20 VC 013: Frank Meehan Series A, Spark Labs and The Future of The Asian Tech Market

Javier Soltero is Corporate Vice President of Outlook @ Microsoft. This position arose due to Javier's startup, Acompli, being acquired by Microsoft for $200m in 2014. Prior to Acompli, Javier spent a year at Redpoint Ventures, where he assisted in helping the firm extend their reach into both enterprise and mobile markets. However, Javier's entrepreneurial career did not start with Acompli, as he co-founded Hyperic, which he bought for $1 and within 5 years turned into a $10m+ revenue generating company. In Today's Episode You Will Learn: 1.) How did Javier start his entrepreneurial career and what were the origins of Acompli? 2.) What was Javier's biggest takeaway from the failure of his first startup, back by Sequoia? 3.) How did Javier control his burn rate once large amounts of VC money was in his company? 4.) How does Javier approach product market fit? 5.) How did Javier meet his investors for Accompli and how did Javier find the fundraising process? 6.) What were Javier's reasons for selling Acompli? Was there any conflict with his investors in selling the company?   Items Mentioned In Today's Episode: Javier's Fave Book: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez  Javier's Fave Newsletter or Blog: Wait but Why? As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC and Javier right here on Twitter! If you would like to see a more colourful side to Harry with many a mojito session, you can follow Harry on Instagram here!

6 Sep 201529min

Ben Nader is Founder and CEO at Butterfleye, the most advanced wireless home monitoring system. In other words, Google Nest meets Dropcam. Butterfleye's investors include some of the biggest and most prominent names in the industry including our friends and past guests Brad Feld and Jason Calacanis. Butterfleye currently have a campaign on Indiegogo, which you can support here!   In Today's Episode You Will Learn: 1.) How did Ben come up with Butterfleye? 2.) How does Butterfleye differentiate itself from other competitors like Dropcam? 3.) How much better does a new product have to be to beat the existing incumbents? 4.) Does Ben prefer mass market testing or small targeted testing with fewer individuals? 5.) How did Ben get his first customers? 6.) What has Ben done to drive the success of his Indiegogo campaign? What tips would he give to founders looking to raise on these platforms? 7.) How did Ben get Jason Calacanis as an angel? How did Ben find the fundraising process?                  Items Mentioned In Today's Show: Ben's Fave Book: The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho Ben's Fave Newsletter or Blog: Brad Feld's Feld.com, Jason Calacanis' Launch Ticker Ben's Fave Productivity Apps: Asana, Sunrise Calendar, Calm Meditation App As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC, Ben and Butterfleye on Twitter here! If you would like to see a more colourful side to Harry with some mojito sessions to come, you can follow him on Instagram here!

4 Sep 201526min

Sean Seton-Rogers is a founding Partner at PROfounders Capital, a venture capital fund for entrepreneurs powered by entrepreneurs. Their investors and principals number some of the best-known players within the digital media space -- people who have built some of Europe's most successful companies. Prior to PROfounders, Sean has been investing in technology companies across both the US and Europe, when he was at both Balderton Capital and Commonwealth Capital Ventures in Boston. In addition to the PROfounders portfolio companies, he has in the past worked closely with others such as Bebo, Wonga.com, and ConstantContact. In Today's Episode You Will Learn: 1.) How did Sean make his entry into the VC world at the peak of the first tech bubble? 2.) What was the biggest lesson Sean learnt from experiencing the bubble imploding? 3.) Why are we seeing this trend of US VC funds investing in Europe? 4.) What are the key drivers to the growth of the European tech ecosystem? 5.) Why is there a serious decline in the amount of Series C rounds, only 7 in Q2 2015? 6.) Is Sean concerned by the rise of Crowdfunding? Does Sean see it as a competing finance model to VC? 7.) Do investors on Crowdfunding platforms experience the same deal terms as VCs?   Items Mentioned In Today's Episode: Sean's Fave Book: Robert Cialdini: Influence, The Psychology of Persuasion, Neal Stevenson: Cryptonomicon Sean's Fave Blog or Newsletter: Benedict Evans Newsletter Sean's Must Have Productivity Tools: Evernote, Google Apps Sean's Most Recent Investment: Made.com   As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC, Sean and PROfounders on Twitter right here! For a more colourful view of Harry and maybe a few mojito sessions follow Harry on Instagram here!

2 Sep 201529min

Mattias launched Atomico in 2006 alongside Niklas Zennström. In that time, Mattias has been involved with exits including Supercell (sold a majority stake to SoftBank), 6Wunderkinder (acquired by Microsoft in 2015), The Climate Corporation (acquired by Monsanto for $1.1B in 2013), Xobni (acquired by Yahoo! in 2013). Mattias works closely with a number of portfolio companies on their expansion, including Truecaller, Klarna, Hailo, and ChemistDirect.  Carolina is Vice President @ Atomico, working on sourcing, evaluation and due diligence of investments. Carolina is based in London, however she travels frequently to Latin America to evaluate opportunities for Atomico to help companies in the region to scale. Prior to Atomico, Carolina started her career at Merrill Lynch's investment banking division before moving to private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners. Did you like the double guest show today? If so click here! If you prefer a single guest click here!  In Today's Episode You Will Learn: 1.) How Mattias and Carolina made their way into the VC industry with Atomico? 2.) How important is it for VCs to have entrepreneurial backgrounds? 3.) What advice would Mattias and Carolina give to anyone looking to enter the VC industry? 4.) What is Atomico's selection criteria? Average cheque size? Round preference? Sector preference? 5.) Why is now the best time to be a European entrepreneur? What has changed? 6.) What does it take for a tech ecosystem to thrive and grow? 7.) What is required for startups to scale from small markets to mass market adoption? Items Mentioned In Today's Show: Mattias' Fave Book: The Girl Who Saved The King of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson Carolina's Fave Book: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt Mattias' Fave Blog or Newsletter: Benedict Evans Carolina's Fave Newsletter: The Skim, Dan Primack: TermSheet Atomics's Most Used Productivity Tools: Wunderlist, Evernote, Pocket, SmartNews Atomics's Most Recent Investments: TrueCaller, GymPass As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC, Carolina and Mattias on Twitter here! For a more colourful image of Harry and maybe some mojito sessions, follow Harry on Instagram here!

31 Aug 201528min

Carl Waldekranz is the CEO and co-founder of Tictail. With the vision of creating the worlds most used and loved e-commerce platform Tictail has been called the Tumblr of e-commerce and been celebrated as one of Europe's hottest startups. The vibrant community now hosts more than 85,000 stores on their service. Due to this phenomenal growth Tictail recently closed a $22m Series B from Balderton, Acton, Thrive and Creandum. In Today's Episode You Will Learn: 1.) What were Carl's entrepreneurial origins and how did Tictail get started? 2.) What does Carl's idea creation process look like? How does Carl brainstorm? 3.) Tictail now sells 2m products on their platform but how did they get their first customers? 4.) At what moment in the Tictail journey was Carl the most worried or frightened? 5.) What would Carl say are the essentials for funding? How did Carl meet his investors? What is the difference between the different funding rounds for startups? 6.) Why did Carl pitch other startups before pitching VCs? 7.) Question from Daniel Waterhouse @ Balderton: How has Tictail maintained the magic company culture in Sweden, whilst expanding to NY? 8.) If Carl could start his time with Tictail again, is there anything he would have done differently?   Items Mentioned In Today's Show: Carl's Fave Book: The Score Takes Care of Itself, My Philosophy of Leadership by Bill Walsh Carl's Fave Blog or Newsletter: First Round Capital Blog As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC, Carl and Tictail on Twitter right here! If you would like to see a more colourful side to Harry and a few mojito sessions, you can follow Harry on Instagram here!

28 Aug 201526min

Seth Levine is one of the most successful VCs on the planet having Co-Founded Foundry Group, Seth has made investments in the likes of Fitbit (IPO), Admeld (acquired by Google), Zynga (IPO) and Gnip (acquired by Twitter). The Foundry Group now has 5 funds, 4 early stage and 1 growth fund, totalling over $1bn in assets. Prior to Foundry Group, Seth started his career in venture with Mobius Venture Capital and lead the IPO of FirstWorld in 2000. Seth writes an awesome blog on technology, venture capital and colorado at www.sethlevine.com. If you enjoyed today's show, share the love on Twitter by clicking here!  In Today's Show You Will Learn: 1.) Where it all started for Seth and how he made his move into the technology and venture industry? 2.) Question from James Altucher: Do you have to be in Silicon Valley to get the best access to deal flow? 3.) How has Foundry group developed since 2006 as VC firm? 4.) Why are all funds raised by Foundry the same, $225m? How is VC fundraising the same as startup fundraising? 5.) Question from Elizabeth Kraus: How does Seth stay motivated having enjoyed so much financial success with Foundry Group? 6.) What areas of tech is Seth most excited about?   Items Mentioned In Today's Show: Most Used Apps: Slack, Voxer, DarkSky Seth's Fave Book: The Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway Seth's Fave Blog or Newsletter: Hidden Brain Seth Most Recent Investment: Sourcepoint As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC, Seth and Foundry Group on Twitter here! For a more colourful view of Harry's world and maybe a few mojito sessions, check out Harry's Instagram here!

26 Aug 201527min

Brad Feld is one of the world's leading VCs having Co-Founded Foundry Group, Brad has made investments in the likes of Zynga, Makerbot and Fitbit, just to name a few. Brad is also Co-Founder of Techstars, one of the world's most prominent startup accelerators, whose portfolio companies have raised over $1.3bn in funding.   If that wasn't enough Brad is also a best selling author having co-athoured Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and VC, alongside Dick Costolo and Startup Communities: Building An Entrepreneurial Ecosystem In Your Community. In addition to his investing and writing, Brad has been active with several non-profit organizations and currently is chair of the National Center for Women & Information Technology and co-chair of Startup Colorado. Brad is a nationally recognized speaker on the topics of venture capital investing and entrepreneurship and writes the widely read blogs Feld Thoughts, Startup Revolution, and Ask the VC. In Today's Episode You Will Learn: 1.) How Brad made his move from entrepreneurship to VC and later co-founding, The Foundry Group. 2.) Does Brad agree with the view that it is important for entrepreneurs to fail? 3.) Why did Brad turn Fitbit down on 1st opportunity and what changed the 2nd time? 4.) What gets Brad excited in a startup? What areas are Brad most interested in? 5.) What is the main characteristic that makes the Foundry Group the huge success it is?   Items Mentioned In Today's Episode: Brad's Fave  Business Books:  1.) Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig 2.) Hot Seat by Dan Shapiro Brad's Fave Blog or Newsletter: Fred Wilson's Blog, Dan Primack: TermSheet, MatterMark Daily Brad's Most Recent Investments: GlowForge: The 3D Laser Printer, Sphero   As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC, Brad and Foundry Group on Twitter here!

24 Aug 201531min

Sarah Schupp is the CEO and founder of UniversityParent. UniversityParent is the #1 site for college parents to find everything they need to help their children succeed. The company, which began with a single print guide for the University of Colorado Boulder, now prints parent guides for more than two hundred colleges, features information for 3,000 colleges and universities on its website, and distributes a weekly e-newsletter. In May 2014, UniversityParent celebrated its 10th anniversary and was named to the Mercury100, BizWest’s ranking of the 100 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in Boulder Valley. Sarah has been named one of Inc. Magazine's Top 30 Entrepreneurs Under 30, Businessweek's top 25 Entrepreneurs under 25, and one of the Denver Business Journal's Top Women Under 40. She’s been named a "Player to Watch" by the Gates Foundation, and was recognized by the White House and the United Nations as one of the country's top young entrepreneurs. In Today's Show You Will Learn: How the idea for UniversityParent came about? How did Sarah manage to juggle a growing business with a University degree? How individuals can leverage their university network to grow their business? How important is it for entrepreneurs to be surrounded by like minded entrepreneurs? In what circumstances should founders confide and not confide in their team? How does Sarah as a leader show her support for her team? How has Sarah found the fundraising process and what would Sarah change if she could start over? Items Mentioned In Today's Show: Harry's Fave Book: The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz Sarah's Fave Book: The Alchemist by Paolo Coehlo Sarah's Fave Newsletter or Blog: Think With Google As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC and Sarah on Twitter here!

21 Aug 201525min