The Platform Effect

Anna

As a founder, how many times have you heard your investor saying "How can I help?". In this podcast, we explore a new concept of "platform" that shapes the startup landscape, uncovering how it drives exponential growth and helps build a distinctive brand in venture capital. Joined by platform professionals from top venture funds, we explore the untapped potential of platforms and the crucial role of community building in unlocking value for both founders and investors.

Tập

  1. 17/05/2024

    Platform Effect EP3: Eleanor Hudson (Fabric Ventures) on the Role of Community in VC; Differences between Web2 and Web3; How to Hire for a Platform Role;

    Eleanor Hudson is the Head of Platform and Marketing at Fabric Ventures, a VC firm backing founders in the Open Economy for over a decade. Within Fabric Ventures, Eleanor drives pivotal efforts in web3 and enterprise partnerships/BD, portfolio portal buildout, community initiatives, and the evolution of investment thesis into marketing materials and newsletters such as a hard-back magazine. She also orchestrates high-impact events, including side events at web3 conferences and the annual LP summit, while ad-hoc support on fund-raising deck material. Prior to her role at Fabric Ventures, Eleanor led a platform at Connect Ventures, a Pan-European seed stage fund and built a product-centric platform offering. In the episode, we discuss: Platform Can you define what you mean by a "platform" and "community" in VC?  How do you see the role of platform and community evolving in the future? How do you hire for a Platform / Community role? What skillset are you looking for? Portfolio Support How do you do start-up onboarding? Do you wait for your portfolio companies to approach you for help, have some sort of almost customer success platform or reach out proactively? What role does technology play in Platform development? Do you develop any in-house tools? Do you use any external tools? What is your tech stack? Your portfolio goes from 20 to 50 to 100 - how do you scale your help? How do you set expectations with founders? Do you say this is what you should be expecting, we are good at X and other investors perhaps help you with Y. Community What does Community mean in a VC context? How is Community different in Web2 and Web3? What does your Community tech stack look like? What events / conferences worked well for you in the past? Bonus :) If you had an unlimited budget, what event would you host for your portfolio companies/ecosystem? What has been the most out-of-the-ordinary task you had to do as a Head of Platform?

    Platform Effect EP3: Eleanor Hudson (Fabric Ventures) on the Role of Community in VC; Differences between Web2 and Web3; How to Hire for a Platform Role;
  2. 18/08/2023

    Platform Effect EP2: Chris Priebe (Zelt) on What Founders Expect from VCs; Adding Value as an Angel Investor; How to Build a Community That Thrives;

    Chris Priebe is the CEO and founder of Zelt, a software company based in London that enables companies to manage HR, IT, and financial tasks in one platform. Before founding Zelt, Chris was a partner at GFC, a venture firm with a $1 billion portfolio, where he led investments in numerous successful unicorns like Revolut, Slack, Deel, and Brex.  In the episode, we discuss: Founder Journey How did Chris get into the world of venture capital? How did venture capital change in the last nine years? Zelt has just announced a seed round co-led by Village Global and Episode 1 Ventures. What was the “aha” moment, when deciding to build Zelt back in 2021? Portfolio Support Once a portfolio company has been identified and invested in, the platform team can help add value to the company by providing access to resources and expertise that can help your portco scale and succeed. Chris has a very unique perspective as an ex-VC investor and a founder. How should funds go about making a tangible impact? Should you be a hands-on, very proactive investor or wait for a founder to come to you? How does the value-add change as your progress from pre-seed to seed and then Series A? Chris is an angel investor in Revolut, Clara, Uncapped and many other successful start-ups. At the early stage, how can an angel contribute to success? Should it be closely aligned with your area of expertise and background? As a founder, do you always feel comfortable reaching out for help or advice to your investors? In the long run, do you prefer a WhatsApp message or a more formal support system/process? If you can remember one moment when your existing or a new investor helped you in a meaningful way, who was it and how? Community Tell me about the London Founder Society. What is the value of a community for Chris? Three tips, how to build a community that thrives? Do you have any event and community KPIs to measure success over time? Bonus ;) Who is the dream Zelt power user? If Chris can be any founder (throughout history), who will he be?

    Platform Effect EP2: Chris Priebe (Zelt) on What Founders Expect from VCs; Adding Value as an Angel Investor; How to Build a Community That Thrives;
  3. 12/07/2023

    Platform Effect EP1: Kera DeMars (Hustle Fund) on the Value of Platform; How to Produce Differentiated Content; Building Community From Zero;

    Kera DeMars is the head of marketing for Hustle Fund, an early-stage VC firm that believes great founders can look like anyone and come from anywhere. At Hustle Fund, Kera oversees the fund's investor and founder-focused newsletters, oversees events, produces the fund's annual investor conference, and provides portfolio support. Prior to Hustle Fund, she was Director of Events at The Hustle, a media company that was acquired by Hubspot.  In the episode, we discuss: Platform 1. Can you define what you mean by a "platform" and "community" in VC? 2. How do you measure the impact of having a platform, or community? How can you quantify it? 3. How do you see the role of platform and community evolving in the future? 4. How do you hire for a Platform / Community role? What skillset are you looking for? Portfolio Support 5. How do you add value to your portfolio (talent, PR, education, fundraising, business dev etc.)? How do you prioritise? 6. How do you do start-up onboarding? How do you set expectations with founders? 7. How can you scale Platform as your portfolio grows? Community 8. What is in your community building tech stack? 9. For new funds, how to build a community from zero? Content 10. As a fund, how do you make your content stand out and drive engagement? 11. You produce content for founders AND investors. Where do you find the most value? Bonus ;) 12. Do you think a VC fund should be on Tik Tok? 13. What influencer/creator/celebrity would you pick to do Hustle Fund's marketing?

    Platform Effect EP1: Kera DeMars (Hustle Fund) on the Value of Platform; How to Produce Differentiated Content; Building Community From Zero;

Giới Thiệu

As a founder, how many times have you heard your investor saying "How can I help?". In this podcast, we explore a new concept of "platform" that shapes the startup landscape, uncovering how it drives exponential growth and helps build a distinctive brand in venture capital. Joined by platform professionals from top venture funds, we explore the untapped potential of platforms and the crucial role of community building in unlocking value for both founders and investors.