Female Founder Office Hours: Meet the Investors (ft. Albion, Amadeus, Anthemis, Draper and Notion)

We launched the third, nationwide and fully remote edition of Female Founder Office Hours last week and we are looking forward to meeting all 100 female founders on June 4th.

We wanted to ensure all founders attending have a chance to get to know the funds and individual investors before their office hours meetings. As Alexandra Baranowski wrote in her blog post — ‘A guide to getting what you want’ — as important as getting in the room is making the most of the opportunity while you’re there.

To this end, we’re publishing a series of five articles over five weeks where we interview the 30 VCs attending Female Founder Office Hours. We’re asking them five key questions that cover their investment strategy, what they enjoy discussing with founders and their top tips for office hours. Read on for the responses from the first five investors at Albion, Amadeus, Anthemis, Draper and Notion below:

1. What is unique about your fund?

Jess Bartos, AlbionVC:

I would highlight three strengths:

1. Focus on B2B software with deep experience in the sector. We’ve learnt a lot about how great B2B software companies scale up and impart that experience the portfolio.
2. Long-term perspective — we are very supportive of the portfolio over the long-haul, driven by the fact that we are funded by evergreen capital; some of our best exits were after 10 year+ hold periods!
3. Depth of network in the UK tech ecosystem; we believe in UK tech and are dedicated to nuturing the ecosystem here.

Amelia Armour, Amadeus:

I’m a Principal in the Early Stage Funds where we’re investing in deep tech disruptive technologies at Seed and Series A. We focus on B2B opportunities, so no consumer offerings, and are mainly, but not exclusively, looking at startups based in the UK.

Erica Young, Anthemis:

We are a mission-driven organisation that invests in early-stage startups leveraging technology to significantly impact the financial services industry. 52% of our employees are women, 17% of our portfolio founders are women and we have an investment vehicle dedicated to early-stage female founders.

Diana Krantz & Edel Coen, Draper Esprit:

We’re a public company and not a traditional 10-year-investment-horizon type of fund, meaning we are long-term investors and are better aligned with the founders’ timelines. We’re also part of the Draper Venture Network, which gives our founders global access to corporates, support in expansion and hiring in the US and much more.

Itxaso Del Palacio, Notion:

We are B2B SaaS focused

2. What investments do you enjoy looking at?

Jess Bartos, AlbionVC:

Jess Bartos, AlbionVC

Good ones! Just kidding — I like pitches from entrepreneurs who know how to marry the big vision to a practical opportunity to make a lot of money. Great entrepreneurs have a thoughtful answer to the question: why now?

Amelia Armour, Amadeus:

Amelia Armour, Amadeus

I’m particularly focused on applied artificial intelligence startups and Sprout.ai is a good example of a recent investment. They’re an InsureTech seed-stage company accelerating the time to process insurance claims. I’m also excited by novel materials and sit on the boards of Paragraf, who have developed a process of manufacturing graphene at scale, and Xampla, who have created a plant-based plastic alternative which is biodegradable and also strong enough to go through standard manufacturing processes.

Erica Young, Anthemis:

Erica Young, Anthemis

Personally, I love meeting founders who are addressing challenges around financial wellness. As an organisation, we seek companies that are embedding financial services into key experiences and acting as a catalyst to usher in financial digital transformation.

Diana Krantz & Edel Coen, Draper Esprit:

Diana Krantz, Draper Esprit

We are sector agnostic as a fund, but both of us get most excited about companies that are solving some of the most challenging questions we are currently facing — anything from food and agriculture to digital health and future of cities. We also look at a lot of enterprise SaaS and D2C companies that are changing how people work and live.

Edel Coen, Draper Esprit

Itxaso Del Palacio, Notion:

Itxaso Del Palacio, Notion

I am a “product-led investor” so I like to invest in companies that are building beautiful products for the B2B market

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

Jess Bartos, AlbionVC:

How their product solves a painpoint and why users love it.

Amelia Armour, Amadeus:

I get excited about new technology but like to focus on the product and how founders are thinking about creating a commercially viable solution. Following that, it’s the business model and how the founder is thinking about capturing value.

Erica Young, Anthemis:

How they became obsessed with the problem they are trying to solve and what they’ve learned along the way.

Diana Krantz & Edel Coen, Draper Esprit:

One of the best parts of VC is having the opportunity to discuss all aspects of a business with a founder. We specifically like to dive into product and understand the vision of the founders.

Itxaso Del Palacio, Notion:

Product strategy and product vision.

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

Jess Bartos, AlbionVC:

1. Know what you want to get out of it
2. Prepare thoughtful questions
3. Be open to feedback

Amelia Armour, Amadeus:

1. Founders should be focused. What do they want to get out of the time available and state that upfront, for example: “I want feedback on my pitch”, or “I’d like introductions to particular corporates”.
2. Make the pitch short and concise to leave time for discussion.
3. If your business is in a space I’m focussed on, then I will be more receptive to a pitch. If not, then angle the discussion to broader questions and advice and I’m sure there will be a way I can help.

Erica Young, Anthemis:

1. Come prepared to drive two types of conversations: one where your business is in scope for the investor and one where it isn’t. All of these investors are part of a rich network and you never know who they might be able to introduce you to.
2. Just like an interview, the quality of your questions reflects your preparedness. Bring one great question that is important to your business and draws on the expertise of the investor you are meeting with.
3. Be conscious of time — you don’t need to boil the ocean, the goal is to make a meaningful connection.

Diana Krantz & Edel Coen, Draper Esprit:

1. Be prepared — curate your questions and topics to the investor you are speaking to, and have any specific topics/business areas you want to focus on well-thought-out in advance.
2. Be enthusiastic — bring lots of energy and enthusiasm, every investor wants to see a founder that is passionate about what they are doing.
3. Always ask for feedback and for potential intros to anyone who they think would be good for you to speak to.

Itxaso Del Palacio, Notion:

1. Be prepared to pitch a short and clear explanation of your value proposition.
2. If you can, use a few screenshots to show the product and user journey (product-demo).
3. Finish your pitch with an ask.

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)?

Jess Bartos, AlbionVC:

Covid-19 presents massive opportunity for start-ups as old barriers to tech adoption (security, information governance, institutional inertia, etc) get thrown out the window, especially in B2B. This meme keeps it 100:

The world will not go back to the way it was pre-Covid; adapt your business plan for our new reality. The joy of being a start-up is that you’re nimbler than the competition, so take advantage!

If you’re a scale-up, assume the worst macroeconomically. In a global recession, what’s changed for your customers? How does your sales pitch need to change?

Amelia Armour, Amadeus:

Startups looking for funding need to get used to pitching virtually. Use resources such as video to help get the message and the company aim across clearly.

Keep reaching out to investors, we’re adapting to doing deals without meeting in person.

Funded companies need to manage their cash runway if customer interaction has slowed down, some are fortunate to be in sectors which are benefitting from the current climate and they should look to capture market share.

Erica Young, Anthemis:

For many companies, this event will be challenging from a cash flow perspective in the short term. Thankfully, there will be an acceleration of trends already in motion such that digitally native business models (both within the stronger and more dynamic incumbents and from startups) will outperform the market. As a result, the business landscape will consist of better and more resilient entities adapted to the long term future.

Diana Krantz & Edel Coen, Draper Esprit:

Since focusing on sales and BD will be harder at the moment, double down on product and try to perfect it. Use this opportunity to do a lot of customer calls / market research as people are at home and more easily available.

Try to have at least 12 months of runway, and if you don’t, start thinking about how / when your next round will come together and start to build momentum. Of course, try to be as lean as possible in your operations for the coming months.

Think about how your industry and demand for your product will change post-Covid-19, and what you can do already now to maximise your chances of fitting in well with that.

Itxaso Del Palacio, Notion:

Use the opportunity to rethink your business and to build a Product Led Strategy, from the bottom up and with your users as the central part of your business.

If you would like to meet any of the 30 VCs participating in this remote edition of Female Founder Office Hours, please visit our events page to register until Sunday 24th May.

You can follow the Playfair team on LinkedIn, Twitter, 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.

You can follow Tech Nation on LinkedIn and Twitter. If you’re a founder, you can register for the free Founders’ Network programme.