Startup Digest London - #DSLive4, Plend, Index Ventures OptionPlan, Parental leave, AdaCon and more

👋Startup Digesters,

Hope you are enjoy these sunny days. As much as I’d love to believe that the reason why I’ve not sent the newsletter in a long time is because I was busy enjoying some G&Ts, in reality I’ve been…busy earnin‘ 🎶 A few months ago I have joined the Ascension team to focus on portfolio management for the Fair by Design fund, investing in startups building products that make essential services fairer for those on lower income. Because returns and impact go hand in hand.

And there’s much more happening in the impact investing space - Big Society Capital is backing Balderton’s $680M growth fund. “From this fund, Balderton is seeking to invest in the UK and Europe’s best growth stage technology companies, many of which have the potential to deliver strong economic, social and/or environmental outcomes on a transformative scale.”

Diversity VC published a new guide for VCs outlining best practice when it comes to parental leave.

If you’re raising a pre-seed round, there are only a few days left to submit your application for the Debut Sessions. Apply by the 23rd of September for the chance to win £100k from Ascension. The latest initiative, #DSCarry, incentivises those who bring game-changing deals which win the Debut Sessions and exit with a 2.5% stake in Ascension’s £100k investment - more here. 

Index Ventures compiled the largest ever set of benchmark data, comprising over 20,000 option grants from more than 1,650 startups across the US and Europe. Check out their Option plan.

If you’re fundraising, check out these 33 questions that investors asks from Miruna @ Syndicate Room. And on the tigers of the world, Akash from Augmentum is painting a good picture on ICONIQ, the Nexus of VC, Hollywood and Silicon Valley.

Until next week,

-iulia