Archive for December, 2009
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
It is my great pleasure to announce that Voytek Siewierski has joined to Grow VC Global Advisory board. Voytek is an Investment Partner at Mitsui & Co.Venture Partners, Inc., Silicon Valley Office. He is currently managing 12 portfolio companies for MCVP and has closed six deals during his 3 years tenure at MCVP. Before joining MCVP team Voytek was an Executive Director at NTT DoCoMo including 6 years in Japan and 3 years in the UK. After participating in the carrier’s IPO at Tokyo Stock Exchange he coordinated DoCoMo’s international technology partnerships including the partnership with Sun Microsystems that brought Java to mobile phones. Developed a number of successful value added mobile services with partners such as Walt Disney Corporation, Warner Brothers, CNN and others.
Voytek executed a number of international equity investments in cellular carriers in Europe and Asia and initiated a number of technology licensing projects between DoCoMo and mobile operators such as KPN Mobile in Holland, Telefonica in Spain, Boygues Telecom in France and KG Telecom in Taiwan. Between 2004 and 2006 he was in charge of all new business in Europe. His previous experience includes consulting and technology research in the United States and Europe. A visiting lecturer at the University of Oxford and judge in several technology awards programs, including Tech Pioneers of the World Economic Forum in Davos and Mobile Innovation Awards of the GSM Association. Holds M.A.L.D from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Tufts University/Harvard). Graduate courses in IT and International Marketing at the Harvard Business School.
Voytek is a great addition to our advisory board, bringing an excellent reputation in the investment and business markets in Silicon Valley and Asia. He will give perspective and expertise from Silicon Valley, traditional VC investments, and very interesting Asian markets. Voytek is a person who is always open for new ideas and pragmatic to make successful business.
Voytek comments his new role: “New models are needed for seed investments and startup funding; especially solutions that make the whole startup ecosystem more global, effective and transparent. Grow VC is the most promising and innovate new model for early phase startup funding. Grow VC also helps traditional VC’s find better companies when they have got seed funding from the Grow VC community. Grow VC is an essential new element for the VC and Silicon Valley ecosystem.”
It is my great pleasure to announce that Voytek Siewierski has joined to Grow VC Global Advisory board. Voytek is an Investment Partner at Mitsui & Co.Venture Partners, Inc., Silicon Valley Office. He is currently managing 12 portfolio companies for MCVP and has closed six deals during his 3 years tenure at MCVP. Before joining MCVP team Voytek was an Executive Director at NTT DoCoMo including 6 years in Japan and 3 years in the UK. After participating in the carrier’s IPO at Tokyo Stock Exchange he coordinated DoCoMo’s international technology partnerships including the partnership with Sun Microsystems that brought Java to mobile phones. Developed a number of successful value added mobile services with partners such as Walt Disney Corporation, Warner Brothers, CNN and others.
Voytek executed a number of international equity investments in cellular carriers in Europe and Asia and initiated a number of technology licensing projects between DoCoMo and mobile operators such as KPN Mobile in Holland, Telefonica in Spain, Boygues Telecom in France and KG Telecom in Taiwan. Between 2004 and 2006 he was in charge of all new business in Europe. His previous experience includes consulting and technology research in the United States and Europe. A visiting lecturer at the University of Oxford and judge in several technology awards programs, including Tech Pioneers of the World Economic Forum in Davos and Mobile Innovation Awards of the GSM Association. Holds M.A.L.D from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Tufts University/Harvard). Graduate courses in IT and International Marketing at the Harvard Business School.
Voytek is a great addition to our advisory board, bringing an excellent reputation in the investment and business markets in Silicon Valley and Asia. He will give perspective and expertise from Silicon Valley, traditional VC investments, and very interesting Asian markets. Voytek is a person who is always open for new ideas and pragmatic to make successful business.
Voytek comments his new role: “New models are needed for seed investments and startup funding; especially solutions that make the whole startup ecosystem more global, effective and transparent. Grow VC is the most promising and innovate new model for early phase startup funding. Grow VC also helps traditional VC’s find better companies when they have got seed funding from the Grow VC community. Grow VC is an essential new element for the VC and Silicon Valley ecosystem.”
Monday, December 7th, 2009
Go4Venture published their monthly report in this week. They report: “October 2009 showed a healthy amount of activity on the funding front, suggesting that the market is still alive and kicking, albeit from a lower level. One cannot deny that the environment is different than in
previous years: more international, more selective and of course more capital efficient. According to our index, overall investment levels continue to be approximately -30% lower than last year, pretty much what we’ve been reporting for the past six months.”
But they continue: “The continued activity of the venture market is unfortunately in sharp contrast with Limited Partners’ interest in European venture capital as an asset class. The only closing announced in October was for Vendis Capital, a retail and consumer specialist fund seeded by the family office of the Colryut family. Belgium-based Capricorn announced the launch of its “human health technology” fund (including medtech), although it will be some time before its first closing. Otherwise, it was pretty much doom and gloom in the news with both the US and Europe reporting the worst funding environment for VC funds since 2003 and 2000 respectively (and since 1994 in the US if one just looks at the third quarter).”
We can assume that a part of this dip is temporary and Limited Partners will return to make VC fund investments in the next year. But we have reasons to believe that Limited Partners are decreasing traditional VC fund investments also in long-run. Many LP’s have not been happy for VC funds’ ROI. They also criticized high management fees and especially tier #2 VC’s competence to find and manage future growth companies. This is one of reasons, why we at Grow VC, see the need of new funding models for startups. We must get the market more transparent and effective, and more global. Our new model (launch in January) is especially to fulfil these needs.
