There has never been a better time to be a startup founder in Europe. In the first quarter of 2021, there were new records for investments in European startups and scales. The growing interest in innovative startups, however, obliges startups to stay on the right track and optimize the ways they present their ideas. After all, Investors want numbers and a traction.
Metabeta is a portfolio management platform for startups and investors in the start-up phase which aims to bring together startups, investors and accelerators, then give them the data and the tools they need to collaborate more quickly and more intelligently. In an interview, Co-founder and CEO Marius Ursache Sharing in detail how startups can mitigate the process of preparing funding by implementing Metabeta as a tool.
Trendy subjects: Can you give our readers some information on the operation of the EU investment market at the moment – an investor and a start -up point of view – and how Metabeta will transform it?
The EU investment market is booming. According to ActivityEU startups raised 49 billion euros in the first half of 2021, an increase of 2.9x compared to the same period in 2020. It is currently the fastest market for start-up investments, exceeding the United States and China.
Despite this, the processes and tools used are, in most cases, the same as 20 years ago, at the height of the Boom Dotcom: warm intros, pitch terraces, Excel files and many decisions driven by intestinal feeling and the fear of missing.
Most startups do not know how to approach fundraising, do not have the right network, so they need on average 6 months to collect funds. On the other hand, accelerators, angels and venture capital companies find it difficult to obtain better offers and must process most of the information manually.
Trendy subjects: As there are more and more investors and money on the market, do you see a power of investors to startups?
In a dynamic and rationalized market, it would be normal and it is true for the best startups. But the rest of the startups at the start of the stadium always find it difficult to connect with the right investors, to speak the same language with them and to collect more quickly to start starting to create their business.
Trend subjects: Can you describe the AI and Data of the solution? What type of data do you collect, where do you store it, how do you approach data security and confidentiality?
We collect structured data on startups (the problem they solve, market sizing, traction, use or financial measures and other details). On the size of investors, we help them define a quantified investment thesis (sectors, geographies and commercial models in which they invest, other criteria for selecting companies, investment size and terms, etc.). Then, we built a more effective algorithm than a warm introduction in the generation of qualified correspondence between investors and startups.
Trendy subjects: How does Metabeta help investors? What type of investors are you targeting (angels, VC, public funds, etc.).
We build an investment market that not only helps investors find the right start -up offers, but also the tools to manage transactions flows, diligence and subsequent management of the portfolio. We started at the top of the Dealflow funnel (accelerators) and now add groups of angels and VCs to our list of customers.
Trend subjects: How do you measure real-time start-up measures? How many startups should an investor have in the pipeline, so Metabeta makes sense for him?
Startups can connect Metabeta to their analysis, financial and CRM platforms (such as Stripe, Hubspot, Xero, QuickBooks, ActiveCampaign, etc.) to obtain real-time data. In this way, they can share their measures with investors, both when collecting funds and post-investment (to manage relationships with investors).
Any investor at an early stage can currently use our transaction management tools to manage incoming transactions, invite third parties during the diligence process, and then obtain the starter start -up updates.
Trendy subjects: what is the value of startups?
Startups can create a structured profile and have all the information required by investors before starting the fund collection process. Then, we associate them with investors according to our algorithm, and we let them control the information shared with investors throughout the fund collection process. Our goal is to reduce the funding duration by 50%.
Trendy subjects: Can you provide us with kpi? How many startups are currently on your platform, how many investors and accelerators? Do you focus on specific regions like CEE, or does Metabeta cover the same way in Europe?
We currently have 5,000 startups (with finished profiles), 25 accelerators and more than 50 investors with quantified investment theses (adding more investors each week). We focus on expanding the market in EEC and Europe (on the side of startups), but also accept investors from anywhere in the world who invest in this geography.
Trend subjects: you have raised 500K, what are your projects for the future?
I think that we are at a tilting point for the technological investment sector, where the available funds will increase, supported by public policies and legislation – and Europe conducts this growth. But current tools and processes must improve to take care of this dynamic. If we look at the main VCs, they build their internal technology to resolve screening, transaction or portfolio management by processing data.
Our final objective is to disturb the way in which start -up investments are made by making itself by the largest market in this area, then passing through the largest segment of SME financing, where there is a gap of 1.5 Billion of euros only in Europe.