Founders

During our latest Seedcamp Academy session we were joined by Stripe co-founder John Collison.

He shared the story of how he grew the online payment provider with his brother, from securing the first few clients to managing the tens of thousands of clients using Stripe today.

John grew up in Ireland and founded his first startup, Shuppa, in 2007. After merging the company just a year later, John moved to Harvard to study Psychology. In 2010, John cofounded Stripe, receiving backing from Paypal cofounders, Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, and Max Levchin.

John Collison, Co-founder of Stripe

In this episode of the Seedcamp Podcast, we were joined by Sheila Marcelo, Founder, Chairwoman & CEO of Care.com. 

Sheila joined Seedcamp on our US tour to meet with our Founders and talk about the personal life experiences and passion that led to her building Care.com, the world’s largest online care destination. She touches on everything from creating company culture and failing fast as a young Founder, to scaling the company and being coached as a CEO.

Sheila Marcelo, Founder of Care.com

Phil Libin, Co-Founder and Chairman of Evernote and Managing Partner of General Catalyst Partners, joined Carlos Espinal for a chat at Web Summit in Dublin. 

Phil and Carlos discuss everything from his long-standing career as a CEO, looking at his key advice for managers making the transition from early-stage leader to the CEO of a growth company, to the origins of Evernote and, in Phil’s new role in Venture Capital, what the future of apps looks like. Phil gives insight into the thoughts that led to him stepping down as CEO of Evernote as the company scaled. Debating when to recognise that someone skilled in running larger organisations makes sense for your business and that you can hire the best talent. 

Phil Libin, Co-Founder & Chairman of Evertnote and Managing Partner, General Catalyst Partners

Ben Drury, Founder of 7Digital, joined Seedcamp’s Dave Haynes for this interview talking through his journey as an entrepreneur. From starting in the first dot-com boom within early online music tech to building 7Digital during the dot-com crash, Ben discusses everything from building new services for a new era of technology, acquiring and selling other companies, to 7Digital’s own IPO. 

Ben Drury, Founder of 7Digital

In this episode, Carlos was joined by Damian Kimmelmann, Co-Founder and CEO of DueDil, a fintech company that provides accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date private company data. 

After talking through Damian's background as a serial entrepreneur and the idea that built DueDil, we switch focus and talk through sales, looking at how to find and scale a b2b sales team.

Damian Kimmelmann, Co-Founder and CEO, DueDil

Starting by scoring a first interview with Guy Kawasaki Harry Stebbings walks us through how he started his network from scratch and built his massive following for his 20 Minute VC podcast show. 

In this podcast, Harry shares his story with Carlos giving unique insights on to some of the amazing marketing efforts that he has created to drive user growth and retain his audience all while highlighting the accomplishments of his interviewees. Discover how he uses channels like Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter to drive his audience to the show and how he discovered which channels best converted for him.  

www.thetwentyminutevc.com
www.twitter.com/HarryStebbings
www.seedcamp.com
www.carlosespinal.com

Harry Stebbings, Founder of the 20 Minute VC Podcast

At Seedcamp, we are passionate about identifying and investing early in startups using emerging technologies that have the potential to solve real problems. We began to invest in companies using blockchain technologies back in 2014 and our portfolio includes the likes of Clause, building the dynamic contracting infrastructure of the future, to Elliptic, providing the forensic tools with which to identify illicit activity on the blockchain. And we believe that there are several iconic companies of the future using blockchain technologies that are yet to be built.

If you missed our event on blockchain, tokens and ICOs, tune in to hear from our lively founder panel including Peter Hunn (CEO of Clause), Irra Ariella Khi (CEO of Vchain), Richard Burton (CEO of Balance) and Ben Livshits (Chief Scientist at Brave). The panel is moderated by Kyran Schmidt and Sia Houchangnia from Seedcamp.

And check out our Facebook page for the live video of all the panels from the event: www.facebook.com/seedcamp

Show notes:
Carlos Medium: sdca.mp/2entVR3
Seedcamp: www.seedcamp.com
Vchain: www.vchain.tech
Clause: www.clause.io
Balance: www.balancemy.money
Brave: www.brave.com


Related bio links:
Sia: linkedin.com/in/siahouchangnia / twitter.com/siahouchangnia
Kyran: linkedin.com/in/kyran-schmidt / twitter.com/kyranschmidt
Irra: linkedin.com/in/irraariellakhi / twitter.com/irra_k
Peter: linkedin.com/in/peterhunn / twitter.com/peterhunn
Richard: linkedin.com/in/richardjburton / twitter.com/ricburton
Ben: linkedin.com/in/ben-livshits / twitter.com/convoluted_code

'Distributed Futures': Blockchain, Tokens and ICOs - Founders' Panel

At Seedcamp, we are passionate about identifying and investing early in startups using emerging technologies that have the potential to solve real problems. We began to invest in companies using blockchain technologies back in 2014 and our portfolio includes the likes of Clause, building the dynamic contracting infrastructure of the future, to Elliptic, providing the forensic tools with which to identify illicit activity on the blockchain. And we believe that there are several iconic companies of the future using blockchain technologies that are yet to be built.

If you missed our event on blockchain, tokens and ICOs, tune in to hear from our stimulating investor panel including Mariano Belinky (Managing Partner, Santander InnoVentures), Yann Ranchere (Partner, Anthemis Group) and Richard Muirhead (OpenOcean). The panel joins Carlos Espinal and Sia Houchangnia, and is introduced by Kyran Schmidt, from Seedcamp.

And check out our Facebook page for the live video of all the panels from the event: www.facebook.com/seedcamp

Show notes:
Carlos Medium: sdca.mp/2entVR3
Seedcamp: www.seedcamp.com
Santander InnoVentures: www.santanderinnoventures.com
Anthemis Group: www.anthemis.com
OpenOcean: www.openocean.vc

Related bio links:
Carlos: linkedin.com/in/carloseduardoespinal / twitter.com/cee
Sia: linkedin.com/in/siahouchangnia / twitter.com/siahouchangnia
Mariano: linkedin.com/in/mbelinky / twitter.com/belimad
Yann: linkedin.com/in/yannranchere / twitter.com/tek_fin
Richard: linkedin.com/in/richardmuirhead / twitter.com/richardmuirhead

'Distributed Futures': Blockchain, Tokens and ICOs - Investors' Panel

In 2004 polar explorer Ben Saunders - aged 26 - became the youngest person to ski solo to the North Pole, carrying a 180kg sled over 1,420 miles through arctic conditions. Between October 2013 and February 2014, alongside Tarka L'Herpiniere, he made another record-breaking expedition, completing the first ever return journey to the South Pole from Ross Island. In November 2017 he faces his next daunting challenge: the first solo and unsupported crossing of Antarctica.

What lessons can we take from from Ben's expeditions -- 11 so far -- for entrepreneurs? There are resemblances to the founder's journey in terms of fundraising processes, preparation for operational complexities, enduring extremity, and the management of teams. "I wasn't only the CEO - I was the product, the thing we were shipping at the end of it," he says.

Speaking to Seedcamp partner Carlos Espinal, Ben discusses lessons learnt from his expeditions and the entrepreneurial parallels. "Self belief is something like a muscle - it kind of responds to being challenged", he argues.

Show notes: 
Carlos Medium: sdca.mp/2entVR3
Seedcamp: www.seedcamp.com
Ben Saunders: www.bensaunders.com

Related bio links: 
Carlos: linkedin.com/in/carloseduardoespinal / twitter.com/cee
Ben: wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Saunders_(explorer) / twitter.com/polarben

Polar explorer Ben Saunders on leadership, entrepreneurship and enduring extremity

Entrepreneur and former education consultant Lucy Stonehill experienced first-hand the pain points inherent in navigating the transition to higher education when she was an international student applying abroad herself. Confusing and opaque, the process has been largely pen-and-paper based for decades. Solving this pain point was the genesis of her company BridgeU, a tool which empowers schools to provide more intelligent, data-driven university and careers guidance than ever before.

In this live podcast, recorded to mark the fifth anniversary of Campus London, Lucy explains how BridgeU came about, and how it leverages data and innovation to better serve the education market. Seedcamp invested in BridgeU in 2014 and, speaking to partner Carlos Espinal, Lucy explains their journey from the company's early days through to internationalisation and growth -- culminating recently in a $5.3m Series A round. 'Seed investors really feel fundamentally focused on the vision and potential,' she says, 'while Series A more about the numbers' -- yet those numbers piece only get the door open, she notes.

Show notes: 
Carlos Medium: sdca.mp/2entVR3
Seedcamp: www.seedcamp.com
BridgeU: www.bridge-u.com

Related bio links: 
Carlos: linkedin.com/in/carloseduardoespinal / twitter.com/cee
Lucy: linkedin.com/in/lucy-stonehill-80434924 / twitter.com/lucystonehill

BridgeU CEO Lucy Stonehill on driving innovation in Edtech and achieving international growth

Following the recent announcement of our fourth fund which at first close of £41M is over 2x larger than our last and 20x bigger than our first, we are joined by Seedcamp partners Reshma Sohoni, Carlos Espinal, Tom Wilson and Sia Houchangnia who share our plans to invest in 100 new startups across Europe and take a look back at how the European ecosystem has evolved over the ten years since Seedcamp launched. 

Seedcamp Fund IV brings together 60 LPs and features big business, venture capitalists and fund of funds from across the globe. Tune in to hear how Seedcamp has innovated its own offering which includes an increase in capital it will invest across pre-seed and seed stages and approval to invest in crypto tokens.

Read more about Seedcamp IV: http://seedcamp.com/seedcamp-iv-welcoming-the-next-generation-of-european-talent-with-our-biggest-and-boldest-seed-fund/

Partner bios:
Reshma Sohoni: http://seedcamp.com/team/reshmasohoni/ | twitter.com/rsohoni
Carlos Espinal :http://seedcamp.com/team/carloseduardoespinal/  | twitter.com/cee
Tom Wilson: http://seedcamp.com/team/tom-wilson/ | twitter.com/tom_wils
Sia Houchangnia: http://seedcamp.com/team/sia-houchangnia/ l twitter.com/siahouchangnia

Introducing Seedcamp Fund IV: Partner Podcast

In the crowded marketplaces of food and retail, how do you carve out space for independent new brands? For Jenny Costa, founder of Rubies in the Rubble, and Alex Mezger, director at the family managed Jude's Ice Cream, the answer lies in competing on the best quality products possible and relying on an authentic messaging. 

Since 2011, Rubies in the Rubble has been producing high quality relishes and jams out of surplus produce that would otherwise go to waste. The business has gone from concocting recipes in home kitchens to selling in some of the UK's leading retailers and nailing deals with giants like Virgin. It has been important, Jenny says, to bring an authentic vibrancy to the brand, ensuring the product did not get 'lost in the supermarket shelves'.

Similarly for Alex at Jude's Ice Cream, the priority is in delighting customers. 'If it's down to price and price alone, we'll walk away,' he says. The business began as a family-run affair and remains that way. 'In terms of working wth family, it's grounded in respect and knowing each others' strengths, and working to these', says Alex. Jude's also 'massively over-invests in innovation'  – leading to experiments like their black coconut flavour.

Listen to learn more about navigating supply chain difficulties, nailing brand messaging, managing the compromises between price and quality, and the secrets behind running successful food brands.


Show notes: 
Carlos Medium: sdca.mp/2entVR3
Seedcamp: www.seedcamp.com
Rubies in the Rubble: www.rubiesintherubble.com
Jude's Ice Cream: www.judes.co.uk

Related bio links:
Carlos: linkedin.com/in/carloseduardoespinal / twitter.com/cee
Jenny: linkedin.com/in/jenny-costa-685b474a
Alex: linkedin.com/in/alex-mezger-a26558

Finding Flavour: Jude's Ice Cream and Rubies in the Rubble on building loved brands

Rob Moffat joined Balderton Capital in 2009 and was promoted to partner in 2015. He is currently a board director or observer with five portfolio companies: Carwow, Wooga, Nutmeg, Prodigy Finance, and Patients Know Best.  Prior to joining Balderton, Rob worked for Google in London, as a Manager in the European Strategy and Operations team, and for five years in strategy consulting at Bain. In this Seedcamp Sessions podcast, Rob covers the different growth engines which have proven successful for startups -- from paid marketing for companies like Carwow, who need to be rigorous in how they think about acquisition, through to continuous product innovation for companies like Revolut, and partnerships and business development for startups like Zego. Rob also covers how to navigate VC and strategic partnership relations, and how Balderton is thinking about the evolving Insurtech landscape.

Show notes:
Carlos Medium: sdca.mp/2entVR3
Seedcamp: www.seedcamp.com
Balderton: www.balderton.com

Related bio links:
Carlos: linkedin.com/in/carloseduardoespinal / twitter.com/cee
Rob: linkedin.com/in/robmoff / twitter.com/robmoff

Seedcamp Sessions: Balderton's Rob Moffat on startup growth engines

In this week's episode of This Much I Know, Carlos speaks to our very own Head of Marketing & Communications, Natasha Lytton, about investing in your brand and the importance of getting the whole team aligned with what you do. Reflecting on her experiences as Head of Marketing & Communications at Savsé, a drinks business that became the fastest growing smoothie brand in the UK & her experience as CMO of full-stack food delivery business, Pronto, Natasha speaks with great conviction when she says, firstly, you need to know internally, ‘Who you are, what you do & who you do it for’, and only then, can you start to communicate this externally through marketing campaigns. She provides tangible takeaways for early stage companies, like giving advice on how to work with agencies as well as providing a framework on how to think creatively as a company. 
Tune in to hear more about building your brand as well as how she overcame challenges using strategic, creative & analytical thinking.

Show notes:
Carlos Medium: sdca.mp/2entVR3
Natasha Medium: https://sdca.mp/2OGF02E
Seedcamp: www.seedcamp.com
Slideshare: slideshare.net/NatashaLytton/how-to-build-a-brand-118987689/

Related bio links:
Carlos Twitter: linkedin.com/in/carloseduardoespinal / twitter.com/cee
Natasha Twitter: https://twitter.com/natashalytton

Natasha Lytton on building strong brands that cut-through an increasingly crowded market

Pipedrive has become the dominant player in the sales CRM market, with over 80,000 businesses using it daily. Their story to the top features persistence and overcoming a lot of negative bias towards building 'yet another CRM tool'.

In this week’s episode of This Much I Know, Carlos sits down with co-founder, Martin Henk as he shares the journey so far including challenges in product, growth, pricing and fundraising.

Tune in to hear how Pipedrive has managed to stand out in so competitive a market and why swapping out marketing hacks for brutal product simplicity has been the key to gaining customers and accelerating growth.

Links:
Martin - LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/martinhenk
Martin - Twitter: twitter.com/henkmrtn
Martin - Medium: medium.com/@nokkloom
Carlos - LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/carloseduardoespinal
Carlos - Twitter: twitter.com/cee
Carlos - Medium: sdca.mp/2entVR3

Pipedrive: www.pipedrive.com
Seedcamp: www.seedcamp.com

Pipedrive: Martin Henk, co-founder

Seedcamp Fund V is here. It’s our strongest fund to-date and we're thrilled that so many friends and founders have put their faith in us to continue backing Europe’s finest entrepreneurs. 

We don’t believe in draping fund announcements in a vague veil of splendour, so we want to give you the inside scoop of Fund V: the who, what, when, why, and how. In addition to publishing our fundraising pitch deck here, our Managing Partners Reshma and Carlos, Partners Tom and Sia, and Head of Brand & Marketing Natasha jumped on to this week’s ‘This Much I Know’ to explain what you can expect from Fund V.

The Seedcamp Nation includes the brains behind some of Europe’s most exciting companies including the likes of Hopin, Revolut, Primer, and Sorare. If you’re looking for pre-seed funding, we want to hear from you. Tell us what you’re building at https://seedcamp.com/looking-for-funding/. 

Links:
Fundraising pitch deck: slideshare.net/seedcamp/seedcamp-fund-v-fundraising-deck/
Seedcamp Announcement: seedcamp.com/introducing-seedcamp-v/ 
Seedcamp: www.seedcamp.com
Looking for Funding?: seedcamp.com/looking-for-funding/

Behind the Scenes of Seedcamp Fund V

This Much I Know is the podcast from Seedcamp, Europe’s seed fund.

Tune into hear the inside story from startup founders, investors and leading tech voices: the people who’ve built businesses, scaled globally, failed fantastically and learnt massively.

Seedcamp invests early in world-class founders attacking large, global markets and solving real problems using technology. Seedcamp provides the infrastructure to fast-track a founder’s vision and create value through immediate access to smart capital, a lifelong community of support and a global network built upon a decade’s experience backing exceptional talent.

John Collison, Co-founder of Stripe

The Seedcamp Podcast

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