Insights & Perspectives
The Top Ten Questions I Ask Founders Raising Capital Right Now
Are you a founder raising capital? These are the top ten questions I ask founders. I just got off a call. Great founder. Raising a strong Series A. Except, maybe not. The momentum was not quite there. The investor prospects were starting to dry up. Christmas was...
Who Buys Scale Up!?
A few weeks ago we published "Who attends Scale Up!?" It hit 5,000 views across our platforms in days. Then someone asked: "Great, but who actually buys Scale Up!?" Good question. Here's Part II. Start With Problems, Not Products First, the harsh truth: nobody cares...
How a VC Invests: The Venture Investment Process
The journey from first contact to final investment is a structured, rigorous process that separates exceptional opportunities from the merely good. Here's how leading venture capital firms navigate the path to investment. The venture capital investment process isn't a...
Scale Up MENA! the angel e-mail
Angel e-mail (written for Scale Up MENA! Masterclasses) From: Mohammed, local angel mentor To: The new startup team Re: Congrats on your new startup Hi team, Congratulations on your latest startup. I am super excited to see talent such as yourselves spending...
Can you run MedAssist’s Cap Table?
Are you heading into one of our upcoming Scale Up MENA! Masterclasses? In that case, you might want to explore the wonders of cap table management first. Think about this as a soft warm-up exercise. Cap tables matter Cap tables are the backbone of any successful...
The Four Cap Tables in Scale Up!
What is a 'good cap table'? How have we trained 4,000+ participants on cap tables to date and how can new trainers become masters of cap tables? Over the coming 12 months we expect to train and certify 30-60 Scale Up Train-the-trainers. These range from accelerator...
Value Creation, Value Realization, Exit: Why MENA Founders Need to Know the Difference
"We just hit unicorn status!" the founder announced proudly at the Dubai Angel Network event. Congratulations flowed. Champagne corks popped. LinkedIn lit up. But here's the uncomfortable question nobody asked: How are you actually going to turn that into cash?...
10 Steps to Delivering a Winning Scale Up! Session
Over the years, we have run more than 200 unique Scale Up! sessions globally. From 3-hour discovery sessions to 4-week investment readiness programs and everything in between. We've had thousands of founders, investors, ecosystem builders, government officials, and...
How to Set Up a National Fund-of-Funds: A Strategic Blueprint for Ecosystem Builders
How to Set Up a National Fund-of-Funds: A Strategic Blueprint for Ecosystem Builders I just got out of a really interesting lunch conversation on how to set up a national fund-of-funds. Here are my notes, sketched out over lunch and expanded into a practical guide for...