Eva Arh

Three biggest learnings from a fundraising journey. Shared by Rainer Märkle, General Partner at HV Capital at EUVC 1/ Have a time box with a deadline attached. Have a defined horizon & create a clear plan. Have some urgency to get things done at some point. Execute very transparently and reliably. 2/ Stick to your narrative. But don't do it blindly. Tweak it when necessary. Adapt it. Don't let yourself be surprised by major changes. Keep focusing on delivering according to your strategy & plan. 3/ Fundraising is a marathon with many sprints. There are moments when you'll ask yourself - Why do I do this? Is it gonna work out? But don't get too negative during the down phases. Adapting and pivoting is part of our job. As it is for the founder of a company. How about you? What fundraising lessons have you learned? Join the conversation. 🔽 #venturecapital #angelinvesting #startupfunding #europe

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𝐍𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞'𝐬 𝐒𝐌𝐄 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐚𝐚𝐒 𝟓𝟎 (Technology Companies)   A few weeks ago we announced āltitude with our friends at Eight Roads were on the hunt for 50 of Europe's most promising SME Vertical SaaS companies.   European Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are versatile and we have received some fantastic submissions so far from tech start-ups and scale-ups creating solutions in a wide range of industry verticals (a selection shown below).   If you know a tech company building a Vertical SaaS in the below categories (or any other industries with a high concentration of small businesses e.g. construction, manufacturing, and so on) feel free to:   (i) Tag the company or founders in the comments. (ii) Nominate them via the "Nominate a Startup" button on the website here: www.smeverticalsaas50.com. (iii) Nominate directly here: https://lnkd.in/eTFea2VB.   With a week and a half to go don't miss the opportunity to nominate founders and teams that you feel are worthy of recognition for their hard work and the fantastic solutions they are building.   Deadline: 18th October 2024 cc: Filip, Lucile, Virginia, Peter, George, Felix, Julie, Itxaso, Johannis, Miguel, Ines, Michiel, Louis, Alexandre, Jack, Carlos, Reshma, Jeannette, Mickaël, Dr. Gesa, Sarah, Frederik, Lorenzo, Jesse, Timo, Dr. Tanja, Carmen, Laurens, Ander, Liz, Jag, Brian, Sarah, Mish, Suzanne, Felix W., Laura, Gülsah #SMEtech #B2B #nominations #operators #founders #verticalsaas #saas

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Honoured to be featured in the latest Tech Funding News article discussing Germany’s role as a leading tech hub. 🚀 I’m also proud to see standout companies from the Earlybird Venture Capital portfolio—N26, Marvel Fusion, Isar Aerospace, and others—highlighted alongside my alma mater, Technical University of Munich, which is another key driver of innovation in the country. While Germany is often dubbed the ‘Silicon Valley of Europe,’ there’s still much to do, such as overcoming regulatory challenges and channeling more growth funding into promising startups. My advice for those navigating the Central European startup landscape: Leverage government-backed funding, connect with business angels, and build relationships with established companies. Do not wait to build a global network early on. Together we can strengthen this ecosystem so that one day it can truly live up to its nickname. Read more by Sofia Chesnokova here: https://bit.ly/404yyXr Cc: Dr. Hendrik Brandis, Paula Wehmeyer, Mario Kohle, Filip Lukac, Benjamin Berényi, Elisheva Marcus #Innovation #DeepTech #VentureCapital #GermanyTech

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I'm speaking at SuperVenture 2024 on the 5th of June in Berlin. The topic of the panel is emerging VC managers: time to shine or out of their depth? Are LPs fleeing to established names and those that cut their teeth during previous cycles? Or is now the time for emerging managers to bring something different to the table? Is volatility leading to true innovation and disruption? We’re on track to see approximately 44% of the total LP capital committed to US VC funds since the start of the year go to just two large established VC platforms, according to PitchBook data. While many established VCs maintain their allure, there is a subset of LPs who are making a deliberate choice to increase their allocations to specialist emerging VC managers - managers who have spun out from established funds and have an attributable track record, founders with deep operational experience turned funders or academics with deep domain expertise. There is non-trivial added complexity when it comes to emerging VC selection – given the large number of funds needed to be screened and the more complicated referencing and DD process. Data highlights how important it is for GPs to identify & back ‘big winners’ early on to drive fund returns. Typically, ~5% of invested capital in a few winners drives most of the return (>50%). The VC model is built around investing in early-stage companies each with the potential to more than return the whole fund. Who has the right to win? Who will the best founders (and LPs) decide to partner with? #SuperVenture #VC SuperReturn

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Stuck in the SaaS Dead Zone? The longer you linger, the more company value you lose! In my experience, many SaaS companies are currently facing a tough reality: stagnating growth without a corresponding increase in profitability. This is the Dead Zone, and it’s a dangerous place to be. Lingering here too long can seriously erode your company’s value. Ideally, you want to reignite growth. But if that feels out of reach, you should focus on improving your bottom line asap. A highly profitable company — even without growth — holds significantly more value than one struggling on both fronts. Public SaaS data shows that highly profitable companies with no growth have a median ARR multiple that’s 78% higher than those in the Dead Zone. I can tell you that there will be similar valuation differences in the private market. You can read more about it in my latest saas.wtf newsletter! ✌️

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Founders who have raised VC funding I need your advice on a potentially tricky situation with an investor. I was engaging with what I thought was a VC firm based in Berlin to learn more about their thesis and investment categories. When I asked if they had their own fund or were an intermediary, They responded: "No, we do not have our own fund but we know investors that invest and as a result for the investment round of £1M we will ask for 10% ownership." This response raised some red flags for me. I'd greatly appreciate your thoughts on: 1. Is it common for intermediaries to request equity in exchange for connecting founders to investors? 2. Does a 10% ownership stake for a £1M round seem reasonable or excessive? 3. What potential risks or pitfalls should I be aware of when dealing with intermediaries rather than direct VCs? Your insights and experiences would be incredibly helpful as I navigate this situation. Thank you in advance for your guidance! #startup #venturecapital #fundraising #founderadvice

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Streamline your fundraising roadshow with edeck by Versible eu🚀 🔗https://lnkd.in/ekQxJZem With Versible's edeck you can create a data-driven, tailored and personalised one pager deck and share it with any one. You can even test it now: https://lnkd.in/eTUsGed8 ✅ Create unlimited links and set permissions for entry ✅ Set Password, 2FA, Invitation only & Expiration date ✅ Your viewers don't need to signup on Versible ✅ Track the movement of every viewer ✅ Track the minutes spent of your deck ✅ Send and receive live messages ✅ Receive Feedback ✅ Add your calendly link ✅ Receive Data room requests ✅ Access the top european VC database ✅ Create unlimited Data rooms ✅ Access fundraising CRM ✅ & so much more

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A milestone worth celebrating! Five years ago, our Index Ventures team launched #NotOptional alongside more than 500 CEOs and founders to improve stock options and conditions for employee ownership at European startups. A lot has changed since we started in 2019: The most celebrated win so far goes to Germany 🇩🇪, one of the biggest economies in the world that used to have one of the worst stock options policy in Europe. Last year, the German Parliament voted to turn their failing policy into one of the best in the world. 10 other countries also updated their stock options legislation: the UK 🇬🇧, Portugal 🇵🇹, France 🇫🇷, Austria 🇦🇹, Czechia 🇨🇿, Spain 🇪🇸, Latvia 🇱🇻, Lithuania 🇱🇹, Greece 🇬🇷, and the Netherlands 🇳🇱. 7 countries now have policies that match or exceed the US: Germany, France, Portugal, the UK, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. Only one, Estonia 🇪🇪, already had a policy better than the US in 2019. That includes Europe’s three largest economies and the largest VC hubs. There’s still a long way to go for some countries. Finland 🇫🇮, Switzerland 🇨🇭 and Norway 🇳🇴 have the worst policies, followed by the Netherlands (even with updated legislation already), Belgium 🇧🇪 and Denmark 🇩🇰. These are countries with strong tech credentials where the tech innovation flywheel is being hampered. With the help of European entrepreneurs everywhere, we will keep pushing until every single European country’s options policy is at least as attractive as the US! There is no reason why they can’t be. We are also working on taking it to the next level: standardization at the EU level through a single corporate entity. The “EU Inc.” initiative launched earlier this month and builds on the success of #NotOptional at Andreas Klinger European Accelerationism. Thankfully, the challenges European startups face are more in the spotlight than ever because of Mario Draghi’s report to the European Commission in September, which emphasized that innovative startups should have the opportunity to adopt a new EU-wide legal statute. Already, the European Commission has established a Stock Options Working Group, the European Securities and Markets Authority has urged the Commission to consider a dedicated EU-wide framework for ESOPs, and commission president Ursula von der Leyen appointed the first-ever commissioner for startups. Every improvement makes it easier for startups to attract and retain talent and makes it more likely that the next tech giant will come out of Europe. To everyone involved in this fight, congratulations on five years of progress. Now let’s keep going!

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Excited to share what I learned from Sandro Stark, founding partner at Vanagon Ventures backing FrontierTech from Munich/DACH 🚀 to the World at the YUVC video podcast (links in comments) 💡 Above all, Sandro is a super nice person to get along with and has a great NPS from founders 👋 Here 3 Core Takeaways ✨ 1. Vanagon’s approach to startup evaluation 👀 - Distribution capability is now the key differentiator, not just technical innovation - Customer "stickiness" and deep industry understanding - The solution must demonstrate both climate impact and profit potential 2. Why is Munich's ecosystem strategic? 🇩🇪 - Part of DACH region - third-largest market globally after China and US - Rich concentration of technical talent and corporate headquarters - Untapped potential in Mittelstand venture engagement 3. What's the philosophy behind sustainable success? 😉 - Don't postpone happiness for future achievements - True leadership creates more leaders, not followers - Consistent effort matters more than breakthrough moments Now listen in for more insights! ❤ Kudos to his great co-founders/GPs @Vanagon: Susanne Fromm Axel Roitzsch Shoutout to their amazing portfolios: Senken Particula Renoster youba The Landbanking Group LoopID heartstocks Learn.xyz ExoMatter and more

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Germany-based venture capital fund Robin Capital closed its Robin Fund One at 13 million euros (about $13.6 million). #venturecapital #veteranventures

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Zeitgeist is changing and we need to adapt or to encounter. When we started Climate Founders 4.5 years ago, we had a perfect Product Zeitgeist Fit (explained by a16z: https://lnkd.in/ePtBRVD3) in 2018 and 2019 activist groups like Fridays for Future played an important role to make the societies aware that we are in a climate crisis and need to act, with the beginning of the new decade announcement after announcement was made: politics made important changes from regulation to investment programs, more people than usual voted for green politics, the climate crisis got relevant media coverage, thousands of companies world-wide set decarbonization goals, huge asset managers implemented ESG and decarbonization strategies, billionaires pledged for the climate, hundreds of climatetech fund were established, serial entrepreneurs went into climate topics, Covid made many poeple think about contributing to a better world … in general you could feel change to make this decade to what it is in fact, the decisive decade for humanity. Even with beginning of the Russian war, there was a positive thinking that renewables are the solution to solve energy, industry and dependence problems, even climate chrisis deniers called them „freedom energies“. In 2023 we saw some Zeitgeist changes, the climate crisis seemed not to be a main topic anymore, in the media, in the politics, in companies and the society in general. Ambitious politicians understand that the society is not ready to change, some media work heavily against climate politics, companies realize how hard it is to decarbonize and partly drop their goals, asset managers start to drop ESG and decarbonization goals, investors and entrepreneurs look more at AI, politics goes right and populistic. Regarding Climatetech im still very optimistic: The 2018-2022 Zeitgeist helped to build a massive ecosystem, which is still growing. The current Zeitgeist is not in favor for Climatetech, but it will come back for sure, as unfortunately the climate crisis will hit us harder every year and we always had this typical left-right cycles in politics and societies. Due to our expanded activies our dealflow is still growing, but in general we have the impression that less new founders entered the space in the last 12-18 months and also hear from some other VCs that they see less climatetech teams. We take it as a challenge and re-focus on co-founder matching to make it easier to enter the space for founders. Especially scientists and serial entrepreneurs are our target group for our co-founder matching. Take the world’s biggest challenge as your personal opportunity and apply here: https://lnkd.in/egvTQApi

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📊 Interesting chart from Meritech Capital on Public SaaS ARR Multiples by Quartile: With similar metrics, you can assume that the intrinsic value of your small SaaS company in terms of ARR multiples is at least 30% lower. Or to put it the other way around: If you are running a small SaaS business, you need better KPIs to get a similar market multiple. As you can see, the ACV / retention metrics of all groups are still quite decent. It's almost impossible to get there with a pure PLG SaaS business - which is why they are usually "worth a bit less" than Enterprise SaaS businesses with a sticky, mission-critical product. Exceptions prove the rule. What surprises you most about this diagram? For me, it was the high ARR/FTE values.

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Great to see what Jan Thomas and his team at Startup Insider did with the new Investors Report 2024 for the DACH region! Anyone who wants to learn more about the German #venturecapital ecosystem and its investors, go get the report: https://lnkd.in/ehiVqmX6

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I turned down £10M in funding. Everyone called me crazy (perhaps I was) But I'd seen founders lose their companies to investors who: 👉 Changed the vision 👉 Forced quick exits 👉 Pushed growth over sustainability (Also, they wanted me to ditch my existing seed investors- I felt a responsibility and still do to the people who had faith in me and my vision) At The Brew , we chose bootstrapping. Yes, it meant: 👉 Slower growth 👉 Tighter budgets 👉 More stress But also: ✅ Full control ✅ Better decisions ✅ Sustainable growth Plot twist: We now help other founders avoid the same pressure by offering flexible office space without long-term commitments. 🚀 Sometimes, saying no to money means saying yes to your vision. What would you choose: Fast money or full control? #StartupAdvice #FundingAdvice #EntrepreneurshipJourney

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The fall of seat based & the the rise of usage based pricing is a major trend in SaaS. Hear more about it from the experts at m3ter at Money20/20.

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ideas grow with #feedback! any great #innovation, any great #startup has gone through many iterations and has grown over time with the contributions of #experts, #investors, #customers and many more #stakeholders. Founder Institute Berlin / Germany is hosting these #feedback events to give you just this! Take this #leapoffaith and put yourself out there, you won't regret it! #pitch #startupsuccess #entrepreneurship

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Founders should be able to sell secondary whenever they’d like to do so. If you make something - and that thing is valuable - you should be able to sell it. Actually selling that secondary can be tricky. Let's go through the actual steps (or read the whole essay https://lnkd.in/eajr238N): 1. Get the term sheet. 2. Negotiate “normal” major terms: dollars in, price, board, etc. 3. Don’t forget about re-vesting. Founders often do. 4. Sign the term sheet. Go out and start figuring out allocations for the remaining dollars. 5. If you’re lucky enough to have more demand than you do space, you have the opportunity to sell some secondary. Figure out how much excess demand you have. 6. Talk to your lawyer and your accountant about what you want to do. Ask them to explain the pros and cons of selling secondary as common shares vs. preferred shares (which is a bit out of scope for this essay). 7. Decide how much secondary you want - ideally this is “reasonable,” which is a moving target. One good way to frame “reasonable” is to give a clear reason as to why you want to sell. This is particularly important in early rounds. Good reasons include: “Need to pay off student debt” and “Just had our first kid after years at below market salary.” Less good reasons include “Need a new Porsche” and “LinkedIn ghostwriter prices went up.” 8. Go to your new lead investor and say “Hey! Great news! We have 2x demand for available shares. It would mean quite a lot to me and my cofounder if we could take (insert reasonable amount here) off the table because (insert reasonable reason) here. Obviously as our lead, you get first access. Sound good?” 9. Work with the buyer to figure out if you are selling common shares or preferred shares. (a) If you are selling common shares, and the buyer is willing to buy these at the same price as preferred, great! Just make sure that you aren’t creating any challenges around voting by giving those shares to an outside party. Also, talk to your lawyer and accountant. (b) If you are selling preferred shares, go back to your lawyer and accountant to make sure you’re not creating any issues for yourself. You’ll also need to confirm with your existing investors that they are ok with you doing this because it will change the preference stack - which impacts them. 10. Triple check your numbers. 11. Complete your transaction and close the round.

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Should founders take advice from non-founder VCs? 🤔 As a founder, everyone (family, friends, the neighbors' dog 🐶 ) is constantly trying to give you advice - and especially your investors but, do you really have to listen to VCs who've never built a company themselves? On the one hand, VCs who were not founders often bring a wealth of industry experience. They analyzed hundreds of businesses from many sectors, and they see what works and what doesn't. For example, Benchmark's Peter Fenton is one of the world's top VCs, even though he's never founded a startup. His investments in companies like Twitter have shaped entire industries. Conversely, founders-turned-VCs are better able to understand the emotional side of running a business. At Vinthera, I speak with many GPs about this operational experience being a critical part of their USP to founders - the shared experience creates trust. So, should you take advice from someone who has never built a company before? Does their outside perspective bring value or is the founder's life experience more important? I'd love to hear your thoughts. What is your experience?👇

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