Female Founder Office Hours Event 2: Meet the Investors Part I(ft. Notion, Redrice, RLC, Triple Point, Voulez Capital & the Atomico Angel Programme)

Last Thursday we held the third edition of Female Founder Office Hours.

We saw 100 founders and 34 VCs from the UK’s leading funds come together for 400 one-on-one office hours meetings.

Due to the high number of applications we received for the event, we’ve decided to continue the support of this Female Founder Office Hours initiative by extending to a second event on June 24th, to provide access to as many founders as possible.

In total, this will see ~800 meetings being held for up to 200 female founders with 60 VCs, and 200 total hours of one-on-one mentorship.

In the lead-up to the event, we have been sharing material to ensure all founders attending (& those not attending!) have a chance to get to know the funds and individual investors before their meetings.

We published our team’s tips and advice on getting what you want from each meeting, followed by the launch of our ‘Meet the Investors’ series, where we have been interviewing the VCs attending Female Founder Office Hours over the past five weeks.

Across Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV and Part V we have had some fantastic advice on approaching investors, office hours and tackling COVID-19.

This week, we’re joined by our first group of investors attending Female Founder Office Hours on June 24th, at Notion VC, Redrice Ventures, RLC Ventures, Triple Point and Voulez Capital, as well as angel Deepali Nangia. Read on for insights into their investment strategy, what they enjoy discussing with founders and their top tips for office hours below:

1. What is unique about your fund?

Susie Meier, Notion VC

Notion was built by B2B SaaS entrepreneurs and operators that turned investors; we are investing in what we know and love: General SaaS, Industry Disruptors and Frontier Tech. In the last 10 years, we have supported over 60 founders that have an elusive combination of qualities that enable them to potentially build large, category-leading companies.

Oksana Stowe, Redrice Ventures

The Redrice team is complementary and it is a true partnership of experienced founders and operators committed to helping entrepreneurs navigate today’s complexities and opportunities.

Oliver Kicks, RLC Ventures

We are seed focused investors, in businesses shaping the future of Enterprise, Fintech and Entertainment. We are also the only fund globally who give a portion of our exit proceeds to charitable causes selected by the founders we work with.

Seb Wallace, Triple Point

After investing for 15 years, Triple Point has wide network for our portfolio to tap into. Each year we host founder seminars for our portfolio, with speakers such as the co-founder of Receipt Bank and the Head of EMEA Growth for Toptal. We also host strategy days for our portfolio companies as required and partner with a mental health program for founders.

Anya Navidski, Voulez Capital

We have a unique culture and a balanced approach to risk-reward between founders and investors. It creates an environment which resonates a lot better with female founders and enables their businesses to flourish. To drive real change and to keep ourselves accountable, in 2019 we formalised our approach in our Fair Venture Principles. At the core, these aim to take the VC model back to its roots, with a focus on value creation and not just on valuations. These principles fall into three categories:

1. Alignment of incentives as much as possible within the cap table, aiming to avoid an ‘us and them’ situation and imbalanced risk-reward outcomes
2. Focus on long term value creation within our businesses in the spirit of “if you build great businesses, returns will come”, and
3. Inclusiveness, as we believe that the only way to generate value from diversity is to make everyone feel included.

Deepali Nangia, Angel investor

I am investing out of the Atomico Angel program this year. I am investing in female founders. I have committed to making two investments already — 1) in a sexual wellness brand and 2) in a software company in the health space. I will be make 3–4 more smaller investments in the 10-15k range this year so I can support more female founders at a time like this.

2. What investments do you enjoy looking at?

Susie Meier, Notion VC

Susie Meier, Associate at Notion VC

I absolutely love listening to a founder’s journey and their inspiration, motivation, passion and vision. The best founders are able to explain the most complex problems in a few words. I have a particularly soft spot for founders with extremely deep sector expertise, that really know their space inside-out and are not afraid to show their geeky side.

Oksana Stowe, Redrice Ventures

Oksana Stowe, Venture Partner at Redrice Ventures

We get excited about purpose driven consumer brands and related technologies at seed stage.

Oliver Kicks, RLC Ventures

Oliver Kicks, Associate at RLC Ventures

Personally, I love looking at anything in the gaming / entertainment space, as there are a lot of UK-centric opportunities here.

Seb Wallace, Triple Point

Seb Wallace, Investment Manager at Triple Point

Software companies, in particular those in the health, fintech and what I call “op tech” space. ‘Op tech’ to me is any tech that tangibly improves the efficiency of something in a business’s value chain — whether that be product or tech development, sales, marketing or operations.

Anya Navidski, Voulez Capital

Anya Navidski, Founding Partner at Voulez Capital

We are industry generalists, though there are a few things we definitely do not invest in (such as food and drink, cosmetics brands, most retail and fashion) but we will look at technology behind those industries. We most enjoy looking at companies which we see as focusing on the horizon i.e. tackling the larger, long term, challenges facing our society/world/planet. These include sustainability, zero waste, reduction of plastics, circular economy, residential care, education, healthcare, women’s health. We also like companies that are focused on revenue and not just on growth and which use each funding round to access resources to create a step change in the business.

Deepali Nangia, Angel investor

Deepali Nangia, Angel Investor

I have a keen interest in femtech, digital health and sustainability. I like businesses that are profit with a purpose.

3. Which part of a business do you most enjoy discussing with a founder?

Susie Meier, Notion VC

At the very core, it’s all about the product for me. I am thrilled when I get to watch a 5–10mins demo at the start of a conversation, especially for slightly deeper-tech products.

Listening to a founder describing his own software can be a very special moment — and the best founder calls are the ones where you immediately fall in love with the product. In those moments, the conversation is literally lifted to another level and its intensity goes far beyond a classic pitch.

Oksana Stowe, Redrice Ventures

Their journey that got them to this point and their vision for the future of the business.

Oliver Kicks, RLC Ventures

For me I like understanding a founders background, journey to founding their business and their long-term vision & roadmap.

Seb Wallace, Triple Point

Obviously the product is the most compelling part of a business, but that aside I find the pricing strategy fascinating. To construct a scalable pricing strategy, you have to really understand your value proposition and target customer. Alongside this, your pricing strategy governs what sales methods you can use, and is the key to maximising market size. I don’t think any other one thing touches on more parts of the core business than the pricing strategy.

Anya Navidski, Voulez Capital

We typically come in at late Seed stage when start-ups have an MVP and/or some traction. At that stage, the strategy to become a revenue-generating business is one of the most important aspects to define. This creates a lot of discussion with founders in order to find alignment on the roadmap forward. We enjoy being at the same time a rock and a mirror to help them navigate uncertainty, overcome challenges, and reach their goal.

Deepali Nangia, Angel investor

I like understanding the founder story — how they relate to what they are trying to build since this makes me feel comfortable that they will understand the user journey. My most important criteria in assessing a business and I have said this at many of the events I speak at — is my version of an MVP is — the founder’s mission, vision and passion. I also like to understand the pain point they are solving for and whether they have validated this pain point through user research. Is there a market for this pain? Is someone willing to pay for this pain? I want to understand the different potential routes to monetisation.

4. What are your top 3 tips on how to make the most of office hours?

Susie Meier, Notion VC

1. Be ready to explain your product in a few words, but in a highly compelling way
2. Go the extra mile, and show a brief product demo or at least a few screenshots
3. Think about it as a mutually meaningful conversation, rather than a pure monologue

Oksana Stowe, Redrice Ventures

1. Please treat this as a short pitch and have 3 key points that you want to leave the investor with and make sure you deliver them
2. It is also important to be clear why, how much and what will do you with the funding (if you are asking for funding)
3. If you are there for advice then be as specific as possible, so investors can give you practical tips

Oliver Kicks, RLC Ventures

1. Ensure you focus on investors who are active in your space / sectors
2. Stay focused — often people get caught up on a non-crucial part of their pitch
3. Follow-up — if you want to get some more in-depth feedback or help, be sure to follow up with an email or LinkedIn request

Seb Wallace, Triple Point

1. Come with the 3 questions you most want answered, and share them at the start
2. Get honest feedback on your business — ask which issues the VC sees in your business, as you can probably see your positive attributes already
3. Ask the VC what they think ‘good’ looks like in a pitch — so you can ensure you are pitch-ready!

Anya Navidski, Voulez Capital

Know what you want from your time with investors, be prepared to listen (even if you might disagree with what they say) and relax :)

Deepali Nangia, Angel investor

1. Think about your top 3 current issues and frame questions around them
2. Do research on the funds that are at the office hours so you understand a bit about the sectors they are interested in and their investment preferences (whether you are a good fit)
3. Ask the funds you meet, what metrics do you need to achieve to receive investment from them

5. What advice are you giving to startups on how to navigate Covid-19? Are you giving the same advice to scale-ups (post-series B)?

Susie Meier, Notion VC

Covid-19 presents unprecedented challenges, but try to stay focused the opportunities it can bring. Be flexible and open to think about pivoting into other customer segments / geographies / product functionalities. If you can spot an opportunity, don’t waste any time — start executing today.

Oksana Stowe, Redrice Ventures

Our leadership coach, Andy Bird, has written a great piece on how to stay motivated as a leader in difficult times. I think that inner strength is more important than ever in times like these and applicable irrespective of start-up maturity.

Oliver Kicks, RLC Ventures

We recommend that once runway has been extended, really re-asses your product roadmap and value-proposition.If this is not apparent now, then it needs to be more than ever, and will benefit you when normality resumes.

Seb Wallace, Triple Point

If you are post-product, try to find product-market fit with your current product as best you can. It’s tempting to spend on tech when sales slow, but this can reduce runway, adding future pressure. If well-capitalised, you could lean into sales and marketing, focusing on lead generation rather than closure. A content marketing push may be impactful while people are at home, reading more. For series B+, there’s more cost management opportunities, but the overall advice remains the same.

Anya Navidski, Voulez Capital

Whether you are a start-up or a scale-up, in any economic shock, focus is always on reduction of costs and on generation of revenues. The current crisis has been painful all around but it has also created great opportunities for founders able to be flexible and agile. Whichever roadmap you had in place pre crisis must now change. Be honest with yourself and your team about the impact, about possibilities and changes that need to be implemented and why. And stay true to your values — remember that how you behave now will be remembered after the crisis by your team, by investors and by your customers.

Deepali Nangia, Angel investor

My advice is for early stage businesses:

• Focus on the customers you have already acquired: focus on retaining them and selling to them. If you are in a sector that is benefitting from COVID, it is a good time to market and acquire new customers
• Focus on product build if you are still early and you might be able to recruit good people who might not be otherwise available
• If fundraising, raise for at least 12–18 months
• Re-look at your P&L and build ground up, conserving as much cash as possible; be scrappy
• Take this time to reach out to investors who otherwise would not have time to talk to you
• Focus on self-care when you have the time — as the lines between work and home have blurred, this has become even more important, especially at a stressful time like this.

You can follow the Playfair team on LinkedIn, Twitter, Forbes, Vimeo and here on Medium. If you’re a male founder and would still like to pitch us, please submit your application on our open-to-anyone pitch page.

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