Investment Process

Investment Process

We accept that no great company is perfect. We are not shopping for the picture perfect company as long as the potential is clear and as long as we are confident that together we can do it. In fact, we prefer to engage while strategy is still a bit "up in the air". This way we are more likely to get off to the best start, shaping or fine-tuning the strategy together.

We don't "do" diligence, the classic static way. Once we have agreed that a strong (potential) match is in place, we start working together - and start building an understanding of each other. This is 80% of our investment process. We do go through the classic check-lists but it rarely leads to a reduced appetite on our part.

Dating

If we find - during our initial phone conversation and web presentation - that we are a match (read more about our qualification criteria) then we invite you to a face-to-face meeting.

Here you will present your product and company to us and a few hand-picked Project Partners with relevant experience and we will present our thoughts for you. Often, we choose to invite Project Partners from the UK or the US to participate.

If this goes well, we will issue a draft term sheet stating how much money and time we intend to put into your company and at which valuation, and how we wish to combine this with an option to buy more shares at a later point in time.

In total, this initial process should take less than 1 month.

If we agree to make the next move, you will enter into an intensive process where you are excluded from working with other investors and where you are committed to engage with us.

Engagement

During the following 1-2 months we work with you to refine your operational business plan, including a longer term exit–strategy and a shorter term go-to-market strategy. In this process, you will get useful tools and expert coaching. In short, we both gain from this process.

Provided, we “are made for each other” we commit to a final term sheet. We then complete our check lists, (contracts, numbers, technology, clients, people) and get the paperwork out of the way before we make the investment.

Alternatively, we wish you good luck with no strings attached.

Marriage

After the investment, our Project Partner becomes your operational management coach and a 1CT Partner will join your board.

The Project Partner will work with you adding what’s most needed at any given point in time, as described under Business Development.