Artur Banach

Warsaw-based Proofs raises €2.4 million to dramatically reduce time to build proof-of-concept apps #eu-startups-warsaw-based-proofs-raises-e2-4-million-to-dramatically-reduce-time-to-build-proof-of-concept-apps

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💡 Read CEE SaaS Index Q1 update 💡

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NYC & Nasdaq should be the premier destination for global tech IPOs. But Why? I sat down with Mikhail Lomtadze, CEO of Kaspi.kz (NASDAQ:KSPI), a $24 billion behemoth traded on the Nasdaq and the leading tech platform in Kazakhstan. - Interestingly, Kaspi IPOd in the London Stock Exchange in 2020, but decided to move to Nasdaq three years later -The US market is much deeper and more liquid, and has allowed for 20x greater trading volumes compared to LSE - The US market has provided Kaspi access to a much wider pool of sophisticated investors who understand their business model - A successful IPO on Nasdaq gives a tech company a "quality stamp" and validates their business model anywhere in the world Links to full Fintech Leaders episode ⤵⤵⤵ Substack: https://bit.ly/3z7UGF6   Spotify: https://spoti.fi/4evnszN Apple: https://apple.co/3VMXjVu Youtube: https://bit.ly/3VPjR8s

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The "2-cap-table problem" A red flag for me as an investor is 2 cap tables. For example: two companies by the same founder that are strongly linked in some way (e.g. IP license agreement). Or a for-profit entity having a utility token, thereby effectively creating 2 cap tables. In most cases, the CEO has full control over where the future value goes. As an investor, there is a high chance I sit on the wrong cap table. Many years ago I signed a term sheet for selling my company. Part of the deal was receiving a significant stake in the buyer's company. During the M&A process, I learned that the founder was creating a new strongly related company. I canceled the deal since I anticipated that all the value would go there. If there is a reason for separating companies, make it a daughter company. No problem with that. But never do 2 cap tables!

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Would you have an AI handling your investment funds? AI tools is already taking key decisions as robots are promoted to Head Fund Managers 💰🤖 Asset managers are increasingly using artificial intelligence to guide investment decisions. At J.P. Morgan the tool #MoneyBall (part of the $3.2tn Spectrum portfolio) is used to flag questionable decisions by portfolio managers, such as potentially selling top-performing stocks too soon. Voya Investment Management already implemented an AI analyst that help monitor stocks in the company's $331bn portfolio - and with good results! The tool is used as a “a high-value signal” for the portfolio. At the same time the SEC is already warning that AI will spell a market disaster in a few years. They have even gone so far as to charges two firms with false and misleading info on investment using AI. Remembering Planet Moneys Twitter bot a few years back, proves how hard computer can have interpreting human signals. Then again, plenty of market movements today are based off of bots trading with each other. Making bots smarter is a good thing - right? 🦾 #nilssoderstrom #aiinvestments #energytech #venturecapital #startups Sources: https://lnkd.in/gZJNPZMm https://lnkd.in/gEdAYEbu https://lnkd.in/gZmjsBjd

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Here is an interesting debate for the weekend: Is Europe's growth funding gap a myth? Very clearly, most large European growth rounds are only possible because of non-European investors. It certainly matters that the value from these investments does not accrue to European LPs. #growthcapital #growthPE Anne Sraders Amy Lewin Miriam Partington https://lnkd.in/dphV5r49

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Mistral AI an OpenAI Rival in Europe, which has recently started generating revenue, is in talks to raise capital at a $5 Billion valuation. Details about the specific investors Mistral has engaged with for this new funding round are currently unclear. Among its existing investors are Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Microsoft the latter having also invested significantly in OpenAI but with a larger capital commitment. It is clear that this is no longer just an industrial battle but a clash to occupy a strategic area at both continental and global levels. Not having proprietary technology in this sector is equivalent to experiencing a gap similar to what we have recently seen in the energy sector. It means depending on exporting countries, where the price for our productivity depends on third parties. As a country, Italy needs to support our national champions like iGenius, companies that have technology and numbers to compete. #AI #LLM #opensource #future #italy #europe #vc

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#euacc A nice one from Andreas Klinger 😎 (ProductHunt, AngelsList, CoinList, Remote First Capital) some trues & myths about US versus EU startup founders and a plead to Europe to dare to go beyond the "single market" to a unified regulatory market for companies, even better, to go from "regulation" to "standarzation" <<I want to get away from a mindset of “regulating” to a mindset of “standardization”>> US Inc ( meaning Delaware Inc. 😇 ) versus OOD? SRL? BV? SpA? GMBH? AB? SA? OÜ? UAB? EhF? 🤣 😫 #euacc #eustandars #standarsforstartups https://lnkd.in/dCbCfEJb

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In Q2 we at Boost VC invested in 14 new Deep Tech companies 🤖 🧬 🛸 🌊 🧪 9 of those we were the FIRST VC who said YES. 6 of those we were the ONLY VC who said YES. Looking for many more Deep Tech founders in Q3 looking for their first YES 🚀

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WSJ reporting Foundational Model company Mistral is raising $600mm at a $6 Billion Valution. For VCs goes to show Foundational Models are a big boys game with hundreds of millions if not Billion + needed to be raised to be competitive. But I wonder longer term if these are + ev bets or simply a way for the blue chip VC firms who have raised billions for their new AI funds to deploy massive amounts of capital in low-risk low-return bets. The more interesting companies are still worth $50 million or less but; 1. Finding them is hard 2. Check sizes are by definition smaller so for big VCs won't move the needle 3. The risks of failure are extremely high But that is where the highest expected value lies.

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When I first started ETA Technologies, many voices cautioned against it. "VC is a spray and pray game - it was and it always will be..." they said. As a former VC, I can't deny this has been a prevalent method in the industry. However, in today's environment, I believe it's crucial to question whether this has truly yielded results we can be proud of. Shouldn't we strive for a more data-driven approach, one that directs money into the hands of the most capable founders? Undoubtedly, a more accurate capital deployment strategy would lead to better success ratios and higher returns on investment. The challenge lies in determining what exactly to measure. At early stages, tangible metrics may be scarce, and much of the decision-making relies on forecasts or predictions. This is where ETA comes in. We're in the forefront of the battle to make VC more data-driven by leveraging psychometric testing technology powered by AI. Our aim is to provide VCs with a quantified and scientific analysis of the most crucial factor they're investing in: the people. The Data-driven VC Landscape 2024 is one of the most significant reports I've encountered regarding the future of the industry. I extend my gratitude to Dr. Andre Retterath for his research and hard work in compiling it, as well as to Christopher Valquenich Döbereiner, Affinity.co, Deckmatch, Harmonic, People Data Labs, and VESTBERRY for their contributions. #fundraising #ai #venturecapital

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Good news about European venture performance is always welcome! 🇪🇺 🥳 But...and actually there are many "buts" on this one...these numbers are pretty meaningless. Where to start? - Apparently the European data is based on just 223 European VC funds spanning vintages from 1986 to 2023*. That's a low single digit percentage of the total number of European VC funds raised over that time. That's incredibly statistically insignificant. - It's IRR and not DPI. IRR can be more easily manipulated. It's done a lot. DPI matters way, waaay more than IRR. - The numbers are of unrealized performance. 😳 Which we all know you can't eat, and can also be rigged. Seriously, who gives a shit about unrealized gains? - Despite all that the numbers end up so close anyways that they're within any reasonable margin of error. So pretty neck and neck in an illiquid asset class. 🤷🏼‍♂️ - Also, let's be honest, averages don't matter in venture. It's a top decile driven asset class. It's all about outliers. That's way more important than geography. European VC is notoriously opaque. Academics often avoid including it in research on VC because of this. Much of European government LP data isn’t public, and government LPs make up a large chunk of LP commitments in Europe. Also, there have been examples of European government LPs selling underperforming fund stakes to other government buyers to prop up their numbers. Any report should be taken with a grain of salt. It’s adorable though that some quickly point to it having to be accurate simply because CA is involved, as if CA is infallible. CA has an agenda in doing this for a client (Invest Europe) which itself has an agenda to push. European venture has made great progress. It's a strong asset class that deserves more LP attention (much of the upside in European tech goes to North American LPs). Let the real numbers speak for themselves though. This ain't that. TLDR: These numbers are unrealized IRR based on a statistically insignificant dataset of funds. It's a nothingburger. https://lnkd.in/eytxpqpk * https://lnkd.in/eE3HTV5W

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How to secure your first angel investments? Tips from Szymon Sypniewicz, the co-founder & CEO of Ramp Network! Partner up with funds that have an international presence. Help them find founders. Then, you can tag along to their investments. Be present. Be visible. So they can notice you and your activity! What other advice would you give to an angel investor? Curious to hear your thoughts below. #venturecapital #angelinvesting #startupfunding #fundraising #europe

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Europe's tech market has some catching up to do. #eu #techmarket #technology #techcompanies #marketvalue #financing #growthcapital #scaleups #commercialisation

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Meet Amin Jaibi in Tallinn and learn more about vent.io and how we can support your B2B start-up!

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"Three building blocks of the resilient founder" from "The Psychological Playbook for VCs and Startups" written by Noa Matz (Ex- F2 Venture Capital) and Ben Tytonovich ( Ex- Vintage Investment Partners) 1. Emotional Regulation. Emotional Regulation is all about staying strong and cool in the face of change, hardships, and failure. Not getting easily upset and managing to raise energy levels and project them when needed. Experiencing and expressing a range of emotions in a manner that is tolerable to those around and being sufficiently flexible. 2. Intrinsic Motivation It is a powerful and unique type of motivation that is produced as a result of doing things we love and are passionate about. The opposite of pursuing goals for the sake of external rewards (which often involve monetary gains). 3. Mental Flexibility Mental flexibility allows founders to abandon a thought pattern, a habit, or a perspective when it no longer serves a valuable purpose and finds an alternative direction. At its peak, mental flexibility pushes founders to navigate smoothly through a variety of options and alternatives, even at times of significant stress. It supports them in adapting to new and unexpected situations quickly and efficiently. We see that mentally flexible founders are the more coachable ones; they are receptive to feedback, happy to accept constructive criticism and implement it quickly. They tend to show great interest in external insight and constantly seek feedback from their network: investors, customers, colleagues, and employees. I feel the last one is more important than the other two. Find the link to the playbook in the comment section. #startup #venturecapital

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