Location, Location, Location and choosing a niche
A weekly newsletter that profiles women in venture and technology
Welcome to Heroa, a weekly newsletter that aims to raise the profile of women in venture. If you enjoy what you read, please do share this newsletter with friends and subscribe - Alexandra.
Office life is coming back, and some workers are happier about it than others. Some workers are choosing to quit before returning to the office. It’s too early to judge if this trend of absconding workers is here to stay, especially as employment lags most in low WFH sectors.
Does it really matter where companies are based? Hubs remain vital for getting companies off the ground, and I don’t think online communities have entirely replaced them. This week’s newsletter focuses on communities that have been built around specific locations. If you want a full story about why physical locations are so important, check out Blackberry Town. It’s the story of how the residents of Canada’s Kitchener-Waterloo played such a critical part in Blackberry’s success. And why the location of Blackberry meant that it couldn’t ultimately beat its competitors.
Round up of the news this week
📈Nextdoor, which Sarah Friar leads, announces it will go public in a $4.3B SPAC merger. Nextdoor is a hyperlocal social network.
💸Glossier, led by Emily Weiss, raises a series E round that values the beauty company at $1.8B.
🌱 The hottest European seed investments. June was an active month for Europe’s seed investors. It was also a record-breaking month in some countries — Electra, an electric vehicle startup, secured France’s largest ever seed round at €15m.
🦄 DN Capital closes its £300m fifth fund, the fund invested in unicorn GoStudent before it closed.
From the investors
Who won the 2021 Euro ̶F̶o̶o̶t̶b̶a̶l̶l̶ Fintech league? Pauline Brunel of Blackfin ranks the most vibrant European fintech scenes of the year.
Israel's Booming Tech Scene: Top Trends & Players in the Startup Nation. $14B in VC funding, 19 IPOs and more than $15B in exits. Last year was an exciting one for the Israeli tech ecosystem Annalise Dragic, Kevin Diestel & Andreas Weiskam of Sapphire Ventures tell us everything about Israel’s start-up scene.
Tech Conferences and access. Conferences are one of the few ways early-stage companies can efficiently meet many investors during a short period. But do we really need them? Lillian Li of Chinese Characteristics looks at how founders connect with VCs in China, where there is a dearth of conferences.
From the operators
The most important yet overlooked aspect of choosing a niche. It goes far beyond just choosing a niche you’re passionate about - Ellen McRae believes the most important thing is to be credible in your nice.
Why your cap table is a crap table. During fundraising, most founders should optimize for speed, but not at the expense of getting the wrong people on your cap table. Holly Liu runs through the 10 reasons you didn’t get the best investors.
Events
🏙 Do successful startups need to base their HQ in a capital city? Wed, 14 July 2021, 16:00 - 17:00 BST Sign up here.
Capital cities like London are getting more expensive, leading many startups to look elsewhere for their HQ. This virtual panel will speak to UK startups that have chosen to base themselves elsewhere on why they made the decision — as well as a London-based founder on why they stayed.
🌱 Tech for good: How to set up a social enterprise. Wed, 14 July 2021, 12:00 BST. Sign up here.
Impact investing — or investing in ‘tech for good’ — is in vogue, but the sector faces unique challenges. Founders will join this virtual panel alongside impact investors and local government representatives from across the UK to talk about everything fledgling social and sustainability entrepreneurs need to know.
💻 A Venture Debt Masterclass. Thu, 15 July 2021, 17:00 – 18:00 BST Sign up here.
A Venture Debt master class with Bailey Morrow, Director, Consumer Internet at Silicon Valley Bank. Bailey will cover key market trends and developments in the venture debt markets
Opportunities
Newton Venture Program, Head of Learning, London.
Backed VC, Investment Associate, London
Anamarca Capital, Venture Capital Intern, London
SEE YOU NEXT MONDAY!
If you have any comments, questions, or want to chat about start-ups and venturing, then do drop me a comment.
Written by Alexandra Wyatt, based in London but (usually!) a global traveller. You can also reach me on Twitter.