Edition 22: DAVOS insights; Gen AI predictions for 2024, Raise millions for your start-up;
Pretiosum Ventures is a venture capital firm investing in companies that will shape the Future of Businesses. Talk to us if you are building something new at hello@pretiosum.vc.
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READS
Generative AI Predictions for 2024 (CB Insights)
āThere are a number of risks associated with [LLMs], particularly in enterprise use cases. We've already seen some examples where data was fed into large language models without the understanding of how the data will be used and the data has beenā¦made public available even though it was confidential ...There's also sensitivity from a security perspective of things like prompt injection attacks, data poisoningā¦ā Chief Product Officer Lee Klarich, Q2ā23 earnings call
Raise Millions for your Start-up (Hustle Fund)
Great founders can look like anyone and come from anywhere. But you might be missing the tactical knowledge to build an investor network and raise money
This book will teach you everything you need to know to fundraise from the pre-seed stage all the way to your Series A.
Youāll also get resources like email scripts, investor CRM and newsletter templates, and an investment checklist.
DAVOS 2024 INSIGHTS šØš
Pretiosum Ventures General Partner Yana Abramova in Davos during the 54th Word Economic Forum. As expected, the main topic was "The future is AI." This shows the fast increase in AI investments and interest last year, which helped ChatGPT's popularity grow.
Despite seemingly endless geopolitical and economic uncertainty, global business leaders are coming away from Davos cautiously optimistic about 2024. While challenges and surprises remain inevitable, opportunities abound.
Speed is crucial to outperformance. Compared with peers in slow-moving companies, leaders in fast-moving organizations report 2.1 times higher operational resilience, 2.5 times higher financial performance, 3.0 times higher growth, and 4.8 times higher innovation.
Cooperation is multifaceted and can coexist with competition. Leaders can practice ācoopetitionāābalancing cooperation and competitionāto advance shared interests in specific areas, despite a lack of alignment elsewhere.
The generative AI revolution is only just beginning. Gen AI is poised to transform roles and boost performance across functions such as sales and marketing, customer operations, and software development. In the process, it could unlock trillions of dollars in value across sectors from banking to life sciences.
Sustainability is a business imperative. Navigating the net-zero economy has become more complicated over the past 12 months, but companies that take courageous action can accelerate value creation and reposition themselves ahead of competitors.
Better womenās health is correlated with economic prosperity. Investments addressing the womenās health gap could add years to life and life to yearsāand potentially boost the global economy by $1 trillion annually by 2040.
A comprehensive approach to transformation is most effective. Four essential elements for transformation successāwill, skill, rigor, and scopeācould give leaders a better chance at outpacing the competition in a time of constant disruption and change.
Business leaders need to focus on matching top talent to the highest-value roles. In many organizations, between 20 and 30 percent of critical roles arenāt filled by the most appropriate people. Skills-based hiring could help organizations access new talent pools.
The best CEOs leave organizations in a better place than they found them. Complacency is a common challenge for chief executives, but it doesnāt have to be. Top-performing CEOs create truly distinctive value.
Performance and diversity are not mutually exclusive. At a time when companies are under extraordinary pressure to maintain financial performance while navigating a rapidly changing business landscape, the business case for diversity not only holds but grows.
Donāt overlook Indiaās potential. India is transforming rapidly as one of the fastest-growing large economies in the world. When it comes to technology, talent, healthcare, and other areas, its future in 2024āand beyondāis worth paying attention to. (Reference: McKinsey & Company)
ATTEND
š¬š§ 30 January
Things I wish I knew before fundraising: A panel discussion by Floww and Techspace
f you're looking to fundraise in 2024, join us for an invite-only panel discussion where seasoned entrepreneurs share their lessons learned, strategies, and tips on navigating the fundraising landscape.
Panellists will be:
āCharlie Rosier, Co-Founder & CEO of Babbu
āGary Izunwa, Co-Founder of Tangent
āTom Barltrop, Co-Founder & CEO of Superfi
āDaniel Sawko, Co-Founder & CEO of shipshape.vc
šŗšø 30 January
Salley Session: Storytelling for Leaders
āThe most powerful person in the world is the storytellerā - Steve Jobs, Founder of Apple
āStorytelling is an essential skill, both in business and in life. At work, it can help motivate teams, attract investors and close sales. We tell stories every day, but we rarely spend time thinking about how to tell them better.
š» 31 January
Startup to scaleup: Creating the dream Gen Z workplace
Youāre transitioning from startup to scaleup, and growing your team with top talent is crucial for success. Gen Z is coveted in the tech talent market ā and theyāre writing a new script for work: prioritising flexibility and remote work, collaborative culture, and transparent communication. This Sifted Talks will delve into strategies for understanding, engaging, and empowering this new generation of workers to fuel the next growth phase of your business.
LEARN
š We are listening to 20VC Mark Goldberger: The Ultimate Guide to Enterprise Sales
Mark Goldberger is Head of Enterprise Sales at Ramp, the fastest-growing corporate card and bill payment software in America, and recently named Most Innovative Company in North America by Fast Company.
Before joining Ramp, Mark was the first enterprise rep at TripActions (now Navan), where he helped bring in more than $100m of ARR as an IC and sales leader. Before TripActions, Mark worked at Highfive, a video conferencing company since acquired by Dialpad.
š And reading Light your Fire!: Personal Branding for Movers, Startups and Visionaries by Tilo Bonow (BONUS, we are hosting a webinar for founders with Tilo in February, so keep an eye out š)
Regardless of whether you are the founder of a start-up, company successor, freelancer or young professional: the image that we present in public is crucial for our success.
Tilo Bonow vividly demonstrates how to successively build and cultivate your brand. If youāve set your sights on success, a strategically well-structured, positioned and managed personal brand is vital. Only uniqueness sets us apart, makes us interesting ā and guarantees more opportunities, recognition, contacts and, of course, more revenue.
FUTURE OF BUSINESSES FUNDING ROUNDS š
Cyber Security ā¢ Pre-seed ā¢ Aarhus, Denmark
Compliance ā¢ Seed ā¢ Hague, Netherlands
Future of Work ā¢ Series A ā¢ London, UK
HR Tech ā¢ Seed ā¢ Seattle, USA
Sales / Marketing ā¢ Seed ā¢ Dublin, Ireland
Cyber Security ā¢ Series A ā¢ Lyon, France
Please note that any charts, data, or projections discussed are subject to change without notice, may differ from opinions expressed by others, and are for informational purposes only. They should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. The content speaks only as of the date indicated; Pretiosum Ventures has not independently verified third-party links or sources, nor makes representations about the enduring accuracy of such information.