Space tech, the Chinese "Shopify" and International Women's day
A weekly newsletter that profiles women in start-ups and technology
Welcome to Heroa, a weekly newsletter that profiles women in start-ups and ventures. If you enjoy what you read, please do share this newsletter with friends and like it above!
Happy International Women’s Day! I’m not a massive one for International Women’s Day - not because I don’t think it’s worth taking a step back and reflecting on how far we’ve come, and celebrating those who inspire, support and challenge us every step of the way - but because it takes very little to show up for women once a year. Having said that there are some great content pieces and events as a result of International Women’s Day this week and… after writing this I read Anisah Ossman Britton’s instagram post on the day and decided I’d order pizza to celebrate because why not?!!
Last week I promised a bit of a deep dive into the space sector and here it is! 🚀
The space sector offers so much potential across industries – this is as an introduction to what is a complex area. Already we’ve seen data from satellites transform businesses on Earth, from international transport to rural education. This space tech map by Seraphim Capital shows the most interesting start-ups addressing opportunities in each segment of the space value chain, it’s also worth checking out these five especially interesting space tech start-ups. Finally, take a look around the Space Capital podcast, hosted by early-stage VC Space Capital.
This week we’ve got content on
The signals investors look for when they are assessing a founder
The Chinese “shopify”
How to lead when your team is exhausted and you are too
Round-up of the news this week
Starling bank is now valued at over $1bn, making it both a profitable unicorn and a female-founded unicorn. 8 female VCs to watch in 2021. Famed former investment banker Mary Meeker’s Bond Capital closed its second fund with $2BN. One of the main pieces of news in the European start-up land this week is Klarna raising $1 billion at a 6X valuation, it now stands at $31 billion. Deliveroo’s innovative IPO is also worth following. Finally, Google will stop selling ads based on browsing data across websites. Google’s decision might be the start of something large regarding data privacy.
From the investors
“Holding a fancy degree or having a big title is not a prerequisite [for being a strong founder], neither is being an extravert or living in Silicon Valley. Certainly relevant experience and networks matter on the startup journey (hence “unfair advantage”) but lazy pattern matching is a bad recipe for investing.” Ann Bordetsky of NEA
The Founder, CEO scorecard. We often hear that it’s “the team” that matters most when assessing early stage ventures - but what does that mean? Ann Bordetsky of NEA breaks down how she assesses founders on traits such as motivation, curiosity and growth mindset and many more. Read more here
How PE firms have tackled the COVID-19 crisis and how it has transformed our economy. Virginie Morgon of Eurazeo and other prominent figures in private equity feature in this documentary called Rebooted. Watch here
Profile of the "Chinese Shopify" When I ask you about Youzan (有赞), what's the first thing that comes to mind? (If anything comes to mind at all). Despite speaking Chinese and living out there for two years I actually hadn’t heard of it before reading this article. I should have, it has a current market cap of $12.3Bn and there are some interesting lessons we can learn from its product and how to own the funnel. Read more here
From the operators
“To move through the second wave successfully, leaders need to reexamine their personal resilience and that of their team members: the ability and strength to overcome obstacles, bounce back, and recover in the face of challenges.” Merete Wedell-Wedellsborg, Executive Coach
How to lead when your team is exhausted and you are too. A very timely and actionable article as we head into the final stretch of lockdown which should be inherently motivating but sometimes isn’t. Leading through this may in fact be a task of: Compassion, Containment (“the ability to observe and absorb what is going on around you, but to provide a sense of stability”) and ⚡getting the energy flowing and never accepting that meetings and interactions become stale or boring. Written by Merete Wedell-Wedellsborg in the Harvard Business Review. Read more here
How to create a two-way knowledge exchange in a community? Katelyn Gillum (Community Success Manager, Commsor) talks about using onboarding and other tools for building a space for members to directly learn from one another. Read more here
5 start-ups at Mario 01 tell us how they are building diverse and inclusive workplaces. Read more here
Events
Heartful Academy presents How can the world of startups and investing become inclusive & diverse? With Andy Ayim and Mandy Nyarko on Tuesday, March 9
Investing in women in Fintech on Wednesday, March 10
YPO is hosting Angel Investing in Tech Virtual Demo Day. Startups apply here. The event is on Wednesday, March 24
Job opportunities
Marshmallow the InsureTech startup is hiring for a number of roles from Head of Marketing to engineers.
Icebreaker VC is hiring for a Venture Capital Associate
Cavalry Investment is hiring for an Investment Associate
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 traveller. You can also reach me on Twitter and Instagram.