Adriel Lares

Proud to announce the first investment of Brilliant Minds: To&From by Bridget Johns-Pavlopoulos. 🎉 A retail powerhouse turned visionary entrepreneur, she's taking on the e-commerce world and redefining it with AI. As she says, "Success doesn’t require a sanitized version of yourself; it thrives on authenticity." You can read more about her vision and journey here: https://lnkd.in/eQd4wt54. More to follow soon! #investments #startups #brilliantminds #longevity

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Very proud to see the WVC:E dream team - Anisah Osman Britton MBE & Rachel Drapper - alongside long time friend and rockstar Ekaterina Gianelli on stage at TechBBQ discussing "Fixing the Talent Exodus in VC". Key Takeaways: 💰Impact of Consolidation on Culture and Talent: The ongoing consolidation in the VC industry is reshaping company culture, affecting morale, and influencing talent. 🚀Emerging Managers Aren’t Diversifying VC: Despite the rise of emerging managers, the industry remains largely homogenous, with many new managers still coming from the same traditional, non-diverse backgrounds. ⚠️Perceptions of Diversity as High Risk: Many in the VC industry continue to view diverse hires, investments, and business models as "high risk," "too time-consuming," or "too costly," perpetuating a cycle of exclusion. 🚼 Parental Leave Inequality: Inequities in parental leave policies are disproportionately affecting women in venture, creating additional barriers to progression. But there are funds, investors, LPs and organisations (like us!) that are trying to change this!

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I really enjoyed speaking to CEO Monthly recently about The Growing Impact of Non-Executive Directors on Business Success! Companies across various industries are recognising the immense value that NEDs bring to their boards, helping to drive growth and ensure long-term sustainability. To read the full article, please visit the link below: https://lnkd.in/gg9hfSFZ #NED #BusinessGrowth #CEO #Sustainability

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Ever wonder what its like to run a Private Equity fund? Now you have the chance to follow along with successful investment managers by participating with Fund Launch Partners. Join me and Lincoln Archibald and next week for the Third Thursday @ Three to hear about direct investment opportunities with General Partnerships in the one of the fastest growing portfolio investment sectors. Pick up a free ticket here: https://lnkd.in/dd2yzxDd #HolyGrailofInvesting #GPOpportunities #FundLaunch #Alternatives

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Great conversation yesterday at Preqin with Preqin's Cameron Joyce, CFA, CAIA, Blue Owl Capital's Cara Griffiths, Bain Capital's Tom Sargeant on the future of fundraising for private markets. Where will AUM come from going forward? What are the challenges that funds will face in fundraising? What strategies will be most popular going forward? It was fascinating to hear the perspectives of some of the industry's biggest platforms in Blue Owl Capital and Bain Capital from Cara and Tom, respectively, as to where fundraising is headed given their purview on the market and from Cameron on his data-driven insights from market research and plenty of numbers crunching on what it will take for private markets to grow to $30T AUM by 2030.

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https://lnkd.in/e-ngwA3N With the summer break nearly halfway done... this Blog Post is perfect to read, get yourself in order, and then implement in a few weeks so the transition from summer to school is seamless, with a few of those summer magic takeaways sprinkled in for the coming year again. Read now!

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We've raised $1.3B Balderton Capital in new funds across early and growth to continue supporting UK & European technology founders. This is the 8th(!) fundraise I've been part of and have shared some thoughts on why venture matters, how fundraising in Europe has changed and how we differentiate ourselves through conviction here: https://lnkd.in/e2XRcagq

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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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There's no doubt that sentiment in the market is improving and it feels easier to raise funding than it did a year. At least this side of the pond. But a new report from @wilson sonsini highlighting US/UK venture financing trends and deal terms for first half of this year doesn't show such a great picture with valuations pretty much on hold to their end 2023 levels. Some thawing in capital markets might open up IPO exit opportunities and ungunge the machine. Full report https://buff.ly/4e38UWM

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It was fantastic to have been a panellist at today’s EntreConf and EntreConf Awards, a vibrant two-day conference for entrepreneurs and advisers. I was joined on the ‘Funding Routes’ panel by Richard Spilsbury of Link Stone Advisory, David Goodall of FW Capital and Paul Duggan of Blake Morgan LLP. Key takeaways from our discussion, which was moderated by Greg Ingham, formerly of Future Publishing LLC, included: 💰 The market is much more positive than headline figures suggest. There are lots of options out there for those seeking funding. 💰From VC and CVC (Corporate Venture Capital), to off balance sheet investments by the big strategics, as well as family offices, HNWs, debt, grants and invoice discounting, there are plenty of routes depending on what stage you are at. 💰A VC will look at your business differently to a CVC. A VC will be assessing your business plan, the expertise of the team and whether they can deliver and scale the business, as well as whether the problem/solution you are addressing is big enough to lead to scalability. They will also look at your routes to market, financial performance and quality of earnings, with recurring revenue being the nirvana. 💰 A CVC wants to see all of the above - but also where your business fits within their strategic roadmap to use their investment to accelerate their innovation. 💰Although there is a cost of raising capital to a business, the benefits of having the right investors on board is vast and a driver for turbo-charging growth. 💰When you're looking to create your target list from the universe of investors, ensure you include sector focus funds who will be targeting businesses within your industry to find the best fit. #fundingroutes #entreconf #investment #capitalraise

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My dear friend and mentor Faraz Khan MBE, recently engaged in a thought-provoking conversation on the NYSE trading floor with Judy Khan Shaw. Faraz discussed the critical importance of ESG and the sustainability transition for businesses, highlighting our commitment to driving sustainable practices across key sectors. Watch the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/d6v7Y43U #NYSEFloorTalk #SEEDVentures #Sustainability #ESG #SpectrEco NYSE Spectreco SEED Ventures

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Welcome to the club! At Antler, we are proud to announce that we have just invested over £1m into nine new British tech startups. Our tenth residency in the UK attracted more than 1,100 ambitious founders, with 66 founders taking part. Representing 27 different nationalities, with women comprising 24% of the cohort, it was truly a diverse group of amazing people. Spending 10 weeks with us allowed us to undertake over 200+ hours of due diligence, helping us make high-conviction investment decisions, in which we end up investing in 1% of all applicants. We are delighted to welcome the following eight startups to Antler’s portfolio, and we’re excited to be on this journey with you! ⚙️ AlphaLoops - Automating investment management operations using AI ⚠️ BankBridge - Bridging the due diligence gap between financial institutions 🔎 Capsa AI - AI Operating System For Private Equity 📝 Falco - powered platform that empowers financial firms to identify and translate regulatory changes into actionable insights 🚚 Fleevo - The AI-driven Operating System for Modern Commercial Fleets. Driving Efficiency, Uptime, and Sustainability 🛍️ frnt - Optimising retail operations with digital workers 🎯 Intriq - Transforming businesses with the power of AI through the use of private equity playbook strategies 🦾 RoboMinder - Elevating industrial robot uptime with AI-powered computer vision In addition, Antler has made one seed investment in the first quarter of 2024, into a tech startup that is currently in stealth mode. Check out the press release in the comments section! #VentureCapital #Investments #Founders #TechStartups

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A masterclass in private markets. A guest who has seen it all joined the latest Alt Goes Mainstream podcast. We welcomed HgT Chairman of the Board Jim Strang to the show and school was in session. Jim is a deeply experienced private equity professional who has been part of the industry as a GP, LP, investor, consultant, and now a teacher, board member, and advisor to a number of firms, including most recently as MD & Chairman EMEA Hamilton Lane and now as an advisor to CVC Capital Partners, Bain & Company, Pictet Group Alternative Advisors. Jim and I had a fascinating conversation about the evolution of private markets and what the future holds for large and small funds alike, as well as LPs. We discussed: * The step function changes that take private markets from $15T to $30T of AUM. * Why traditional asset managers may struggle to replicate the capabilities of alternative asset managers in private markets. * The importance of partnerships having a clear ambition and alignment if they want to build a scaled platform. * The challenges that managers in the middle face as large platforms and specialist managers are the differentiated firms in the eyes of LPs. * Why GPs need to find innovative solutions to address the needs of different types of investors. * Why building a strong brand is crucial to success in the wealth channel. Thanks Jim for sharing your wisdom and experience on private markets. We also welcome our new sponsor to Alt Goes Mainstream. We are thrilled to announce Ultimus Fund Solutions as podcast sponsor. This episode is brought to you by Ultimus Fund Solutions, a leading full-service fund administrator for asset managers in private and public markets. As private markets continue to move into the mainstream, the industry requires infrastructure solutions that help funds and investors keep pace. To assist with these challenging opportunities, more and more fund sponsors and asset managers are turning to Ultimus, a leading service provider that blends high tech and high touch in unique and customized fund administration and middle office solutions for a diverse and growing universe of over 450 clients and 1,800 funds, representing $500 billion assets under administration, all handled by a team of over 1,000 professionals. https://lnkd.in/eJ_enGzQ

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Extremely worrying data about VC funding in the UK. While we all understand that taxes must go up to pay for the mismanagement of the Covid crisis by the then administration - allied to economic headwinds caused by Brexit - surely we must also protect the parts of our economy that can stimulate jobs and growth...ie - early-stage business?! In my opinion the most impactful and simple way to do this would be to increase the SEIS allowance to £1m from £250k and make it applicable to companies upto 5 years from their initial trading date from the current 3 year limit. This will bring a huge amount of fresh capital into the early-stage investment market...especially if the govt increases CGT overall. If we don't protect early-stage innovation we will never get out of economic trouble. #earlystageinvestment #venturecapital #SEIS #funding

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Yesterday I had the pleasure of appearing on CNBC to talk about the state of tech in the UK and Europe, touching on the state of IPOs vs PE acquisitions, sectors to watch and where the opportunity lies. Thanks for a great discussion Arabile Gumede! Some thoughts from the interview: Signs of Success: The acquisition of UK tech companies by prestigious private equity firms like Thoma Bravo is a testament to the strength and success of the UK tech sector. It's a clear indicator that UK companies are building substantial value and attracting significant international interest. Vibrant Ecosystem: Despite challenges, the UK and Europe boast a vibrant tech ecosystem, particularly in AI, cybersecurity, and fintech. The market has now stabilised post-pandemic, offering a fertile ground for emerging companies to thrive. Opportunity for scale-up investment: Looking at investment into SaaS companies, Europe is on par with the US in the early stages. It is at the scale-up stage that a divide appears – support and more investment into Europe and the UK’s growth companies will further strengthen the region’s tech scene. Watch a clip from CNBC here: https://lnkd.in/d7J8_FNP #Oxx #UKtech #VC #growth

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ANNOUNCEMENT: We just launched our diversified fund investments feature on Mainshares 😲 Starting today, accredited investors can invest in SMB acquisitions managed by sophisticated investors via Mainshares I’ve been telling you all that we’re here to change the game of SMB investing for the better, and this is a huge step for us. Before, SMB investing was commonly done on a deal-by-deal basis, and depending on who you are, you may not have the time to spend parsing out every deal. Well now, investors on our platform have access to deals across a variety of industries, geographies, and deal structures in this (traditionally) inaccessible and fragmented asset class. Invest in ~20 SMBs, all with a single investment. Join the Mainshares train before we take off like a 🚀 Link below for diversified SMB investing 👇

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For founders and CEOs, burnout persists. It is very lonely at the top and CEOs rely heavily on their personal support networks, which is not sustainable over time. Balderton Capital’s latest Founder Wellbeing Report reveals the challenges founders are facing, and the lack of support currently on offer. Last year, we launched an industry-first Founder Wellbeing and Performance platform to tackle precisely this issue, and today, we're doubling down on our commitment with new research and new programs. This might seem like a nice thing to do. But it's mostly just good business sense: healthier founders build healthier and better businesses, with stronger performance, sustainable over time, and for longer. Better supported leaders also lead teams better, fostering motivation and belonging, and impacting positively a huge proportion of the working population. And results (again). Read more and discover insights from this year's report at the link in the comments.

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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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