Avid Larizadeh Duggan OBE

Cambridge Future Tech builds DeepTech ventures and last week we hit another milestone; we're co-founding our 15th venture 🤘 It's awesome building new ventures from the ground up. It's why we started CFT in the first place. It always feels great to be at the start of the build phase, helping founders articulate a new venture’s tech and potential, building a strong narrative. We’re collaborating closely with founders to transform groundbreaking ideas into companies. 🚀🚀🚀 More to come on this. I'm hyped to share what we're building 🤘 #venturebuilder #deeptech #startups #cambridge

90

4 Comments

"Funding Collapse sends investment in start-ups to six year low" The Times today covering the shocking stats that VenturePath uncovered, with our partner Beauhurst. Great quotes from supporters Michael Moore CEO, BVCA and Julian David CEO, techUK. * UK VC funding at Series A is -44% from last year, and worsening * Q3 24 is down a staggering 57% from Q2, itself down from Q1 * 9 in 10 seed funded startups cannot access Series A VC funding, the next 'rung on the funding ladder' * Just 32 future scaleup companies across the whole of the UK were able to access their first VC funding round in Q3...a 6 year low * Half a billion less capital is going in to UK scaleups at Series A, than just 2 years ago! As the UK scaleup funding gap widens, we are losing ground against other countries, at both startup stage (a position the UK worked hard to achieve, since 2011), and for scaleup support. OECD data: 13th in the world for scaleup support, and that's before Series A funding access dried up. I get that its confusing. Another report (BBB, Nations & Regions) released this week spoke of positive trends in private investment, stating "The data for Q2 2024 shows that investment value has continued to grow". Great, I love to see optimistic data. But under analysis that bundles venture with private equity (later stage), where a few megadeals skew the numbers. Otherwise the exact opposite is true. Our independent research here, for the UK ScaleUp Investment Mission, is laser beam focussed on Series A. The funding round where companies move from the c.1m startups launched each year, through the 2,179 that access seed funding, into the rarefied category of being recognised as future scaleups, attracting Series A funding (£2-10m). The UK venture landscape is currently funding just 248 pa of these companies, and declining. We've been sharing this urgent call for support with the new Government since the day after the election. I've personally met with several Ministers, and spoke to all the relevant Government departments. I will shamelessly repeat loudly what is at stake. UK scaleup funding at Series A has nearly halved in a year, and continues to decline steeply, more than halving in the last quarter. VenturePath developed The UK ScaleUp Investment Mission to convene the scaleup support ecosystem and £7bn of funders to help address this problem, to improve nationwide access to VC investment, and create more venture-backed successes. We have clear support, clear recommendations to reverse this decline in UK scaleup investment, and have made a clear ask of Government for participation in this, to ensure immediate action is taken to create the conditions for success for UK scaleups, ensuring the focus on growth isn't undermined by lack of capital, or equitable access to it. Government decision makers, we'd love your interest, to progress to action. HM Treasury: Rt Hon Rachel Reeves Spencer Livermore James Murray & CC Poppy Gustafsson (welcome to the debate).

739

195 Comments

I couldn’t be prouder to be a Venture Partner at Isomer Capital (aka the best European FoF - at least for me) as we just announced the launch of our pioneering £100m secondaries fund. This fund is dedicated to acquiring stakes from LPs in various VC funds, tapping into a massive and largely unexplored market. 🌟 Key Highlights: - Focused Investment: Primarily targeting stakes in VC funds, with selective investments in private companies. - Robust Funding: Already over 20% funded, thanks to strong support from Nordic family offices and a German foundation. - Market Potential: With a growing number of private tech companies and a VC liquidity crunch, Europe's VC secondaries market is poised for rapid growth. - Track Record: This isn’t Isomer’s first foray into the secondaries market. As a firm we’ve done several secondaries deals with portfolio companies and VC firms, including early-stage VC Seedcamp (in 2021) and mobility giant Bolt (in 2023). - Expert Team: Welcoming the amazing Omolade (Rachel) A., formerly of Coller Capital, as a principal to lead this initiative. 💡 Investment Strategy: - 65-75% of the fund will buy "LP interest" stakes in VC funds. - 15-25% will be directed towards stakes in companies. - Up to 15% reserved for flexible investment opportunities. 📈 Looking Ahead: We're targeting returns of 2-3x, with significant distributions expected in the next 4-7 years. As one of the few players in this space, we're not just participating in the market—we're driving it forward. Read all about it here: https://lnkd.in/dc7sbC3G #VentureCapital #SecondariesFund #EuropeanVC

23

1 Comment

Taavet Hinrikus and I made the Financial Times Due Diligence email. https://lnkd.in/ez2AuGQx One 'unintended consequence' is that if there is a 45% tax on carry and CGT (raising £40m per year, remember) it for all intents and purposes closes the door on new VCs in the UK. Especially started by teams from non-traditional backgrounds. To meet the GP commit, you need to be already part of the 'wealthy' as you cannot rely on the value you create - nearly half of it will disappear - to fund it. We have both had extremely successful startups which are few and far between. The smaller number of new VCs will therefore more likely increasingly be for people who have inherited the capital or can draw it from their already rich family. Probably not want they have in mind with this policy.

32

2 Comments

When the first alphabet in these conversations changes from 'M" to 'B', you know the funding winter is transforming into spring 🌱 #VC #VentureCapital #Earlystagefunding Read more about the latest monthly funding report for VC funding in July 2024 here: ttps://https://lnkd.in/dhdWF8fP

8

I'm speaking at SuperVenture 2024 on the 5th of June in Berlin. The topic of the panel is emerging VC managers: time to shine or out of their depth? Are LPs fleeing to established names and those that cut their teeth during previous cycles? Or is now the time for emerging managers to bring something different to the table? Is volatility leading to true innovation and disruption? We’re on track to see approximately 44% of the total LP capital committed to US VC funds since the start of the year go to just two large established VC platforms, according to PitchBook data. While many established VCs maintain their allure, there is a subset of LPs who are making a deliberate choice to increase their allocations to specialist emerging VC managers - managers who have spun out from established funds and have an attributable track record, founders with deep operational experience turned funders or academics with deep domain expertise. There is non-trivial added complexity when it comes to emerging VC selection – given the large number of funds needed to be screened and the more complicated referencing and DD process. Data highlights how important it is for GPs to identify & back ‘big winners’ early on to drive fund returns. Typically, ~5% of invested capital in a few winners drives most of the return (>50%). The VC model is built around investing in early-stage companies each with the potential to more than return the whole fund. Who has the right to win? Who will the best founders (and LPs) decide to partner with? #SuperVenture #VC SuperReturn

77

7 Comments

Check out my recent post on why President Trump is the forcing function for us to solve the “Missing Middle” and catch the industrial Tsunami of onshoring coming to the US!

84

9 Comments

NOTWICS would like to alert founders to this lovely message I got from my good mate Tom Britton @ SyndicateRoom This excellent Cambridge based pre-seed and seed stage VC is looking for top founders and hopefully this is the first of many funds ringing the bell saying they are now deploying 💥 - akin to top man Dan Bowyer’s LP post yesterday. The winds of change are coming - funding is coming back From Tom “Hey Chris - We've partnered with Carbon13 to launch their next Climatech SEIS fund. The fund will open to investors on Tuesday and aims to deploy in the current tax year. And on Carbon 13 Carbon13 companies have gone on to raise up-rounds totalling more than £38m. The average age of their cohort participants is 37, a quarter hold PhDs and 63% of their teams are mixed gender”. Their portfolio now has 71 ventures across five key sectors: chemicals and materials, energy, food systems, enabling platforms and the built environment. Founders find out more here and get applying https://lnkd.in/es6EvuN5 Or Direct Message Tom for more Apologies for spelling mistakes - rushing to host a huge defence tech breakfast with FieldHouse Associates and others #startups #scaleups #vc #angel

9

Its's a deal flow time! We are about to share the details of 637 start-ups who joined Rare Founders London's largest #demoday 2 weeks ago with all the investors (only verified ones) in our community. If you are a #founder who is #fundraising and want to get more exposure to investors (IT'S FREE) - submit your details following the link in comments. If you are an #investor interested in pre-seed to series A start-ups join our community (link in comments) to get access access to the monthly deal flow. Please tag #investors and #founders who this might be applicable for.

105

51 Comments

Last week, the ‘CAIO Collective’ caught up in central London for an event that was anything but ordinary. Since last month’s meetup with our Business Safari through Big Data LDN, we’ve welcomed a further seventeen in person members and over 60 virtual members!  So… this was a gathering of some of the sharpest minds in AI leadership all focused on navigating the increasingly complex landscape of driving real value from artificial intelligence and its real-world applications. This session came at a critical time, as the sector grapples with new regulations, ethical considerations, and the rapid pace of technological advancement and this meant a packed agenda. By strong demand, we pushed the AI talent, learning, and development into December’s meetup using the time instead to focus on this month’s hot topic… the European AI Act (AIA). So… the AIA was at the forefront of our discussions this time around. Its impact on the industry is set to be profound, but not without some controversy. While many welcomed the Act’s intent to enforce transparency, fairness and accountability, there was a fervent shared concern about its potential to curb innovation. This was especially the case for small and medium enterprises. For many in the Collective, this regulation represents a call to action. It’s not just about compliance; it’s about demonstrating how responsible AI can genuinely thrive under a robust framework. The debate also touched on the strategic importance of engaging with policymakers early and ensuring that the voices of practitioners who understand AI’s real-world complexities are really heard. Another focal point was the rise of AI-powered decision-making systems. From dynamic supply chain optimisation to real-time fraud detection, AI’s ability to handle complex decision-making processes is driving a new wave of operational efficiency across industries. However, it’s not without its challenges. Many organisations are grappling with how to deploy these systems at scale while ensuring transparency and maintaining a human in the loop oversight. The discussion highlighted that successful AI deployment isn’t just about technology; it’s about building trust - both within organisations and with their customers. The event was not just a forum for discussion but a call to action. The Collective is dedicated to shaping the future of AI by building frameworks that are ethical, strategic and sustainable. If you’re a Chief AI Officer or in AI leadership and want to engage with a community that’s on the cutting edge of these issues, we’d love to have you join us. Our next gathering is provisionally scheduled for 4 December at The Century Club, where we’ll dive into the critical topic of talent, learning, and development in AI - a key factor in sustaining the industry’s momentum. #CAIOCollective #ChiefAIOfficer #EUAIAct #AIRegulation #AILeadership #EthicalAI #DataGovernance #AIinBusiness #ChathamHouseRules

168

What do you do when a radical new technology puts your main product right in the crosshairs of disruption? Listen to David Okuniev — co-founder of Typeform | Ask awesomely — discuss the challenges of innovation within existing structures. David shared a game-changing insight: Radical innovation is really, really difficult to do inside your own product. He emphasized the need to break free from the constraints of familiarity and embrace change from outside the box. Henrik Werdelin and I have both seen our fair share of this in our respective careers. What struck us most was how David leveraged structure to overcome the innovator’s dilemma. By creating a culture of experimentation and providing space for bold ideas, he propelled Typeform beyond incremental improvements. What other hacks have you seen or employed to help your organization overcome the innovator’s dilemma? Share your stories below! 👇 And if you want to dive deeper into our conversation, click the link in the comments to catch the full podcast episode!

4

2 Comments

It was a pleasure to be on Rupert McSheehy's podcast Fireside with Founders and Leaders. Thanks again for having me! We talked about 📈 key metrics for Series A, 🌍 how to expand internationally and 🚀 the benefits of an evergreen fund structure. More here 👉 https://lnkd.in/e_aeQp7K #VentureCapital #Startups #Scaleups #GrowthJourney #Podcast

35

2 Comments

I really enjoyed breaking in our new studio to sit down with Temporal Technologies Co-Founders Samar Abbas and Maxim Fateev for the latest episode of Founded & Funded. Temporal was founded in 2019 based on an open-source microservices orchestration engine project but is the result of a more than decade-long partnership between the two co-founders that spanned their time working on different iterations of the same thing at AWS, Microsoft, and Uber. In this episode, Samar, Maxim, and I dive into the challenges of building an open-source ecosystem while also working on a commercial offering and scaling a successful company, how to navigate and adjust a product roadmap in an ever-changing world of AI and large language models, and how to successfully build an early startup team, navigate through a CEO transition, and bring on a startups first independent board member. It's a very compelling conversation and a must-listen for every builder out there. Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gymf9sES Find other platforms and the transcript on our website: https://lnkd.in/ggRtnKtM Be sure to subscribe to our channel for more deep dives into cutting-edge technologies and the minds behind them. Don't forget to like, comment, and share this conversation if you found it valuable!

73

3 Comments

TLDR: EIS should be scrapped as a fund structure but retained for Angel investments by individuals. Alex Chalmers has done all the work which in 10 years I've never got around to doing: why 95% of EIS/VCT funds are bad for our tech ecosystem, rip #startups off, and why as a Founder you should push back against their stupid fees or not take their money. https://lnkd.in/dnq9ZScS

35

7 Comments

Here’s a question investors are often asked: When evaluating early stage companies, how much time do you spend on due diligence around future exits? It’s not surprising we hear this question a lot. Also not surprising: it’s got a wide range of answers depending on the firm. Some don’t spend much time here at all. Others make it a point to put meaningful time in as part of their process. Our current thinking: take the time to do the work on public market comps. At Alpaca VC, we spend significant time understanding how public market investors will  realistically value a business based on margin profile, product, business model & TAM. In short, we want to know: how will this company be valued at scale when we get taken out? Yes, we can acknowledge that the journey toward exit is a windy road and that there may be pivots along the way, but there are still public market companies that have a business model similar to the early stage company you're evaluating. And you can always look at gross profit multiples if you think the margin profile will change over time. So we still do the work on the comps. Quantitative metrics we look at when making the comparison to public market comps include EBITDA multiple, revenue multiple, Gross Profit multiple or all of the above. As part of this process, it’s also important to factor in the public market company’s year-over-year revenue growth as this will also significantly impact the multiple it trades at. Simple example: if you have two public market companies with similar business models and similar margin profiles, but one's growing 100% year over year, and one's growing 50% year over year, then obviously the DCF (discounted cash flow) analysis is going to spit out a very different valuation for the one that's growing faster. Why this matters: When you take all of that information into account as you evaluate an early stage business, you can begin to create a realistic picture of how this company will be valued in the public markets at exit - or how an acquirer will value the company for an acquisition. Strategic acquirers may, of course, pay a premium, but we won’t underwrite for that. This allows us, for example, to form conviction around valuation based on revenue and gross profit predictions. If we think they can do $100M of revenue five years from now, we use this diligence process to form a thesis about whether the characteristics above (product, margin, business model, etc.) will cause the company to be valued at $200M vs. $500M vs. $1B at exit. Curious how other early stage investors think about underwriting an exit and how much time they’re spending on public market comps even though these companies are in their infancy.

39

3 Comments

Liquidity or exit planning is often taboo leading to many companies being ill prepared. Successful outcomes are years in the making - they start and end with proactive prep (e.g. getting your house in order, developing strong relationships with strategic partners, potential investors and advisors). With Scott Colvin & Paul Perrett we lay out some key actions you should embed now that can set you up for exit success and also make you a better run business today Big thanks to Bree Fedele 🖋

55

6 Comments

Insightful look into bioplatform strategy, and what it takes to raise a Series A from my partner, Omri Amirav-Drory: https://lnkd.in/dFv7GbF6

20

Want a deeper glimpse into how people are feeling in the run-up to the UK elections? 🇬🇧 This whitepaper reveals the real human emotions behind the numbers. 🔍 Using Prolific’s pool of 200k+ participants and Voiceform's #AI technology, this poll captures authentic responses on a range of key political issues. It’s got extensive insights into how the UK truly feels about: * The current Conservative Party leadership under Rishi Sunak. * Keir Starmer’s opposition Labour Party and its changing direction. * Which policies and themes register as most critical for voters. * What it could take to sway voting intentions at this stage. You can download the full whitepaper here: https://lnkd.in/e9qSTQQd #UKgeneralelection #PoliticalInsights #UKPolitics

21

2 Comments

Stop this removal-only obsession in the carbon markets. What kind of hare-brained approach is that? We need avoidance even more than we need removals. This article reminds me of the analogy I made a few months ago about a sinking boat. No amount of bailing water with buckets will save you if the hole in the hull is getting bigger. Remember, if deforestation was a country, it would be the world's third largest emitter. And no, you cannot just demand/legislate that poor rural people stop deforesting without providing alternative income. That is why forest carbon exists. It takes some form of totalitarian mindset (and/or total lack of understanding of rural economies)to think one can just ban things they do not like. https://lnkd.in/eCddBRwt

49

5 Comments