Edition 28: Paris Blockchain Week insights; How to structure your round; From startup to centaur;
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PARIS BLOCKCHAIN WEEK INSIGHTS 🇫🇷
Paris Blockchain Week is the largest blockchain / Web3 conference in Europe. It started in 2017 or 2018 as a small crypto meetup group and has since evolved into a yearly large-scale conference, with 2024 marking the sixth consecutive year.
Paris Blockchain Week was a melting pot of ideas and conversations that could very well shape the future of digital assets. From fireside chats with industry leaders to panels discussing the convergence of blockchain, AI, and more, Pretiosum Ventures GP Yana Abramova was joined by fantastic investors at the “Resilience in Disruption: Adapting and Thriving in Distressed Markets” panel:
🚀 Stan Miroshnik, Founder and Managing Partner at TenSquared;
🚀 Randall Little, Partner at 1RT Partners and 1R Holdings LLC;
🚀 Jeff Hasselman, Founder at 926 Ventures;
🚀 Daniel Casanas, Head of Investments at Stellar Development Foundation.
It was exciting to see that France has solid plans to support emerging tech and digital assets. They’re inviting Web3 founders worldwide to relocate to France with the new Tech Visa scheme, promising to approve applications within two days.
The government invests in talent, allocating a huge budget to universities and schools. To support the new energy demands of emerging technologies, they are constructing the world’s largest tokamak nuclear fusion reactor that much cleaner and entirely different from traditional nuclear fission.
Digital Identities: The Future of Online Interaction
The concept of digital identities took centre stage, painting a picture of a future where your online presence is as unique and secure as your physical one. With blockchain, your wallet address becomes your ID, and your NFTs represent your persona.
Tokenization: Unlocking New Investment Strategies
Tokenization isn't just a buzzword. It's a revolution in how we view and manage assets. A session dedicated to exploring the potential of tokenization in investment strategies shed light on how this technology can democratize access to investments, making it easier for individuals to own shares in assets previously out of reach. The implications for the financial industry are profound, offering a glimpse into a more inclusive economic future.
Storytelling in Web3: A New Narrative
The power of storytelling in shaping the Web3 space was a key theme. As we venture into this new digital frontier, the narratives we create and share will play a pivotal role in attracting and educating users.
What a week! 🇫🇷
READS
From Startup to Centaur: The Founder’s Roadmap to $100 Million ARR (Bessemer Venture Partners)
Not all startups fall neatly in this insider/outsider dichotomy and some founding teams may include a combination, such as a CTO insider and CEO outsider, or vice versa. The key takeaway is that founders have full agency to choose whether they want to pursue something as an insider or outsider, or something in between. The power comes from the self-awareness of the archetype and how that can inform future decisions.
How to Structure Early-Stage Startup Fundraising
Recently we hosted a webinar with SeedLegals, who help hundreds of start-ups with all things legal: start, raise and grow. More than 200+ founders joined us live.
Key Topics Covered:
🚀 Understanding SAFE Agreements: An overview of Simple Agreements for Future Equity, how they work, and why they might be a beneficial choice for your startup.
🚀 Convertible Notes Explained: Examining the structure, terms, and conditions of convertible notes, and how they compare to SAFEs in early-stage financing.
🚀 Navigating Investment Agreements: Insights into the negotiation and structuring of direct investment agreements, including key terms and investor expectations.
🚀 Legal and Financial Implications: A comprehensive look at the legal considerations, financial implications, and how to prepare your startup for the chosen fundraising path.
The full recording is available here.
ATTEND
🇺🇸 12 April
Generative NYC with Etsy CEO, Josh Silverman (New York)
Josh Silverman is Etsy's Chief Executive Officer, leading the company as it builds a platform that empowers creative entrepreneurs around the world. He is also a member of Etsy's board of directors.
Josh's two decades of leadership experience include growing consumer technology companies and scaling global marketplaces. He previously served as President of Consumer Products and Services at American Express, CEO of Skype, and CEO of shopping.com, and he held various executive roles at eBay. Earlier in his career, Josh co-founded Evite, Inc. where he also served as the company's CEO. He is currently on the board of directors of Shake Shack.
🇬🇧 1 May
The BAE HQ x Google Cloud x HSBC Innovation Banking: Future of Fintech Landscape (London)
Speakers:
- Ashish Aggarwal (Partner at PayPal Ventures)
- Alston Zecha (Partner at Eight Roads)
- Tim Chong (Founder of Yonder)
- Karen Zhang (Fintech Lead & VC Partnerships at Google Cloud)
Deep dive into what the important trends and themes of the Fintech Landscape will be and what mental models need to adjust.
💻 15 May
Off the scale: Will data take the wheel for scaleup growth?
Whether it’s first sale conversions or attracting return customers, data could be the missing link to scaling revenue. With AI cutting a rug across traditional methods of marketing, how can startups effectively use data in their retention strategy? This Sifted Talks will explore the ways data can lead the charge for both customer and company development.
LEARN
👀 We are listening to 20VC: OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Brad Lightcap on The Future of Foundation Models: Will They Be Commoditised | How to Solve the Problem of Compute | Open vs Closed: Which Dominates and Why | Which Companies and Verticals Will Be Steamrolled by OpenAI by Harry Stebbings
Sam Altman (no need to intro, but hey!) is the CEO @ OpenAI, the company on a mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. OpenAI is one of the fastest-scaling companies in history with a valuation of $90BN and $2BN+ in revenue. Prior to OpenAI, Sam was the President and CEO @ Y Combinator and made angel investments in the likes of Airbnb, Stripe, Reddit, Pinterest, Asana and more.
Brad Lightcap is the COO @ OpenAI and the man responsible for the incredible scaling of sales, GTM, partnerships and business to today being over $2BN in revenue. Before OpenAI, Brad was an investor at Y Combinator, where he met Sam and before that led finance and operations initiatives at Dropbox.
FUTURE OF BUSINESSES FUNDING ROUNDS 🎉
We curate a list below of Pre-seed and Seed funding rounds in Europe and the US that caught our eye 👀
Scavenger AI raises $1.2M led by HTGF
Data / AI / Machine Learning • Pre-Seed • Berlin, GermanyPeerDB raises $3.6M led by 8VC, Y Combinator and Others
Infrastructure / Dev Tools • Seed • San Francisco, CAVal Town raises $5.5M led by Accel
Infrastructure / Dev Tools • Seed • New York, NYMimo, a financial management platform that automates B2B payments admin, raised £15.5m in funding. Northzone led the round and was joined by investors including Cocoa Ventures, Seedcamp and Upfin VC.
FinTech • Seed Extension • London, UKScavenger AI, a personal AI business consultant for companies, raised €1.1m in pre-seed funding. High-Tech Gründerfonds led the round and was joined by investors including Calm/Storm Ventures, Femventix and B4i Investment Fund.
Data / AI / Machine Learning • Pre-seed • Berlin, Germany
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.