We Heart Impact, London is Calling, 300+ readers & more.
Pearl Jam is one of the greatest bands of all time.
Hello everyone,
I hope this message finds you all well and healthy. Life ain't easy and it ain't Disneyland, but if you're out there fighting the good fight and improving 1% every single day, good things will happen!
Please remember to serve others on your journey - that's what it's all about!
News of war continues to invade our lives on a daily basis and it's hard to see all the suffering still going on in our world. Let's hope and pray for better and more peaceful days ahead.
Let's start with my favorite short YouTube video of all time: Rich Roll and Tommy Rivs. If you have never seen this one - I promise 60 seconds that will change your life.
My second act is the great Steve Jobs and the secrets of life. In this video you see a more philosophical Steve than the entertainer when he is on stage promoting a revolutionary product. I love his rhythm and the pauses in this video - it feels natural and not scripted.
I think Tommy Rivs and Steve are both poets and very sensitive to life on their own terms.
Both videos together are less than 3 minutes but it's deep and if you sit on it, it can lead to a life change.
If you're inspired by now, I'll leave you with these 40 quotes from Rockefeller that I found on my Twitter (or X) thread - some are great and it's now part of my "best quotes directory".
“The people who can get ahead in the world are those who know how to find their ideal environment. If they cannot find it, they will create it themselves.”
Rockefeller
I'm very proud of him. BF Henry, my brother from another mother and college roommate for four years, has just won an Emmy. I love seeing people achieve their goals and it's inspiring to keep pursuing my own. Well done BF - you rock!
Trip to London was long overdue
I lived in London from 2006-2009 and since then I have developed a great love and admiration for the city. Being in Madrid, you'd think I'd go back to London quite often - my little brother lives there - but that wasn't the case and it took me four years to get back to the island.
Some of the meetings - over lunch, coffee, and a few pints of beer - were my first face-to-face encounters and it was great to meet all these amazing people.
I got in touch with Lestat, the amazing founder of Healf, a company I advise and I'm super optimistic about them - they're disrupting the wellness and live-a-better-life space.
I also met Matt for the first time, one of the co-founders of another company I backed; HomeThings. Disposable plastic is crazy. HomeThings. Single-use plastic is bonkers. Homethings makes eco-cleaning products that make sense. We send you eco-friendly refills - just add tap water at home. On top of fearless online execution, they are now stored in major retailers like Sainsbury in the UK.
It was great to reconnect and pitch We Heart Impact to my good friend and design wizard Rafa, who now runs Atlanttico and is winning the market one client at a time.
I also reconnected with two dear VC friends, Theo and Camila. Not to mention real-life friends Jon and Carol.
My favorite restaurant is called Mildreds and it's in London's Soho area - if you're ever in the city, don't miss the chance to try some of the best vegetarian and vegan dishes.
London remains a special place and I plan to bring We Heart Impact to the land of the king!
I found this on the streets of London and sent it to my good friend Marcus Moraes, the founder of Mude.
Update We Heart Impact
I have spent the last few days pitching my angle to industry leaders and continue to work on the material so that we can go live in the next few weeks. I'm excited about the initial response and the first interaction with our customers.
We Heart Impact will serve mid-market companies and help them build startups alongside the best people. Our project-based approach is a result of my study of human psychology and what triggers higher levels of motivation and curiosity at work. We believe that in the future, people will choose the projects they want to invest their time and brainpower in, and We Heart Impact will provide them with the most exciting challenges and opportunities to use their talent.
I promise a full manifesto in the near future. For now, we are working tirelessly to build the future of work.
Great from the web
An open letter from Pedro Franchesi, co-founder of Brex, has been published and it's a great read for entrepreneurs. I think it's a tremendous act of leadership and setting the bar high for excellence - which I believe is the ultimate way to build things that last.
I recommend it to founders and operators.
Lenny has become a reference point in the ecosystem when it comes to great content on growth, managing fast-growing businesses, and leadership. His latest article is a solid piece for entrepreneurs and operators in the B2B space.
B2C companies will sooner or later be faced with the following challenge: Should I prioritize my brand or my performance marketing? It just happens! I think people often see performance as a short-term revenue generator and brand as an intangible long-term investment (some people even see it as a cost!!!).
The First Round Review wrote this amazing article and I strongly recommend entrepreneurs to read it carefully and take notes.
You should aim for a combination of the two so that they reinforce each other and deliver the ultimate result.
I have sent this to the founders of Healf, eMentor, and others.
Bill Belichick is regarded as the ultimate leader, under his leadership the New England Patriots went from being a joke in the NFL to the ultimate dynasty - yes I know Tom Brady was his leading man on the field, but Coach Bill was the mastermind and as a sports fan I give so much credit to the leaders off the field.
So when Coach Belichick sits down to chat with Ray Dalio, you better turn off your phone, make some tea, and give them your time because they are about to impart your great wisdom.
On Ray's YouTube, he shared the background to this chat:
“After he read Principles he called me and said, “Mine are remarkably similar. Can we chat?” I asked him if we could record it for others to hear and he said sure, so here you go. We sat down before the start of this season to talk about building great teams and how failure is the most valuable part of the path to achieving great success, which is especially interesting as this season has been a challenging one so far.”
Best from Linkedin
New product from Carta about Employee Compensation
[39 notes] My notes from Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist turned into maxims:
1. Genius lies in ignoring the unimportant.Max Pog - Startup Studio -
1. For startup founders – joining a (good) venture studio might be as beneficial as entering Y Combinator's cohort – in terms of potential returns for investors (comparable 5.8x TVPI) and fundraising. On average, venture studios invest in their startups $476K (GSSN data), close to YC's $500K.[Never Stop Learning] LEARN MBA COURSES FOR FREE
In today's age, companies are no longer chasing papers. They are looking for WHAT you can do. The value you bring on the table.When I was 15, I started a company that brought in over a million dollars in revenue in less than a year, profitably... But there was a big problem.
Here's my story 👇[How to Pitch to Investors] I'm just a girl, standing in front of a startup, begging them to develop a pitch that says, in clear language, in any order:
1. Here's what we do
2. Here's why it's hard/hasn't been done yetIn 2022, Apple Pay processed over $6 trillion in payment volume🤯
That makes it bigger than Mastercard or AliPay and halfway to Visa.[Automation is here, now!] Amazon just revealed they now have more than 750,000 robots deployed. 🤯
Most people don’t realise how fast the robotics industry is scaling.
… and Amazon is a fascinating case study.[Another on from Carta] Kinda stunned at how much more founder-friendly Series A has become.
Chart below shows the median dilution (eg how much of the company is sold to investors) in a primary Series A round in the US.👇[Harry Stebbings is back] Are LPs open for business?
What do they want to see in new managers?
Will managers be forgiven for the sins of 2020-2022?
How are incentives for LPs so broken?
This has more hits than a Killers Concert with Elizabeth "Beezer" Clarkson.
Top 7 lessons 👇[Brian Balfour is doing great work at Reforge] A breakdown of the growth model that drove Loom from 0 to 25 Million users and an acquisition by Atlassian...
Fareed Mosavat, Patrick Campbell and I do a full growth model breakdown of Loom and discuss why Atlassian may have acquired them in the latest episode of Unsolicited Feedback.[Julio Vasconcellos and Alantico are hiring] Atlantico is hiring two new team members for our investment team. If you love tech and investing and want to practice the craft of venture capital as part of a small team that values independent thinking, undying curiosity, questionable humor, and the pursuit of "competitive learning," we would like to meet you.
Alô, Alô Brasil!
Depois do sucesso da temporada 1 do B4D1 (ainda temos que lançar os dois últimos episódios que já estão prontos!) somente com empreendedores do mercado de Second Hand, vamos começar a gravar a temporada 2 e promete ser um exxxxxtouro!! Vamos bater um papo e conhecer a história de 12 empreendedores do setor de Fintech no Brasil e nossos amigos da Verve Capital toparam o nosso convite e eles vão conduzir 3 entrevistas com investidores no setor - early stage, series A/growth e late stage - onde eles vão explorar o que os investidores buscam em cada fase do negócio, como eles veem o setor no Brasil hoje e nos próximos anos e onde estão as melhores oportunidades.
Obrigado Marcelo e Gabriel por toparem esse desafio e essa temporada 2 vai ser PHoda.
Lançamento previsto para Novembro 2023.
made with love and curry in London, UK