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Alternative Market Briefing

Venture capital investors discuss how they screen startups for investment

Thursday, November 07, 2019

Bailey McCann, Opalesque New York:

It's no secret that a majority of startup companies fail. Bad ideas, inexperienced management teams, or simply a lack of funding to get to the next level can end a company. Venture capital stakes its edge on being able to identify early-stage companies that are worthy of investment. Delegates at the recent Opalesque European Private Equity & Venture Capital Roundtable explained how they sort through startups to identify teams that have what it takes to scale a company.

Gala Gil Amat, of Demium Startups, says that often companies fail early on because founders come together around an idea, but soon realize that not everyone is cut out to run a business. This is especially true if founders come together in college. "Just because someone has the same skill sets or is the same age as you, doesn't mean they are the best person to start a business with," Amat said.

At Demium, the deal team takes a deep dive into the management structure of a startup to understand the dynamics of the founders and where they might be in need of support. The team also looks at the market opportunity for a given startup to get a sense of growth potential. From there, if Amat is ready to back a startup team, the company joins Demium's startup incubator which provides office space and business mentoring alongside early-stage investment.

Lars Kvaalen, of Antler, says his process is similar to Demium. "When we invest we make sure that there......................

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