The StartUp to ScaleUp Game Plan

Latest Episodes:

Is Europe's VC Ecosystem Closing The Gap on The States? Nov 29, 2020

Show notes

Erin Platts heads up Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in EMEA and she’s led their growth across the region for over a decade.
We discussed the huge transformation in the European ecosystem in last 5-6 years in terms of:

Number of repeat entrepreneurs
Depth and sophistication of capital
Local aspiration & skillset to create global category leaders
Diversification of business sectors being served by startups

We also explored Erin's concerns that Europe's B2B saas ventures - many of whom appear robust despite the pandemic - may be over-optimistic especially if churn in Q4 2020 and Q1 2021 is higher than expected

And we evaluated the shift to WFH both for SVB and for the VC-backed tech community:

Zoom has evened up the playing field for companies who no longer need to be located in London, Cambridge or Berlin to have access to Europe’s best funding and networking opportunities
Efficiency has in many businesses, including SVB, improved - however Erin feels that effectiveness may tail off if we continue to operate 100% virtually for many more months
The tactical measures SVB has introduced to support employees mental health and wellbeing and "improve the bifurcation between work & home life”

For more insights into SVB head over to https://www.svb.com/uk and for advice on hiring leadership talent for B2B SaaS ventures check out https://alpinasearch.com

CEO's - Do You Really Understand The Difference Between a CRO & a VP Sales?! Nov 20, 2020

Show notes

Pete Crosby is Chair of the Manchester Revenue Collective, founding member of the London Revenue Collective, and non-exec at Kluster, a revenue analytics platform.

Previously Pete led revenue growth at Ometria and Triptease – 2 successful B2B SaaS scaleups – and he drove commercial operations at Viadeo from Series A to IPO.

In a hard-hitting interview, we explored:

DIVERSITY

"Leaders should lead – even when it’s difficult to do so"
Diversity is one of the tough challenges business leaders are failing to tackle
Putting a black square on your linkedin profile does not demonstrate you’re dealing with diversity challenges!
The “Unbiased Playbook” is a comprehensive diversity hiring playbook recently launched by the Revenue Collective
The playbook suggests, for example, that you need to “pump prime it early on" to encourage people of diverse backgrounds to come and work for your business

CEO FAILINGS WITH SALES LEADERSHIP HIRING DECISIONS

Founders and CEOs are advised by VCs and "well-meaning but stupid books" that you should hire someone to lead revenue for 18 months then get rid of them
When sales are not happening - as company leaders and investors expect - they focus on the symptom not the cause
The underlying problem is typically product or positioning - firing your sales leader will not resolve this
Few CEOs understand the differences between the tactical leadership you get with a VP Sales and the strategic leadership you get with a CRO - and when and why you should hire either profile

For more information on the Revenue Collective check out https://www.revenuecollective.com and for advice on recruiting exceptional leaders for B2B Saas startups and scaleups head over to https://alpinasearch.com

Nikola Mrksic: 1st-time CEO challenges & learnings Nov 08, 2020

Show notes

Nikola Mrksic is CEO at PolyAI – a Cambridge University spinout who raised $14m in VC funding for their automated customer service solutions

We explored why:

society will be so much better off once fully automated CS solutions replace tedious customer service roles
true conversational AI is so much more impactful than the "glorified chatbots" most organisations deploy
being a 1st-time CEO with a technical background is such a joyful experience of personal growth
recruiting your initial senior hires is so tricky - yet so crucial for business success and CEO sanity!
the US market is so far ahead of Europe in terms of technology adoption & product management expertise

For more insights into the future of work & customer service automation check out https://www.polyai.com and for guidance on recruiting stellar leadership & senior executive talent for B2B SaaS startups & scaleups head over to https://alpinasearch.com

Dawn Capital: Evaluating CEOs on Their Ability to Build a Kick Arse Team! Nov 02, 2020

Show notes

Mina Mutafchieva is a VC at Dawn Capital – 1 of Europe’s largest venture capital firms who recently raised their 4th fund - a $400m fund investing in Europe’s most promising early stage B2B Saas ventures

We explored why:

Dawn Capital's #1 criteria in evaluating a CEO is "can they build a great team around them – can they inspire & attract talent they do not yet deserve?"
resilience is becoming the #1 personality trait you need as an entrepreneur
business leaders need to realise they are there to build a company & not to try to fix everything themselves
it was a “piece of cake” to raise a $400m VC fund in Europe in 2020!

We also discussed the most challenging aspects of being a VC including "you’re only as good as the entrepreneurs you invest in" and how Mina's role has expanded during the pandemic to incorporate emotional counselling
For more Dawn Capital insights check out http://dawncapital.com & for guidance on recruiting exceptional leaders for B2B SaaS ventures head over to https://alpinasearch.com

Nihal Mehta, Eniac Ventures - you learn the most from epic failures! Oct 18, 2020

Show notes

Nihal Mehta, General Partner at Eniac Ventures, experienced the pain of building a tech venture that failed during the dotcom collapse. He's subsequently founded & exited several successful tech ventures - Nihal was also an early investor in the likes of Uber and Admob – so he’s got a pretty strong track record spotting disruptive companies with unicorn potential!

We explored:

the resilience of New York city - despite covid
lessons learnt from the dotcom collapse that today’s tech entrepreneurs can leverage
the need for tech founders to be able to answer this question: “Are you 1 of the very few teams in the world that could pull off this mission?”
how to use Twitter and LinkedIn to engage with enterprise prospects & clients
the mental health issues facing entrepreneurs and tech leaders during the pandemic
why Eniac's portfolio has been actively hiring ethnic & gender diversity board members & employees

For more insights into Eniac Ventures, head over to https://eniac.vc & for gudiance on recruiting leadership talent for tech startups & scaleups check out https://alpinasearch.com

Tech scaleups: making a difference to society & to the environment Oct 16, 2020

Show notes

Emily Bremner heads up operations & scaling at Signal – a UK scaleup who’ve raised $52m in funding from the likes of Redline Capital, MMC Ventures, Hearst Ventures, GMG Ventures & Frontline Ventures. Signal’s solution uses machine learning to help their clients track the competitive landscape & monitor their reputation & key regulatory changes — empowering them to make smarter, faster, business decisions.

We explored:

Why ESG - Environmental, Social and Governance - objectives are crucial for tech ventures & for society
How Signal's solutions help their clients embrace ESG
The initiatives Signal has implemented to strengthen diversity & inclusivity including:
- diversity shortlist quotas
- prioritising candidate abilities rather than focusing on “markers of prestige”
- recalibrating their Board and Advisory Board to better reflect and lead their D&I aspirations
How Signal has changed - in terms of structure and hiring practices - to handle rapid growth in revenues & headcount
Since "businesses grow exponentially and people often grow linearly" – ideas for supporting employees who cannot grow with the business
Why startups & scaleups need to be careful not to be seduced large blue chip employers on candidates' CVs
Tools & techniques Signal have implemented to build a harmonious & highly effective global team that performs effectively in a WFH environment

We also discussed how Emily's inspirations come not from the Tech/VC community - but from the likes of Dave Chapelle (stand-up comedian) & Neil deGrasse Tyson (US astrophysicist) who's advice includes: “if you're good at bullshitting people, you're not hanging out with the right people”!

And Emily recommended all startups and scaleups can learn valuable lessons from these 2 books: The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team (Patrick Lencioni) and The Lean Startup (Eric Ries)

For more insights into Signal check out https://www.signal-ai.com/ and for guidance on recruiting stellar senior talent at B2B tech startups & scaleups head over to https://alpinasearch.com/

How can founders prove to investors they'll be hiring machines? Oct 05, 2020

Show notes

Ricardo Sequerra is a Partner at Point 9 Capital in Berlin. Point 9 invests in early stage b2b SaaS ventures & they’ve backed several unicorns including Zendesk and Typeform!

We explored how & why early stage venture founders should:

convince VCs of potential product market fit
prove to investors they'll be hiring machines
hire a Head of People long before they start scaling rapidly
expand into The States to access proven scaleup leadership talent

We also chatted about Ricardo's most amusing investment pitch experience - when a Brazilian entrepreneur pitched Ricardo moments after he'd finished praying at the Western Wall in Jerusalem!

For more insights into Point 9 Capital check out http://pointnine.com & for advice on hiring stellar startup & scaleup leaders head over to https://alpinasearch.com

How to fund your Saas startup with superstars like Thierry Henry instead of VCs! Sep 28, 2020

Show notes

Gareth Capon is the CEO & Founder at Grabyo – a cloud-based video platform working with over 70 premium broadcasters, sports properties & digital publishers including FOX Sports, The Premier League, FC Barcelona, BT Sport and Sky.

We explored how Grabyo:

raised their funding from soccer stars Robin Van Persie, Thierry Henry & Cesc Fabregas and NBA star Tony Parker
have maintained better control of destiny during the pandemic than many of their VC-funded peers
are lowering their clients' carbon footprint – & helping them during lockdowns - as content can now be created from events without the need to be physically present

We also discussed the future of the broadcast/video sector as it shifts rapidly to a streaming-led model

For more insights into Grabyo check out https://about.grabyo.com/uk/ & for advice on hiring stellar talent to scale B2B saas ventures head over to https://alpinasearch.com

How to launch your own VC fund & shake up the old boys networks! Sep 20, 2020

Show notes

Matt Penneycard is co-Founder at Ada Ventures, a $34m London-based venture capital fund investing in overlooked founders. Ada Ventures launched in December 2019 to shake up the “old boys networks” & unconscious biases that dominate the VC world

With humility & candour, Matt describes:

Ada's desire to invest in founders who are consumed by the need to effect change and create massive ROI
How true early stage VC investing in the UK trails other markets especially the US
The lack funding for under-served markets e.g. female-led companies
The challenges of raising and running your 1st VC fund
How Ada drives dealflow through a unique network of scouts – these are leaders of diverse tech/startup communities who source deals & receive differentiated incentives

At the end of the podcast Matt proposed Ada Ventures as anchor investor in "Headhunter Ventures" if Gary were to launch his own VC fund;)

For more insights into Ada Ventures check out https://www.adaventures.com & https://medium.com/ada-ventures

And for guidance on hiring leadership talent for startups & scaleups head over to https://alpinasearch.com

Will AI make us all superhuman? Sep 14, 2020

Show notes

Dennis Kayser is the founding CEO at Forecast who raised $5.5m in 2019 for their SaaS solution which leverages artificial intelligence to transform project management & professional services.

We explored:

Having launched the business in Copenhagen, why Dennis chose London for Forecast’s commercial HQ
Overcoming Covid’s challenges through flat structures & autonomous teams used to working remotely
How Forecast, from its inception, was created with a diverse workforce reflecting their diverse target customers - their 60 employees comprise 18 nationalities and a 50-50 gender split
How and why AI will make all of us superhuman!
Why Dennis decided to accept funding from a VC who valued Forecast 3x less than other VCs had valued the business
Why founders should not get starstruck just because a high profile VC reaches out to them

For more insights into Forecast head over to https://www.forecast.app & for advice on hiring stellar B2B SaaS scale-up talent check out https://alpinasearch.com

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