Laurence John UK Seed Technology VC

It seems appropriate to start this post from my iPhone as the subject is about agility. Chet Richards has written an excellent book called “certain to win” which delves in to military strategy and extracts a compelling argument for wining being tied to agility. The core concept is that we should OBSERVE-ORIENTATE-DECIDE-ACT and we should do so fast and often. The book is dry but brilliant.

Now here’s the rub. I go to NYC Tech meet-up and see Jeff Jarvis promote his book “what would google do” and blow me if it’s not the same. P93 “life’s a beta” is all about launching beta software and getting early feedback. You can’t afford to wait. Google VP Marissa Meyer “the key is fast iteration”.Forget the Microsoft “late but perfect product” launch.. v1.0, v2.0 etc etc there’s just no time.

My OODA loop:

I think that open networks where skills/knowledge/work are exchanged, open ideas where new ideas are formulated/propositions-fleshed-out/direction set/company formed, open teams where the optimal set of people is found/assembled/engaged and organised;  are all about get tied together to allow some very new and exciting company models – I want to be part of discussing and building these companies.

Contrast/Comment:

This is in stark contrast to Economist Umair Haque (HBR blog) who frighteningly realised that markets are shifting from inefficient/control/centralisation to efficient/open/de-centralised markets… “Competitive advantage (the thing we all learned about in business school) is fundementally about making markets work less efficiently.” “One catastrophically effective way to do this is to hide and obscure information – to gain bargaining power.”

We all see it! We all do it! Who isn’t challenged by the idea of open.

Perhaps for my industry (tech VC), that’s what Library house was trying to do for Venture Capital in Cambridge (at least in the early days). But what would the real Open VC model look like? p81 – “What business are you really in?” is becoming a really interesting question for all of us.

Tags: agile, google, Library House, LinkedIn, OODA

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Ralph Steadman

Do we as VC’s use these tough times to drive down deal prices?

This question came up yesterday at the CUE conference. Well I personally think that there is some re-setting of expectations going on in the market place but on the whole – people will remember how players behave during these tough times and this will shape the partnerships and trust relationships in the future. If your company is going to find it hard to show the progress required to raise funds at a good price… then as many are advising; think hard about how to avoid needing new funds and live to fight another funding day.

Tags: Funding VC price, LinkedIn, Steadman

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Cambridge needs some fizz, and i like my bubbles techie!

Last night I was speaking with Sitar of Doughty Hansen (after a truly excellent Cambridge University Entrepreneurs and CUTEC event) about drinktank and how it was succeeding where other networking venues failed. Well it’s kinda the same in Cambridge since Library House gave up their networking events some years ago now… so it’s time for some effort. We have BLN, CXO, CHASE, CUTEC, CUE, CfEL etc etc which all do great things. However, we need more OR we need different.

Just take a trip to NYC and visit their tech Meetup events and see the buzz they create and you’ll get my drift. It’s all about doing and Demos..

Way back, there was a cambridge computer club from which an enormous variety of innovation and start-up activity flowed.. Cambridge needs some of this back and I’d like to be part of it. Over the course of the coming weeks lets bring some of the energy already present together and in time create a whole lot more.

Tags: Cambridge, LinkedIn, networking, tech meet-up

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Welcome and thanks to Geoff for helping me setup this site.

I have the delight of dealing with some fabulous people, in life and in business. So should you wish, here’s a chance for you to see “who I am and what my opinions are”…

Having run the Amadeus Mobile Seed Fund, I now run the Amadeus & Angels Seed Fund, which invests in early stage UK technology start-ups. We want to fund ambition, celebrate great ideas and hang around with people who are excited about making a difference. We received our funding from the UK government alongside 50 tech savvy high net worth individuals (hence the “Angels”). Together we want to build value in tech start-ups through investment and support.

I lived in Cambridge but am now based in London invest in deals spread throughout the UK.

I’m recently married to a lady winemaker, we both have a passion for life, food, wine, culture and interesting people. Our philosophy is “that just in case this is the only life we get…. lets make the most of it!”

Welcome.

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