1848 Ventures’ Post

It is a privilege to work with incredible leaders and it is an absolute joy when you can be in a room full of them. Huge thanks to Stephanie Rich, Mary Grove, and Brett Brohl of Bread and Butter Ventures for inviting me to lead a discussion on "Planning for Hard." Founding and leading a fast-growing company is one of the hardest things you can do; forcing a construct like "work-life balance" on yourself can set up cycles of disappointment and expectations that just cannot be met. Instead, if we "plan for hard" and accept that yes, it will be a lot, and yes it will be a roller coaster - we can then explore/invest in the infrastructure (personal and professional) to bring out the best version of yourself (as a leader, a partner, and a human).

OnSecurity have just closed a £5.5m Series A funding round for their cybersecurity penetration testing platform. Rich Kershaw and Emilie Leckie of the Leckie-Kershaw team were pleased to be able to support Gresham House Ventures with our unified product, ops, tech and CS due diligence analysis. Drop us a DM or call if you'd like to find out how we can do the same and help your investment team gain confidence in your investments, or help your company prep for funding! #seriesa #duediligence #cybersecurity

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It's always great to see our founders out and about with industry leaders and attend local events. Collaboration is fundamental in all that we do here at Eximious Alliance - 𝑨𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆, 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒅𝒐 𝒔𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆; 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒅𝒐 𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉. - 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒏 𝑲𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓 Alison Sarmiento | Fran Varley #FemaleFounders #LiftedVentures #Collaboration #ChangeManagement #ImprovementSpecialists #OrganisationalImprovement

"Stay resilient in the backward steps." Founders, as you're making hard decisions for '25, the gravitational pull from your orbit will be to optimize for the short-term. But make the choice to play the long game. 10yr stock charts of great companies help visualize that backward steps are part of the journey. If you’re in the, or about to be in the, backward step phase, know that so many leaders have been there. Listen to Founders Podcast for inspiring examples. Here's my story the past few years: In late 2022, New Story had a re-founding of how (evolved to market-based housing solutions and impact investment manager) we deliver our mission. I knew it’d be challenging in ‘22 and ‘23, but hopeful it’d be worth it on the other side. What significantly helped me in the beginning of the backward steps was envisioning New Story with a 10yr then 20yr stock chart narrative. On the annual measurement surface, since we had been growing year over year, we'd be taking meaningful backward steps. But on the other side, and what we were building below the surface, we’d come out of it with the right team, aligned capital, strategy, proof of concepts, partnerships, etc. and be stronger than ever for our evolved, long-term future. At the end of ‘24, because of our team's resilience and focus on the future, that is what played out. The quality of New Story in ‘24 and our forecasts for ‘25-'27 far exceed where we would have been without the backward steps. The willingness to evolve how we deliver our mission, knowing there'd be short-term pain, was the singular best decision we made in ten years. It has given us a whole new world of opportunity for the next decade. As my friend Dave Blanchard said, stay resilient in the backward steps! If you're a social entrepreneur, this is the kind of stuff we talk about as founders at Camp Redwood -- a curated gathering of social entrepreneurs this Jan 22-24 in the California redwoods. We have a few spots left so message me and email team@campredwood.org if you're interested in attending. More info: https://lnkd.in/eQ5ta8EJ Some of our speakers and mentors: - Arthur Reimers - Debra Erb - Cammie Dunaway - Evan Marwell - John Wood - Willy Foote - Alexandria Lafci - Debo Olaosebikan Grateful to team up with Justin Wheeler and Funraise for the gathering.

The Ultimate #VC list... a useful list to screen which investors can be a fit for your company!

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Angel investing got your attention? Ready to make the jump to LP investor and truly diversify your portfolio? This Fall, we're hosting a LIVE session to help you get started! Whether you're new to Angel investing or looking to level up, there's something for you (and it's more affordable than you might think!). ➡️ Sign up & learn more: https://buff.ly/3Z7oxsg #angelinvesting #venturecapital #startup

A masterclass on failure. Joshua March and Kasia Gora, co-founders of SCiFi Foods, raised $40mm from Andreesen Horowitz, Valor Siren Ventures, BoxGroup, Entrée Capital, and Prelude Ventures. When the market eroded and the time came to shut down the company, they provided us with a blueprint on how to do it gracefully. They tell their story on this episode of Critical Moments. https://mbj.im/pod

There reaches a point in every scaling founders’ journey where they have to make the transition from founder to CEO. Here’s a recap from when Joe Knowles, Partner, Smedvig Ventures, joined us to give us a VC’s perspective on the importance of that role change and how to navigate it. GEN UK #GEW2024 #VentureInsights