point nine at hive61, poznan january 2014

@

Poznan, 29.1.2014

About .9

The Angel VC: •Up to 1m EUR •Berlin-based •SaaS •Marketplaces

Quite active in Poland (incl. previous private involvement of team):

About me: •Born/raised in PL •Moved to DE at 17 •Worked in finance •Startups since 2008 (angel, TE, Point Nine)

Crowdsourcing works

Topics for today

1) Point Nine’s investment criteria

2) Going international

3) Polish vs. German / Berlin startup community

Investment Criteria

Criteria: stage = .9

Seed Series A Later StageSeries B, C and D

Pre-IPO Private Equity

Investment Round Size

Sources of Capital

€100k - €1M €1M - €10M €5M - €25M >€20M

Family & Friends AngelsGrants

Crowd-funding

Venture CapitalSuper Angels

Venture CapitalGrowth Equity

Late-Stage VCsCorporate VCsHedge Funds

Point Nine Capital invests between €100k and €1M during Pre- A and A rounds in companies at various revenue stages

Criteria: geo

Company based in:

•Europe

•Outside: English speaking markets

Target market:

•Global / international / multi-local

Space: SaaS, marketplaces, et al.

We love SaaS:

•vast experience:

•big trend, great business model if done right

We love marketplaces and network effects:

•examples:

•hard to get scale, but durable and powerful once there

Fast growing consumer

Exceptions happen, esp. for amazing teams

Going International

Going International

1. “Flat” global / international product from the start • Esp. applicable for SaaS

2. Multi-local: • Esp. in marketplaces: Delivery Hero, Brainly, Docplanner

“International” product

Examples:

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“Easy” to start, can be centralised for long time

Typically competitive, expensive marketing

Sales might still need to be local, esp. to larger accounts

“Multi-local” product

Examples:

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Logistical challenges to launch local versions

Frequent local competition, little global competition

International scale helps win local markets

Tough and expensive (but well possible) if physical goods involved (e-commerce)

3 thoughts on the ecosystem in PL

1. Talent: engineers vs. managers

We are proud of our IT/analytical skills

1. Talent: engineers vs. managers

We underestimate the commercial side Lack of management/sales/marketing talent

They are needed a lot!

…but do not have to wear suits :-)

1. Talent: engineers vs. managers

…and sometimes it feels like this

Can do this: Can’t do that:

Which one is harder / more important?

2. Decentralisation is good…but not in tech!

No-one knows which is the key city in Poland for tech: !

Hubs are very important in tech due to cluster effects: • SV, Tel-Aviv, London, NY, Berlin best known • Urban, attractive areas to live in (young ppl!) • All skills, financing, entrepreneurial drive in one place • We all know this…

2. Decentralisation is good…but not in tech!

…and we are building technology parks in forests… !

Germany (and others in Europe) had similar ideas There was no political plan for tech in Berlin

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2. Decentralisation is good…but not in tech!

3. International isolation - PL scene is … Polish

• Berlin is part of the international tech ecosystem

• Is Poland? Certainly not yet, hopefully getting there

• Internationality key - best practices, (commercial) talent

We cannot reinvent all wheels ourselves !

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esp. in commercial areas, like marketing, sales, general management..

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3. International isolation - PL scene is … Polish

What can we do?

Gov programmes (KFK) seem to promote international isolation (check www.pawel.ch) International investment works best - facilitate it! (a few internationally oriented VCs have appeared: Protos, Giza, Innovation Nest) Initiatives help:

3. International isolation - PL scene is … Polish