Riding Unicorns: Venture Capital | Entrepreneurship | Technology

Simon Mellin is the Founder and CEO of The Modern Milkman. ​Their business started as a local milkround inspired by David Attenborough's Blue Planet and the need to reduce plastic waste. In the space of a few short years, they've grown from four friends and a truck to a vast network of milkmen and women working tirelessly to reduce consumer waste. Their mobile tech supports their 'eco-warriors on earlies' by connecting them to their customers via online ordering and driver apps, facilitating convenient doorstep deliveries. The tech also connects them to their network of independent dairies, farmers and suppliers who are mutually committed to sustainable produce and plastic-free packaging. Their mission is to revolutionise consumer habits by delivering fresh ways to return and reuse packaging, shop ethically and feel good about convenience.

Simon joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss key lessons from moving from farmer to founder, the idea behind The Modern Milkman, business expansion to the US, & so much more. 

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David Jarvis is the Co-Founder and CEO of Griffin. ​Griffin puts the bank in Banking as a Service. They combine the secure, regulated infrastructure of a bank with the speed and power of modern software into one powerful full-stack BaaS platform. Their goal is to empower companies to embed banking into their products quickly and safely. With purpose-built APIs and an all-access developer sandbox, they’re helping customers build and launch payment platforms, financial wellness apps, client account products, business loans, and more.

David joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss the founding principles of Griffin, company culture and management, the future of embedded finance, & so much more. 

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Mike Soutar worked in the media and entertainment industry since the mid-1980s, starting as a magazine journalist and editor before becoming a Publisher and Managing Director working across print, digital, and broadcast platforms in the UK and America. In 2000 Mike joined the Board of Britain’s largest magazine publisher, IPC, and was part of the Board team which sold that business to Time Warner. In 2006 Mike co-founded Shortlist Media, one of the fastest-growing media companies of the early 2000s. As CEO he led the business from a 5-strong start-up to an award-winning enterprise employing 180 staff, with operations in the UK and Europe, across print, digital and events. He led the ultimate successful sale of the business to legendary Scottish publishers DC Thomson, the company he joined from school as a trainee journalist aged 17.

Mike joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss the winning formula for a successful media brand, what he enjoys about being a CEO, the future of media, & so much more. 

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George Henry is a General Partner at LocalGlobe. LocalGlobe is a venture capital firm that focuses on seed and impact investments. They have seeded impactful founders since 1999 at places like Citymapper, Improbable, Lovefilm, Moo, Wise, and Zoopla. They invest in startups selling to consumers, small businesses, and enterprises. They are lean, data-driven, and move fast in decision-making. They offer highly structured, collaborative support to investee companies, and have an excellent track record in getting their startups to a Series A raising (almost 90% vs less than 40% EU average).

George joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss founder evaluation, the 4 investment themes they’re excited about, what the next 10 years potentially hold for VC, & so much more. 

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Read George's 4 investment themes for 2024 here: https://digitalculture.substack.com/p/4-investment-themes

Richard Anton is the Co-Founder and General Partner at Oxx. Oxx partners with the most promising European B2B software companies at the scale-up stage. As a specialist SaaS investor, Oxx provides each entrepreneur with a support system of unique specialist expertise and network, and a culture of unfaltering partnership and absolute conviction. The firm’s strategy is built around the concept of “Go-To-Market Fit”, developing a structure for thinking about how to build a repeatable, sustainable growth engine that accelerates and propels the growth of SaaS companies.

Richard joins James Pringle to discuss Oxx’s investment strategy, what needs to change about ventures in the UK, investing in AI and cybersecurity, & so much more. 

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Tim Creswick is the CEO and Founder of Vorboss. Vorboss is a dedicated fibre network and internet service purpose-built for the needs of London’s most demanding businesses. They are the only internet service provider that offers 10Gbps as a minimum—meaning that their network can cope with the demands of the most data-hungry businesses for the next decade and beyond.

Tim joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss infrastructure operations, significant business pivots, network security, & so much more. 

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Oana Andreea Jinga is a CCO and Co-founder of Dexory. They develop robotics and AI logistics solutions to drive better business decisions. Through their DexoryView platform, they automate data collection and build real-time fed digital twin technology that unlocks insights across all levels of warehouse operations.

Oana joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss what problem Dexory solves, leaving Google to start Dexory, her view on humanoid robots, & so much more. 

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Gareth Jefferies is a Partner at RTP Global, a global, early-stage venture capital firm, backing ambitious founders who are reshaping the world with technology. Their track record speaks for itself; over 110 investments worldwide, with one in 10 becoming multi-billion dollar companies including Datadog, DeliveryHero, and Cred.

Gareth joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to share the skills to hone as a VC, common profiles of companies that became unicorns, intuition in investing, & so much more. 

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Akshat Goenka is a Partner at Moonfire. Enabling European entrepreneurs to dream big and execute fully on their bold ideas at the very earliest stages of their journeys is Moonfire’s passion and cause. Moonfire can help entrepreneurs at the very start of their journeys to create the right foundations to drive growth exponentially. Moonfire lights a fire within seed stage investing in Europe to help entrepreneurs grow their boundless ambition and burning creativity. In partnering with Moonfire, companies benefit from Mattias Ljungman’s extensive experience including 13 years as a Co-Founder of Atomico with investments in like Supercell, viagogo, Klarna and Rovio. Moonfire focuses on reimagining finance & money, realising the future of work, new frontiers in gaming and transforming healthcare.

Akshat joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss Moonfire’s data-driven approach, Moonfire’s ambition, the future of capital allocation, & so much more. 

Don't forget to like, subscribe, and follow The Riding Unicorns Podcast on our socials and your chosen podcast platform to stay up to date! 🎙️🦄

Sam Ettelaie is the Co-Founder and CIO at Thema, Europe's strategic LP for emerging fund managers. They act as a strategic cornerstone limited partner, writing first tickets of up to £5m, offering operational and regulatory support. 

Sam joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss building long-term defensibility, knowledge vs operational edge,  Fund of Funds investing, & so much more. 

Don't forget to like, subscribe, and follow The Riding Unicorns Podcast on our socials and your chosen podcast platform to stay up to date! 🎙️🦄