This article was first published realistic optimist
Crustal deformation
The technology startup phenomenon is becoming increasingly global. Although an imperfect proxy, the growth of VC funding across continents tells a powerful story.
From 2012 to 2022, VC funding in Europe (including the UK) will be approximately $9.6 billion to $100.5 billion.
During the same period, VC funding in Latin America was $371 million to $8.3 billion.
From 2016 to 2022, VC funding in Africa increased. $366.7 million to $5.2 billion.
You get the point.
A growing number of seemingly anecdotal events suggest new paradigms.Japanese conglomerate bet We focus on Latin American technology founders.mexican unicorn get Omani player.Singapore sovereign wealth fund Invest At a late-stage French startup. Folks, the startup game is now structurally global.
That sudden globalization brings unprecedented complexity. Different countries have different socio-economic compositions, governance models, and infrastructure maturity.
Launching a startup in Sudan is different from launching a startup in Estonia, which is different from launching a startup in Brazil. Despite these changes, Silicon Valley’s robust but unadapted startup literature is the only resource many people have at hand.
Therefore, a new body of work is required. A weekly magazine that needs to stay relevant through consistent posting seems like a suitable medium.
dynamic trio
Globally oriented, analytical and startup-focused publications serve three purposes.
adapt what we know
Decades of trial and error have given Silicon Valley a nugget of wisdom on how to build startups. These lessons are valuable, but they need to be adapted to the nascent context in which many nascent startup ecosystems find themselves.
Building a VC ecosystem is a good example. In many young ecosystems, local institutional investors are reluctant to invest in startups.It’s a problem because the US has shown that institutional money It is the backbone of the VC industry.
This new publication allows us to analyze how France came to be Kickstarted Support the local VC scene through a very active government-owned VC. Lessons learned from that experience could be useful for even younger ecosystems like Tunisia. Tunisia would be more likely to engage with the French context than with the American context.
Readers can compare and contrast more relevant ecosystems rather than relying on unrelated American examples. This should give you a clearer view.
Document a playbook to meet new challenges
In some cases, simply adapting Silicon Valley literature is not enough. Some startup ecosystems face challenges unknown to most Silicon Valley founders, such as hyperinflation, brain drain, and (very) low purchasing power. Silicon Valley gurus have never faced these problems, so they haven’t written strategies on how to solve them.
This new publication may fill that gap.There is a possibility of finding out what kind of existence the Lebanese founder is. trade There is also hyperinflation, which could help the founders of Argentina, which is suffering a similar predicament.Possibility to dig into who Sudanese fintech founder is like handling The fallout from the civil war helped Ukrainian venture capitalists navigate their portfolios through their own turmoil.There is a possibility of stepping into VC of government funds. advancethere is budding interest from emerging market GPs who are struggling to persuade local LPs.
In doing so, this publication will document new strategies devised for challenges not faced by Silicon Valley. For this new global breed of founders and investors, the answers to their predicaments are more likely to be found within socio-economically similar ecosystems than in the gospel of Silicon Valley.
chart a new path
Many new startup ecosystems are copying and pasting the Silicon Valley ethos and risking their time piecing together financial support to bring “ecosystem v1” to life. Ecosystem v1 is understandably messy.
As these ecosystems mature and v1 begins to fray, v2 appears not only imminent, but necessary. This publication may record these conversations leading up to v2.
May share editorial by Libya’s founder are discussing Private equity may be more attuned to African technology than venture capital. Or dig deeper into what foreign aid organizations are like. influence What does a young ecosystem and a more desirable future look like?
conclusion
For this publication to effectively advance its quest, it must be mindful of its business model.was once a wise man Said “Show me the incentives and I’ll show you the results.”
Its business model must make editorial independence sacrosanct, while ensuring that the production of valuable content remains the only incentive.
A fully subscriber-funded model, where revenue growth is correlated only with reader satisfaction, seems like a reasonable attempt to achieve such an ideal.
The Realistic Optimist has been building such publications. Our readers come from a variety of backgrounds.
They work for or lead companies such as Endeavor, Sturgeon Capital, eBanx, Julaya, GEN, 500 Global, Wave, Quona Capital, and Verod-Kepple, just to name a few.
What these (very valued) readers understand is that the startup scene is now global.
And reading The Realistic Optimist is a great way to understand what that means.
The Realistic Optimist is a weekly paid publication that understands the globalized startup scene.Read the publication manifesto here.
