Tag Archives: Berytech

Attracting Investors

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investors

For the first-time entrepreneur or founder, looking for seed stage funding may prove to be challenging. Many startup founders look for advice on pitching to investors while their idea is still at a concept stage. The biggest challenge most of them face is they don’t know how to attract investors and what factors influence their decision to invest. We’ve compiled a list to help you understand what investors look for in a startup before approaching them and we have also gotten input from Berytech, Chivas The Venture, Leap Ventures, and MIT Tech Review Pan Arab.

  1. Experienced Entrepreneurs:
    The investors prefer more experienced entrepreneurs rather than someone who is completely new in the field; however, don’t be discouraged if you do not have the experience, as this is a completely new field and is not the only contributing factor.
  2. Team:
    Investors will check the entrepreneur and the team, if one exists. They prefer entrepreneurs who are passionate and excited about their idea and their vision, who are tenaciously willing to stick to their vision through challenges and obstacles, who are willing to reevaluate and adapt their plans when needed, who are capable of working with a team, understand their market, and are coachable. Berytech agrees adding that the IDEA is very important but the team is as equally important! Finding the good mix of co-founders would ensure the IDEA gets tested and revisited and the IMPLEMENTATION is extremely well done! The drive to succeed is empowered and supported and obstacles are removed through training, coaching, mentoring, connection, etc.
  3. Customers:
    All investors are going to take a look at your customer base. You will have to consider the acceptability of the product in the market. What would compel someone to buy your product or service? What problems would your product solve and how is it better than the alternatives? Positive responses to questions such as these will be a major factor to attract investors. Leap Ventures added that entrepreneurs should have an idea that is at least average, for a very large and growing market, and be able to convince investors that you can make it happen and execute it.
  4. Opportunity:
    Investors are constantly seeking big ideas that can create an impact, change our behavior or our way of thinking. They also consider if the market is ready to embrace your big idea or if it is an opportunity that the world will not be able to recognize for several years, hence the payoff will be delayed. MIT Technology Review Arab Edition also added that Entrepreneurs should explicitly explain how their startup differs from what else is out there; they should prove that they have done extensive market research and are convinced that their offering would fit the market.
  5. Business Model:
    Investors will definitely look at your business model in terms of analyzing if the model is profitable, expandable, repeatable, predictable, and so forth. By studying where revenue will come from and challenging the expenses it would take to generate that revenue, the investor can decide if this investment is worthwhile. Chivas The Venture looks for exceptional social impact startups that use business innovatively to transform communities and solve global challenges. Moreover, your business model will assist the investor in creating a probable plan on when they would be able to generate profit and exit accordingly.

Self-evaluate your startup based on these tips, and if you find areas where you do not excel, work on improving them. The extra time you invest will significantly help your chances of getting invested in.

How do VCs look for Success Stories?

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To help entrepreneurs get an idea on how VCs look for the next success stories, we approached two VC firms in Lebanon, Berytech and Leap Ventures.

Berytech_Logo

Berytech:
Berytech was established in 2001 and is the oldest firm in Lebanon to provide support to startups. It has since grown through the years to become an ecosystem of 3 incubators, 3 finds, 1 accelerator, and coworking support spaces.

Berytech is an exciting community of entrepreneurs who support each other and grow. They provide business support at the different growth stages of the startup, flexible worry-free hosting services where the startups can plug and play and expand flexibly.

When looking for success stories, Berytech believes that Lebanon is filled with lots of great human talent who are often hidden or worried to go through the risky entrepreneurial path. Berytech is there to help them figure out if the path is right for them and to support them every step of the way in terms of training and coaching.

Check their website to learn more.

Leap Ventures

Leap Ventures:
Leap Ventures was founded in 2014 as a venture capital firm specializing in investments in startups. The firm is based in Beirut and is also located in Dubai. It invests in the MENA region with a focus on Lebanon.

Leap ventures was formed by a team of serial entrepreneurs who have decades of startup experience under their belt. They can support entrepreneurs through funding, strategy training, providing operational resources, marketing expertise, global connections, and more.

To find the next success stories, they leverage their extensive entrepreneurial experience: engaging with promising entrepreneurs, providing fresh views and strategic opportunities, and planning for transformative growth.

Check their website to learn more.

Meet the Lebanese VCs

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As we’ve witnessed the rise in Lebanon’s startup ecosystem, we have witnessed the Lebanese venture capital market grow at an unprecedented pace in 2015.  Attributed to Banque du Liban’s initiative Circular 331 , which provides incentives to commercial banks to make equity investments in startups or venture capital funds, we have seen the VC scene flourish with several new players.

Below is a brief overview of the main VCs in Lebanon:

Berytech_Logo

Berytech
Berytech is the oldest firm in Lebanon to provide support to startups.Ever since its inception, Berytech has been driven by the will to create positive impactful initiatives.

Berytech was established in 2001 as an initiative from Saint Joseph University to provide an environment that startups and SMEs can be created and developed in through incubation, counseling, networking, funding, and company hosting.  It has since grown through the years to become an ecosystem of 3 incubators, 3 finds, 1 accelerator, and coworking support spaces.

Since its inception, Berytech has created over 90 startups, invested in over $6M in 15 ventures, and supported over 3000 entrepreneurs. Since BDL Circular 331, Berytech launched the Berytech Fund II, a $50 million Beirut based venture capital fund to invest in SMEs with high growth potential.  The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Berytech also announced in April 2015 the official launch of “Insure & Match Capital” (IM Capital), a new $15M Investment Fund under MENA Investment Initiative.

Speakers at BDL Accelerate 2015: Maroun N. Chammas, Chairman and CEO of Berytech, Dr. Nicolas Rouhana, Executive Director, Paul Chucrallah, Managing Director of Berytech fund2.

Workshop Sponsor

Leap Ventures
Leap Ventures was founded in 2014 as a venture capital firm specializing in investments in startups. The firm is based in Beirut and is also located in Dubai. It invests in the MENA region with a focus in Lebanon.  It considers investments between $3 million and $7 million and up to $12 million through partnerships with other firms. Leap Ventures closed off its first round at $71 million and is expected a second closing that would most likely increase the fund size to $80 million.

Leap Venture has 4 founding partners with over 70 years of combined experience in founding and exiting companies.  The partners are Henri Asseily, Hala Fadel, Herve Cuvilliez, and Noor Sweid, each with a wealth of experience as investors and entrepreneurs. The 4 have founded and scaled 8 companies leading to over $ 2 billion in exits, and have invested in a total of 47 startups to date.

mEVP

Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP)
Founded in 2010, MEVP is the region’s leading independent venture capital firm with over 25 investments since inception.  Conducting business across three offices in Beirut, Dubai, and Silicon Valley, MEVP’s assets under management have reached in excess of $100 million.

MEVP manages 4 funds:

–   MEVF I: Launched in 2010, Fund size $10M, sector: ICT companies with a focus on consumer services in MENA region, ticket size: $200k to $1M.

–     BBEF: Launched in 2013, Fund size $ 7.3M, sector: ICT companies with a focus on retail and F&B, ticket size range from $200K to $1M.

–     IMPACT: Launched in 2014, Fund size $70M, sector ICT companies and creative industries in Lebanon, ticket size range $1M to $5M.

–     MEVF II: Launch in 2015, Fund size: $15M first out of $30M, focus on ICT companies in MENA, ticket size range: $300k to $3M

MEVP has 3 managing partners; Walid Hanna, who has led more than 30 investments and has been active in venture capital and in new venture development for over 15 years; Walid Mansour, also has more than 15 years of experience in venture capital, strategy and corporate finance; and Ihsan Jawad, based in Dubai, an internet entrepreneur who had founded Zawya.com and co-founded HoneyBee Tech Ventures.