point nine at hive61, poznan january 2014
Post on 17-Oct-2014
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Slides from Pawel's talk at Hive61 in Poznan that, amongst other things, covered our view on the Polish startup ecosystem.TRANSCRIPT
@
Poznan, 29.1.2014
About .9
The Angel VC: •Up to 1m EUR •Berlin-based •SaaS •Marketplaces
Quite active in Poland (incl. previous private involvement of team):
About me: •Born/raised in PL •Moved to DE at 17 •Worked in finance •Startups since 2008 (angel, TE, Point Nine)
Crowdsourcing works
Topics for today
1) Point Nine’s investment criteria
2) Going international
3) Polish vs. German / Berlin startup community
Investment Criteria
Criteria: stage = .9
Seed Series A Later StageSeries B, C and D
Pre-IPO Private Equity
Investment Round Size
Sources of Capital
€100k - €1M €1M - €10M €5M - €25M >€20M
Family & Friends AngelsGrants
Crowd-funding
Venture CapitalSuper Angels
Venture CapitalGrowth Equity
Late-Stage VCsCorporate VCsHedge Funds
Point Nine Capital invests between €100k and €1M during Pre- A and A rounds in companies at various revenue stages
Criteria: geo
Company based in:
•Europe
•Outside: English speaking markets
Target market:
•Global / international / multi-local
Space: SaaS, marketplaces, et al.
We love SaaS:
•vast experience:
•big trend, great business model if done right
We love marketplaces and network effects:
•examples:
•hard to get scale, but durable and powerful once there
Fast growing consumer
Exceptions happen, esp. for amazing teams
Going International
Going International
1. “Flat” global / international product from the start • Esp. applicable for SaaS
2. Multi-local: • Esp. in marketplaces: Delivery Hero, Brainly, Docplanner
“International” product
Examples:
!
!
“Easy” to start, can be centralised for long time
Typically competitive, expensive marketing
Sales might still need to be local, esp. to larger accounts
“Multi-local” product
Examples:
!
!
Logistical challenges to launch local versions
Frequent local competition, little global competition
International scale helps win local markets
Tough and expensive (but well possible) if physical goods involved (e-commerce)
3 thoughts on the ecosystem in PL
1. Talent: engineers vs. managers
We are proud of our IT/analytical skills
1. Talent: engineers vs. managers
We underestimate the commercial side Lack of management/sales/marketing talent
They are needed a lot!
…but do not have to wear suits :-)
1. Talent: engineers vs. managers
…and sometimes it feels like this
Can do this: Can’t do that:
Which one is harder / more important?
2. Decentralisation is good…but not in tech!
No-one knows which is the key city in Poland for tech: !
Hubs are very important in tech due to cluster effects: • SV, Tel-Aviv, London, NY, Berlin best known • Urban, attractive areas to live in (young ppl!) • All skills, financing, entrepreneurial drive in one place • We all know this…
2. Decentralisation is good…but not in tech!
…and we are building technology parks in forests… !
Germany (and others in Europe) had similar ideas There was no political plan for tech in Berlin
!
2. Decentralisation is good…but not in tech!
3. International isolation - PL scene is … Polish
• Berlin is part of the international tech ecosystem
• Is Poland? Certainly not yet, hopefully getting there
• Internationality key - best practices, (commercial) talent
We cannot reinvent all wheels ourselves !
!
!
!
!
!
esp. in commercial areas, like marketing, sales, general management..
!
3. International isolation - PL scene is … Polish
What can we do?
Gov programmes (KFK) seem to promote international isolation (check www.pawel.ch) International investment works best - facilitate it! (a few internationally oriented VCs have appeared: Protos, Giza, Innovation Nest) Initiatives help:
3. International isolation - PL scene is … Polish