RUNWAY SERIES by Olive Capital - web3, Venture Capital, Startup, Crypto

Ep56, a web3 episode with Thibaut Sahaghian, Co-Founder & CEO @ Multis (YC S19). [PROMO CODE to listen to the full episode https://upcomingvc.substack.com/ep56] The myth about pivots is that they are an exception: something undesirable that happens because a startup went seriously awry, and which you should strive to avoid. In reality, pivots are an integral part of the entrepreneurial process. Whether you’re pivoting in the early days because you haven’t yet found product-market fit, or you’re pivoting by reinventing yourself later on, all companies, if they’re going to become and stay successful, are going to have to pivot. You have a brilliant idea, hopefully you’re in the right place at the right time, you execute like crazy, and it either works or it doesn’t. So how do you know when it’s time to pivot? This is the case with Multis, a startup building the financial backbone of crypto-native organizations which has pivoted and experienced being kind of too early in its markets. Mid-March 2022, French startup Multis announced it had raised a $7 million round led by Sequoia Capital, about the firm’s third investment in France after Pennylane and Upway. Originally designed as a neobank for companies working with cryptocurrencies, the company has completely altered its product vision as it offers now the software layer helping web3 organizations manage their crypto finances. Co-founded in 2018 by Thibaut Sahaghian, Y-Combinator and efounders alumni Multis’ is an all-in-one crypto finances management tool that works in concert with Gnosis, a highly trusted platform for managing digital assets on Ethereum. Sequoia’s Stephanie Zhan explains that “Multis is uniquely positioned to provide a new generation of entrepreneurs with an all-in-one solution for cashflow and spend management”. “DeFi companies, NFT studios, or DAOs are cutting-edge in terms of tech. But their business tools are prehistoric: most crypto founders still struggle to perform basic financial operations that are essential to running a business, like getting visibility on cashflow.” declared recently Thibaut to Tech.eu. “They end up creating their own solution, often a shared spreadsheet, in fear that their operational set-up will fall apart and they'll end up losing money because they don't have a clear understanding of their finances, or that team members will misuse funds.” In this 56th episode, Thibaut reflects on the early days & assumptions of Multis and shares with us his learning from building too early in the dark a crypto-company in 2019, the toxic validations they got early on, why they stopped building the product in order to pivot while experiencing a critical change in the co-founding team. Thibaut also shares his findings during the conversations held the VC in their captable as the company was facing tough challenges to find PMF, why vulnerability is key when building a transition plan, switching a challenge to an opportunity & building a narrative. we also talk about how DAOs are reshaping the future of capitalism and the principal-agent discrepancy, about how transparency is a means, a lever for higher trust and the challenges to connect code-based decisions with IRL existance / objects. we discover the road ahead for Multis, Thibaut’s take about hiring in web3, and learn about the next milestones for the Multis product I am sure you will enjoy the episode. -- These podcasts are produced by UPCOMINGVC® upcoming.vc, created and hosted by Raphael Grieco.

It’s been a while since I have not published an episode on the podcast. In fact the last one I published was on Dec 7th, with Maxime Hagenbourger, Founder & CEO of SorareData. You may wonder, what have you been doing? Since Q3 2021 you may have noticed that I started to publish more & more episodes about web3, crypto & NFTs. It is not gonna be the new and only focus for Runway Series but this is definitely a space I have been exploring & intend to explore more in depth. I however don’t want to explore this rabbit hole alone. I want to share with you what I'm learning in the process. What is to me the most efficient way to learn? By doing. I'm happy to share with you that I'm building my own NFT Collection called the Beardy Punks. If you want to join me on the learning path, you can subscribe for free on beardypunks.com because I don't want to mix it with Runway Series, it is a different objective. Staying just a bit on the NFT topic before moving to the other topic I want to share with you today, I definitely think that NFT are not just profile pictures to display on twitter, but are also very powerful as access passes or keys for members, readers, listeners. Therefore, each and every premium subscriber to Venture Notes, where we publish our full podcast episodes and private newsletters, are entitled to receive their member pass in the form of an NFT. This NFT will open the door to private access to events, contents and so much more yet to be designed. It is a long journey ! Subscribe to Venture Notes (https://venturenotes.co), if you want to become a premium member & receive your member NFT, it’s 9€ / month or 90€ / year. Ok so now that we’re done with web3, crypto and NFT, let’s talk about the upcoming podcast series (available in full for premium members). More and more startup founders and onboarding in their captable non traditional VC firms, in the form of solo-gp, via nano funds or syndicates. Most of the time, these Solo-GP are operators-investors, meaning that they have a dual profile on one hand their run their startups or are part of a fast-growing startups as a key hire and on the other hand they are growing a deal flow and a community of founders & LPs which allows them to raise a nano-fund or develop a syndicate We’re an increasing population of such Solo-GP. Yet some of us have not launched yet, for various reasons Unsure about your value-add Unsure about how to structure it Unsure about quality & repeatability of deal-flow.. .. and many other questions That is why I am launching with the help of On Deck a short series to help you kickstart your thinking about becoming an operator-investor / solo-gp. In this short series, you’ll understand how to identify you have a deal flow and how to nurture it the tipping point to launch as a solo-gp how to craft a compelling thesis how to build an LP community + so much more If you’d love to learn more about how to become a solo-gp, you can subscribe to Venture Notes our private media platform where the series will be published shortly. To conclude, I am myself building my own early stage investment syndicate called Olive Capital (olive-capital.co). Starting next month, I will participate to VC LAB, a highly selective international accelerator for emerging fund managers with the objective to launch my first venture capital fund by 2022.

In this 55th episode of "Runway Series Originals", I am thrilled to welcome Maxime Hagenbourger, Founder at SorareData. _____ [PROMO CODE] This episode is an excerpt from the episode that you can find in full with shownotes for our premium members on VentureNotes.co. Being a premium member of “Venture Notes” means 1) full episodes + detailed shownotes, 2) invitations to live podcasts and events, 3) a private chat reserved for the premium members community, 4) a monthly online get-together reserved for premium members, 5) perks and 6) possibly an investment syndicate! To thank you for listening to this episode, we offer you 20% OFF on the 12 month premium plan (€ 72 instead of € 90) valid until January 31, 2022 < Here is your link https://upcomingvc.substack.com/ep55soraredata > _____ Fast-growing companies raising several hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital, sometimes attract in their wake independent players who have identified unmet needs and thus develop products in this large ecosystem born from the success of these scaleups. From this context there are two facts: the certain initial dependence of these emerging actors on these ecosystems but also the opportunity for them to create new categories, by emancipating themselves as they meet success themselves and get traction.And other very insightful takes. This is the case with Soraredata, the go-to platform for every Sorare player. Founded in June 2020 by Maxime Hagenbourger, SorareData provides data and tools to enhance the experience of every Sorare manager: aggregated market data, football players stats, decision-making tools & side games are amongst the key features of the platform. From its inception, SorareData has become the key companion app for every Sorare player to make sure they thrive and succeed in the game: more than 80% of 10+ Sorare card owners are registered on SorareData. Maxime recently declared With the emergence of play-to-earn games, players will look for companion apps to help them in their gaming experiences. Starting with Sorare managers, we look forward to taking part in the changes brought by this new gaming model, making players successful wherever they play. In this 55th episode of "Runway Series Originals", Maxime talks about his technical skills in blockchain that he acquired during the crypto winter of 2018/2019, how he started Soraredata as a side project to help himself to be a better player on Sorare and why he decided to devote himself to it and raise funds (a seed of $ 700k with Seedcamp but also Kima Ventures, Cigny Labs and Sorare-itself). Maxime also explains how to overcome the challenges of a solo-founder even technical, the importance of thinking long-term and utility function for a web3 / crypto / play-to-earn project, why listen to users and the importance he places on recruiting passionate people, how Soraredata serves the Sorare ecosystem and how Maxime intends to deploy the Soraredata experience in other ecosystems and other play-to-earn games... and many other exciting topics. I am sure you will love this episode, we have a lot to cover so enjoy it right now. - - - The "Runway Series Originals", "AMA VC", "Human Factor", "No-Code VC / Fit" & "Venture Talks" podcasts are produced by UPCOMINGVC® (www.upcoming.vc), created and hosted by Raphael Grieco.

In this 5th episode of "Venture Talks", I was thrilled to have assembled an international panel of VC and Founders to discuss “Personal Tokens & Creators IPOs”. - - - [PROMO CODE] This episode is an excerpt from the episode that you can find in full with the full shownotes for our premium members on VentureNotes.co. Being a premium member of “Venture Notes” means 1) full episodes + detailed shownotes, 2) invitations to live podcasts and events, 3) a private chat reserved for the premium members community, 4) a monthly online get-together reserved for premium members, 5) perks and 6) possibly an investment syndicate! To thank you for listening to this episode, we offer you 20% OFF on the 12 month premium plan (€ 72 instead of € 90) valid until December 31, 2021 < Here is your link https://upcomingvc.substack.com/vt5personaltokens > - - - Rex Woodbury based in San Francisco 🇺🇸 VC @ Index Ventures and writer of Digital Native Julien Genestoux based in New York 🇺🇸 Founder @ Unlock Protocol which just raised $4M, to further develop its NFT protocol designed for subscriptions and memberships. Kenneth Schlenker based in Paris 🇫🇷 Co-Founder @ Opal, the #1 screen time app, gathering 100,000+ people who save time, focus better, and develop healthier screen habits. Kenneth launched his personal token $KNTH. Matthew Espinoza based in Toronto 🇨🇦 Co-Founder @ BlockPerks which allows creators to launch their own cryptocurrency and reward their fans with exclusive content, NFT’s and more. We talked inclusion, accountability, literacy, fandom … in particular What is a creator nowadays? Transitioning from pure creator profiles to a creator / business DNA? What about creators’ inclusion in Web3, does one neeed to be technical? Is there a rough playbook to identify when one should issue a personal token? Building in public or Living in public? Issuing a token to ask people what you should do next: how can a personal token issuer be accountable? Is there a new definition of accountability? And will anyone issue a personal token? Who will be relevant to issue a personal token? What about consumer use cases to prove you live “right” in front of financial institutions? What about the concept of “Personal & Creators market caps”? What about inclusion from a fandom perspective? How to include fans not able to afford buying items / tokens from their fave celebrities? And other very insightful takes. I am sure you will love this episode, we have a lot to cover so enjoy this episode right now. - - - The "Runway Series Originals", "AMA VC", "Human Factor", "No-Code VC / Fit" & "Venture Talks" podcasts are produced by UPCOMINGVC® (www.upcoming.vc), created and hosted by Raphael Grieco.

In this 54th episode of "Runway Series Originals", I am thrilled to welcome Kevin Primicerio, Co-Founder & CEO at Pianity. - - - [PROMO CODE] This episode is an excerpt from the episode that you can find in full with the full shownotes for our premium members on VentureNotes.co. Being a premium member of “Venture Notes” means 1) full episodes + detailed shownotes, 2) invitations to live podcasts and events, 3) a private chat reserved for the premium members community, 4) a monthly online get-together reserved for premium members, 5) perks and 6) possibly an investment syndicate! To thank you for listening to this episode, we offer you 20% OFF on the 12 month premium plan (€ 72 instead of € 90) valid until November 30, 2021 < Here is your link https://upcomingvc.substack.com/ep53Hive > - - - 2020 has turned the music industry on its head and taken away a key source of income for musicians. Because of this, artists have been seeking new methods to interact and develop with their audiences, which has led to the creation of NFT marketplaces, which provide numerous benefits to artists. NFTs, also known as crypto collectibles, are one-of-a-kind assets that use blockchain technology to establish scarcity and value on one-of-a-kind artworks, connecting the virtual and real worlds. Founded in Paris in March 2021 Pianity is the first French music NFT marketplace where artists and fans gather to create, collect and trade unique digital artworks guaranteed by the blockchain technology. Through NFTs, Pianity vows to restore music’s art status and insure a new income stream to artists, helping them become more independent doing what they love. It is also a social platform that encourages discovery and creativity, as collecting is intrinsically social. In this new Runway Series Originals episode, I had a lot of fun receiving Kevin Primicerio, its CEO & Co-Founder of Pianity who has a fascinating and versatile background which has led to starting Pianity. In this issue, Kevins shares everything on his brackground, from being passionate about space, research, physics and his haha moment moment that brought him to entrepreneurship his first months at 42 aka Ecole 42 a one of a kind self-paced coding school and how 42 Entrepreneurs started the Hook Genesis, being 42 Entrepreneurs' startup accelerator, how they iterated and what's next the rationale of building Pianity and how Pianity intends to solve the problem Spotify has created Why would you go and buy NFTs on Pianity and the benefits for artists more about the traction since launch, their past fundraise and the upcoming utiltiy token sales and the rights attached to the tokens for both the artists and the collector And other very insightful takes. I am sure you will love this episode, we have a lot to cover so enjoy this episode right now. - - - The "Runway Series Originals", "AMA VC", "Human Factor", "No-Code VC / Fit" & "Venture Talks" podcasts are produced by UPCOMINGVC® (www.upcoming.vc), created and hosted by Raphael Grieco.

In this 53rd episode of "Runway Series Originals", I am thrilled to welcome Franz Purucker, Co-Founder at Hive. - - - [PROMO CODE] This episode is an excerpt from the episode that you can find in full with the full shownotes for our premium members on VentureNotes.co. Being a premium member of “Venture Notes” means 1) full episodes + detailed shownotes, 2) invitations to live podcasts and events, 3) a private chat reserved for the premium members community, 4) a monthly online get-together reserved for premium members, 5) perks and 6) possibly an investment syndicate! To thank you for listening to this episode, we offer you 20% OFF on the 12 month premium plan (€ 72 instead of € 90) valid until October 31, 2021 < Here is your link https://upcomingvc.substack.com/ep53Hive > - - - Buying a product online these days is not only anymore about great online shop design. Customers expect an end-to-end experience, including a great online shop, stellar customer service and a unique unboxing experience. A study by Bain&Company found that 60-80% of customers, who are satisfied with a brand’s offering, do not return to do more business with the company that initially satisfied them. Thus, offering a unique experience is more important than ever. Your vision of your brand must be channeled not only in your packaging but throughout the whole customer experience, from on time delivery to easy return and seamless payment options, in order to increase brand loyalty. No one could not agree more with these statements that Hive, a german based logistics platform for DTC brands. Founded in Berlin in 2020 by Oskar Ziegler, Franz Purucker and Leonard von Kleist, Hive eases the fulfillment process for e-commerce brands via a software solution that provides customised analytics, forecasts and suggestions, in addition to its own in-house logistics fulfillment centres. And I can not be more excited to receive in this episode Franz Purucker one of the 3 co-founders of Hive because we initially met with Franz about 4 years ago when he participated as an aspiring VC to our 2nd Venture Capital Investment Challenge that we organized at Station F in Paris. Franz is only in his mid-20s but has already an impressive background that has enabled him to develop unique analytical skills to run operations and strategy as well as unique insights about the challenges that DTC brands need to address to grow and scale processes while delivering a seamless experience on the customer side. In this amazing episode, Franz explains his key takeaways and learning from his early career in consulting, banking and as a DTC entrepreneur in Indonesia the challenges that DTC brands meet the contrarian product vision that the founding team at Hive built right from the begining how Franz and the founders were able to fast-track their fundraising rounds how big you need to think when talking to later stage investors and why long timelines matter their ongoing international expansion with the particular example of what Franz & Hive start to build in France And many other fascinating topics and insights I am sure you will love this episode so enjoy it right now. - - - The "Runway Series Originals", "AMA VC", "Human Factor", "No-Code VC / Fit" & "Venture Talks" podcasts are produced by UPCOMINGVC® (www.upcoming.vc), created and hosted by Raphael Grieco.

In this Venture Talks # 4 "Open Source Software: Why Now?", I had the immense privilege of receiving this ✨ amazing panel with Megan Reynolds, VC at Crane Venture Partners, Sacha Labourey, Co-Founder, ex-CEO & now CSO at CloudBees, Emile Vauge, Co-Founder & CEO at Traefik Labs and John Lafleur, Co-Founder at Airbyte. - - - [PROMO CODE] This episode is an excerpt from the episode that you can find in full with the full shownotes for our premium members on VentureNotes.co. Being a premium member of “Venture Notes” means 1) full episodes + detailed shownotes, 2) invitations to live podcasts and events, 3) a private chat reserved for the premium members community, 4) a monthly online get-together reserved for premium members, 5) perks and 6) possibly an investment syndicate! To thank you for listening to this episode, we offer you 20% OFF on the 12 month premium plan (€ 72 instead of € 90) valid until October 31, 2021 <Here is your link> - - - The 3 entrepreneurs have collectively raised over US$100M in venture capital funding and Megan only does investments in enterprise and OSS companies, so the discussion was enlightening. We discussed from founders and investors perspectives about OSS in particular costs, freedom & flexibility vs. centralized governance, how open source helps attract talent and its community aspect, why open source could become the model for innovation, the risks, how to choose an open source project to integrate into one company's development... .. and a few more topics! I really thank Megan, Sacha, Emile and John and I am sure you will love this episode. Enjoy the episode! - - - The "Runway Series Originals", "AMA VC", "Human Factor", "No-Code VC / Fit" & "Venture Talks" podcasts are produced by UPCOMINGVC® (www.upcoming.vc), created and hosted by Raphael Grieco.

Dans ce 52ème Runway Series Originals, je reçois Hassan Bourgi, Co-Founder & CEO @ Djamo (YC W21) qui crée la première néobanque en Afrique francophone. - - - [ CODE PROMO À SUIVRE ] Cet épisode est un extrait de l'épisode que tu peux retrouver en intégralité avec les shownotes pour nos membres premium sur VentureNotes.co. Être un membre premium de «Venture Notes» c'est 1) des épisodes entiers + shownotes détaillées, 2) des invitations à des live podcasts et des events, 3) un chat privé réservé à la communauté des membres premium, 4) un get-together mensuel online réservé aux membres premium, 5) des perks et 6) possiblement un syndicat d'investissement! Pour te remercier d'avoir écouté cet épisode, on t'offre 20% OFF sur le plan 12 mois premium (€72 au lieu de €90) <Voici ton lien> - - - Selon le site neobanks.app il y aurait 200 néobanques dans le monde: 70 en Europe (par exemple Curve ou Revolut au UK, Kard ou Pixpay en France, N26 en Allemagne), 48 en Amérique du Nord (avec Chime ou Current), une 40 et une 30 aine respectivement en Asie Pacifique et au Latam et seulement 11 en Afrique et Moyen Orient. J'aurais pu citer d'autres sources plus fiables, plus reconnues mais ce que toute source va démontrer est la réalité suivante: l'écosystème Africain est peu représenté malgré des taux de pénétration croissant du mobile en particulier dans l'Afrique de l'ouest notamment francophone. Alors quand j'ai rencontré lors du demo day de Y Combinator W21 Hassan Bourgi, co-founder et CEO de Djamo la super app financière pour les consommateurs d’Afrique francophone, j'ai tout de suite voulu en savoir plus sur cet état de fait et les solutions qu'il souhaite développer avec Djamo. Dans cet épisode 52 de Runway Series Originals, j'ai eu le grand plaisir de recevoir Hassan Bourgi, Co-Founder & CEO de Djamo et repeat founder. Djamo est la fintech ivoirienne qui veut proposer une meilleure alternative à la banque et est la première startup ivoirienne à avoir intégré Y Combinator. Djamo a pour objectif de renforcer la bancarisation dans l’Union Economique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine, inférieure à 20% selon l'agence Ecofin. Djamo offre entre autres services, une carte d’accès pour des transactions en ligne et bientôt des solutions d’épargne et d’investissements regroupées dans une même application en ne se limitant néanmoins pas qu’aux transactions mobiles. Dans ce super épisode, Hassan revient sur - son parcours entre la Côte d'Ivoire, la France, le Pérou, la Colombie - comment il a lancé, scalé et exit sa première startup en Amerique Latine et ses 2 apprentissages-clé - pourquoi il est revenu en Côte d'Ivoire, les différences de marchés en Afriques - sa compréhension du besoin des digital natives en Afrique de l'Ouest francophone - ce que Djamo fait et veut devenir ainsi que son passage chez Y Combinator et ses levées de fonds Et plein d'autres sujets passionnants. Je remercie vraiment Hassan et je suis certain que vous allez adorer cet épisode. Très bonne écoute! - - - Les podcasts Runway Series Originals, AMA VC, Human Factor, No-Code VC / Fit & Venture Talks sont produits par UPCOMINGVC® (www.upcoming.vc), imaginés, animés par Raphael Grieco.

Harnessing the power of focus. With alice Default (Double), Ambre Soubiran (Kaiko), Bruno Raillard (Frst) and Mathias Ockenfels (Speedinvest). - - - This episode is an excerpt of the full talk (4 in 13 talks in total) that was held during our first «Runway Series Summit: The Fundamentals of Success». Head to summit.runwayseries.co to get the full episode and detailed shownotes. Enjoy the show! - - - Over 3 days on June 1-3, 2021, during break lunches (11.30 - 1.45) and at the end of the day (5.30 - 7) and in 4 time zones, we received 39 guests (28 VC & 11 CEOs) including 31 who had already come on the Runway Series podcast. With «Runway Series Summit: The Fundamentals of Success», the idea is to take a step back from the usual discussions on execution, in order to understand what are the fundamentals of success, with 13 panels covering the DNA of entrepreneurship, the dynamics of co-founding teams, branding, focus, change, remote, data, creativity, diversity and inclusion. And unique fact, these 13 talks are hosted by the 39 guests who themselves are the moderators of these talks, which mechanically increases the quality of the talks. Top speakers from French startups / scaleups (Double, Labellevie, Supermood, Medadom, Convelio..) and French VCs (Frst, Elaia, Ventech, Cap Horn, Ring, Kima, Eutopia, Axeleo and many others) participates but also European VC partners, such as Evgenia from Dawn, Sia from Seedcamp, Jon from e.ventures, Louis from Point Nine, Mathias from Speedinvest.., as well as investors such as Marguerite from Cherry, David from Brighteye or Vincent Head of MarComm's at Northzone which also shows the attractiveness of the French scene for discussing structuring and fundamental subjects. - - - The podcasts Runway Series Originals, AMA VC, Human Factor, No-Code VC / Fit & Venture Talks are produced by UPCOMINGVC® (www.upcoming.vc), created and hosted by Raphael Grieco.

Is DNA for success set from Day 1? With Carlos Diaz (Uncut.fm), Evgenia Plotnikova (Dawn Capital), Sia Houchangnia (Seedcamp), Gabriel de Vinzelles (Frst) and Jean de La Rochebrochard (Kima Ventures). - - - This episode is an excerpt of the full talk (3 in 13 talks in total) that was held during our first «Runway Series Summit: The Fundamentals of Success». Head to summit.runwayseries.co to get the full episode and detailed shownotes. Enjoy the show! - - - Over 3 days on June 1-3, 2021, during break lunches (11.30 - 1.45) and at the end of the day (5.30 - 7) and in 4 time zones, we received 39 guests (28 VC & 11 CEOs) including 31 who had already come on the Runway Series podcast. With «Runway Series Summit: The Fundamentals of Success», the idea is to take a step back from the usual discussions on execution, in order to understand what are the fundamentals of success, with 13 panels covering the DNA of entrepreneurship, the dynamics of co-founding teams, branding, focus, change, remote, data, creativity, diversity and inclusion. And unique fact, these 13 talks are hosted by the 39 guests who themselves are the moderators of these talks, which mechanically increases the quality of the talks. Top speakers from French startups / scaleups (Double, Labellevie, Supermood, Medadom, Convelio..) and French VCs (Frst, Elaia, Ventech, Cap Horn, Ring, Kima, Eutopia, Axeleo and many others) participates but also European VC partners, such as Evgenia from Dawn, Sia from Seedcamp, Jon from e.ventures, Louis from Point Nine, Mathias from Speedinvest.., as well as investors such as Marguerite from Cherry, David from Brighteye or Vincent Head of MarComm's at Northzone which also shows the attractiveness of the French scene for discussing structuring and fundamental subjects. - - - The podcasts Runway Series Originals, AMA VC, Human Factor, No-Code VC / Fit & Venture Talks are produced by UPCOMINGVC® (www.upcoming.vc), imaginated and hosted by Raphael Grieco.