Fundraising: Is it a man’s world?
plus: How to clean up a busy calendar
· 868 words
Melanie Gabriel & Christian Woese
August 06, 2024 • Read time: 4 minutes
Dear hustlers, founders, operators and visionaries,
Everyone - except US VCs - is on vacation and we are watching the Paris Olympics, where sponsorship and social media presence are off the charts. LVMH showcased their fancy bags at the opening ceremony, and athletes are snapping selfies with Samsung phones post-medals. Simone Biles' TikTok of the US gymnastics team biting their gold medals has over 119m views.
The Paris games is also a goldmine for startups, which are looking to seize the billion-euro opportunities. From Le Pavé’s recycled winner podiums to Kinomap's fitness tech and HostnFly's rental services - the Olympics aren't just about athletic talent, they're a platform for innovative startups to shine. Follow the Gradient and stay tuned!
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Your talk track for this week’s cocktail party
Is it a man’s world…
Flo Health, a period tracker, became Europe’s first FemTech unicorn, raising a record $200m. The caveat? It's founded by an all-male team, sparking a heated online debate: Critics argue it highlights the funding gap for female founders, while supporters say it proves the profitability of women’s health, potentially opening doors for female-led startups. What’s your take - does this pave the way for female founders, or are the doors still shut?
…or are female founders finally breaking the glass ceiling?
Female Invest’s journey reveals the barriers women face in funding. They raised $11.2m and broke records with a $1m crowdfunding campaign in 4 minutes, showcasing the potential of female-led businesses. In their funding announcement the founders became vocal about the fact that, despite generating $0.78 for every dollar invested (compared to $0.31 by male-founded companies) and exiting faster, women still face tremendous funding challenges. Are female founders finally breaking through?
Microsoft now lists OpenAI as a competitor
Microsoft has officially classified OpenAI as a competitor in its annual 10-K report. This change follows OpenAI's launch of SearchGPT, which directly competes with the search and news advertisement businesses of Google, Meta and Microsoft. Previously, Microsoft invested $13bn in OpenAI and integrated its models into its products. Recent developments, including antitrust scrutiny and relinquishing a board observer seat, highlight the complex relationship: the AI industry is highly competitive and partners can quickly become rivals.
A world of memes
Food for thought
What is culture? Your ultimate IP
“Culture is something that people learn, they develop these shared instincts and it’s so important. It’s your ultimate intellectual property. Not your technology, not your recipes, not your exclusive contract vendor relationship. The way you know how to do something. It is the most important thing a company has. Because all a company is, is a bunch of people, a bunch of money, and a direction that those people are using those resource to go towards. And the culture is the thing that bonds those things together.
[…] Every single thing you care about in your head as a leader, your culture is as strong as everyone else caring as much as you do about every one of these things. You as leader are the values. […]
It’s the way you rise to the occasion in the face of adversity. Your culture is the behaviour of the leader. That gets mimicked all the way down to every single person. Your culture is every time you choose to hire someone, every time you choose to fire someone, every time you choose to promote someone. It’s the way everyone does everything. And the way a leader designs a culture is not by writing out a list of values, it’s by basically leading by example every single day.”
Does the timing of my startup's fundraising matter?
Most of the fundraising advice you will read online won’t apply to you if you are a Triple-A company. For the rest, it is important to consider seasonality to improve the odds of getting funded. That's what it’s all about when Maximilian Fleitmann talks about fundraising strategy:
One good read
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Smart hack
Does your calendar normally look like this? Change this by following some simple rules:
Delete meetings: Ruthlessly remove unnecessary meetings, especially those without a clear agenda or proper preparation.
No agenda, no meeting: Ensure every meeting has a purpose and required materials.
Install regular office hours: Set themed or “ask-me-anything” slots to manage team interactions efficiently.
Deep work: Dedicate two hours daily for focused, impactful tasks.
Turn off notifications: Limit distractions by muting non-essential alerts.
Defend your time: Treat your time as valuable and avoid low-impact activities.