpinasearch.com/
Emil Gigov, Partner at Albion VC, has been involved in 30 early stage & growth investments during his 2 decades as a VC. We explored:
How Europe's VC ecosystem has evolved in the past 2 decades The metrics Albion use to track the ESG (environmental, social, governance) performance of their investments The 3 long-term growth themes that underpin Albion's investment decisions: technology, education and demographics How scalable culture and people processes impact on a startup's ability to grow and raise further rounds of funding Why the VC sector must better communicate the important role they can play in bringing back post-pandemic prosperity
For more insights into Albion VC check out https://www.albion.vc & for guidance on hiring stellar leadership teams for b2b start-ups & scale-ups head over to https://alpinasearch.com
Parry Malm is the co-founder and CEO at Phrasee – a scaleup who combine natural language techniques with AI and deep learning to optimize marketing across all digital channels in over 20 languages.
Funded by Albion VC, Galvanize Capital and Next 15 Communications, Phrasee’s solution is truly revolutionary and delivers major ROI for blue chip clients like Ebay, Virgin Atlantic and Superdry.
We explored the underlying problem that Phrasee set out to address - lots of companies focus on optimizing the operational efficiency of a marketing campaign: "You click a button and a million messages go out to a million people. But what if that message sucks?!”
We discussed how Phrasee has placed ethics front and centre – in terms of the way the company is run, the solutions they offer and the clients they work with - for example, Phrasee recently rejected the opportunity to work with a US client who sold guns and ammunition.
And we critically examined the VC ecosystem:
“For all that VCs say about backing innovators – what they are actually doing is backing incrementors!” Many entrepreneurs are obsessed with the meaningless paper valuations of their private VC rounds - what ultimately matters is what you can do to capitalise your value for founders, employee option holders and investors
Parry explained how startups like Phrasee can begin by dominating a narrow market and then expand into complementary areas.
And we discussed why it's so crucial for founders to ensure "you have a killer management team at the top", set them guidelines and boundaries, and then "get the f*** out of there and let them get on with it!"
We also discussed how Phrasee responded proactively to the pandemic and Parry's view that the winners in every global crisis are always the ones who adapt and don’t suffer from institutional inertia preventing them from moving forward.
Finally we discussed Phrasee's brilliant naming taxonomy for each product component and each project team - based on the characters in The Simpsons!
For more insights into Phrasee's digital marketing AI solutions check out https://phrasee.co and for guidance on recruiting rockstar executive talent for B2B SaaS start-ups and scale-ups head over to https://alpinasearch.com
Pierre Lindmark is the CEO at Winningtemp – 1 of Europe’s fastest growing B2B SaaS scale-ups
Winningtemp’s vision is to provide the science behind successful organisations - to forever change how organisations succeed!
The company serves 700 clients in 23 countries leveraging advanced AI and providing science-based insights to dramatically reduce employee turnover and sick leave.
We explored:
Why founders and entrepreneurs need to train themselves to sell from Day 1 – even if they don’t feel comfortable selling How to create the mentality in your organisation to ensure that everyone is selling Why early employees tend to be gladiators who, as the organisation scales, must evolve into laser-focused soldiers How CEOs can use weekly vision boards to tap into the dreams and strengths of every employee - to ensure they're up to speed with their emerging talent Why the pandemic's impact on employee motivation and emotional well-being demonstrates the need for leaders to introduce more empathetic communication - and some specific tips on how to do this
For more insights into Winningtemp check out https://winningtemp.com and for guidance on recruiting exceptional leaders for B2B SaaS scaleups head over to https://alpinasearch.com
Eugene Kruglov is co-founder at AppFollow – a European scaleup who help businesses review and analyse their mobile app user sentiment, streamline customer support, and automate competitor and customer analysis to strengthen product roadmaps.
Appfollow have more than 70,000 global clients — from small and medium-sized businesses to blue chips like McDonald’s, Disney, Sky and Sony – and they recently raised a Series A led by Nauta Capital.
We explored:
How AppFollow's founders switched from their initial idea of a quick profitable exit to creating a new market category and a billion dollar global story for their investors Why and how they established a truly remote culture from the company’s earliest days - the lessons they've learned that could help companies who've been forced to switch to remote working due to the pandemic The benefits of an exceptionally open communication policy - AppFollow encourage every employee to ask and share business questions & insights online and key company metrics are shared company wide e.g. MRR, churn and upsell are shared with every single employee
For more insights into AppFollow check out https://appfollow.io and for guidance on recruiting stellar leadership talent for B2B Saas startups and scaleups check out https://alpinasearch.com
Abhishek Chatterjee is the CEO at Tookitaki – a disruptive AI scaleup looking to shake up the world of financial and regulatory compliance.
Tookitaki raised $20m in funding from the likes of Viola, Nomura and Illuminate Financial - and they’ve deployed their solution at a number of Tier 1 banks in Asia, Europe and North America.
In 2019, The World Economic Forum recognised Tookitaki as a Technology Pioneer for its ability to shape the industry and society in new and exciting ways.
We explored how Tookitaki is creating a modular "compliance-as-a-service" category along with an ecosystem of partners leveraging their open APIs
And we discussed the important role Tookitaki's culture had played in the growth of the company and their successful engagement with demanding clients.
Some of the key learnings Abhishek highlighted were:
You must set-up metrics from the earliest stages in a company’s evolution so you can track, measure and improve Product-market fit is not fixed - it's a continuous journey, hence you need to keep talking to your customers and evolve your products over time as your customer needs evolve It's crucial to focus on a winnable segment – define and build your beachhead, then double down
For more insights into Tookitaki check out https://www.tookitaki.ai and for guidance on recruiting stellar leaders for B2B startups and scaleups head over to https://alpinasearch.com
Eric Friedrichsen is the CEO at Emburse - who humanize work by empowering business travelers, finance professionals and CFOs to eliminate manual, time-consuming tasks. Emburse has 14,000 customers for their AP and expense management solutions - from start-ups to global blue chips like Grant Thornton, Telefónica, Lufthansa and Toyota.
We explored Emburse's determination to create a culture of inclusion and diversity: "If we aren’t part of solving the problem we are perpetuating the problem!"
We discussed their core values "SEEIT": Sincerity, Empowerment, Empathy, Individuality, Teamwork and some of their specific D&I initiatives. For example, Emburse gave all employees a vacation & "personal reflection" day on Juneteenth – prompted by the George Floyd killing and concerns about systemic racism in society.
We also examined what it means to be a “customer-led” company – rather than a sales-led or product-led company.
And we discussed how Emburse was helping its employees cope with the stresses of 2020 - with an unlimited PTO policy and the rollout of Emburse Unplugged Days which are compulsory 1x a month for every employee and have even led to the growing reputation of their house band “The Bad Receipts”!
For more insights into Emburse check out https://www.emburse.com and for guidance on hiring world class leaders for B2B Saas startups and scaleups head over to https://alpinasearch.com
Roope Heinila is the CEO at Smarp – a saas scaleup disrupting the global market for employee engagement and communications.
We explored Roope's learnings during a difficult first 18 months as an entrepreneur a decade ago, when only his Granny's loan enabled the company to survive!
We examined the rationale for Smarp's pivot from edtech to employee engagement and advocacy.
And we discussed how Smarp has developed and prioritised a learning culture across the entire organisation.
Finally, we discussed the dramatic changes resulting from the covid pandemic - with organisations needing to find an effective and targeted way to communicate with globally dispersed workforces in a targeted manner - which have massively increased demand for Smarp's solution from large international enterprises like Amazon and the "Big Four" consulting firms.
For more insights into Smarp check out https://smarp.com/ and for guidance on hiring stellar executive talent for saas startups and scaleups head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Erin Platts heads up Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in EMEA and she’s led their growth across the region for over a decade.
We discussed the huge transformation in the European ecosystem in last 5-6 years in terms of:
Number of repeat entrepreneurs Depth and sophistication of capital Local aspiration & skillset to create global category leaders Diversification of business sectors being served by startups
We also explored Erin's concerns that Europe's B2B saas ventures - many of whom appear robust despite the pandemic - may be over-optimistic especially if churn in Q4 2020 and Q1 2021 is higher than expected
And we evaluated the shift to WFH both for SVB and for the VC-backed tech community:
Zoom has evened up the playing field for companies who no longer need to be located in London, Cambridge or Berlin to have access to Europe’s best funding and networking opportunities Efficiency has in many businesses, including SVB, improved - however Erin feels that effectiveness may tail off if we continue to operate 100% virtually for many more months The tactical measures SVB has introduced to support employees mental health and wellbeing and "improve the bifurcation between work & home life”
For more insights into SVB head over to https://www.svb.com/uk and for advice on hiring leadership talent for B2B SaaS ventures check out https://alpinasearch.com
Pete Crosby is Chair of the Manchester Revenue Collective, founding member of the London Revenue Collective, and non-exec at Kluster, a revenue analytics platform.
Previously Pete led revenue growth at Ometria and Triptease – 2 successful B2B SaaS scaleups – and he drove commercial operations at Viadeo from Series A to IPO.
In a hard-hitting interview, we explored:
DIVERSITY
- "Leaders should lead – even when it’s difficult to do so"
- Diversity is one of the tough challenges business leaders are failing to tackle
- Putting a black square on your linkedin profile does not demonstrate you’re dealing with diversity challenges!
- The “Unbiased Playbook” is a comprehensive diversity hiring playbook recently launched by the Revenue Collective
- The playbook suggests, for example, that you need to “pump prime it early on" to encourage people of diverse backgrounds to come and work for your business
CEO FAILINGS WITH SALES LEADERSHIP HIRING DECISIONS
- Founders and CEOs are advised by VCs and "well-meaning but stupid books" that you should hire someone to lead revenue for 18 months then get rid of them
- When sales are not happening - as company leaders and investors expect - they focus on the symptom not the cause
- The underlying problem is typically product or positioning - firing your sales leader will not resolve this
- Few CEOs understand the differences between the tactical leadership you get with a VP Sales and the strategic leadership you get with a CRO - and when and why you should hire either profile
For more information on the Revenue Collective check out https://www.revenuecollective.com and for advice on recruiting exceptional leaders for B2B Saas startups and scaleups head over to https://alpinasearch.com
Nikola Mrksic is CEO at PolyAI – a Cambridge University spinout who raised $14m in VC funding for their automated customer service solutions
We explored why:
- society will be so much better off once fully automated CS solutions replace tedious customer service roles
- true conversational AI is so much more impactful than the "glorified chatbots" most organisations deploy
- being a 1st-time CEO with a technical background is such a joyful experience of personal growth
- recruiting your initial senior hires is so tricky - yet so crucial for business success and CEO sanity!
- the US market is so far ahead of Europe in terms of technology adoption & product management expertise
For more insights into the future of work & customer service automation check out https://www.polyai.com and for guidance on recruiting stellar leadership & senior executive talent for B2B SaaS startups & scaleups head over to https://alpinasearch.com
Mina Mutafchieva is a VC at Dawn Capital – 1 of Europe’s largest venture capital firms who recently raised their 4th fund - a $400m fund investing in Europe’s most promising early stage B2B Saas ventures
We explored why:
- Dawn Capital's #1 criteria in evaluating a CEO is "can they build a great team around them – can they inspire & attract talent they do not yet deserve?"
- resilience is becoming the #1 personality trait you need as an entrepreneur
- business leaders need to realise they are there to build a company & not to try to fix everything themselves
- it was a “piece of cake” to raise a $400m VC fund in Europe in 2020!
We also discussed the most challenging aspects of being a VC including "you’re only as good as the entrepreneurs you invest in" and how Mina's role has expanded during the pandemic to incorporate emotional counselling
For more Dawn Capital insights check out http://dawncapital.com & for guidance on recruiting exceptional leaders for B2B SaaS ventures head over to https://alpinasearch.com
Nihal Mehta, General Partner at Eniac Ventures, experienced the pain of building a tech venture that failed during the dotcom collapse. He's subsequently founded & exited several successful tech ventures - Nihal was also an early investor in the likes of Uber and Admob – so he’s got a pretty strong track record spotting disruptive companies with unicorn potential!
We explored:
- the resilience of New York city - despite covid
- lessons learnt from the dotcom collapse that today’s tech entrepreneurs can leverage
- the need for tech founders to be able to answer this question: “Are you 1 of the very few teams in the world that could pull off this mission?”
- how to use Twitter and LinkedIn to engage with enterprise prospects & clients
- the mental health issues facing entrepreneurs and tech leaders during the pandemic
- why Eniac's portfolio has been actively hiring ethnic & gender diversity board members & employees
For more insights into Eniac Ventures, head over to https://eniac.vc & for gudiance on recruiting leadership talent for tech startups & scaleups check out https://alpinasearch.com
Emily Bremner heads up operations & scaling at Signal – a UK scaleup who’ve raised $52m in funding from the likes of Redline Capital, MMC Ventures, Hearst Ventures, GMG Ventures & Frontline Ventures. Signal’s solution uses machine learning to help their clients track the competitive landscape & monitor their reputation & key regulatory changes — empowering them to make smarter, faster, business decisions.
We explored:
- Why ESG - Environmental, Social and Governance - objectives are crucial for tech ventures & for society
- How Signal's solutions help their clients embrace ESG
- The initiatives Signal has implemented to strengthen diversity & inclusivity including:
- diversity shortlist quotas
- prioritising candidate abilities rather than focusing on “markers of prestige”
- recalibrating their Board and Advisory Board to better reflect and lead their D&I aspirations
- How Signal has changed - in terms of structure and hiring practices - to handle rapid growth in revenues & headcount
- Since "businesses grow exponentially and people often grow linearly" – ideas for supporting employees who cannot grow with the business
- Why startups & scaleups need to be careful not to be seduced large blue chip employers on candidates' CVs
- Tools & techniques Signal have implemented to build a harmonious & highly effective global team that performs effectively in a WFH environment
We also discussed how Emily's inspirations come not from the Tech/VC community - but from the likes of Dave Chapelle (stand-up comedian) & Neil deGrasse Tyson (US astrophysicist) who's advice includes: “if you're good at bullshitting people, you're not hanging out with the right people”!
And Emily recommended all startups and scaleups can learn valuable lessons from these 2 books: The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team (Patrick Lencioni) and The Lean Startup (Eric Ries)
For more insights into Signal check out https://www.signal-ai.com/ and for guidance on recruiting stellar senior talent at B2B tech startups & scaleups head over to https://alpinasearch.com/
Ricardo Sequerra is a Partner at Point 9 Capital in Berlin. Point 9 invests in early stage b2b SaaS ventures & they’ve backed several unicorns including Zendesk and Typeform!
We explored how & why early stage venture founders should:
- convince VCs of potential product market fit
- prove to investors they'll be hiring machines
- hire a Head of People long before they start scaling rapidly
- expand into The States to access proven scaleup leadership talent
We also chatted about Ricardo's most amusing investment pitch experience - when a Brazilian entrepreneur pitched Ricardo moments after he'd finished praying at the Western Wall in Jerusalem!
For more insights into Point 9 Capital check out http://pointnine.com & for advice on hiring stellar startup & scaleup leaders head over to https://alpinasearch.com
Gareth Capon is the CEO & Founder at Grabyo – a cloud-based video platform working with over 70 premium broadcasters, sports properties & digital publishers including FOX Sports, The Premier League, FC Barcelona, BT Sport and Sky.
We explored how Grabyo:
- raised their funding from soccer stars Robin Van Persie, Thierry Henry & Cesc Fabregas and NBA star Tony Parker
- have maintained better control of destiny during the pandemic than many of their VC-funded peers
- are lowering their clients' carbon footprint – & helping them during lockdowns - as content can now be created from events without the need to be physically present
We also discussed the future of the broadcast/video sector as it shifts rapidly to a streaming-led model
For more insights into Grabyo check out https://about.grabyo.com/uk/ & for advice on hiring stellar talent to scale B2B saas ventures head over to https://alpinasearch.com
Matt Penneycard is co-Founder at Ada Ventures, a $34m London-based venture capital fund investing in overlooked founders. Ada Ventures launched in December 2019 to shake up the “old boys networks” & unconscious biases that dominate the VC world
With humility & candour, Matt describes:
- Ada's desire to invest in founders who are consumed by the need to effect change and create massive ROI
- How true early stage VC investing in the UK trails other markets especially the US
- The lack funding for under-served markets e.g. female-led companies
- The challenges of raising and running your 1st VC fund
- How Ada drives dealflow through a unique network of scouts – these are leaders of diverse tech/startup communities who source deals & receive differentiated incentives
At the end of the podcast Matt proposed Ada Ventures as anchor investor in "Headhunter Ventures" if Gary were to launch his own VC fund;)
For more insights into Ada Ventures check out https://www.adaventures.com & https://medium.com/ada-ventures
And for guidance on hiring leadership talent for startups & scaleups head over to https://alpinasearch.com
Dennis Kayser is the founding CEO at Forecast who raised $5.5m in 2019 for their SaaS solution which leverages artificial intelligence to transform project management & professional services.
We explored:
- Having launched the business in Copenhagen, why Dennis chose London for Forecast’s commercial HQ
- Overcoming Covid’s challenges through flat structures & autonomous teams used to working remotely
- How Forecast, from its inception, was created with a diverse workforce reflecting their diverse target customers - their 60 employees comprise 18 nationalities and a 50-50 gender split
- How and why AI will make all of us superhuman!
- Why Dennis decided to accept funding from a VC who valued Forecast 3x less than other VCs had valued the business
- Why founders should not get starstruck just because a high profile VC reaches out to them
For more insights into Forecast head over to https://www.forecast.app & for advice on hiring stellar B2B SaaS scale-up talent check out https://alpinasearch.com
Brad Feld has been an early stage investor & entrepreneur for 30 years. He co-founded Foundry Group, Mobius Venture Capital, Intensity Ventures & Techstars. Brad’s also a published author & a long-distance runner who’s completed dozens of marathons!
We discussed:
- Brad's new book - "The StartUp Community Way" - and explored why the theory of complex systems is so crucial for startup & scaleup leaders
- The psychological challenges Brad has faced during his career as an entrepreneur and investor
- The importance of regular emotional, physical and intellectual resets
- The steps Brad has taken to help his portfolio CEOs overcome the psychological/emotional challenges they've faced in 2020
- Why Brad recently committed to getting at least one non-white board member - and preferably at least one female AND one non-white board member - on every board he serves, even if it means giving up his board seat
- The other actions Brad's encouraging to improve diversity within his portfolio
For more insights into startup communities check out https://startupcw.com & for guidance on hiring & retaining stellar tech startup & scaleup leadership talent head over to https://alpinasearch.com
Mathew Sweezey, Director of Market Strategy at Salesforce, has developed a radical view of the Future of Marketing with huge implications for ambitious tech ventures. We explored:
- the crucial differences between the "Infinite Era of Marketing" and the Digital Era
- why purpose-driven businesses have significant competitive advantages in the Infinite Era
- why B2B ventures who create experiences will outperform those who merely create messages
- the increasing importance of AR, VR & "XR" for B2B marketers
- why companies need to create a new C Suite leadership role, & change their structure, to optimise for customer experience across the entire customer journey
For more insights into the Future of Marketing head over to https://mathewsweezey.com/future-of-marketing-2019/ & for advice on successfully scaling your B2B software venture check out https://alpinasearch.com
Marlon Nichols is Managing General Partner at MaC Venture Capital – a West Coast VC investing in technology companies that create infectious products benefiting from shifts in cultural trends & behaviours in an increasingly diverse global marketplace. Marlon’s also on the Board of Directors of Kauffman Fellows, is an Adjunct Professor at Cornell, and was previously Director of Investments at Intel Capital.
We discussed:
- The challenges facing BAME VCs & BAME entrepreneurs trying to raise funding for their funds & their startups
- Why it is a financial as well as a moral imperative to invest in diversity: “even if you’re not a decent human being - at least be a selfish & fiduciary human being”
- The risk that startups who raise too much capital too early will lose focus & struggle to gain traction
For more insights into MaC Ventures head over to https://macventurecapital.com & for advice on recruiting exceptional talent to scale your software venture check out https://alpinasearch.com
William McQuillan was the youngest Partner of a European VC fund when he co-founded Frontline Ventures in 2012. An early stage venture capital fund with €110m under management, Frontline has made over 40 investments across Europe.
We explored:
- Frontline Ventures “platform” offering - the 1st to be launched by a European VC firm
- How the platform enables Frontline to track everything they do to add value to their portfolio
- The shocking stats Frontline uncovered on gender & ethnicity in dealflow
- The specific steps VCs can take to improve their ability to support diverse businesses
- The criteria Frontline evaluate when investing in companies with no products & no revenues
- How an entrepreneur tracked William down on AirBnb then rented a room so he could pitch him!
For more insights into Frontline Ventures head over to https://www.frontline.vc & for advice on hiring stellar leadership talent for your enterprise software scale-up check out https://alpinasearch.com
Faisal Galaria is the CEO at Blippar – a high profile augmented reality venture. Faisal previously held leadership positions at some of the world’s most disruptive technology companies including Spotify, Kayak & Skype.
We explored how:
- Blippar is innovating its way out of the pandemic
- Faisal decided to join Blippar after the formerly high profile AR scaleup was rescued from administration
- Technology adoption trends and covid's impact on society are generating huge opportunities for augmented reality
- Blippar created a truly revolutionary product launch for OnePlus when their Nord 5G smartphone was launched entirely via AR & livestreamed globally to 0.5m people
For more insights into Blippar and augmented reality head over to https://www.blippar.com & for advice on hiring stellar leadership talent for tech startups & scaleups check out https://alpinasearch.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
Pontus Noren pioneered the "cloud-native" approach as CEO at Cloudreach, the scaleup he founded in 2009 – just after Lehman Brothers collapsed - & led to an exit in 2017.
By the time Blackstone acquired the business, Cloudreach was a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant, ranked top 25 in The Sunday Times Hiscox Tech 100, & ranked by the FT as one of Europe’s fastest growing companies
Pontus is now the Chair of Tyk – an opensource API platform startup - & an advisor to several tech startups & scaleups
We explored:
- The huge opportunity for startups to sell to large companies who need to shake everything up due to the pandemic
- The mantra: “What you don’t do is as important as what you do do!”
- The learning: “I’ve often recruited people too fast but I’ve never fired someone too fast!”
- The devastating consequences of senior mis-hires
- To avoid panic hires: how to plan your organisational design based on your expectations of future market opportunities & challenges
For more insights into Tyk head over to https://tyk.io & for guidance on hiring & retaining senior talent in B2B startups & scaleups check out https://alpinasearch.com
Janneke Niessen is a serial entrepreneur, investor, board member & mentor for startups and the co-founder of CapitalT, a VC fund investing in software startups using proprietary technology to evaluate entrepreneurial teams.
She’s also the co-initiator of InspiringFifty - which aims to increase diversity in tech by making female role models more visible.
Janneke’s won many awards for her contribution to tech and society including EY Entrepreneur of the Year in 2014 & Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year in 2019
We explored:
- Why VCs need to be more diverse if they are to invest in diverse startups - & why this is also important for ROI
- The mental health struggles most entrepreneurs experience & the support networks to help them cope
- How the entrepreneurial bug drives us forward despite the pain we all go through!
- CapitalT's proprietary platform "VCVolt" which - based on 5 years of deep research into the performance of a thousand entrepreneurial teams - helps Janneke & her colleagues evaluate leadership teams, select which companies to invest in, & provide ongoing support to help portfolio companies fine-tune their teams
For more insights into CapitalT head over to https://www.capitaltvc.com & for advice on successfully scaling your enterprise software venture check out https://alpinasearch.com
Bethany Ayers, CCO at Peak.ai, has a track record leading high-growth SaaS businesses in GTM strategy, rapidly scaling their sales organisations, delivering profitable partnerships & fundraising from VCs.
Peak - who raised a $19m Series A from MMC & Praetura - have deployed their enterprise AI solution at bluechips like PepsiCo & Asos to accelerate growth, profitability & sustainability.
We discussed:
- hiring proven scale-up sales talent to ramp ARR from $1m to $10m!
- changing organisational structures & incentives to align outcomes in sales, marketing & customer success
- implementing ideas from brilliant thinkers like Patrick Lencioni to create high performance organisations
- avoiding vanity metrics & over-engineered KPIs
- overcoming imposter syndrome
- the challenges of diversity hiring - especially in senior roles & key functions like enterprise sales
Bethany recommends these books for any scale-up business leader:
- Patrick Lencioni's "Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team" - especially the Manga version!
- Verne Harnish's "Scaling Up"
- "Tribal Leadership" by Dave Logan, John King, Halee Fischer-Wright
For more insights into Peak head over to https://peak.ai & for advice on hiring proven scale-up talent check out https://alpinasearch.com
Hussein Kanji - Hoxton Ventures co-founder - is a US-born, London-based VC who's funded scaleups like Deliveroo, Darktrace & Behavox & was named by The Daily Telegraph as Europe’s most influential technology investor!
Hussein explains why:
- Entrepreneurs should only approach VCs if they've a hyper-scale startup!
- Lack of talent with genuine scale-up credentials cripples the growth of European tech ventures
- European startups should quickly scale their sales & marketing teams in The States
- VCs, despite their high-achieving backgrounds, must learn how to be the dumbest person in the room!
- Partners at small VC firms must be prepared to tread a lonely path - they'll have negligible access to mentors & coaches
For more insights into venture investing head over to https://www.hoxtonventures.com & for advice on scaling software ventures check out https://alpinasearch.com
How will the blockchain & the "circular economy" create a better world by 2030?
Leanne Kemp is the CEO @ Everledger – an award-winning scale-up who use blockchain, artificial intelligence, intelligent labelling & IOT to increase transparency in global supply chains. Leanne is also Chief Entrepreneur at The Office of Queensland Australia and an Advisor to the OECD and the World Economic Forum
We explore:
- Why blockchain technologies are a force for the good in terms of supply chain transparency & trust
- How blockchain will transform the World Wide Web into the World Wide Ledger
- The circular economy & why will this change the world for the better by 2030!
- Sustainability: how to use web 4.0 technologies to convert waste into value
- How regional collaboration between government, academia & startups can produce many successful “zebras” as opposed to rare, hyper-successful, unicorns!
- Why the innovation delivered by “quiet achievers” should inspire us more than the hyperbole of iconic entrepreneurs who make it to the front page of Time Magazine
For more insights into blockchain & the circular economy head over to https://www.everledger.io & for advice on successfully scaling B2B software ventures check out https://alpinasearch.com
Sakari Pihlava is a General Partner @ Vendep Capital investing in European B2B SaaS ventures. We explored:
The advantages of product-led growth strategies versus marketing-led strategies
How to identify consumer-like customer segments who can help generate hockey stick growth for B2B Saas ventures
How to pivot effectively:
- Pivots should never be incremental - they must be significant strategic shifts
- Whenever you pivot, you must ensure you've 18 months runway - otherwise your business is doomed!
For more insights into Vendep Capital head over to https://www.vendep.com & for advice on hiring stellar senior talent for your B2B SaaS venture check out https://alpinasearch.com
Mark McDermott is Co-Founder & CEO at ScreenCloud, funded by Point 9 Capital, who supercharge the way companies display, interact with, & act upon key news & insights. We explored:
- How to deliver a full platform rebuild whilst ramping your revenues 6x!
- How to recruit a distributed team across 3 continents & how to flex the culture locally without sacrificing your core organisational values
- Why scale-ups must hire leaders who’ve rapidly scaled small businesses previously: neither early stage startup nor blue chip experience prepare you for the unique challenges of a scale-up
- How teaching fitness & gym classes has grown Mark's confidence in public speaking as well as his physical & mental health
- Why the pandemic requires leaders to be more empathetic & more open in their internal communications
- How ScreenCloud's pre-emptive action to offer to credit their clients - before CV19 lockdowns became widespread - has built trust & alignment with their customers
For more insights into ScreenCloud head over to https://screen.cloud & for advice on successfully scaling your enterprise software venture check out https://alpinasearch.com
Andre Francois is the CEO & co-founder at Happy at Work who's digital solution helps organisations measure & monitor their well-being and create sustainable work environments - rather pertinent in 2020 when people, businesses and society are suffering immense health and wellness challenges!
This episode was recorded in late April 2020: Andre was in lockdown in Budapest – where he relocated before the COVID19 pandemic to join Design Terminalʼs startup accelerator
Key insights from our conversation include:
- How to evaluate employee engagement levels & motivation in remote work environments
- Routines are crucial for remote teams - how to get the best out of your WFH teams
- How to ascertain if your business is ready to relocate to join a startup accelerator
- Creating a strong culture & replicating it overseas is challenging - Andre outlines his tips for overcoming these challenges
To find out more about employee engagement & well-being head over to http://bit.ly/happy_at_work_io and for guidance on hiring talent for B2B SaaS scale-ups check out https://alpinasearch.com
Rav Dhaliwal, now a Venture Partner @ Crane Venture Partners, has 20 years of leadership positions in hypergrowth enterprise software ventures like Slack, Zendesk & Yammer.
We explored why enterprise technology CEOs & leadership teams must:
- ensure customer success is everyone's priority - hence there is (or should be) no such thing as post-sales!
- change their hiring processes to ensure they hire for customer-success behaviours
- update remuneration models to incentivise customer success behaviours
- prioritise change management expertise across all leadership roles
- implement hiring processes that enable them holistically to understand the behaviour of candidates before they are hired
For more insights into Crane Ventures head over to https://crane.vc & for advice on recruiting & retaining senior talent to scale-up your enterprise SaaS venture check out https://alpinasearch.com
Mark Roberge is the MD @ Stage 2 Capital, Prof @ HarvardHBS, former CRO @ HubSpot & author of best seller "The Sales Acceleration Formula"
We explored:
- Lessons from the 2008/2009 crisis & the bold decisions business leaders must make in 2020
- The premature obsession with revenue growth versus go-to-market fit & customer retention
- How to hire a CRO with the ability to deliver SUSTAINABLE revenue growth
- The data required to ascertain if you truly have go-to-market fit
- How “group film reviews” can help businesses uncover strategies to navigate the COVID19 crisis
- How to deliver sustainable differentiation through network effects, algorithmic differentiation & an ecosystem of deeply embedded partners
For more insights into Stage 2 Capital check out https://www.stage2.capital & for advice on hiring world class talent for B2B start-ups & scale-ups head over to http://alpinasearch.com
Alun Baker, CEO of Clario Tech – a disruptive cybersecurity venture - has decades of experience building & leading to exit tech ventures across a diverse range of industries including cybersecurity, ERP & IT infrastructure.
We discussed:
-
- Why the COVID19 pandemic has massively increased our vulnerability to another pandemic: cybercrime threatens each and every one of us!
- Why the cybersecurity industry is not delivering on its promises - and how Clario is radically disrupting this industry
- Remote working strategies to ensure effective collaboration, productivity & strong team spirit
- Top tips for hiring virtually
- Why and how business leaders should aim to utterly disrupt business models and industries
- How technology entrepreneurs & marketers should engage with, and create genuine value for, their customers
For more insights into Clario Tech check out https://clario.co & for advice on recruiting world class leaders for tech scale-ups head over to http://alpinasearch.com
Alston Zecha is a Director at Eight Roads - a global VC who’ve invested $6bn in the past 12 years.
Formerly with Apax Partners, Alston also founded & led the mobile payments venture Payleven who merged with SumUp 5 years ago.
Alston reflected on:
- The resilience & focus he's seen from experienced entrepreneurs in the portfolio who’ve taken tough decisions during the COVID19 pandemic to support subsequent growth
- The importance of being human & remaining "in the moment" - especially during such troubling times
- Why capital as a competitive advantage was a blindspot for Alston when he was an entrepreneur and why he feels this continues to hold back many technical founders
- The importance of having a funding “roadmap” as well as a product roadmap
- His view that tech founders rarely create truly unique solutions - they rarely create a category from scratch
For more insights into Eight Roads check out https://eightroads.com/en/ & for advice on hiring exceptional leaders for B2B scale-ups head over to https://alpinasearch.com
Alexandre Pelletier is a Partner at the French B2B VC fund Cap Horn. He invests in enterprise software & SaaS ventures like Powell Software, Reach Five & Saagie
Prior to becoming a VC, Alexandre had leadership roles at Tata Communications and Microsoft.
We discussed:
- The advice Cap Horn is giving to their portfolio to help them survive the COVID19 pandemic
- The vitality of unit economics - too often overlooked by startups
- Why "partnering with influencers” is a vital go2market strategy for enterprise software startups & scaleups
- Why Cap Horn don’t believe in unicorns, they believe in champion horses
- Why profitable will become sexy again!
- Why this is a superb time to start a business - or to rethink your business
For more insights into Cap Horn check out https://caphorn.vc & for advice on hiring world class talent for B2B scale-ups head over to https://alpinasearch.com
Mikael Johnsson co-founded Oxx VC in 2016 to help bridge the gap for European B2B software companies who have great traction but need capital to scale up. On 11 Feb 2020 Oxx closed a further $133m in funding to back Europe’s most promising SaaS ventures. Mikael's completed over 30 equity transactions and sits on several boards including the potential unicorn - Funnel.io.
We discuss:
- Too much VC investment going into B2C startups hence many potential B2B ventures are left behind
- The viability of creating successful B2B ventures with slower initial revenue growth - typically overlooked by VCs
- Intense focus as a recipe for success both for VC funds & B2B startups
- Why Oxx encourages portfolio companies to take a breather & assess some of the things they may have overlooked in the early stages to build a stronger foundation for sustained growth
- The dynamic progress of funnel.io - a strong contender for future unicorn status - a team of smart, passionate, dedicated individuals hell-bent on solving a very large, high impact, problem
For more insights into enterprise SaaS venture funding check out https://www.oxx.vc & for advice on hiring world class talent for B2B SaaS start-ups and scale-ups head over to http://alpinasearch.com
Eyal Malinger, Investment Director at Beringea - a transatlantic early stage tech VC - invests in B2B Saas, VR/AR & blockchain. He sits on the boards of Poq, Zoovu, Festicket, Aistemos, Papier & MPB.com.
We discussed:
- Why VCs should consider investing in rhinos - the unicorn’s ugly, but real, cousin🦏
- The potential environmental benefits of the next wave of enterprise AR/VR solutions🌊
- Why startups should aim to polarise investors rather than please everyone they pitch to😄🙁
- Brexit's impact on tech talent & investment in London👨💻
For more insights into Beringea's portfolio check out https://www.beringea.com and for advice on hiring world class talent for B2B start-ups & scale-ups head over to https://alpinasearch.com
Martin Adams is the CEO & Co-Founder at Codec who’s Audience Intelligence Platform enables marketing decisions to be driven by data & evidence, rather than instinct.
Codec were the winners of the Best Artificial Intelligence Product in Marketing at CognitionX 2019 and they’re backed by some of the world's largest investors including 500 Startups & Telefonica.
Martin discusses:
- Leaving his 1st startup to immerse himself in IP law & social networking at Harvard, the birthplace of Facebook
- His obsession for using social data to drive creative and strategic decisions
- Consistently taking a contrarian approach to the market - even when this initially puzzled many potential investors
- Being highly selective in bringing in investors who support Codec's vision & are able to contribute strategically as well as financially
For more insights into next generation audience intelligence check out https://www.codec.ai & for advice on hiring exceptional executive talent for B2B software & SaaS scale-ups head over to https://alpinasearch.com
Paul Coggins is the CEO at Adludio who's revolutionary 'Sensory Ad Science' technology delivers 10x results for blue chip clients - like Unilever, Nestle & PayPal - compared to traditional mobile advertising solutions.
Adludio is 1 of the UK's fastest-growing B2B software scale-ups: having quickly launched in 3 continents, delivered ad campaigns in 70+ countries, & grown revenues 40% month on month, Adludio qualified for the Sunday Times 2019 Tech Track "Ones to Watch".
In a candid wide-ranging discussion, Paul explains:
- that Adludio's founders were inspired by the lack of memorable mobile ad campaigns to create a unique solution to engage mobile device users
- how Adludio uses kinaesthetic learning to develop ads that are brilliantly creative & engaging on mobile devices
- why Brexit uncertainty prompted Adludio to rapidly expand - much earlier than planned - into overseas markets like the US, France, Hong Kong & Singapore
- the challenges of transitioning to a SaaS commercial model to help deliver a significantly higher exit valuation
Head over to https://www.adludio.com for more details on Adludio's "Sensory Ad Science" & check out https://alpinasearch.com for advice on attracting senior talent to scale your B2B software venture.
After 20 years in the tech sector - including running Google’s European Enterprise Business Thomas - Thomas Davies founded Temporall to disrupt cultural analytics & help businesses unlock & measure the true value of their people. Since launching in 2017, Temporall have deployed their solution at dozens of blue chips including Rakuten, Google, Dyson & Arup.
In this episode, we explore:
- The role of an entrepreneur - the CEO decathlete building a team of Olympians
- The behaviours & values you, as a leader, need to consistently demonstrate to attract employees who’ll make a real difference to your organisation & to your clients
- The importance of simple messaging for business success - especially when you're trying to create a new product category
- Why digital transformation without insightful organisational intelligence is very risky
- The challenges of building a brand identity & an entirely new product category
Check out https://temporall.com for more insights into organisational intelligence & www.alpinasearch.com for more advice on building a team of Olympians!
Sampo Hietanen - the founding CEO at MaaS Global - is delivering a revolution in transportation!
MaaS Global - who’ve raised €50m in funding from various VCs and corporate investors including Nordic Ninja, Mitsubishi & Toyota - are the world’s first “mobility as a service company” offering a paradigm change in transport services.
Sampo discusses
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The challenges of creating a category from scratch - especially when your product is dependent on your partners
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How MaaS Global is overcoming resistance from powerful incumbents
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Why persuading people to give up their car is the biggest question for our planet’s sustainable economic growth in the next few decades
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The mistakes he’s made in hanging onto some employees for too long - especially as the company began to scale and some individuals struggled to cope
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The fun and challenge of a truly diverse culture: 24 nationalities in a single office!
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Why “trust is the new oil”
For more insights into mobility as a service check out https://whimapp.com/about-us/ & for advice on hiring world class talent for start-ups and scale-ups head over to http://alpinasearch.com
Sonal Puri is the CEO of Webscale – her 4th B2B SaaS startup. Webscale is disrupting the multi billion dollar market for cloud hosting & cloud services.
Sonal talks about:
- Using deep tech to turn the cloud into a utility
- Replacing her talented, humble & self-aware founding CEO
- The potential dangers of pursuing a freemium pricing model
- How she learns each & every day from other startup CEOs & mentors
- Webscale's impact on $billion clients like Puma, Unilever & Tommy Hilfiger
For more insights into Webscale check out https://www.webscale.com & for advice on hiring world class talent for B2B software scale-ups check out http://alpinasearch.com
Mark Roberge is a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, former CRO at Hubspot, Author of Best Seller "The Sales Acceleration Formula" and Founding Partner at Stage 2 Ventures – a new VC fund leveraging go-to-market expertise from the world's most successful software/SaaS ventures to support sustainable revenue growth in B2B start-ups.
Mark’s also a regular on the conference circuit - his session was the highest-rated talk at SaaStr 2019!
Mark discusses in detail:
- His framework to drive sustainable SaaS revenue growth comprising 3 stages: product-market fit, go-to-market fit and – finally – “growth and moat”
- His belief that the headlong pursuit of revenue growth – ignoring customer value creation, churn, and revenue retention – damages many tech ventures
- How to ensure you have trueproduct–market fit and continuing customer success - month after month, quarter after quarter!
- Why churn is a “silent killer” and why business leaders must quickly identify, and track, leading indicators for churn and customer success
For more insights into Stage 2 Ventures check out https://www.stage2.capital & for advice on talent for B2B software start-ups & scale-ups head over to http://alpinasearch.com
Amar Hanspal is the founding CEO at Bright Machines - a startup combining intelligent software with flexible factory robots & machine learning to meet the demands of the next generation of manufacturing - who recently closed a $179 million Series A.
Amar discusses:
- The “happy collision” that brought the Bright Machines founding team together to address a $60bn-$100bn market opportunity
- The adventurous & disruptive profile of Bright Machines’ employees: “missionaries & mountaineers”
- How Bright Machines' exceptional leadership team - addressing a huge market opportunity with an aggressive business plan - raised their impressive Series A
For more insights into Bright Machines check out https://www.brightmachines.com & for advice on hiring world class talent for start-ups and scale-ups head over to http://alpinasearch.com
Christian Owens is the founding CEO at Paddle - the UK’s fastest growing software startup - who've raised $25m in VC funding, tripled revenue every year for 6 years & tripled headcount in the past 9 months.
Christian discusses:
- How to scale your team from 50 to 150 people in 9 months
- How to ensure your company is the employer of choice
- The CEO’s day2day challenge: keeping 150+ bosses happy
- How to raise smart VC funding
For more insights into Paddle check out https://paddle.com & for advice on hiring world class talent for start-ups and scale-ups head over to http://alpinasearch.com
Angelique Mohring is the founding CEO at GainX: a machine learning platform that helps corporates accelerate global restructuring, transformation & growth.
Angelique explains
- The challenges she’s faced as a female founder/CEO raising money in a male-dominated industry
- Why she chose to launch her global HQ in the UK - despite Brexit...
- How to conceive & launch your business during a strategic retreat at a 5* resort!
- How she reduced the GainX sales cycle from 18 months to 3 days
For more insights into GainX check out https://www.gainx.com & for advice on hiring world class talent for software start-ups & scale-ups head over to http://alpinasearch.com
Emergence Capital is one of the world’s leading enterprise Saas VC funds – with 7 exits in excess of $500m including Salesforce, SuccessFactors & Box.
Doug and Viv joined Emergence - as Growth Partner and Operating Partner respectively - to share their expertise in delivering successful go-to-market and growth strategies at companies like Salesforce and Box.
They discuss:
- How to prioritise & dominate your target verticals
- Why you should hire a marketing lead before you invest in sales expertise
- How to create a new software category for your business
- How to build harmony & efficiency between your sales & marketing teams
- Customer Success teams: why they're as important as sales/marketing yet often undervalued at startups
For more insights into Emergence Capital check out https://www.emcap.com & for advice on hiring world class talent for startups & scaleups head over to http://alpinasearch.com
Carles Ferrer is a General Partner at Nauta Capital – a European enterprise software VC fund - and he’s invested in companies like BeMyEye, Brandwatch and ChannelSight.
Carles discusses:
- Nauta's philosophy of investing in capital efficient disruptors
- How Nauta’s regional hub focus within Europe, combined with their sector focus, differentiates them from other VC funds
- When expanding from Europe to The States – how to get the timing & the talent right!
- Future themes Nauta are prioritising including the massive disruption of the Retail sector both online and offline
For more insights into Nauta's investments in capital efficient disruptors check out https://www.nautacapital.com & for advice on hiring world class talent for start-ups and scale-ups head over to http://alpinasearch.com
Scott Belsky is an entrepreneur, author, and investor, and currently serves as Adobe’s Chief Product Officer.
Scott’s also a Venture Partner with Benchmark and an early advisor and investor in a number of fast-growing companies like Pinterest, Uber, and Periscope.
He is the author of "Making Ideas Happen" and in early October 2018 published his new book "The Messy Middle": The product or company launch gets cheered, the finish line gets celebrated, but the rocky terrain in between is woefully underestimated and misunderstood!
Scott discusses his research & provides business & product leaders with tangible suggestions to help them navigate the journey from volatile startup to mature successful business:
- How to endure the extreme volatility of a new venture
- Optimization – how to make your team & decision-making more effective
- The importance of “killing your darlings” (not as shocking as it sounds!)
- How we falsely attribute our own expertise, or lack of expertise, to both our successes and our failures – how to stay grounded when you and your business are being successful
For more insights from the Messy Middle check out https://medium.com/positiveslope/navigating-the-messy-middle-7ca6fff11966 and for advice on hiring world class talent for start-ups and scale-ups head over to http://alpinasearch.com
Eamonn Carey – once upon a time a TV producer and presenter - is now the Managing Director at Techstars London. He’s also founded and exited 2 startups and invested in over 25 companies globally.
Eamonn discusses:
- The path he took from media exec to entrepreneur to investor
- Why enterprise software companies need to build character & mischief into their products to mimic the user engagement of B2C products
- Some of the key societal & technology trends he’s excited about - and believes could have huge potential for future Techstars cohorts
For more insights into Techstars check out https://www.techstars.com and for advice on hiring world class talent for start-ups & scale-ups head over to http://alpinasearch.com
Usman Shuja is the GM & Head of Industiral IOT at SparkCognition – the leading provider of AI solutions for IOT - who recently closed a $57m Series B with Verizon Ventures, Boeing, CME Ventures, Brevan Howard Investment Holdings and Invenergy Future Fund.
Usman is a thought leader in machine learning, cognitive computing, security, and industrial IoT – he sits on Forbes Technology Council - and also an international cricketer.
Usman discusses
- how he made the journey from international cricketer to GM at a leading AI scale-up
- using AI to create the mind of a data scientist
- the “Moneyball 2.0” approach to sports science & sports talent: “Moneyball on steroids”
For more insights into AI and IOT check out https://www.sparkcognition.com and for advice on hiring world class talent for start-ups & scale-ups head over to http://alpinasearch.com
David Ratner is the CEO at Realm - the data management platform and solution that seamlessly handles connectivity, latency, transport and other backend details for mobile, IOT, and other connected apps.David’s previously had successful exits at Carrier Access and Openwave. Realm has a roster of high profile investors including Andreesen Horowitz, Greylock Partners, Khosla Ventures and Y Combinator.
David discusses:
- Why “the enemy of best is not worst...the enemy of best is good enough”
- How and when to launch a 2nd product - when your initial product is a big success - and how to balance resources between the 2 products
- The challenges of getting messaging on-point for enterprise software businesses
- Why hiring for cultural fit is way more important than hiring for the exact skillset
For more insigts into Realm's technology head over to https://realm.io and for advice on hiring world class start-up & scale-up talent check out http://alpinasearch.com
Kjartan Rist, Founding Partner at Concentric Partners, has spent the last 18 years focusing on the technology start-ups and scale-ups as a founder, advisor, Board member and investor. He’s been involved in over 50 transactions and founded or co-founded 2 successful VC funds and a merchant bank.
Kjartan discusses:
- The valuable lessons he learned in his early days in VC from experienced investors - like Nenad Marovac & Steve Schlenker at DN Capital - and also Steve Papa, the founder-CEO at Endeca
- The value a local VC firm can provide to a tech venture developing an international footprint – in terms of strategic business development and local go2market strategy
- A very candid analysis of the challenges faced by 1 of his enterprise software investments - including the dangers of relying too much on a single route to market - and the steps they are now taking to overcome those challenges
- The crucial role played by advisory boards to augment the CEO and his/her skills
For more VC insights check out http://concentricteam.com and for advice on hiring executive talent to scale your enterprise software venture head over to http://alpinasearch.com
Steve King is the co-founder & CEO at Black Swan Data. Funded by Mitsui, Blackstone & Albion Capital - Black Swan Data creates better outcomes through technology, prediction & data science.
Steve discusses:
- his journey from DJ to enterprise software CEO
- Black Swan’s preference for talent “approximately 10% crazy”!
- Black Swan Data’s failed US strategy – the lessons they learned and the turnaround...The US now contributes 50% to Black Swan’s revenues
- the story behind the data science insights that diagnosed Steve’s sister’s rare illness & led to Steve establishing The White Swan charity
For more insights into Black Swan Data check out https://www.blackswan.com & for guidance on scaling up your enterprise software venture head over to http://alpinasearch.com
Magnus Gaarder is a co-founder at early stage tech VC fund, Cidron Ventures, having previously spearheaded Nauta Capital's investment initiatives in Northern Europe.
Magnus discusses
- How and when enterprise software ventures should embark on international expansion
- Building a winning sales/marketing team in international markets
- Capital efficiencies for start-ups: B2B versus B2C
- Why integrity & "ESG" are key criteria for Cidron in choosing which start-up teams to invest in
For more insights on Cidron Venturs, head over to http://cidronventures.com - and for guidance on scaling enterprise software ventures, check out http://alpinasearch.com
Christian Hernandez is a co-founder & Managing Partner at White Star Capital, where he draws on his extensive experience in developing and scaling products and platforms internationally.
Prior to co-founding White Star Capital, Christian worked at Facebook and led the led the international expansion of the company’s Business Development, Platform and Gaming Partnerships groups. He previously held leadership roles at Google & Microsoft having started his career at MicroStrategy, a start-up he joined prior to their 1999 IPO.
Christian discusses:
- How regulation and regulators, rather than being a challenge to overcome, can be a huge opportunity for start-ups to create differentiators and barriers to entry
- How to co-develop enterprise technology solutions with clients – helps with funding, customer feedback, etc
- How to effectively price innovative enterprise software & Saas products
- “Re-cycling”: the single largest driver of outperformance in VC funds
Head over to https://whitestarvc.com for more details on White Star Capital and check out www.alpinasearch.com for more advice on globally scaling your enterprise software venture
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
Zack Urlocker helped grow a number of software companies to billion dollar exits - including Active Software, MySQL, Zendesk and most recently Duo Security. And he’s been an advisor and board member for many other successful venture-backed software companies including HubSpot and SugarCRM. He’s also written a rock opera!
Zack’s worked with many Tier 1 VCs including Benchmark Capital, CRV, Index Ventures and Matrix Partners and he now lectures at the University of Michigan on Entrepreneurial Leadership.
Zack discusses:
- Why product management is a great career path for any budding enterprise sofrtware entrepeneur
- The importance of focusing on great customer service when you expand internationally
- How and why you should avoiding micro-managing local decisions from an overseas HQ
- The importance of transferring your culture and cloning your successful DNA as you expand internationally
- The mis-step Duo Security took in failing to hire sufficient local domain expertise when they initially expanded into Europe
- His focus on developing entrepreneurs in the Mid-West: a US region historically starved of entrepreneurial development & learning opportunities
Head over to www.alpinasearch.com for more advice on globally scaling your enterprise software venture
Steve Hoffmann AKA “Captain Hoff” is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, partner at Founders Fund, An LP in August Capital, and author of the book "Make Elephants Fly". Steve is also the Captain & CEO of Founders Space, one of the world’s leading incubators and accelerators, with over 50 partners in 22 countries. Steve's trained hundreds of startup founders and corporate executives in the art of innovation.
Steve discusses:
- His long and winding road into the world of technology accelerators and incubators
- The traits he believes, even in really early stage businesses, signpost a likely unicorn
- The toolkit of processes he's developed to ensure startups can effectively differentiate and innovate
Head over to https://www.foundersspace.com for more details on Founders Space and check out www.alpinasearch.com for more advice on globally scaling your enterprise software venture
Steve Collins is a Partner at Frontline Ventures - a VC fund investing in early stage B2B software ventures across Europe. Prior to becoming a VC, Steve founded Havok, an animation middleware company for console game development, Kore, developer of the Kore Virtual Machine, and most recently Swrve, the mobile marketing automation platform used by some of the world’s leading brands including Disney, Conde Nast and Ryanair.
Steve discusses:
- How and why he switched from the life an entrepreneur to being a VC
- The importance of instinct and gut feel when VCs evaluate early stage investment opportunities
- The lessons he’s learned from founding in Europe then - within just a few months of launching - rapidly scaling 3 successful software ventures in The States
- The challenges of replacing - or being replaced as - a Company Founder by a "Scale-Up" CEO
- Steve’s enduring passion for designing and coding computer games – and the impact of online gaming innovations & technologies on other industries
Head over to http://frontline.vc for more details on Frontline Ventures and check out www.alpinasearch.com for more advice on globally scaling your enterprise software venture.
Jan Quant is the Co-Founder and CEO of Screendragon a UK headquartered enterprise software scale-up who, soon after inception, successfully entered the US market and have continued to expand internationally despite having zero VC funding.
Jan explains
- How he transitioned from a financial and operational background in the music sector to becoming an enterprise software CEO
- Why and how UK and European software startups should quickly and effectively target US markets
- The importance of customer centricity – how to delight your customers and leverage customer revenues instead of VC funding to scale your business
- How corporate procurement practices have become increasingly sophisticated and the steps software ventures need to take to establish referenceable relationships with blue chip clients
Head over to http://www.screendragon.com for more details on Screendragon and check out www.alpinasearch.com for more advice on globally scaling your enterprise software venture.
Neil Ryland is the CRO at Peakon - funded by EQT Ventures, Sunstone Capital, IDInvest and Tommy Ahlers – who's SaaS platform helps companies maximise their employee engagement, retention and productivity. Prior to Peakon, Neil was the Chief Revenue Officer at Huddle, one of Britain’s most successful VC funded enterprise software ventures - Neil re-located to San Francisco to spearhead Huddle’s US market entry.
Neil explains:
- How he’s overcome a sense of “impostor syndrome” at various stages during his career
- Why it’s crucial, for any European enterprise software business expanding to The States, to relocate a key individual from the leadership team to establish and lead the US business
- His definition of the 3 stages of venture businesses: startup, growup, scaleup – and the characteristics that define success in each of those 3 phase
- The sales academies he’s developed at both Huddle and Peakon to replicate the approach, to training and nurturing talent, deployed by many of the world’s most successful blue chip IT companies
Head over to https://peakon.com for more details on Peakon and check out www.alpinasearch.com for more advice on globally scaling your enterprise software venture.
Alex Dunsdon has a portfolio of different roles – he’s a partner at early stage investor Saatchinvest where he’s invested in successful startups like Citymapper and also a co-founder at The Bakery who describe themselves as “a pioneer in accelerating open innovation”
Alex explains:
- the fundamental requirement for any enterprise software venture to demonstrate that their solution addresses clearly defined user needs
- how The Bakery helps start-ups solve fundamental problems for, and close multi-million dollar deals with, global blue chips
- how Saatchinvest assesses the DNA of CEOs pitching for investment
- how founder-CEOs need to evolve their behaviour and leadership style as their company grows
- the hype around AI: most “AI” implementations, thus far, comprise a few simple automated processes
- why the quality of enterprise sales talent in Europe falls so far behind the US
- how shocked he was by the VC mantra “growth at any cost” and why he'd be bored if he was purely a startup investor/VC!
For more insights into startups and innovation check out http://www.saatchinvest.com and https://www.thebakery.com and for advice on scaling software ventures head over to http://alpinasearch.com
Jon Prideaux is the CEO at BOKU who, on 20 November 2017, went public on AIM at an initial £125m valuation and quickly popped to £160m.
Boku’s platform brings merchants and mobile operators together to transform 5 billion mobile phone subscribers into the world’s largest pool of customers. That's more users than Visa and Mastercard combined!
Jon provides the following insights:
- How to smoothly transition out of - or indeed into - the role of CEO
- How to plan and execute an IPO
- Why he believes company leaders need to view their IPO as an “entrance” not an “exit”!
- How Boku developed a consistent culture across the globe even when they acquired local businesses
- How Jon is motivating Boku’s senior team to drive the business forward rather than resting on their laurels after the IPO
Head over to https://www.boku.com for more details on Boku and check out www.alpinasearch.com for advice on globally scaling your software venture.
Alan Vey & Annika Monari are the Co-Founders at Aventus Systems, a pioneer in blockchain technology that’s been dubbed “the bitcoin of ticketing”. They closed one of the largest cryptocurrency funding rounds outside of The States just over 12 months after Aventus was founded: their $20m “Initial Token Offering” - led by Global Advisors Bitcoin Investment Fund - was sold out in just 7 minutes!
Alan and Annika discuss:
- Which types of business can best leverage blockchain technology
- How to go about raising a cryptocurrency funding round
- How a company funded with cryptocurrency engages with employees and suppliers who might prefer to receive payments in a traditional currency
- The differences between Ether – the cyptocurrency that was used to fund Aventus - and Bitcoin
- Their perspective on the Bitcoin “bubble” and how they've ensured business contacts and employees are confident about the stability, and the growth potential, of the Aventus business model
For more insights into Aventus Systems head over to https://www.aventus.io and for expert advice on startups and scale-ups check out http://alpinasearch.com/market-insights/
Luca Pagano is the CEO at BeMyEye, Europe’s leading crowdsourced in-store data as a service provider who closed a $10.5m Series C funding round in late November 2017. Previously Luca held leadership roles at Glamoo, Electronic Arts and Buongiorno.
Luca discusses:
- The tricky challenge of replacing both the founder-CEO and his co-CEO at BeMyEye
- Successfully leading Buongiorno into a diversity of mature and emerging markets and aggressively launching BeMyEye in 20 new countries
- As a soccer aficionado, how he recruits “passionate employees who wear the jersey with honour”
- Why you'll never be an exceptional company or an exceptional leader unless you understand “why” you do what you do
- How being a chameleon has put him in good stead when dealing with diverse business cultures and personas
Head over to https://www.bemyeye.com for more details on BeMyEye and check out http://alpinasearch.com for advice on scaling your enterprise software venture.
Tom Bradley is Head of the Ventures Team at Oxford Capital. Tom, previously a partner at both DFJ Esprit and DN Capital, has been involved with successful scale-ups like Performance Horizon, Shazam and Neteconomy. The Oxford Capital Ventures portfolio includes promising startups and scale-ups like import.io, Ultrasoc and Redsift.
In this week’s episode you’ll hear about:
- The mindset that the founders of European enterprise software startups must have if they are to succeed globally
- Tom’s key criteria for investing in enterprise software ventures
- Advice for pre-product and pre-revenue start-ups on how to engage with investors and VCs
- How European entrepreneurs can leverage US VCs to successfully break into The States
Head over to https://www.oxcp.com/investments/venture-capital/ for more details on Oxford Capital's venture portfolio and check out www.alpinasearch.com for advice on globally scaling your software venture.
Wolfgang Allisat is the Chief Commercial Officer at Unbabel - "The World's Translation Layer". Unbabel - funded by the Notion Capital, Google Ventures, Faber Ventures, Matrix Partners, Schilling Capital and Caixa Capital - utilizes artificial intelligence to enable translations between companies and their customers.
Wolf has previously held international sales leadership positions at a number of successful software scaleups including Omniture where he was the first international employee and grew the European business to more than 1,100 customers and 200 employees.
Wolf discusses how enterprise software ventures can successfully expand their sales and marketing teams internationally including:
- The research and planning required to support successful overseas expansion
- How to recruit your initial sales hires with the characteristics to evangelise your offering and drive customer successes in new markets
- How to adapt your business culture to succeed in each local market
Wolf also discusses the way Unbabel have created a unique culture to resonate with the millennials they typically hire - including weekly company-wide surfing sessions!
For more information on Unbabel's AI-powered translation solutions head over to https://unbabel.com and check out http://alpinasearch.com/clients/ for advice on recruiting A-players to globally scale your software/SaaS venture
Joshua Wohle is the Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer at Series B funded SuperAwesome backed by Mayfair Equity Partners, IBIS TMT, Hoxton Ventures and a host of other VCs.
SuperAwesome's technology powers the kids digital media ecosystem. Their products are used by hundreds of kids content companies and brands to provide kid-safe digital functionality, authentication and advertising.
Joshua is a serial entrepreneur having founded several tech start-ups - since starting his 1st venture whilst at school - including Targetz: a mobile, real-time, location-based community marketplace for services.
In today’s episode you will learn:
- How Joshua launched his first startup as a 16 year old at school – even as a teenage entrepreneur he was selling to large enterprise clients like the private Swiss banks
- How he was introduced to his co-founder at SuperAwesome…by an algorithm!
- About the need for founders and entrepreneurs to have the resilience to bounce back from failure and to dig really deep, emotionally and mentally
- How, as your software venture evolves, you must also evolve to ensure you’ve the skills to continue to drive the business forward
- How to find and engage with mentors with valuable insights to help you handle the challenges of scaling-up a business
For more background on SuperAwesome, check out https://www.superawesome.tv and head over to http://alpinasearch.com for advice on scaling your software venture.
Shirin Dehghan was the Founder CEO at Arieso and is currently Chairwoman at OpenSignal.
Arieso provided subscriber experience geo-location and network optimization solutions for wireless operators and service providers. Funded by Qualcomm Ventures and Oxford Capital Partners, Arieso expanded across EMEA, Asia Pacific and The Americas before being acquired by JDSU for $85m in 2013.
Shirin now Chairs the board at OpenSignal, Funded by Passion Capital, O’Reilly AlphaTech and Qualcomm Ventures. OpenSignal crowd-source data on the performance and coverage of wireless networks around the world and use that data to produce independent and unbiased coverage maps for any network around the world. Since launch, their mobile app has been downloaded over 20 million times and billions of data points have been collected in over 200 countries.
In this week's episode we’re focusing on the importance of sales and marketing for technical founders and the challenges of international expansion for startups and scaleups. You will learn:
- The lesson that all technical founders must learn – sometimes the hard way - about the importance of creating a strong sales and marketing machine
- About a blueprint for international expansion for enterprise software ventures
- How Shirin resurrected her start-up from “near death” to achieve a 6x exit just a few years later
- About the need to treat VCs like customers when you’re approaching them for funding
For more insights into OpenSignal check out https://opensignal.com and for advice on successfully scaling your software venture head over to http://alpinasearch.com
Rory Stirling is an early stage investor with BGF ventures who’s invested in high growth UK technology companies like NewVoiceMedia, Masabi and Reevoo.
BGF Ventures invests in early-stage entrepreneurs with bold ambitions and is an influential new entrant to the VC market with a $200m debut fund. In just 2 years BGF have concluded over 18 investments building a portfolio that includes the likes of Triptease, Aimbrain and NewVoiceMedia.
In this week’s episode you will learn:
• Which types of company, and indeed which types of people, VC funding is most appropriate for • How to go about raising venture capital for your start-up or scale-up • How value in a technology start-up can be created - or potentially destroyed – depending on the synergy between the investors and the company’s leadership team • About the character, drive and vision required of successful enterprise technology venture founders
For more insights into venture investing head over to www.bgf.co.uk/ventures/ and for advice on successfully scaling your enterprise software start-up check out alpinasearch.com/market-insights/