Impact of the current market situation on VC funds; finding the right CFO & fundraising strategy - Alexander Langholz, Cherry Ventures
Alexander Langholz is CFO at Cherry Ventures and has previously supported various IPOs for years. He talks to Fabian about the business as CFO of a venture capital fund, IPOs and fundraising strategy. What you learn: What impact does the current market situation have on venture capital firms (using Cherry Ventures as an example)? At what point do I absolutely need a CFO in the company? How have funding rounds changed due to the crisis years and market changes? How can I recognize a good CFO who is suitable for my startup? ALL ABOUT UNICORN BAKERY: https://zez.am/unicornbakery (00:01:05) How do the current market changes affect a seed VC company like Cherry Ventures? (00:04:11) As a CFO, what data and information are you most interested in about the companies' portfolios? (00:06:10) What indicators do you use to tell if companies are well positioned? (00:06:45) Why has the relevance of profitability changed so much? (00:08:52) If you are now supposed to get to faster profitability with less money - is that as contradictory as it sounds? (00:10:53) What needs to change for IPOs to matter again? (00:14:15) How do you make it clear to startups that the growth valuations of recent crisis years are no longer attractive now? (00:16:36) As a fund, have you had to reevaluate your portfolio and adjust it to market conditions? (00:20:41) Do you communicate to the founders when the paper value of the company is adjusted? (00:21:01) What are the challenges of being a CFO at a venture capital firm? (00:23:32) How would you estimate the market will be in 2023? (00:26:30) As an entrepreneur, when do you realize that you are ready for an IPO or that you should think about different financing/exit strategies? (00:31:40) Differences between an IPO in Germany vs. the U.S. (00:32:51) When do I hire a CFO? (00:36:34) Is it okay to look for an interim CFO first? (00:37:32) How do I recognize a good CFO? (00:39:11) How would you currently structure a financing round from a founder's perspective? Alexander Langholz LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-langholz-baikousis-905b193a/ Cherry Ventures: https://www.cherry.vc/ WHATSAPP NEWSLETTER: 1-2x a week get a personalized voice note or content from me that will make you a better founder, sign up now with one click: https://bit.ly/ub-whatsapp-newsletter