At SAP.iO Foundry, powered by Techstars Accelerator we recently organised a series of great investor workshops with a number of leading Berlin VC’s and our companies. The format was a private AMA style fireside chat/workshop where our founders could ask ‘the stupid’ questions and get personal tips and advice on how to raise money from … Continue reading How Investor FAQ’s help you fundraise
I'm lucky. Every few months I've a great mentor and friend who rings to ask 'how am i doing?'. That's all my mentor usually asks. It's amazing and something that surprises me every time. It's such a simple question but one that people rarely ask. It's a question, when asked with genuine concern, that can … Continue reading How are you doing?
It seems that EVERY corporate is now exploring, starting or investing in their own startup accelerator. For the last few months I’ve had too many ‘groundhog day’ conversations with corporates who ‘are thinking of opening a coworking space / startup accelerator’ and wondering ‘have you any advice?’ I politely smile and say "Yes - but … Continue reading Corporate Accelerators, this seasons must have accessory
Some of my favourite stories end with the phrase 'its a small world'. Growing up in Ireland, you kind of take it for granted that everyone knows everyone. As you travel and work internationally you realise how wrong that is. However, sometimes you stumble across a story or two that makes you think... Here are some of my favourite 'small world' stories … Continue reading It’s a small old world – Sacca, Suster and Conway
Early in my consulting career I got the opportunity to lead a small product development project for a new client. I was excited and arrived at my clients office to have the kick off meeting with the partner in charge. We grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down to discuss the project. She only asked one … Continue reading Why Sprint 1 should be all about surprises
It seems every week someone new is visiting and asking for some ideas on what to do / see / eat / drink when they visit Berlin. Rather than re-hashing the same email I'm just going to 'dump' some common responses here. I'm in no way an expert on the city and really only know my neighbourhood (Mitte/Prenzlauer … Continue reading Some Berlin Recomendations
Not every day you get to interview and welcome the CEO and Co-Founder of a $7.2B company to your country. Zalando are hiring 200+ Engineers and Data Scientists in Dublin over the next year. From a European eco-system perspective this is very interesting when you consider that despite being based in Berlin they are coming … Continue reading Berlin comes to Dublin
First time founders are often guilty of outsourcing their sales responsibilities, but all too often, they are even more guilty of delaying selling in any capacity until it is too late. This delay often comes down to fear and that is why I’m constantly asking founders to test their sales hypothesis as soon as possible. … Continue reading Stop Delaying Your Most Important Job as Founder
One of the most frequent questions I hear from 1st time founders is ‘How do I raise venture capital?’. There are so many smarter people blogging about this (for example Paul Graham, Naval Ravikant, Mark Suster, Brad Feld and Fred Wilson) but I think you can break it down into 2 ways; the 'Data Way' or … Continue reading 2 Ways to Raise Venture Capital
My recent talk at the Konnect Again conference for Alumni Directors in Dublin. In this talk I talk more about the lessons from my first startup J1 Summer and how technology can be used to facilitate and organise networks. The conference included Alumni Directors from around the world including Stanford in the US and Durham in the … Continue reading The Power of Networks
Connor Murphy 