0/ I was fortunate enough to spend the last few days in London meeting w/ a variety of VCs & startups to commence a more concerted effort around forging relationships there and in continental Europe. What follows are some thoughts/takeaways/observations from ~60 hrs & 10+ mtgs
1/ Founders are particularly cognizant about not over-raising or raising too far ahead of achieving milestones that investors may be looking for (i.e. resisting pre-emptive rounds)
2/ US investors are increasingly spending time overseas and valuations are being driven up accordingly, as rounds become more competitive
3/ The variety of companies from a sector-perspective is impressive; I was able to meet with startups building in content/media, retail/commerce, fin tech, consumer social, digital health, and ML/AI
4/ “Cali burn” - a new term I learned to describe Silicon Valley’s stereotypical infatuation with growth at all costs
5/ “Step-co-founder” - another new term I learned to describe a person who is a co-founder in title but wasn’t there at the company’s inception
6/ Startup advertisements seem to appear nearly as frequently in the Tube as they do in NYC’s subway (but the air conditioning isn’t anywhere near as good)
7/ It may be Brexit-related as talent leaves the UK, but there appears to be an increasingly strong focus on finding opportunities in continental Europe
7a/ France (Paris) is definitely having a moment and attracting a lot of attention
8/ I met with a surprisingly high number of Americans who had made the move over to the London startup ecosystem, all for a variety of reasons
9/ On that note, but likely unrelated, lessons from US accelerators, companies, & VCs are influencing how companies are built & becoming the lingua franca (i.e. references to YC’s methodologies, Airbnb & Uber’s growth tactics, & some US VCs’ approaches in contrast to local ones’)
10/ I am eager to make relatively frequent trips back to London (and the rest of Europe), and please do reach out if we weren’t able to connect on this trip
11/ I’m about to take off on a flight without WiFi, so shoot me a DM if you want to chat more. Otherwise, I’ll get back to @-replies when I land.
