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Paul Murphy
@paulbz
Partner at Lightspeed and former founder
London / Madrid
Joined April 2007
3,912
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20.8K
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  • user avatar
    Paul Murphy
    @paulbz
    Apr 20, 2021
    My 5yo daughter wanted money to buy a magazine, so I helped her make & sell cookies on our street last week. She sold a full £20 in one hour (£28k run-rate). At current startup multiples, her business is worth $12m before expansion. No dilution! So proud. 😇
  • user avatar
    Paul Murphy
    @paulbz
    Oct 12, 2021
    I started angel investing when I was a founder and always found it helpful to take notes. I'm kind of surprised my template has barely changed in 10 years, even as I've become a full time VC. 😯✍️
  • user avatar
    Paul Murphy
    @paulbz
    Jun 12, 2020
    Cold emails to VCs can be very simple - We're building __ for __ and why - Raising €/£/$__ + funding history + traction - You / your fund is interesting to us because of ____ - Team/founders based in ___ - Attach or link an overview - Ask for feedback if they say not a fit
  • user avatar
    Paul Murphy
    @paulbz
    Apr 7, 2025
    Chief of Staff - a heavily misunderstood role I was CoS for two of the Presidents at Microsoft & have strong opinions on how this is best done at startups...
    287K
  • user avatar
    Paul Murphy
    @paulbz
    Mar 30, 2024
    Ceasefire Now
    113K
  • user avatar
    Paul Murphy
    @paulbz
    Jan 29, 2017
    .@dots is taking a stand. We are showing this to all of our players. 3-4 million people will see this soon #MuslimBan (thx @karaswisher)
  • user avatar
    Paul Murphy
    @paulbz
    Sep 24, 2020
    2 slides in your pitch deck immediately kill any excitement I have for your startup 1) An exit analysis 2) A team slide of all white men
  • user avatar
    Paul Murphy
    @paulbz
    Aug 18, 2020
    After 7+ years, we sold @dots to Take Two today. The “roller coaster” cliche isn’t right as it only really describes fear and excitement. It was much more, and I’m incredibly thankful to have had the experience. I’ve captured some highlights and lessons here. 👇
  • user avatar
    Paul Murphy
    @paulbz
    Aug 10, 2020
    Every VC investor I know assumed capital markets would be shut or suppressed for 12-18 months following lockdowns, including me. We were all wrong. A funding frenzy out there.
  • user avatar
    Paul Murphy
    @paulbz
    Oct 15, 2022
    I’ve had 5 failed startups. Can I call myself a 5x flounder?
  • user avatar
    Paul Murphy
    @paulbz
    Sep 12, 2022
    Parent VC's: Don't leave a final term sheet you're about to send open on your computer at home and step away. I almost committed Lightspeed to "$15 million of ice cream" to a new company this morning.
  • user avatar
    Paul Murphy
    @paulbz
    Oct 27, 2025
    Nearly every VC I know now uses @meetgranola for founder meetings now. Here's the meeting template, often pushed directly to CRM. Might as well optimise for it... ✍️
    91K
  • user avatar
    Paul Murphy
    @paulbz
    May 21, 2022
    The biggest downside of VC's slowing investment pace is more time for thought pieces 😩
  • user avatar
    Paul Murphy
    @paulbz
    Nov 20, 2019
    VC “value add” 😌