In an insightful interview on the 20 minutes VC, host Harry Stebings discusses with Scott Taylor, CEO of my drive and advisor to EC1 Capital, his entrepreneurial journey from selling toffee at school to creating multiple startups, including a property platform and a Maldives travel agency. Taylor emphasizes the importance of being resourceful, imaginative, and eager to learn as key traits for successful founders. He also highlights the value of having mentors and maintaining a work-life balance to prevent burnout. In his role at EC1 Capital, Taylor advises on SaaS and B2C startups, looking for visionary ideas and founders with relevant backgrounds. He believes in the power of angel ecosystems and the potential of the automotive and logistics industry, driven by advancements like in-car telematics and autonomous vehicles. Taylor also shares his investment strategy, the impact of SEIS and EIS on UK investing, and the necessity of storytelling in entrepreneurship.
"He is the CEO at my drive, a startup focused on reinventing the learner driving experience. He is also an advisor to leading London based VC firm Ec one Capital and a mentor for Richard Branson's Virgin startup program."
The quote introduces Scott Taylor's current roles and highlights his involvement in various aspects of the startup ecosystem, from leading a company to advising and mentoring roles, as well as his investments.
"I think I've always sort of had an entrepreneurial trade... I started my first online startup when I was sort of age 15."
This quote reflects on Scott's early entrepreneurial spirit and his initial foray into the world of startups.
"It was pretty daunting whenever you're sort of 1415 trying to learn about object orientated programming just through this huge book."
The quote highlights the difficulties Scott faced while learning to code and the lack of resources compared to what's available now for learning programming.
"Determination, being relentlessly resourceful, I guess having a real dissatisfaction with the status quo."
This quote summarizes the mindset and qualities Scott considers vital for a founder to possess in order to succeed.
"I think having a strong mentor, I'm a big advocate of having mentors, people that have been there and done that."
The quote underlines the value Scott places on mentorship and its role in overcoming challenges in the business world.
"Other than that, I think having a strong work life balance, whenever I was finding those companies age 1415, it was quite a lonely endeavor because I was solo finder for the majority of them."
This quote emphasizes the speaker's personal experience with the challenges of being a young solo entrepreneur and the importance of work-life balance in that context.
"Depends really what stage of your career you're at and also sort of what you can deal with economically."
This quote suggests that seeking mentorship should be tailored to an individual's career stage and economic capacity.
"And again, it all comes back to being relentlessly resourceful."
Resourcefulness is highlighted as a critical trait for those seeking mentorship and advice from industry leaders.
"My role, I think I've been working alongside or advising EC one for a year and a half or so now, and I'm simply just an advisor."
This quote describes the speaker's role as an advisor at EC1 Capital and his involvement in evaluating and advising startups.
"I think first and foremost does the idea and vision resonate with me."
The speaker values a personal connection with the idea and vision of the startups he evaluates.
"Was the founder able to pull in some high profile domain experts?"
The ability of a founder to attract experts is seen as a de-risking factor in the decision-making process.
"Well, if I've got my angel investor hat on, I don't know, exits of 1 million plus for venture capital and Ec one Capital and series a people."
This quote reflects the speaker's perspective on the different exit size expectations for angel investors versus venture capital firms.
"Yeah, so I've been a mentor at Virgin, I think now for about five or six months."
This quote indicates the speaker's relatively recent involvement with Virgin Startup as a mentor but does not detail the funding process.
"There's an application. You go through the application where you pull together your sort of business case. You start to decide how much of loan Virgin startup is sort of a delivery partner for the startup Loans company, which is a government initiative which has been going from strength to strength."
This quote explains the initial stage of the Virgin Startup loan application process, highlighting that it is part of a government initiative and requires a business case.
"Then you submit your case, then the Virgin sort of startup committee will approve it or disapprove it. And just to sort of give you an insight into the numbers, in 2014 there was 10,000 applications and about three or 3% of those will successfully get loans dispersed."
The quote provides insight into the approval process and the success rate of loan applications in 2014, indicating the competitive nature of the process.
"And then you do your submission and if you get accepted, then there's the post loan support where the mentors kick in, which is where I would start to talk through and you're matched with a mentor and it's really that relationship for the life of your company."
The quote describes the post-approval phase, emphasizing the importance of mentorship and the long-term relationship between the mentor and the entrepreneur.
"No, for sure it can be pre product. And interestingly, I think I was just looking through some stats this morning. I think like 22% of the applicants are within the manufacturing and retail space."
This quote clarifies that businesses do not need a working prototype to apply for a Virgin Startup loan and provides statistics on the diversity of the applicant pool.
"I think the explosion in angel investment is great. It's great as an ecosystem. It means that we get to prove more hypotheses."
The quote expresses enthusiasm for the increase in angel investment, highlighting its role in testing business ideas and supporting the startup ecosystem.
"It's something we haven't had that many huge exits over here in the UK. But thankfully now with EIS, seIs, all of those things, we're definitely seeing this market become more buoyant."
The speaker compares the UK's angel investment landscape with Silicon Valley's and notes the positive impact of investment schemes on the UK market.
"Yeah, definitely. If you look at the maths of it, if you're doing sort of a 5100k ticket size, the sort of tax advantages and stuff from it are great for high net worth individuals."
This quote affirms the positive impact of SEIS and EIS on investments, particularly emphasizing the tax benefits for those investing larger sums.
"It's difficult because if you look at the core maths of startups, the majority will fail. And if you're sort of raising ten, twenty k from friends and family, it's always that bit more difficult."
This quote addresses the high risk associated with startups and the complexities of raising money from friends and family due to the potential for loss.
"So, yeah, it's sort of a mixed balance."
The speaker acknowledges the dual nature of friends and family rounds, balancing support with the risk of losing their investment.
"Well, first, port of call is sort of rich auntie and uncles. Second is angel list all of these sort of crowdfunding websites."
This quote suggests a strategy for entrepreneurs to seek initial funding, starting with personal connections and then exploring crowdfunding platforms.
"Third, just networking, getting out there, identifying young finders or finders that have done pretty well."
The speaker advises entrepreneurs to actively network and seek out individuals with a successful track record for potential investment opportunities.
"So yeah, there's plenty of avenues to try and find angel investment, but I think Angellist and sort of like crowdcube would probably be the favorites."
The quote emphasizes the popularity and effectiveness of AngelList and Crowdcube as platforms for securing angel investment.
"Automotive and logistics is a pretty widespanning industry... there's a lot of tech within automotive at the minute. And I think it's only getting started."
Scott Taylor explains why he is excited about the automotive and logistics industry, citing the current technological advancements and the potential for growth in the future.
"Expanding. We want to get into Europe within early 2016. For me."
Scott Taylor outlines the immediate expansion plans for MyDrive, indicating a strategic push into the European market.
"Yeah, it's crazy. I've got a figure in my email signature which has our number and you know, you're doing pretty well if you have to come back every week and adjust it."
Scott Taylor describes the rapid growth of MyDrive's user base, which is a testament to the company's success.
"Yeah, it's again going from strength to strength. I think I read over the weekend that Apple's revenues are now greater in China than the."
This quote highlights the burgeoning Asian tech market, with Scott Taylor using Apple's revenue figures as evidence of the market's potential.
"I think one of the things that became clear to me as I started to find and sell and find and sell companies is being able to tell stories."
Scott Taylor stresses the significance of storytelling in the entrepreneurial process, from securing investments to engaging consumers.
"I think if you start a company with the sole goal of selling it, it's not really a great place to be."
The quote suggests that the aim to sell should not be the primary motivation for starting a company, as it may not lead to a fulfilling entrepreneurial journey.
"It's still in stealth, but it's a company that operates in the same space as just eat. And again, I invested it because of the team and actually the unit economics of food takeaway and delivery startups are pretty compelling."
This quote reveals Scott Taylor's recent investment decision based on the team's strength and the business model's economic viability.
"Now for all the resources mentioned in today's show with Scott, head on over to the blog at www. Dot the twentyminutevc.com and you can follow the 20 minutevc on Twitter at 20 minutevc, all in lowercase."
Harry Stebings wraps up the interview, providing listeners with directions to additional resources and ways to engage with the content online.