Hugo Messer

How to structure your venture studio SaaS portfolio company right from the start Venture studios are keen on creating SaaS portfolio companies. If structured right, SaaS companies can become profitable cash machines for venture studios. Combining fifteen years of experience with SaaS business models and researching venture builders for a PhD project, these are my five major learnings: 🔗As most SaaS products may be copied. Excellent distribution and long-term customer relationships are crucial. Long-term and strong relationships impact many important KPI's including ARR growth, Churn, NPS and eNPS. ➡️For venture studios, that means building on the existing network to creating legitimacy for the portfolio start-up. ---- 🚥A streamlined organization where everyone knows what to do makes recruiting during scaling much easier. Hiring too fast, before the need of more team members occurs, may hinder efficiency. Create job descriptions, routines and procedures for the organization open enough not risking losing founder mode. ➡️For venture studios, that means knowing what competence to look for in different states. Use accumulated knowledge timing and managing recruitment as best as possible. ---- 📈 Keep track on the blended CAC ratio. Inefficiency and high cost in acquiring new ARR will eat up your EBITDA margins. Most B2C SaaS gets scalable through higher numbers of customers. In B2B SaaS, expansion, cross-selling, and price increases are fundamental for fast growth. ➡️For venture studios, that means share customer databases, cross-sell as much as possible, and develop a value-based pricing structure as soon as possible. ---- 🔁 Having routines and procedures in place capitalizing from a management quality system (we used ISO) helps bringing your start-up from a healthy creative chaos to an efficient scale-up. ➡️For venture studios, that means creating a management quality system and put it in place in each portfolio company will help increase speed of development and growth. ---- 💻 An understanding that an intuitive and ‘friendly’ user interface with few bugs in the product, allow support and customer success to be part of the sales organization focusing on the core product, rather than being a business unit trying to help customers handle an in-efficient product to avoid churn. ➡️For venture studios, that means accumulate knowledge in software development in relation to user friendliness and learn from previous start-up attempts to avoid churn. From your experience, what other learnings should be added here? #venturestudio #venturebuilder #entrepreneurship #scaling #saas ________________________________ Did you like this post? Connect or Follow @john-erik hassel

16

Are Dutch and European founders not ambitious enough? 🤔 I just read Techleap's latest report: "AI Scaling Challenges for Dutch Founders." (Okay, I got AI to read it and share the highlights with me. 😜) This quote caught my (& Claude's) eye: "𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 4% 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘈𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 10𝘔. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯..." Almost every day, I see posts and jokes about European founders thinking too small. As someone who works with Euro-founders everyday, I have a different view. I see: - Massive visions - Global mindsets from day one - Founders ready to take on the world It's not the founders who lack ambition. They're just working within the realms of what's possible in Europe. That's why many of them get funded from and/or move to the US. 💰 The real lack of ambition? That's from investors and governments in Europe. 🇪🇺 I'm still working on an article, "The Case for European Optimism." And I think it will show that European founders are just as ambitious as their US counterparts. The real question we should be asking is: - How can we create an environment that allows founders to dream bigger and reach higher? 🚀 And yes, I know this quotes mentions deep ecosystem issues... --- ↳ What's your take? Are European founders thinking too small, or is it the ecosystem that's holding them back? 👇

8

1 Comment

If ChatGPT is writing your posts, read this: Your posts look impressive. But they don’t connect. Here’s an example: "In a dynamic digital ecosystem, innovative strategies are essential for scalable growth and competitive differentiation." What does that even mean? 😅 Let me rewrite it: "If you want to grow, focus on your customers." One sounds robotic. The other sounds human. And that’s literally it. People don’t come to LinkedIn for jargon. They want: -Stories they relate to. -Advice they actually can act on. -Posts they can understand instantly. So the next time you write, ask yourself: Would this make sense to a 10-year-old? If not, rewrite it. Because on LinkedIn, clarity isn’t optional. It’s the reason people trust you.

125

84 Comments

We recently touched on how to pick the best European country to incorporate your startup. To continue that discussion, I’d like to tell you about a few European countries that offer residence permits through their Startup Visa programs. Here are some worth considering: 🇳🇱 1. Netherlands: Their program grants a one-year residence permit to startup founders, with the option to extend it later as a self-employed. To qualify, you need an innovative business plan and must work with a recognized facilitator, like a business incubator. I'll share some details with you later. 🇪🇪 2. Estonia: The Startup Visa allows entrepreneurs to develop their projects and hire foreign workers. To be eligible, your startup should show a high level of innovation and growth potential. 🇫🇮 3. Finland: They offer a Start-up Permit for foreign entrepreneurs, allowing them to work in Finland while building innovative projects. The application is assessed based on your business plan and growth potential. 🇵🇹 4. Portugal: With the Startup Visa program, founders get a residence permit to grow their projects in Portugal. Your project needs to be innovative and have the potential to create jobs. 🇪🇸 5. Spain: Spain’s "Entrepreneur Visa" program offers a residence permit for startup founders. Your startup should contribute to the country’s economy and be innovative. 🇫🇷 6. France: The French Tech Visa program is designed for startup founders, investors, and employees of tech companies. To qualify, you’ll need an innovative business plan and approval from the French Tech program. 🇱🇹 7. Lithuania: Lithuania’s Startup Visa is available for entrepreneurs looking to launch their innovative business in the country. You need to demonstrate both growth potential and an innovative business model. 🇮🇪 8. Ireland: The "Start-up Entrepreneur Programme" offers a residence permit to those who plan to invest in innovative business projects in Ireland. These are just a few countries with similar programs. Each has its own requirements for both the applicant and the startup, so be sure to do your research before applying. In my next post, I’ll dive into more countries offering these types of programs. If you have specific questions, feel free to ask in the comments! #venturecapital #startups #innovation #technology #founders #immigration #startupvisa

8

1 Comment

𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 (𝗩𝗖𝘀) 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗻𝘆? While brainstorming for a light-hearted April Fool's article, my editor and I debated on Slack whether VCs are inherently funny. The concept of venture capital itself often seems humorous, as demonstrated by HBO's Silicon Valley, where VCs deliver some of the show's funniest lines. But when it comes to VCs being funny in and of themselves, it's subjective. While I find some VC-created content humorous, other attempts, such as certain VC podcasts or holiday music videos, can come across as forced or even smug. However, not all VC humor misses the mark for me. The mockumentary series Bubbleproof is a notable exception, providing genuine laughs, particularly with its insider jokes and surprisingly competent performances from its VC cast. When I asked if VCs think of themselves as funny, Bessemer's David Cowan replied that they do, but often in a self-deprecating way. This perspective is consistent with the inherent risks of venture capital and mirrors the risks that comedians take with humor. So can VCs be funny? It seems so, especially given the unpredictable nature of the startup world. The funniest moment for me came from a conversation with an investor about the most absurd startup pitches, proving that humor often finds its way into the venture scene. #VC #SiliconValley #Investing #Fintech

18

📋 15 Cheat Sheets on Marketing, Sales, Fundraising, Pitch Decks, and More 🔹 Pricing and Packaging Software 🔹 Five Prospect Stages 🔹 2024 Fundability Benchmarks 🔹 Leadership Transitions 🔹 SaaS Monetization Steps 🔹 Essential Pitch Slides 🔹 Paul Graham’s Investor Guide 🔹 Investor Question Types 🔹 TAM, SAM, SOM Explained 🔹 Comprehensive Pitch Deck Guide 🔹 SaaS Sales with MEDDICC 🔹 Identifying the Right Customers 🔹 Anatomy of a Perfect Pitch Deck 🔹 Prioritization Frameworks #Marketing #Sales #Fundraising #Business #CheatSheets

4

1 Comment

💰 Mental Health startup Meela has raised €2.6M in seed funding for its patient-therapist matching platform. The round was led by Dutch venture capital firm Peak with participation from The Inner Foundation, Unconventional Ventures and Calm/Storm. 💬 "Meela needs to exist in the world. I come into this space as a patient myself. I know what it feels like to meet the wrong therapist for you. So for me, it feels important, and urgent to make sure we can help as many people as possible." Tiffany Boswell, Meela Founder & CEO #health #healthcare #healthcareinnovation #digitalhealth #virtualcare #mentalhealth #brainhealth #therapy #cbt #investment #startup #vc #venturecapital #inveestor #sweden #europe #femhealth #femalfounder

67

2 Comments

It’s been a great year for the Dutch startup ecosystem.  Venture capitalists have, so far, invested $3.5bn into Netherlands-based early-stage companies, according to Dealroom data. That makes 2024 Dutch tech’s second-best funding year ever, surpassed only by 2021. Dutch startups have raised almost 50% more ($1.1bn) cash this year than in 2023 — and there are still two weeks to go. It’s a striking uptick, especially considering the rather muted funding environment in broader Europe, which is on course for its worst year since 2020.   The Netherlands stands to be Europe’s fourth best-funded ecosystem for 2024. It ranks two places…This story continues at The Next Web

1

The Dutch startup ecosystem remains attractive to international investors, with 63% of startups and scale-ups acquired by non-Dutch companies in 2023. Amsterdam, in particular, is emerging as a tech hub, with growing acquisitions reflecting its global business significance. On that note, today, we bring you a curated list of Amsterdam-based startups that were acquired this year. https://lnkd.in/eJaaX4bR The Digital Concierge, CodeSandbox, TimeChimp, Braingineers, acmetric, NeuroReality, Equals, Ligo BV, FIRM24, Hiiper, Mock Flower, SwipeGuide (powered by L2L), Winc Academy, SpotOnMedics | all-in-one platform, Tonny Media, Reptune (formerly TP Tuned), Textkernel, Flusk, Salonized, WeTransfer, Bugaboo, ScamAdviser, Pricewise, Offerte.nl, Steam Data Suite, felyx. Part of Cooltra group, Validata Group, Vood, Aigent, Deepdesk, Innopay, CoorpID, MultiSafepay, Homerun

22

4 Comments

💡€2M Fund Launched for Dutch Early-Stage Tech Startups 🚀 A group of six seasoned entrepreneurs and angel investors have joined forces to launch the Dutch Operator Fund I, a €2M fund focused on software, SaaS, and circular economy startups. With investments ranging from €75K to €200K, they’re addressing the gap in pre-seed funding in the Netherlands. 💬 “For many institutional investors, early-stage investing is considered ‘too early,’” says co-founder Geert-Jan Smits “We aim to change that.” 🌱 With 30 companies built and 13 exits between them, this team offers more than funding—they bring invaluable networks and experience to founders. 💭 A question for the team at Dutch Operator Fund-How do you aim to empower founders to scale beyond the Dutch market? Geert-Jan Smits Quinten Selhorst Rutger Teunissen Sjoerd van Berkel #fund

21

💡𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩'𝐬 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲? Let me introduce you to 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬 (𝐂𝐂𝐏𝐒) – the game-changing secret weapon for startups and investors! Curious how 𝐂𝐂𝐏𝐒 can help attract investors while ensuring growth and flexibility for your company? Here's what you'll learn in my latest blog: 👉 𝐔𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 – CCPS converts into equity at just the right time 👉𝐌𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 – Dividend rates and voting rights that work for everyone 👉𝐄𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 – From valuation to fund usage, it's all about playing by the rules 👉𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 – Protect your investors, and build trust! If you're serious about 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 and 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 the right way, must-read the blog! (https://lnkd.in/g5APSg4S) #CCPS #StartupGrowth  #InvestSmart #FundraisingTips

2

Driving innovation together: How startups and corporates collaborate at HLTH Europe Gabor Heltovics, CEO of SERDA therapeutics, will be speaking at the upcoming HLTH Conference in Amsterdam at the NLC Pavilion. Gabor will be sharing his insights fostering collaborations between startups and corporations. Session highlights: 🌱Benefits for startups: -Mitigating market entry barriers: Strategies to navigate and reduce obstacles that prevent new healthtech startups from entering the market. -Mitigating reimbursement challenges: Tips on how startups can manage and overcome the complexities of the healthcare reimbursement landscape. 🌱 Benefits for corporates: -Externalized innovation: How partnering with startups can bring fresh, innovative ideas and solutions to established corporations. -Pipeline building: Insights on leveraging expertise from the world’s leading R&D organizations to build effective and productive innovation pipelines. 🌟 Visit us at NLC’s pavilion! 🌟 Meet us at the NLC Pavilion during the HLTH Conference. This is an exciting opportunity to discuss potential collaborations, find out how the NLC is influencing the future of health technology, and find out how startups and corporations together can overcome obstacles when bringing scientific discoveries to market. 📅 Mark your calendar! Catch Gabor's session on 19th of June from 16:00 - 16:15 at the NLC Pavilion to learn more about strategies that empower healthtech ventures to thrive in complex markets. #NLC #HLTHEurope #Startups #Corporates 

36

StartCapital Partners is a venture capital firm that is based in Blaricum, Netherlands and primarily invests in Dutch tech start-up organizations. The network consists of many experienced investors who invest in high-potential startups. Similarly, StartCapital Partners organize 1-2 pitching competitions each year and select startups that are profitable and can easily scale on an international level. Investors also have a strict criterion of only investing in businesses led by experienced individuals. The investment range of StartCapital Partners can go up to $500,000.

1

"Hot Take: SMEs are the Next Big Scaleup Opportunity—and Investors Should Pay Attention" A new trend is taking over: SMEs are transforming into scaleups with the power of AI and digital transformation. But here’s the game-changer: business leaders who step out of the daily grind and rethink their business models are the ones seeing 10x growth—and creating prime opportunities for investors. Working closely with SMEs, we’re witnessing it firsthand: - AI-driven insights are helping leaders pivot quickly, opening doors to new markets faster than ever. - Digital reach allows SMEs to scale globally without needing the massive budgets of traditional startups. - Automation is freeing up resources, so leaders can focus on strategy, not just operations. For investors, this shift is huge. The SME space is now filled with agile, digitally empowered businesses that combine startup-like scalability with the reliability of seasoned companies. Do you agree with my assessment ? I would love to hear your thoughts. Maurice Grasso Scott Brown GAICD Linda Wong Michael Paris Chris Thomas Brandon Burns Ketan Kataria Graeme Strange (FAICD) Robert Reed Adrian Stone Alex Pirouz Sam Almaliki Trevor Townsend Doug English #startup #scaleup #sme #aiforbusiness #ai #digitaltransformation

27

1 Comment

𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽𝘀: 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 This guide by Joris Kersten covers the essentials of startup financing, helping entrepreneurs turn ideas into successful businesses. Key takeaways include: 1️⃣ Startup Financing Stages: Learn about bootstrapping, building an MVP, and scaling with early-stage funding from angels and VCs. 2️⃣ Crafting a Pitch Book: Develop a business plan with a financial section that includes profit/loss, cash flow, and balance sheet estimates. 3️⃣ Estimating Sales: Use marketing tools like the 4 Ps and conversion rates to predict sales performance accurately. 4️⃣ Understanding Costs: Plan for fixed costs like rent, salaries, and R&D, and calculate working capital needs like stock and receivables. 5️⃣ Worst-Case Scenarios: Always prepare for contingencies by modeling multiple financial scenarios. PS. check out 🔔 for a winning pitch deck the template created by Silicon Valley legend, Peter Thiel https://lnkd.in/ejp-Bhnu

26

10 Comments

𝗠𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗻 Crunchbase Last week, I was published as a guest author on Crunchbase (7.5M visitors). Since 2018, global startup funding has been one of the lowest in the first quarter of 2024. So it's getting tougher for entrepreneurs looking to invest. → And what kind of startups are getting funded? Those offering tangible solutions to pressing social and environmental problems. Such sustainable startups have a unique opportunity to shine in this climate. But it takes more than a noble cause to stand out from the competition. To find out what impact investors are looking for and which categories will grow in 2024, read the full article: https://lnkd.in/dW7KaaTy #SustainableStartups #CleanTech #VentureCapital #Entrepreneurship #StartupInsights #Crunchbase

15

1 Comment

I can tell within 15 minutes if I should invest in a founder—Melodie van der Baan was one of them. Founders always ask what the investment criteria is for VCs. Investors will give different answers, but it almost always comes down to one thing - conviction in the founder / ceo. I first met Mel while giving a talk to the new Techstars cohort in 2022. I met dozens of budding entrepreneurs that evening, but Mel stood out amongst them. She told me about her company, which targeted the excess inventory market for SMB retailers across the country. It’s a complex solution in a legacy space, but what she lacked in deep technical expertise, she made up for in tenacity and grit that came through in aspects of her communication and follow-through. It reminded me a lot of myself early in my founder journey. We invested in the pre-seed round early in the journey and since then, they’ve rebranded to Max Retail and have gone on to raise a seed round and now a $15m Series A from top investors including Nosara Capital, Rethink Impact, LP, Interplay VC, M13, The Artemis Fund , StandUp Ventures, Overline VC, and Regatta Ventures. So what has made Mel different than other founders? ➝ High integrity - Mel always sends out quarterly investor updates without fail, including not only the wins, but also weak points and how they plan to address them. ➝ Look at their growth - it’s iterative and consistent. Nothing fancy or exponential - just quarter-by-quarter blocking and tackling to automate what had previously been manual industry-wide. ➝ Grit - instead of building in a go-big or go-home “waterfall style” and demanding everything be automated before going to market, she’s been able to chip away and reach product-market fit over time. Who’s a founder you believe in purely based on conviction?

113

22 Comments

How does a founder feel after experiencing an exit? What sort of challenges do they face? Meet one of them, Bram V. — a raw serial entrepreneur in my eyes. And here is why: Bram founded a startup called Leadcamp back in September 2020. He was struggling with his sales achievements. He solved it by founding a podcast he called “Sound of Sales”. He interviewed different sales gurus from around the world with the intention of learning from them all and improving his own performance. Genius man, if you ask me. Long story short, he exited Leadcamp 2.5 years after its birth. In this interview, you’ll hear his story.  See a lot of smiles. And of course, it's a raw talk. I call this format “Raw Talks!”. Link in da comments! P.S. Are you a founder with a great and inspiring story? I would LOVE to share YOUR story with the world. Stay raw!

17

5 Comments