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Podcast: Borja Rojano
Episode:

A Dutch Venture Capitalist
Category: Fashion & Beauty
Duration:
Publish Date: 2016-04-08 03:21:13
Description:

Fast growing internet startups are not exclusive of Silicon Valley. They also exist on this side of the Atlantic and I would like to research this topic in a series of tapes. We begin with Johan van Mil, a venture capitalist based in Amsterdam.

  • 00:00

    Johan van Mil is the founder and senior partner at Peak Capital, a Dutch VC firm. I did this interview on behalf of the Startup Study Group, a global community of founders, angels and advisors I am proudly part of.  

    For those who don't know what a Venture Capitalist is, the short explanation is they invest in fast growing tech companies, taking high risks and expecting a high return on their investment.

  • 00:46
    Johan van Mil: View Image
  • 01:22

    Johan's firm receives 50 to 60 investment proposals a month. They take the time to review all of them to assess whether they need to find out more about the company or even invest right away.

    The main focus is on the team behind the idea, since they operate as early stage VCs.

  • 03:47
    We like to invest in founders with experience, even if they have failed in their previous companies.
  • 04:32

    We discuss the difference between European VCs and their US counterparts.

    "The main difference is the size of the market. Theirs is much bigger, so the returns they can get are also far greater. This allows them to take more risks".

    However, Johan sees a lot of new players entering the VC and angel sector due to the flood of cheap money we have in Europe.

  • 05:52
    There are downward valuations of post-IPO companies but I am not sure we are in a bubble right now.
  • 06:51

    Peak Capital's involvement with companies they invest in goes beyond just providing money. In the weeks right after financing, they have direct hands-on involvement with the startup so they can guide them through the growing pains.

    They have entrepreneurial experience so they can advice in the right steps to take to ensure growth. Once the company reaches cruise speed, they remain involved as well, with a couple meetings a week.

  • 09:33

    We discuss how to self asses whether a company is ready for investment by his firm. Johan advises to consider the following points:

    - You need to be in product-market fit phase. We don't invest in ideas.

    - Is your team complete? We need teams which have at least hacker, a hipster and a hustler. If you are missing a hustler you can find it but if you miss the hacker you have a problem.

    However, it is a good practice to open up a dialog with VCs before being investment-ready.

  • 13:18
    In the Netherlands there are lots of seed capital investors available.
  • 13:43

    In the last part of this interview I pitch Johan TapeWrite as a company. I was not at the top of my gam that day but it went decently. I will not transcribe the pitch or spoil the result. If you are curious, press play and listen to it.

    Thanks to Johan van Mil for taking the time to talk to me.

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