Outputs or Outcomes?
Welcome to the twenty-ninth edition of Unstoppable Female Founders!
#Unstoppable Female Founder
This week’s Unstoppable Female Founder is a woman who is defining being a VC on her own terms. Sarah Drinkwater of Common Magic, is the only Solo female GP who doesnt come from a traditional VC background.
I was originally drawn to learning more about Sarah as her focus and thesis with Common Magic is to invest in startups with community at their core. Think Hugging Face, Depop, Odin, etc. However, in researching Sarah further, I was really fascinated by the fact that Common Magic is the culmination of all of Sarah’s professional experiences all rolled into one.
Some are probably thinking, duh Jen, that’s how careers work! But not always, many are linear and follow a standard career progression trajectory, but when I think about Sarah’s, it is more of a cluster of non-linear experiences all leading her to Common Magic in the center. Let’s take a little walk through Sarah's professional career timeline…
Her professional story begins with her having a knack for organically cultivating communities around music venues, vintage shops and various other ventures and interests she held early on. From there, she went into journalism, writing for the likes of The Independent, The Guardian and others, which is when she received an offer to help support a new tech startup. Sarah admits in an interview with EUVC, she actually had to Google what a startup even was back then.
Speaking of Google, in 2011 Sarah landed a role at Google helping to build their local communities as Global Lead, Google local Guide and eventually became Head of Campus London, Head of Entrepreneurs. During her time at Google, she built a bustling ecosystem of tech founders, further honing her expertise in fostering vibrant communities, this time with tech founders as the members.
In January of 2020, Sarah begun angel investing and joined Atomico’s Angel program, investing in over 35 startups. It was during her time in the US, when Sarah begun thinking about possibly making the jump from Angel Investor to VC, however knowing that the traditional route would be a long and tedious process. So Sarah began tracking the rise of Solo GPs and decided the best way forward was to be bold, make the jump and launch her own firm.
Hello Common Magic!
Common Magic is a pre-seed/seed solo GP fund investing in and supporting founders building products with community at their core across Europe and the US. Sarah has taken many of her learnings as an Angel Investor and is now applying them into Common Magic. She has specifically taken the approach of working with her portfolio founders in a similar capacity as an Angel. Being hands on, providing support and guidance along the way. Additionally, she looks to be the first check, with no additional allocation for secondaries or follow on investments.
“My goal with this fund is really to weave the speed and style of an angel — fast decisions, blunt feedback — while at the same time being operationally useful in a particular area,” she says. Hence Common Magic won’t lead deals or take board seats. “
I love Sarah’s non-traditional journey to becoming a Solo GP, and more so love the fact that she’s built an incredibly unique thesis, focusing on startups with community at their core. I’m excited to continue to watch Common Magic develop and the startups Sarah decides to invest in.
I’ve also found Sarah’s Medium posts fantastic to read: https://sarahdrinkwater.medium.com/
The Rant
Outputs or Outcomes? What should you focus on?
A post popped up the other day on my LinkedIn feed and it’s been rolling around in my mind ever since. It was a post by Jamie Hardford about Outputs vs. Outcomes and how focusing on outputs has been a major key to his business success. However, this is contradictory to most advice you hear from successful startup founders and business leaders as they constantly preach about how you should be focused on outcomes, NOT outputs for your business.
As a startup founder, the journey is a delicate balance between chasing immediate results and keeping your eye fixed on the long-term vision. (I personally struggle with this daily!) Every decision counts, and where you focus your energy can determine the success or failure of your company. One crucial distinction that often gets muddled is the difference between outputs and outcomes. Understanding the distinction between the two can be pivotal in steering your startup towards sustainable growth and long-term success.
In my opinion, outputs and outcomes are two sides of the same coin really. Outputs are the tangible, measurable results of your day-to-day actions, the tasks you complete, the features you develop or the products you launch. They represent the nuts and bolts of your business operations, the engine that keeps your startup running. On the flip side, outcomes measure the impact of those outputs - they are the real-world impact on your users, the problems you’ve solved, the needs fulfilled or the experiences gained.
I’m a big advocate of the OKR framework which I believe gives a great example of when to focus on outputs vs outcomes. Outcomes align with your objectives - the higher-level business strategy that guides your startup's trajectory. They represent the destination you aim to reach, the ultimate impact you strive to make in the market. Conversely, outputs align with the key results - the specific, measurable actions you take to propel your startup forward on the journey toward those objectives.
Take Airbnb for example. The output was a simple website that facilitated short-term rentals. But the outcome was so revolutionary it redefined a category, transforming the way people travel, offering unique and authentic experiences. In addition, AirBnB gave way to a new opportunity for additional income streams for homeowners. It wasn't just about their website or platform, it was about the profound impact it had on the way people live and connect.
So, where should your focus lie as a startup founder? In my opinion, both! As I’ve highlighted, outputs and outcomes are undeniably intertwined, by focusing on outputs daily, you’ll be able to then measure your long term outcomes and impact you’ve had on your users, the market and your revenue goals. Without the output, you cant have the outcome!
Hype Corner
The amazing female founders who have raised capital for their teams over the past week. HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO THESE AMAZING WOMEN:
Michelle He, PhD, CFA Co-founder & COO of Abound
Maria Van Dongen Founder & CEO of Allegria Therapeutics
Anna Pugach Co-founder & CTO of Touch Sensity
Siew-Veena Sahi Co-founder & CEO of Testmate Health
Sofía Radley-Searle Co-founder & COO of Axmed
Katharina Aguilar & Alicia Sophia Hinon Co-founders of UpVisit
Heidi Gytz Olesen Co-founder & Head of Drug Discovery at Commit Biologics
Dara Meldrum Co-founder & CSO of Vertigenius
Rebecca Shirley Cleary Co-founder & CTO of Nami Surgical
Susan Graham Co-founder & CEO of Dendra Systems
I’m excited to see what these founders and their teams can achieve with their new injection of capital!
Events for Female Founders
🇦🇹 {Vienna} Lead Today Shape Tomorrow . The event is hosted by Female Founders & Grow F on June 5th & 6th in Vienna with an incredible speaker lineup!
🇩🇪 {Berlin} Grace Accelerator for Female Founders is now taking applications for their second cohort from now until the 28th of April.
🇪🇪 {Tallinn} Female Founders Summit by Womenture is being hosted on the 22nd of May in Tallinn
🇫🇷 {Paris} VivaTech presents the Female Founders Challenge. Applications are now open to participate. VivaTech will be held 22nd-25th of May.
🇪🇸 {Malaga} Female Founders Day will take place on the 29th of May in Malaga Spain.
🇩🇪 {Hamburg} AiDiA Founder Pitch event will focus on elevating black founders as part of the wider conference happening on the 7th of Sept. 2024.
🇬🇧 {London} Sifted Summit is back on the 2nd & 3rd of October. Join 3000+ European Founders, Investors and Operators
🇫🇷 {Paris} WVC:E is back on October 7th & 8th in Paris. This conference is dedicated to female founders with previous speakers including Eileen Burbridge of Passion Capital and Sarah Drinkwater, General Partner of Common Magic.
Do you know of any events or programs aimed at supporting female founders? Send them over to be featured!
We have officially launched our LinkedIn community - if you’re a Female Founder and interested in joining, you can request an invite here.
Thanks again for reading another edition of Unstoppable Female Founders!
Have a wonderful weekend!
JH