Solutions for pre- & post
fundraising challenges
of startups.

A financing round is an important catalyst for the short- and long-term success of start-ups. Therefore, two things are of utmost importance:

1. making sure to achieve investor readiness before starting the fundraising process and
2. develop the ability to execute your business plan using the acquired capital effectively and efficiently.

I help you to master both!

 

 

How do I help you?

Investor Readiness

In the pre-fundraising phase I firstly help startups to evaluate their individual investor readiness level. After a thorough analysis of all relevant aspects of the business model and company set-up, I create a detailed investor readiness assessment. This assessment is based on the structure and content of an investment memorandum used by investors and identifies areas that should be improved to become investor ready. This assessment is basis for our subsequent collaboration.Building a startup means building an organization to search for a solution to a problem via a scalable, repeatable, and profitable business model that can deliver fast growth.

Fundraising

After reaching a certain investor readiness level, I support the teams in identifying suitable investors and am a sparring partner until closing. In this time I help to calculate a valuation, negotiate the term sheet, conduct a smooth due diligence and negotiate the shareholder agreement.

Execution

In the post fundraising phase I act as a sparring partner for the leadership team taking the role of a strategic CFO. In this phase I support to build a scalable organisation und to use the funding in a very efficient and effective way, at the same time preventing the startup from losing pace and momentum. In an increasing number of cases I help to mediate and mitigate conflicts with investors. Having been on both sides of the table, I know what separates start-ups and investors.

Exit

The most important concept in exit-planning is that of transferable value. Transferable value is what your business is worth, to someone else – in many cases without you. In this phase I help the leadership teams to improve their company’s value drivers and get rid of deal killers. Further I help to align the shareholders' goals and expectations, calculate the value of the company, identify potential buyers, master the M&A process and structure a deal that get the highest return possible.

Strategic CFO: A long-term complement for your team.

With very few exceptions, founders of technology startups lack finance and business management skills. For those founder teams that plan to fill this gap - I am happy to step in as part of your team or your board. Let’s discuss.

“Technology startups are in constant danger to misjudge the necessity to re-focus from building a product to building a company.”
Eligiusz Skwara, Founder

Eligiusz Skwara – Who am I?

My name is Eligiusz Skwara (42). I am a former Investment manager of Leonardo Venture – a Germany based High-Tech Venture Capital fund. Before I joint Leonardo, I worked at Ernst & Young for five years in the transaction advisory department providing due diligence and M&A services to a variety of corporations.

I hold a Business Administration Diploma from the University of Mannheim and a Master of International Business degree from the Macquarie University in Sydney receiving also the Macquarie University Prize for Investing in Emerging Markets in 2005. 
 

Skwara
The “why” for the Cosulting APPROACH

1. 95% of pitching startups receive a “no” from VC’s.

In many cases technology is so much at the centre of attention that startups miss to develop suitable business models around it, validate key assumptions, gain relevant traction or study the competition. The least have an idea of which KPIs are relevant to their business model, so they have no idea how to build and execute a successful growth strategy and - very importantly – how much it will cost. Furthermore, almost no startup company had an idea of the VC business model and the pain that investors have to deal with.
 

2. Most Startups fail to get ready for scale

Scale-ups have perfected what startups are still experimenting with like customer segmentation, customer acquisition costs, and product features. What I learned in the last years - scaling is all about understanding a company’s unit economics, managing risk and putting processes and management hierarchy/talent in place. This transition is very hard to manage by founders as risk management becomes more and more crucial with investors, customers, and team members now expect to quickly multiply results.
 

3. Missed value due to failed exit-readiness

When exiting a startup the first step is to clarify personal goals of those who plan to sell. Startup founders often keep all the operating metrics they need to run their business in their head. What they forget is to think early, what an acquirer or stockholder looks for to assess the health of the business and what he is going to pay for. Missing exit-readiness means longer M&A processes and lower selling prices.

Contact me

All of the above aspects are manageable - some immediately, others require a longer preparation and implementation time. Contact me and let me know where you stand. 

Tel: +49 621 / 121 811 95
E-mail: info [at] e-s-m-c.de

Visitor address
C-HUB / co. DOCK3
Hafenstraße 25-27
68159 Mannheim

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