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Traditional VCs or long-term equity partners - who is the right fit for you?

The time horizon of a typical VC investment is approx. 4-5 years, VCs are expected to exit and close the fund – this nature of VC investments put an enormous pressure on both VCs and portfolio companies to grow, to grow faster, etc. However, there are (many) companies that need much more time (8-10 years) to scale and grow, to reach a certain size, or simply their industry is growing slower / hit by a crisis more heavily, or – which happens quite frequently - their scaling journey is less smooth with challenging twists popping up, which make it more time intensive vs. they presented in the business plan to their investors.

This contradictory issue was partially discussed at our previous meetup on 11 March 2021 with a bit more focus on the realistic time horizon of establishing PMF, scale the business and fight against the challenges along the way. This time we investigate this issue more deeply from the investor aspect, with a closer, more international look at funds’ lifecycle, operation and different investment approaches, how VCs can handle the challenge if a company needs more time to grow, what roles the investors can / must play in balancing, aligning parties’ different time horizons.

Beyond the traditional VC perspective, we will introduce you another approach– where there is no closed end fund, no exit pressure, so time horizon issue sounds “automatically eliminated” – and figure out:

  • how they work, what the main similarities and differences are,
  • pros and cons of the two approaches,
  • when such an investor can be an ideal option,
  • what more / else can those equity partners offer you than traditional VCs and vice versa,
  • how these investment approaches can handle the issue of time horizon conflicts

We invited experienced international investors representing the two different investment approaches to get to know their insights and practices; we will proudly host:

General partner ANDREJ KISKA from the Prague-based CREDO VENTURES, one of the most active early stage VC funds in CEE with EUR 170M under management. Their investment focus is mainly technology, IT, internet and health industries, supporting companies in their growth projects incl. expansion beyond CEE and to the U.S.

Managing partner EUGEN B. RUSS from the Liechtenstein-based RUSSMEDIA EQUITY PARTNERS. Russmedia is investing in and operating online marketplaces, aggregators, SaaS solutions, B2B & B2C platforms across Europe. They manage a fund of EUR 100M, seeking long-term partnerships with management teams to empower sustainable digital businesses. RMEP is part of the most progressive multi-niche media company in Europe, Russmedia Group, established 100 years ago and still owned and operated by the Russ family.

ABOUT THE AGENDA:

  • Event will run via Zoom. Access link to the event becomes visible once you confirm RSVP YES.
  • Arrival from 4.45 to 5.00 PM to the waiting room, our host will admit you individually
  • Event starts at 5.00 PM
  • VCs’ quick introductions
  • Discussion about the topics, incl. Q&A until 6.30 PM

TECHNICAL INFO:

  • Event is free of charge but requires registration
  • We recommend you to join from your desktop for easy access to chat, poll, etc. functions
  • We recommend you to download the Zoom Meeting App before you join the event to avoid any technical issues. Download is free here: https://zoom.us/download
  • Please stay muted and with camera off during the event to contribute to the best event experience for all of us. You may use the chat to submit your questions to the speakers
  • Please be informed that the event will be recorded. By joining this event you give us your consent to the recording, processing and publishing with no limitations or restrictions.

RSVP YES, let's meet on 6 May!

The Organizer team

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