Venturerock: do, dare and invest

Venturerock is a digital venture capital platform and ecosystem of founders, investors and tech builders. Daredevils who leverage years of experience to build the next generation of tech companies. MASTERS talks to founder Marc Wesselink about his investments, startups and high-risk bets.

Do you come from an entrepreneurial family and how has that influenced your business vision?

“I come from a middle-class family in Twente, where entrepreneurship was taught to me at an early age. However, my parents advised me at the time never to start my own business, because of the uncertainties this can entail. They gave this advice because my father had experienced a number of setbacks in the past during his career. I didn't listen to this advice because I set up my first company during my studies.”

How did you get into this industry?

“During my student days, in 1994, I imported Dyson vacuum cleaners. Dyson wasn't active outside England at the time, so I saw something in this. I was also involved in a healthcare company and helped fellow entrepreneurs get started. That was actually the moment when I discovered that helping others suited me well. The focus shifted from healthcare to helping other entrepreneurs and their companies accelerate. The key became optimizing their efficiency.”

What is your definition of excellent entrepreneurship?

“For me, this definition equates to an entrepreneur who is able to build a sustainable company, in which as many people as possible can be part of the value that is created.”

What makes you the most suitable person to take the fund to great heights?

“Ten years ago, in 2012, I was one of the first partners of Startupbootcamp. Together we built and ultimately this initiative accelerated more than 800 start-up companies. Some companies failed multiple times, several were sold and some went public. The experienced investors and I together saw too often how not to do things and through these years of experience, Venturerock was created in 2018. With the Venturerock team we have started 23 companies together. When I look at myself, I think my track record and passion make me a suitable person for the job.”

What does the platform stand for?

“With our new investment model, we want to demonstrate that investing in tech startups is less risky, because a number of uncertain factors have been removed. The amount invested is increased as the founders have achieved demonstrable results. We have developed a '72-step plan' for this that the founders go through. The total amount of €2.2 million will ultimately be made available in four phases. First €50K, then €150K, then €500K and finally €1.5 million. This way, the founders can focus 100 percent on execution instead of losing 70 percent of their time with fundraising; Investors do not suddenly lose their entire investment, it is made available in phases.”

What are recent successful investments?

“Venturerock has made three investments that rightly stand out:

1. WeVestr is a tool to set up an Employee Stock Option Plan in three clicks. It saves time, ensures transparency and shareholders, employees and the financial portfolio are collected on one platform;

2. Compleye is a platform where the goal is to get every company ISO certified within five days. Ultimately, Compleye wants to make the world of SMEs compliant for business without slow administration slowing down growth. Venturerock invested €700.000;

3. ONE is an addressing technique to execute the 'last mile' 80 percent faster. This involves proof of location, so that you can be 100 percent certain that someone is or has been at a certain location. Venturerock invested right from the start and raised €5 million externally.

Have you had any 'bleeders' so far?

“No, because Venturerock actually prevents bleeds from developing. We can intervene quite early if a part or subsidiary of a company is making persistent losses and can even replace founders or the entire product if necessary.”

Why the primary choice from Venturerock for starters?

“I strongly believe in (young) entrepreneurship, because in my opinion this is the fuel that drives innovation. In addition, through our platform, starters can focus 100 percent on execution instead of losing time with fundraising. Based on measurable progress, a new amount is released each time to invest.”

To what extent does Venturerock go further in terms of 'daring' than other venture capitalists?

“Venturerock is one of the few that dares to get involved from the first phase. This is seen as risky by many in the industry, while it is precisely in that phase that we remove the most weaving errors!”

'High risk, high return': what is the biggest investment risk you have taken to date?

“The risk in the early phase can be prevented by better research into the four M's: Management, Market, Model & Momentum. By doing various experiments in the first two phases we prevent something being built that is not worthwhile. In many cases, Venturerock has sold the solution before anything has been built. The best validation that you are indeed solving a big problem and the market is big enough.”

Venturerock talks about “tomorrow's economy”. What do you think the future economy looks like and the tech company landscape?

“The platform believes in a future where it is normal that we can invest in a cool store or startup from your digital wallet. This way, entrepreneurs have less debt and more assets…”

VENTURE ROCK | Official main sponsor of MASTERS' Young Entrepreneurs Drinks
at MASTERS EXPO 2022.