Family businesses are the cornerstone of the Dutch economy; they contribute almost 27% of the total nationwide annual turnover and are responsible for 29% of all the jobs created in the country.
The ageing society, succession challenges, family emotions, lack of governance, lack of good employment practices, limited digitisation and innovation efforts within these family businesses are challenging their continuity.
Opportunity?
Only 1 out of 3 family businesses survive beyond the first generation. …
Southeast Asia (“SEA”) is home to four of seven of the world’s highest-performing emerging economies: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. According to McKinsey: GDP per capita for these countries has grown at least 3.5% per annum since 1965. More recently (since 2000) we should include Vietnam & Myanmar to this list with an average GDP per capita growth of 7% and over the past 8 years the Philippines has also exceeded the yearly GDP growth per capita by 3.5%.
SEA is now in a golden era for tech startup growth as people’s livelihoods improve. In 2018, the average per capita…
The lines between work, home, entertainment, sports and education are blurring and the next 10 to 20 years will be all about finding a healthy balance in order to create a sustainable, liveable and smart environment.
Innovation of the real estate industry globally plays a critical role in this development, specifically in urban and suburban areas where a dense and demanding population continues to grow.
With some exceptions for areas that require a dedicated set-up such as industrial, logistics, data centres or high-end and special care residential, it is unlikely that we will go back to the traditional separation between…
As we are headed down a path of recession or even depression, societies and governments reflex and protectionism take the lead.
While understandable from a perspective of fear (people losing their jobs and livelihood) and the need for governments to implement policies that reflect the demands of a society (“locals first”), protectionism is not the solution and never will be.
History has shown us that ‘open’ societies always win from those that are ‘closed’. Protectionism can bring us on a path that is very dangerous and we simply don’t want to go there.
In its most innocent form, protectionism just…
Within Southeast Asia, the financial services industry holds tremendous potential that could be unleashed if fundamental underlying challenges are addressed.
Out of a population of 570 million in Southeast Asia more than 70% of the adults are “underbanked” or “unbanked” and have limited access to financial services. In addition millions of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (“MSME”) face large funding gaps.
Increased need for funding
According to Bloomberg more than 1 in 3 MSME expect their need for financing to increase in the future. …
In order to grow into a successful angel investor (‘angel’) one needs sufficient opportunities to review.
It’s hard to catch a fish if the pond is empty and from experience we know that it takes around 100 deal reviews before 1 good investment can be made. At the same time angels should focus on constructing a portfolio of (multiple) investments.
This article is meant to help angels build a routine in order to make sure they get to see the great opportunities out there.
These guidelines for deal origination (or deal sourcing) can be used by both novice and experienced…
This article is meant to help angel investors (“angels”) build a framework to evaluate startups.
We know investment decisions are personal and logic (‘gut feeling’ about a deal and founder) does not always apply. We do recommend however to build an evaluation framework and stick to it, simply because investing is a constant learning process and you want to construct a portfolio of companies and look back in a few years to evaluate your framework and sharpen your decision-making process.
Our method
By using the 4-layered structure below one should be able to touch all essential aspects while evaluating a deal:
- Pre-qualification…
The article is written as a guide for angel investors (“angels”) that are considering to invest in Southeast Asia (“SEA”) but want to understand the upside and challenges better.
Macroeconomics
SEA is home to four of seven of the world’s highest-performing emerging economies: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.
According to McKinsey: GDP per capita for these countries has grown at least 3.5% per annum since 1965. …
As an angel investor (“angel”) it is important to construct a portfolio and not just place a few bets and hope for the best. Or worse: putting all your money in one basket and essentially gambling with your funds.
The chances of you sourcing & investing in the next Uber (and make a 50X or 100x on your investment) are close to zero and there’s no playbook for finding those kind of companies. …
Angel investors (“angels”) take up a critical position in the start-up ecosystem. Venture capitalists (“VC”) have become more risk-averse leaving a void where smart capital and mentorship is needed to grow a business successfully.
The only true sources of smart finance are angel investors. They contribute their own know-how, provide mentorship and share their connections with the businesses they invest in. They are thus the main drivers of innovation and the natural leaders of the world’s early-stage investment markets.
In this article I want to give a bit of background & introduction on angel investing in general and what you…
Maarten Hemmes
Tech Entrepreneur, Investor, Lawyer & Startup Advisor with over 15 years of experience in building businesses from the ground up.
