Merian Ventures

Regina Clewlow, PhD, on Small Scooters and Big Data

Dr. Regina Clewlow, CEO & Co-founder of Populus.ai, a Merian Ventures portfolio company, recently spoke as part of the U.S. Department of Transportation Volpe Center’s Our New Mobility Future thought leadership series.

“We’ve really transitioned from mobility as a product that one buys, typically a car, to mobility as a service, and this is in large part due to the proliferation of these shared business models and the arrival of dockless bikes and scooters," she said.

Micromobility—small, lightweight modes of personal transportation such as scooters and bikes—and their associated data are being used to transform how individuals travel and how cities plan, according to Regina Clewlow, PhD, the CEO and co-founder of micromobility data company Populus.

How Coronavirus Is Changing the Future of Work for Women

The world is changing at a rapid pace, and the way we work, live and do business has changed along with it. Many changes have been obvious—increases in remote work, online business and flexible work schedules—while others have been subtle shifts toward what many are calling the New Normal.

For women, however, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a unique situation, turning the status quo on its edge. The economic uncertainty in the wake of lockdowns around the world have been labeled a ‘she-cession,’ with more women—especially women of color—being negatively impacted by the current recession. The gender pay gap alone will cost the average woman $900,000 over a 40-year career when compared to the average earnings of a man, and those numbers are much worse for minorities.

Populus Releases a New Guide on Curb and Mobility Management

Populus’ latest report, Curb and Mobility Management, is for ever-evolving cities and mobility services to dynamically manage how transportation infrastructure and determine how to allocate public space. City departments of transportation are on the frontlines of reconfiguring how our streets and sidewalks are used in light of changes such as significant growth in delivery services or requests from restaurants to access curb space for outdoor dining.

This report includes results from a survey on the mobility policies of 40 cities around the world and outlines historical as well as more recent innovative strategies for curbside management to help cities manage their mobility future.

Former Digital Adviser to David Beckham Joins OII

Traci Maddock, a Director at Merian Ventures, has been appointed a Visiting Policy Fellow at The Oxford Internet Institute (OII), part of the University of Oxford.

Ms. Maddock is a leading digital strategist and social media architect specialising in identifying and realising strategic partnerships for brands, causes, and global talent. Her focus will be to examine the true social and personal impact on the lives of young women who have participated and embraced image-led social media platforms in their daily lives.

Merian VenturesMarta BulaichAugust 10, 2020

Everlane revealed: Transparency is a journey that’s as much about inside as out

Exposed this week in the New York Times for transparency ambitions that don’t match up with company reality, Everlane are becoming an example of what happens when you don’t follow a robust roadmap for transparency, but treat it as a stand-alone marketing strategy. Here’s Jessie Baker’s take on what went wrong and tips for brands looking to not make the same mistakes.

Mapping Out The Top Female Founders On Every Continent

A report on the leading female founders around the globe was recently published by Business Financing UK, identifying leaders on every continent that are succeeding at challenging the gender bias in funding and founding successful enterprises.

It’s no secret that when it comes to funding and investment for entrepreneurs on a global scale, women (and especially women of color) are being ignored at a depressing rate compared to men. With 98% of Venture Capital funding going to men, to be more precise, the gender gap in the world of entrepreneurship has a long way to go because it means women-led companies aren’t hitting the market in the same way as male-led companies.

Merian VenturesMarta BulaichJuly 27, 2020merian ventures, female founders

Today’s Students Want to Become Startup Founders — and 40% are Female Founders

Students aren’t quite as keen as they used to be to become lawyers and bankers and management consultants; they want to become founders instead. A quarter of UK students now run — or plan to start a company — while at university. Collectively, they raked in £1bn in 2019; a 32% increase on 2016. Four in ten of these startup teams are led by female founders.

To support this trend, universities now have accelerators, incubators and other programmes to encourage and support tech startups — and Ana Bakshi, director of Oxford’s entrepreneur centre Oxford Foundry, recently called for more to jump on the bandwagon to stimulate the UK’s economic recovery.

Most Influential Women in UK Tech: The 2020 Longlist

Computer Weekly asks “Who are the most influential women in UK tech?” Each year, the number of nominations grows as the industry tells us who it thinks should be considered for the top 50 list.

As part of our commitment to shining a light on the female technology role models throughout the UK, Computer Weekly started publishing the longlist in 2017 when the number of nominations exceeded 160.

Merian VenturesMarta BulaichJuly 16, 2020merian ventures, priya guha

Provenance Wins 1 Million Euro Prize from the European Commission for ‘Blockchains for Social Good’

The European Innovation Council (EIC) Prize on Blockchains for Social Good has awarded €5 million to six winners selected in a call to identify scalable, deployable and high-impact blockchain solutions for societal challenges. The winning solutions propose blockchain applications for fair trade and circular economy, increasing transparency in production processes and quality information, improving accountability and contributing to financial inclusion and renewable energy.

Future Fund Releases First Set of Diversity Data

The UK’s Future Fund released diversity information about applicants that have been approved for funding.

Only 1% of the funded companies have all-female management teams – even lower than the 4% of startups which received VC funding in the UK in 2017 with all-female founding teams. The 3 companies have received £3.2M out of £236.2M awarded to date.

Merian VenturesMarta BulaichJune 23, 2020merian ventures, priya guha, future fund, bame, all-female

Prime Minister Boris Johnson launches London Tech Week’s virtual sessions

Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister, welcomed attendees of the online London Tech Week LTWConnects series. Alexsis de Raadt St. James, Founder & Managing Partner and Priya Guha, Venture Partner of Merian Ventures spoke at this event with other speakers including Hillary Rodham Clinton, Cherie Blair QC CBE, Simmone Taitt and Ruby Wax. Read more about the State of Investment and other topics presented during the week.

Oxford Foundry launches four new innovations for COVID-19 recovery

The Oxford Foundry today announces the four new innovative solutions it will support on the OXFO COVID-19 Rapid Solutions Builder. he four critical solutions were chosen by a team of international judges from more than 100 entries after a rigorous selection process – based on their ability to have a real, tangible societal impact, their viability and ability to implement and their potential for rapid growth.

Marta BulaichJune 11, 2020

UK’s Coronavirus Startup Rescue Package Disfavors Women-led Startup

This pair of articles discusses the UK government’s £1.25bn ($1.55bn) COVID-19 rescue package for startups, devised by an all-male panel of tech investors. The package, comprised of The Future Fund and Innovate UK Fund, favors startups that already have VC backing – typically launched by men. This built-in bias against women-led companies has raised concerns and sparked debate. Priya Guha, a UK-based Venture Partner of Merian Ventures and a council member of Innovate UK, offers an interpretation of this investment bias.

TLA Resource Hub Launches to Aid UK Startups Through Pandemic

Tech London Advocates launched its TLA Resource Hub to support startups in the UK through the current coronavirus pandemic. Established for the purpose of providing startups in London advice and expertise during the outbreak, the TLA Resource Hub has been backed by representatives from companies such as Hiscox, KPMG and Merian Ventures.

Merian VenturesMarta BulaichMay 29, 2020

Honeycomb.io Survey Reveals 80 Percent of Teams Intend to Practice Observability within Two Years

Honeycomb, a provider of observability for the distributed systems to understand, debug, and improve production systems, today released research findings on the maturity of the observability market. Findings reveal that 80 percent of teams within organizations are practicing, or intend to practice, observability within two years. The report examines the challenges teams face and the practices they are implementing as they progress on their observability journey to achieve production excellence.

Female Founders Face Funding Hurdles Amid the Pandemic

Women, especially first-time founders, have long lagged behind men in raising venture capital for their startups. But in the pandemic's heightened climate of caution, anecdotes from female founders suggest that they face even greater hurdles because VCs are suddenly turning more risk-averse. Having a track record goes a long way toward gaining the trust—and checks—of investors, even in a growing economy.

Merian VenturesMarta BulaichMay 18, 2020merian ventures, female founders, pandemic, pitchbook

COVID-19: OXFO Accelerates Innovative Solutions

The Oxford Foundry (OXFO) has today launched a two-part action plan to accelerate entrepreneurial solutions to the problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to increase resilience and opportunity as we move forward into the post-pandemic era.

Marta BulaichApril 22, 2020

Populus to Help Cities Manage Open Streets During Pandemic

Populus, a technology platform for cities to manage mobility and transportation demands, launched the Open Streets Initiative to assist select city officials with designing and implementing new street policies, like closures, amid the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).

Marta BulaichApril 21, 2020

Here's What It Takes to Join Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent as an International Woolmark Prize Winner In 2020

Provenance provided the integration of the blockchain-powered tech platform in this year’s International Woolmark Prize, which required entrants to demonstrate the capability to track every step of the supply chain.

Marta BulaichMarch 25, 2020

Infographic: An Overview of Compromised Bitcoin Exchange Events

This article lists bitcoin exchange collapses from an infographic on the topic, including the most significant bitcoin exchange compromises (occurring through hacks, mismanagement, etc.) as if they all happened with a standard bitcoin price, to provide a better understanding of their relative magnitude.

Marta BulaichFebruary 24, 2020

Perspectives

Follow the trending topics of women in venture and our portfolio companies.