Hey all - hope all is well!

As we near the end of 2020, we look back on the events we’ve joined and participated in. As for other years where we shared knowledge at in-person events, not surprisingly, spreading the word this year was quite different. This quarter we joined six events in which we talked about topics ranging from founder recruitment to our entrepreneur-in-residence track and an ode to why the studio model is the hottest asset class in town.

Talking about the studio asset class, have you seen the latest white paper from our friends at the GSSN? This report compares the performance of studio-backed companies and their peers. While we are, of course, convinced about the ever-growing studio asset class for some longer time, it is exciting to see more and more data backing the model and the advantages for its stakeholders.

At the studio, we added a new face to the team earlier this month. Meet Andreea Butincu, our new Studio Associate. She will be supporting our studio team in various operational & marketing-related activities. Before joining Builders, Andreea was part of Startup Sesame, Accenture Innovation, SMO and World Startup Factory, making her a real startup enthusiast. We’re very excited to have Andreea join the team.

We are ending this month on an exciting note. Just yesterday, the Dutch government has selected the Influencer Marketing training developed by SRM and our venture Influentials for the Nederland Leert Door program. This means that 3.000 Influencer Marketing courses are going to be paid for by the government, allowing marketers with interest in the influencer marketing space to enrol into this accredited two-day training course for free. It may be that when you’re reading this, all classes are fully booked; but if you’re lucky, you might be able to claim your free spot here.

What we’re following 👀

• We have introduced Remotion to our studio team and ventures, and we love it.

• If nothing else, 2020 has been a great year for SaaS companies.

• The recent report on the performance of SaaS companies shows the benefits of focusing on vertical SaaS.

• The successful COVID-19 vaccine trial by Moderna, a company launched by Flagship Pioneering, clearly demonstrates the growing impact of startup studios.

• Recent funding rounds indicate a boom in telemedicine and education technology.

• An inside look on the Seedcamp’s fundraising deck.

Come build with us 🧑‍💻

• Digital Product Design Lead at Builders

• Full-Stack (Symfony, React) Developer at Builders

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

While signing off the second last newsletter of 2020, we are still in the middle of the CTO search to incorporate our next venture. Feel free to forward this letter to your friends in tech and potentially score a bottle of champagne in the process.

Looking ahead to the December month, we wish you safe & healthy holidays. Stay tuned for our next newsletter as we’re sharing our yearly studio recap.

Michael van Lier

Managing Director at Builders