Apply now and receive expert guidance and practical tips from the Development Programme Mentor Ivo Remmelg.
Over the course of 10 months, companies will receive ongoing support and guidance from our experienced mentors. Ivo Remmelg is one of the mentors in the programme. We asked him questions about his extensive previous experience, tips for rapidly growing scaleups and the challenges faced in managing company finances. Don't miss the chance to apply to the innovative cross-border programme designed to accelerate the growth of your business until June 15, 2023.
Can you provide an overview of your background and experience?
I am an entrepreneur with an electronics engineering background and never worked for anybody else other than my own companies. I have founded many businesses and have some exits. Today I invest in startups as an angel investor and venture partner for Superherocapital.
What specific skills and expertise do you bring to the table as a mentor in this scaleup development program?
There are a few things that I can do for early stage startups.
Strategy: I can help startup with value proposition and positioning.
Capital raising: I can help with startup investor readiness.
Corporate governance: I can help startup to set up the required processes and structures for proper corporate governance.
Have you mentored other scaleup companies in the past? If so, could you share some success stories or examples of how you have helped them grow?
Fractory, Ridango, Jeff-App are a few examples. Ridango made an exit a few years after I had joined the board, I am also in the board of Fractory and they are also doing very well with the valuation, well above Ridango. Jeff-app is one of the examples of a very fast growing startups in the fintech space, HQ is in Riga but they have operations in South-East Asia.
What advice would you give to scaleup founders who are looking to secure funding and attract investors?
Any advice is specific to the startup itself, but generally speaking it is all about managing risks without overspending. There are tons of minor details that may be left without the proper attention and there is always something that needs a quick fix.
In your experience, what are the key challenges that scaleup companies typically face when it comes to managing their finances?
When startup raises its A round, then the founder can easily have a feeling that now the only path is becoming a unicorn in a few years. In reality it is easy to make wrong decisions that are either forced by the investors or done by founders themselves that lead to burning too much cash and not getting the results planned. Small startup small problems, big startup big problems. This way the founder may discover, that he has 70 employees that are waiting for their salaries next week but they have run out of money.
Do you have any recommendations for rapidly growing scaleups?
Make sure the corporate governance and processes are in place. Otherwise it may end up with a big mess and inability to drive the growth. Everything must be data driven, otherwise it is not possible to manage and retain the high growth. Also, have a plan B and update it periodically. Regression to the mean may wipe off the short term advantage in timing that you might have. High growth usually comes from good timing and it does not last forever. There are always bigger competitors around the corner ready to invest 10x more to win.
What do you enjoy about being a mentor for teams or how did you become interested in working with scaleups?
I like challenges - that’s probably the nature of an engineer. Bigger the problems, more interesting to find the solution.
The Development Programme mentors include experienced professionals from a variety of fields. The programme's comprehensive curriculum is centered around four key pillars: opening new markets, strategy, financials, and team. The mentors who will be working with the participating companies include: Mika Rytkönen, Per Hallendorff, Ivo Remmelg, Anni Hintikka, Owen Holmström, Matti Härkönen, Kirsi Korhonen, Piia Maaranen, Agnes Makk, Sonja Lätti, Henrik Morgen, Mikko Pitkänen, Mikko Rytkönen, Piret Saag, Elisabeth Ström, Predrag Pucar, Henrik Morgen, William Lehmus, Calum Cameron, Owen Holmström. See the full list of mentors and read more about their expertise here: https://www.scaleuplaunchpad.eu/mentors
These mentors will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the programme, and will work closely with participating companies to help them navigate the challenges of scaling up their businesses. If you're a representative of a company developing smart city solutions and looking to take your business to the next level, don't miss the chance to apply to the Scaleup Launchpad programme and benefit from the expertise of previously mentioned mentors. Don't miss the chance to apply to the innovative cross-border programme designed to accelerate the growth of your business until June 15, 2023.
This activity was supported as part of Scaleup Launchpad, an Interreg Central Baltic Programme 2021-
2027 project co-funded by the European Union.
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