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Archive for April, 2012

Great news for the ecosystem as Notion Capital secures $100m fund

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On Tuesday this week Jos White tweeted the very good news that Notion completed their first close of Notion Capital Fund 2, focusing on emerging Cloud Computing and SaaS companies.

Notion have already invested $50m from their first fund investing in 10 high-growth companies such as Brightpearl, eSellerPro, NewVoiceMedia, Star and Tradeshift. Tradeshift recently completed a new funding round valuing the business at $137m and we are proud to have been able to assist the company with their European expansion. We helped Tradeshift hire their first executives in the UK, Netherlands, France and Germany and expect great things from the team moving forwards.

With this $100m fund, which should close at $150m, Notion are now able to really scale up their investment efforts. Another bright spot on the European technology landscape!

http://bit.ly/I4i5qf

Seedcamp Berlin 2012

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If you are a web- or mobile-orientated startup, focusing on an exciting space apply before 25th April

 

Back to Berlin – 15th May

Posted: 30 Mar 2012 06:10 AM PDT

Berlin has been a fixture on our Seedcamp calendar since 2008, not only because of the great entrepreneurs and the startup activity but also because we have always had great relationships with local investors and mentors. This, and of course, the recent surge in activity and attention for the German Capital’s startups, makes us more than excited to come back for our fourth Seedcamp in Berlin.

Last year’s Berlin event was a full-on success for us: not only did we invest in three companies as a result of the event – Mopapp, EfficientCloud and Crashpadder (who was recently acquired by Airbnb) – but other great results also followed. Our recent guest post by Christian Thaler highlighted how he met Bonusbox at Seedcamp Berlin last year and made an investment after being in touch with the founders for a while. Similarly, Passion Capital invested in wireWAX, who were one of last year’s participants. Since we set out to not only invest in great companies, but also to facilitate connections beyond our events, we couldn’t be happier with last years’ event.

This year, we are playing an even bigger fiddle. Fresh off the back of our huge U.S. trip in March, Tel Aviv this week, and April’s Seedcamp in Tallin, we will come back to Berlin in May, where we will be hosted by our new investors at BDMI for what looks to be our biggest and best event in Berlin yet.

Seedcamp Berlin will take place on May 15 in the beautiful “Unter den Linden 1″, one of the most iconic buildings in the capital. We already have some of the best German and European startup investors, entrepreneurs and mentors signed up, and can’t wait to see what the applications will bring.

If you are a web- or mobile-orientated startup, focusing on an exciting space apply before 25th April. We invest from a prototype to a live minimum-viability product through to launch with a few users or customers. As usual, we are excited to see companies from all over Europe applying. We are especially looking forward to see what Berlin’s and Germany’s startup communities are working on, and also expect to attract a record number of applications from the neighbouring countries.

Apply now – and keep yourself up to date about Seedcamp by following us on Twitter and Facebook. Of course, if you’re not working on a startup yourself, make sure you tell your friends about the upcoming Seedcamp Berlin!

On April 10, our very own Philipp will host an Open Office Hours Session in Berlin to answer any questions you might have about Seedcamp in general and Seedcamp Berlin in particular. He will also share some insights about what makes a successful application. If you are in Berlin, make sure to drop by!

Please let us know when you are coming: http://sdca.mp/OOHBerlin

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Brett writes for WIRED Magazine

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In the may 12th edition of  Wired our Managing Partner wrote 7 pointers on how to hire great talent.

1. Exploit your network for potential employees or referrals before considering using a recruiter. Great businesses are built on great referrals.

2. Think about and create an attractive company culture. Understanding and building a robust cultural DNA for your start-up will help you hire and retain the best candidates.

3. When making a hire ask yourself: “Would I enjoy spending 8 hours next to him/her on a long-haul flight?”

4. Try to hire executives with past start-up success. They will understand the requirements of a rapidly growing company. They also will help you avoid the mistakes they made or experienced.

5. Do not hire executives who don’t fully understand the demands of a start-up company.

6. Locate your business as close to the talent pool as possible. If this is not possible, be prepared to entice the right candidates to your location, or relocate.

7. Hire slow, fire fast. The right employee can help you grow rapidly, even exponentially, but the wrong candidate can set your company back twelve months. Work out why they weren’t suitable before you make your next hire.

The Rise and Rise of Eastern Europe

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The so-called “Estonian Mafia” are not the only Eastern Europeans who have global ambitions. The Eastern European companies we work with are thinking global from the outset and building teams to execute on an international scale from the get go.

 

We recently completed a CEO search for one of our Seedcamp portfolio companies, UberVU .  The company had expanded into the US and was looking to hire an experienced executive to take advantage of the massive market opportunity for social media monitoring in the US.

 

We have also recently completed a NED and CEO search for a Kiev based company in the online travel space. Our most recent customer is a flash sales business originally founded in UberVU’s home town of Bucharest. They are setting up their HQ in the UK to tap into the London based VCs and are planning a pan-European roll out.

 

We are certainly going to see more of this global/international expansion from Eastern Europe. These are  exciting times – the Industrial Revolution 2.0 is well under way all across Europe.

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