viraj acharya

We’ve raised €1.5Bn across our studio ventures 🎉 I realised: Funding is a function of future clarity. When we work with founders, we ask them to go 5-10 years into the future. Get concrete. Not just a vision, but a plan you can walk through, step by step. - What’s your CPA? And over time? - What channels are driving your growth? - What needs to be true in the market for this to work? - What does the team look like now, in 6 months, 2 years etc? - What will you do if something big changes? (New tech, new rules, new rivals?) The more detail, the easier it is for investors to see what you see. When you pitch with this level of clarity, you don’t sound like someone asking for money. You sound like the CEO of a unicorn, inviting people to join your story before the world catches up. You start to embody that future leader. Investors feel it. They respond to it. Founders, if you’re pitching, ask yourself: Can you describe your business in 2030 in extreme detail?

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It's always interesting to read Y Combinator's Requests for Startups lists, where the venerable accelerator's partners list the kinds of startups they'd like to back. But what do UK early-stage investors want to see? For the latest PreSeed Now, I asked a bunch of them to find our what they were looking for. The result? An interesting (although certainly not comprehensive) look at the current investor appetite. As you might expect, AI features quite a bit, particularly at the intersection with robotics. But there's plenty more here besides... THE LINK is in the comments.... Thanks to: Chris Smith of Playfair James Hayward of Cambridge Future Tech Oliver Kicks of Concept Ventures Nick Slater of Conception X (not a VC firm but with an appetite for interesting startups!) Finn Peacocke of G-Force George Mensah of SVV (Sure Valley Ventures) Matt Penneycard of Ada Ventures Johnathan Matlock of Empirical Ventures Puja Balachander of Carbon13 Paolo Pio of Exceptional Ventures Angie Mahtaney of Aroundtown ...for their input!

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2 years today since we launched StackOptimise ⚙️ This is the best decision we ever made ⬇️ Investing in personal brand. For a business like ours - operating in a saturated space, offering a commoditised service - brand is a super powerful differentiator. So Felix and I decided, from the get-go, to post on LinkedIn everyday. We've only missed a handful of days. And it's paid dividends: 1️⃣ Every deal we've closed has been meaningfully influenced by our LinkedIn presence, either to generate or nurture the lead. 2️⃣ We’re constantly flooded with inbound job applications. 3️⃣ Vendors & partners treat you differently when you’ve got influence. 4️⃣ We promote the tools in our stack for free usage, thus minimising our costs. A trade that only works if your brand holds weight. 5️⃣ Team members gain visibility into both the bigger vision and our day-to-day, driving employee retention. I’ve lost count of how many people I’ve spoken to who’ve either started, or plan to start, their own business - and I always say the same thing: Invest in your personal brand now. It compounds faster than almost anything else. And literally makes every part of the journey - hiring, partnerships, sales, retention - exponentially easier. ---- Here's our Ultimate Guide to Explode on LinkedIn in 2025: https://lnkd.in/eiv6Aktz

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Our data shows a clear pattern: Founders outside of financial hubs give away more of their company, right from the start. A founder in Wales raising £500k might be diluted 22%+ But a founder in London raising the same amount would be closer to 13% And that single round can set your company on a certain trajectory: Less equity for the founder, less upside for early employees, and even less room for future investors. The downstream effects are massive and long-lasting. It isn’t to do with the quality of talent or ideas. It comes down to the limited number of fundraising options available in those areas. Being further from financial hubs means there are fewer angels, VCs, and corporates at your disposal. And it’s why regional founders often face tougher fundraising journeys, even when they’re building equally strong businesses. In 2025, geography shouldn’t be a factor when it comes to dilution (especially in a country as small as the UK) but the numbers tell a different story. My advice for founders outside of financial hubs is this: Don’t spray-and-pray. Do your research, identify and target the most relevant investors in your space (regardless of their location, especially if you can demonstrate traction in the geographies where their fund is based), and avoid over-reliance on a handful of local players. Otherwise, you risk giving away too much, too soon. At shipshape.vc, we’re committed to levelling that playing field - helping founders anywhere, not just in London or New York, raise smarter and protect more of the companies they’re working so hard to build. #Fundraising #Startups #VentureCapital #Entrepreneurship #RegionalFounders #Equity #ShipshapeVC

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The UK has created 163 unicorn companies to date. Each one had a strategy that matched their vision. If you're aiming to build a billion-pound business, your strategy must reflect that level of thinking. Far too often, founders stop at the surface-level decisions. They don’t align the mission, vision, and actions that drive long-term growth. That's why this infographic is really helpful. It breaks down strategy into three simple but powerful layers: ✅ Purpose ↳ Why do we exist? What matters to us? This is where your mission, values, and vision come to life and keep your team aligned. ✅ Strategy ↳ How will we get there? This is the bridge between aspiration and execution, covering plans, focus areas, and enabling tools. ✅ Execution ↳ What will we do next, and how will we track it? This is where actions, targets, and KPIs create real results. I’ve seen too many businesses stall because they ignore this process. But every billion-pound business I've backed or built has done the opposite. They've had a crystal-clear mission, a strong strategy, and consistent execution. And more importantly, they believed it was possible to build something big. That belief needs to show up in every step of the funnel.  If you’re building a business with serious potential, My book How to Make a Billion in 9 Steps will help refine your strategy. You can order the book here 👇 https://lnkd.in/eRYDKXdT What’s one part of your strategy that you’re currently refining? I’d like to hear how you’re approaching growth. ⬇️ ♻️ Repost if you believe Britain needs more billion-pound businesses. And for more on scaling with purpose, Follow me Richard Harpin.

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“𝑭𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆. 𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕.” I had the honour of interviewing Mobin Rafiq, visionary entrepreneur and Co-Founder of the Commonwealth Entrepreneur Club, to discuss one of the most pressing issues in the global economy: How can we empower the nearly 400 million SMEs around the world? “𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒓 𝒖𝒉 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒖𝒓” Mobin shares his bold and practical vision: 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭-𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝, 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐌𝐄 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬. From visiting 𝟖𝟓 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 and engaging with over 𝟓𝟎𝟎 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, Mobin has seen firsthand that the core SME challenges are the same globally: access to capital, lack of skilled labour, and weak support networks. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 & 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐌𝐄 𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐛 (𝐆𝐂𝐒𝐌𝐄 𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐛), is a global platform that connects entrepreneurs, policymakers, and investors across 80+ countries to support SME development, foster collaboration, and tackle poverty through innovation, skills, and trade. “𝑾𝒆'𝒗𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒖𝒔, 𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒄𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒗𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔.” This was a humbling and inspiring conversation with someone who walks the talk. Do you have your startup story to share with us? Comment below 🎙️ Full interview dropping soon. #MobinRafiq #DinisGuarda #Entrepreneurship #Commonwealth #SMEGrowth #ImpactEconomy #InclusiveCapitalism #VocationalTraining #SocialInnovation #Businessabc #Citiesabc #Wisdomia

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A couple of weeks ago, led by Fred Laury, we ran our first-ever, Xero-wide, AI learning event: AI Xplore. AI Xplore coincided with the launch of our internal AI Learning Academy as we gave all 4500+ Xeros globally the opportunity to down tools for half-a-day to learn and experiment with AI. 71% of Xeros told us after the event that they feel more confident using AI tools, 80% were able to identify at least one new way to use AI in their work created internal agents in just a few hours that could be shared across the company. Fred was kind enough to share here his top 3 tips for any company that might want to run a similar event: 1) Offer truly protected time: By making it a global, 'drop everything and learn' event, we gave everyone the permission and space to be curious, learn and experiment without the pressure of their daily tasks, and make it priority. 2) Visible leadership is key from start to finish: Securing senior leadership buy-in early was crucial. Leaders actively championed the day in the lead-up, giving their teams the explicit permission to carve out the time, AND participated personally with their stories and tips. 3) Move beyond just the tools: We were intentional about designing an experience for our people that went beyond simply teaching people how to use AI tools. The goal was to build lasting capability, behaviours, and a new mindset. As for the question on how to help people do, not just ideate, he offered 2 more tips: 1) Solve your own problems:  The goal of AI Xplore was simple - find a new way to use AI in your daily work that you can apply tomorrow. The hands-on session, led by People Leaders and AI Champions, focused teams on their own real-world tasks and pain points.  2) Leverage the power of sharing: We finished the hands-on session by asking everyone to document and share one or two use cases they'd worked on in our event Slack channel and with their own leaders. This created a sense of commitment and a tangible outcome for the day which is a shared library of use cases.

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Big News from Kroolo — We’ve Landed in the UK! 🚀 We’re thrilled to announce that Kroolo has officially launched in the UK, marking a major milestone on our journey to reshape how businesses scale with AI. The UK is becoming dynamic AI ecosystems - a hub of innovation, and forward-thinking businesses hungry for smarter, faster, more connected workflows. For us, this isn’t just a new market... it’s a gateway. 🇬🇧 ➡️ 🇪🇺 With the UK launch, we’re setting the stage to expand deeper into Central Europe, tapping into one of the fastest-growing enterprise AI landscapes globally. The timing couldn’t be better — as AI adoption surges across the region, businesses are rethinking how they operate, automate, and accelerate growth. We’re building more than software. We are building a global AI-native powerhouse!

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