Blog - The Tippy Top

#38 Essential Skills in VC

5/9/2021

Essential Skills in VC - Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

Both private equity and venture capital are usually considered 2nd careers. Why? Because there’s no time to learn on the job. More importantly, you’re working with other people’s money and mistakes can be costly, both financially and reputation-wise. That being said, getting into VC is like passing your driving license. You’re legally allowed to drive but it will be some time before you are competent.

Being a successful investor requires mastery in these three areas:

#32 Lessons From The Greatest Start-Up Of Our Time

1/26/2020

Forget Tesla, Space X and Hyperloop. I’m talking about something more exciting. I’m talking about the Cape Town start-up that managed to shake up the global F1 and leisure boating industry.

In its life, Caudwell Marine received between $80m-$100m in funding. That’s well over one billion Rand. In South Africa, that goes a very long way so it might as well have been one billion US dollars. This was no ordinary start-up!

#29 Want To Be A Billionaire? Then Stop Innovating

1/11/2020

Most good company ideas are stolen. Success is all about timing and execution. How do I know this? Because I’ve spoken to countless wealthy entrepreneurs who were not ashamed to admit it. I might have also done it myself once before. It worked brilliantly except for the tiny yet pivotal fact that the product didn’t lend itself to repeat business...

Case in point, before Facebook there was Ringo. It launched a full 8 months earlier, in June 2003. After only 3 months it had 200,000 users with a weekly growth rate of 10%.

#27 Are Business Plans Really Necessary These Days?

12/22/2019

We have all heard that some of the best businesses start in a restaurant with some rough notes scribbled on the back of a serviette. If that is the case, then why are countless people studying entrepreneurship and going back to [business] school to learn how to write business plans?

Thinking around entrepreneurship has evolved. Historically there was belief that it was not possible to teach entrepreneurship. That has changed. Not only is it possible to teach, it has a positive correlation with success!

#26 The Dark Angel Start-Up Game

12/8/2019

Entrepreneur: “Nailed it! I’ve found an Angel investor who’s agreed to invest £10k at my £5m post-money valuation and is willing to let me have a 6-figure salary.” Friend: “But that only gives the angel a 0.2% equity stake in your business…plan. How will they ever make a return?”

This is one of those cases where if it sounds too good to be true…(you know the rest). Ok, so what’s the catch?

#25 Don't "Sweat" The Equity - Avoiding Costly Mistakes For Start-Ups

11/27/2019

Starting a new business is an exciting time with many questions to be answered and decisions to be made.If you are a founder, you will most likely be working for free, perhaps alongside an existing job, until you can take the plunge to go full-time when the business starts bringing in money, whether that’s through investment, debt finance or early sales.

However, in addition to the founders, many businesses will need other talent and skills to take the business forward.

#24 The Week I Almost Gave Away My Company

10/28/2019

For anyone working in the corporate world, there’s a book I highly recommend by Albert Bernstein called Emotional Vampires: Dealing With People Who Drain You Dry. As it turns out that not everyone has your best interests at heart and you need to know how to identify these sociopaths in order to protect yourself, your mental health and your career. The book has helped me tremendously.

In the start-up world, there are other types of vampires. This time they’re looking to get their fangs into your equity. Here’s some tips on how to ensure you keep the bloodstains off your shirt.

#23 Post 5 of 5: What Is Your Investment Thesis? – Distressed PE

10/13/2019

Fancy trying to catch a falling knife? There's probably no better analogy to describe distressed businesses. They are not for the feint at heart.

I admire people who take on the challenge because ultimately they save jobs and help the economy grow.

If you decide it's for you then please make sure it's not your first investment and make sure it's not your last dollar!

#22 Post 4 of 5: What Is Your Investment Thesis? – Growth PE

10/13/2019

Private Equity has become an increasingly attractive asset class. Unfortunately due to its success, lots of capital has poured into the sector. More capital chasing the same number of opportunities has increased prices and reduced returns.

Nonetheless, there are still some very good opportunities and many VC-backed businesses will exit to PE so its still a very exciting time to be investing.

#21 Post 3 of 5: What Is Your Investment Thesis? – Venture Capital

10/13/2019

Yes, we would all like to invest in the next Facebook, Snap, Instagram, but if presented with the business plan at the outset, would you have taken the plunge?

I think VC is as much about gut feel as it is about rigorous investment criteria. In fact, many very successful VCs will tell you that they've turned down investments in some of the world’s greatest companies. Is this proof that VC investing is much as an art as a science?

#20 Post 2 of 5: What Is Your Investment Thesis? – Angel Investing

10/13/2019

With Angel investing, I think the main question you need to ask yourself is: "Do I have enough follow-on capital if their estimates are not quite right?"

This list is by no means exhaustive and there are plenty of other factors that you should consider so this is a starting point for those looking to get into the industry.

#18 What It Really Means To Be Investor-Ready

9/15/2019

Great business idea? Check. Shiny pitch deck? Check. Investor meeting? Check. What's next you might be asking? Turns out it’s a very good question.

All VC-backed entrepreneurs will tell you that fundraising involves a steep learning curve, requires resilience and lots of work. It is unfortunately a large business distraction and can occupy your life for the best part of six months. Being prepared both mentally and administratively is key to success.

#13 What Do Investors Look For In A Tech Start-Up?

7/12/2019

Lost? Confused? Frustrated? Navigating the investment landscape as a new tech start-up can be a big challenge for budding entrepreneurs. For investors, evaluating start-ups is often considered more of an art than a pure science.

However, that said there are a number of relatively concrete criteria that need to be in place first for an investor to take your start-up seriously.

#11 The Easiest Way To Become An Entrepreneur

2/28/2017

In the blog post on Finding Business Ideas we said that buying a business is often the quickest and easiest way to become an entrepreneur. Well, like buying a house, you don’t want to pay for fancy fixtures or a fresh lick of paint. You want the cheapest house in the best area. This typically means you’ll buy something beaten up that needs loads of TLC. The same goes for businesses and so being able to execute a turnaround is a key skill.

#10 How To Avoid Becoming A Start-Up Statistic

12/22/2016

Start-ups are inherently vulnerable because they don't have cushy income stream propping them up or a stockpile of cash that they can dip into if things go awry. Therefore they must ensure that they are successful 90% of the time and that failures are hard and fast.

The odds are clearly against entrepreneurs so this post is dedicated to helping you avoid the most common pitfalls so that you have a fighting chance of success.

#9 How To Actually Start Your Business

8/14/2016

“OK thanks for the advice on motivating my non-existent employees and optimising my theoretical product mix, but can someone please explain to me how I actually start a business!?” I have found that despite the overabundance of literature on entrepreneurship, most of it doesn’t give you much practical advice on starting a business.

In fact, the first time I launched my start-up, I had no clue what I was doing and what a learning curve it was! The process has since been demystified, so I thought I’d share...

#6 BVCA High Growth 2016 Conference

6/1/2016

Today I attended the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) High-Growth 2016 conference at Hilton London in Park Lane.

There were some thoroughly impressive speakers and, as I do, I took the liberty of taking some notes to share with you all.

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Alexander Leigh

Technology VC Investor - Helping entrepreneurs succeed through mentoring, networks and money

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