Dama Sathianathan

I couldn’t be prouder to be a Venture Partner at Isomer Capital (aka the best European FoF - at least for me) as we just announced the launch of our pioneering £100m secondaries fund. This fund is dedicated to acquiring stakes from LPs in various VC funds, tapping into a massive and largely unexplored market. 🌟 Key Highlights: - Focused Investment: Primarily targeting stakes in VC funds, with selective investments in private companies. - Robust Funding: Already over 20% funded, thanks to strong support from Nordic family offices and a German foundation. - Market Potential: With a growing number of private tech companies and a VC liquidity crunch, Europe's VC secondaries market is poised for rapid growth. - Track Record: This isn’t Isomer’s first foray into the secondaries market. As a firm we’ve done several secondaries deals with portfolio companies and VC firms, including early-stage VC Seedcamp (in 2021) and mobility giant Bolt (in 2023). - Expert Team: Welcoming the amazing Omolade (Rachel) A., formerly of Coller Capital, as a principal to lead this initiative. 💡 Investment Strategy: - 65-75% of the fund will buy "LP interest" stakes in VC funds. - 15-25% will be directed towards stakes in companies. - Up to 15% reserved for flexible investment opportunities. 📈 Looking Ahead: We're targeting returns of 2-3x, with significant distributions expected in the next 4-7 years. As one of the few players in this space, we're not just participating in the market—we're driving it forward. Read all about it here: https://lnkd.in/dc7sbC3G #VentureCapital #SecondariesFund #EuropeanVC

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📣 Calling all VC and PE investors: Ready to nail your pitch and stand out at IPEM or other fundraising events this autumn? Take Sustainability for instance: it can feel awkward to talk about it in your pitch if you're not an impact investor... yet simply repeating that you do reporting and carbon footprint won’t cut it. AND a growing number of LPs have higher expectations on your results in that field too. --> It's time to up your game, ace that pitch and get the attention you deserve. 📣 I'm offering 4 exclusive slots for Dedicated Office Hours to help you make real progress in Sustainability & Impact. Why? Because there is so much noise and confusion that it's difficult for LPs to understand who is doing what really. And for GPs to stand out for the right reasons... How? Simple: 30-minute one-on-one sessions, free of greenwashing or BS. No prep needed—just come as you are. What to expect after the session? - Clearer, stronger pitch - New questions (a good sign!) - Fresh realizations from our discussion - Unique ideas and tactics to set you apart When? 4 slots available on Thursday, July 18th, between 3 and 5pm CET. Where? Online—calendar invite to follow upon confirmation. Got questions? ---> Fire them my way :) Interested? ---> Send me a DM Photo Credit: ChangeNOW 2023, asking questions during a GPs showcase session (Funds for Change) #ImpactInvesting #SustainableFinance #InvestInWomen #TimeIsNow

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❤️ INCREDIBLE. Fundie Ventures is the 13th Syndicate that I've had the opportunity to impact through Angel School. Personal learnings from Stuart Minnaar's success: 1/ Our 'north star' for admission is "Can this person be a successful syndicate lead?" --> 100% Yes from our 1st interaction. 2/ South Africa punches way above it's weight. Great energy and community. --> Shoutout to Lucien Peters Aidan Hurly Everyone Ventures Ryan Shub Stefni Bridges The Delta Cameron Bing Mathew Marsden Startup Club ZA 3/ Record GTM- 1st deal launched within the 8 week program. 4/ Advocacy from peers, connecting through Andreas Munk Holm David Cruz e Silva 🎙 EUVC I launched AngelSchool.vc because #angelinvestors and #syndicates are massively underserved. ...yet they move ~$10BN / yr of capital for venture ecosystems. If 1:50 angel investors aspires to start a syndicate in their career, that's a market worth building for.

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"Funding Collapse sends investment in start-ups to six year low" The Times today covering the shocking stats that VenturePath uncovered, with our partner Beauhurst. Great quotes from supporters Michael Moore CEO, BVCA and Julian David CEO, techUK. * UK VC funding at Series A is -44% from last year, and worsening * Q3 24 is down a staggering 57% from Q2, itself down from Q1 * 9 in 10 seed funded startups cannot access Series A VC funding, the next 'rung on the funding ladder' * Just 32 future scaleup companies across the whole of the UK were able to access their first VC funding round in Q3...a 6 year low * Half a billion less capital is going in to UK scaleups at Series A, than just 2 years ago! As the UK scaleup funding gap widens, we are losing ground against other countries, at both startup stage (a position the UK worked hard to achieve, since 2011), and for scaleup support. OECD data: 13th in the world for scaleup support, and that's before Series A funding access dried up. I get that its confusing. Another report (BBB, Nations & Regions) released this week spoke of positive trends in private investment, stating "The data for Q2 2024 shows that investment value has continued to grow". Great, I love to see optimistic data. But under analysis that bundles venture with private equity (later stage), where a few megadeals skew the numbers. Otherwise the exact opposite is true. Our independent research here, for the UK ScaleUp Investment Mission, is laser beam focussed on Series A. The funding round where companies move from the c.1m startups launched each year, through the 2,179 that access seed funding, into the rarefied category of being recognised as future scaleups, attracting Series A funding (£2-10m). The UK venture landscape is currently funding just 248 pa of these companies, and declining. We've been sharing this urgent call for support with the new Government since the day after the election. I've personally met with several Ministers, and spoke to all the relevant Government departments. I will shamelessly repeat loudly what is at stake. UK scaleup funding at Series A has nearly halved in a year, and continues to decline steeply, more than halving in the last quarter. VenturePath developed The UK ScaleUp Investment Mission to convene the scaleup support ecosystem and £7bn of funders to help address this problem, to improve nationwide access to VC investment, and create more venture-backed successes. We have clear support, clear recommendations to reverse this decline in UK scaleup investment, and have made a clear ask of Government for participation in this, to ensure immediate action is taken to create the conditions for success for UK scaleups, ensuring the focus on growth isn't undermined by lack of capital, or equitable access to it. Government decision makers, we'd love your interest, to progress to action. HM Treasury: Rt Hon Rachel Reeves Spencer Livermore James Murray & CC Poppy Gustafsson (welcome to the debate).

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Summary: The article discusses the challenges faced by climate tech startups as they transition from the lab to commercial outfit. These companies, which work on hardware and infrastructure projects for climate solutions, struggle to raise necessary funds and often face difficulties in scaling up production. Key takeaways: The transition from early-stage startup to commercial operation is difficult, especially for hardware and infrastructure projects in the climate tech industry. The lack of financing options and specialized expertise for these types of projects creates a "commercial valley of death" that many companies struggle to overcome. Startups often fall into the trap of trying to expand their business too quickly, losing sight of their core value proposition and failing to ensure proper execution. Counter arguments: Some may argue that this "first of a kind" problem is not unique to the climate tech industry and can be seen in other industries as well. Others may argue that with the increasing focus on climate change and need for sustainable solutions, more funding and support will become available for these startups. #venturecapital #vc #startups

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Honoured to be featured in the latest Tech Funding News article discussing Germany’s role as a leading tech hub. 🚀 I’m also proud to see standout companies from the Earlybird Venture Capital portfolio—N26, Marvel Fusion, Isar Aerospace, and others—highlighted alongside my alma mater, Technical University of Munich, which is another key driver of innovation in the country. While Germany is often dubbed the ‘Silicon Valley of Europe,’ there’s still much to do, such as overcoming regulatory challenges and channeling more growth funding into promising startups. My advice for those navigating the Central European startup landscape: Leverage government-backed funding, connect with business angels, and build relationships with established companies. Do not wait to build a global network early on. Together we can strengthen this ecosystem so that one day it can truly live up to its nickname. Read more by Sofia Chesnokova here: https://bit.ly/404yyXr Cc: Dr. Hendrik Brandis, Paula Wehmeyer, Mario Kohle, Filip Lukac, Benjamin Berényi, Elisheva Marcus #Innovation #DeepTech #VentureCapital #GermanyTech

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Breaking news: I have been accepted into VC Lab Cohort 17 - putting me in the top ~10% of the 2,500+ fund managers who apply for each cohort. ⚡ 🌎 I'm looking forward to closing my paradigm-shifting venture fund alongside other brilliant emerging VCs from all around the world. And as part of VC Lab, I get to commit to the Mensarius Oath for ethical investing, which is the sort of thing I would have created myself if VC Lab hadn't done it already ;) It's a code of conduct for venture capitalists, designed to foster positive outcomes for humanity (designed by Adeo Ressi.) Here it goes: As a financial professional investing with personal or investor capital, I pledge to uphold these values. If determined by myself or a panel of my peers that I have violated these values without reconciliation agreed between all involved parties, then I will voluntarily leave the industry. Integrity: I vow to invest with #integrity, ensuring my actions benefit #humanity and consciously avoid harm to any parties. Excellence: I commit to maintaining the highest professional standards, setting an exemplary #ethical benchmark in finance. Fairness: I endeavor to be #fair in my dealings, standing against abuse of power, unfair advantage, seduction, corruption, or mistreatment. Equality: I pledge to promote inclusivity and equitable treatment in all financial endeavors, #consciously working to reduce inequality. Respect: I promise to treat individuals and opportunities with the #respect and the attention deserved in business interactions. Transparency: I affirm to be #transparent and honest in dealings with investors, founders, and colleagues. Confidentiality: I swear to safeguard private, #confidential, or personal information, keeping it safe from public or other unwanted disclosure. Growth: I am resolved to embrace feedback from clients and peers, committing to ongoing personal and professional #growth. Let's do it! #venturecapital #systemschange #newparadigm

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Question. Who should we meet about climate hardware exits or more specifically M&A . We have IPOs and private secondaries pretty well covered, but happy to learn more. We’re now approaching 10x in climate investments since 2021 compared to cleantech 1.0. We’ve unfortunately repeated some of the mistakes and there are some signs that large bets will fail. But there are also some fast growing, even profitable climatetech startups. The problem is we don’t have many exits to confirm that this time is different. The last required step is to turn paper gains into cash. Unfortunately, as we learned about fundraising, the software playbook isn’t reusable because so many of the companies include hardware. So who has figured this out? Could be founders, investment bankers or folks who’ve led corp dev. Main specific qualification is they’ve worked on deals involving hardware or climate, or both. Please add to the comment s (if you prefer email or DM, that works too).

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Interesting analysis on the current Climate tech environment and learnings

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Together with three #impactinvestors we did a lot of work on Impact Investing over the past twelve months. And there's a lot more happening this summer. Catch up with it here: https://lnkd.in/eiHy8FGD

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This is how governments keep themselves relevant. Fill the gap they created.

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“The impact label provides a fundraising advantage in the current market.” …Really enjoyed debating this motion yesterday, alongside my fantastic fellow ‘pro’ team member Mark Berryman – and Dr. Katharina Sommerrock and Andreas Nilsson as our very impressive ‘opposition’ – at PEI’s Impact Investor Global Summit. Over the past two decades we’ve seen a revolution in the way investors think about #impact. It’s now one of the fastest-growing areas of the investment world – not least because it’s increasingly well aligned with some of the biggest #growth trends in the global economy. We were pleased to ‘win’ yesterday’s debate. But the real challenge lies ahead: in channelling more capital towards building a more sustainable, more inclusive economy. Identifying and explaining the #opportunities created by this transition will be vital in achieving that. Many thanks to Heike Schmitz for ably moderating. I look forward to more such debates in the future! #ImpactInvestorGlobalSummit #IISG2024 | PEI | Boris Petrovic

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I’m looking into a new (niche but important) topic at the moment: healthcare-focussed climate adaptation tech. In other words, startups that are helping healthcare systems to prepare for future: → Climate events (e.g. floods & heatwaves) → Climate-caused pandemics → Increases in certain illnesses/diseases (e.g. skin cancer and asthma) I’d like to expand my network and speak to health & med tech investors (VC, PE, infrastructure) about how the market’s currently looking. Are we seeing the words ‘climate adaptation’ and ‘healthcare resilience’ used in pitches just yet? Who should I speak to? Any and all recommendations greatly appreciated. 

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I'm speaking at SuperVenture 2024 on the 5th of June in Berlin. The topic of the panel is emerging VC managers: time to shine or out of their depth? Are LPs fleeing to established names and those that cut their teeth during previous cycles? Or is now the time for emerging managers to bring something different to the table? Is volatility leading to true innovation and disruption? We’re on track to see approximately 44% of the total LP capital committed to US VC funds since the start of the year go to just two large established VC platforms, according to PitchBook data. While many established VCs maintain their allure, there is a subset of LPs who are making a deliberate choice to increase their allocations to specialist emerging VC managers - managers who have spun out from established funds and have an attributable track record, founders with deep operational experience turned funders or academics with deep domain expertise. There is non-trivial added complexity when it comes to emerging VC selection – given the large number of funds needed to be screened and the more complicated referencing and DD process. Data highlights how important it is for GPs to identify & back ‘big winners’ early on to drive fund returns. Typically, ~5% of invested capital in a few winners drives most of the return (>50%). The VC model is built around investing in early-stage companies each with the potential to more than return the whole fund. Who has the right to win? Who will the best founders (and LPs) decide to partner with? #SuperVenture #VC SuperReturn

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Cleantech was such a disaster that it got relabeled Climatetech. Now that that’s not going well some VCs in the space are looking to relabel again. 🤦🏻‍♂️ Maybe the problem is with the investors and not with the name? Part of the problem is having a catchall term for a bunch of often disparate investments doesn't make much sense. Another (and bigger) part of the problem is being “greener” is baked into most technological advancements now, so the best “climatetech” investments are in energy, semis, AI, etc. Most "climate" investors simply aren’t qualified to invest in such hard technologies. Far too many climate investors are in it for the vibes. That never ends well. https://lnkd.in/eKfQ7rMU

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In 2024, UK scaleup funding hit crisis levels - less than 300 companies accessed Series A funding, with Q3 showing the lowest activity in 6 years. Half a billion less capital went to UK scaleups than just two years ago. The ecosystem's response was decisive. 65+ partners united through the UK ScaleUp Investment Mission, representing £7bn of VC funding. From Treasury engagement to industry collaboration, we've built momentum for systematic change. Two posts that captured this year's journey, with around 100k impressions from these 2 alone: "Funding Collapse sends investment in start-ups to six year low" Coverage in The Times highlighting the urgent need for intervention as UK VC funding nearly halved https://lnkd.in/ehH8sCJQ "UK ScaleUp Investment Mission Roundtable" 20 ecosystem leaders met with Treasury Minister Lord Spencer Livermore to improve conditions for scaleup success https://lnkd.in/e3GTdcwX At VenturePath, we've supported this mission by helping unlock Series A-B funding for ambitious tech companies while advocating for broader ecosystem improvements. Our community's growth reflects the hunger for better funding access. Deeply grateful to the founders, VCs, and ecosystem builders who've driven real progress this year. Special thanks to our government partners at Treasury, DBT, and DSIT for engaging meaningfully with industry recommendations. Looking to 2025: We have clear solutions, strong ecosystem support, and growing government engagement. Now we need to turn recommendations into action. The UK ScaleUp Investment Mission will focus on implementing practical measures to improve nationwide access to venture funding. To every organization working to create more venture-backed UK successes: 2024 showed what's possible when we unite around a clear mission. Let's make 2025 the year we reverse the decline in scaleup funding. -- Get your 2024 LinkedIn Rewind at https://lnkd.in/eUCXR-Dm

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As Impact Lead at FPC, it's awesome to be able to contribute the research by The Global Impact Investing Network, featured by Financial Times, outlining the strength and continued momentum in impact investing. 🗣 "Based on data tracking investment activity over the past five years, including by organisations on the list, the GIIN says allocation of assets to impact strategies has increased at a compound annual growth rate of 14 per cent in that period." 🗣 As the industry continues to grow and mature, we look to remain at the forefront of impactful venture - check out our most recent Impact Report: https://lnkd.in/dRA8qSuu 🌊 A nice nod to our Blue Ocean strategy also included in the GIIN's report - "There is growing interest in areas such as biodiversity and the so-called blue economy — marine resources and ecosystems." Keep eyes peeled for our most recent investment from the fund... Ed Phillips 👀 #impactinvesting #FinancialTimes #blueeconomy

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💡 Why Investing in ClimateTech Now Makes Sense for LPs! 🌍 During SuperReturn more VCs than ever had been fundraising for their next funds. Potential LPs need to identify the most promising tech vertical. What are the benefits of climate tech compared to others? 1️⃣ Impactful Returns: ClimateTech offers substantial ROI potential while contributing to global sustainability goals. According to Dealroom.co the climate tech ecosystem has increased its combined value by 45x in a decade. 2️⃣ Net Zero Imperative: According to Boston Consulting Group (BCG) up to 31% of the German climate goals cannot be achieved if we do “business as usual”. We need innovative technology & startups to accelerate energy transition. According to Allianz over 75% of emissions reductions must come from emerging technologies. 3️⃣ Critical Funding Gap: Total investments to date are $10T. Sounds to a lot, but to reach Net-Zero we need to reach $215T. 🚀 Seizing the Opportunity Since 2016, Future Energy Ventures has been at the forefront of Climate Tech innovation. LPs of our Fund II include major players like E.ON and the European Investment Fund (EIF) or Energie AG OÖ or CLP. We are supporting those climate tech startups which will be the major digital players in a decarbonized future. #ClimateTech #Sustainability #FutureEnergy #NetZero

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NOTWICS would like to alert founders to this lovely message I got from my good mate Tom Britton @ SyndicateRoom This excellent Cambridge based pre-seed and seed stage VC is looking for top founders and hopefully this is the first of many funds ringing the bell saying they are now deploying 💥 - akin to top man Dan Bowyer’s LP post yesterday. The winds of change are coming - funding is coming back From Tom “Hey Chris - We've partnered with Carbon13 to launch their next Climatech SEIS fund. The fund will open to investors on Tuesday and aims to deploy in the current tax year. And on Carbon 13 Carbon13 companies have gone on to raise up-rounds totalling more than £38m. The average age of their cohort participants is 37, a quarter hold PhDs and 63% of their teams are mixed gender”. Their portfolio now has 71 ventures across five key sectors: chemicals and materials, energy, food systems, enabling platforms and the built environment. Founders find out more here and get applying https://lnkd.in/es6EvuN5 Or Direct Message Tom for more Apologies for spelling mistakes - rushing to host a huge defence tech breakfast with FieldHouse Associates and others #startups #scaleups #vc #angel

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