Viola Ventures’ Post

Dragos Novac raises a good point in his NL from last week: consolidation in the VC industry doesn't just apply to funds, but accelerators too. 👀 Independent accelerators rely on sponsorship — a difficult business model especially when marketing budgets are being cut. ROI is hard to prove on those projects. Just like angel and scout programs became all the rage a few years ago, more big firms are likely to bring the accelerator model in-house too. The success of the Sequoia Arc program is a good example. But: I wonder about the signaling effect when you have franchises like this. What about the companies that go through VC accelerators and don't get backing?

🌍 Why do Israeli companies often choose the U.S. as their go-to destination for raising capital, and are they missing out on opportunities in Europe? This was the key question discussed by high-tech and finance leaders at Calcalist כלכליסט and LeumiTech's Mind The Tech London 2024 conference. Shahar Tzafrir, Managing Partner at TLV Partners, offered valuable insights, joined by Maya Eisen Zafrir (CEO, LeumiTech), Gajan Rajanathan (Growth Investor, Highland Europe), Guy Fighel (Venture Partner & Head of Hetz Data Program, Hetz Ventures), Alexander Konoplyasty (Managing Partner / Co-founder, Flashpoint Venture Capital), Sia Houchangnia (Partner, Seedcamp), dafna Lieber (Partner, EY), and Jonathan Atha (Partner, meitar Liquornik Geva & Leshem bradwein). Check out the full article on CTech by Calcalist: https://lnkd.in/dxBVazdJ Calcalist כלכליסט (Hebrew): https://lnkd.in/dxvQArAP

🚀 Is there any better time than NOW for an aggregated database of nearly 100 financing opportunities, networks and value add resources for African diasporan founders & Africa-based ventures? Say less! - that database is here: https://lnkd.in/erwMz3JP This was a labor of love to support founders in the brave journey of building something new and impactful *INSPITE*- all the currents that go against an African diasporan founder or, founder building for the gain of the African person, which in turn shows the world what innovation & using tech for good can look like for the masses. This resource is for the founders' who are doing the work, and need support, for the founders' who didn't know they could be one in the booming tech ecosystem as a means to unlock a pathway to generational wealth...if you needed a sign to start a venture & go out there and meet the right people, this is it! (Filter by conference & get into those rooms). Learn more and add to the database by visiting here: fantatraore.com/database. Thank you to: Fadila Traore, current student at UPenn, for assisting with compiling & everyone in the ecosystem doing great work to create sustainable market based solutions. Special shoutouts to the following for the inspo: ✨ Founders @ Realist Lab, Black Ambition, Seedstars Africa Ventures ✨ Dream VC cohort mates ✨ My MVP on all things data & intersectionality Cassandra Duchan Solis ✨ Diasporan movers & shakers: Chi Achebe, Marie Rocha, Lina Kacyem, CPCU, Sharon M., Ijeoma Ejimadu, V. Chinyere Inya, Lydia Idem, Olayinka Osibodu, Jahleesa Phelps, Chidima S. Okorie, MA, PMP®,Daba Oruwariye ✨ The Africa Center ✨ Yale Black Venture Summit, Yale Africa Startup Review, Yale Africa Innovation Symposium *Don't keep the secret to yourself, re-share and let's get the word out ;).

🌟 Investor spotlight: Lukas S. Zgiep Ph.D. Funding great companies. 🤝🏻 We're proud to share the insights of Lukas S. Zgiep, General Partner at Pointer.Capital, on why they chose to invest with Samana Group. Lukas highlights our potential to lead in the innovative sector of private cities, praising our founders' deep experience and robust execution plan. 💪🏻 "The strength of Samana Group is in its visionary leadership and meticulous strategic approach." - Lukas S. Zgiep 📩 Interested in our unique real estate ventures? Learn how you can be part of this groundbreaking journey. DM us for more real estate info! #SamanaGroup #InvestorInsights #RealEstateInnovation #PrivateCities #LeadershipInRealEstate

When we started the FMO - Dutch entrepreneurial development bank's first VC mandate, called FMO Ventures Program, in 2020, we did so because we believed in the large impact potential of technology and technology-enabled start-ups and scale-ups in emerging markets. As 4 years have passed now, we wanted to pause, take stock and provide meaningful insights in the impact that we achieved together with our portfolio and ecosystem partners. And as we have just launched FMO Ventures Program 2, we were also keen to identify, implement and share some lessons learned. We summarized both in the recently published "Impact Review & Outlook, Perspectives of a DFI in VC" report. See ⬇️ for a brief snapshot of the impact highlights. The full report you can find here: https://lnkd.in/eXjV6P2R We are proud of the impact achieved to date and it also made us realize there is so much more to do; we look forward to continue working with our partners to multiply this impact in FMO Ventures Program 2 🚀! Great thanks to Steward Redqueen for their support on the report and to the European Commission and the Dutch Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken for making the FMO Ventures Program happen in the first place! #fmoventuresprogram #technicalassistance #innovation #emergingmarkets Robert Haynie Charnez Jacobs Abigail Thomson Wouter Scheepens Hessel Meinderts Pauline Brunner

"From the early days, what struck me was that it’s a whole firm — you’re getting an entire team to back you, which was clear from the initial meetings. … And the whole-firm approach is not just the managing directors. They have a team of other folks who have helped with everything from hiring to legal to finance," said Joe Duffy about the founder/investor relationship with Madrona. Read the interview at https://lnkd.in/gzqfMRKk #Startups #BusinessStrategy #VentureCapital

Another small step...    ...towards closing the #growthfinancing gap in DACH. I am really excited to announce that we raised €200m for our inaugural Armira Growth Fund I.    We are beyond thankful for all the trust and support received from our investors and existing portfolio firms osapiens, Wemolo, Workwise, and yoummday. This would not have been possible without our stellar team at Armira Growth and the broader Armira family that has supported our mission from day 1 across all dimensions (#NextGenGP).    Why should you as a scale up founder consider to partner with us?   ➢ As a small entrepreneurial team, we can move fast and deliver on our handshakes, from investment all the way through exit,  ➢ We will only back a few handpicked companies investing €10-50m each, and therefore have the bandwidth to support you every step of the way, with a true minority partnership mindset,  ➢ Our sparring across all strategic and tactical dimensions leverages a wealth of experience on what has proven effective (and more importantly what has not), and,   ➢ We provide unparalleled access to the #GermanMittelstand with our unique investor base of more than 100 entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial families.    We cannot wait to support the next generation of (not so) hidden #TechChampions and jointly shape many more entrepreneurial success stories! Florian Tappeiner Sebastian Johnston Max Berkemeier Anna Schulte Max Ammon Pieter Timmerman Tessa Bottenschein Sophie Mößmer Marco Giazzi Björn Thieme

I was just a few meters away from Her Royal Highness - our Swedish Queen to be. 😁 At Norrskens Demo Day, the epicenter of impact investments was full of people eager to add value and capital to solving meaningful problems. The range of converstions during a night like this is what I enjoy the most. Here are some highlights: 0. Is it my turn to pitch to you (super cool VC who saw that I secured capital on Swedish Dragon's Den) 1. I see that you have started to sell - well done (investor in one of the companies I am involved in) 2. I saw that you are CEO of a Start-up now. Remember that I want you to continue to do good work in the Scale up (investor in another company I am involved in) 3. BiiiiiiG HUG. Looking forward to you proving me wrong. 4. Have you already invested in 10+ (soon I can make the three more official) companies. Can you share more about how you source your companies! And in the end the Queen to be takes the stage. Super cool!

🚀 Congratulations to Armira Growth on raising €200M for their inaugural Armira Growth Fund I 🚀 At Vestlane, we supported this significant milestone and are grateful for the trust placed in us. As specialists in providing €10–50M of growth capital to European tech entrepreneurs, Armira Growth continues to build the next tech champions in fast-growing companies with proven business models. Its investors and portfolio firms—osapiens, Wemolo, Workwise, and yoummday—embody their vision of sustainable business models and innovation. Why should scale-up founders partner with Armira Growth? ✅ Speed and Reliability: A small entrepreneurial team that moves quickly and delivers on their handshakes from investment through exit. ✅ Focused Support: By backing only a few handpicked companies with €10-50M each, they offer tailored, genuine partnerships. ✅ Strategic Expertise: Their sparring leverages extensive knowledge on what works and what doesn't, across strategic and tactical dimensions. We believe in empowering more initiatives like this through our innovative #fundmanagement solution, ensuring seamless fund operations for #VCs and #PEs alike.   Let's shape the future of fund operations together. 👏 Florian Tappeiner 👏 Sebastian Johnston  👏 Max Berkemeier  👏 Anna Schulte 👏 Max Ammon 👏 Pieter Timmerman 👏 Tessa Bottenschein  👏 Sophie Mößmer 👏 Marco Giazzi 👏 Björn Thieme 📍 Ivo Schmiedt 📍 Charles Collet 📍 Gabriele Falace #NextGenGP #FundOperations

🧟♂️ Are we in a world full of ‘zombiecorns’? 🧟♀️ In today’s edition of Danish media KapitalWatch, Kasper Grundtvig Knokgaard of Compound Capital points out a growing trend: nearly half of the unicorns that raised funds at the peak of the market in 2020-2021 are allegedly now 'zombiecorns'. But what exactly is a ‘zombicorn’? 🦄 Unicorn valuation: These are startups with valuations over $1 billion. 📉 Growth challenges: They struggle to show real market traction or profitability. 💸 Dependent on funding: Many stay afloat only through constant funding rounds. This poses serious risks for investors, founders, and employees – these companies might look active but lack a clear path to sustainable growth. To dive deeper into the presence of 'zombiecorns' in the Danish market, the implications from liquidation rights, and more, check out the article in KapitalWatch where both I and Thursday Consulting are featured. Link to the full article in the comments! 👇👇👇