This is the third in my series of DNX intern guest blogs, this time by our European champion who has helped scale our sourcing and deal evaluation process this summer: Filip Orth. Enjoy!
Ever since I was a child, I enjoyed learning about the world of business. I think much of my infatuation in the business world came from my surroundings. My parents both have their own businesses and I always sought to talk to entrepreneurs in my community as well. As I gained more and more knowledge, I started to look at business-related issues in these entrepreneurs’ operations and propose solutions to what might work well, whether as a form of my curious questioning or just a simple interpretation of my opinion.
When I came to Santa Clara University for my studies (all the way from Europe!), I knew that Venture Capital would be one of the areas I would like to further explore. I saw the opportunity even more achievable when attending a university that sits literally in the heart of Silicon Valley and thought: if there is a right place to explore this industry, it is in Silicon Valley! During my first years at the university I qualified to participate in and won awards from VCIC (Venture Capital Investment Competition). It furthered my conviction that my path forward had to involve venture capital. My passion has formed into seeking opportunities where I am able to have a positive influence and where I can help discover truly disruptive and innovative ventures that can make a difference. Part of the fascination for me is also the entrepreneur's journey. To try to understand startup founders and how they arrived on their ideas, how they decide to pivot, how they set their vision forward, and ultimately how they lead their startup teams in prosperous as well as in difficult times. How do they make those critical decisions? It is a true calling for me to figure out.
Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, my academic plans have changed their course a bit. I had to pause my studies and move back to Europe. I decided, however, to see this as an opportunity rather than a setback. I knew that I would want to utilize my time well and take advantage of this unplanned gap year. It became an opportunity to learn more while working. Of course, I hope to resume my studies later and then multiply the value of my studies by what I have learned in the interim.
This summer, I was fortunate enough to be introduced to an internship opportunity at DNX Ventures as a Summer Associate. I was beyond happy to discover that the DNX team shared the same passion and commitment towards innovation, entrepreneur growth journeys, and trends. But I was even more delighted to learn that part of the fund’s focus was where I already had the experience: B2B startups in enterprise SaaS space. Already familiar with SaaS/Cloud and Fintech space, I was naturally looking forward to learning more in the other investment areas of DNX: Cybersecurity and Frontier Tech spaces. After speaking with fellow team members, we agreed that going through as much of the VC investment processes cycle as possible during this internship would be the best learning experience for me, and where I would be able to make an impact.
During my time at DNX, one of my responsibilities included outbound outreach to startups and further screening. I had the opportunity to go over +2,500 startups. I think I have gained a better sense of what the critical components are to focus on in a startup evaluation, beyond understanding the entrepreneurs and their background, for example:
The true ingenuity of the founders can often mean much more than, for example, getting the right business model from the start, particularly in earlier stages. Founders need to be resourceful!
The vision is truly crucial and often can be the decisive variable as to whether the startup will survive in the long-term because that usually goes hand in hand with the capability of a founder to pivot and have a future outlook.
A major part of DNX Ventures’ daily activities is finding how to help a startup beyond the financial aspects, which I certainly align with. Imagining myself in the shoes of a founder, I would be seeking much more than just a financial helping hand. I would also seek a strategic partner and a team that will continue to care and help beyond the time of investment. I value this at DNX, and it is evident that everyone at DNX works diligently to see what is past the horizon, and figure out ways to help.
It was fascinating to see many of the entrepreneurs I got to meet already had lustrous careers, achieved impressive milestones, and were on their path to growing further. However, they decided on an entrepreneurial path. Many of these entrepreneurs left the comfort of their well-set career paths towards a difficult, yet exciting, adventure. Seeing their drive, determination, and discipline is truly inspiring!
In my case, the international component of this internship was crucial for me. I was fully remote, and despite missing the in-person interactions and meeting the team, I truly enjoyed speaking with people across multiple regions and various countries. I talked virtually with team members and founders, who sometimes were time zone-wise closer to me than I was to the team. I think being internationally present in VC is crucial because the VC industry is constantly evolving. You can better spot different trends and clear options for scaling if you look beyond the borders of the country of your operations. Regarding international options, I had the chance to make introductions between DNX and potential interesting startups from the region I am located in. This gave me the opportunity to apply my VC knowledge in combination with my local market expertise and infrastructure.
Over the course of my internship, I have started to see what the trends are for the following years to come. By meeting many startups, you get a better sense of where innovation is setting its course. Startups can be the drivers of innovation and R&D for a given region or even a country. It was interesting to see that despite the long-time ongoing trend of digitalization, there are still many untapped potentials - there is opportunity even in sectors that may seem saturated.
Some last words: I am very grateful for this opportunity and it has been a true pleasure to work with the DNX Ventures team. I am happy to have gotten an opportunity to work at a company and in an industry that I do not deem as work, but rather as a calling. In the end, what I like the most is that in this role I can really help make a difference.