Following on from the great coverage elsewhere, a few personal words on why Balderton chose to invest in Numeral. — Following on from the great coverage elsewhere, a few personal words on why Balderton chose to invest in Numeral. From our side, this was a “no brainer” investment: a clear pain point for any business doing payments operations; a product-first founding team with strong relevant startup experience; shipping fast with…

We are delighted today to announce Balderton’s strategic partnership with Premialab. — We are delighted today to announce Balderton’s strategic partnership with Premialab. As always a huge reason for our partnership is the founders. Adrien and Pierre are incredibly deep in this sector, having worked at pioneers in systematic investing such as Societe Generale and Julius Baer. Both are super-smart and well-connected…

For most of the time I have been a VC the prevailing wisdom has been that companies, whether B2B or B2C, should aim for a 12 month payback… — For most of the time I have been a VC the prevailing wisdom has been that companies, whether B2B or B2C, should aim for a 12 month payback of CAC. To be clear on definitions here: CAC = fully-loaded Customer Acquisition Cost (marketing, sales, onboarding) Monthly contribution margin CM =…

Following on from the great article in Techcrunch just a few notes from Balderton perspective on why we invested in Primer. — Following on from the great article in Techcrunch just a few notes from Balderton perspective on why we invested in Primer. First off, this isn’t our usual Series A investment. The vast majority of our investments from our venture fund Balderton are at Series A. However we can make the…

What I learned in fintech and insurtech in 2019. Opinionated and probably 50% wrong: — What I learned in fintech and insurtech in 2019. Opinionated and probably 50% wrong: The average person is still struggling to make ends meet, ten years after the last recession. This has a few consequences: Employers are taking more responsibility for the financial wellness of their employees. The feature that…

Fifty billion pounds. — Fifty billion pounds. This is how much the UK workforce is lending to their employer by the 25th of each month, just before they get paid at month end*. And they are lending this money to their employer at zero interest. Many of these employees are struggling to make ends…

I am delighted to announce Balderton’s investment into Cleo, alongside follow-on investors including Local Globe, EF and an impressive… — I am delighted to announce Balderton’s investment into Cleo, alongside follow-on investors including Local Globe, EF and an impressive array of angels such as Errol Damelin and Taavet Hinrikus. This was a highly competitive fundraise and we are delighted that Barney chose us as his partner for Series A.

I have been in VC at Balderton since 2009, and met thousands of companies and founders over that period. Many times I have met the CEO 1:1… — I have been in VC at Balderton since 2009, and met thousands of companies and founders over that period. Many times I have met the CEO 1:1. On other occasions I have been confronted by as many as eight people: founders, co-founders, employees, advisors, angel investors — the full works…

I’ve spent a lot of (too much) time at fintech and insurtech conferences over the last month. I feel like I have had the same conversation… — I’ve spent a lot of (too much) time at fintech and insurtech conferences over the last month. I feel like I have had the same conversation multiple times with other VCs around ‘balance sheet’ fintech businesses but haven’t been able to fully expand on my points. …