Launchbase: Building Tech Products & Scaling Startups

Growing Pains with Roy Shelton, Managing Partner at DropJaw Ventures

Different founders make different kinds of mistakes. This is where DropJaw comes in. DropJaw Ventures are a specialist business advisory firm and provide access to capital, interim management and advisory services to scale up businesses and companies in need of a turnaround.This week, we have an insightful discussion with Roy Shelton, Managing Partner at DropJaw Ventures on the challenges faced by young, emerging, scale-ups and more established companies who are driving for greater efficiency and commercialisation.We delve into:How do you assess risk management?What kind of growth levels do investors look for?Funding fatigue and how to break the funding distraction.Industries investors are excited about in 2021.DropJaw Ventures: https://www.dropjawventures.co.uk/

Pivot Your Product Market Fit with Lydia Jones, Founder and CEO of Housemates with Lydia Jones, Founder and CEO of Housemates

Execution is everything. This morning, our host is joined by Lydia Jones, Founder and CEO of Housemates. Housemates is a marketplace to discover and book student accommodation in minutes. Lydia has been featured in TechRound’s 29 under 29 for 2020 and BusinessCloud’s 35 under 35 to watch in the UK.We discuss staying curious when solving a problem through product and building a product your users didn’t know they needed. We chat about the importance of shame when it comes to your first MVP and remaining agile when finding that red hot centre when building the best value problem product.Links: https://housemates.io/

Let’s Iterate It with Andy Skipper, Founder and Chief CTO Coach at CTO Crafts

This week, we decode the role of CTO with our guest Andy Skipper, Founder and Chief CTO Coach at CTO Craft. CTO Craft’s community brings together technology leaders from across the world, from small startups to global organisations. They offer an easily digestible range of deep-dive courses and programmes to help technology leaders of all experience levels. We discuss the role of a CTO, what that entails, how CTO's can recognise how to make the transition from engineer to team leader and all the wrong ways to do agile.Sources mentioned:CTO Craft Conference: https://conference.ctocraft.com/

’Will AI and Machine Learning Terminate Us?’ with Mads Jensen - Managing Partner at SuperSeed

The terms 'Artificial Intelligence', 'Machine Learning' and 'Big Data' have been in the limelight throughout 2020 and 2021 has been no exception. Our guest this week saw this potential and their portfolio demonstrates this. This week, our host has a catch up with Mads Jensen, Managing Partner at SuperSeed. SuperSeed accelerates B2B startups in launching great AI-focused products. John picks Mad's brain on all things: Big Data and AI, what characteristics do VC's look for in a founder, the role of MVP in solving a problem, and should our politicians be listening to robots?Sources mentioned:Borne Agency - https://borneagency.com/SuperSeed - https://www.superseed.com/

Just F****ing Launch It with Dr Charles Armitage, Co-Founder and CEO of Florence

When it comes to scaling a business from the ground up, you want to build a category-defining company that owns the entire space and adds value for your users. This week, John dives in with Dr Charles Armitage, Co-Founder and CEO of Florence, an online marketplace that connects independent nurses and carers for freelance shifts.Re-inventing your startup at every opportunity is key whilst scaling to pivot your business with your user’s changing needs. We discuss building products that are user-centric and defining your product-market fit on the roadblocks that may appear along the way and learn from the mistakes because that is what an MVP is for.

Getting Curious with Wills Hapworth - Managing General Partner at TIA Ventures

Passion, Resilience, Coachable, Curiosity.These are the qualities that seed/pre-seed investment firms like TIA Ventures look for in entrepreneurs and bringing 'Thought Into Action'. This week, John grabs a virtual coffee with Wills Hapworth, Managing General Partner at TIA Ventures, a seed-stage venture capital fund that partners with companies building emotional and visceral connections with their consumers.We discuss identifying your “North Star” as an entrepreneur and recognising your visceral product-market fit. We touch base on questions like: “Are MVP’s still relevant?”, "How do you get your product to market?”, "Are your credentials as an entrepreneur important to investors?” and unpacking the success stories by learning from the failures.Sources:“Superhuman” Article: https://firstround.com/review/how-superhuman-built-an-engine-to-find-product-market-fit/

Launching It Lean with Nick Miller- UK Country Manager at PayFit

Execution is everything. When launching your digital product, you should always have the “why” and the “how” and sell your product in just one sentence. This week, we sit down with Nick Miller, UK Country Manager for Payfit on launching your product lean and focusing on the “less is more” mantra. Understanding your user and what problem you are solving for them through your MVP will save you money in the long-run.We dive into pinpointing what is essential when it comes to launching an agile product: “What is your selling point?”, "What objectives are you trying to achieve?”, and “How do you allocate your resources to create a product with a high level of excellence?”

The Agile Entrepreneur with Lex Deak - Founder of Basket

For those of us starting the journey towards launching our own business or startup, taking those first steps may seem daunting. This week, we have a chat with Lex Deak, Founder of Basket, on delving into the vast and multi-faceted world of entrepreneurship and starting a business from the ground up: the good, the bad and the funny.

Launching A Product During a Pandemic with Molly Johnson-Jones - Co-Founder at flexa

To say that 2020 was a rollercoaster ride is the understatement of the century. In times of chaos, however, comes opportunity. This week, we sit down with Molly Johnson-Jones, Co-Founder of flexa, to discuss launching your product during a pandemic and the challenges and opportunities that come with keeping your product and startup thriving in the chaos.

Sowing The Seed and Getting Funded with Robert Walsh – Managing Partner at Q Ventures.

We're in a business climate transformed by a global pandemic and tech founders need help figuring out how to navigate the seed round and impress investors and stand out from the crowd. This week, we sit down with Robert Walsh, the Managing Partner at Q Ventures. Robert answers our burning questions: What key qualities do investors look for in your business? What is your idea disrupting? Is it necessary to have a working MVP when approaching an investment company?