7 ms·

Support network in London is great, because people want to see a huge success story. But actually that's not what people need most (IMO). They need mentorship a

Support network in London is great, because people want to see a huge success story. But actually that's not what people need most (IMO). They need mentorship and support from people who have done it before. We were lucky to share our office with a YC company when we raised our Series A. I must have bugged one of the founders every day for advice on terms and which partners were cool. But now we're all just scaling like crazy and there isn't that shift up the chain towards new mentors who have gone from e.g. £10m p.a. to £100m p.a. revenue. Those people are rare overall, but concentrated in the Valley.

jeffwass 12y ago
Did you start in London and move to SV? Where was your London office located that you felt had a good support network?
- georgespencer 12y ago
  No we are happily still in London and UK only. We were in Royal London House with GoCardless and Smarkets. They were (and probably are still) about 1.5 yrs ahead of us in many ways. We also are lucky to have an early investor who is on the board of Zopa. Most founders I know who have progressed for a few years have at least one or two founders under their wing informally.
  - askinakhan 12y ago
    The UK will never be able to foster the same atmosphere as Silicon Valley. We're a conservative bunch and always will be; it's almost embedded in our culture. This isn't a problem because it means we're more prudent when it comes to investing hence why we rarely get VC/Angel investment for startups unless they have an already successful business model. The best way to put it is: In the UK we mostly invest in 1 - n whereas in Silicon Valley they also invest in 0 - 1. After all, it's the birthplace of true capitalism.
    - madaxe_again 12y ago
      This is true, and it's still most readily manifested in the way that entrepreneurs are viewed and treated in this country - as crazy outcasts, who are best avoided, as you might catch the horrendous disease of independent thought.
      - jarek 12y ago
        This really isn't the case in London in my experience See: the hundreds of people who attended Silicon Milkroundabout yesterday
        spacecowboy_lon 12y ago
        Unfortuntly I think CP Snows two nations is still intact and its not the technical/sceintific side that has the whip hand - in the UK techies are regarded as greasy engineers not fit to press our nose against the window (to quote tom jones) to look at the other professions.
        madaxe_again 12y ago
        That's the one. Same thing as causes my parents (and myself) to tell people that I'm unemployed, as it's easier to explain than "I run a successful startup with multi-million pound net profit" - as they then realise it's one of these technology things, and that puts me on the same rung as, say, a waste-water engineer. Actually, they're up a few rungs, as they deal with "real" things. Techies are all viewed as "the IT guy", and are there to be blamed for anything and everything, and to be belittled at every opportunity. "You wouldn't know what it's like to run a business!", says the guy who runs a pair of holiday lets, to the guy who employs 50 people and powers £1bn+ of commerce p.a. Being involved in the web in the UK is akin to having social leprosy - the only other people who will accept you or even talk to you without peering down their noses at you are other people with leprosy - sorry - other web professionals. This extends even to investors and VCs, as their view over here is that entrepreneurs/technologists are a necessary evil that you have to deal with as part of the process of making money by magic.
smikhanov 12y ago
[deleted]
- georgespencer 12y ago
  Weird. Emailed you for details.

jeffwass 12y ago

Did you start in London and move to SV? Where was your London office located that you felt had a good support network?

georgespencer 12y ago
No we are happily still in London and UK only. We were in Royal London House with GoCardless and Smarkets. They were (and probably are still) about 1.5 yrs ahead of us in many ways. We also are lucky to have an early investor who is on the board of Zopa. Most founders I know who have progressed for a few years have at least one or two founders under their wing informally.
- askinakhan 12y ago
  The UK will never be able to foster the same atmosphere as Silicon Valley. We're a conservative bunch and always will be; it's almost embedded in our culture. This isn't a problem because it means we're more prudent when it comes to investing hence why we rarely get VC/Angel investment for startups unless they have an already successful business model. The best way to put it is: In the UK we mostly invest in 1 - n whereas in Silicon Valley they also invest in 0 - 1. After all, it's the birthplace of true capitalism.
  - madaxe_again 12y ago
    This is true, and it's still most readily manifested in the way that entrepreneurs are viewed and treated in this country - as crazy outcasts, who are best avoided, as you might catch the horrendous disease of independent thought.
    - jarek 12y ago
      This really isn't the case in London in my experience See: the hundreds of people who attended Silicon Milkroundabout yesterday
      - spacecowboy_lon 12y ago
        Unfortuntly I think CP Snows two nations is still intact and its not the technical/sceintific side that has the whip hand - in the UK techies are regarded as greasy engineers not fit to press our nose against the window (to quote tom jones) to look at the other professions.
        madaxe_again 12y ago
        That's the one. Same thing as causes my parents (and myself) to tell people that I'm unemployed, as it's easier to explain than "I run a successful startup with multi-million pound net profit" - as they then realise it's one of these technology things, and that puts me on the same rung as, say, a waste-water engineer. Actually, they're up a few rungs, as they deal with "real" things. Techies are all viewed as "the IT guy", and are there to be blamed for anything and everything, and to be belittled at every opportunity. "You wouldn't know what it's like to run a business!", says the guy who runs a pair of holiday lets, to the guy who employs 50 people and powers £1bn+ of commerce p.a. Being involved in the web in the UK is akin to having social leprosy - the only other people who will accept you or even talk to you without peering down their noses at you are other people with leprosy - sorry - other web professionals. This extends even to investors and VCs, as their view over here is that entrepreneurs/technologists are a necessary evil that you have to deal with as part of the process of making money by magic.

smikhanov 12y ago

[deleted]

georgespencer 12y ago
Weird. Emailed you for details.