Matt Clifford

We had the pleasure of speaking to the inimitable Gordon Sanghera, co-founder and CEO of Oxford Nanopore Technologies, valued at around $6.8bn in 2021. Gordon somewhat accidentally ended up as an entrepreneur, breaking the conventional VC wisdom around 'born founders'. The technology is wild - democratising access to genomic sequencing giving us a new understanding of living organisms. In the episode of Riding Unicorns, we cover: 00:00 Defining Entrepreneurship 00:55 Understanding Oxford Nanopore's Technology 06:10 Gordon's Journey to Founding Oxford Nanopore 12:09 Commercialization Challenges and Strategies 16:27 Building a Strong Founding Team 20:55 Navigating the Ups and Downs of Deep Tech 25:54 Innovative Applications of Nanopore Technology 28:57 Company Culture and Operational Insights 35:05 Attracting Talent in a Competitive Market 37:22 The IPO Experience and Future Outlook https://lnkd.in/eQZVSGeK

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"Funding Collapse sends investment in start-ups to six year low" The Times today covering the shocking stats that VenturePath uncovered, with our partner Beauhurst. Great quotes from supporters Michael Moore CEO, BVCA and Julian David CEO, techUK. * UK VC funding at Series A is -44% from last year, and worsening * Q3 24 is down a staggering 57% from Q2, itself down from Q1 * 9 in 10 seed funded startups cannot access Series A VC funding, the next 'rung on the funding ladder' * Just 32 future scaleup companies across the whole of the UK were able to access their first VC funding round in Q3...a 6 year low * Half a billion less capital is going in to UK scaleups at Series A, than just 2 years ago! As the UK scaleup funding gap widens, we are losing ground against other countries, at both startup stage (a position the UK worked hard to achieve, since 2011), and for scaleup support. OECD data: 13th in the world for scaleup support, and that's before Series A funding access dried up. I get that its confusing. Another report (BBB, Nations & Regions) released this week spoke of positive trends in private investment, stating "The data for Q2 2024 shows that investment value has continued to grow". Great, I love to see optimistic data. But under analysis that bundles venture with private equity (later stage), where a few megadeals skew the numbers. Otherwise the exact opposite is true. Our independent research here, for the UK ScaleUp Investment Mission, is laser beam focussed on Series A. The funding round where companies move from the c.1m startups launched each year, through the 2,179 that access seed funding, into the rarefied category of being recognised as future scaleups, attracting Series A funding (£2-10m). The UK venture landscape is currently funding just 248 pa of these companies, and declining. We've been sharing this urgent call for support with the new Government since the day after the election. I've personally met with several Ministers, and spoke to all the relevant Government departments. I will shamelessly repeat loudly what is at stake. UK scaleup funding at Series A has nearly halved in a year, and continues to decline steeply, more than halving in the last quarter. VenturePath developed The UK ScaleUp Investment Mission to convene the scaleup support ecosystem and £7bn of funders to help address this problem, to improve nationwide access to VC investment, and create more venture-backed successes. We have clear support, clear recommendations to reverse this decline in UK scaleup investment, and have made a clear ask of Government for participation in this, to ensure immediate action is taken to create the conditions for success for UK scaleups, ensuring the focus on growth isn't undermined by lack of capital, or equitable access to it. Government decision makers, we'd love your interest, to progress to action. HM Treasury: Rt Hon Rachel Reeves Spencer Livermore James Murray & CC Poppy Gustafsson (welcome to the debate).

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Cambridge Future Tech builds DeepTech ventures and last week we hit another milestone; we're co-founding our 15th venture 🤘 It's awesome building new ventures from the ground up. It's why we started CFT in the first place. It always feels great to be at the start of the build phase, helping founders articulate a new venture’s tech and potential, building a strong narrative. We’re collaborating closely with founders to transform groundbreaking ideas into companies. 🚀🚀🚀 More to come on this. I'm hyped to share what we're building 🤘 #venturebuilder #deeptech #startups #cambridge

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In Amelia Hill's second article on the challenges facing #femtech founders, she outlines some of the other barriers which are just as much of a brake on growth as lack of investment... 😲 Of the 35 femtech companies that responded to censHERship's online survey, 75% had been refused a bank account; 60% had had an account closed, 50% faced “excessive scrutiny”, 32% experienced delays in processing and 21% were charged higher fees. 🛑 But even if you clear these hurdles, your online ads are likely to be blocked or banned. 🐣 As an eg from our portfolio, Béa Fertility is banned from using the word "vagina" in the description for their medical-grade fertility device on Amazon. (Of course, no such prudishness exists around male sex toys or products for erectile dysfunction!) 😇 There are no easy fixes, but we can all advocate for these businesses and buy their products. Some of us with spare cash to invest can choose to support them through angel investment. Read the full story here 👇 https://lnkd.in/e_xRFfUC Amber Vodegel John Souter Angela Cretu Faye Walsh Drouillard Deborah Gruenberger Rosalind Singleton Sally Kemkers #femalefounders #angelinvestors

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I couldn’t be prouder to be a Venture Partner at Isomer Capital (aka the best European FoF - at least for me) as we just announced the launch of our pioneering £100m secondaries fund. This fund is dedicated to acquiring stakes from LPs in various VC funds, tapping into a massive and largely unexplored market. 🌟 Key Highlights: - Focused Investment: Primarily targeting stakes in VC funds, with selective investments in private companies. - Robust Funding: Already over 20% funded, thanks to strong support from Nordic family offices and a German foundation. - Market Potential: With a growing number of private tech companies and a VC liquidity crunch, Europe's VC secondaries market is poised for rapid growth. - Track Record: This isn’t Isomer’s first foray into the secondaries market. As a firm we’ve done several secondaries deals with portfolio companies and VC firms, including early-stage VC Seedcamp (in 2021) and mobility giant Bolt (in 2023). - Expert Team: Welcoming the amazing Omolade (Rachel) A., formerly of Coller Capital, as a principal to lead this initiative. 💡 Investment Strategy: - 65-75% of the fund will buy "LP interest" stakes in VC funds. - 15-25% will be directed towards stakes in companies. - Up to 15% reserved for flexible investment opportunities. 📈 Looking Ahead: We're targeting returns of 2-3x, with significant distributions expected in the next 4-7 years. As one of the few players in this space, we're not just participating in the market—we're driving it forward. Read all about it here: https://lnkd.in/dc7sbC3G #VentureCapital #SecondariesFund #EuropeanVC

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Black Book's 2025 survey highlights trends and investment priorities in healthcare IT, based on insights from over 1160 key figures in... #venturecapital #veteranventures

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In 2024, UK scaleup funding hit crisis levels - less than 300 companies accessed Series A funding, with Q3 showing the lowest activity in 6 years. Half a billion less capital went to UK scaleups than just two years ago. The ecosystem's response was decisive. 65+ partners united through the UK ScaleUp Investment Mission, representing £7bn of VC funding. From Treasury engagement to industry collaboration, we've built momentum for systematic change. Two posts that captured this year's journey, with around 100k impressions from these 2 alone: "Funding Collapse sends investment in start-ups to six year low" Coverage in The Times highlighting the urgent need for intervention as UK VC funding nearly halved https://lnkd.in/ehH8sCJQ "UK ScaleUp Investment Mission Roundtable" 20 ecosystem leaders met with Treasury Minister Lord Spencer Livermore to improve conditions for scaleup success https://lnkd.in/e3GTdcwX At VenturePath, we've supported this mission by helping unlock Series A-B funding for ambitious tech companies while advocating for broader ecosystem improvements. Our community's growth reflects the hunger for better funding access. Deeply grateful to the founders, VCs, and ecosystem builders who've driven real progress this year. Special thanks to our government partners at Treasury, DBT, and DSIT for engaging meaningfully with industry recommendations. Looking to 2025: We have clear solutions, strong ecosystem support, and growing government engagement. Now we need to turn recommendations into action. The UK ScaleUp Investment Mission will focus on implementing practical measures to improve nationwide access to venture funding. To every organization working to create more venture-backed UK successes: 2024 showed what's possible when we unite around a clear mission. Let's make 2025 the year we reverse the decline in scaleup funding. -- Get your 2024 LinkedIn Rewind at https://lnkd.in/eUCXR-Dm

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When founding ETA Technologies, choosing Cambridge as our headquarters was a decision driven by a blend of strategic and historical advantages. Here are the top five reasons why it stands out: 1, Cambridge is renowned as the intellectual property hub of the UK, fostering an environment rich in cutting-edge research. 2, Leading Europe in the creation of spin-out companies, Cambridge offers a fertile ground for entrepreneurial ventures. 3, With a remarkable track record of producing #unicorns, Cambridge is a magnificent breeding ground for high-growth #startups. 4, Cambridge's #startups generate an impressive $17 return for every $1 invested, showcasing the unparalleled efficiency and profitability of the local innovation ecosystem. 5, The Cambridge tech ecosystem boasts a valuation exceeding £150 billion, surpassing the combined worth of Italy and Spain's tech sectors. 5+1, ETA Technologies leverages psychometric testing powered by #AI to help investors identify teams with the greatest potential. Psychometric testing also has its roots in Cambridge... Cambridge isn't just our location; it's a cornerstone of our identity and a catalyst for our mission to revolutionize investment insights. https://lnkd.in/dB4m2tfS

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Taavet Hinrikus and I made the Financial Times Due Diligence email. https://lnkd.in/ez2AuGQx One 'unintended consequence' is that if there is a 45% tax on carry and CGT (raising £40m per year, remember) it for all intents and purposes closes the door on new VCs in the UK. Especially started by teams from non-traditional backgrounds. To meet the GP commit, you need to be already part of the 'wealthy' as you cannot rely on the value you create - nearly half of it will disappear - to fund it. We have both had extremely successful startups which are few and far between. The smaller number of new VCs will therefore more likely increasingly be for people who have inherited the capital or can draw it from their already rich family. Probably not want they have in mind with this policy.

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Not all venture firms are created equal - at Playfair Associates & Principals write cheques and lead deals 💰 Why? Because they have the ability, drive and passion to do so And what we care about most is building optimal partnerships with founders that deliver results This means matching them with the right investor who then continually leverages the diverse experiences of our entire team I spend a lot of my time nowdays supporting these investments as well as leading my own I love doing both Founders: don't assume only partners lead deals and don't be afraid to ask how decision making works during your pitch call #venturecapital #startups #fundraising #founder #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #technology #innovation #business #ceo

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Great to see SIS Ventures make this list by TechRound https://lnkd.in/eDtRbggM A bit more about what we look for below. If you're a founder and these hit the mark 👇 then please get in touch Investment targets SIS Ventures is focused on high-impact, high-growth potential businesses our investee companies are innovation-led, often spun out of Scotland’s leading university innovation programmes. Portfolio companies are also carefully selected for their commitment to developing their environmental, equality and diversity, social impact and governance practices. SIS Ventures seeks to provide equity investment to: ✔ High growth potential with a global scale and intent to provide significant impact ✔ Focus on social and/or environmental impact, aligning with impact themes / at least one of the UN SDGs ✔ Product or service backed by defensible technology or proprietary know-how ✔ EIS or SEIS qualifying ✔ Low capital-intensive businesses ✔ Sector agnostic, but historically invested across Life Sciences, MedTech, Climate Tech, Circular Economy, Biotech ✔ Pre-seed – Series A ✔ Headquartered in Scotland

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HNY! Hope everyone had a great break. Quiet on here as head down. Such a lot of exciting things coming up: - More Tools for all scaleups to improve their growth trajectory - More Founders using VenturePath to secure their Series A-B investment rounds - More VCs joining VenturePath's VC Network - More Events (including a VC dinner for 50 on the 22nd and SuperScalers female founders event on the 30th) - More Partners joining our scaleup support ecosystem - More Data to publish on 2024 VC trends for the UK ScaleUp Investment Mission Busy January! We'll share more on these when we have a minute... If you can play a part, as a founder, VC, investor, partner, sponsor, data provider etc., there's still room for a conversation or coffee with you though 😉

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https://buff.ly/4cXCfSY SelSym, a pioneering startup, is addressing the challenge of platelet storage limitations. Due to their short lifespan, platelets cannot be stored for future use, despite a substantial number of donations. The innovative solution being developed by SelSym involves the utilization of soft artificial platelets to effectively control bleeding. This groundbreaking approach holds promise in revolutionizing the way bleeding is managed. #MedicalInnovation #BleedingControl

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Great to speak at Alma College: Lessons on Due Diligence today alongside the fantastic Rupa Ganatra Popat of Arāya Ventures. This is one of a series of events run by Alma Angels to help angel investors who want to learn more about investing. If you are an angel investor interested in supporting female founders, please check out Alma. Link in comments shortly. #founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic More at unbundled dot vc.

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Liquidity or exit planning is often taboo leading to many companies being ill prepared. Successful outcomes are years in the making - they start and end with proactive prep (e.g. getting your house in order, developing strong relationships with strategic partners, potential investors and advisors). With Scott Colvin & Paul Perrett we lay out some key actions you should embed now that can set you up for exit success and also make you a better run business today Big thanks to Bree Fedele 🖋

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I really enjoyed breaking in our new studio to sit down with Temporal Technologies Co-Founders Samar Abbas and Maxim Fateev for the latest episode of Founded & Funded. Temporal was founded in 2019 based on an open-source microservices orchestration engine project but is the result of a more than decade-long partnership between the two co-founders that spanned their time working on different iterations of the same thing at AWS, Microsoft, and Uber. In this episode, Samar, Maxim, and I dive into the challenges of building an open-source ecosystem while also working on a commercial offering and scaling a successful company, how to navigate and adjust a product roadmap in an ever-changing world of AI and large language models, and how to successfully build an early startup team, navigate through a CEO transition, and bring on a startups first independent board member. It's a very compelling conversation and a must-listen for every builder out there. Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gymf9sES Find other platforms and the transcript on our website: https://lnkd.in/ggRtnKtM Be sure to subscribe to our channel for more deep dives into cutting-edge technologies and the minds behind them. Don't forget to like, comment, and share this conversation if you found it valuable!

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When the first alphabet in these conversations changes from 'M" to 'B', you know the funding winter is transforming into spring 🌱 #VC #VentureCapital #Earlystagefunding Read more about the latest monthly funding report for VC funding in July 2024 here: ttps://https://lnkd.in/dhdWF8fP

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Last week, the ‘CAIO Collective’ caught up in central London for an event that was anything but ordinary. Since last month’s meetup with our Business Safari through Big Data LDN, we’ve welcomed a further seventeen in person members and over 60 virtual members!  So… this was a gathering of some of the sharpest minds in AI leadership all focused on navigating the increasingly complex landscape of driving real value from artificial intelligence and its real-world applications. This session came at a critical time, as the sector grapples with new regulations, ethical considerations, and the rapid pace of technological advancement and this meant a packed agenda. By strong demand, we pushed the AI talent, learning, and development into December’s meetup using the time instead to focus on this month’s hot topic… the European AI Act (AIA). So… the AIA was at the forefront of our discussions this time around. Its impact on the industry is set to be profound, but not without some controversy. While many welcomed the Act’s intent to enforce transparency, fairness and accountability, there was a fervent shared concern about its potential to curb innovation. This was especially the case for small and medium enterprises. For many in the Collective, this regulation represents a call to action. It’s not just about compliance; it’s about demonstrating how responsible AI can genuinely thrive under a robust framework. The debate also touched on the strategic importance of engaging with policymakers early and ensuring that the voices of practitioners who understand AI’s real-world complexities are really heard. Another focal point was the rise of AI-powered decision-making systems. From dynamic supply chain optimisation to real-time fraud detection, AI’s ability to handle complex decision-making processes is driving a new wave of operational efficiency across industries. However, it’s not without its challenges. Many organisations are grappling with how to deploy these systems at scale while ensuring transparency and maintaining a human in the loop oversight. The discussion highlighted that successful AI deployment isn’t just about technology; it’s about building trust - both within organisations and with their customers. The event was not just a forum for discussion but a call to action. The Collective is dedicated to shaping the future of AI by building frameworks that are ethical, strategic and sustainable. If you’re a Chief AI Officer or in AI leadership and want to engage with a community that’s on the cutting edge of these issues, we’d love to have you join us. Our next gathering is provisionally scheduled for 4 December at The Century Club, where we’ll dive into the critical topic of talent, learning, and development in AI - a key factor in sustaining the industry’s momentum. #CAIOCollective #ChiefAIOfficer #EUAIAct #AIRegulation #AILeadership #EthicalAI #DataGovernance #AIinBusiness #ChathamHouseRules

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How do the best entrepreneurs see a future you can’t? Alexa von Tobel, Founder and Managing Partner of Inspired Capital, shares her fascinating journey and insights into venture capital in the latest episode of The Full Ratchet. Alexa, a serial entrepreneur and the visionary behind LearnVest, is now at the helm of Inspired Capital, a $900M AUM venture firm. In our conversation, Alexa reveals what makes a great founder, why some markets are ripe for innovation, and how AI is transforming industries. She also dives into the importance of EQ, strategic thinking, and the future of FinTech. This episode is packed with valuable lessons for investors and entrepreneurs alike. Don’t miss out on hearing from one of the most influential voices in venture capital today. Listen to Episode 441 of The Full Ratchet now! Link to the full episode is in the comment section below.

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