Tag Archives venture capital

Silicon Roundup; First Q2 VC Funding Figures Released – Worst Fears Confirmed About Brexit Inspired Drop-off In Europe?

Posted on 4 min read 744 views

VC Funding is falling in Europe but remains steady or increasing elsewhere, according to the latest figures from Pitchbook – it is hard, but far from impossible, to pin the blame on Brexit VC funding into European startup’s has fallen by one third in Q2 2016, according to data from Pitchbook; the total amount raised, …

Funding & Skills Shortages, Scaling Up & Bitcoin Concerns; The World Of UK Tech According To Smith & Williamson’s Enterprise Index

Posted on 5 min read 889 views

Time to put the pedal to the metal? According to a new survey from Smith & Williamson, entrepreneurs are unable to secure enough funding to help their companies “scale up” Scaling up is never easy to do, but you have to give it a go. It’s the best we can do. Not a set of …

A Rating Agency For Startups and Innovative SMEs Is Coming To London

Posted on 3 min read 1914 views

can Early Metrics do what many VC and Angel investors can’t and identify and rate startups’ growth potential accurately? Opening a new office in London will surely help. Startups are strange beasts; they come in different shapes and sizes and it is notoriously hard to pick the winners from the losers (clue; the stats suggest …

Silicon Roundup; The Good Ship Startup Plots A Course Through The Brexit Storm

Posted on 4 min read 815 views

Whilst everyone in London discusses a potential “Brexit”, startup’s are quietly getting on with the job of scaling There’s been good news for maturing early stage startup’s based in London in the past week. It’s good to see the seed / Angel / VC model working just like it’s supposed to. Last week, Polystream founders …

Two Unicorns; Two Tech Hubs; Big Difference; London’s Tech Scene Is Nothing Like The Size Of Silicon Valley’s, But It Can Be As Influential

Posted on 4 min read 698 views

Snapchat – the latest “Decacorn” to roll off the Silicon Valley production line Two of the biggest startup funding stories of the week illustrate the size of the gulf that still exists between London and The Silicon Valley when it comes to creating tech giants. Many prominent London based techies, entrepreneurs, startup founders and investors …

Global VC Financing Down Again in Q1 2016, Europe Steadies, Says Latest CB Insights / KPMG Report, Blaming Concerns Over China Slowdown, American Elections

Posted on 4 min read 651 views

The latest global downturn in global VC funding activity may only be temporary, suggests a new report from CB Insights / KPMG The global downturn in Venture Capital financing activity has continued into Q1 2016, according to the latest report from CB insights, in conjunction with KPMG. After experiencing a significant correction in Q4 2015, …

London (and Europe’s) Biggest Tech Startup Funds And What They Are Buying

Posted on 6 min read 987 views

It’s raining funding in Europe – but where are the puddles forming? Sometimes startup founders must feel a little bit like Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Ancient Mariner and his stranded crew mates, who stared at the ocean surrounding their lost ship and cried out in desperation: “water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink!” “Funding, …

Squeezing The Truth Out Of British Venture Capital Funding; Deals Down, Funding Up, VCs Asleep At The Wheel?

Posted on 4 min read 922 views

Stocks and Loans may break my bones but stats will never hurt me? Torture them for long enough, and stats will confess anything. At least that’s how the saying goes, but it’s a cynical soul who still decries “lies, damn and statistics”, in the face of today’s data driven analytical world. Do the stats really …

Force Over Mass Hosts “Ask Me Anything” At Huckletree HQ With The “Grumpy Entrepreneur” & Director, Wired Consulting

Posted on 5 min read 1022 views

Huckletree’s co-working space in the Alphabeta building, Finsbury Square – the perfect place to talk futuristic tech On stage at Huckletree HQ The lights shone bright on a panel who’s combined brainpower represents as good a reason as any as to why we do not yet need to fear a dystopian future where we are …

A Record Breaking Quarter For US Venture Capital Fundraising In Q1 Is Good News For Entrepreneurs Everywhere

Posted on 5 min read 906 views

US VC firms raised $12.6bn in Q1 2016 – the most for a decade They’re studying your metrics; they’re holding a red pen and occasionally making notes. You’re sweating. They’re asking how long will it be until you start to deliver real, tangible returns? It may be of some considerable comfort to startup founders everywhere …

Silicon Roundup; In A Week That May Have Kickstarted The Fundraising Season, We Ask, Are London’s Entrepreneurs building for the 1%?

Posted on 7 min read 790 views

London is the most expensive city to live in in the world – are entrepreneurs increasingly catering to the rich and powerful? Is this the week that London’s tech startup scene finally burst into life in 2016? After the highs of 2015, when Venture Capital grew 70% year on year to £3.6bn, $2.8bn of which …

With $14m Series B Fundraising Planday Are Leading Wonderful Copenhagen’s Startup Charge

Posted on 3 min read 1312 views

All eyes on Copenhagen; the city’s startup scene is one of the most talked about in Europe London isn’t the only European capital with a thriving startup scene; Copenhagen’s entrepreneurs are every bit as resourceful as their British counterparts, although until recently raising large funding rounds in the Danish capital might have been considered a …

Ivo Spigel Just Published The Bible Of European Startup Success, & Launched It At Startup Bookshop Libreria!

Posted on 4 min read 785 views

Spot the celebrity rockstar (founder)? Last Tuesday night Libreria, the tiny bookshop with the labyrinthine trompe d’oeil opposite the Second Home Incubator on Hanbury Street, owned by SH founder Rohan Silva and journalist Sally Davies, was the setting for the launch of journalist Ivo Spigel’s new book “The European Startup Revolution”. Ivo was interviewed by …

Balderton Joins Forces With Stockholm’s Sup 46 In Another Boost For Anglo-Nordic VC relations

Posted on 2 min read 968 views

Postcard from Stockholm; those with FOMO look away now A 2,000 square metre office space in central Stockholm where 50 start-ups work side by side has teamed up with London based Balderton Capital who will become part of their “Global Friend”, network of advisors, business partners, mentors and investors. …

Babylon Health to complete $25m Raise Today, Backed By DeepMind Founders & AB Kinnevik

Posted on 3 min read 960 views

The HealthTech sector looks set to secure its second big venture capital win of 2016 today.  After Pushdoctor, a U.K. based start-up that enables users to arrange consultations with qualified doctors via video-conference using their app, raised an £8.2m Series A round led by Oxford Capital Partners and DFJ Esprit, to boost marketing and develop …

Silicon Round-Up – things you need to know about London’s Tech City this week – on the successful launch of Tech.london

Posted on 2 min read 763 views

So the .London domain wasn’t just a gimmick! Tech.london, a collaboration between the Mayor of London, Angel investment platform Gust, IBM and a diverse range of partners from the tech community, launched 3 months ago and has released data relating to its traffic since launch. The site had 127,000 visitors from 864 cities across 123 …

Tech City Is Nearly 4, Silicon Valley Nearly 45; Can The Young Buck Really Usurp The Old Master?

Posted on 8 min read 1098 views

Does London need a guy like this watching over it? Tech city will soon be celebrating its 4th birthday, and around the same time, Silicon Valley will turn 45. By human standards, that means Tech City has learned to walk, talk and make friends and will soon be saying goodbye to the nursery and hello …

London Dining App Velocity Acquires US Payments Start-Up Cover, Gets Ready For New York Launch

Posted on 3 min read 1139 views

Velocity founders Zia Yusuf, an ex-Goldman Sachs Executive Director and LSE alumni, and Alex Macdonald, a Turnaround specialist with restaurant management experience and a penchant for Jamon Iberico, are helping to create the ultimate in frictionless dining experiences on both sides of the Atlantic by allowing diners at top restaurants to view itemised bills in …

Start-up Capital Accelerator Programme Concludes By Looking At Future London Tech Trends

Posted on 7 min read 906 views

UCL BASE co-working and event space was chosen as the venue for the Capital Accelerator Programme’s look at London’s future technology trends and also provided a timely opportunity to celebrate the conclusion of their 18 month program, financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Mayor of London’s office. CAP’s aim was to …