Venture Passport

S1E4: George Richardson, Founder @ AeroCloud <> Chris Smith, Partner @ Playfair

Jack Richardson Season 1 Episode 4

This week's episode is a special one. Guests are George Richardson, Founder at AeroCloud and Chris Smith, Partner at Playfair.

AeroCloud is the cloud-native platform that’s revolutionising airport operations. They deliver a full-suite OS, connecting everyone from execs to janitorial staff, across any device to drive efficiency and revenue. Playfair was George's earliest backer in May 2021. They followed on twice, most recently joining Stage 2 Capital on the cap table at the start of this year.

We discuss:

  • The surprising parallels between being a professional racing driver and an entrepreneur
  • Why the 'unsexy' industries are often the ones most ripe for disruption
  • Cross-pollination of portfolio companies' services
  • Early-stage DD: what does it consist of? 
  • Main KPIs funds need to see in order to execute pro rata
  • The emotion involved in an acquisition as an early-stage company