2. About Me VC with Antrak Capital General Manager and Commercial Manager with 15 years industry experience Oh yeah – I’ve never been a Product ManagerBut I have worked with some great ones!
9. Characteristics of investments Strong core team CEO 1st, then the rest of the team Large addressable market Initial commercial traction A few customers & some revenue Momentum
19. Our final view PM is key to us a VC It’s one of the 5 tenets of our approach Earlier stage businesses often don’t have PM This doesn’t discourage us, but we want (part) of the focus of our capital and time to develop it We won’t step out of active role until there is functional PM and a Product Manager
VC’s often say investment decisions are made on Team, Market and Product – in varying orderBut an earlier stages, I think it is more about Team and Market. A great team, and a fantastic opportunity – with the right management a great product can emerge.
But an earlier stages, I think it is more about Team and Market. A great team, and a fantastic opportunity – with the right management a great product can emerge. Product is really about vision – ideas – concepts. It may grow to being a solution – but lacks the scalable repeatability of a product
Usually, when we get involved with a business, it looks something like this. A CEO who runs the company (and often the product), a fairly developed tech team, some operations capacity and sales and marketing developingGenerally speaking, there is very little product management, and almost certainly not a seasoned product manager.
But at this stage, the we feel the hierarchy should be more collaborative. The CEO who had the vision for the company, and the product, should lead, but in a less top down mannerAt the center – the product or the solution that will become the product
But left unmanaged – will it be the strongest voice who leads product direction? Will sales just bully tech with a feature list for next deal that will close or will tech build the never ending feature set that the market doesn’t want?
Our active approach means we want to be engaged and help our portfolio business grow.In our active phase of 9-12 months, we look to develop the less established areas of the company. That may be sales and commercialization, possibly finance, or pehaps leadership. But it always involves product – and more importantly the proper establishment of PM
When won’t stop being actively involved in a portfolio business until there is PM who owns the product and function PM process in place.