Summer 2022 has started.
Let's make sure we stay focus and continue to deliver.
Hello everyone! Happy Summer!
Sorry, I missed you all last week but I was cruising in Menorca with the family - I’m now back and never looking back.
“The startup world is falling apart” - everybody
Klarna has given a new meaning to down round…
”In case you missed it, on July 1, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Swedish buy now, pay later behemoth and upstart bank is reportedly raising $650 million at a $6.5 billion valuation, giving new meaning to the phrase “down round.” The news was shocking, to say the least. Why, you ask? Well, in June of 2021, Klarna was valued at $45.6 billion after closing on a $639 million round of funding — making it the highest-valued private fintech in Europe at that time.” - More here.
But just like anything in life, you can see the cup as half full or half empty…
From Camila Zatar (heart)
“An early stage founder’s most scarce resource is time. Between developing a product and strategy, acquiring customers, and hiring a stellar team, there’s barely time to breathe—even less to think. And yet structured thinking and a clear strategic vision are critical to a founder’s success, and as such, are demanded by investors, partners, and customers alike.”
Get the complete story here
From Cami to Ray Dalio and the “5-step process he uses to get anything he wants in life”
Learn how to get things done here
[Please Read it]
How about a “Behavioral Scientists Summer Book” list…
I got this one from a friend on Linkedin and It has gotten some fascinating reads - in case you want to explore it here.
Adam Grant + Satya Nadella [You can’t miss]
Now that you are here and I know you like to watch videos on youtube, I got another one for you…
Few great reads….
First Round Review - Stop Overcomplicating It: The Simple Guidebook to Upping Your Management Game - here
First Round Review - Your Marketing Org is Slow. Here’s a Framework to Move Faster. - here
McKinsey - if we’re all so busy, why isn’t anything getting done? - here
McKinsey - Marc Andreessen - here
“Whatever the smart engineers work on is going to get better. It may or may not be commercially successful, but it is going to improve.” - MA
My favorite one….
Back in 2007 when I was doing my MBA I came across the concept of Tripple Bottom line - people, planet, profit - and the man behind such an easy concept to understand (but also ahead of his time) was John Elkington - all his books here.
John is regarded as the Godfather of modern Sustainability.
How about getting John and Yvon Chouinard - the founder of my beloved brand Patagonia - to chat about the challenges of today and how to make this little planet a better place?
“Later on, in 2004, Patagonia ran a series of ads that impressed me at the time. They asked, “Who are businesses really responsible to? Their customers? Shareholders? Employees? We would argue that it’s none of the above. Fundamentally, businesses are responsible to their resource base. Without a healthy environment there are no shareholders, no employees, no customers and no business.”
Enjoy your week with all the love in your heart. There is only today.
Made today in Madrid.
Daniel Silva