Munich Startup: What do you do at caesar. Ventures differently than other investors?
Carolin Gabor, Caesar Ventures: Our team excels at founding and investing in unicorns and category champions, and we bring a broad range of experience from many different industries.
"We invest before investing!": Teams that impress us often receive constructive feedback on their business model, along with relevant introductions to value-added business angels and industry experts, long before we invest. Once we've invested, we actively support them in planning and implementing the next financing round. We act like "professional super angels" and are dedicated, disciplined, and well-connected.
Get to know startups as early as possible
Munich Startup: Why Cashwalk? Startups probably write to you anyway, right?
Carolin Gabor: Cashwalk is particularly important to us because it gives us the opportunity to meet the founding teams personally, and we place great importance on doing so as early as possible. Our positive experiences at previous events, as well as meeting some of our current portfolio companies, have convinced us of the high quality of the selected startups.
Munich Startup: How do you see yourselves in relation to startups? Are you truly "share-grabbing lions"?
Carolin Gabor: We consider ourselves "professional super angels" and strive to be the kind of investors we always wanted as founders. We're happy to support when needed, and otherwise let our teams do their thing. We act as trailblazers for the next round of financing and are seen by other VCs as a differentiating factor rather than competition. Our extensive network of investors allows us to identify the ideal co-investors for our portfolio.
Wanted: Disruptive & scalable solutions
Munich Startup: What should a startup bring to the table when seeking funding? What do you look for?
Carolin Gabor: For startups seeking financing, it's important to have a team with complementary profiles and strong execution capabilities. We also look for the team's "ability to raise," meaning the ability to communicate with investors and, for example, provide solid pitch materials. It's very important to us that startups address major, relevant problems, that their product is truly disruptive to market solutions, and that their business model is scalable. And, of course, the startup should be able to achieve high revenue and results in a few years to make it attractive for a sale to a strategist or IPO.
Munich Startup: Any tips for your pitch? What are you tired of seeing or hearing? What do you want more of?
Carolin Gabor: When it comes to pitches, we want to see well-thought-out business models and sufficient market validation, ideally with immediate understanding. Facts and figures are always helpful. Ideally, startups should be able to describe what they do and the unique selling point of their solution in one concise sentence. We welcome pitches that address these content aspects while simultaneously communicating convincingly.
What happens after the pitch?
Munich Startup: Startup and investor meet – e.g. at the pitch event Cashwalk – and it fits. What happens next?
Carolin Gabor: If we find a startup interesting at an event like a Cashwalk, we usually follow up with an exchange of documents, which we review in more detail, and a follow-up call. The startup then gets to know our deal team, while we want to get to know the entire founding team better. If there is continued interest on both sides, we begin our due diligence process, which always includes a joint workshop on selected topics with the team in person. Finally, a pitch takes place in front of the entire circle of partners, after which a decision is made promptly.
Munich Startup: Best or funniest story from everyday investment life?
Carolin Gabor: Funny: A strong team of New York investment bankers is selling dog macarons on Amazon. Best: When startup founder teams work on topics so cool and exciting that even our teenage kids want to be there for the pitch.
Munich Startup: Women are underrepresented as investors: Is this changing? And what's the situation with startups in your experience?
Carolin Gabor: The shift toward greater gender diversity may be slow, but we're seeing progress, both among investors and startups. Nevertheless, we still frequently see all-male teams at startups, which is why we encourage founders to feel free to reach out! At caesar., we place great value on diversity in all its dimensions and would like to actively contribute to promoting and supporting it. We know firsthand how beneficial controversial discussions are for us when making investment decisions.
