Paul Murphy
@paulbz
Followers
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Joined April 2007
My 5yo daughter wanted money to buy a magazine, so I helped her make & sell cookies on our street last week. She sold a full £20 in one hour (£28k run-rate). At current startup multiples, her business is worth $12m before expansion. No dilution! So proud. 😇.
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I started angel investing when I was a founder and always found it helpful to take notes. I'm kind of surprised my template has barely changed in 10 years, even as I've become a full time VC. 😯✍️
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Cold emails to VCs can be very simple. - We're building __ for __ and why.- Raising €/£/$__ + funding history + traction.- You / your fund is interesting to us because of ____.- Team/founders based in ___.- Attach or link an overview.- Ask for feedback if they say not a fit.
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.@dots is taking a stand. We are showing this to all of our players. 3-4 million people will see this soon #MuslimBan (thx @karaswisher)
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2 slides in your pitch deck immediately kill any excitement I have for your startup. 1) An exit analysis.2) A team slide of all white men.
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After 7+ years, we sold @Dots to Take Two today. The “roller coaster” cliche isn’t right as it only really describes fear and excitement. It was much more, and I’m incredibly thankful to have had the experience. I’ve captured some highlights and lessons here. 👇.
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Every VC investor I know assumed capital markets would be shut or suppressed for 12-18 months following lockdowns, including me. We were all wrong. A funding frenzy out there.
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I’ve had 5 failed startups. Can I call myself a 5x flounder?.
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Parent VC's: . Don't leave a final term sheet you're about to send open on your computer at home and step away. I almost committed Lightspeed to "$15 million of ice cream" to a new company this morning.
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The biggest downside of VC's slowing investment pace is more time for thought pieces 😩.
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Hopin raised $125 million today and is now valued over $2 billion. Just 12 months ago, I gave Johnny a term sheet to co-lead his Seed round. This is the fastest growth we’ve ever seen from any company in Northzone’s 25 year history.
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I'm 100% on board with paying for content. But I am never going to buy and maintain separate subscriptions for WSJ, NYTimes, TechCrunch, Business Insider, TheInformation, FT. If someone figures this out we might actually have a thriving publisher business again.
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Hearing a lot of founders struggling w/ mental health rn. better to start talking sooner rather than later. I struggled a lot with this as did many of my founder friends. If you want someone to speak w/ (not pitch) pls email me. I'll allocate time each week 🗣️ paul@lsvp.com.
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I respond to 99.9% of my emails and 0.01% of my LinkedIn messages.
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UK founders - I've been called to provide evidence to the House of Lords tomorrow on ways the government can remove the barriers to scaling in the UK. I have mine but would like more input. !. @hkanji @soundboy @HarryStebbings @taavet.
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After 3 wonderful years, I've made the difficult decision to leave Northzone and join Lightspeed. It's been a privilege working with all the portfolio founders and of course the incredible @northzoneVC team.
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@jefielding Please also give lessons to that American man on how to talk more quietly when he’s at dinner in a restaurant in London :).
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This tweet brought in 35 pitches over the weekend. The teams are diverse, and when I compare it to the average 'warm intro' dealflow I get it's **easily** on par. VCs open up your inbox!.
I never liked warm intros. I'm paul@northzone.com.
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Founders: do not hire bankers to run your Series A or Series B capital raise. It doesn't matter how bad you think you are at pitching. Bankers have their use, but in early stage financings they just get in the way and send the wrong signals. I have made this mistake before.
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As a founder turned investor turned founder about to turn back to investor I can say with confidence no matter what side of the table you’re on… startups are fun.
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It is 10000x easier to grab a lofty VC valuation than to actually exit a company through IPO or M&A. Why? Supply demand. Often few real buyers but dozens of investors. Two are not the same and one should never validate the other.
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One of my angel investments ran out of cash over holidays and is shutting down. Built great product, found PMF, scaling. Just couldn't convince new investors that the opportunity was big & bold enough. Sad but founder handled super professionally & I'll def support them again.
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Our new fund Northzone IX is ready to go, please spread the word!.
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Long time coming, but I’m excited for my first day as a @LightspeedVP Partner! I thought I’d give a little background on us and what you can expect in Europe. But first, I’m thrilled to share the incredible @rossmason has officially joined the family as well.
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I made the mistake of following every VC I came across when I started in VC last year. Now I just want to vomit whenever I look at my feed.
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I spent 1 hour commuting to the office today so that I could do a full day of Zoom calls.
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Investor update hack: include a "Thanks" section in your regular emails. It creates a gaming leaderboard effect where people want to get listed and spend more time working through your "Asks" section.
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Big rounds tend to look small very quickly. Capital is one of the weakest moats for a startup. Execution will always beat a fancy funding round.
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When I look at the best VC's in the world - they are uniquely able to gauge if a founder has just the right amount of crazy, ambition, knowledge, intelligence. They aren't a subject expert, most educated, analytical, famous, or networked. Most of that comes later with success.
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Today we're announcing the opening of @lightspeedvp's new European home in London’s Seven Dials as well as the hiring of Alex Schmitt @alex_schmitti and Antoine Moyroud @antoine_moyroud based in Berlin and Paris respectively.
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Mistral is one of the most impressive founding teams in the world we've come across in AI and @lightspeedvp is proud to lead their €105m seed round to build the world's most best open source models.
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I’m convinced the primary difference between good and great VCs is the frequency and length of time that they are willing to look dumb.
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Every US fund has a Europe strategy now. Unmatched efficiency and returns that make it worthwhile. Short term this will be a game of arbitrage. Long term, the complete flattening of venture. In a world of distributed teams and remote work, geography is a meaningless filter.
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I just had a pitch via phone as I couldn’t be near a computer. I have not had such a focussed conversation in a long time. No video, no deck. I’ll be doing more of this.
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Startups always ask me how to think about granting equity. There's a *lot* of great reading out there. I distilled it down to a functional calculator that I could use for everyday hiring at Dots. I've now updated it so others can use (own risk). 👉
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5 board meetings over past week. All high performing companies, but most of these meetings were ineffective. 6 suggestions I shared with those founders:.
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My partners and I have backed more European startups over past few months than the prior decade combined. It is a transformational time in the EU venture landscape and we are so excited to be part of it @LightspeedVP.
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Not long ago, we announced @lightspeedvp led a seed investment round in @MistralAI. Today, we're thrilled to share we've increased our ownership in this incredible company as part of a new round of Series A funding led by @a16z with @generalcatalyst and a handful of others.
Mistral is one of the most impressive founding teams in the world we've come across in AI and @lightspeedvp is proud to lead their €105m seed round to build the world's most best open source models.
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Advice from an older guy to all the young people starting their careers - stay in touch with people that impress you, regardless of their status, seniority, experience. One of my great joys and motivations in my career is watching these talented people do amazing things.
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Founder tip: if a VC emails you, don't respond right away. You'll instantly become higher priority for them. In exchange for this advice, please respond to my emails immediately.
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few of the Northzone companies on 🔥 past year. @PersonioHR > $1.7bn.@GetKahoot > $6bn.@fuboTV > $4bn.@tierscooters > $1bn.@Klarna > $10bn.@Hopin > $2bn.@Trustpilot > $1bn. and more coming soon.
🦄 @PersonioHR just raised $125m and is poised to become Europe’s leading HR platform - the company is now valued $1.7bn. 🌱 Since we led their Series A in 2017, they added 3000 customers across 80 countries. Congrats @HannoRenner and team 👏. w/@mkotting.
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I wasn't looking for an intern but @eshan_shetty joined an open office hour chat on @gokatch_ and was so impressive that I started asking for his input. Every interaction was a mix of hustle, insight, confidence, humility, work ethic. Eshan is now a @lightspeedvp intern 👏.
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All star female-led game studio building games for women. They want awesome female angels to participate. I have my list but want to expand it, who else should they speak to?.
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I think intro's where both parties have double opted-in can simply be an email to both with the word "Go!" in the subject line. Anyone else with me?.
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RIP Climate Tech.Two years ago, I passionately declared to my partners that we were witnessing a global shift—an unprecedented imperative to tackle climate change that would transform economies and commerce. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Today, I see the reality more clearly: to.
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I've been working on building a new product / company with some of my most talented friends. We've been running 100% since I left Northzone but have been thinking about this problem for years. Our mission is to save time⌚️⌚️⌚️. Product, founders, funding announced soon.
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Overwhelming feedback from UK founders going into this House of Lords session on how to remove barriers to scale was access to talent. Did my best to try to drive this point home!
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European venture investment was $113b in 2021, up 135% from 2020, similar to US in 2019. European IPO's raised $105b in 2021, up 780% from 2020, nearly double what US raised in 2019. We predicted EU will be on par with US in coming decade but we are *much* closer than thought.
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When VCs ghost founders they get blacklisted. When founders ghost VCs they get term sheets. 😂.
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The calendar is ruining our lives. My co-founders @alessandrakn @EdAkrong and I have just closed a $4m seed round for @GoKatch_ from @localglobevc @speedinvest and nearly 50 other VCs, founders, angels to fix this problem.
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My biggest mistake as CEO? Easy. I didn't communicate the rationale behind key decisions, and our vision for the business frequently enough - not just with full company but even with management team. I should have emphasised in our all hands each week.
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I would much rather a cold email from a founder than an introduction that wasn't double opt-in.
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It’s nearly 2022 and here I am, looking for a good app for notes and to-do lists… is there something more fundamental about this never ending search for the most basic productive tools?.
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Things not to do:. - Apologise for sending a cold email.- Send to a distribution list or BCC multiple investor.- Send to funds that aren't relevant.- Get upset if a VC is honest that it's not a fit.
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The least helpful way to measure progress is how much capital your startup raises from VCs. I knew this conceptually as a founder yet still found it hard to ignore when similar startups raised 2-3x more. Looking back, zero correlation to outcome.
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My sleep sucks and I want to fix it (without meds). I don't drink, exercise regularly, no screens at night, dark, cool room, quiet room, amazing bed, low stress. Would love any tips/programs/coaches!.
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This is the same ignorance that so many Americans (thankfully not most) project when they visit or discuss any society or culture for which there isn't opportunity for *immediate* personal gain. Yet he's writing this from the country with the highest incarceration rate, one of.
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When European founders achieve success, they don't buy a yacht and build a mansion, they start a climate fund.
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Facebook acquired @Giphy today. Appropriately announced on groundhog day 2013, Alex spent the next 7 years leading an all-star team to build one of the world's most popular sites and a core part of internet lexicon. Brilliant team and company.
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When I joined @lightspeedvp, I was excited to help grow a team of partners who have either built or invested in Europe’s biggest successes. Today, I’m pleased to welcome a great addition to the Lightspeed family, @JulieKainz!.
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I accept *all the cookies* on the Internet. Everywhere. Forever.
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Founders in Berlin!. I have an unexpected free evening tonight. If you want to have dinner with a socially awkward VC tonight, please DM me. @northzoneVC is paying. The earlier you are in your journey the better. we can talk product, recruiting, fundraising, competition, etc.
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Loads of amazing funds and individuals at VC's share their email addresses. Not just @northzoneVC but also @IndexVentures @sequoia @balderton @HVVentures @PointNineCap @Kindred_VC to name just a few. And many more easily contactable via LinkedIn/Twitter.
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Thrilled to lead Neko's $260mn funding round. As someone w/ skin damage from unprotected childhood I've used every tech-based tracking system out there. Neko is a leap into the future, 15gb whole-body data in minutes with a world class product + team led by @HNilsonne & @eldsjal
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Dream nanny interview just happened then she slipped in used to be pastry chef at Michelin star rest. in Paris. She’s asking for a reasonable rate, but VC brain is messing with me. Double it? Exploding offer? Sneak her out back door so neighbors don’t give competitive offer? 😬.
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I think Tesla is the Netscape of EVs. Early innovator, redefined what’s possible. But I think the traditional car makers are 1-2 model years away from leapfrogging them.
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We invest in 0.3% of the companies we see. Of the 99.7% I say No, I am confident ~5% of them will fail / become mediocre. That's it. Others may be more confident with No than me, but VCs aren't a great group to seek validation. Our investment processes are riddled with flaws.
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Biggest learning in VC so far: it’s a short memory business. Competitors become partners, founders of bad companies become founders of great companies, and, most difficult for me, which I’m still trying to grock, investor who screws one company can do wonders for others 🤷🏻♂️.
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When we started Dots i had no idea how to run a game studio. So I started a Slack channel with 20 game studio CEO friends of similar size. There have been 10 exits from this group at about $2bn in value. Authenticity creates great returns.
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Strong lawyers are the unsung heroes of great startups and worth every penny.
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My wife had some serious food poisoning last night (she's ok now). While I'm on phone to GP at 4 AM, she looks up at me when she's in serious pain and says. "Can you change that t-shirt? I've never liked that shirt. Please wear a different shirt." 😂.
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every industry has their own small talk, this is VCs. "what stage are you investing?"."got it. what area are you spending time on?"."oh, cool, any geographies in particular?"."i know, this market is crazy right". tiger, crypto . "we should do more together".
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As an American working for an American firm, I can confidently say Europe doesn't need US funds to build a huge tech economy -- at all. US funds are here (including mine) because there's a huge opportunity and we are privileged to be part of it.
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Footnote: We launched Dots 3 months after we launched Giphy, and sold Dots 3 months after we sold Giphy. Funny timing. Both built out of and initially fully funded by Betaworks, with many of us working on both from Day 1 as part of a program we called Hackers in Residence.
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Want Two Dots on Windows? Just released - we worked with @Microsoft to bring #TwoDots to #Windows. Download here
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I want to pull together every European founder or investor that's into kitesurfing. You could have gone out for 1 session or been doing it for 10+ years. Please tag anyone you know. thank you! 🪁🏄🏖️.
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You can pick this apart but reality is EU VC is and has been much more capital efficient than US VC for a long time. The critique was always size of outcome, then came Spotify, Adyen, ARM, Supercell, etc. US top decile stop outperforms EU top decile, but directionally the point.
European VCs outperform US counterparts over past two decades, according to new report from @InvestEuropeEU 👀.
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I am usually the quietest person in the room & for the longest time I was pretty insecure about that. On stage with recent Microsoft Chairman @SlushHQ last week John Thompson put me at ease. "You have two ears and one mouth for a reason, good leaders use them proportionately"
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It seems like the VC "crowd" is often very good at signalling what become short-term markups, but not so good at picking long-term winners that exit. So many great companies had stone-cold sober passes by all but 1-2 investors.
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The future of venture capital is global, and so are we. Our new funds are representative of Lightspeed’s global vision to support exceptional entrepreneurs, in any geography, at any point in their entrepreneurial journey.
1/3 Today, Lightspeed announced several new funds designed to support entrepreneurs, in any geography in the world, at any point in their journey.
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Founders: I have extra time these days, so I'm doing open office hours. if you want to talk product, get feedback on fundraising, talk through people / staffing / scaling issues, I'd be happy to try to help!. Today 3 PM GMT. Will post Zoom link. 1:1 with waiting room, FIFO.
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The *first* meeting with the last 5 startups I invested in went something like this. 🤔 PRODUCT.🤭 PRODUCT.😮 PRODUCT.😲 PRODUCT.🤠 PRODUCT.🤤 PRODUCT.🤑 PRODUCT.🤩 TEAM.🤓 DATA. NO exit plan, financials, market sizing, unit economics 🥱.
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At airport picking parents who haven’t seen in 2 years and I’ve teared up about six times already watching other families reunite. 😭.
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Any VC rejections for reasons not on list?. Too early. Small market. No defensibility. No network effects. Questionable team. Too crowded. Can't scale. Low gross margin. Dependent on Facebook. Hits driven industry. Weak tech. Unreasonable valuation. No revenue. Capital intensive.
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Just landed back in NYC. Smelly and loud and vulgar from the moment you get off the plane. Love it.
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Over $100bn invested in European startups in 2021. Great for ecosystem, but founders should brace for a local talent war and salary inflation like they've never seen before. - Revisit option plans.- Double down on mission.- Invest in recruiting.
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A year ago my cholesterol reached new levels & my GP insisted I start taking Statins. Very healthy but bad cholesterol genes. Not against meds but felt like jumping to conclusion w/o any attempt to improve underlying issues. Here’s what I did in case it helps others.
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European IPO's are catching up to US, but at the other end of the industry EU has long had more developers than the US (42% more), and the EU developer base is growing 7% YoY while US is flat. ✔️ Talent, Capital, Customers, Industry.
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Back to homeschooling 5 year old. I've decided I'm not going to focus on academic curriculum. Instead, I will be teaching my daughter how to skateboard.
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While we wait for our permanent home in London, I'm camped out in a shared workspace. Can't help but overhear the Series B founders brainstorming how to create US VC FOMO to drive up valuation. Must say, they are spot on so far. 👌😂.
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