Frederik Mijnhardt

How to structure your venture studio SaaS portfolio company right from the start Venture studios are keen on creating SaaS portfolio companies. If structured right, SaaS companies can become profitable cash machines for venture studios. Combining fifteen years of experience with SaaS business models and researching venture builders for a PhD project, these are my five major learnings: 🔗As most SaaS products may be copied. Excellent distribution and long-term customer relationships are crucial. Long-term and strong relationships impact many important KPI's including ARR growth, Churn, NPS and eNPS. ➡️For venture studios, that means building on the existing network to creating legitimacy for the portfolio start-up. ---- 🚥A streamlined organization where everyone knows what to do makes recruiting during scaling much easier. Hiring too fast, before the need of more team members occurs, may hinder efficiency. Create job descriptions, routines and procedures for the organization open enough not risking losing founder mode. ➡️For venture studios, that means knowing what competence to look for in different states. Use accumulated knowledge timing and managing recruitment as best as possible. ---- 📈 Keep track on the blended CAC ratio. Inefficiency and high cost in acquiring new ARR will eat up your EBITDA margins. Most B2C SaaS gets scalable through higher numbers of customers. In B2B SaaS, expansion, cross-selling, and price increases are fundamental for fast growth. ➡️For venture studios, that means share customer databases, cross-sell as much as possible, and develop a value-based pricing structure as soon as possible. ---- 🔁 Having routines and procedures in place capitalizing from a management quality system (we used ISO) helps bringing your start-up from a healthy creative chaos to an efficient scale-up. ➡️For venture studios, that means creating a management quality system and put it in place in each portfolio company will help increase speed of development and growth. ---- 💻 An understanding that an intuitive and ‘friendly’ user interface with few bugs in the product, allow support and customer success to be part of the sales organization focusing on the core product, rather than being a business unit trying to help customers handle an in-efficient product to avoid churn. ➡️For venture studios, that means accumulate knowledge in software development in relation to user friendliness and learn from previous start-up attempts to avoid churn. From your experience, what other learnings should be added here? #venturestudio #venturebuilder #entrepreneurship #scaling #saas ________________________________ Did you like this post? Connect or Follow @john-erik hassel

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Are Dutch and European founders not ambitious enough? 🤔 I just read Techleap's latest report: "AI Scaling Challenges for Dutch Founders." (Okay, I got AI to read it and share the highlights with me. 😜) This quote caught my (& Claude's) eye: "𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 4% 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘈𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 10𝘔. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯..." Almost every day, I see posts and jokes about European founders thinking too small. As someone who works with Euro-founders everyday, I have a different view. I see: - Massive visions - Global mindsets from day one - Founders ready to take on the world It's not the founders who lack ambition. They're just working within the realms of what's possible in Europe. That's why many of them get funded from and/or move to the US. 💰 The real lack of ambition? That's from investors and governments in Europe. 🇪🇺 I'm still working on an article, "The Case for European Optimism." And I think it will show that European founders are just as ambitious as their US counterparts. The real question we should be asking is: - How can we create an environment that allows founders to dream bigger and reach higher? 🚀 And yes, I know this quotes mentions deep ecosystem issues... --- ↳ What's your take? Are European founders thinking too small, or is it the ecosystem that's holding them back? 👇

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The trend is picking up. Investing in #deterrance & #defence to further support competitiveness and resilience of #European countries. This time Netherlands Ministerie van Defensie is joining other #EU MoDs and national development agencies to facilitate access to funding for #defence #DualUse and #security innovations. Our fund Coinvest Capital was the first in the region, fully authorised to invest in pure #defense already back in March 2023, shortly joined in April by Baltic Sandbox Ventures with #DeepTech focus and the launch of dual-use accelerators by ScaleWolf in October. Just our fund alone already coinvested 6.8mEUR in #aerospace and #defense, including one of the largest regional #VC rounds in Unmanned Defense Systems. Today we will be watching and supporting two teams from #Lithuania - winners of our joint prizes with DEPO Ventures - pitching on stage at #DefSec innovation challenge hosted by Dr. Kristina Soukupova with their solutions for #cyber #security and #drone enhancement, that enables all drone makers to get faster time-to-market. Wishing the best of luck and a solid pitch to the teams of AI Drone.Tech with co-founders Laurynas Česūnas and Domantas Brucas, winners of our prize at the defence #hackathon The Flaming Shield of Lietuvos šaulių sąjunga , and CBRX with co-founder Kazimieras Sadauskas, winners of our prize at the Startup Lithuania annual event #StartupFair

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Vijen Patel is the founding partner of The 81 Collection, a VC fund that invests in unsexy industries. Before that, Vijen founded Pressbox, a dry cleaning startup, in 2013 and sold it to Procter & Gamble in 2018. In our conversation, Vijen shared: → What defined his upbringing → Journey with Pressbox → Building The 81 Collection → Investing in Hard Industries → The Power of Patience and Purpose → India opportunity → Sports & family & much more! Listen now 👇🏼 Youtube: https://bit.ly/3XujEs2 Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Tjeah5 Some key takeaways: 1. Breaking the Mold: Coming from a family of physicians, I chose a different path—entrepreneurship. Sometimes, success means stepping out of the expected and embracing your unique journey. 2. The Power of Risk-Taking: American culture's risk-taking spirit played a crucial role in my career. Being the first in my family to venture into technology, I realized that risk is often the bridge between dreams and reality. 3. From Actuarial Science to Building an Empire: My entrepreneurial journey started with a failed attempt at being an actuary. Yet, that experience led me to finance and eventually to founding a dry cleaning startup that grew to 1200 locations. Don’t fear pivots; they might lead you to unexpected success. 4. Investing in ‘Unsexy’ Industries: While many chase the next big tech startup, I found value in overlooked sectors. Investing in what others ignore can yield the most significant returns, both financially and socially. 5. Purpose-Driven Success: For me, entrepreneurship isn’t just about profits. It’s about creating jobs, lifting communities, and making a lasting impact. When your work aligns with a deeper purpose, the rewards are far beyond financial. What risks have you taken that changed your life or career? Share your thoughts below! #investing #entreprenurship #indiandiasporas

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My newest column in Quote Magazine: Dutch Dynamism 🇳🇱 💡 Inspired by Andreessen Horowitz’ “American Dynamism” and the Not Boring newsletters of Packy McCormick about why tech is going to be much bigger, I realized there is a momentum in the Netherlands to become one of the European leaders to lead this new industrial revolution - if we double down. 💻 Historically, the Netherlands was strong in trade and banking. However, the country now leads in technology with companies like ASML, Adyen, and NXP Semiconductors as the top 10 most valuable companies, replacing former giants like Shell, Unilever, ING and ABN AMRO Bank N.V 💶 Fueled by capital, according to the latest report of Techleap; 48% Venture Capital investments in 2023 the Netherlands went to deeptech companies. 🤖 While the latest AI innovations have enhanced office jobs, the fusion of software and hardware, like physical robots, is set to revolutionize all types of labor, making tasks scalable and more manageable and cheaper. Two great examples of Dutch robotics companies are Monumental and family business Lely, that are automating less attractive jobs, like bricklaying and milking cows. ⚡ The insight is that the world's largest tech companies of the next decade will likely surpass today’s giants, and for the first time in a long time, tech companies have the opportunity to rebuild the world’s industrial base and tap into huge, existing pools of revenue at higher margins than incumbents can. Assuming the same revenue but structurally higher margins will create more valuable companies than the incumbent comps. 🇳🇱 In the Netherlands, we have access to incredible research institutes, top technical universities like Delft University of Technology, Eindhoven University of Technology, Wageningen University & Research & University of Twente, (which has its own Robotics Centre University of Twente) - incredible talent and more and more hardware friendly VC funds, (incl the support of Invest-NL) and recently the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) with an office in NL, so I don’t see why we can’t punch above our weight and become one of the leaders to reshape the industrial foundation in Europe. Curious to hear your thoughts, what's needed to make this happen? Dutch Dynamism 🇳🇱 , het bekt toch lekker (Thanks Salar :-)). Link to article (for translation) in the comments. #HardTech #AI #Robotics #Innovation #DutchDynamism #AIRevolution #DeepTech #FutureOfWork #Netherlands #Technology

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We're doubling down! Join us for the Re-Industrialize Europe Meetup 👩‍🏭 We’re bringing together leading minds in HardTech, TechBio, and DeepTech to discuss what it will take for Europe to lead the next wave of industrial innovation. Learn more about: ➡ Farmless’ fermentation platform that allows for local protein production independent from climate and agricultural land, increasing food security. 🎤 Adnan Oner ➡ Cradle’s design platform that uses generative AI to help biologists design improved proteins and accelerate research and development, making it easier, quicker and more cost effective to create bio-based products for human and planetary health. 🎤 Jelle Prins ➡ Monumental’s AI-driven electric construction robots that are capable of building walls autonomously, solving the labour, cost and sustainability challenges crippling the global construction industry. 🎤 Salar al Khafaji ➡ ASML's involvement in the European startup ecosystem and the biggest challenges we need to tackle. 🎤 Evelien de Vries Connect, collaborate, and be inspired by ambitious founders shaping the future. Sign up here: https://lu.ma/de2uprl2 NP-Hard Ventures #FoundryMeetups #HardTech #Deeptech #TechBio #Founders #Hiring #Startups #Europe

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Let me tell you a great story of the perseverance and skills, of a younger Dutch founder with an AI company, whom I am helping to broker capital... To keep it vague, he was looking for an amount between 500k and 1 million eur. We met in the last days of October and started to work together at the beginning of November. He had a broker already, who had done some amazing work but things were taking longer than anticipated and they needed to move. The problem was: 🟣 Speed needed to move 🟣 Current investors were out, not investing further 🟣 Fractured cap table 🟣 End of runway was December 31st. 🟣 Buyout of all shareholders needed 🟣 A significant debt stack 🟣 Being a young, 1st time founder When he went by many VCs by himself, he noticed that was a problem, alltogether but the fractured cap table and buyout was the first hurdle. Now here's where the great story begins and I have seen this founder respond in a very remarkable and mentionable way. With such a fractured cap table, VCs but in general, all investors, found it uninvestable. He knew he needed to model a consolidation. He then rallied the investors who wanted out, to agree to a conversion to a loan instead of paying them out directly, which could then be paid off, over time. More so he convinced these investors to be bought out in cash but then to reinvest this amount as a straight loan. The creativity is simply brilliant. Because a buyout meant the money of new investors, wouldn't end up going for 50% to secondaries, which is money from one investor to the other, to buy up EXISTING shares, vs NEW shares (primaries). Investors often don't like that they want their investment to fund the business and growth, not a buyout. Noticed that still wasn't enough, because the second hurdle was the general debt stack of this venture. He then got to work by: 🟣 Talked to all creditors (all) and managed to agree they would drop the debt. 🟣 Got current investors to drop the extended loans and accept a discount on their shares when being bought out. 🟣 Discussed with the bank and they dropped their loan and related debt in full. 🟣 Team agreed to - with mutual consent - terminate some members so the company can continue within its current revenue structure. "It's a young founder," some told me. Honestly, this is some of the most elegant and brilliant things I've ever seen in my career so far - wow. I congratulated and applauded him for his coldbloodedness and resourcefulness, going so towards and beyond the end of the runway... And still being able to bring this home, by literally rallying EVERYONE behind him. All of this now means they need less than half of the original capital needed, which means they're fine with a couple of lower tickets (relative) to form that amount. We ended up with multiple of our capital partners being interested and meeting the founder. Where one party has committed to matching whatever is raised. This is why I broker. What a story. What a guy.

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scale up: The Systematic Approach to Breaking Growth Barriers for High-Performing Companies Recently, I came across a post that questioned the innovation behind frameworks like the 4D Scaleup Framework. Here's a quick summary of the post: "The framework consists of four steps: Direction, Design, Delivery, and Development. While this sounds familiar — goal setting, strategy, execution, and continuous improvement — is this really innovative? I’ve approached challenges similarly before." I love this kind of discussion, so I wanted to share my take, particularly in the context of how we help companies at scale up. While the steps themselves may seem familiar, the real innovation lies in how we execute them at ScaleUp. Our approach isn’t just theoretical—it’s practical and designed to help already successful companies break through the barriers they face when scaling. We focus on: 1) Data-driven diagnostics to pinpoint exactly where the bottlenecks are and prioritize impactful actions. 2) Live interaction with experienced entrepreneur coaches who have faced the same challenges and provide real-world insights. 3) Turning strategy into daily operations, ensuring that it’s not just a leadership conversation, but one that’s lived by the whole team. 4) Building scalability into your core, making sure your teams, culture, and processes grow smoothly, without friction. Sustainable, long-term solutions, so you don’t just fix today’s problem, but create lasting growth without constant fire-fighting. At ScaleUp, we work with businesses that aren’t failing—they’re successful, but they hit a ceiling. Our process helps them break through that ceiling with a systematic and repeatable approach that works across industries. It’s not about intuition alone; it’s about executing growth through a structured, proven method.

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Since 2019 more than 250 startups and scaleups have prepared their company for raising external capital by doing The Investment Readiness Process by Beels®. Our data shows that no-one has chosen a smaller ticket size than € 5K. What consequences does the ticket size have for you as a Founder? AND what does it mean for you who are an Angel Investor? 💡 If you are a Founder and want to learn more on why it is more important than ever to plan you financial journey - watch our introduction video here: https://lnkd.in/djK-5VdA 💰 If you are an Angel Investor and want to elevate your skills on financial design when investing in startups - watch our introduction video here: https://lnkd.in/dMFjKDuM #startup #investments #raising

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Interesting post about the difference between the big upstarts in the US versus the EU. I think regulation is indeed one of the killers. I have been setting up some new startups in the Netherlands recently. Even before we set up an entity, I got nausea from the way the tax system works. Trying to tax 'value growth' of an early stage startup, making it practically impossible to transfer shares without paying taxes is not a great incentive. Another problem besides the regulations is the mindset of Europeans. I think we're simply lazier and more risk averse than the US. https://lnkd.in/gUjkrwPm

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We recently touched on how to pick the best European country to incorporate your startup. To continue that discussion, I’d like to tell you about a few European countries that offer residence permits through their Startup Visa programs. Here are some worth considering: 🇳🇱 1. Netherlands: Their program grants a one-year residence permit to startup founders, with the option to extend it later as a self-employed. To qualify, you need an innovative business plan and must work with a recognized facilitator, like a business incubator. I'll share some details with you later. 🇪🇪 2. Estonia: The Startup Visa allows entrepreneurs to develop their projects and hire foreign workers. To be eligible, your startup should show a high level of innovation and growth potential. 🇫🇮 3. Finland: They offer a Start-up Permit for foreign entrepreneurs, allowing them to work in Finland while building innovative projects. The application is assessed based on your business plan and growth potential. 🇵🇹 4. Portugal: With the Startup Visa program, founders get a residence permit to grow their projects in Portugal. Your project needs to be innovative and have the potential to create jobs. 🇪🇸 5. Spain: Spain’s "Entrepreneur Visa" program offers a residence permit for startup founders. Your startup should contribute to the country’s economy and be innovative. 🇫🇷 6. France: The French Tech Visa program is designed for startup founders, investors, and employees of tech companies. To qualify, you’ll need an innovative business plan and approval from the French Tech program. 🇱🇹 7. Lithuania: Lithuania’s Startup Visa is available for entrepreneurs looking to launch their innovative business in the country. You need to demonstrate both growth potential and an innovative business model. 🇮🇪 8. Ireland: The "Start-up Entrepreneur Programme" offers a residence permit to those who plan to invest in innovative business projects in Ireland. These are just a few countries with similar programs. Each has its own requirements for both the applicant and the startup, so be sure to do your research before applying. In my next post, I’ll dive into more countries offering these types of programs. If you have specific questions, feel free to ask in the comments! #venturecapital #startups #innovation #technology #founders #immigration #startupvisa

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The journey from startup to scale-up isn’t always straightforward. However, explosive growth is often seen as the secret to startup success... The trouble is far too many promising startups 'grow themselves to death'. That is where extrapolation comes in — a critical stage often overlooked in the venture growth stages. Typically, businesses operate between two modes: // Exploration mode to find PMF // Exploitation mode to optimize business model for steady growth and profits. However, extrapolation is a distinct stage bridging the gap between the two. During extrapolation, you want to achieve two goals: // Confirming PMF demand // Achieving PMF Successfully demonstrating demand and profitability. Key steps in the extrapolation process: → Setting clear, achievable goals → Defining critical assumptions and factors needed for growth → Identifying and fixing limitations in the business model → Repeating until all issues are resolved But to truly succeed in this stage, you must build an ambidextrous team. Remain nimble — within the organization, in looking for promising opportunities, and in growing market reach. Only then can you achieve sustainable growth. Join our newsletter —- We break down acquisition strategies, deal analysis, value creation playbooks, operating concepts +++ For the love of the game // https://lnkd.in/e7C6yZE2 Source: Harvard Business Review #Startups #Innovation #Success #Business #Strategy

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✨ VERY SMALL PARTICLES ✨ That's what the three co-founders of VSPARTICLE – Aaike van Vugt, Tobias Pfeiffer, and Tobias Coppejans – have dedicated their last 10 years to. VSP is a once-in-a-generation Dutch company which has developed a unique nanoparticle printing technology to bring us high-performance materials for clean energy transformation. That's why together with my colleague Taiga Ueta, we at NordicNinja VC and in partnership with Sten Tamkivi and Plural Platform, are thrilled to fund this world-class founding team. In particular, VSP’s technology is enabling the mass production of catalyst-coated Porous Transport Layers (PTLs), which are the key components in electrolyzers and are essential to the production of green hydrogen. Green hydrogen is essential to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and power a more sustainable future for industries such as shipping, transport, heating, and aviation, yet the process currently relies on using scarce resources including platinum and iridium. Combined with AI-powered material discovery and computational chemistry, VSParticle and their network of partners are able to create the most complete database of materials in the world, which can serve as an input for building an economically scalable and a sustainable clean energy future. VSParticle's technology is material agnostic and comes with high precision nanoparticle control (at nm level), requires no wet chemistry, and allows for quick experiments & production. Looking forward to working with the whole team at VSP to bring this new technology to the world!

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At Movens Capital, we are committed to providing tech companies with essential knowledge and resources for success (#MovensAcademy). We recently conducted a comprehensive workshop on Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), led by Stefan from Samira Advisors (thanks a lot!), to prepare companies from our close network for future growth and acquisition opportunities. Key Highlights: 📚 Introduction to M&A: The workshop began with an overview of the M&A process, emphasizing the importance of early preparation and strategic positioning for a successful merger or acquisition. ⏱ Timing and Valuation: Discussions included the optimal timing for selling a company and how to navigate the valuation differences between the venture capital and M&A markets. 🤝 Strategic Partnerships: The significance of establishing strong strategic partnerships was highlighted as a key factor in increasing a company's attractiveness for acquisition. 💼 Financial and Legal Preparedness: The workshop stressed the need for financial stability and thorough legal documentation, underscoring these as critical elements in the M&A process. 🔄 Shareholder Alignment: The importance of aligning the interests of all shareholders to avoid potential conflicts during an acquisition was explored in detail. 🎉 Post-Acquisition Considerations: The session concluded with insights into the post-acquisition phase, focusing on cultural adjustments and the challenges of integration. This workshop is part of Movens VC's ongoing effort to support our portfolio companies and ecosystem through their growth and development stages, ensuring they are well-prepared for the challenges and opportunities of M&A activities.

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On today’s episode of the EUVC podcast, we have an inspiring, in-depth discussion on Data Driven Portfolio Modelling. And for this, we brought together: 👉 Joel Larsson, Founding GP of Pale blue dot 👉 Jon Coker, Founding GP of Eka Ventures 👉 Joe Schorge, Founding GP of Isomer Capital 👉 Anubhav Srivastava, Founder & CEO of Tactyc. Together, we discuss about: 👉 portfolio modeling 👉 fund forecasting 👉 portfolio construction 👉 the importance of maintaining a current fund forecast 👉 making adjustments based on real-world market conditions ... and more that we invite you to listen to on EUVC. | 🎧 Link in comments. #EUVCpodcast #venturecapital #angelinvesting #startupfunding #europe

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The European VC fundraising scene is showing a clear trend: experience matters. Let's unpack some data on this from The State of European Fundraising Report. 1/ Why track record matters. In a cautious market, LPs (investors) are prioritizing established funds with a proven history of success. Experienced firms captured 54.5% of the capital raised in 2023. 2/ New opportunities for LPs. This market shift presents a golden opportunity for LPs to build relationships with top-tier VC firms. Firms they might not have accessed before. 3/ Focus on creating value. Investors are seeking firms that prioritize building real value, not just hype. This is a great long-term trend for the industry. If you are en emerging fund manager, the time to build a strong reputation and track record is now. Focus on building a compelling value proposition and demonstrating a clear path to success to attract investors. Learn how to navigate the effects of the #TechReset. Get insights from The State of European Fundraising Report. ➡️ buff.ly/4aYglgi Delivered to you by EUVC | Isomer Capital | Floww. #EUVC #fundraising #venturecapital #industryreport

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✨ Breaking: ECFG Growth Ventures Announces New Fund.- ECFG Growth Ventures Netherlands Enterprise Agency invested into ECFG Growth Ventures seed fund focused on high-tech manufacturing and SMEs in B2B sectors. https://ecfg.nl/ Please share to let other #Founders know For the ❤️ of Startups #Fusion42 #Startups#Venturecapital

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