Best Brian Moretta Podcasts (2024)

1
99 Building a medical company without a specialist background with Clare Brenner of Myogenes 51:47

5d ago51:47

51:47

In this episode of the EIS Navigator we get a great founder story. Despite not having a medical background, Clare Brenner founded Myogenes which specialises in pharmocogenetic testing. She has a very personal story about her motivation for initially focusing on mental health to begin with, as well as her experiences in starting in a new area. In th…

1
98 Building environmental companies and making green investing more popular with Nick Dimmock of 350PPM 59:52

1M ago59:52

59:52

Nick Dimmock founded 350PPM as an incubator for various environmental businesses, but has followed a different path from many incubators. In this episode, he discusses how he developed the 350PPM business model, developing companies more generally and the state of environmental investing. Amongst other items, Nick discusses: how he developed 350PPM…

1
97 How to master the financials to create success in SaaS with Anthony Nitsos of SaaS Gurus 1:03:52

2M ago1:03:52

1:03:52

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) founders rightly focus on their product and market, but sound finances underpin any success. Anthony Nitsos founded fractional CFO business SaaS Gurus after working in a couple of successful exits. He has seen the inside of many SaaS businesses so has lots of experience in developing good practice and seeing the mistake…

1
96 How EIS and VCTs fit in a financial plan and how to pick the right products for your clients with Rob Bell of Finova Money 56:28

2M ago56:28

56:28

How we fit EIS funds and VCTs in an advice process is something that the tax advantaged industry has got many different answers for. Rob Bell of Finova Money has been using these for clients for many years. In this episode we discuss their place in a financial plan, how he chooses between different products and investor perceptions of the industry.…

1
95 How to build successful startups in manufacturing and operations with Renan Devillieres of OSS Ventures 1:05:22

3M ago1:05:22

1:05:22

Manufacturing and operations is an area that has been much neglected by venture capital, but has plenty of issues that can be address. Renan Devillieres of venture builder OSS Ventures focuses on this space, with distinct methods and successful results. In this episode we discuss how he goes about creating successful new businesses, with very good …

1
94 How governance enables startup growth and how to start it well with Dermot Campbell of SEEIO 49:40

4M ago49:40

49:40

Governance is all too often seen in startup companies as a chore, or necessary evil when it can be a positive and enable success. Dermot Campbell, founder of CEEIO, is trying bring more of the latter to the venture world. In this episode, he discusses how startups can enable good governance without spending too much time on it and make it a means t…

1
93 How to be a contrarian venture capital investor and making taboo investments with Will Gibbs of Octopus Ventures 1:01:44

5M ago1:01:44

1:01:44

Getting big returns in venture capital can involve stepping away from the mainstream and investing in opportunities that others won't. Will Gibbs of Octopus Ventures has a reputation for investing in areas others see as taboo. We ask him about being a contrarian investor, how to do it well and what needs to change to create a successful investment.…

1
92 The state of valuations in the current market and what they mean for investors with John Glencross of Calculus 1:00:38

5M ago1:00:38

1:00:38

Valuations are always a popular topic. With much discussion about whether we are at the bottom of the current cycle, it seems a good time to revisit and we invited back someone who has experienced several market cycles: John Glencross, co-founder of Calculus Capital. We had a great discussion on how the current market, how this compares with recent…

1
91 Why investing in profitable companies matters more than ever with Harry Heartfield of Edition 1:06:41

6M ago1:06:41

1:06:41

When we last spoke with Harry Heartfield of Edition, the leisure sector was all about recovering the pandemic. Fortunately, we have moved on so we thought it was time to get him back to discuss where we are now, how his investment philosophy has evolved and what the prospects for exits are now. We covered a lot areas in our discussion, including: t…

1
Bonus: Venture capital indexation and how to grow the industry without increasing valuations with Richard Blakesley of Venture Cubed 56:51

6M ago56:51

56:51

Assessing companies for venture capital investment is often more of an art than a science. Richard Blakesley is trying to change that with Venture Cubed. Its rating system aims to objectively assess how investible new companies are. We asked him to talk about how they built their rating system, what it tells us about the venture industry and how it…

1
90 What matters most when rating companies for venture capital investment with Richard Blakesley of Venture Cubed 49:03

6M ago49:03

49:03

Assessing companies for venture capital investment is often more of an art than a science. Richard Blakesley is trying to change that with Venture Cubed. Its rating system aims to objectively assess how investible new companies are. We asked him to talk about how they built their rating system, what it tells us about the venture industry and how it…

1
89 Assessing start-up science companies and creating the right experiments with Andrea Mica of Oxford Technology 1:12:19

7M ago1:12:19

1:12:19

Investing in companies that are starting out presents different challenges from when they are more established. Oxford Technology has probably been investing in new science and technology companies for longer than than anyone else in the (S)EIS/UK VC world. We get Director Andrea Mica to discuss how to go about it. In a discussion that is full of e…

1
88 An all-star panel looks back on UK VC, (S)EIS and VCTs in 2023 and forward to 2024 1:09:32

7M ago1:09:32

1:09:32

Yet again, the EIS navigator team has got its all-star panel to discuss what happened in 2023 and how 2024 is shaping up. Christiana Stewart-Lockhart, Director General of EIS Association, Neil Cole, Head of Private Markets Distribution, UBS Wealth Management, and Kealan Doyle, Director, Symvan Capital join Brian to pick through the events of the pa…

1
87 How marketing data can be used when lending to growth companies with Katherine Chan of Juice 1:00:08

8M ago1:00:08

1:00:08

In this episode we take another look at debt funding for high growth companies. Juice has a novel approach using marketing data and its CEO, Katherine Chan, comes on to discuss their approach and the wider funding market. We cover a lot topics., including: why alternative funders have arisen in the market the pros and cons of using revenue based fu…

1
86 Investing in consumer companies and finding out what consumers really want with Phoebe Scriven of VGC Partners 59:04

8M ago59:04

59:04

Amongst EIS funds and VCTs, consumer companies is less popular than B2B investments but still have their attractions. VGC Partners is one of the few managers that focus on this area and we get Investment Director, Phoebe Scriven to discuss it. In a fascinating discussion we cover many topics: why consumer is still attractive despite the economy how…

1
85 How to invest in and grow early-stage B2B SaaS companies with Fred Soneya and Jeremy Luzinda of Haatch Ventures 1:09:53

9M ago1:09:53

1:09:53

B2B SaaS is a very popular business model amongst venture capital and (S)EIS/VCT investors. Haatch Ventures specialise in investing in this sector and we get Partner Fred Soneya and Principal Jeremy Luzinda to talk about how they work and how they help the companies scale. We look at several topics about managing these companies: what B2B SaaS is a…

1
84 How the macroeconomy affects venture capital investments with Ewan MacKinnon of Maven 1:01:56

9M ago1:01:56

1:01:56

While there is much discussion in the media of the macro-economy, its effect on startups is not always a obvious as it is for quoted companies. Ewan MacKinnon, a Partner at Maven, has been investing for almost a decade and half and draws on this experience to give us some insights. In the discussion we focus on three big areas: recruitment and wage…

1
83 Avoiding startup failure, getting boards working well, work/life balance, fintech and much more with Elliot Limb of Cubed 1:02:34

10M ago1:02:34

1:02:34

Elliot Limb is co-founder and CEO of Cubed and spends his days supporting fintech companies scale. Having worked with many startups, he has a broad insight into their challenges and difficulties. He also has some strong views, which makes for a very interesting discussion! We covered a huge number of areas, including: - why fintech has a long way t…

1
82 British Business Bank CEO Louis Taylor on the UK funding market and addressing market failures 57:39

10M ago57:39

57:39

Since its founding eight years ago, British Business Bank has established itself as an important participant in the funding markets for UK SMEs and startups. In this episode, its CEO Louis Taylor tells us what it is doing and how it is going about it. We start by discussing how the Bank fits into the UK ecosystem. Louis discusses the bank's mandate…

1
81 Why investor concerns over hardware are overblown with Damon Bonser of British Design Fund 54:53

11M ago54:53

54:53

Hardware startups have often struggled to get funding, but Damon Bonser of British Design Fund is trying to change that. In this episode, he talks about his experiences and how hardware can be more attractive than many investors think. The first half of our discussion focusses on how companies can mitigate risk. Damon discusses how he avoids invest…

1
80 A VC perspective on AI's impact on startups with James Pringle of Portfolio Ventures 1:10:23

12M ago1:10:23

1:10:23

Anyone with a passing interest in technology or venture capital cannot have missed the rapid increase in interest in AI over the past few months. We are overdue talking about it on the podcast, so we got an expert in James Pringle. He used AI as a founder and it now impacts how he invests so he is the ideal guest to discuss the topic. We start off …

1
79 The anatomy of busts: comparing the VC market across three cycles with Kealan Doyle of Symvan Capital 1:10:25

1y ago1:10:25

1:10:25

When planning this episode with Kealan Doyle of Symvan Capital, he told a story about a venture capital conference where the compere asked who had been through a downturn before and nobody raised their hands. So we decided to discuss the last couple of venture capital cycles and how previous downturns compare with the current one. We also talk abou…

1
78B Investor confidence and ESG: how the new disclosure rules will drive responsibility with Lee Coates of ESG Accord 44:18

1y ago44:18

44:18

There have been two recent changes that will affect how ESG is applied in practice by fund managers, advisers and, most importantly, investors. Lee Coates of ESG Accord has been advising on ethical investment for three decades, runs a consultancy to help others implement ESG and and is on a relevant FCA committee. We had such a great discussion tha…

1
78A How ESG rule changes will make investors happier with Lee Coates of ESG Accord 43:06

1y ago43:06

43:06

There have been two recent changes that will affect how ESG is applied in practice to fund managers, advisers and, most importantly, investors. Lee Coates of ESG Accord has been advising on ethical investment for three decades, runs a consultancy to help others implement ESG and and is on a relevant FCA committee. We had such a great discussion tha…

1
77 Life sciences is not just drugs with Savvas Neophytou and Ben Carter of Deepbridge 1:01:48

1y ago1:01:48

1:01:48

Healthcare is a large industry and is a lot more than just drugs. We have two experts, Savvas Neophytou and Ben Carter of Deepbridge, to discuss the industry and how there is a lot of other life science areas that are attractive to venture capital investors. We talk a lot about devices. We discuss the challenges and benefits of investing in hardwar…

1
76 How venture debt works with David Hayers of Hambro Perks 1:02:27

1y ago1:02:27

1:02:27

Venture debt is a niche within the venture capital market that has been growing in importance. In this episode we get David Hayers, who is Head of Venture Debt at Hambro Perks, to explain what venture debt is and how it works. We start off by going through the basics. David talks about what types of companies venture debt is suitable for, what they…

1
75 Fundraising market from equity crowdfunding to Series B with Antonia Burridge and John Baker of PwC 57:24

1+ y ago57:24

57:24

In today's episode we get more of a corporate finance perspective on venture capital, with two guests from PwC. Antonia Burridge co-founded the Raise team and John Baker is heavily involved in equity crowdfunding, so we get a perspective that extends right across the market. We start we some background on the Raise Team. Antonia discusses founding …

1
74 Making GP/LP venture capital funds accessible to retail investors with Jonny Blausten of Sprout 1:06:38

1+ y ago1:06:38

1:06:38

While we usually focus on EIS and VCT in this podcast, there is a larger venture capital industry outside this area. Although its been mainly for institutional investors to date, Sprout is looking to change that. In this episode, founder and CEO, Jonny Blausten discusses the GP/LP market in general and how they are opening it up to retail investors…

1
Hannah Leach and why so many investors get ESG wrong. 28:02

1+ y ago28:02

28:02

Hannah Leach, Partner at Houghton Street Ventures & Co-founder at VentureESG, joins us on this exciting episode of Angel Insights where we delve into ESG and what it really boils down to when it comes to startups and Venture Capital. In this episode we look beyond the products and services being built to the supply chains, hiring processes, and a w…

1
73 Patterns in venture capital exits with Henry Whorwood of Beauhurst 53:10

1+ y ago53:10

53:10

Exits were described by an earlier guest as mythical beasts, but the reality is much more positive. Beauhurst used their database in report that they published in 2022, we we get their Head of Research, Henry Whorwood, to discuss it. While our discussion doesn't need the report in front of you, some people will find it helpful to download it using …

1
72 What happened at Silicon Valley Bank and its effect on UK startups with Brian Moretta of Hardman & Co 40:05

1+ y ago40:05

40:05

The events with Silicon Valley Bank have been dramatic and concerning for the venture capital industry in the US and UK. The EIS Navigator's host, Brian Moretta, has spent much of his career analysing financial companies, so is uniquely placed to give insights on banking and venture capital in this solo episode. Brian summarises what happened at Si…

1
71 Why agritech's time has come with Paul Rous of Regenerate Ventures 1:05:08

1+ y ago1:05:08

1:05:08

Whether agritech or agtech, agricultural technology is an area that hasn't quite hit the heights of some other areas of technology venture capital. In this episode, Paul Rous of Regenerate Ventures discusses how and why that is changing, with a more promising future ahead. Paul starts by talking about the history of agtech, talking about why it has…

1
How to review and choose an EIS fund with Dr. Brian Moretta of Hardman & Co 25:31

1+ y ago25:31

25:31

We had the opportunity to sit down and chat with the incredible Dr. Brian Moretta of Hardman & Co. Brian is a quant by nature, a former fund manager by past, and a fund analyst and reviewer at present. Not to mention, in his spare time, Brian is a professor at the prestigious Heriot-Watt University. Brian spends his days picking apart funds (EIS an…

1
70 The challenges and successes of supporting companies after investment with Ben Leslie of Puma 56:55

1+ y ago56:55

56:55

In venture capital investing it is easy to focus on the excitement of doing deals, but the reality is all the hard work happens after the investment is made. In this episode, Ben Leslie of Puma talks about how fund managers can support companies and help them achieve their goals. In a wide ranging discussion we cover many areas. Ben discusses how a…

1
69 Why venture building will become more important, controlled experiments and fixing EIS with Andy Davidson of Nova 1:24:03

1+ y ago1:24:03

1:24:03

Venture builders has only one representative amongst SEIS and EIS fund managers, but Andy Davidson of Nova strongly believes it will become more important in the future. We get him to explain how venture building works and why he's so bullish. We start off digging into venture building, using Nova's business as an example. We talk about finding fou…

1
68 How companies should prepare to fundraise with Richard Cooper of Oxford Innovation Finance 57:48

1+ y ago57:48

57:48

Raising money through angels or fund managers is something that most management does, at best, infrequently. For SEIS, EIS and VCT money, it is often the first time founders have sought equity. Richard Cooper of Oxford Innovation Finance has advised many companies in the past and is now a fund manager, so has lots of experience to help founders pre…

1
From a Magic Pony to Angel Investing with Zehan Wang 38:31

1+ y ago38:31

38:31

What does one do with a PhD in visual processing? Naturally, one would join the entrepreneur first accelerator, launch a machine learning-based visual processing business, sell it to twitter, then work one's way up the Twitter hierarchy before retiring around 30. Then one would turn one's hand to angel investing. Don't believe me? Listen in to toda…

1
67 Tax advantaged AIM investing with Matt Currie of Seneca Partners 1:07:18

1+ y ago1:07:18

1:07:18

Although investing on AIM through EIS fund and VCTs would appear to have several attractions, there are very few fund managers who invest in this area. Seneca Partners are one and we get fund manager Matt Currie to talk about it. We cover many areas in the discussion. We talk about the differences in governance between AIM, fully listed companies a…

1
66 An all-star panel looks back on the year for EIS & VCTs and how 2023 is shaping up 56:14

1+ y ago56:14

56:14

Despite hopes that we may have a quieter year, 2022 turned out to be much more dramatic than 2021. The EIS navigator team have got another all-star panel to discuss what happened. Cristiana Stewart-Lockhart, Director General of EIS Association, Neil Cole, Head of Wealth Planning Solutions, UBS Wealth Management, and Kealan Doyle, Director, Symvan C…

1
65 How leisure investments successfully navigated covid and will cope with the recession with Harry Heartfield of Edition 54:21

1+ y ago54:21

54:21

The leisure sector faces very different challenges from the more tech focussed companies that most EIS and VCTs focus on. Harry Heartfield of Edition Capital specialises this area and gives insights into its past, present and future. We start by chatting about the challenges that covid brought. We talk about how leisure companies coped with their d…

1
64 How the power law affects your investing with Graham Schwickkard of SyndicateRoom 59:06

1+ y ago59:06

59:06

The power law is something that most venture capital investors are aware of, but usually only in the most general sense. Graham Schwikkard, CEO of SyndicateRoom, has just written a white paper on the topic using their data driven approach. We start on a bit of background, discussing what the power law is and what motivated the paper. Graham then ex…

1
63. A new plan to generate secondary liquidity with Rufus Pearl of PlanD 44:14

1+ y ago44:14

44:14

The lack of secondary market liquidity has been a long term challenge, especially for companies that are not venture scale but still viable. Rufus Pearl is trying to improve that with a new scheme for investors to exit some of these investments and bring forward their loss relief. We start by talking about secondary markets for EIS and venture capi…

1
Addie Pinkster lessons from the city to angel investing 45:09

1+ y ago45:09

45:09

Addie Pinkster is the Founder and Chief Executive of Adelpha, a female-led corporate financial advisor and leading investment network, that specialises in high-quality, fast-growth, UK-focused companies. Prior to that, she spent 15 years in investment banking, most recently as Head of Hedge Fund Strategy at Citi. She is also a NED, and a growth & t…

1
62. How companies pivot with Reuben Wilcock of Blackfinch Ventures 57:54

2y ago57:54

57:54

While the business world is an ever-changing place, we seem to be in an exceptional time of flux. Reuben Wilcock has seen many small growth companies pivot and adapt and we tap into his knowledge. Our discussion starts with what drives pivots and what sort of changes we might see. Reuben gives several examples and talks about the evidence that comp…

1
61. How to choose a VCT or EIS fund with Ewoud Karelse of Evelyn Partners 57:57

2y ago57:57

57:57

We've spoken a lot about tax advantaged investing, but how should an investor choose which VCT or EIS fund to give their money to? Ewoud Karelse is one of the long-standing analysts in the tax-advantaged market and has immense experience of looking at these products. In this episode, he discusses what to look at giving a wealth of tips. Essential l…

1
60. Biotech update and investing with Sunil Shah of o2h Ventures 54:28

2y ago54:28

54:28

The biotech industry attracted huge amounts of capital during the pandemic, but how is it faring in the post-pandemic world? Sunil Shah of o2h returns to give us an update on what's been happening. We start off by talking about the wider market. We discuss what's happening with capital and valuations, the contrast between public and private markets…

1
59. Impact companies and their investors: Weedingtech with Boundary Capital and Go Thrift with OnePlanetCapital 52:21

2y ago52:21

52:21

While we have focused on venture capital and EIS/ VCT investors on the podcast, ultimately it is all about the companies that we invest in. Here we find out about two of them, together with the EIS fund managers who invested in them. Weedingtech supplies machines and supplies that can kill weeds without using herbicides. Its CEO, Leo de Montaignac,…

1
58. Valuations in venture investing with Dave Foreman of Praetura Ventures 1:10:23

2y ago1:10:23

1:10:23

Valuations are a frequent topic of discussion for venture capitalists and founders alike, and are extra topical just now. We get Dave Foreman to draw on his experience to place them in context. He starts off by outlining what's happened in the past couple of years and where the market is now. He talks about what is or is not a reasonable valuation,…

1
57. Lessons from edtech investing with Matthew O'Kane of Nexus Investment Ventures 1:08:35

2y ago1:08:35

1:08:35

Edtech is far from uncommon in EIS investing, but is still a little away from the mainstream. Today Matthew O'Kane from Nexus Investment Ventures discusses his experiences from investing in the area. We talk about the sector a little and why the target customers may not be who we think they are. However, the bulk of our discussion is a dive into th…

1
56. Foresight's acquisition of Downing's venture businesses with Matt Smith and Jack Eadie of Foresight 49:01

2y ago49:01

49:01

Foresight Group recently announced that it was buying most of Downing's venture business, including two VCTS and EIS funds. To talk about, this episode's guests are Matt Smith, a long-standing Partner at Foresight, and Jack Eadie, who moved across with the Downing business. After introducing the deal itself, we discuss some of the motivations for t…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Brian Moretta Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide