This Much I Know - The Seedcamp Podcast Carlos Espinal

In a new episode of This Much I Know, Carlos's guest is Chris Tottman, General Partner at Notion VC, one of Europe's top-tier VC firms.

Chris shares insights on:
- his journey as an entrepreneur and Venture Capital investor
- the evolution of venture capital in Europe
- how founders can become successful in company building.
- the role of mentorship in the VC industry.

He also highlights the significance of founder-led sales, strategic pricing, understanding customer needs, fundraising challenges, and more.

Show Notes:
Chris Tottman - linkedin.com/in/chris-tottman
Carlos Espinal – linkedin.com/in/carloseduardoespinal

Notion VC - https://www.notion.vc/
Included - https://included.vc/

Seedcamp - seedcamp.com

Chris's Book 'THE GO TO MARKET HANDBOOK FOR B2B SaaS LEADERS' - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CJ45462M?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_CBFYWJN41F41CBK033SA

In a follow-up to their Seedcamp Firsts conversation on data, our Venture Partner Devin Hunt and Candice Ren, Founder of analytics agency 173Tech and a member of the Seedcamp Expert Collective, dive deep into A/B testing and good data science practices.

With new and exciting AI technology emerging around recommendation engines, how can product leads evaluate which solution is better and how to really measure a “better recommendation”?

Focusing on a specific case study - a furniture marketplace, Candice, who worked on A/B testing and recommendation engines for Bumble, Plend Loans, MUBI, Treatwell and many others, shares her thoughts on:
- the intricacies of setting up and analyzing an A/B test experiment focused on comparing two different recommendation algorithms
- how you set your hypothesis
- the best way to segment your user basis
- how to select what you are controlling for (e.g. click-through rate)
- how to interpret test results and consider broader business metrics impact.

Candice and Devin also emphasize the importance of granular testing, proper test design, and documentation of test results for informed decision-making within a company's testing framework.

In a new Seedcamp Deep Dive, Carlos's guest is Di Cook, AI Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), research affiliate at the Center of the Study for Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge, and a doctoral candidate in war studies at King's College in London. Her research interests lie at the intersection of defense, intelligence, and AI.

Their conversation revolves around the societal and security implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI), from the existential risks that AI could create, to the role of AI in national and international security. They also explore how AI technologies, and especially synthetic media, are augmenting and exacerbating societal and ethical issues and discuss potential initiatives and policies that can help to address these issues.

They also examine the risks, potential misuses, and opportunities presented by AI, especially in the field of open-source intelligence (OSINT).

Last but not least, they delve into different stakeholder's roles in re-establishing societal trust.

Show Notes:
Di Cooke - linkedin.com/in/dcooke34/
Carlos Espinal – linkedin.com/in/carloseduardoespinal

Centre for Strategic and International Studies - csis.org
Seedcamp - seedcamp.com

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/