Most angel networks start organically, with the members drawn from a geography or having a particular interest. 24Haymarket has taken a different approach, with a distinct philosophy. We invited its CEO, Paul Tselentis, to discuss what it did and why.He talks about how 24Haymarket started, with an early focus on experienced private equity professionals. We discuss how they leveraged these contacts and how it has influenced factors, such as ow the Network invests at a much later stage than most angel networks. Paul outlines how 24Haymarket has evolved its processes in the light of experience. We also talk about the membership of the Network, the expectations for members in terms of fees and commitment and how it grows. We ask Paul about how he expects it to evolve in the future.24Haymarket website: https://24haymarket.com/Address; 24 Haymarket, LondonSuggested books:Bad Blood by John CarreyrouHouse of Pain by Patrick Radden KeefeBioPaul TselentisCEO and Board Member, 24HaymarketPaul is a co-founder and the CEO of 24Haymarket having been working with the business for the past 8 years. He previously worked in institutional private equity and venture capital at The Carlyle Group and CCMP Capital and began his career at Lehman Brothers in the Investment Banking Division in New York. Paul has a Bachelors degree in Economics from Harvard University.

While 2021 wasn't quite as dramatic as the previous year, it was still an eventful one. The EIS navigator team have got another all-star panel to discuss what happened. Mark Brownridge, Director General of EIS Association, Neil Cole, Head of Wealth Planning Solutions, UBS Wealth Management, and Kealan Doyle, Director, Symvan Capital join Brian to pick through the debris and the prospects for 2021.We chat through what's happened in fundraising, including the recent surge in demand for VCT offers. We also talk about the challenges of deploying all this money, particularly with valuations being so high. We also cover the normalising of ESG, how platforms look after the Kuber failure and get the panel to make some predictions for 2022. Finally, we get Mark to look back on his term as Director-General and what challenges the new DG will face.Links:EIS Assocation - https://eisa.org.uk/Symvan Capital - https://www.symvancapital.com/UBS Wealth Management - https://www.ubs.com/uk/en/wealth-management/home.html

The recent COP26 conference has stimulated a surge of interest in how we can make a difference as investors. Nick Lyth set up Green Angel Syndicate to solve that problem and in a wider ranging discussion we cover his story, experiences and philosophy.There are many practical challenges, from finding the right companies, what could be their impact and how you measure that. We also discuss timescales, balancing the long-term view of an angel investor with the immediacy of the climate issue. We also cover many of the wider aspects of the climate crisis. Nick's background in advertising gives an good perspective on the use of language and how the green movement has been losing that battle. We also discuss the role of politics in both environmental movements and investments.Green Angel Syndicate website: https://greenangelsyndicate.com/Email: nick@greenangelsyndicate.comSuggested book:Angels, Dragons and Vultures by Simon Acland

In this episode the tables are turned as the usual host, Brian Moretta, has recently published a paper on how venture capital fits into retail investor portfolios, with some surprising results. Andrew Aldridge steps into the host seat to discuss the paper.The heart of the paper is the consequences of venture capital being a diversifying asset compared with equity and bonds. Brian discusses what this means for investors and how investors can increase expected returns on their portfolios without taking any additional risk by adding venture capital in the right way. There are consequences for the overall asset allocation which are easily dealt with, but are important.They also talk about several other areas covered in the paper. The analysis initially shows the benefits are significant without tax reliefs, but also look at what happens when these are added. The genuine exceptions get discussed, as well as common misoconcpetions. These include the pension fallacy, the idea that pensions should be filled first, and the idea that high risk investments are only for high-risk investors - both are demonstrably false. Hardman & Co website: https://www.hardmanandco.com/Link to white paper: https://www.hardmanandco.com/tes-white-paper-how-much-should-clients-invest-in-venture-capital/Thanks to our white paper sponsors: SyndicateRoom, One Four Nine Wealth, Nova Growth Capital and Deepbridge Capital. Thanks also to Andrew Aldridge, Head of Marketing at Deepbridge, for interviewing so ably.Suggested books:The Choice by Edith EgerTrust Me I'm Lying by Ryan Holiday

With COP26 having just finished, ESG is back on investors agenda but so far it hasn't delivered. We get Matt Jellicoe of OnePlanetCapital on to discuss why and what we can do about it.Matt draws on his experience of setting up a new fund that is environmentally focused, and finding out that the way ESG is applied to investments wasn't helpful. We discuss the difference between ESG and genuine impact investments and how this is leaving advisers and investors somewhat confused.We also talk about the extent this is a binary categorisation or whether investments exist on a spectrum, how the UN Sustainable Development Goals seem to generating a common language and how close we are to getting clarity so investors can get what they want: investments that are doing good things.OnePlanetCapital website: https://www.oneplanet.capital/Suggested books:No single recommendation from Matt, but he did suggest the histories that Winston Churchill wrote.

Recently, SFC Capital and Beauhurst issued a report about the seed investing market. It showed some interesting, and rather worrying, trends. In this episode, Stephen Page, CEO of SFC Capital discusses the report and the seed market.The big news in the report is a decline in seed funding over the past couple of years. Given this seems to go against trends in other parts of the venture capital market, we discuss possible reasons why. Stephen suggests some possible solutions, including the government updating the SEIS scheme.With SFC doing more SEIS deals than anyone else, we can get some insight into other market trends. We also discuss inflation in valuations and how this can make things harder for founders to get funding.Seeding to Succeed: https://www.beauhurst.com/research/seeding-to-succeed/SFC Capital website: https://sfccapital.com/Emails: stephen@sfccapital.com, info@sfccapital.comSuggested book:Noise by Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony and Cass R. SunsteinBonus book from Brian:Peak by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool

In September, Gresham House announced the intention to buy Mobeus and add their four VCTs to its existing Baronsmead VCTs. Bevan Duncan returns to the podcast to discuss the deal and its rationale.We cover the strategic reasoning as well as how they chose a manager. We dig a bit into the diligence, including how they assessed past performance. As a deal that is about growing rather than cost savings, we also discuss how the new company will operate and what opportunities it may bring.With some recent VCT fundraisings flying off the shelves , we also chat about the current state of the market. We chat about investor demand for VCTs and also dig into how the market is developing for VCTs making investments and how the strong liquidity at later stages is filtering down.Gresham House website: https://greshamhouse.com/Gresham House VCTs website: https://greshamhouse.com/venture-capital-trusts/Suggested book:Legacy by James Kerr

Lucius Cary first raised money for a small restaurant chain in the late 1970s. The difficulties of doing that inspired him to start a newsletter connecting startups and investors. Four decades later, he is on the seventh iteration of his fund.We start with Lucius's own story. He tells us how he found his first investors in an environment with no infrastructure at all. He tells us how this inspired him to help others with the same problems, and how that business led into fund management.Oxford Technology still invests in very early stage-science companies, often investing before there is even a product. We talk about how he assesses such companies and how he paces investment to help manage the risk of being too early. We also talk about his 'one-hours drive rule'. As an investor in over 150 companies, Lucius brings a wealth of examples, both of companies and his unique way of working.Website: https://www.oxfordtechnology.com/

John Glencross has been at the forefront of the EIS and VCT world for over two decades, co-launching the first approved EIS fund in 1999. We take advantage of this to get a long-term perspective on how the market and the Calculus investment process has changed over time.We start at the launch of their first fund, with the challenges of a product that was even less well known that it is now. John talks about how they found an investor base and avoided the worst of the bursting of the internet bubble.The areas that Calculus invest in have evolved over this period. We discuss how these change, the challenge of choosing areas that will be do well over the next few years. We also discuss how economic cycles interact with this, including the financial crisis in 2008 and the more recent pandemic. We also chat about the evolution of the EIS & VCT market, how it has got better and what problems still need addressed.Website: https://www.calculuscapital.com/Suggested books:The Prophet by Khalil GibranMemoirs of an Infantry Officer by Siegfried SassoonCrisis Deluxe by Chris Coffman

Scott Weavers-Wright is a serial entrepreneur. When we had him on last year (episode 12), we only managed to discuss one of his first exit so we had to get him back for more. We pick up his story from where we left off, with Scott getting into investing with his business partner Fred. He explains how this led to him funding the creation, then running Elevaate, a platform that allows online stores and brands to manage and monetise product placement.We discuss the challenges that this brought, many of which were different from his previous business. We discuss the challenge of managing the company prudently when there is money in the bank. We also talk about keeping staff motivated when sales and business is slow to appear and why the company took venture capital funding. Scott also talks about how he raised the company's profile and how this helped generate interest for an exit.Finally, we chat about the lessons Scott has learned, include the need for patience and belief, and how he applies these to his investing.Websites - https://haatch.com/https://scottweaverswright.com/