The StartUp to ScaleUp Game Plan

Latest Episodes:

Viviana Faga & Doug Landis, Emergence Capital Nov 07, 2018

Show notes

Emergence Capital is one of the world’s leading enterprise Saas VC funds – with 7 exits in excess of $500m including Salesforce, SuccessFactors & Box.

Doug and Viv joined Emergence - as Growth Partner and Operating Partner respectively - to share their expertise in delivering successful go-to-market and growth strategies at companies like Salesforce and Box.

They discuss:

How to prioritise & dominate your target verticals
Why you should hire a marketing lead before you invest in sales expertise
How to create a new software category for your business
How to build harmony & efficiency between your sales & marketing teams
Customer Success teams: why they're as important as sales/marketing yet often undervalued at startups

For more insights into Emergence Capital check out https://www.emcap.com & for advice on hiring world class talent for startups & scaleups head over to http://alpinasearch.com

Carles Ferrer - Nauta Capital investing in capital-efficient disruptors Oct 25, 2018

Show notes

Carles Ferrer is a General Partner at Nauta Capital – a European enterprise software VC fund - and he’s invested in companies like BeMyEye, Brandwatch and ChannelSight.

Carles discusses:

Nauta's philosophy of investing in capital efficient disruptors
How Nauta’s regional hub focus within Europe, combined with their sector focus, differentiates them from other VC funds
When expanding from Europe to The States – how to get the timing & the talent right!
Future themes Nauta are prioritising including the massive disruption of the Retail sector both online and offline

For more insights into Nauta's investments in capital efficient disruptors check out https://www.nautacapital.com & for advice on hiring world class talent for start-ups and scale-ups head over to http://alpinasearch.com

Scott Belsky: insights from his new book "The Messy Middle" Oct 02, 2018

Show notes

Scott Belsky is an entrepreneur, author, and investor, and currently serves as Adobe’s Chief Product Officer.

Scott’s also a Venture Partner with Benchmark and an early advisor and investor in a number of fast-growing companies like Pinterest, Uber, and Periscope.

He is the author of "Making Ideas Happen" and in early October 2018 published his new book "The Messy Middle": The product or company launch gets cheered, the finish line gets celebrated, but the rocky terrain in between is woefully underestimated and misunderstood!

Scott discusses his research & provides business & product leaders with tangible suggestions to help them navigate the journey from volatile startup to mature successful business:

How to endure the extreme volatility of a new venture
Optimization – how to make your team & decision-making more effective
The importance of “killing your darlings” (not as shocking as it sounds!)
How we falsely attribute our own expertise, or lack of expertise, to both our successes and our failures – how to stay grounded when you and your business are being successful

For more insights from the Messy Middle check out https://medium.com/positiveslope/navigating-the-messy-middle-7ca6fff11966 and for advice on hiring world class talent for start-ups and scale-ups head over to http://alpinasearch.com

Eamonn Carey - Managing Director, Techstars UK Jun 21, 2018

Show notes

Eamonn Carey – once upon a time a TV producer and presenter - is now the Managing Director at Techstars London. He’s also founded and exited 2 startups and invested in over 25 companies globally.
Eamonn discusses:

The path he took from media exec to entrepreneur to investor
Why enterprise software companies need to build character & mischief into their products to mimic the user engagement of B2C products
Some of the key societal & technology trends he’s excited about - and believes could have huge potential for future Techstars cohorts

For more insights into Techstars check out https://www.techstars.com and for advice on hiring world class talent for start-ups & scale-ups head over to http://alpinasearch.com

Usman Shuja @ SparkCognition - AI, IOT & Moneyball 2.0 Jun 04, 2018

Show notes

Usman Shuja is the GM & Head of Industiral IOT at SparkCognition – the leading provider of AI solutions for IOT - who recently closed a $57m Series B with Verizon Ventures, Boeing, CME Ventures, Brevan Howard Investment Holdings and Invenergy Future Fund.

Usman is a thought leader in machine learning, cognitive computing, security, and industrial IoT – he sits on Forbes Technology Council - andalso an international cricketer.

Usman discusses

how he made the journey from international cricketer to GM at a leading AI scale-up
using AI to create the mind of a data scientist
the “Moneyball 2.0” approach to sports science & sports talent: “Moneyball on steroids”

For more insights into AI and IOT check out https://www.sparkcognition.com and for advice on hiring world class talent for start-ups & scale-ups head over to http://alpinasearch.com

David Ratner, CEO @ Realm: “the enemy of best is not worst…the enemy of best is good enough” May 22, 2018

Show notes

David Ratner is the CEO at Realm - the data management platform and solution that seamlessly handles connectivity, latency, transport and other backend details for mobile, IOT, and other connected apps.David’s previously had successful exits at Carrier Access and Openwave. Realm has a roster of high profile investors including Andreesen Horowitz, Greylock Partners, Khosla Ventures and Y Combinator.

David discusses:

Why “the enemy of best is not worst...the enemy of best is good enough”
How and when to launch a 2nd product - when your initial product is a big success - and how to balance resources between the 2 products
The challenges of getting messaging on-point for enterprise software businesses
Why hiring for cultural fit is way more important than hiring for the exact skillset

For more insigts into Realm's technology head over to https://realm.io and for advice on hiring world class start-up & scale-up talent check out http://alpinasearch.com

Kjartan Rist - Founding Partner at Concentric Partners Apr 12, 2018

Show notes

Kjartan Rist, Founding Partner at Concentric Partners, has spent the last 18 years focusing on the technology start-ups and scale-ups as a founder, advisor, Board member and investor. He’s been involved in over 50 transactions and founded or co-founded 2 successful VC funds and a merchant bank.
Kjartan discusses:

The valuable lessons he learned in his early days in VC from experienced investors - like Nenad Marovac & Steve Schlenker at DN Capital - and also Steve Papa, the founder-CEO at Endeca
The value a local VC firm can provide to a tech venture developing an international footprint – in terms of strategic business development and local go2market strategy
A very candid analysis of the challenges faced by 1 of his enterprise software investments - including the dangers of relying too much on a single route to market - and the steps they are now taking to overcome those challenges
The crucial role played by advisory boards to augment the CEO and his/her skills

For more VC insights check out http://concentricteam.com and for advice on hiring executive talent to scale your enterprise software venture head over to http://alpinasearch.com

Steve King - DJ turned enterprise software CEO Apr 04, 2018

Show notes

Steve King is the co-founder & CEO at Black Swan Data. Funded by Mitsui, Blackstone & Albion Capital - Black Swan Data creates better outcomes through technology, prediction & data science.

Steve discusses:

his journey from DJ to enterprise software CEO
Black Swan’s preference for talent “approximately 10% crazy”!
Black Swan Data’s failed US strategy – the lessons they learned and the turnaround...The US now contributes 50% to Black Swan’s revenues
the story behind the data science insights that diagnosed Steve’s sister’s rare illness & led to Steve establishing The White Swan charity
For more insights into Black Swan Data check out https://www.blackswan.com & for guidance on scaling up your enterprise software venture head over to http://alpinasearch.com

Magnus Gaarder - Co-Founder @ Cidron Ventures Mar 30, 2018

Show notes

Magnus Gaarder is a co-founder at early stage tech VC fund, Cidron Ventures, having previously spearheaded Nauta Capital's investment initiatives in Northern Europe.

Magnus discusses

How and when enterprise software ventures should embark on international expansion
Building a winning sales/marketing team in international markets
Capital efficiencies for start-ups: B2B versus B2C
Why integrity & "ESG" are key criteria for Cidron in choosing which start-up teams to invest in

For more insights on Cidron Venturs, head over to http://cidronventures.com - and for guidance on scaling enterprise software ventures, check out http://alpinasearch.com

Christian Hernandez, Managing Partner @ White Star Capital Mar 12, 2018

Show notes

Christian Hernandez is a co-founder & Managing Partner at White Star Capital, where he draws on his extensive experience in developing and scaling products and platforms internationally.

Prior to co-founding White Star Capital, Christian worked at Facebook and led the led the international expansion of the company’s Business Development, Platform and Gaming Partnerships groups. He previously held leadership roles at Google & Microsoft having started his career at MicroStrategy, a start-up he joined prior to their 1999 IPO.
Christian discusses:

How regulation and regulators, rather than being a challenge to overcome, can be a huge opportunity for start-ups to create differentiators and barriers to entry
How to co-develop enterprise technology solutions with clients – helps with funding, customer feedback, etc
How to effectively price innovative enterprise software & Saas products
“Re-cycling”: the single largest driver of outperformance in VC funds

Head over to https://whitestarvc.com for more details on White Star Capital and check out www.alpinasearch.com for more advice on globally scaling your enterprise software venture

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