Metiquity Ventures’ Post

Do investors pay more attention to the paper trail or the people? ‘We're investing in relationships, not in transactions’ - Bryan Slauko, CFA, co-founding partner, Metiquity Ventures. Are you a new founder or entrepreneur who might be looking for investment one day? Here are a few tips for entrepreneurs from Metiquity Ventures co-founding Partner Bryan Slauko on what private investors often look for. With a focus on what makes people tick, Bryan speaks to what he expects from the next generation of local, early-stage companies and founders in Alberta and across the Canadian Prairies. “If it was only about money/revenue numbers, then when the going gets tough, a founder is going to leave and find something else to do that will make them more money, but founders who see a problem and market gap that they are passionate about solving and filling… (we feel confident) they aren’t going to leave or abandon ship before they reach their goal.” Read more via our blog: https://lnkd.in/gj8wNHcn #earlystage #startups #vcs #abtech #yyctech #albertatech #angelinvesting #yycnow #techsector

An entrepreneur’s ability to listen can make or break a company hoping to endure, excel and become part of the next generation of local, early-stage success stories in Alberta and across the Canadian Prairies. Metiquity Ventures’ co-founding partners Bryan Slauko, CFA and Jacques LaPointe MBA, PEng LaPointe say there is a common trait found in founders and teams that succeed... Founders that focus their pitches less on “the sell” and instead find ways to - show results, while engaging in conversation and asking questions, allow an ebb and flow of dialogue between themselves and the investor and tend to raise more funds. It’s less about proving “something” and more about demonstrating how their innovation and company will solve a basic human problem. Read more about 'The Power of Listening' via our blog: https://lnkd.in/gy9KyYZh #calgary #yycbusiness #yyc #yycliving #yycnow #techsector #tech #investments #investor #entrepreneur #startupecosystem #startup #vc #venturecapital

An entrepreneur’s ability to listen can make or break a company hoping to endure, excel and become part of the next generation of local, early-stage success stories in Alberta and across the Canadian Prairies. Metiquity Ventures’ co-founding partners Bryan Slauko, CFA and Jacques LaPointe MBA, PEng LaPointe say there is a common trait found in founders and teams that succeed... Founders that focus their pitches less on “the sell” and instead find ways to - show results, while engaging in conversation and asking questions, allow an ebb and flow of dialogue between themselves and the investor and tend to raise more funds. It’s less about proving “something” and more about demonstrating how their innovation and company will solve a basic human problem. Read more about 'The Power of Listening' via our blog: https://lnkd.in/gy9KyYZh #calgary #yycbusiness #yyc #yycliving #yycnow #techsector #tech #investments #investor #entrepreneur #startupecosystem #startup #vc #venturecapital

An entrepreneur’s ability to listen can make or break a company hoping to endure, excel and become part of the next generation of local, early-stage success stories in Alberta and across the Canadian Prairies. Metiquity Ventures’ co-founding partners Bryan Slauko, CFA and Jacques LaPointe MBA, PEng LaPointe say there is a common trait found in founders and teams that succeed... Founders that focus their pitches less on “the sell” and instead find ways to - show results, while engaging in conversation and asking questions, allow an ebb and flow of dialogue between themselves and the investor and tend to raise more funds. It’s less about proving “something” and more about demonstrating how their innovation and company will solve a basic human problem. Read more about 'The Power of Listening' via our blog: https://lnkd.in/gy9KyYZh #calgary #yycbusiness #yyc #yycliving #yycnow #techsector #tech #investments #investor #entrepreneur #startupecosystem #startup #vc #venturecapital

An entrepreneur’s ability to listen can make or break a company hoping to endure, excel and become part of the next generation of local, early-stage success stories in Alberta and across the Canadian Prairies. Metiquity Ventures’ co-founding partners Bryan Slauko, CFA and Jacques LaPointe MBA, PEng LaPointe say there is a common trait found in founders and teams that succeed... Founders that focus their pitches less on “the sell” and instead find ways to - show results, while engaging in conversation and asking questions, allow an ebb and flow of dialogue between themselves and the investor and tend to raise more funds. It’s less about proving “something” and more about demonstrating how their innovation and company will solve a basic human problem. Read more about 'The Power of Listening' via our blog: https://lnkd.in/gy9KyYZh #calgary #yycbusiness #yyc #yycliving #yycnow #techsector #tech #investments #investor #entrepreneur #startupecosystem #startup #vc #venturecapital

While #startup #founders are praised for their creativity, ingenuity and grit in building new businesses, and rightly so, #VCs are on the sidelines, often considered “just investors.” Yet, what is often overlooked is that many VCs are also #entrepreneurs in their own right. There are of course similarities and differences to each role. Our Founder Partner, Kjartan Rist, shares the key elements that he values, that make the VC-founder relationship so mutually rewarding.

When you bring together two people who have been perfecting their craft over several decades, great things happen. Just check out this interview of Danny Rimer, 22 years at Index Ventures, and John Thornhill who beats him with 35 years at the Financial Times. Here are some of my favourite gems from their conversation, published as a 4000-word interview this morning. Entrepreneur can be both born and made. “You can be born an entrepreneur because you’ve just been that way from the get-go. You can also be an entrepreneur because you’ve been so frustrated in your [non-entrepreneurial] day job that you’ve learned the skills to then become an entrepreneur. "We always talk about companies getting bought, not sold. So we certainly never invest in companies unless they want to be a standalone company, which means that they want to go down the IPO path." On taking the risk to shut down or pivot: "While it might be a profitable business, it’s a profitable business that employs 20 people rather than an incredibly talented team that could have shut down and started afresh and built something that had global significance." "The biggest challenge for Europe, to date, has been surrounding great entrepreneurs with great talent — in other words, talent that scales. The reality is, the better that Paris does, the better it is for London, the better it is for Europe, from an entrepreneurial standpoint." A huge amount of the opportunity is going to be created on the application layer of AI. That is going to be left up to small companies that are specialised and really focusing on particular parts. “There are not many investors who have taken start-ups from seed to multibillion outcomes on both sides of the ocean.” – Kathryn Mayne, managing director at Horsley Bridge Partners, which has invested in Index for almost 20 years. Thanks Kathryn! Enjoy it!

A must read article today in Crunchbase for any growth-stage company or PE/VC fund on how to more effectively approach fundraising in this environment. The story is geared towards funds, but at Bennu Partners, we believe that the advice is even more applicable to growth-stage entrepreneurs. From the article: "Although it takes a lot of time and energy, setting up an entrepreneur collective should be on a VC’s 2024 to-do list. Obviously, a network of entrepreneurs offering mentorship to portfolio companies will give venture investors a better chance of success, but it’s also hugely advantageous to a fund’s reputation and financial standing." We have been preaching this type of collective approach to raising institutional capital for years. We call it an 'expert roundtable' vs. a collective - however, the idea is the same. Access to a group like this is the missing ingredient to success in a capital raise for the vast majority of growth-stage companies. Unfortunately, most lack access to this type of ‘roundtable’ of experts. This type of collaboration of experts has a more expansive and effective goal. You hire a single expert to solve problems you know you have. But most growth-stage capital raises fail because of problems you don’t know you have. This collaborative effort is the only way to discover, diagnose, and solve the problems you don’t know that you have. This is the process that leads to success for institutional capital raises at the growth-stage. If you have this type of collaborative team - good for you. You are on your way to success. If not, reach out to us - this is one of the biggest benefits we provide. www.BennuPartners.com Marc Patterson Jonathan Musser Andrew Thomaides, CEPA® Entegro Business Solutions Adam Whitehead Andy Shober Jeff Donaldson FocusedBrands #privateequity #venturecapital #entrepreneurship #founders #startups #investing #innovation #finance #raisingcapital https://lnkd.in/g3DgpfyA

Despite 2023 being labeled a “bloodbath” for venture capitalists, the industry remains optimistic with more than half of VCs reporting they plan to raise in the next 12 months. But to gain the confidence of LPs, VCs need to set themselves up for success beyond cash reserves. How to do so? Consider setting up an entrepreneur collective. #venturecapital #entrepreneur https://lnkd.in/euh5KtsZ

I am constantly on the lookout for insights and success stories that can empower and guide startup founders towards achieving remarkable growth. In this spirit, I've discovered this great article detailing the explosive growth of Zip, a SaaS startup that reached a $1B valuation in just 18 months. In this series"Why They Invested" the authors offer a comprehensive analysis of the factors and strategic decisions that captivated venture capitalists and led to substantial investments in Zip. It highlights the importance of a proven track record, a significant market with room for disruption, optimal timing, technical innovation, and strong market demand. Sharing this content, I aim to provide entrepreneurs with actionable knowledge and inspire them to envision and execute strategies that can similarly drive their ventures to unprecedented success. For a detailed understanding of what drove the investment in Zip and how similar strategies can be applied to your entrepreneurial journey, I highly recommend reading the full article on Signature Block. #Entrepreneurship #StartupGrowth #VentureCapital #BusinessInnovation #SuccessStories #InvestmentStrategies #SaaS #TechStartups #BusinessLeadership #GrowthHacking