Martinho Correia de Matos

Investing in Portugal's Real Estate 🇵🇹🏠 After exploring various European markets, I chose Portugal for real estate investment. Here's why: 1. High Rental Yields The market offers significant cash flow potential due to high rental demands. 2. Accessibility of Mortgages Non-residents, especially those in Europe earning above $100k, can typically secure up to an 80% loan-to-value ratio on mortgages. 3. Favorable Interest Rates With rates generally below 5%, Portugal's interest environment is more appealing compared to much of the Eurozone. 4. Property Appreciation Chosen locations are likely to appreciate due to increased tourism, the growing number of remote workers, retirees, and overall economic growth. 5. Good Connectivity Lisbon's airport is big and well-connected, including direct flights to Zurich and many other major cities across Europe, which makes it easy for me to visit. I've personally invested here and the numbers have been promising. Stay tuned for a deeper dive into my experiences with the Portuguese real estate market.

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#WhatsHotInConsumer7: Some key considerations for analyzing startup MIS: - It's crucial to scrutinize how startups define direct costs to avoid inflated gross margins. Inventory cost accounting is also another important consideration. - Keep an eye on B2B transactions to prevent revenue manipulation through commission adjustments. - Monitor fluctuating costs, especially during significant events, to detect potential manipulation. - Consistent revenue in certain channels warrants a closer examination. - Be vigilant about cost allocation to sister entities, as it could impact the overall financial picture. - Carefully examine the cross channel cost allocation to fit a certain narrative for some channels. It's important to read Financial due diligence reports to understand if companies have adopted fair practices which goes a long way in making right investment decisions. Comment in the section below for more such observations. #Startups #MIS #FinancialAnalysis #BusinessInsights #Consumers

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When 30+ investors chase you with $500k - 1M cheque but you don’t want to commit (yet) During the past few months, Davide Roznowicz and I received a lot of DMs from venture capitalists: generally, they were inviting us to join a call and let them know what we are working on. From my understanding, it works like in job interviews: you make a prescreening call just to get to know each other and see if the interests are aligned. If yes, you will progress with other interviews (maybe 2 - 3) with other representatives of the venture firm.  These are some aspects that are evaluated in a startup to be potentially funded: ➡ Team: what is the quality of your team? Why is your team the best team to solve this problem? ➡ Market Size: how large is this market?  ➡ Competition: how competitive is this market? ➡ Differentiation: how will you beat the competition? ➡ Metrics: what’s your current growth indicator? Eventually, if both parties are happy, you, as a company, will receive the funding. ✅ It’s an exchange of money for shares of the startup: from the very few introductory calls I attended in the past, a possible contract in Switzerland for an early-stage startup created by young but solid people, it could be $500k+ in exchange for 20% of the startup. ✅ Most of the venture firms that contacted us invest in Business to Business (B2B) startups: working on a B2B AI-first software startup, in the current AI trend, makes the investment more appealing. Nevertheless, we believe that raising money is a no-way-back decision and we want to avoid doing it when we are still without any customers. Venture firms take bets and hope that one or a few startups across their portfolio will become enormous and will pay back all the lost bets: instead, we bet 100% on what we do, so we should take care of every step we take. In our view, it’s much better to gain some traction and, at that point, if we need money to expand our activity, we will raise money. ❎ Raising right now would mean plenty of time lost talking to potential investors, receiving a lot of “No”, talking again to others, and not progressing with the core of inlook.ai, which is what really matters to us right now.  ✅ We also want to be fully aware of every research, development, marketing and business side of what we are building: therefore we don’t plan to hire anyone for some time. Becoming a company surviving on steroids (burning money month after month and not making any profit) is not something we are interested in.

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public SaaS multiples, measured by market valuation against annualized current run-rate ARR, have now reverted to levels seen around 2016. for me, this suggests that the market may have hit rock bottom, opening up opportunities for growth (link to the report is in the comments). the elevated multiples observed during COVID, driven by the expectation of a permanently virtual and remote work setting, are gone for good, though.

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Location Matters. US-based SaaS companies often see higher multiples than their European counterparts. Why? Several factors come into play: 1. Access to Capital: Deeper pools of capital in the US 2. Market Size: Larger, more homogeneous domestic market 3. Growth Focus: Greater access to capital enables investors to favor growth over profitability 4. Tech Ecosystem: Strong networks of talent, capital and knowledge However, economic shifts can level the playing field. During downturns, European companies' focus on profitability can become more attractive to investors. Are you leveraging geographical advantages or considering strategic relocations? #FutureOfWork #SaaS #Technology #EdTech #HRTech #WorkTech #WellbeingTech #MergersAndAcquisitions #InvestmentBanking

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VC firms review 101 deals to make 1 investment! 😲 🤯 Securing funding from VC firms remains a significant challenge. The chart below is data from Harvard Business Review in 2021, what does this look like in 2024? Based on the CB Insights data, you would assume a lot has changed! ✅ The Positive: During 2024 deal sizes have increased by 17% to an average of $14.4 million, which is higher than the 2023 average.  🔻 The Negative: Deal volume was still less than half of what was seen in Q1 2022. 📈 The Trend: Investors are putting more money behind select startups, resulting in larger deals. #future #innovation #investment Nobody Studios

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A dealbook or portfolio perks programme is a straightforward way for VCs to offer portfolio companies valuable discounts and credits across essential business functions and popular tools in shared tech stacks—especially useful for early-stage funds. Some deals are publicly available, others require VCs to register, and some VCs negotiate extra or exclusive perks for their portfolio. Registering your fund typically involves a short application, which allows portfolio companies to qualify for these offers. Popular examples include: ☁️ Cloud Infrastructure: Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services (AWS), DigitalOcean 💻 Development Tools: GitHub, GitLab, Atlassian tools 📈 Sales & Marketing: HubSpot, Pipedrive, Customer io 📊 Customer Support & Analytics: Zendesk, Intercom, Segment, Hotjar 🗂️ Productivity: Notion, Airtable, Miro 💳 Finance & Operations: Stripe, Xero, Capdesk (Carta) 🏢 Coworking Spaces: Flexible discounts with major coworking providers or local spaces It only took me a few weeks to build a perks programme worth over $250k by registering with various major “for Startups” or “Partner Program” pages and reaching out to providers directly. Over time, additional requests came in from the portfolio, and some companies even offered inter-portfolio discounts. It's worth keeping open, friendly channels with key tech stack and service partners as a VC—they often offer extra resources like office hours or scale-up programmes. For example, I previously connected with EmpowerRD to host a workshop on UK R&D tax credits, which the portfolio found extremely useful. A well-curated perks programme can quickly help founders reduce costs of essential tools. For later-stage funds, partnerships may include more tailored agreements that match the evolving needs of scaling companies. There’s no shortage of startup perk aggregator sites and lists out there—but if there’s enough interest, I can pull together a list of VC-registered programmes. Drop "interested" in the comments if you’d find this helpful. Providers, please feel free to link your “for Startups” page ✨ #30daysofPlatform #VC #VentureCapital #Venture #CVC #Platform

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5 reasons LPs should reconsider their VC partners in a chaotic era (inspired by Netflix's '3 Body Problem') In the "3 Body Problem" book and Netflix series, an alien civilization fluctuates between two eras: stable and chaotic. Their planet, Trisolaris, is easily inhabitable in a Stable Era. During a Chaotic Era, however, their three suns orbit unpredictably, creating uninhabitable climates. We’ve been thrust into our own equivalent of a Chaotic Era while navigating the post-ZIRP aftermath and slowdown in M&A and public markets. Many institutional investors seek stability amid uncertain times like these. They often go with “established” #VC fund managers (=GPs with 4+ funds) over “emerging” ones (3 or fewer funds). It's the safer bet, but is it the smarter one? Conventional wisdom assumes that firms with more experience can better weather unfavorable investing climates. Yet new data from PitchBook turns that thinking on its head. Here are 5 reasons LPs should partner with up-and-coming VC firms: 1) SUSTAINED SUCCESS: “From 1997 onward, emerging managers have delivered a higher median IRR than established managers.” 2) TOP-END RETURNS: “For VC managers that deliver top-decile returns, the best-performing emerging managers have generated 15.9% in excess IRR, 3.6% higher than their established counterparts.” 3) GREATER UPSIDE: “Emerging managers tend to be smaller, which can increase the potential upside that a GP can achieve due to the diminishing returns of larger-scale firms.” (Note: The performance of emerging managers is also more volatile, so careful vetting is key.) 4) ALIGNED INCENTIVES: “Smaller size also means lower management fees in nominal terms, making performance incentives a bigger driver of smaller GPs’ economics, amplifying interest alignment with LPs.” 5) UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES: “Emerging managers can provide attractive upside or exposure to niche strategies that are tough to replicate in other parts of an LP’s portfolio.” It’s clear that LPs that do not make room for emerging managers in their portfolios are doing their investors a disservice. #VentureCapital #Investing #SiliconValley #VC #privatemarkets #capitalallocation

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📊Just wrapped up Q1, 2024 Report for 500 Emerging Europe II. 30 months since our first investment with a portfolio of 32 companies🗂️ 👵🏻20 of these companies have been with us for over a year: 💸10 of them raised $5m each - a total of $120m raised thus far 💰12 generating $1m+ annualized revenue run rate for 2024 📈$19m annualized portfolio revenue (5x y/y growth) 🥇400+ talent fueling the companies, 70%+ based in Emerging Europe 🌎96% export revenues, 80% from the US alone 🦸🏻‍♀️7 startups with woman founders 🌉Freshest faces on the block in Q1, 2024: Pythagora (YC W24), Vidoc Security Lab & YonedaLabs 🧿Already finalized 2 new investments in Q2 and 6 portfolio companies raised new rounds. Q2 Report will be full of adrenaline

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We worked with 25+ VC partners this year, and here are the top 3 learnings: 1. Playing the role of industry operator is key to getting REALLY early deals: In our 6 years of existence, we have never looked at anything that's not fintech. Simultaneously we did everything possible to support the ecosystem, in terms of community building, knowledge distribution, accelerating innovation and most importantly, observing trends ground up. As a result of this, most founders approach us not for financial capital, but our knowledge and network capital. 2. No two investors think alike: One of the most common questions we get is how can our partner investors co-exist and not fight over the limited deals we showcase? Well, most unicorn founders once knocked on the doors of hundreds of VCs and were rejected by most of them. Each investor has a unique eye and there's more than enough space for co-existence. 3. Fintech-first VCs: Most of our partners are Fintech-heavy as an industry focus. Us being heavily focused on industry makes an easy touchpoint for anything under the umbrella when it comes to fintech. For founders, it makes half the journey easier to be exposed to VCs with an innate interest in their business area. All in all, the approach of co-building, co-existing and doubling down on the niche is what we believe in. Would love to connect and have a chat if 1. You are a VC interested in the Fintech space 2. You are a founder looking to build in the Fintech space In pic: hosting early stage pitches for top 9 startups, of the 250+ applications we received (yes we did not make it 10 just for the sake of it, trust me when I say we are selective) on the largest VC access platform possible - hashtag #GFF2024 , along with the support of our VC partners from across SEA. DM, or register at yatra.connexdoor.com

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13 Successful VC Fund Decks That Raised Over $500M From LPs... Raising money is tough for both founders and VCs, but it’s even harder for VCs. They must persuade limited partners (LPs) to invest in their venture capital funds. I've analyzed how successful VCs craft pitch decks that helped them raise massive amounts of capital. Here's what I learned. Think of fund managers as salespeople. Their pitch deck (or memo) is their most powerful sales tool. It needs to do two things really well: hook LPs enough to get that crucial first meeting, and serve as a compelling narrative during and after the pitch. Here are four main takeaways to consider when creating a deck for LPs: 1️⃣ The purpose of your pitch deck is to convince LPs of your ability to make outlier investments. Show how you access, make sound decisions on, and win exceptional deals. 2️⃣ Your pitch deck should tell a clear, concise, and convincing version of your fund's story. 3️⃣ Show, don't tell, using examples, numbers, and visuals to add credibility. 4️⃣ Let others speak to your strengths with quotes from founders, testimonials from references, and committed LPs to establish social credibility. But what Goes Into a $500M+ Fund Deck? Here's the winning structure I've seen work: ➙ Title: So, what's this fund called? Which fund is it? ➙ Team: Who is the GP? Who else is on the team? ➙ Access: How do you get access to high-quality investment opportunities? What's your advantage? ➙ Ability to win: How will you win competitive deals? What's your value-add to founders? ➙ Investment Focus: What are you investing in? Why? Do you have a unique insight into that focus? ➙ Track record: Do you have investment experience? What's your past track record? What are your most impressive investments? ➙ Fund structure: What's the size of the fund, stage you're investing in, number of expected investments, and other details on the fund structure. ➙ Network: Who's in your orbit? Which founders, investors, and others do you collaborate with and can you show examples? ➙ Appendix: Additional materials that might be useful to include 👉 I've put together some decks that successfully raised thousands to millions of dollars. If you'd like to see them, please leave your email in the comments - I will share attached file with you. 💫 For more insights, check out my free newsletter and Join 62000+ founders & investors: https://lnkd.in/dBwV7D8m . #startups #vc #fund #venturecapital #founders #jobs #internships #founder #funding #LPs #GPs #partners #analyst #associate #intern #investment #angelinvestors

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Should founders use memos instead of pitch decks for fundraising? I strongly suggest that founders use memos more (and not always decks). Here's why : Many investors actually prefer reading memos from founders. They give a deeper look into your ideas and plans. But when should you use a memo, and when should you stick with a pitch deck? 1️⃣ First, one is not better than the other → If you need to explain a key concept (i.e. your product), use a deck. → If you need to explain more than 1 key concept (a complicated market & your product), use a memo. The complexity of a concept determines the format. 2️⃣ Memos force you to think When you explain your thinking in writing, it forces you to narrate your logic step by step. You can get away with holes in thinking in a deck—with a memo, it’s impossible. Even if you don’t send the memo, writing it is valuable by itself. 3️⃣ Memos do the hard work for investors By creating a memo, you simplify much of the work for them. All investors need to write internal deal memos to invest in your company. Creating a memo for them simplifies A LOT of that work. 4️⃣ Investment memos are dynamic. You can include links, videos, graphs, photos, and screenshots using tools like Dropbox. Always allow investors to explore further IF they are interested. Let investors "choose their adventure”. 5️⃣ Pitch decks still have value. Use a pitch deck in partner meetings—they’re great in 1-to-many settings. Send the memo ahead of time. Use pitch decks to drive the conversation. 6️⃣ Your memo will live on (WAY beyond the fundraising process) ∞ Decks generally need a voice-over, memos do not. This makes memos super valuable resources for recruiting, onboarding new hires, educating the team, etc. 7️⃣ Memos and decks serve different purposes. Both are valuable. But I’m more and more convinced — writing a memo is insanely powerful. Especially with complex/early markets that are hard to understand. What's your thought on this? . #startups #funding #founders #fund #investors #pitchdeck #funding #fundraising #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship

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Another masterpiece by Sequoia Capital !!! “Apps: The most interesting layer for venture capital. ~20 application layer companies with $1Bn+ in revenue were created during the cloud transition, another ~20 were created during the mobile transition, and we suspect the same will be true here.” I agree with the thesis AND actually think we will have 100+ application layer companies in the AI era with gargantuan outcomes because AI is impacting and disrupting EVERY industry sector in ways never seen before. Imagine a few *unicorns*, *decacorns*, *hectocorns*, *kilocorns* in healthcare and education and industrial and consumer and retail and … and … and…. Perhaps a couple of *megacorns*? Oh, what exciting times and investor’s dream 🚀🚀🚀. Aileen Lee, would love to hear your perspectives. Full report here: https://lnkd.in/g44cBgGS #AIDecade #InvestorDecade

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Been chatting with a lot of large LPs who haven't allocated to VC as an asset class historically To justify investing in VC, the common theme seems to be: VC metric = PME + illiquidity premium (+ complexity premium) To elaborate on each variable: 1/ VC metric is either IRR or TVPI Most traditional LPs, with a heavy portfolio emphasis on hedge funds, PE, real estate, etc will use IRR as the barometer TVPI is more of a venture-literate LP marker FYI, when I say VC, that's pre-seed/seed Series A maybe, but underwritten slightly differently with a lower return hurdle cuz technically less time to exit Multi stage VC doesn't count, and realistically if you are, you're probably established already 2/ PME = public market equivalent For most LPs that's 10% +/- 2% depending on vintage Otherwise, 2.5-3x for TVPI assuming 10 yr illiquidity horizon + 25% capital called each yr in the first 4 yrs 3/ lliquidity premium for IRR is 200-400 basis pts For TVPI, it's roughly 1.5x the returns of PME over same time period 4/ Complexity premium is just how dang complicated it is to understand VC as an asset class Things are more complex if: - you're a Fund I/II -you're not best friends with the LP already - you don't have a referenceable/attributable track record - solo GP - diverse GP (hate that this is a thing, but it is) - the LP you're pitching is not the decision maker - the LP is a younger member of the FO - the LP watched the wework show, or Silicon Valley show (yes, this is a thing) - the LP doesn't live on the coasts of the US All that to say the complexity premium can totally skew an LP's underwriting decision So if you ever wonder how LPs get to a number of why LPs are underwriting 5x net, or 25% IRR, it's cuz: a/ TVPI, IRR usually decreases over the life time of the fund b/ VC is damn complex if you don't already invest in it or live in NYC or SF

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Compare 2 approaches for a corporation: 1. Corporate Venture Capital – investing $500K-5M for up to 5% in a company. Spending $50-100K on due diligence and closing the deal. CVC typically utilizes the technologies for their main business in only 30% of targeted startups. 2. Corporate Venture Client Model – scanning 100+ startups with new technologies a year. Paying $1,000 to $100,000 per pilot project. In 100% of cases, you test these new technologies. If these technologies are critical for your company, then you can acquire the company in 5-10% of cases. If you want to move fast and the priority is to help your corporation progress – consider focusing on the venture client model. This reasoning comes from Gregor Gimmy, who initiated this approach at BMW after joining the company in 2012. In 2012, Gregor noted BMW's minimal engagement with startups. He highlighted the vast number of venture-backed startups, noting that out of 50 million new companies annually, about 250,000 receive venture funding. He estimated that around 25,000 of these could be relevant to BMW, representing approximately $50 billion in venture capital. Despite the large number of relevant startups, BMW was only engaging with 3 to 5 per year, leading to what Gregor described as a significant "startup gap" — a big mismatch between potential resources and their utilization. He proposed increasing interactions with startups from 3-5 per year to 50-100. He simplified legal and purchasing processes and launched the BMW Startup Garage in 2015. In 2018, after demonstrating the model's success, he left BMW and launched 27pilots — a firm that helps corporations implement venture client models. In 2023, it was acquired by Deloitte, which was struggling to launch its venture client services. + The venture client model allows companies to engage with and utilize startup technologies through pilot projects directly. This direct approach accelerates the integration and practical application of new technologies within the company. + The venture client model typically achieves a nearly 100% success rate in engaging startups for technology pilots, compared to the significantly lower engagement rate of CVC. - A disadvantage of the venture client model is that by not investing in or acquiring a startup, competitors might secure exclusive access to critical technologies. However, if a technology is truly critical, a corporation can choose to acquire the startup to ensure exclusive access. View the full episode for additional insights and detailed figures:

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Valuing Pre-revenue Companies One of the most common questions that every founder has is: How do investors value pre-revenue companies? Even most angel investors are not aware of the factors leading investors consider when valuing pre-seed or seed-stage startups. If you have similar questions, check this guide by Kauffman Venturing to learn about how to value pre-revenue companies... 👇 Check out my free newsletter for more insights: https://lnkd.in/eggvJJRE . #startups #vc #funding #valuation #founders #investors #venturecapital #founder #startup #startuptips

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Valuing Pre-revenue Companies One of the most common questions that every founder has is: How do investors value pre-revenue companies? Even most angel investors are not aware of the factors leading investors consider when valuing pre-seed or seed-stage startups. If you have similar questions, check this guide by Kauffman Venturing to learn about how to value pre-revenue companies... 👇 Worth a read! 💫 Check out my free newsletter for more insights: https://lnkd.in/d3QaTQwC . #startups #funding #founders #fundraising #money #founder #investors #invest #valuation #value #fund #investment

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Europe's VC scene is feeling the aftershocks of the tech reset. Here's a breakdown of the data: Funding decline. Total capital raised in European VC funds dropped a significant 39% in 2023 compared to 2022, reaching €17.2 billion. The number of funds itself also saw a vertical decline of 51.5%. LPs & GPs hit the brakes. They are taking a more cautious approach. The "spray and pray" days of exuberant investment are over. Focus on sustainability. Investors are prioritizing companies with strong fundamentals and sustainable business models, not just the next hot trend. The VC landscape is recalibrating. Learn how to navigate the effects of the #TechReset. Get insights from The State of European Fundraising Report. https://buff.ly/4boUlfm Delivered to you by EUVC | Isomer Capital | Floww. #EUVC #fundraising #venturecapital #industryreport

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#interestingdata 🇪🇺 startup discount? Or 🇺🇸 startup premium? Value vectors to target: 1. 🇪🇺 to 🇺🇸 bridge 2. 🇪🇺 Seed to Series A 👉 Alliance VC #venturecapital #startups #seed #seriesA See earlier post on topic in comments

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