Frequently Asked Questions
Where do you invest?
We invest at the earliest stages in founders either from or based in the Nordic and Baltic countries – a region we have dubbed the New Nordics. However, we occasionally invest outside this geography if we meet an extraordinary team.
What do you invest in?
We invest in early-stage technology companies. We invest in globally-ambitious founding teams who are conscious about their impact on the world.
At what stage do you invest?
As early as possible. We like to be the company’s first investor. Our sweet spot is pre-seed and seed.
Do you lead rounds? What is your ticket size?
Yes. On average, our ticket size ranges between EUR 500K to 4 million.
What do you mean when you say “show me your ugly slide”?
We ask all founders we meet to show us their “ugly slide”, meaning we want you to be honest about and share the biggest challenges you are facing. We believe that transparency is crucial to building the necessary trust required for a productive founder-investor relationship. And so, if we understand what your challenges are, we can make sure that we have all the tools needed to support you and your team from day one.
Read more about the ugly slide here.
What are the 8 Ts?
The 8 Ts is the framework we use to evaluate companies. The purpose of our 8 T framework is to structure and clarify our thinking about your company and the opportunity it represents. It’s not a checklist where you need to tick off every box, but, we encourage you to consider how you can address each of the Ts. Read more here.
What do your terms look like?
byFounders was built on a pillar of founder-compassion and consequently, we’ve strived to have some of the most founder-friendly terms on the market. Moreover, in 2020, we published our standard term sheet for seed-stage investments along with a guide right here. We hope that this can help you in your fundraising, no matter if you receive an investment from us or not.
What’s the byFounders Collective?
The byFounders Collective is a unique collection of some of the most accomplished startup founders, operators, and angels from the New Nordics. They make up a key part of our community and work directly with our portfolio companies, where they can add the most value, e.g. by advising on specific strategic areas, hosting topical workshops, coaching, opening their networks, or even representing us on the board of directors. They also help our core team by bringing great companies and founders to our attention, as well as helping us evaluate companies in areas that they are knowledgeable about.
We have carefully selected these individuals for their competencies, network, and not least desire to give back to the ecosystems that fostered their success. They have all pledged to contribute and many of them have invested in our fund as well, ensuring our aligned interest in the success of our portfolio companies.
Many Collective members are active angel investors as well and sometimes invest alongside us. When it makes sense and it’s a mutual wish, they can take board seats in our portfolio companies on our behalf.
What does being community-powered mean?
We would be nothing without our community. This community consists of our portfolio founders, our core team, and the byFounders Collective. The Collective is a group of 35+ of the most prominent founders, operators, and angels in the New Nordics. Everyone is or has been in the startup trenches and everyone has one main mission: to help one another succeed.
What do you mean by being impact-aware?
We believe that superior financial returns will come from investing in companies contributing to a better Tomorrow. As an impact-aware fund, we aim to strike a balance between pure impact and responsible investing. That means two things: 1) we only invest in founders who demonstrate a commitment to running their business responsibly (e.g., integrate ESG considerations into their operations/decision-making) and 2) we prefer to back startups that build products/services with a positive social and/or environmental impact.
Read more about our 8th T - Tomorrow - here.
Do you syndicate with other investors?
Occasionally, when it makes sense. For example, if we see that our competencies and network are complemented by those of another investor or VC fund, we love to bring them along.
How many new investments do you make in a year?
Approximately 8-15.
Are you actively investing?
YES! Submit your deck here.
How long do you take to decide?
It depends on a few things, but typically our process stretches 2-4 weeks.
Do you always take a board seat?
We’re happy to serve on our portfolio companies’ boards as long as it’s the founders’ wish. What matters to us is that the board members they choose can provide real value to the founder and the company. Sometimes the best fit is someone from the byFounders team and sometimes it’s one of our talented Collective members.
That said, we think that it’s essential for founders to sit on most of the board seats from pre-seed to Series A, though, and that the board should be composed of relevant competencies rather than how many shares someone has.
Read more about our recommendations for building your board here: The Role of the Board
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