Silicon Real was London Real’s series on the tech startup scene. From 2013 Brian Rose sat down with the founders, investors and community builders around Silicon Roundabout and Tech City, as London grew into one of the world’s leading startup hubs. Guests explain how they raised money, built teams and took on established industries, from taxis and travel to payments and personal finance. Together the episodes are a record of a key moment for British tech. Every full interview is free to watch.
From Balderton Capital general partner Suranga Chandratillake and Index Ventures partner Ben Holmes to Seedrs co-founder Jeff Lynn, Seedcamp’s Carlos Espinal, Uber London general manager Jo Bertram, Hailo co-founder Gary Jackson and investor Sherry Coutu: the people who built London’s startup scene.
Suranga Chandratillake explains how he went from founding the video search company blinkx to becoming a general partner at Balderton Capital. Ben Holmes talks about investing at Index Ventures, which works across London, San Francisco and Geneva. Philippe Botteri of Accel discusses how to scale a startup globally. Hussein Kanji of Hoxton Ventures argues that Silicon Valley still matters to European founders. Simon Cook of DFJ Esprit gives a primer on venture capital, and Raj Ramanandi explains how #1seed backs companies that have a product but no revenue yet.
Many Silicon Real guests set out to change how everyday things work. Gary Jackson describes building Hailo, the app that put a licensed taxi two taps away, while Jo Bertram explains Uber’s arrival in London. Taavet Hinrikus, Skype’s first employee, talks about co-founding TransferWise to cut the cost of sending money abroad. Christian Faes of LendInvest and Anil Stocker of MarketInvoice discuss new ways to lend. Bernhard Niesner explains how Busuu changed language learning, and Divinia Knowles shares life inside Mind Candy, maker of Moshi Monsters.
Alice Bentinck, co-founder of Entrepreneur First and Code First: Girls, talks about backing technical founders and getting more women into tech. Eze Vidra and Sarah Drinkwater explain how Google Campus London supported early startups. Jon Bradford of Techstars joins Brian and guest host Max Keiser to discuss accelerators. Bryce Keane describes the events that brought Silicon Roundabout together, and Benjamin Southworth reflects on his time at Tech City UK. Sherry Coutu talks about mentoring founders and what motivates people.
The startup world has moved on to AI. Want to invest in what comes next? Join Brian Rose in the AI Investment Club.
What is Silicon Real? Silicon Real is London Real’s series of interviews with the founders, investors and community builders behind London’s tech startup scene, most of them filmed between 2013 and 2015.
Who appeared on Silicon Real? Guests include Suranga Chandratillake, Ben Holmes, Philippe Botteri, Hussein Kanji, Jeff Lynn, Carlos Espinal, Jo Bertram, Gary Jackson, Taavet Hinrikus, John Collison, Alice Bentinck and Sherry Coutu.
What do the investors say they look for? In their episodes, venture capitalists including Philippe Botteri of Accel, Ben Holmes of Index Ventures and Suranga Chandratillake of Balderton Capital talk about how they choose startups and help them scale beyond London.
Are the full Silicon Real episodes free to watch? Yes. Every full-length interview on this page can be watched free on londonreal.tv.
Sign up to recieve full episodes of London Real every week.
We take your privacy seriously. We will never sell your information.
Chat
