Sarah McVittie

The secondhand and alternative goods market is growing at a clip. Think Facebook Marketplace and Depop. Shopfront one of Antler's recent investments, is capitalising on this growing market, with a new platform that enables users to do everything from creating listings and selling products across multiple marketplaces in one place. Launching within the APAC region where competition is still limited and green, Shopfront is striking at the right time to succeed. With already 50 users using its MVP and plans to secure 500 sign-ups for its waitlist and roll out its beta platform next month, this business is certainly one to keep an eye on. Read more via Startup Daily👇 https://lnkd.in/gyD5St6e

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How do the best entrepreneurs see a future you can’t? Alexa von Tobel, Founder and Managing Partner of Inspired Capital, shares her fascinating journey and insights into venture capital in the latest episode of The Full Ratchet. Alexa, a serial entrepreneur and the visionary behind LearnVest, is now at the helm of Inspired Capital, a $900M AUM venture firm. In our conversation, Alexa reveals what makes a great founder, why some markets are ripe for innovation, and how AI is transforming industries. She also dives into the importance of EQ, strategic thinking, and the future of FinTech. This episode is packed with valuable lessons for investors and entrepreneurs alike. Don’t miss out on hearing from one of the most influential voices in venture capital today. Listen to Episode 441 of The Full Ratchet now!

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This week on Diaspora.nz ... the one and only Rachel Carrell !! Founder & CEO of Koru Kids - the UK's largest childcare network, responsible for training, matching, and providing ongoing support to over 10,000 nannies across London, to date. Joined by special co-host Phoebe Harrop, we discuss: ▶ Rachel's journey from New Zealand to the UK: hustling chocolates and home-grown lottery schemes on the streets of Invercargill; strategising her way into a Rhodes scholarship to “find her people” at the University of Oxford. ▶ The transition from consulting to entrepreneurship, and unique challenges of operating in the healthcare and childcare sectors. Which learnings from consulting transfer over to startups, vs. where she needed to invest in personal growth. ▶ The founding and early days of Koru Kids: addressing the critical need for quality childcare solutions, how the lack of accessible and affordable childcare has profound consequences for individuals and society. ▶ Scaling marketplaces: solving the “cold start problem” … building the supply side of a marketplace when the service provided requires specific qualifications, how to think about (and avoid) “de-platforming” risk. ▶ Insights into fundraising in Europe, particularly for companies in traditionally difficult sectors. Approaching fundraising with a mindset of learning and strategy development. ▶ Raising venture capital while pregnant, advice for other female (and- pregnant) founders who may need to do the same! ▶ Being a non-technical founder building a technical business has its challenges, but both approaches (tech-first or ops-first) can work with trade-offs. ▶ Rachel’s upcoming book! micro interventions with children to shape how they learn and grow. If you weren't already seeing enough of her in your feed — you'll want to hop over and give her a follow after this! Subscribe listen, share it with a friend... links in comments 👇👇👇👇

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Want to know the founding story behind one the worlds leading skincare brands? 👀 The man behind Bulldog Skincare, Simon Duffy MBE, shares the founding journey of Bulldog on the latest episode of Now We Build by Forward Pursuit. If you're a founder wanting to launch and scale a consumer product, this is a great episode for you. You can watch and listen to the episode in the links below 👇 #founders #vc #startup #business

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Application for London’s Largest Demo Day is well on the way, but now it’s time to bring some spotlight on one of our partners who made this event possible🔥. We are super excited to be supported by Grantify UK ! I’ve known about Grantify and the man behind it (Mat Westergreen-Thorne) since last year. His story of resilience and perseverance with Grantify is super inspiring. Similar to my case with Rare Founders, Matt set up Grantify to solve his own problems with #grants  Anyone who has tried to research or apply for grants can relate to this😥. But he actually solved the problem. Now with Grantify, all you need is to sign up and get matched with the right grant, and with up to a 60% success rate with grant applications, #founders can get their funding in no time (subject to them being actually eligible for grants❗). I’m super grateful that companies like Grantify see and respect the work we do with Rare Founders and the effort we put into creating something different like London’s Largest Demo Day. By the way, for those founders who are looking at grants and want to get a special 𝟭𝟬% 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 from Grantify for the Rare Founders community, see the slides below. One of the last slides has a QR code so you can check your eligibility and, if eligible, get your 10% discount.

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Jessie Healy and I talked last week on #EcommerceImpact about some do's & don'ts for early stage brands who are seeking additional capital for their business. The age old question of - how to raise money :) We're both here in #NewZealand helping entrepreneurs and brands get the best help they need to grow their marketing & operations. Thank you so much for having me, Jessie! https://lnkd.in/gQsTnPsv

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