Eileen Burbidge

@eileentso

@marieouttier I can't just pick one... ! I've been on record before as citing a few examples including Onfido, Transferwise (long story especially since I'm a good friend of Taavet's and they started here in our offices!!), AppearHere... and I'm sure there are others but I've got so many other questions to answer :) (I'm sure I'm behind pace!!)

Corley

@corleyh · COO @ Product Hunt

Thank you for joining us @eileentso! What is one of your life's lessons that has shaped who you are today?

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@eileentso

@corleyh whoa, I can't really think of any one specific "lesson"... because I think everything that happens (positive or otherwise) contributes to how you make decisions (shapes your judgement) in future... I have a few life tenets for ex, I prefer not to work with a**holes (and feel lucky that I have the luxury of being able to decide that), I want to be able to sleep at night (to live with integrity) and above all I believe in karma... and that what comes around goes around (hence the integrity)

Roy Vella

@royvella · Managing Director, V2 Ltd.

As a fellow transplant from the Valley, I know you've said that it felt "very insular"... until coming over with PayPal a decade ago, I didn't appreciate how true that is and how central London is by comparison. Obviously there are significant cultural differences but do you agree that London may actually be better positioned to take advantage of truly global opportunities as the digital immersion of smartphones grows?

@eileentso

@royvella Yes :) (and that's why I'm staying here)

Roy Vella

@royvella · Managing Director, V2 Ltd.

@eileentso +1

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Ben Tossell

@bentossell · Community Lead, Product Hunt

If you were 22 today what would you work on?

@eileentso

@bentossell Tesla or SpaceX (see earlier comment re Elon fangirl)... or a cool new startup like @getmondo

Jonny Miller

@jonnym1ller · Cofounder @Maptia

Thanks for doing this @eileentso! I read that you described yourself as an “accidental VC”… I’m curious what you’d consider has been your biggest learning (or surprise) since moving to the other side of the table? What are the qualities that you @robertdighero and @stefanglaenzer look for in a founder? Finally, what do you think is one area where the British startup culture needs to up it’s game on? I guess that’s three questions, feel free to just pick one!

@eileentso

@jonnym1ller Hi, Great questions! Tbh the first one has me stumped (I can't think of what the biggest surprise has been, as there have probably been too many!) On the second question, the qualities we look for are different between the three of us (and I think that's what makes us such a unique but strong partnership), but for me I look for "above the bar" aptitude/acumen, competence, drive... and then also conviction. Included or implied in all of that is the fact that I look for founders who can attract other great team members (and then therefore investors, partners, clients, etc). Finally, I think British startup culture has so much to offer (all the right ingredients already) so the only thing which would help amplify the space but I do think we (here in Britain) should be more outwardly vocal, effusive and proud about all the things we're doing. On the one hand there's a lot of noise in other hubs (and can be to their detriment) but I think we would benefit from even more noise here.

Thomas Stöcklein

@tomstocklein · FoundersFundersFuture.com

What are London's strongest startup sectors besides financial services/FinTech in your opinion? Where do you see London's startup community/entrepreneurial ecosystem in five years' time?

@eileentso

@tomstocklein Maybe this is "cheating" but in addition to fintech (and yet sort of a sub-sector of it) I think London and the UK has a massive opportunity to dominate in cybersecurity. Outside of those, I think edtech and healthtech/medtech are obvious market areas given the calibre of our education system and the nature of the NHS (in challenges are opportunities!) What each of those sectors has in common is that I think the UK can outshine other sectors around the world given its culture and heritage.

Leo Bassam

@loaibassam · Founder, CEO at Plutio.com

Thanks for the opportunity @eileentso! With your great experience in product development, what approaches did you take to validate an idea in its very early stages? I have launched a landing page (https://plutio.com) and received over 600 early access sign-ups within a month. I have also received a great amount of positive feedback as well as requests to discuss partnerships/integration opportunities from companies like Todoist. Does these count as validation? Really keen to hear your thoughts and advice, thank you.

@eileentso

@loaibassam Hey Leo, Great to see you here... Absolutely anything is validation (positive or otherwise); all reactions can feed into product/feature roadmaps. Guess your question is if this is "enough", and I think at the end of the day you have to go with your gut...

Danielle Newnham

@daniellenewnham · Founder, The Junto Network. Author

You're one of the most impressive women I know, and certainly fit more into a day than most others. But who/what impresses you? And what are your tips for maximizing productivity?

@eileentso

@daniellenewnham I'm impressed by so many people... I don't even know where to start and this can include people I come across outside of work who are just really putting it in as teachers, nurses, doctors, etc. In terms of our field/sector, I'm a total fangirl of Elon's (obviously). I'm the worst to ask about maximising productivity because I think (know!) I'm terrible at time management and I'm a constant procrastinator(!!) but it helps that I type really really (really) fast, not that this AMA proves that given the depth of all of your great questions ;)

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Maneesh Juneja

@maneeshjuneja · Digital Health Futurist

Hi Eileen, in your opinion, what specific tech innovations do you believe the UK is uniquely placed to deliver to the world?