Robin Hood Blue Ridge Labs的动态

Get to know Piers Horlock, one of our Investment Analysts with a focus on investing in and supporting our deep tech portfolio! ?? Q. How long have you worked for Cambridge Enterprise Ventures? A. I successfully completed a six-month internship at Cambridge Enterprise before joining the Ventures team around a month ago. Q. What did you do before Cambridge Enterprise? A. Before joining Cambridge Enterprise Ventures on a full-time basis, I completed my degree in Chemical Engineering at Newcastle University. Afterward, I pursued a venture capital fellowship in London, followed by a six-month internship at Cambridge Enterprise. Q. Favourite industry to work with? A. Any deep tech, typically hardware, that has the potential to disrupt and transform entire industries. Q. One innovation that still blows your mind and why? A. AI's limitless potential continues to astonish me. For example, we are now observing AI being employed to decode animal communication, which holds the potential to unlock two-way communication with certain species. Q. What makes you lean forward and take note in a pitch? A. There are 5 things I look for: ? Team: Passionate founders with relevant expertise ? Market opportunity: Significant, scalable market with high growth potential ? Traction: Early validation or proof of concept ? Differentiation: Unique value proposition or clear competitive advantage ? Impact: Solving a real, meaningful problem Q. One company you wish you'd got to invest in and why? A. Riverlane (one of our portfolio companies) – They’re pioneers in quantum computing. They are developing a Quantum Error Correction Stack that has the potential to redefine multiple industries, including pharmaceuticals, automotive, and materials science (just to name a few). For example, in drug discovery, quantum computers could design drugs tailored to fit precisely into molecules in the body, thereby eliminating the current ‘needle in the haystack’ approach. This amazing advancement could facilitate the design of drugs for diseases such as Alzheimer’s or cancer. #Ventures #DeepTech #CambridgeInnovation #Entrepreneurship

If any startup founders in the North East are interested in giving a talk about their startup to 10TH GRADE STUDENTS in Trenton then please contact. Only the smartest founders understand what a rare opportunity this is to practice your pitch. Various organizations will sometimes host "Pitch to kids" events for this very reason. The founder is forced to explain their company in the simplest way, which can be incredibly challenging, especially for highly technical products. Are you up for the challenge? #TrentonMakesTheWorldTakes

Over the past 18 months, Christopher Klaus and I have talked to 100s of college students and have asked them why they aren't participating in summer entrepreneurship programs or pursuing their own ideas instead of working for a major corporation. Many of them said they originally wanted to pursue a startup when entering college (it may have even impacted their final decision on where to enroll), but they all had a laundry list of reasons why they haven't taken the leap. The top responses: ??Don't have an idea or don't think they have a "good" idea ??Don't have a co-founder ??Need a salary that internships provide and other programs do not ?Too many other time commitments ??Expected to do a traditional internship at a big name company (expectation from parents or peers) ?Don't know where to start ??Too risky Based on these responses, we strategically designed the Fusen Fellowship, an internship program operating with the structure of a venture studio. We launched the program last week with our first cohort of Fusen Fellows and look forward to supporting them along their entrepreneurial journey. #StudentEntrepreneurs #Startups #SummerInternships #VentureStudio

I officially graduated from Penn State University only this year, but I received an offer to own GGV Capital's global brand last year. All because of my personal brand. I would have been working alongside the partners for GGV Capital (now known as Notable Capital) This is why I am launching ?? a fellowship program for aspiring Gen Z founders, creators, and investors. No longer are the days that having a high GPA & getting good grades are good enough. I was a 2.8 GPA or less engineering student. You can see this with the # of students graduating college with prestigious degrees from Ivy Leagues with awards but no ? full-time job in sight. You have to build your personal brand. From Fortune 100 companies all the way down to startups & even starting your own company, you need to differentiate yourself. What will set YOU apart? AI is making it easy to start new businesses, so having a strong personal brand will be the trend for the ongoing future. If you want to achieve your personal goals, come sign up for the fellowship program. #genzfounder #genzinvestor #venturecapital #fellowship

Calling all #OutdoorRecreation founders! Our Greenhouse Outdoor Recreation Program?(GORP) has opened applications for its seventh cohort!????♂? #GORP supports startups in the outdoor recreation sector, and its?Cohort Incubator?offers a 12-week curriculum including workshops, a dedicated mentor team, product/service development assistance, up to $15,000 per company of non-dilutive funding and an intern from OEI's?Venture Intern Program. ???? "We're seeking founders at the idea-to-launch stage. These are founders that have identified a problem in the industry, have validated an early solution, but who've not yet fully entered the market." — Zoe (Buonaiuto) Maddox, Ph.D., OEI's director of business incubation ???? Apply now ?: https://lnkd.in/gMF6F4Ae #StartSomethingAR #OutdoorRecreation #StartupSupport

Day 3 in Silicon Valley After 3 days in Silicon Valley, I've realized how fascinating and forthcoming the different applications of AI are. I also got a closer understanding of how Elon Musk's companies work, why they are successful and how they manage to attract the brightest minds.

We are excited to announce that, in collaboration with the Bravo Family Foundation, we will be hosting the OESTECH Hackfest, a month-long entrepreneurship journey launching ?? on March 4th. This four-week event offers university students in Puerto Rico's western region an immersive experience of learning seminars and mentorship from industry experts. It will provide a unique opportunity to develop a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and facilitate a Pitch Presentation experience that could elevate their skills to address potential investors. This is an ideal chance for students pursuing careers in software development, technology, or business aiming to become the future startup founders in Puerto Rico. A special thanks to the Bravo Family Foundation for their continuous support and contribution to making this event possible. If you're seeking more information or have questions, don't hesitate to reach out. Please share this with students in Mayagüez or nearby townships. We look forward to their participation and witnessing the incredible talent that will unfold during the Hackfest! ?? Important Information: Launch Date: March 4, 2024 End Date: March 29, 2024 Time: 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Location: REP HUB, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico ?? Participant Criteria: Must be university students aged 18 and above. Teams of up to 4 members. Commitment to attending the sessions is required. ?? Awards: Compete for the chance to win $2,000 in cash, along with additional benefits to support your project. ?? Visit our linktree to register: https://lnkd.in/gfaR-F87 For further information or if you have any questions, contact us at [email protected]. #Innovation #Technology #StartupFounders #OESTECHHackfest #EvolvingSpace #BravoFamilyFoundation #Web3 #AI #Entrepreneurship #TechEvent #PuertoRico

College + Accelerator == The Residency Love the concept. The Residency runs 4-month-long cohorts so one can go full time on their ambitions without the constraints of school or work. They provide?housing?and?co-working space?so one can live and work with equally ambitious peers. Each chapter begins with?orientation?and continues with “field trips” to deepen new friendships. It ends with a?demo day?to prove your skills to potential collaborators, employees, and investors - like Andreessen Horowitz, 1517 Fund, and Z Fellows. Expect?weekly demos?and regular?coaching sessions?throughout to help keep you on track and clear minded. Expect?intros?and?fireside chats?with people who can help accelerate your growth. The Residency looks for builders: - who want to make the world a better place. - who think?long term?and keep an?open mind. - who'd rather?collaborate?than compete with value aligned peers. Some notable chapters: - C-House // Cambridge - Alexandria // Munich - Arcadia // Berkeley - Aurea // Berlin I believe it is a very cool way to break into the startup ecosystem of a new city. Singapore when? Hardeep

Last summer, I received an email I could hardly believe: I had been accepted into Stanford University's & 500 Global VC Unlocked cohort and got a scholarship covering the full cost. I will skip the part where imposter syndrome hit me hard and I had doubts about accepting the offer. In the end, I did, and I have never regretted it. Here are some "one year on" reflections: ???? I finally had a reason to visit the US—something I should have done much earlier in my career ?? Learning from world-leading VCs transformed my perspective on the industry forever: in brief - returns always come first! ?? It was incredibly valuable to step out of the London bubble and realise that the world is much bigger. Let’s say some things we have here are not necessarily the state of the art in the industry and ???????? ???? ???? ?????????????? (low risk appetite, slow decision-making processes, lack of funding at various levels, bias, etc - the list is long isn't it?) ?? Most importantly, I now have VC friends in numerous parts of the world, which has opened up many opportunities to co-invest, share deals, and learn from those who are a few steps ahead in their VC journey. Overall, I can say that I finally understood what I got myself into when David Gilgur and I launched Blue Lake VC in 2019, almost by accident.. More than ever I am convinced about our mission to build the most successful early-stage VC investing in immigrant founders ???????????????? ?? But my view on the VC industry has evolved from a global perspective, and the program helped crystallise the bigger picture for the future of Blue Lake. Special thanks to Christopher R. Ferguson Vanessa S. Paulina Szyrmer Bedy Yang Aman Merchant Biola Alabi Eti?nne V. Sandiip Bhammer Hector Ramos Hubert Anyzewski Maria Odiamar Racho, MSOD Mohammed Almamar Omar Rebhan Dr Yousef Alhammadi Sid Phillips Yazeed Al-Mahmoud Benny Liao Mike Lepech Trevor Loy Mike Lyons and many others for your massive support throughout and after the program ??

?? Turning Adversity into Opportunity: Our Founders Fair Journey When we applied for the Founders Fair, we knew there would be challenges. Meilia Wongso, my co-founder, had to be away in her home country. Despite this hurdle, we decided to take the leap and apply anyway. Our original plan, Plan A, involved partnering with Swinburne University for student internships. Unfortunately, low enrollments led to the collapse of this arrangement. Around the same time, we received the thrilling news of our selection for the fair. Yet, our excitement was tempered by the realization that executing our stall without Meilia would be a daunting task. From setting up at 8:30 AM to wrapping up at 5 PM, the prospect of single-handedly managing the event loomed large. Complicating matters, our planned creative arts activity, meant to showcase our workshops, was in jeopardy. Determined not to falter, we swiftly devised Plan B. We reached out to friends, but something didn't quite fit. Then, inspiration struck. Why not call upon the very individuals who had benefited from our workshops? Our participants, the heart and soul of our mission, became our Plan C. With gratitude, we welcomed three of our past participants Sahana Sai Narain Mariah Mei Sing CHAN to assist us at the fair. Their enthusiasm and dedication reaffirmed why we do what we do, despite the challenges. Over the next few days, we'll be spotlighting these incredible volunteers who exemplify resilience and community spirit. Their involvement underscores a vital lesson: where there's a will, there's a way. Join us at the Start space on the day of the fair to meet our team and volunteers. Register now to explore a showcase of remarkable businesses and founders from across Victoria. Let's celebrate resilience and innovation together! ?? Register here -?https://lnkd.in/gaasdBx2 #foundersfair?#startspace?#startup?#smallbusiness?#founder?#entrepreneur?#melbourne #victoria?#supportlocal