How Growth Stage Startups Can Navigate The Current Markets with Margo Wu of Georgian Partners

With the recent market pullback, growth-stage startups have to figure out how to best navigate today’s markets. In this episode, we welcome Margaret Wu, Partner and Lead Investor at Georgian Partners, a Canadian fund that invests in high-growth tech companies. Recently they have focused on the growth of applied AI, investing in Vention, a digital manufacturing automation platform in its $95M Series-C round; and in a $150M Series-C round for global HR software platform Oyster.

Georgian Partners also publishes The Georgian Impact Podcast, runs the collaborative pre-investment CoLab program, and has developed a robust R&D team that leverages AI-driven solutions for its founders. Margo and I discuss how software can be the lifeblood of a well-run organization; how Georgian is currently managing its existing portfolio investments, and the incredible platform Georgian has built to help companies use data to deliver insights to CEOs and startups. 

About Margo Wu:Margaret “Margo” Wu is a Lead Investor at Georgian and is involved in due diligence, deal selection, and board governance for startups exploiting Applied AI.

Prior to Georgian, she was a Product Manager for mobile marketing at Amazon, co-founded a biotech company, and served as COO at OneSpout, a local e-commerce startup. Margaret began her career in technology consulting at Accenture and holds an MBA from Cornell University, as well as a BSc and BES from the University of Waterloo. 

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In this episode we discuss:

02:37 Margo’s background in technology and startups and her journey into investing

04:20 How consulting helped Margo understand the building and scaling of companies

06:05 Lessons learned from Product Management at Amazon

10:25 Georgian’s investment thesis and mandate

13:40 How Georgian found deals at the right valuations over the past year

16:49 Thoughts on “Operating during a Downturn” and preparing for a crucible moment

19:47 How Georgian is thinking about profitability and how realistic it is for founders to pursue

23:01 Georgian’s acquisition strategy given the cheap opportunities in the public market

25:04 Advice to founders looking for growth capital but are at risk of a flat/down round

26:49 How Founders are responding to the current market conditions

28:56 Does Georgian Partners time the markets?

30:55 How Georgian manages follow-up investments in later-stage, pre-IPO firms

32:00 How Georgian’s platform has tactically supported founders

34:23 How the CoLab program works

38:13 How the R&D Team can help portfolio and non-portfolio company founders 

Fast Favorites

PodcastAll-In Podcast

Blog/NewletterWait but Why By Tim Urban

Tech GadgetNintendo 64

New TrendRemote Work/ WFH

BookArt of the Start by Guy Kawasaki

Life LessonKnowing when to pivot and when to persevere

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