Ruslan Sarkisyan

Balderton's €1.3bn raise for European startups sparks debate: Does a bigger VC fund lead to better outcomes? First, consider: 💲 Larger rounds demand bigger funds, but returns get harder at scale 💲 $100M fund needs $1bn exit at 10% ownership for a single 1x return 💲 Most early-stage VCs target 3x returns, investing in 30+ companies 💲Management fees (typically 2%) grow with fund size Plus, the current landscape: Giants like Balderton, Index, and Accel are raising massive funds, while smaller firms stick to sub-$200M and focus on early-stage startups. Many VCs have maintained their previous fund sizes, while others are downsizing or struggling to raise new funds (or even returning un-invested capital to investors, as CRV recently announced they will do). Thus, weigh up the trade-offs: Larger funds (≥$500M): 📈 More firepower, full-cycle support 📉 Risk: Pressure to deploy capital, potentially lower returns Smaller funds (≤$200M): 🔍Agility, focused support, higher potential multiples ❌ Limited late-stage participation The future of European VC may not be one-size-fits-all. As the ecosystem matures, perhaps there's room for both Davids and Goliaths. What's your take? Would you bet on a nimble $150M fund or the muscle of a €1B+ vehicle? Source: Sifted #EuropeanVC #FundStrategy #StartupInvesting PS 🔔 Follow me for strategies and resources for startups and VCs! There's a better, streamlined way to raise capital: 💸https://foundersuite.com/ for startups 💸https://fundingstack.com/ for VCs and investors

30

1 Comment

I couldn’t be prouder to be a Venture Partner at Isomer Capital (aka the best European FoF - at least for me) as we just announced the launch of our pioneering £100m secondaries fund. This fund is dedicated to acquiring stakes from LPs in various VC funds, tapping into a massive and largely unexplored market. 🌟 Key Highlights: - Focused Investment: Primarily targeting stakes in VC funds, with selective investments in private companies. - Robust Funding: Already over 20% funded, thanks to strong support from Nordic family offices and a German foundation. - Market Potential: With a growing number of private tech companies and a VC liquidity crunch, Europe's VC secondaries market is poised for rapid growth. - Track Record: This isn’t Isomer’s first foray into the secondaries market. As a firm we’ve done several secondaries deals with portfolio companies and VC firms, including early-stage VC Seedcamp (in 2021) and mobility giant Bolt (in 2023). - Expert Team: Welcoming the amazing Omolade (Rachel) A., formerly of Coller Capital, as a principal to lead this initiative. 💡 Investment Strategy: - 65-75% of the fund will buy "LP interest" stakes in VC funds. - 15-25% will be directed towards stakes in companies. - Up to 15% reserved for flexible investment opportunities. 📈 Looking Ahead: We're targeting returns of 2-3x, with significant distributions expected in the next 4-7 years. As one of the few players in this space, we're not just participating in the market—we're driving it forward. Read all about it here: https://lnkd.in/dc7sbC3G #VentureCapital #SecondariesFund #EuropeanVC

23

1 Comment

🌟 Interesting yet unsurprising findings from the latest VC performance report: 📈 Established European venture capital funds (fund 5+) are delivering 2x the IRR of New (fund 1-2) and Developing (3-4) funds. 🌍 European VC funds consistently outperform their US counterparts, underscoring Europe's strength in the global investment landscape. Read the article at sifted https://lnkd.in/eZYF4THT

36

9 Comments

Why Oxford Capital Invested in HealthKey... In our recent #backingfounders interview, David Tejs Jørring, co-founder of HealthKey, shares insights into the innovative digital health company that aims to simplify and enhance access to healthcare. HealthKey is described as a "digital front door" focused on preventive and proactive health, specifically designed for employers and insurers to provide a marketplace of healthcare services and products to employees. During the interview, David addresses critical questions such as why accessing healthcare through insurance is so challenging and why insurance companies are increasingly willing to pay for preventive services. Watch the interview here --> https://lnkd.in/eX2pfqg4 #VentureCapital #HealthTech #FinancialPlanning #BusinessGrowth #UKBusiness #Backingfounders #EIS

22

The game has changed in healthcare and digital health companies need to take note. Incumbents have more than doubled in size since the start of the pandemic so that means their expectations for acquisition have shifted. It's time to build more "steak" than "sizzle" and play the game differently than ever before. Thanks to my co-author Christina Farr for letting me jump onto Second Opinion Media to share some of our thoughts about how to re-write the playbook when it comes to scaling in #digitalhealth. More 👇 https://lnkd.in/gvu7siaB

100

2 Comments

🌱 Looking to Connect with Leading VCs and Early-Stage Investors? 🌱 At Virtualnonexecs, we don;t only work with PE firms - we are also proud to be working with some of the UK’s most active early-stage investors to help them find the top board advisors and chairs who can drive impact. If you're a non-executive or chair looking to connect with the heart of the startup ecosystem, take note of the names below. Here are 10 of the UK's most active early-stage investors and the incredible numbers that back them: 1. Octopus Ventures - Backed 100+ startups, with a portfolio value of over £1.3 billion. 2. Seedcamp - Over 400 startups funded, including unicorns like Revolut and TransferWise 3. LocalGlobe - Invested in 300+ startups across deep tech and fintech. 4. Playfair - Early backer of companies like Stripe and Anduril. 5. Passion Capital - Early investor in Monzo Bank, managing £100M+ in assets. 6. Ascension - Over 100 startups backed with a focus on social impact and fintech. 7. Frontline Ventures - Backed 80+ startups across Europe with a key focus on B2B. 8. MMC Ventures - £500M+ under management, supporting 60+ innovative growth companies. 9. Balderton Capital - Invested in 220+ startups with notable exits like THG. 10. Entrepreneur First - 500+ startups built, including companies now worth over $10 billion collectively. ✅ To join Virtualnonexecs: https://lnkd.in/eXBj687 ✅ If you are a VC or company looking to hire: https://lnkd.in/d3na7CEC #NonExecutiveDirectors #Chairs #VentureCapital #Startups #Virtualnonexecs #BoardRoles #Leadership #BusinessGrowth

15

1 Comment

Great conversation yesterday at Preqin with Preqin's Cameron Joyce, CFA, CAIA, Blue Owl Capital's Cara Griffiths, Bain Capital's Tom Sargeant on the future of fundraising for private markets. Where will AUM come from going forward? What are the challenges that funds will face in fundraising? What strategies will be most popular going forward? It was fascinating to hear the perspectives of some of the industry's biggest platforms in Blue Owl Capital and Bain Capital from Cara and Tom, respectively, as to where fundraising is headed given their purview on the market and from Cameron on his data-driven insights from market research and plenty of numbers crunching on what it will take for private markets to grow to $30T AUM by 2030.

40

How do we master metrics for fund success? We'll find out together in a new deep-dive masterclass on VC Fund Terms & KPIs on November 26th, together with Marc Penkala, Founding GP of āltitude. What can you expect? 👉 the fundamentals of VC fund terms and KPIs 👉 key metrics to measure & when to track them 👉 what LPs prioritise & what GPs track internally 👉 how to set up a dashboard to track fund performance 👉 practical examples of fund portfolio dashboard in action Join EUVC community to access the full masterclass and get early access to the next live masterclass on this topic! More details below. https://lnkd.in/dduVq4tb #venturecapital #fundsuccess #fundmetrics #portfoliomanagement

24

2 Comments

Ever wonder what its like to run a Private Equity fund? Now you have the chance to follow along with successful investment managers by participating with Fund Launch Partners. Join me and Lincoln Archibald and next week for the Third Thursday @ Three to hear about direct investment opportunities with General Partnerships in the one of the fastest growing portfolio investment sectors. Pick up a free ticket here: https://lnkd.in/dd2yzxDd #HolyGrailofInvesting #GPOpportunities #FundLaunch #Alternatives

43

"Funding Collapse sends investment in start-ups to six year low" The Times today covering the shocking stats that VenturePath uncovered, with our partner Beauhurst. Great quotes from supporters Michael Moore CEO, BVCA and Julian David CEO, techUK. * UK VC funding at Series A is -44% from last year, and worsening * Q3 24 is down a staggering 57% from Q2, itself down from Q1 * 9 in 10 seed funded startups cannot access Series A VC funding, the next 'rung on the funding ladder' * Just 32 future scaleup companies across the whole of the UK were able to access their first VC funding round in Q3...a 6 year low * Half a billion less capital is going in to UK scaleups at Series A, than just 2 years ago! As the UK scaleup funding gap widens, we are losing ground against other countries, at both startup stage (a position the UK worked hard to achieve, since 2011), and for scaleup support. OECD data: 13th in the world for scaleup support, and that's before Series A funding access dried up. I get that its confusing. Another report (BBB, Nations & Regions) released this week spoke of positive trends in private investment, stating "The data for Q2 2024 shows that investment value has continued to grow". Great, I love to see optimistic data. But under analysis that bundles venture with private equity (later stage), where a few megadeals skew the numbers. Otherwise the exact opposite is true. Our independent research here, for the UK ScaleUp Investment Mission, is laser beam focussed on Series A. The funding round where companies move from the c.1m startups launched each year, through the 2,179 that access seed funding, into the rarefied category of being recognised as future scaleups, attracting Series A funding (£2-10m). The UK venture landscape is currently funding just 248 pa of these companies, and declining. We've been sharing this urgent call for support with the new Government since the day after the election. I've personally met with several Ministers, and spoke to all the relevant Government departments. I will shamelessly repeat loudly what is at stake. UK scaleup funding at Series A has nearly halved in a year, and continues to decline steeply, more than halving in the last quarter. VenturePath developed The UK ScaleUp Investment Mission to convene the scaleup support ecosystem and £7bn of funders to help address this problem, to improve nationwide access to VC investment, and create more venture-backed successes. We have clear support, clear recommendations to reverse this decline in UK scaleup investment, and have made a clear ask of Government for participation in this, to ensure immediate action is taken to create the conditions for success for UK scaleups, ensuring the focus on growth isn't undermined by lack of capital, or equitable access to it. Government decision makers, we'd love your interest, to progress to action. HM Treasury: Rt Hon Rachel Reeves Spencer Livermore James Murray & CC Poppy Gustafsson (welcome to the debate).

735

195 Comments

In a recent Sifted article, I share thoughts on emerging managers esp. Solo-GPs, here's what I think 👇🏽 https://lnkd.in/eYx7h5Qv I’m a solo-GP building OpenseedVC, here’s what some think this means; 🔻That there is key-person risk 🔻That there is little accountability or governance 🔻That it is a one-person show Here’s what it ACTUALLY often means; 👇🏽 ✅ We've set up governance that foster accountability, not bureaucracy ✅ As a fund, we have a dizzying depth of complementary skillsets ✅ We build conviction and move quickly; critical for early stage ✅ We are process geniuses, automations and efficiency is in our DNA ✅ We have a lean, mean team optimised for high for efficiency There is no "founder-like fund" quite like a Solo-GP emerging manager. For us at OpenseedVC, we invest up to $150k at the angel stage, and are flexible. We can lead your angel round. We can follow if the terms work for us. We don't take board seats. Whatever it is, we are first investors in ambitious and experienced operators just as they start their technology companies! We are founders ourselves, and have parallel experiences to the most ambitious and resilient founders, and this is ultimately superpower 💥 Solo-GPs are outliers, and in the business of #VC #venturecapital, outliers signal potential for outsized opportunity. #operators #openseedvc #europe #africa #soloGPs

77

3 Comments

In the Norrsken Accelerate Fund we have made 20 investments this year in super exciting impact tech startups that are tackling some of the big issues on the planet.🌍 I’d like to the spotlight on the amazing founders behind these companies. 📸 First out are Sébastien Fiedorow and Steven Bardey, PhD who are the founders of Aerleum. What they are doing is defossilizing heavy industries which is crucial for reducing GHG emissions globally. Sectors like shipping, road transport, and aviation need clean fuels with high energy density, cost-efficiency, and supply chain compatibility. How they address this is be having a unique technology that produces e-methanol from captured CO2 and low-carbon hydrogen. It burns cleanly, has high energy density, and integrates with current supply chains. By doing this they strive to remove giga-tons of carbon dioxide from the air and transform it into clean alternatives for fossil-based products which will be massive win for the planet.💚 Read more about Aerleum here: https://www.aerleum.com/ and ping me if you want to get in touch with them.

125

9 Comments

Founders, this is a great checklist to optimise your seed deck. 👇 I tend to ignore the issues highlighted in point 1 and 2, rather than view them as negative signals. One of the repeat pieces of advice I share with founders on decks: focus on your "minimal viable story". And remember every investor has a different checklist. Great post Adam Shuaib, PhD Happy raising! #vc #fundraising #founders #scalebridge

4

It's been a busy week for emerging managers. As we start paying more attention to emerging funds in VC, I'm making it my mission to keep track. Want a more detailed analysis? Click on the link at the bottom of the post. I'll be posting every week. Did I miss your fund launch or close? Comment FEATURE in the comment box and send me a invitation request. 🚀 🇫🇷 & 🇬🇧 Noteus Partners Fund I- launching Former Eurazeo partners Yann du Rusquec and Nathalie Kornoff Brüls have announced they are launching Noteus Partners a EUR 600M pan-European Tech Growth fund. 🚀🇫🇷 Deepbright Ventures Fund I (aka Hello Tomorrow)- launching  The France-founded global #deeptech ecosystem is preparing to launch it’s own venture fund. The fund will focus on early-stage deeptech startups, scouting from it’s own deep network of 5,000+ startups 🎉 🇭🇺 Impact Ventures Fund III- closed European Investment Fund (EIF) and Hungary’s state-backed National Capital Holding (NCH) invested EUR 40M into Impact Fund III. This latest fund is 10x in size from it’s previous 2018 vintage (EUR 4M). 🎉🇪🇸 Acurio Ventures Fund III- closed Bilbao-based Acurio Ventures has not only rebranded from All Iron Ventures, but just closed a EUR 150M continuation fund. The fund will invest across 50 follow-on deals in EU-based seed and Series A tech startups, taking between 3%-10% stakes. 🔊🇪🇪 Estonia Defense Fund- extended In May 2024, the government of Estonia announced a EUR 50 million fund that will invest in defense-related or dual-use technologies, managed by SmartCap. It announced yesterday it would double the fund size to EUR 100M. 🎉 🇺🇸 Cerulean Ventures Fund I- closed This USD 10M climate-focused micro-fund founded by Jahed Momand and Matthew Stotts 🌐 has just announced it’s final close. The fund will invest in approximately 40 pre-seed software startups devoted to reducing the human impact on climate change. 🎉 🇺🇸 Avid Ventures Fund II- closed Avid Ventures led by Addie Lerner, a former Principal at General Catalyst has just announced a USD 87M close for it’s second Fund.  Fund II has already completed 5 investments and will back Seed through Series A software and fintech plays, with check sizes starting from USD 500K to USD 2M- with double-down follow-on for select Series B portfolio companies. #venturecapital #emergingmanagers #investmentmanagent #technology Adam Sah Dan Engel Kim Pochon Bob Mason Mohammed AhmedAbduljabar Totonji Myrto Lalacos VC Lab

19

Taavet Hinrikus and I made the Financial Times Due Diligence email. https://lnkd.in/ez2AuGQx One 'unintended consequence' is that if there is a 45% tax on carry and CGT (raising £40m per year, remember) it for all intents and purposes closes the door on new VCs in the UK. Especially started by teams from non-traditional backgrounds. To meet the GP commit, you need to be already part of the 'wealthy' as you cannot rely on the value you create - nearly half of it will disappear - to fund it. We have both had extremely successful startups which are few and far between. The smaller number of new VCs will therefore more likely increasingly be for people who have inherited the capital or can draw it from their already rich family. Probably not want they have in mind with this policy.

32

2 Comments

Despite England’s loss at the Euro 2024 last night in Berlin, the UK has retained its crown for venture capital investment! 🇬🇧👑 Data from Dealroom, a global provider of data and intelligence on start-ups and tech ecosystems, revealed that UK start-ups and scale-ups raised £7.4bn during the first six months of the year. That’s a 16% increase from the same period last year, accounting for nearly one-third of all venture capital funding in Europe! Some standout funding rounds include: • Wayve, the autonomous vehicles technology firm, raised £861m in May. • Credit technology company Abound secured £400m. • Highview Power, focused on long-duration energy storage, raised £300m. • Online bank Monzo gathered £150m. • Electric vehicle charging group Char.gy raised £100m. The second half of the year looks promising with Index Ventures announcing it has raised $2.3bn in two new funds to invest in start-ups, with a significant portion expected to be deployed in the UK. Tech companies specialising in energy attracted the lion’s share of funding, with £4.3bn across Europe, followed by generative AI companies, which attracted £2bn. Having been deeply involved in the UK tech sector, I’ve witnessed the resilience and innovation driving these impressive numbers. The UK continues to be a powerhouse for tech innovation and investment, and it’s exciting to see the impact these investments will have on the future of technology and sustainability. What are your thoughts on the future of UK tech investments?

25

2 Comments

Very proud to see the WVC:E dream team - Anisah Osman Britton MBE & Rachel Drapper - alongside long time friend and rockstar Ekaterina Gianelli on stage at TechBBQ discussing "Fixing the Talent Exodus in VC". Key Takeaways: 💰Impact of Consolidation on Culture and Talent: The ongoing consolidation in the VC industry is reshaping company culture, affecting morale, and influencing talent. 🚀Emerging Managers Aren’t Diversifying VC: Despite the rise of emerging managers, the industry remains largely homogenous, with many new managers still coming from the same traditional, non-diverse backgrounds. ⚠️Perceptions of Diversity as High Risk: Many in the VC industry continue to view diverse hires, investments, and business models as "high risk," "too time-consuming," or "too costly," perpetuating a cycle of exclusion. 🚼 Parental Leave Inequality: Inequities in parental leave policies are disproportionately affecting women in venture, creating additional barriers to progression. But there are funds, investors, LPs and organisations (like us!) that are trying to change this!

81

4 Comments

Recently I have become aware of some VC's and "Angels" attempting to bypass the sophisticated investor wealth test by running internal "education" programs for retail investors and then allowing them to bypass their licensee (whether they are aware or not) and s761GA by claiming the investment is under the company's 20/12/2 rule for retail investors. To be clear, this is called "arranging" and technically illegal under s766C(2) which states "arranging is dealing" and will likely put their AFS license in jeopardy. The 20/12/2 rule only applies to the Company where they directly pitch to investors. Where an intermediary is involved (even just hosting a pitch event) then they are technically running an unregistered Business Introductory Service. The issue is that s761GA requires a subjective determination to be made by a licensee and its at the licensees discretion to accept a retail investor. Most Licensees fear the wrath of ASIC if they get it wrong and it's also almost impossible for them to get insurance. ASIC currently refuses to provide guidance or formally recognise any "educational programs" under s761GA. This is the problem that desperately needs to be solved. ASIC needs to provide Licensees with clear objective guidelines on the use of s761GA. It's just not worth putting your Licensee at risk by trying to bypass them. #angelinvesting

20

Very much looking forward to talking to founders that are enabling enterprises to get their data ready for AI consumption. Sign up below!

32

3 Comments