The real value of startup funding 🚀

Author

Michael van Lier
September 22, 2023

Funding, the lifeline of many ventures. Necessary evil or route to success? Whatever your opinion in most cases, it's never just about the money.

From my experience, at the beginning of a startup, it boils down to the investors believing in your long-term vision and short-term financials. The sanity check we all use? Do we believe this team will figure it out and can I as an investor, help to champion the company to success? 🏆 After that, it's a matter of taste and preference.

To dive deeper into the subject, we hosted our quarterly investor gettogether, called Builders Investor House, at recently funded startup Freeday. We dove a bit deeper into their funding journey going from project to a product led business and the challenges that go with that. Many I can tell you, but they seem to have figured it out. We’ll be sure to publish an article on that on our Medium soon.

Want to be there at the next edition of the Builders Investor House hosted at EY on November 30th? You can secure your spot here. ✨

From our universe 🪐

On the studio side 🌌

  • The Studio Fundraise Map (SFM) is popping! Supporting the entire studio ecosystem, we’ve launched an initiative to showcase studios fundraising. We’ve partnered with Vault Fund and the Global Studio Fund and publish an overview of studios fundraising every month. This time focused on the dual entity model, have a look here.

  • Sharon Klaver, has done an awesome writeup on the journey of an EIR, the challenges, triumphs, and the synergy that fuels their journey. Ever wondered what it means to be an Entrepreneur in Residence at a studio? Read it here. 

  • Talking about the EIR journey and going from zero to studio spinout, I’ve put together an Point of View article on how the studio gets involved every step of the way. A 6-month process before an idea sees daylight. In this article, I delve deeper into the behind-the-scenes stages of studio entrepreneurship.

At our ventures 🚀

  • Influentials has been acquired by Somention 🎉 We're thrilled to announce that Somention, the biggest independent social media agency in the Netherlands, has acquired Influentials. Finding the right partner for Influentials was essential. Sharon Klaver: "In our quest to find the perfect ally to further Influentials' mission, we couldn't envision a better home than Somention. Drinks on me 🍾 

  • We're excited to share that Noon AI is in Beta and accessible to all users. Every Friday, Noon will ask you how work's treating you, and you can respond in your own words. It's like a mini check-in. Once you hit "Submit," Noon AI goes to work. It breaks down your input and shows you how it aligns with those 6 work life areas. Get your results by Friday and see how it works.

What we’re following 👀

  • Max Pog, delves into the thriving world of startup studios. Discover how startups studios secure seed funding twice as fast and exit quicker than traditional counterparts. This report offers an in-depth view of this ecosystem. View the report here.

  • Morrow's Venture Studio 8-week boot camp takes your entrepreneurial journey to the next level. Here, studio founders get the opportunity to design your own studio playbook with guidance from experienced studio leaders and a supportive peer group. Don’t miss out on this opportunity and sign up here.

Come build with us 🧑‍💻

We are actively on the search for a Co-founder in Future of work. Also, we are looking for a Content Specialist to join our team to be the driving force behind our content and content strategies. On top of that we are looking for a Talent Acquisition Specialist.

Are you interested, or do you know someone who could be a fit? Let me know, or apply directly through the links.

Forward, always,

Michael van Lier
Managing Director at Builders