20 VC 051 The New Silicon Valley Style VC in London with Alessandra Sollberger @ Mosaic Ventures

In this episode of "20 minutes VC," host Harry Stebings interviews Alessandra Solberger, a VC at Mosaic Ventures, a London-based firm with a Silicon Valley approach, focusing on Series A investments. With a diverse background including roles at Blackstone and Goldman Sachs, and as the founder of the edtech nonprofit Bright Mentors, Solberger shares her journey into venture capital. She emphasizes the importance of diverse experiences for pattern recognition in VC, the value of operational experience for understanding startups, and the necessity of having strong, informed opinions about different sectors. Solberger also discusses the evolution of marketplaces, the potential of blockchain technology beyond Bitcoin, and the importance of coding education, highlighting her work with Bright Mentors to address the tech skills gap. The conversation concludes with a lightning round, touching on the pros and cons of being a VC, advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, and Mosaic Ventures' recent investment in the blockchain space.

• Alessandra Sollberger is a VC at Mosaic Ventures, a VC firm based in London.
• Mosaic Ventures focuses on Series A funding rounds.
• Alessandra's background includes working in private equity at Blackstone and in M&A at Goldman Sachs.
• She founded Bright Mentors, an edtech nonprofit.
• Alessandra has experience in startups in the US and Europe.

"And on today's show, I'm so excited to welcome Alessandra Sollberger, VC at Mosaic Ventures, a new Silicon Valley style VC firm based in London, focusing on series A rounds." "She's also the founder of Bright Mentors, an edtech nonprofit teaching coding and science in secondary schools through a network of technology professionals."

The quotes highlight Alessandra's current role at Mosaic Ventures and her entrepreneurial background, including her involvement in education through Bright Mentors.

• Alessandra began her entrepreneurial journey at age 11 by reselling children's items.
• She engaged in extreme sports during high school and obtained licenses to teach windsurfing and snowboarding.
• Alessandra emphasizes the importance of pattern recognition in VC, which can be informed by unique experiences.

"I started getting into entrepreneurship early on in a very spontaneous, you know, reselling children items in front of large exhibitions, making quite a high markup and eventually accumulating quite a ton of cash without even wanting it." "I think in general, entrepreneurship and VC is also about pattern recognition across, I would say, unusual experiences or profiles."

These quotes illustrate Alessandra's early entrepreneurial activities and the value she places on diverse experiences for recognizing patterns as a VC.

• Alessandra studied in Switzerland, the US, and the UK at Oxford.
• She gained experience in M&A at Goldman Sachs and worked in private equity at Blackstone.
• Her involvement in tech startups provided operational experience, which she considers valuable for understanding the entrepreneurial side of venture capital.

"And later on, I studied in Switzerland, in the US, and then in the UK at Oxford. And I got experience in M. A. At Goldman and I worked in private equity at Blackstone for the period before kind of like getting into venture."

This quote summarizes Alessandra's educational and professional journey before entering the venture capital industry.

• Alessandra is passionate about venture capital, finding it intellectually and socially rewarding.
• She enjoys the challenge of engaging with new market spaces and innovative ways of doing business.
• The role involves meeting smart, passionate entrepreneurs, although it also requires the ability to say no to many proposals.

"It's an extremely rewarding job. You meet very smart, amazing entrepreneurs who are passionate about what they do every day. It's tough to say no, but it's mainly about being able to say no as well."

The quote captures the rewarding aspects of being a VC, as well as the necessity of making difficult decisions.

• Mosaic Ventures is a Silicon Valley-style firm operating in Europe.
• The firm was founded by partners with experience as operators and investors in the US.
• They saw an opportunity for investing in Europe and established Mosaic Ventures with that focus.

"So mosaic is sort of like a Silicon Valley style venture firm. It was started because the partners, who are both operators and investors over the years, they worked in us for a long time, but they're originally from here and they kind of felt like it's a great moment right now to be investing in Europe."

This quote explains the origin and mission of Mosaic Ventures, emphasizing the founders' background and their vision for investing in Europe.

• Alessandra Sollberger's fund is series A focused and primarily invests in European companies.
• The fund targets entrepreneurs with long-term, ambitious plans aiming to transform their chosen industry.
• The drive and ambition of entrepreneurs is a key factor in their investment decision-making.

So we are series A focused fund. We invest mainly in European companies across geographies like the UK, Germany, Sweden, Finland, France and various others. And we're really excited about entrepreneurs with very long term ambitious plans about changing the industry in the market that they pick and with that sort of drive, right?

This quote highlights the investment focus of Alessandra Sollberger's fund, emphasizing their interest in European startups with ambitious, long-term goals and a strong drive to innovate within their respective industries.

• The fund rejects 99% of pitches, indicating a highly selective investment process.
• There is no straightforward formula for how to reject pitches, and it remains a challenging part of the job.

99% of the time.

This quote reveals the high selectivity of the fund's investment process, with a 99% rejection rate for pitches they receive.

• There are two main paths to entering the venture capital industry: founding a startup or gaining operational experience, and working in a large bank or consultancy.
• Diversity in venture capital is seen as beneficial, providing a range of perspectives during investment discussions.

What do you make of the different paths? Interventure. I mean, it seems there are two clearly defined routes. Being founding a successful startup or having that operations experience or working in a large bank or consultancy.

This quote discusses the common backgrounds of individuals in the venture capital industry, suggesting that there are two prevalent paths: entrepreneurial experience or a background in finance and consultancy.

• A mix of different backgrounds is important for a diverse range of opinions in investment discussions.
• Having a balanced team with varied experiences is seen as ideal.

I think you need both. I think ideally you literally have both, right, as I guess our partners do. But you need a mix as well, because when you have discussions about investment opportunities, about market trends, about all of that, you want diverse opinions, you kind of want to spark a dialogue that is not necessarily everybody thinks the same way.

Alessandra Sollberger emphasizes the importance of diversity in venture capital, suggesting that a mix of different backgrounds contributes to richer discussions and better decision-making.

• Developing a strong interest in the startup ecosystem and forming opinions about different sectors is crucial for anyone looking to enter the venture industry.
• It's important to stay informed and be able to argue for or against specific business models and startups.

Sure. I think you really need to develop a strong interest in the ecosystem in terms of startups and what's going on, and have your own opinions about different sectors and within each sector. Why does this business model or the other one make more sense, and how does the industry look like in five years from now and why?

Alessandra Sollberger advises that a deep understanding and personal viewpoint on the startup ecosystem and various sectors are essential for those aspiring to join the venture capital industry.

• Demonstrating up-to-date knowledge and having well-reasoned opinions about sectors such as blockchain are ways to prove a genuine interest in startups.
• Providing concrete examples and being able to argue for or against specific startups is better than theoretical knowledge alone.

Right. I think being up to date, sort of like I like hearing people who, they've kind of got an overview of what's going on in terms of, I don't know, the blockchain is interesting because give me the reasons, right? And then I can see that you've thought about that or these other sector.

Alessandra Sollberger suggests that individuals should showcase their knowledge of current trends and articulate their reasons for being interested in specific sectors, such as blockchain, to demonstrate their passion for the startup industry.

• Alessandra Sollberger is involved with the marketplaces sector.
• The discussion was leading towards the reasons behind the resurgence in marketplaces and the factors driving their growth.

And one of your sectors that you're involved with is marketplaces, leading me to ask, why do you think we've seen this sudden resurgence in marketplace?

This quote sets up a question about the growth of the marketplaces sector, indicating that Alessandra Sollberger has insights into this area of investment.

• Marketplaces have evolved from horizontal models like Craigslist to vertical ones such as Airbnb.
• They now not only connect buyers and sellers but also provide services themselves, like Uber.
• The internet has allowed marketplaces to specialize vertically within specific areas.
• Marketplaces have created liquidity and transparency, especially in opaque markets.
• They have democratized the buying process and made pricing more transparent.

"It started sort of with horizontal models like listings like Craigslist. It went to vertical ones like Airbnb. And now when you look at marketplaces, it's more than vertical. They're actually also the provider of services like Uber."

This quote by Alessandra Sollberger outlines the historical progression of marketplace platforms, emphasizing the shift from broad, horizontal platforms to specialized, service-providing vertical marketplaces.

"So for example, before eBay, it was all offline. It was very transparent. And you would never know, I mean, as a consumer, right. You would never have an idea of what's good and what's bad from a price perspective."

Alessandra Sollberger highlights the impact of marketplaces like eBay on price transparency and consumer awareness, contrasting the pre-digital era's lack of transparency with the current situation.

• Alessandra Sollberger expresses interest in vertical marketplaces that also provide services.
• She is actively looking for promising marketplace investments.
• The conversation suggests a belief in the high potential of such startups.

"I'm seeing some. I would say that definitely, as I was telling you before, vertical ones that can also provide the service are very interesting."

Alessandra Sollberger confirms her interest in new marketplace models that integrate service provision, indicating a trend in her investment focus.

• Alessandra Sollberger's portfolio includes investments in blockchain and blockstream businesses.
• Blockchain technology is recognized for its applications beyond Bitcoin, such as smart contracts.
• The decentralized nature of blockchain is seen as democratizing and disruptive.

"There's several interesting trends going on. I would say that if you see our portfolio, we are investors in blockchain and blockstream, which are kind of like blockchain related businesses."

Alessandra Sollberger identifies blockchain as a sector of interest, noting her existing investments and the potential for further disruption in this area.

"And I would argue the blockchain is just much more than bitcoin. Right. There is all sort of things going on that are interesting in there, just like smart contracts."

Alessandra Sollberger emphasizes the broad applications of blockchain technology, suggesting that its impact extends well beyond cryptocurrency.

• Alessandra Sollberger believes blockchain has the potential to significantly impact monetary exchange.
• The conversation touches on the potential of blockchain to coexist with or expand beyond Bitcoin.

"But yes, I do believe that it has the potential of having an enormous impact. Yes."

This quote by Alessandra Sollberger expresses her belief in the transformative potential of blockchain technology on monetary systems.

• Alessandra Sollberger discusses the transparency of blockchain, noting every transaction is visible.
• The use of blockchain for illicit activities is acknowledged, but its transparency is emphasized.
• The term "cryptocurrency" does not imply untraceability but refers to the cryptographic nature of the technology.

"The funny thing is that actually you can see every transaction on the blockchain, so it's incredibly transparent."

Alessandra Sollberger clarifies a common misconception about blockchain, asserting its transparency despite its association with secretive activities like those on Silk Road.

"So crypto. But it doesn't necessarily refer to the fact that you'll never be able to trace a transaction. In fact, it's quite the other way around."

Alessandra Sollberger explains that the term "crypto" in cryptocurrency relates to the cryptographic security of the technology, not to an inherent secrecy or untraceability of transactions.

• Alessandra Sollberger created Bright Mentors to address the skills gap in technology.
• She emphasizes the importance of technological innovation as a driver of economic growth in developed economies.
• Bright Mentors is designed to allow entrepreneurs and developers to contribute a few hours monthly or every few months to teach coding.
• The program is mutually beneficial for mentors and students, adding value to the lives of children and the tech community.

So I created bright mentors a couple of years ago because I really care about the skills gap in technology.

This quote explains the motivation behind the establishment of Bright Mentors, highlighting Alessandra's concern for the skills gap in technology and her proactive approach to address the issue.

• Alessandra taught herself front-end coding and believes it should be part of standard education.
• She underscores the growing importance of coding skills and the need for their increased relevance in education.

I think I shouldn't have been in the position that I would have had to teach it to myself. I think I should have been taught that as cool because it's so important.

The quote reflects Alessandra's view that coding is an essential skill that should be taught in schools, rather than leaving individuals to learn it on their own.

• Alessandra used mainly online resources to learn coding, with a background in business, economics, finance, and law.
• She advocates for the benefits of having a mentor or friend to help understand coding practically.
• Bright Mentors' website includes useful online resources like Codecademy.

Oh, to learn coding? Yeah, mainly online resources.

This quote indicates the method Alessandra used to learn coding, emphasizing the value of online educational resources in the learning process.

• Alessandra believes the UK government has been active in encouraging coding education but sees potential for further action.
• She expresses satisfaction with the government's initiatives to promote coding in schools and workplaces.

For sure? I think the government is already here in the UK. It's been quite active, which is great.

The quote shows Alessandra's approval of the UK government's efforts to integrate coding into the educational system and encourages continued and expanded support.

• As a VC, Alessandra finds the job intellectually and socially rewarding.
• A significant downside is the overwhelming number of emails, making it impossible to respond to all.

Pros. Intellectually and socially, it's an extremely rewarding job. And cons, well, your inbox reaches escape velocity, meaning you can't possibly answer everything.

This quote lists the advantages and challenges of being a VC, with the rewards of the job contrasted against the high volume of communications to manage.

• Alessandra advises aspiring entrepreneurs to pursue something they are passionate about.
• She emphasizes the importance of belief and commitment to an idea or project for the long term.
• Determination and resilience are highlighted as the most important characteristics for founders.

Entrepreneur, do something you're passionate about. Like, it's really, really important that you pick something that you just believe in so much that you could do it for the next ten years rather than something that seems right or seems reasonable.

This quote offers guidance to entrepreneurs, stressing the significance of passion and long-term commitment in the pursuit of a business venture.

• Alessandra's recent investment was in a blockchain business.
• The decision to invest was based on reasons previously discussed, although those reasons are not detailed in the transcript.

So among our recent investments. Well, blockchain, actually, business. And we said yes for the reasons I was telling you about.

The quote mentions a recent investment in a blockchain business without specifying the reasons, implying that an earlier conversation had covered the rationale behind the investment decision.

• Alessandra expresses her gratitude for the opportunity to be on the show.
• Host Harry Stebings invites listeners to access resources mentioned in the episode and provides information on how to stay informed about Hiring Screen's progress.

Thank you, Harry. Same here.

The quote is a polite exchange marking the end of the interview, with both participants expressing mutual appreciation for the conversation.