Like many startups, Seedcamp started out with a big idea: to help to lay a long-term foundation for first-time European entrepreneurs to get access to the knowledge, network, validation and access to capital they would need to build a big business.
But in truth, we had very little idea of exactly how Seedcamp was going to play out and we’ve evolved substantially over the years.
In 2010 alone, Reshma and her lean, mean fighting machine have:
- met and mentored nearly 200 teams at 9 Mini Seedcamps from Zagreb to Johannesburg,
- taken Seedcamp 09 winners on a whistle-stop US tour of the tech hot-spots of New York and the Valley,
- supported IBM in the development of their SmartCamps,
- spent 2 days in London with 45 Mini Seedcamp winners,
- hosted 23 teams from 19 cities and 16 countries and over 400 mentors at London’s Seedcamp Week
And we still have Mini Seedcamp events in Singapore and Mumbai to come in 2010.
Reshma has done an amazing job building a truly international network of entrepreneurs, mentors and investors. In a little over three years, she’s taken a concept and turned Seedcamp into a living breathing organization. Since 2007, we have:
- host more than 25 events across the globe,
- handled over 2,500 team applications,
- mentored more than 540 teams,
- made 22 investments
I’m really proud of what Reshma, Alasdair and Steph have achieved but we want to do more with our network – more teams mentored, more locations visited and investments made.
Looking forward to working with the winners of Seedcamp 2010 and beyond, its time for Reshma to get some serious firepower and support to take Seedcamp to the next level, keep pushing the envelope and continue to improve the experience we can offer our network.
So I’m thrilled to be introducing two new stars in the Seedcamp team – Carlos Espinal and Philipp Moehring.
If you’re one of the 400 or 500 people who have been part of Seedcamp Week, you will have met, had an email from or come into contact with our Associate Philipp. He’s only been with us since June but has hit the ground running – providing the glue holding our operations together and moonlighting with some great video commentary. He will work with all of our companies on the portfolio management side to provide the value Seedcamp brings.
Carlos will be joining us from Doughty Hanson. He will be a Partner to work alongside Reshma, helping her to develop the organization, deepen our international network and offer the best possible support and development to Seedcamp entrepreneurs.
Carlos is a great blend of serious engineer and talented early-stage investor – he’s also not a bad cyclist. He will be a great compliment to Reshma and help us expand not just our capacity but also our horizons and language skills.
There is nothing more exciting in an organization than seeing it grow – having seen what Reshma was able to achieve flying solo, I can’t wait to see what her partnership with Carlos will deliver. You can find Carlos on Twitter and his full bio.
Please help me welcome Phil and Carlos to the team – and feel free to reach out and say hello.
Saul
