Henry Bennett

TLDR: EIS should be scrapped as a fund structure but retained for Angel investments by individuals. Alex Chalmers has done all the work which in 10 years I've never got around to doing: why 95% of EIS/VCT funds are bad for our tech ecosystem, rip #startups off, and why as a Founder you should push back against their stupid fees or not take their money. https://lnkd.in/dnq9ZScS

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The new pronouncements on AI are a big step in the right direction by Keir Starmer, but won't be successful unless the whole of government aligns policy making to optimise for technology and for growth, Rt Hon Rachel Reeves and HMRC included. https://lnkd.in/dcA5tN9d

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There has to be a fair and transparent process to any change to taxes and a coherent plan for the future. Unfreezing fuel duty would raise £3bn to absolutely dwarf these taxes on ambition and value creation. And benefit the environment.

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Fair warning for startup founders raising capital. Funny/not funny story ahead.   I caught up with a close friend last week. He’s part of the leadership team of a tech scaleup on the hunt for growth financing. About a month or two earlier he got in touch with me saying he and his team were in London to meet with a VC and asked if I was free for a coffee (sadly, I wasn’t).    At the time, out of simple curiosity, I looked up the VC in Crunchbase and circled back to my mate because I saw the firm last raised/closed a €150 million fund in 2019, which could very well be depleted by now. I said it’s worth asking if the firm is still deploying capital - or at least ask when the firm last made investments. The question wasn't asked.   When we spoke last week, he told me the firm took him and his team through a full due diligence process, handed over a term sheet...and then took it back, saying they didn’t have any money! What kind of VC operates like this?   No doubt this is an incredibly rare case of batsh*t crazy bad luck, but the lesson here is clear for founders: Ask the hard and sometimes seemingly stupid questions, especially if you can show the data. Raise well folks. James   Photo credit: Emil Kalibradov via Unsplash - https://lnkd.in/eAvMnADT

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Taavet Hinrikus and I made the Financial Times Due Diligence email. https://lnkd.in/ez2AuGQx One 'unintended consequence' is that if there is a 45% tax on carry and CGT (raising £40m per year, remember) it for all intents and purposes closes the door on new VCs in the UK. Especially started by teams from non-traditional backgrounds. To meet the GP commit, you need to be already part of the 'wealthy' as you cannot rely on the value you create - nearly half of it will disappear - to fund it. We have both had extremely successful startups which are few and far between. The smaller number of new VCs will therefore more likely increasingly be for people who have inherited the capital or can draw it from their already rich family. Probably not want they have in mind with this policy.

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Whilst there remain plenty challenges to building startups in the UK, as Dan Bowyer says, this is news to celebrate. Nurturing innovation in the UK requires more than just VC money in, but it's a pretty good start.

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Numbers & insights from a deep tech venture studio that launched 11 companies (all are active) in the last 7 years, reaching £85M valuation across the portfolio: 1. Post Urban, initially bootstrapped by Luke Robinson, an academic with a PhD in physics from Cambridge, now operates with external funding from a UK-based fund. 2. Launched 5 companies during the first 5 years and 6 companies during the last 2 years. 3. All 11 completed pre-seed rounds; 1 of them got Series A, 2 of them are approaching their Series A. 4. The startups have collectively raised ~£25M in venture capital, in addition to receiving grants. The total valuation of the 11 companies is ~£85M, half of which have not yet undergone subsequent funding rounds. 5. Initial equity splits: the venture builder 20%, CEOs of startups 35% (vests over 4 years), CTOs – 20-25%, employees 10-15%. 6. The initial valuation of startups was £2 million, with £300K invested by the venture builder. The last 2 startups were at £3.5-4M initial valuation. 7. Building deep tech ventures requires significantly higher initial funding because these projects need more time to develop demonstrable products. Two portfolio companies hit £1M in ARR. 8. The venture builder has increased the capital for the last 2 startups to ensure they reach meaningful milestones. The CEOs of the startups were able to secure additional funding through their networks, £350K and £450K, respectively. 9. The deep tech investor pool is smaller than that for sectors like SaaS, which requires a stronger proof of concept and market readiness to attract funding. 10. 3-4 times, potential customers became investors in Post Urban Ventures. This is a great approach because it secures investment and validates the concept by gauging whether these potential customers truly believe in the solution and its market necessity. 11. They don't start with a technology or an idea; instead, they integrate insights about global problems and, by actively engaging with advisory boards, founders, and industry experts, identify pain points and align them with technological solutions. 12. They do not bring universities in as co-founders but source scientists or professors to contribute to research and development. This involves leveraging academic expertise to support the technical aspects of startup projects until a prototype is developed. 13. The studio maintains strong connections with major academic institutions, including Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial College, and UCL, supporting its deep tech focus and facilitating access to new technologies and potential founders. 14. Areas of focus in deep tech: AI (Knowledge Graphs, NLP, DNNs, Computer Vision, Edge AI, Active Learning), Quantum Technologies, Biotech, AgTech, Enterprise SaaS. Watch the full interview to gain insights into the portfolio companies, handling IP collaborations with universities, key challenges, and team construction: https://lnkd.in/dCi7fZ7G

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What lies ahead: state of play for global VC Following a tough period with slashed valuations and fundraising hurdles, is the market showing signs of recovery? Will companies raise down rounds to avoid shutting down or are they not there yet? Has the pendulum swung too far towards the bigger managers with track records, and how can small and emerging GPs access capital in this environment? https://lnkd.in/gJFy8ME8

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Thinking 🤔 out loud - one of the biggest beneficiaries of GenAI in the enterprise and agentic worfklows will be software PE firms There are so many beaten down SaaS 🦄 they can buy on the cheap and with a GenAI playbook can now reduce costs even more dramatically And as the AI gets better and moves from just the easy stuff like support and code to more complex workflows, the profitability created is going to be 📈 We are going to see a ton of PE buyouts in the months ahead...

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Liquidity or exit planning is often taboo leading to many companies being ill prepared. Successful outcomes are years in the making - they start and end with proactive prep (e.g. getting your house in order, developing strong relationships with strategic partners, potential investors and advisors). With Scott Colvin & Paul Perrett we lay out some key actions you should embed now that can set you up for exit success and also make you a better run business today Big thanks to Bree Fedele 🖋

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Nearly all successful founders I've spoken with attribute a massive part of their success to luck. But it’s not just luck. What sets these founders apart is their relentless drive and persistence, especially when things don't go well. They show up day after day, consistently taking their best shots. This is how they create their own ‘luck.’ "Overnight success" usually follows years of grinding. If you want to get lucky, you have to stay in the game long enough. ____ 𝗪𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝘅 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 Y Combinator 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀. 𝗪𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗻. 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗗𝗠 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼. #founder #entrepreneur #startup #venturecapital #vc #ycombinator

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Upside #23 now out, with Mads, Andrew and Lomax we delve into 8 bold predictions for 2025. Grab a tea this chilly Sunday morning and tune in on all pod platforms. 2025 tech, startup, investing, geopolitical, euro / UK predictions. 1. Apple will win AI 2. Open AI will be dethroned  3. We'll see conflict with China 4. Defence Tech will boom 5. EU & UK will focus on sovereign control for AI, Quantum and Space   6. Space tech will really lift off  7. US will head into recession  8. M&A up IPOs up - counter market Snippets in the video below. Full pod on YouTube, Spotify, Apple etc. Search 'Upside Dan Bowyer SuperSeed' or similar. Links in comments Thanks for listening and love your thoughts. How will this year unfold...

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Taking Windward public in London was a significant milestone, but the landscape has shifted dramatically. The startup and VC world is facing a silent recession as severe as 2008, yet it’s flying under the radar. Funding is scarce, and many promising companies are quietly closing their doors. But this isn't just about survival—it's about adapting and thriving. In tough times, resilience is key. The startups that emerge from this storm will be the next Airbnb, Uber, or Microsoft. How are we positioning ourselves to not just survive but lead in this new era? For us - it’s very clear. Leveraging our blue chip customer base, proprietary data and mature tech platform to build #generetiveai first products (stay tuned!) Don’t take anything as trivial . Success requires a combination of so many factors. Every day is day 1! Link to the full piece on Forbes : https://lnkd.in/e-5kENaT #wnwd

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"CTO titles should be earned, not given out without understanding the responsibilities that come with the title ..." 👀 Episode 19 of Now We Build by Forward Pursuit is now live! I was super lucky to be joined by Hubert Behaghel, former Head of Technology at Sky, Marks and Spencer, Typeform and now the CTO at Veriff! In the episode we covered: 👉🏽 How Hubert builds high functioning tech teams. 👉🏽 Why CTO titles need to be earned and not given out. 👉🏽 Why every startup needs to focus on it's internal tech alongside product. The episode is now live and you’ll find the links in the comments below 👇🏽 Proudly supported by Carta, Google Cloud, Fuelled | B Corp and Seven Legal. #founders #vc #startup #tech

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This is not the responsibility of venture capitalists. More indiscriminate 1 million dollar grants need to be handed out so we can get that from 0.5% to maybe 5%. The government isn't the best at capital allocation. This is a sore spot of capitalism at the moment, wherein truly innovative ideas(or just different/non-validated founders but might work) don't get funding from anyone(too risky for VCs, not grant worthy from Gov, too high interest loans). This is a problem which is my responsibility to solve as well and I don't have a solution. How would you solve?

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I often talk about ‘building something offline, before raising money’. This is the perfect example of what I mean👇 One of our portfolio companies Tradeaze UK LTD (it’s a biassed example, I’ll admit), identified a pain point: Co-founder, Jack, is an electrician by trade and saw first-hand the amount of time wasted by tradespeople when picking up tools and parts needed for a job.   To solve this pain point: ↳ Jack set up a Tradeaze iPhone, approached tradespeople on the street, handed out flyers and reached out on Facebook groups to his target audience. ↳ Tradies would text the number, asking for a part or tool. ↳ Jack would then jump on his bike to pick up the part and deliver it back to the customer directly. ↳ After a while, Jack started working directly with merchants providing them with a tablet in kiosk mode, with which the merchant would fill in a really simple form and Jack would receive the order email. ↳ Again, Jack or one of the delivery riders would take the part direct to the tradesperson in need. ↳ Jack continued this way until he got to breaking point and couldn’t handle any more daily deliveries. ↳ This is when he expanded his team to bring in even more experience with his co-founders Joe Blair and Ruben Engel. Since they have raised investment from us and other investors. They were able to prove their pain and solution offline, saving them money and time and proving traction to bring on investors ! Raising too soon, before proving you have the right solution is a huge risk. This is a fantastic way to build a business without needing to raise investment right away. Build offline first ! #businesstips #entrepreneurship #startups

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AI Viability Tracker - update This is an exciting time for all of us. The AI market continues to both fascinate and terrify most in equal measure. We've decided to fully embrace it. Our UK AI partners are building our viability tracker; this will simplify and streamline our process massively. How about you? Are you embracing it yet?

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🇬🇧 Calling all UK startups: stepping into the venture capital arena can be a thrilling yet daunting experience, but you're not in this alone. I’ve curated a list of 10 top-notch venture capital firms in the #UK, each a leader in their unique sector. Whether you're revolutionizing #tech, transforming #healthcare, or breaking new ground in another industry, aligning with the right #VC partner is vital for your growth and success. 1. Ascension Focus: Seed and Pre-Seed Ventures Sector: Software, Internet, FinTech Top Portcos: Heatio, Saltroad, Nebu~Flow 2. Fuel Ventures 🚀 Focus: Seed and Pre-Seed Ventures Sector: Software, E-Commerce, Internet Top Portcos: Lunio, Eleos, StudioSpace 3. Force Over Mass Focus: Seed and Series A Ventures Sector: Software, Information Technology, FinTech Top Portcos: CUR8, Artificial Labs, SuperFi Finance 4. Northstar Ventures UK Focus: Seed, Funding Round and Series A Ventures Sector: Software, E-Commerce, SaaS Top Portcos: Lightox, DayaTani, Circadacare 5. Octopus Ventures Focus: Series A, Seed, and Series B Ventures Sector: Software, Health Care, Artificial Intelligence Top Portcos: Sidekick, ExpressionEdits, Swiipr Technologies 6. MMC Ventures Focus: Early-Stage, Pre-Seed, Seed and Series AVentures Sector: Software, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning Top Portcos: LiveEO, Stanhope AI, Eatron Technologies 7. SFC Capital Focus: Pre-Seed and Seed Ventures Sector: Software, Artificial Intelligence, IT Top Portcos: Lemon, Unibloom World, Blue Skies Space 8. Episode 1 Ventures Focus: Seed, Series A and Pre-Seed Ventures Sector: Software, Artificial Intelligence, SaaS Top Portcos: Lawhive, Superlinked, Viable 9. Maven Capital Partners Focus: Seed and Series A Ventures Sector: Software, Information Technology, SaaS Top Portcos: Carcinotech, Metrion Biosciences, McKenzie Intelligence Services Ltd 10. Notion Capital Focus: Seed, Series A and Series B Ventures Sector: Software, SaaS, IT Top Portcos: TechWolf, Caeli Wind, Harbor Lab Ready to connect with the perfect investor for your startup? Drop a “LIST” in the comments, and we’ll tailor a personalized investor lineup just for you. Got a favorite UK-based VC firm that deserves a shoutout? Let us know in the comments below. At Thunder.vc, we excel in pairing your startup with venture capital firms that align with your specific sector, growth phase, and objectives.

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The UK is well ahead of its continental counterparts when it comes to tech startups* generating revenue. 🇬🇧 👑 💂 *Let’s be honest, at these revenue levels most of the companies counted here aren’t startups. They’re scaleups or established privately held tech companies. https://lnkd.in/ebSnfcYz #vc #venturecapital #startups #entrepreneurs #entrepreneurship #tech #technology #innovation #money #business

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