Notes from the show - 16th Sep 22

Show notes from today's live broadcast.

Axie Infinity, Helium, A16z and the future of VC

Came across Liron’s Tweets below and I couldn’t agree more.

I’m all for pushing boundaries and trying new things but Andreesen aren’t covering themselves in glory with their recent investments such as Adam Neumann’s Flow, Axie Infinity and Helium. All of which seem intent on sticking it to the man in some way or shape. But which man?! Right now it looks like you and I, institutions and the collective ‘we’ are that man. The only winners being Andreesen. Great PR, juicy fees but the industry and wider humanity can swivel? Personally I think VC needs to move beyond this myopic approach. We, collectively, must push the agenda to make money AND create meaningful positive change for all.

e.g. Arianna Simpson from A16z here on Axie Inifinity is just flat lying - duhhh. Real people who can’t afford to lose anything are losing everything. She can see it’s a Ponzi - Shameful. Really - and Liron here on Helium ($311m from A16z)

A VC’s french summer romance: DPI

A great analysis by Sifted on data from Dealroom (443?M&A deals, for companies launched after 2010, in European tech).

French investors rocking it with most exits from June to August. Bpifrance and Elaia Partners owning it with 5 and 3 exits respectively. Honorable mentions to Global Founders Capital, PreSeed Ventures and Force Over Mass Capital, each with two exits.

Other highlights from the article:

• Hottest sectors: enterprise software, fintechs and marketing startups.
• Top Geos: UK, Germany and France.

Is our new investment world now primed for true innovation?

The age of growth at all costs is over (for a few minutes). And what this FT article explores (paywalled) is the Startup world beyond the salacious headlines PLUS the fact that it’s right now when innovation can come alive. Now that easy tourist money has receded (for a while), we can focus on real life moving innovation. Not 5 minute groceries.

How far we’ve come in European venture

As our good friend Kjartan says: … as the sector gets to grips with a more challenging economy, it’s worth reflecting on how far we’ve come – particularly here in Europe.”

20 years ago nobody would have believed that European VCs would have been instrumental in backing major tech companies or that venture would become an important part of the financial system in Europe. Some of the highlights from this great article by Kjartan :

• From tech desert to tech hub: 30 years ago or so European investors were overlooking the potential of emerging tech and Europe as considered a frontier market, not even an emerging market (quoted from the one and only, Mr. Saul Klein)
• From weirdos to trendsetters: 20 or so yers ago VCs were a rare breed; today we have stronger and stronger ecosystem and the inflow of aspiring VCs is cray cray
• The flywheel effect from early successes: not much to say; the first few successes bred more success, as tech success stories became breeding grounds for the next generation of entrepreneurs and VCs
• ‘Vulture capitalists’ to value-add: Most VCs had little to no operational experience; which quickly created an ‘us and them’ relationship (as Kjartan explains in the article). Today, we have a whole plethora of GPs with a deep understanding of the ins and outs of building a business and focused on helping the startups they back reach the next milestone.
• European LPs need to catch up: there is still a real lack of institutional support and an over dependence on public capital. This shallower funding means that bigger tickets are done by US investors and that there are still gaps in areas with longer investment periods (e.g. deeptech).
• Ask cohosts to comment on the last two: Value Add and LP Landscape

Another C-Suite Fraud Prosecution - this time from Nikola

Trevor Milton the ex CEO of Nikola is being prosecuted for wire and securities fraud for deceiving investors. Allegedly. Reminds me of Theranos - Will we ever know what is genuine hope, and what is a flat lie? And at what point did they jump the shark and reality be damned? Or did they?!

As an aside - There are 2 electric car companies with the same man’s name?! At the very least I’d expect Elon to have a kid with Trevor’s wife. Or does he only do that with friends?

Starbucks (who can’t release a decent core app) are now trading NFTs!

How far can an enterprise get lost up its own backside? Starbucks think we need a Web3 coffee experience and are soft launching Starbucks Odyssey. An app that enables you to earn and spend crypto as NFTs that convert to virtual and real world experiences. And the app is on a waitlist?! Don’t worry Starbucks - I can wait.

Patagonia family put their business + profits in trust to fight climate change.

"Earth is now our only shareholder.”

Founded in 1973, Patagonia's sales were worth around $1.5bn this year, while the founder Mr Chouinard's net worth is thought to be $1.2bn.

All to be put in trust with anything not invested in the business going to fight climate change.

I love this. I refuse to be a cynic. I just love it. More to come please.

Can you make money and do good?

It’s something that’s on my mind a lot. Love this reusable packaging example from Olive . It’s why I do what I do at SuperSeed but I do constantly ask myself - What is impact? Am I really moving the needle or kidding myself? Should I try and have impact along the way or wait until I’m a billionaire and then give it all away?

As a tiny example - In Copenhagen at #TechBBQ this week discussing a VC / founder matching product with Frederik from Pitchr . Is that impact? Is getting more startups more access to investment impact? Yes it is IMO. Startups are the net creators of opportunities, jobs and the source of innovation. Which is my impact. My way to change the world for the better for my kids. I think. I hope. To be further explored!

Google loses €4bn appeal - The psychopathy of big business

Google have had their appeal denied for their latest EU anti-trust lawsuit which states that they used their dominance to quash any potential competition.

When does a startup flip over? When does the corporation incorporate? When does ‘the machine’ then just do what it does and become evil? Or is it evil? Is it perhaps just the purest efficiency? Albeit a little offensive to our sensibilities.

It’s a bit like the movie iRobot where Will Smith is trying to work our how robots can harm humans when their code is written to the contrary - before working out that they want to remove humans because we are the biggest danger to ourselves. Oh.

The Dreaded Downround

Via from Brad Feld (Managing Director at Foundry Group)

Quote: Don’t fear down rounds?(where capital is raised at a lower valuation than at the previous round).

For some reason the whole notion of a down round has become this fearful thing. The history of fundraising and raising money for companies is that there are lots of different price points at which money gets raised. Even if you look at the public markets, companies raise money at lots of different valuations, including at lower valuations than previous valuations…so I don’t know why the down round became such a toxic construct. I even heard someone say, ‘Once you have a down round, you’re dead!’. No! People gave you money, so you’re the opposite of dead! You’ve got a chance to keep going. So I would try to change the language around down rounds, and be more realistic about the idea that we were in a cycle where people raised at very high valuations, and future financings in a lot of cases are going to be at lower prices than the last round that was raised.”

Startup of the week

Pitchr - the startup that isn’t quite yet. Frederik and Vincent are transforming how startups get access to funding.

VC of the week

How could we not discuss Northzone who've raised €1bn . Wonderful.

Who’s hiring?

?????Acrobator Ventures, Operations Manager , Amsterdam (Hybrid)