Why more unicorns shouldn't be Britain's end goal – Suranga Chandratillake, general partner, Balderton Capital

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5 • 6 Ratings

🗓️ 26 November 2024

⏱️ 32 minutes

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Summary

Suranga Chandratillake, general partner at Balderton Capital, discusses why narratives about the UK underperforming in funding compared with the giants in the US might not be fair, why more unicorns shouldn't necessarily be considered the main goal for British businesses and why Labour's budget isn't as damning for entrepreneurs as it may seem.

Balderton Capital is a multi-stage venture capital firm that backs companies across every phase of growth. Chandratillake discusses why so far the government's approach to business has been encouraging, though it's still early days, why the London public markets are struggling as so many have claimed and why autonomous vehicle policy is the perfect example of the UK's regulatory strengths.

Transcript

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0:00.0	If you look at early stage investment in the UK, it actually compares extremely favourably
0:11.0	to the more dynamic parts of the US startup ecosystem, places like the Bay Area and the Boston area, for example.
0:20.0	Unicorns themselves, so in other words, billion dollar status of valuation, that I don't
0:25.7	think is an end or a goal. I think what it is is a really, really useful measure of companies
0:31.2	that are beginning to become significant. One thing I always point out is that I think the highest rate that can be attracted on capital gains now in the UK is around 28%.
0:42.3	If you look at Californian capital gains, so that's both the state capital gains plus the federal capital gains, which you pay to the central government in the US, it's over 30%.
0:50.3	From the first-time founders to the funds that back them, innovation needs different.
0:58.5	Our episode partner, HSBC Innovation Banking, is proud to accelerate growth for tech and life
1:04.5	science businesses, creating meaningful connections and opening up a world of opportunity
1:09.4	for entrepreneurs and investors alike.
1:12.6	Discover more at www. hsbc innovation banking.com slash en dashGB.gb.
1:24.1	Hello and welcome to the UKTM podcast, a weekly chat with the movers and shapers of the UK
1:29.6	tech industry and the destination for all things UK tech related. And today I am joined by
1:35.2	Seranga Chad Dritilica, a general partner at Balderton Capital, a venture capital firm based in London
1:41.8	that invest in technology and internet start-ups across Europe. Welcome,
1:45.7	Seranga. Hi, thank you for having me. Now, Boulderton is regarded as one of the top four
1:52.2	biggest venture capitalist firms in London. So start off by just telling us a little bit about what
1:57.3	makes up your portfolio and the funds that are available. Yeah, for sure. So, Bolterton has been around for about 25 years, and we invest at pretty much
2:06.4	every stage in private technology companies from Seed through to about Series E. We do that through
2:12.1	two funds. We have an early stage fund that typically invests at Seed, Series A and Series B,
2:16.8	and then we have a later stage
2:17.8	fund that overlaps a little bit on Series B's, and then also does Series Cs, and so on.
	...

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