In the latest Seedcamp Deep Dive, Carlos is joined by Kyran Schmidt, co-founder of Outverse, a community-first solutions platform; Jonathan Reimer, co-founder of crowd.dev, a developer data platform; and our Partner Sia Houchangnia. 

They discuss:

- the importance of community-building for tech startups;

- why intentionality and fostering a sense of belonging in community development are essential;

- types of communities namely product and practitioner communities;

- challenges, and strategies in creating and managing communities; 

- the community tech stack and specific tools (e.g., Discord, WhatsApp); 

- key success metrics and budget management considerations; 

- and more.

Overview:

00:38 - Introduction to the Power of Communities

06:47 The Role of Community in Product-Led Growth

18:02 Defining Community and Its Importance

26:28 Managing Community Dynamics: Heroes vs Nutters

28:50 The Importance of Community Culture

29:43 Building, Designing and Scaling Community 

33:49 Community Segmentation and Success Metrics

37:49 The Role of Founders in Community Building

57:47 Community Building: Tool Stack and Budgeting

1:05:31 Concluding Thoughts on Community Building

Show Notes:

Jonathan Reimer - linkedin.com/in/jonathimer

Kyran Schmidt - linkedin.com/in/kyran-schmidt

Sia Houchangnia - linkedin.com/in/siahouchangnia

Carlos Espinal - linkedin.com/in/carloseduardoespinal

crowd.dev - crowd.dev

Outverse - outverse.com

Seedcamp - seedcamp.com

Resources: 

How to build a developer community: a step-by-step guide‍

CrowdDev's blog (includes many articles about community building)

[Seedcamp Firsts] How to create and scale an iconic community. Lessons from Sorare – Features Dan O’Kelly, an early Community - - Lead at Seedcamp-backed fantasy sports unicorn Sorare in conversation with our Partner Sia Houchangnia 

Appwrite's community and blog [appwrite.io]

In a new episode of Seedcamp Firsts, Candice Ren, Founder of 173Tech and a member of the Seedcamp Expert Collective, talks with our Venture Partner Devin Hunt about how data relates to building a great product at your startup. 

Candice, who contributed to building Bumble's data analytics function and team, explains the importance of understanding and utilizing company data effectively in startups. She provides insights into establishing Northstar metrics, user journey analytics, feature analytics, data dictionaries, and strategies for effective data sharing among teams.

Learn about: 

- the user journey as your source of data;

- the difference between product/app and features analytics; 

- how to think about your data stack; 

- what to track and why you shouldn't track everything;

- why you need a master dashboard and what should it include.

In the latest episode of 'This Much I Know,' Carlos's guest is James Wise, Partner at Balderton and author of the newly published book "Start-up Century." They discuss:

- the global movement of entrepreneurship and its role in today's world and the decades to come

- the evolving nature of work and how AI is accelerating its transformation

the Five C's of AI Integration

- the new technological frontiers, including health, housing, and energy

- James's 'Entrepreneur's Manifesto,' a policy recommendation for governments to better support entrepreneurs

- the role writing plays in his day-to-day work as an investor, and how his book has influenced his investment strategies

Show Notes:

James Wise - twitter.com/jamespaulwise

- linkedin.com/in/jamespaulwise/

Carlos Espinal - twitter.com/cee

- linkedin.com/in/carloseduardoespinal/

Balderton - balderton.com

Seedcamp - seedcamp.com

Start-Up Century. Why we're all becoming entrepreneurs - and how to make it work for everyone - https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/startup-century-9781399410595/

The latest Seedcamp Deep Dive focuses on the intersection of art, logistics, and technology. Carlos's guest is Edouard Gouin, co-founder and CEO of Convelio, a tech-led global logistics startup specialised in fine art shipping.

They discuss:

- the journey and challenges of building Convelio;

- Convelio's position in and interactions with key players within the art ecosystem; and its innovative value proposition;

- the critical elements of customer service;

- the importance of forming cultural alignments in business partnerships;

the integration challenges after acquiring a 'brick and mortar type' logistics company;

- Edouard's appreciation for art and his regret of missing out on promising investment opportunities in the early stages of his favourite artists' careers.

Show notes:

Convelio is recruiting for multiple roles. Check out openings here: https://jobs.lever.co/convelio

Edouard Gouin - linkedin.com/in/edouardgouin

Carlos Espinal - linkedin.com/in/carloseduardoespinal

Convelio - convelio.com

Seedcamp - seedcamp.com

In a new episode of This Much I Know, Carlos and his guests Aaron Rosenberg (Radical Ventures, previously at DeepMind) and our Partner Tom Wilson explore the current state and impact of AI innovations and future developments, as well as AI's broad-ranging impacts on society, job market, and geopolitical landscape.

They also reflect on the ways machine learning reshapes the dynamics in various industries, such as law and software development, and how AI-powered interfaces, like Humane's AI pin, could change how people interact with technology.

The conversation also covers investment trends in AI startups, the role of venture capital in prioritising Responsible AI, and regulatory frameworks needed as the technology evolves. Aaron also shares his experience and ideas learned from his tenure at DeepMind.

Show Notes:

RESPONSIBLE AI STARTUPS (RAIS) Framework

Aaron Rosenberg - linkedin.com/in/aaronrosenberg12

Tom Wilson - linkedin.com/in/tomwilsonseedcamp

Carlos Espinal - linkedin.com/in/carloseduardoespinal

Radical Ventures - radical.vc

Seedcamp - seedcamp.com

In the latest Seedcamp Deep Dive, our Managing Partner Carlos Espinal chats with Thomas Knowles, Head of Security Operations at ClearBank about all things cybersecurity - from essential cybersecurity foundations for early-stage companies to cybersecurity certifications and threat intelligence management.

Show Notes: 

Thomas Knowles - linkedin.com/in/thomas-knowles-77a3509/

Carlos Espinal – linkedin.com/in/carloseduardoespinal

ClearBank – clear.bank

Seedcamp – seedcamp.com

Cybersecurity Certifications mentioned in the episode:

SOC2 Certification (https://secureframe.com/request-demo/demo-secureframe)

CyberEssentials (https://cybersmart.co.uk/cyber-essentials-certification/)

Cybersecurity Framework | NIST (https://www.nist.gov/cyberframework)

Official PCI Security Standards Council Site - Verify PCI Compliance, Download Data Security and Credit Card Security Standards (https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/)

Listen to a wide-ranging conversation about scaling engineering and technological innovation, between Meri Williams, CTO at Seedcamp-backed Pleo (previously CTO at Healx and Monzo, a.o.) and our Managing Partner Carlos Espinal.

They cover:

- Meri's career journey from building satellites as a teenager in South Africa to becoming one of Europe's most renowned CTOs;

- The importance of applied learning and deliberate practice in keeping up with the fast-paced changes in technology; and how to create a "culture of learning";

- How to create the conditions and the environment for the success of your team as a CTO;

- The importance of diversity, values fit, and culture add;

- The current state of Generative AI, and the opportunities and risks it brings along;

- How to adapt to and mitigate Cybersecurity challenges;

- The role of Open Source in tech startups and scale-ups, and giving back to the OS community; and more.

In a new Seedcamp Firsts podcast episode, our Partner Sia Houchangnia chats with Dan O'Kelly, an early Community Lead at Seedcamp-backed fantasy sports unicorn Sorare. They cover all things community building, including:

- the importance of community in a fast-growing startup;

- founders' key role in setting up the vision and building the foundations of an authentic community;

- the early tactics Sorare used to build their community;

- how to kickstart and nurture your community;

- how to nurture organic initiatives by community members;

- why it is important to put resources into community building;

- mistakes and lessons learned in scaling community in the hyper-growth phase.

This episode of This Much I Know, features Paul Jozefak, co-founder and CEO of Seedcamp-backed receeve, a Germany-based end-to-end debt collection and recovery platform.

In conversation with our Managing Partner, Carlos Espinal, Paul reflects on:

- his career trajectory in VC and entrepreneurship;

- the current state of SaaS businesses;

- reeceve's role and vision in the debt recovery and collection ecosystem;

- the importance of luck and good timing in business; 

- how receeve navigatigated the COVID crisis; 

- how to build a strong relationship with your co-founder(s); 

- and more.

Tune in on your favourite platform or watch on Youtube.

Show Notes:

Paul Jozefak - linkedin.com/in/pauljozefak/

                       - twitter.com/pjozefak

Carlos Espinal - linkedin.com/in/carloseduardoespinal

                          - twitter.com/cee

receeve - receeve.com

Seedcamp - seedcamp.com

Listen to an excellent conversation between our Managing Partner Carlos Espinal and Philippe Boteri, Partner at Accel and a co-investor in companies such as UIPath (NYSE: PATH) and Synthesia.

Philippe shares the story of his foray into tech during the dotcom boom, how he became an investor and the key learnings of his 15+ years-long career in VC. He also reflects on some of the most iconic investments he has made over the years, including UIPath and DocuSign.

Philippe and Carlos explore the potential of Generative AI and discuss our co-investment in Synthesia, an AI video creation platform Accel has recently backed.