20VC: SoftTech VC's Andy McLoughlin on The Series A Crunch, Maximising Runway and Minimising Burn and For Startups
The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
The Twenty Minute VC
4.4 • 637 Ratings
🗓️ 29 February 2016
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Andy McLoughlin is a Partner with SoftTech VC, where he primarily invests in B2B, SaaS, developer tools and mobile applications. Prior to joining SoftTech, Andy was co-founder of London-based Huddle, under Andy’s leadership, Huddle became one of Europe’s most awarded and well-known technology startups, raising over $80M of venture funding to date. Since 2010 Andy has been a prolific angel investor building a portfolio covering 35 startups, mostly in the SaaS / B2B space. Just to name a few of the investments from his incredible portfolio Andy was an angel in the likes of Buffer, Intercom, Pipedrive, Postmates, Secret Escapes, just to name a few.
1.) How Andy made his startup as an entrepreneur and then VC?
2.) What was it that made Andy make the move from the world of entrepreneurship to VC?
3.) As a seed stage investor, what does Andy make of the Series A crunch? How prevalent has it been for him as an investor? What is the optimal amount of runway founders should raise for?
4.) What does Andy think of the size and cadence of the first funding rounds that we are seeing now? What does he make of the rise of the second seed or the bridge round? Is it an indication of trouble?
5.) SoftTech are near the closing of Fund V, so what is the thesis and the mission going forward? What themes and spaces is Andy most excited by and why?
Items Mentioned In Today's Episode:
Andy's Fave Book:
Andy's Most Recent Investment:
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is the 20 minute VC with your host, Harry Stebbings, reporting back from the UK following our |
| 0:05.5 | trip to the beautiful state of San Francisco. And during our trip, we had the chance to catch up with |
| 0:10.6 | some of the best investors in the world, one of whom is our guest today in the form of Andy McLaughlin, |
| 0:16.4 | partner at SoftTech VC, where he primarily invests in B2B, SaaS, developer tools and mobile applications. |
| 0:24.7 | And prior to joining the world of VC with SoftTech, Andy was co-founder of London-based |
| 0:29.6 | Huddle, and it was under Andy's leadership that Huddle became one of Europe's most awarded |
| 0:34.4 | and well-known technology startups, raising in excess of $80 million |
| 0:38.8 | of venture funding to date. And since 2010, Andy has also built up an incredible portfolio |
| 0:45.1 | in the form of angel investments. Just to mention some of his angel investments, we've got |
| 0:50.4 | the likes of buffer, intercom, pipe drive, postmates and secret escapes, just to name a few. |
| 0:57.9 | However, before we dive into the show with Andy today, this episode is sponsored by Wonder Capital, |
| 1:02.3 | the leading online investment platform allowing individuals to invest in large-scale solar projects, |
| 1:09.0 | and Wonders' investment funds allow you to earn up to 11% per annum. |
| 1:13.0 | And best of all, Wonder Capital does not take any fees for it. So take advantage of this incredible |
| 1:18.1 | offering and head over to wondercapital.com forward slash 20 minute VC. That's Wonder with you and |
| 1:25.0 | 20 minute VC all in letters. However, without further ado, it's time to |
| 1:29.4 | welcome the man himself, so I'm delighted to have Andy McLaughlin, partner at Soft Tech VC, join me. |
| 1:39.7 | You have now arrived at your destination. |
| 1:46.3 | Now, Andy, I'd love to get the ball rolling today. |
| 1:51.3 | So to start off by telling us, how did you make your way into the entrepreneurship and technology industry? |
| 1:52.1 | Sure. |
| 1:55.8 | So I'm a massive nerd. |
... |
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