Trevor Folsom

In the latest episode of Future Squared podcast, I spoke with Australian and former Head of Product at UBER’s Developer Platform, Chris Saad. Chris noted that: 1) despite the larger pool of VC dry powder in Australia, capital is actually scarce and controlled by a few big players 2) Aussie investors are risk averse and typically looking for ‘derisked’ B2B opportunities, as they are often investing on behalf of large conservative super funds 3) Aussie investors are, for the most part, unsophisticated when it comes to investing in high-growth venture scale returns companies, something Canva’s Cliff Obrecht echoed when talking about the company’s prospective NASDAQ listing in 2026 We’ve no doubt come a long way since the noughties, when there wasn't much of a startup or VC landscape to speak of... but are we still, in Chris’ words, “about twenty years behind”? Is the gap between Australia and the US getting smaller or bigger? What do you think?

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Which international VC has invested most actively in NZ? Here's the slide we prepared recently for our Investor Masterclass. Let me know who I'm missing. Four more sessions coming up including: Valuation, Terms, Governance, and War Stories. Join the fun by registering here: https://lnkd.in/ghJJpdR4

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Complete list of all active pre-seed & seed lead investors in NZ below. Thank you to all those who helped fill in the gaps. Quite a few people have reached out and said it was helpful, which is great. Next, I am thinking of creating the list of pre-seed & seed investors in NZ who follow and fill in investment rounds. As the list will be quite long, help would be appreciated. Please add in the comments. Aera VC AgriZeroNZ Blackbird Brandon Capital Bridgewest Ventures NZ Cure Kids Ventures Ecliptic Even Capital GD1 (Global From Day One) Hillfarrance Venture Capital Icehouse Ventures Maker Partners Motion Capital Movac Nuance Connected Capital NZ Growth Capital Partners NZVC Outset Ventures Pacific Channel Phase One Ventures Punakaiki Fund Quidnet Ventures Soul Capital Sprout Agritech WNT Ventures

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I'm looking forward to joining Walshs on Monday evening for a deep dive webinar on Venture Capital discussing: ➡ Investing in Venture Capital as part of a diverse portfolio ➡ The Venture Capital landscape ➡ Update on the Sprint Ventures funds ➡ Announcement of Sprint Fund III and our institutional investor ➡ Potential tax benefits of investing in an Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnership ESVCLP I hope you can join us! #venturecapital #investing #alternativeassets #diversification #portfolio #fundmanager #growthcapital #ESVCLP

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This is nuts! Putting a barrier to exit through M&A will have profound downstream implications on startup funding, especially in AgriTech. The Australian Government are proposing that acquisitions by companies with turnover of $200 Million + will require regulatory approval. This policy will put Australia at a disadvantage, as it is yet another reason for the best companies and technologies to seek capital and exits overseas. This approach cuts the capital cycle for new innovation and has the opposite effect on promoting competition, as it creates a barrier for new solutions to access the full life cycle of funding and liquidity. I would argue that the acquisition of technology through M&A is actually what we need to incentivise, to make larger Australian companies more globally competitive.

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Ecstatic to announce Titanium Ventures' investment in Samsara Eco, the climate tech innovator enabling infinite plastic recycling, as part of their US$65M Series A+! Global emissions from plastic production could triple to account for one-fifth of the Earth’s remaining carbon budget. Plastic creation generated 2.24 gigatons of planet-heating pollution in 2019, or as much as 600 coal-fired power plants - 5% of all global carbon emissions. Samsara Eco has led world-first innovations in infinite recycling, pioneering the ability to recycle plastics including nylon 6,6 and polyester. Earlier this year, in partnership with its first textile partner, Samsara Eco unveiled the world’s first enzymatically recycled nylon 6,6 product (sweet jackets which we bought online!) and also helped to introduce lululemon’s first product made from enzymatically recycled polyester. Whilst I write this, I am wearing one of the first jackets in the world that has been recycled! We’re excited to see the impact they will have in the years to come. Other impressive investors include: Temasek, Main Sequence, lululemon, DCVC, Hitachi Ventures and Wollemi Capital. https://lnkd.in/gKkg2mS3

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Who are the NZ venture capital leaders in 2024? Which New Zealand funds are LEADING investment into pre-seed and seed stage companies? Below, I have provided a summary of these investors. Have I missed any key players? Are there any included that shouldn't be? Note: I have excluded any funds that have not made an investment in the past 12 months, based on available evidence. Blackbird Cure Kids Ventures Even Capital GD1 (Global From Day One) Icehouse Ventures Motion Capital Movac Nuance Connected Capital NZ Growth Capital Partners NZVC Outset Ventures Pacific Channel Phase One Ventures Soul Capital WNT Ventures

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🎊 Big News from Our Team at Titanium Ventures! 🎊 Today, we’re thrilled to share that we've evolved from Telstra Ventures to Titanium Ventures! Why Titanium? Because it captures the essence of who we are and aspires to be—a firm that supports exceptionally strong and resilient entrepreneurs, those who thrive under pressure. Titanium is not just a metal with the highest durability and strength-to-weight ratio; it represents the extraordinary capability and determination of the leaders we back—leaders who consistently punch way above their weight. Our commitment remains steadfast: to unearth and scale the most promising ventures in AI, digital, and software sectors. With 99 investments, including 12 IPOs, 17 unicorns and 42 liquidity events, we’re just getting started. Holding almost US$1B in funds under management and having returned US$678M to our investors, we are more driven than ever. This is more than a name change—it’s a reaffirmation of our promise to accelerate the extraordinary, fueling the growth of standout disruptors. We've been doing this for over a decade, and it's what our investors and founders expect us to do for many more to come. Here's to the next chapter in our journey with all of you! #VentureCapital #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #TitaniumVentures

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🌟 Australian Startups 2023: A Year of Strategic Shifts and Emerging Opportunities 🚀 In 2023, the Australian startup landscape navigated a cautious investment climate, recording a total of 413 deals with an overall investment value of $3.5 billion. Despite a significant drop in deal value from previous years, there was a notable shift towards robust activity in the early stages of investment. Angel and Pre-Seed rounds not only resisted the broader downturn but actually increased, highlighting a vibrant seed funding environment that underpins a dynamic market for emerging technologies. This heightened competition at the entry-level indicates a strategic pivot within our ecosystem, investing in the foundational potential of new ventures. Such insights are crucial as we steer towards nurturing a resilient and innovative startup community ready to tackle future challenges. Dive deeper into the full analysis and explore how these shifts are shaping the future of Australian innovation. https://lnkd.in/gc4gNtGc #AustralianStartups #VentureCapital #StartupEcosystem #Innovation

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Q4 and here at VenturePath we are busy advocating for a connected venture ecosystem to better support scaling founders. As a member of VenturePath, founders don’t just gain access to fundraising support - they become part of an ecosystem that works together to achieve success. So how are we creating this connectivity? By organising a curated community designed to specifically support scaling UK founders. VenturePath founders are linked with a network of fellow venture-backed founders, peer-referred scale-up experts, successfully exited entrepreneurs, strategic partners, and a £7bn VC network all active between Series A-B. Why does this matter? Scaling a business is challenging on most levels, absorbs almost all of your time. By bringing together the key stakeholders that support founders, we’ve created cohesive, 360° support to cut through the noise and support founders at every stage of scaling their business. Our ecosystem members are grouped as: → Fellow Founders: Founders at similar stages share experiences and challenges, offering invaluable peer support. → Scaleup Experts: Domain specialists, vouched for by fellow founders, are available to provide targeted advice and insights. → Exited Entrepreneurs: Recently exited founders share their journeys and lessons learned through engaging content and events. → VC Network: Access to Series A and B funds offers founders early, informal feedback, fostering open dialogue before formal pitches. → Strategic Partners: Trusted partners provide optional support, helping founders navigate the complexities of scaling their businesses. We believe these are all necessary parts of the journey as you scale with venture backing. We've applied our experience to make these elements readily available and heavily curated. Is this the edge you need to scale your business?

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The punchline of a great Cliffwater research paper by Phil Huber,. "Continuation vehicles...present a compelling investment opportunity with supportive supply-and-demand factors in place. <Underwriting asset quality, investment thesis and GP-alignment is key>. If those pieces are in place, investors have the potential to generate returns favorable to traditional buyout funds..." The report can be found on Phil Huber, CFA, CFP® LinkedIn page along with a lot of other great content. Or at this link: https://lnkd.in/eBFBXdSi Note that wording in brackets <> are my paraphrasing. #continuationvehicles #cv #continuationvfunds #gpledsecondaries #secondaries #secondarymarket #secondary #sponsorledsecondaries #gp #generalpartner #lp #limitedpartner #liquidity #privateequity #pe #lmm #lowermiddlemarket #

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Join me at our next course June 6 & 7 as we delve into the changing Angel Investment landscape and what it takes to build a successful Angel Investment Portfolio.

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🚀 Investors Bet Big on OpenAI’s $6B+ Funding Round, Valuing the AI Giant at $150B! Investors are piling into OpenAI’s latest funding round, marking an unprecedented bet that the ChatGPT maker will become the world’s dominant AI company and hit a valuation in the trillions. 🌐💡 Key details: 💲 $150B valuation expected. 🔗 Thrive Capital has already contributed $1B, with Apple, Microsoft, and NVIDIA in talks to join. 💲 OpenAI aims to raise an additional $5B+. 🔍 Other tech giants like Tiger Global Management and UAE-backed MGX are also eyeing the deal. Despite concerns from top investors like Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, many believe in OpenAI’s trajectory. One investor remarked, “We’re talking about the path to building a trillion-dollar company. This isn’t unreasonable.” 🔍 With revenues soaring to $3.6B annually, but still burning through over $5B a year, OpenAI must continue innovating to stay ahead of competitors like Google and Meta. The stakes are high, but OpenAI’s unique position in both enterprise and consumer AI markets is drawing strong comparisons to the early days of Google and Apple. As an investor said: “You either win or fade into obscurity and become MySpace.” #AI #OpenAI #Funding #VentureCapital #AIInnovation #SamAltman #TechInvestment #FutureOfAI #ChatGPT #ArtificialIntelligence #TrillionDollarBet #Microsoft #Apple #Nvidia #ThriveCapital

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The success of a Fund boils down to DPI (distributions back to LPs in relation to how much capital was deployed). The industry often gets infatuated with TVPI, which accounts for paper gains. However, these numbers are frequently not worth the paper they are printed on. Knowing when to stick or twist is always a challenge, so I favor a balanced approach: the third-third-third strategy. Sell a third of the investment at the first opportunity. Gradually sell the second third. Hold onto the final third for potential upside. Even this model needs adjustments based on market conditions, requiring a mix of aggressive selling or patience. The real issue for LPs is the industry's recent obsession with maximizing TVPI without enough attention to DPI. This can lead to portfolio imbalances and potentially disappointing (or zero) cash returns. 🎙 Listen to my full episode of Fintech Leaders with good friend Miguel Armaza for more on data as the new gold, secrets behind successful VCs, and the importance of founder-market fit: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3KitB4b Apple: https://apple.co/4bXmmuC Youtube: https://bit.ly/3Vh4HIz

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Congratulations to Anaphite on the recent announcement of their $13.7m Series A investment. Co-founders Samuel Burrow and Alexander Hewitt have worked extremely hard since I invested in June 2019 and I am excited for how their cathode materials can dramatically improve operational efficiencies at the gigafactory scale to meet the growing demand for EV batteries. Some observations: The best founders can attract the best talent; Sam and Alex were exceptional early on in the recruitment of seasoned experience to support them, people like Joe Stevenson, Anthony Richard Glover, Martin Green, Stephen Clarke. DeepTech companies raise iteratively and often with more frequency before reaching Series A. Anaphite is a classic example of this, raising capital over a 5.5 year period as they de-risked their technology. Along the way Anaphite found investors with stage specific knowledge gaining support from Mervyn Miles, Harry Destecroix, Kirsty Semple and myself in the very early days, Bristol Private Equity Club at pre-seed with Rupert Atkinson, Zero Carbon Capital at Seed with Pippa Gawley, Elbow Beach Capital at Seed+ with Jonathan Pollock and now World Fund and Maniv who come to the table to lead their Series A round (a shout out to other supporters along the way who recognised the potential of DeepTech Silicon Roundabout Ventures, Wealth Club, Nesta, Blue Wire Capital). In my DeepTech portfolio almost every company that has successfully transitioned between Seed and Series A has often undergone a pivot. Both minor (e.g. slight change in customer pain point but same underlying technology) or major (e.g. new discoveries made along the way). The commonality across all of these pivots is exceptional entrepreneurial scientists who embody the concept that "Fortune favours the prepared mind." Backing the best talent is so crucial to success in venture capital. Anaphite continues this trend. Through customer engagement they were able to identify a pain point that turned lukewarm interest from OEMs into an avalanche of inbound enquiries. It is ultimately this commercial traction that has enabled them to raise their A round. When you consider that the probability of progression from Seed to Series A is around the 20% mark, this shows how difficult this can be. Finally, whilst DeepTech companies take longer to reach Series A than their traditional tech counterparts, the evidence provided by McKinsey & Company shows they then accelerate in performance after reaching that milestone. I believe Anaphite are firmly on that trajectory, congratulations again to the whole team.

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📣 Emerge has never stopped investing over the last 10 years and today announces $73m of fresh capital available for early-stage founders building the future of work and learning. We have just closed our new [oversubscribed] fund – focused on democratising access to opportunity and helping humankind maximise their potential. If we don’t adapt to this new AI-driven world, we will be left behind — and that's why we are investing in companies that empower people to Learn, Navigate and Work - so that no one will be. 🙏🏼 Sifted covered our Fund II close: https://lnkd.in/ebQgEKtt 💚 As a specialist early-stage fund we believe in founders before others do. No idea is too early for us. We build conviction early due to our deep industry knowledge. We have identified the major sub-thesis opportunities in the broad categories of edtech, hrtech and business productivity and understand these areas in great depth 💥 As an exited entrepreneur, I truly believe the model we have for early-stage founders is exactly what early-stage founders need 🟢 writing big cheques early - $500k-$2.5m at the early stage, so founders can get on and build 🟢 provide the knowledge to get you to PMF and Series A - by matching you with our 100+ community of top founders and C-level executives from our industry 🟢 help you raise your Series A - we will move mountains to help you raise your future rounds from the best possible investors This model has worked well for us over the last 10 years achieving high return and high impact. Through our 80+ strong portfolio, we have impacted over 31m people - and this is only the beginning of helping hundreds of millions of people fulfil their true potential 🙏🏼 Thankyou to our Fund II LPs including KfW Capital, Laerdal Invest, Jacobs Foundation and Southern New Hampshire University. We appreciate your belief in us as a team 🙏🏼 Thank you to all 80+ of the Emerge’s portfolio who revolutionise access to learning (Solvely Labs, MyEdSpace, LearnWise AI), level the playing field for kids (Yoto, Edurino | We are hiring! ), help people navigate careers (Popp AI) and empower them to use AI at work (Colossyan, Mendo) 😔 To close - what worries us is that people don’t have access to the tools, skills and confidence they need to thrive in this new AI-driven world. As a first-generation university student, I'm where I am today because I got lucky and access to higher ed was my way up. I know only too well what a lack of access can do to a human life 💚 Emerge won't rest until we level the playing field for people to fulfil their true potential. AI provides the key to improving people's lives at scale, and we are determined that AI will be used for good - to close the global inequality divide - and not increase it. 🔥 To all and any founders building the future of learning and work > we can't wait to hear from you ⭐️ finally I'm incredibly grateful to our amazing team for their commitment to our mission: Jan, Mario, Zara, Sami and Charlotte

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Amazing article on the importance of the 409a Valuations for startups by my colleague Colin McCrea. Clients typically ask what method we use: Valuation Methods To conduct a 409A valuation for startups, commonly used approaches include: 1. Market Approach: Compare the company to similar publicly traded ones using valuation multiples like revenue or EBITDA. 2. Income Approach: Utilize a discounted cash flow (DCF) model to estimate present value based on stable cash flows. 3. Asset Approach: Calculate value based on assets minus liabilities, suitable for early-stage or asset-heavy companies. 4. Backsolve Method: Ideal for companies with complex capital structures, such as convertibles or warrants, mainly used for funded companies. https://lnkd.in/gvynH-2A #409a #startups #funding #equity

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Some great advice from Laurie Fuller for #startup founders "When speaking to corporates, if you ask for advice you'll (probably) get funding. if you ask for funding you'll get advice." and "Start having conversations with potential corporate partners at least 18 months before you think you're gonna need the partnership." #AfricaTechFestival

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FOUNDER pitching has begun at Super Founder (SFGN). 1 MILLION founders and 1 MILLION investors on SFGN is the plan. Today we have five founders pitching in the video here as a small preview of what is to come. Part 2 of the announcement is at the end of this post…but first let’s finish Part 1. Today we have founders that have partners / team members from Deloitte, NFL, Solana, SHL, Google, Salesforce, Fortune 100 and more. I’m honored to feature these five (of many more in the network to come). They are phenomenal humans. Crystal Kendzior Brett Butler  Zoya Lehrer Katja Kempe  Leong Cheah Connect to and follow these amazing founders today :-) Ask them about what they're working on :-) Generally in regards to founder pitches... Amazing humans + long term relationships + long term visions (5-15 yrs) means being able to spot "seed traits" of great leaders/humans early. - No trauma - Communication with word precision, numbers and dates - Extreme brevity - Ability to have difficult conversations with craft & kindness (not avoid) - Consistent daily habits - "Gravity Ball" effects (pulling in employees, partners, customers, investors - stemming from no trauma and good communication and a good vision with good human values) - A/B testing science/math - and MUCH more. To see beyond the now and beyond the pivots. Easy to say...hard to do. A skill for many to practice building. PART TWO of the announcement is that we will launch a form on sf-gn.com in the next few weeks for all founders around the world to list themselves to get access to SFGN investors. No more investors and founders struggling to connect (or needing outreach training/services or getting “Keep us updated” rejected)…we’ll connect everyone…algorithmically (where there is fit) in an unprecedented way. The short term goal is 1 million investors, 1 million founders/execs and 1 million service partners. I hope you enjoy these five amazing founders pitching today! SFGN Podcast launched on YouTube and Spotify this week. P.S. We will be hosting a 10,000 - 30,000 attendee Super Founder Conference in Las Vegas or London in 2025 (or both locations)…and we’ll have digital events (pitching and digital conferences leading up to it/those). The world will not be the same when we are done with it. Let’s have some fun! 

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