Welcome to Heroa, a weekly newsletter for women in start-ups and ventures. If you enjoy what you read, please do share this newsletter with friends and subscribe now.
Hello and welcome back to Heroa.
It’s been a blockbuster week in consumer tech with the Airbnb and DoorDash IPOs and there are a whole host of IPOs we can expect to see in 2021 including Robinhood. The spat of IPOs we are seeing has reignited the conversation around angel investing as the individuals and companies who invested at an early stage are seeing supernormal profits. Therefore, in this newsletter, I’ve included Angel investing tips from Impact X’s Yvonne Bajela, pre-seed fundraising tips from Natasha Foster, the co-founder of Paid, and a link to Andy Ayim’s Angel Investing School (AIS). Applications are now open for the third AIS cohort and having completed the course earlier in the year I can personally highly recommend it.
Round-up of the news this week
Airbnb and DoorDash raise price ranges ahead of a blockbuster week for IPOs. Software firm C3.ai skyrockets 174% after a $651 million IPO. Europe urged to block Google-Fitbit ahead of major digital policy overhaul. Ada Ventures closes first fund at $50M, investing in diverse founders tackling society’s problems. How VCs can avoid another bloodbath as the clean-tech boom 2.0 begins. Europe’s unexpected new fintech investor – checkout.com.
Atomico’s annual report “The State of European tech” is out - it’s by far the best and most comprehensive research piece covering the venture business in Europe
If you just want a summary of the report Sifted has published a summary of the top 20 highlights. One of the key stats is that 2020 marks a record year of VC investment in European tech. Perhaps more sobering is that progress on gender has stagnated since 2018. 90% of funding went to all-male teams this year. Fortune has published a great opinion piece on why the power to change the female-founder double standard rests with VCs.
From the investors
“Angel investing shouldn’t be core to your personal investment strategy.” Yvonne Bajela
Angel Investing 101 - why investing in start-ups is not reserved for the super-rich and some tips as to how to invest successfully by Yvonne Bajela of Impact X. Cheque sizes can be smaller than you might expect but its worth only allocating a small proportion of your net assets (5% to 10%) to angel investing and putting the rest of your money in less risky investments.
Five predictions for early-stage start-ups in 2021 by January VC’s Maren Thomas Bannon. Particularly interesting is her prediction that investment rounds, and Venture Funds, will be closed without lawyers. Less controversial are her views that online communities and personal brands are going to become even more important in 2021.
Mina Mutafchieva of Dawn Capital writes about the ever-evolving enterprise software business in banking
How to write a good cold e-mail by Beata Klein of Creandum.
Pippa Lamb of Sweet Capital on finding her sweet spot and how she got into the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
All that glitters (like stars) is not gold. Chang Xu of BasisSet Ventures on how the monetisation of open source is laying the foundation for the next set of iconic tech companies and the metrics that matter when commercialising open source.
From the operators
“Long before COVID-19, I was thinking about why the unicorn model is broken. Knowing the complexities of owning and running a food business, I always felt it irresponsible to focus purely on growing at all costs. In a high growth company, you’re moving at 100 miles per hour. You have to compromise far too much.” Lily Simpson, founder of Detox Kitchen
Lily Simpson of Detox Kitchen on why zebras are the new unicorns. Hello Fresh is a notorious example. Its retention is really low, something like 25% [versus 80% for Detox Kitchen]. It’s continually on this treadmill trying to acquire new customers. It’s not focused on the end product and consumer experience. Blue Apron is the same. It IPO’d and its share price plummeted.
5 myths you shouldn't believe about fundraising and one stark reality by Natasha Foster, co-founder, and COO of Paid.
Are you tired? Me too by Mo Seetubtim founder of the Happiness Planner. 2020 has definitely taught us about the power of resilience. This is a great reminder to not give up alongside some tips as to how to stay resilient
Stitch Fix Founder Katrina Lake on growth vs profitability and the importance of mental flexibility as a leader
Miriam Feyer who is Head of People at Speedinvest on why every founder should have a coach
Events
The Debut Sessions Live Pitch Competition
Tuesday, December 15th @10am GMT
Ascension Ventures host this event which sees 4 early-stage start-ups pitch to VCs in the UK for the chance to win a £100,000 SEIS investment. This will then be followed by interactive discussions on term sheets and investor decks.
Opportunities
The Newton program a joint venture between London Business School and LocalGlobe VC has its 2021 applications open. Fully-paid scholarships are available for half the participants on the program. Apply here.
JamJar Ventures is hiring an Associate. Apply here.
Andy Ayim’s Angel Investing School. Applications for Cohort 3 are now open. Apply here.
SEE YOU NEXT MONDAY!
If you have any comments, questions, or just want to chat about start-ups and venturing then do drop me a comment.
Written by Alexandra Wyatt, based in London but a global traveler. You can also reach me on Twitter and Instagram.