Partner/cofounder at IQ Capital, leading early stage deeptech VC in London/Cambridge.

London
Joined April 2009
🚀 Breaking the 'Europe is behind' narrative: European startups are quietly writing a different story. Each new generation taking a bigger slice. Young EU startups now = 18% of new global tech value. Today's Big Tech companies were uncontested in 90s and 00s. Full @dealroomco story dropping soon 📊
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Max Bautin retweeted
I wasn't planning on sharing this today but since the news leaked, I feel obliged to comment: I've raised over $200M in my career and have learned a lot about what works & what doesn't. This time around, I decided to do a few unconventional things. First, I decided to forgo the silly tradition of raising a round privately and only talking to a small handful of folks. The major benefit of making our pitch public was that I could cast a wide net and find the exact right investor for us. Our public pitch was viewed 1.7M times on Twitter. From that, I received 1,010 preliminary offers to invest which led to 170 committed offers. Secondly, another unconventional thing I did was spend weeks in back-to-back meetings really trying to get to know investors and finding the right fit. I did reference checks. I did diligence. I did my homework. Rewind is my life's work and expect to spend decades pursuing our vision of giving humans perfect memory. The firm I choose to work with in this round will be a relationship I have for decades. So, ultimately, I chose NEA. Their long-term orientation is evident in the fact that their funds last 15 years, unlike the typical 10. Not only that, but they commonly are buyers, not sellers at the IPO. Lastly, their unbelievably positive references made it clear they are the partner I want to be working with for decades to come. Ultimately, this meant I had to turn down offers to invest from 61 investors who offered valuations greater than $350M, including 22 investors who wanted to invest at a billion dollar valuation, which would have made us a unicorn. I'd much rather have a partner who believes in building a big business in the long-term, than simply one who wants to win a hot deal today.
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Taxi drivers not trusting Tesla navigation..curious
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Worth bearing in mind how important BPC is for the UK VC industry, and how good they are as an LP (especially compared to similar LPs elsewhere). Doubt IQ Capital would be anywhere near its size (or even be!), without BPC
📣Announced in today’s #Budget2023: British Patient Capital has been extended until 2033. This recognises @BPatientCap’s strong record with total commitments exceeding £10.7bn. Read more here: bit.ly/3Fr0UA3
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This morning, the Government and the Bank of England facilitated a private sale of Silicon Valley Bank UK to HSBC Deposits will be protected, with no taxpayer support I said yesterday that we would look after our tech sector, and we have worked urgently to deliver that promise
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In light of what's been happening, a roundup of some key stats on UK tech. 🧵 @SVB_UK has 3,300 clients (via @FT). There are 6,369 active UK startups with min $500K funding. • UK startups employ 1.8M people • The UK startup ecosystem is collectively worth almost $1T
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1) was it though? Bank customers have the right to move their funds, especially when at risk. Regulator is there to ensure order and financial health of each bank. 2) bail-out cost vs even just payroll taxes Svb is an asset not liability
One UK founder argues that the government *shouldn't* bail out SVB: "This was a debacle of our own making, and the UK taxpayer should not put a single penny towards bailing it out." sifted.eu/articles/svb-uk-fo…
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Max Bautin retweeted
I don’t know why SVB’s CEO didn’t band together the top 20 venture funds to send a message to the entire tech community in one go, instead of holding a call which said nothing substantive during an SEC quiet period. I know SVB has the relationships to pull it off.
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Good to see Cambridge used in startup names again, post trade name dispute with the university
Replying to @CambridgeSpark
@CambridgeSpark and Basck team registers Cambridge Spark as a UK trade mark. Another valuable IP right in place for one of the UK's fastest growing startups. Happy supporting the Cambridge startups in one of the world's leading tech clusters. bit.ly/2KgCJKZ #cambridge
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Lots of response to this today - thank you. Also clear to me that @hmtreasury & @BritishBBank are listening and open to iteration on this scheme, and consideration of others (I have submitted ideas). Thanks @emmaljones @gerardgrech @Dom_Hallas +others for making the case to Govt.
Being told very clearly by banks that #CBILS will *not* be available for *any* loss-making companies, based on Gov criteria. We urgently need this changed or challenged. @BritishBBank @BVCA @Coadec @gerardgrech @RussShaw1 @eisa @capenterprise @emmaljones @jimmym @eileentso @Silva
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We're back with actionable benchmarks for European founders! This time... The European Series A landscape over the past 5 years - trends in round sizes and most active lead VCs - by geo and category. Huge thanks to @dealroomco and the VCs involved 🙏 medium.com/localglobe-notes/…
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