Early-stage startups investment guides with Obediah Ayton? So as a startup, how do you find these alternative sources of funding that offer such collateral benefits? The first and best thing you can do is look to your board and the connective network you already have. The ability to access GCC family office networks is something to consider when building your board and team of advisors. If your existing network has been exhausted, there are events and other opportunities that can bring you closer together with angel investors and family offices. This significantly lessens the influence to artificially maintain high watermarks to receive incentive allocations. Family office decisions are based squarely on investment fundamentals, where long-term value creation replaces the 2/20 mentality. As a result, investments are more than fungible capital. It’s a commitment to align with the entrepreneur on a much deeper level. The deep, global networks of the ultra-wealthy families are used to create opportunities for the startups — from providing strategic advice, intelligence and subject matter expertise, to tangible benefits like identifying contract manufacturers to assist with the development of hardware products.
VentureRock – Impact Venture Builder and ecosystem of entrepreneurs, investors and startup experts, is launching a $300M Fund-of-Funds in Abu Dhabi to support and grow the market-leaders that will shape the world of tomorrow. Dubai, United Arab Emirates Apr 22, 2021 (Issuewire.com) – From this new Fund-of-Funds, VentureRock will invest in early-stage startups that leverage technology, science, and innovation to build sustainable, impact-driven solutions and unlock new-age business models for Retail, Real-Estate, Logistics, FinTech, and Agriculture. This will be done through Venturerock’s Special Purpose Investment Company (SPIC) structure, which implements the legal and operational processes needed to safeguard the ventures’ success. Director of Business Development at The Private Investment Group Obediah Ayton said “I am excited to see Venturerock demonstrate the way venture capital funds are now being deployed post covid here in the UAE. The portfolio companies within Venturerock are some of the most exciting and innovative we have seen and I have no doubt they will be a welcome asset to both the public and private sector in the Middle East.”
Obediah Ayton or the ascent of a family offices business leader? Obediah Ayton is a trust manager at Ayton Family Office Trust and a consultant at Tennor Holding B.V., a specialist in family office business, AI driven accounting services, finance and accounting. Obediah Ayton about what happens when a Family Office takes the VC model: In addition, Family Offices want to avoid paying the typical “2 and 20” — a deal structure that requires investors to pay a 2 percent annual fee (some as high as 3 percent) to the VC firm on top of the 20 percent return on investment. This is why we’re seeing more of the mega-wealthy move away from only investing in private equity funds to increasingly working with their family offices to find the right types of direct investments that fit their long-term wealth-generation strategies.
Moreover, the principals behind the family offices have extraordinary networks of connections, which can prove invaluable for start-ups seeking customer exposure, business know-how or even further investment. Since family offices in the Middle East are independent entities and are regulated less strictly than banks, they can be much more flexible in their consideration of investments across enterprise size, geographies and asset classes. The appeal of direct investment to family offices comes from more than just the alignment of capital. Direct investments allow them to take a more hands-on approach to selecting and managing their portfolios. Investments in the sustainability space and impact investing are particularly attractive.
Obediah Ayton on how to raise money from family offices: Not to do: Don’t pitch them without understanding their goals and objectives. Don’t brag about your track record or accomplishments. Don’t interrupt them in the middle of a conversation. Don’t be aggressive. To Finish: Do exactly what you say you are going to do. Meet for coffee or at their office in order for you to understand their goals and objectives better. Respect their privacy and don’t share any information about them with anybody else. Feel free to reach out and speak soon.
Right now is a great time to build close relationships with Family Offices for future capital raises! A wave of capital raisings are coming but the pandemic-created crisis means a whole new set of rules for companies wanting to tap investors for cash. It is now critical to get in ahead of the wave a build relationships with private wealth. Family offices are notoriously discrete. So much so that one of the most common adages to describe the industry is “a submerged whale does not get harpooned.” With a tremendous amount of investable capital, these family offices are often looking for ways to diversify their investments.
Obediah Ayton about the new definition of a billionaire is not the net worth but in achieving change in a billion lives: At present, just over 50% of the relevant family offices allocate less than 10% of their portfolios to sustainable investment. However, a third of Families average portfolios will be comprised of sustainable investments and one-quarter impact investments within the next five years. Impact causes garnering the most considerable investments include those that address climate change, improve health and social care, as well as those that retain and develop employees, workplace safety and cybersecurity.