Hi friend,

We wish you a happy new year from team Builders! Last week I took the time to reflect on 2020, the year in which we built our studio into an independent and smooth-running operation. Not as easy going as one might think ;). If you're into these kinds of things let me know, and I'd love to compare notes!

While we’re kicking off the year, have a look at our December month below. We’ll cover our plans for 2021 in our next newsletter. Make sure to keep an eye out, because you play an important part in our future.

For now, have a great weekend and let's rock 2021 together!

News from our universe 🪐

• Meet Robbert van Geldrop, our new Director of Product at Builders. As a long-time friend of the studio, Robbert will lead our product and tech-related operations to supercharge our current and future ventures.

• Team Influentials kicks off 2021 with a fresh new branding.

• Our Entrepreneur-in-Residence Michael Steinmann has been appointed as Head of Partnerships at Co-Liv, the world's largest association of co-living professionals.

• Before the holidays, we've gathered all teams for a fun Christmas brunch on Zoom. Ugly Christmas sweaters were encouraged, and themed seasonal Zoom backgrounds set the stage.

• Michael Steinmann looked back at his first 100 days as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Builders and wrote down some key insights about his journey so far.

• To close of the year, we've invited a cool group of founders and industry experts for our House of Founders event, a virtual get-together to get inspired and catch-up while enjoying a professional cocktail workshop. All educated and boozed-up (don't worry, we had alcohol free options), we collectively wrapped up 2020 by sharing stories and talked about our plans for 2021.

What we’re following 👀

• Even after the crazy growth of past months, public SaaS companies' valuation is expected to reach record highs in 2021.

• Mosaic Ventures presents recent data that fully shows the maturing of the European startup ecosystem.

• Fellow startup studio M13 shares some of the startup building magic sauce in their collection of founder resources.

• Atomico sheds more light on the current state of tech in Europe.

• The studio asset class keep growing and getting noticed, Forbes provides answers to the five most common questions about startup studios.

• The recent craze about cryptocurrencies is also reaching into the VC world.

• The journey to success is full of struggles, and Brian Chesky, the co-founder of Airbnb, knows that very well.

Come build with us 🧑‍💻

• Full-Stack (Symfony, React) Developer at Influentials (NL)

• Co-founder in tech for a new PropTech company at Builders

Forward always!

Michael van Lier

Managing Director at Builders