Jeavio is a Venture Services firm. We often get asked what Venture Services means and how we assist our portfolio companies.
When the word Venture or Start-Up is heard, the first thing most of us think of is ‘Venture Capital’. I belonged to the same category until I started working at Jeavio.
Perhaps it is because for most of us: Venture Capital = Money
Money no doubt is one of the most critical resources that a business needs but is it alone enough to overcome all the challenges that a business faces?
Is money enough to make a business grow and be successful?
If it is to be believed, why do we hear about many startups failing despite raising millions and billions of dollars? They had all the money, yet they failed.
A solid technology platform is integral to the success of any startup; irrespective of the industry it belongs to. Managing cash flow and technology strategy are key priorities for every founder. Picking the right technology strategy can be challenging if the founding team does not have a technical background.
The first option is to build a technology team in-house. Finding and hiring the right talent for an organization is critical to long term success. However, this can get expensive and identifying and retaining good technology talent might be challenging for non-technical founders.
Another option is to outsource technology services to an agency. However, this may not guarantee the desired output and quality. A technology services vendor’s focus might be on timely delivery before moving on to the next project. This may result in tactical work that may not be aligned to the longer term technology strategy of a company. They may not take the time to understand the vision of the founding team or they may not be interested in the long-term success of their clients.
Somewhere between these two options lies Venture Services. A Venture Services provider provides technology resources while remaining strategic digital partner to the founding team.
Unlike any vendor or development shop, venture services firms have a ‘skin in the game’ engagement model. They work with their clients as partners over the long term, with the aim of helping them build successful products by providing them advisory, technical and financial support.
Deploying capital effectively is a major priority for a young company. Venture services firms may offer to finance their projects up to a certain extent in exchange for equity.
Venture services firm may also advise founders around raising money. Key questions that most founders face are:
- When to raise funds?
- How much capital is needed?
- Who are the right investors to approach?
- How to pitch their business?
Answers to these questions depend on the profile and requirements of the company. In some cases, it may make sense not to raise capital but to bootstrap instead. In other cases, investing in the business at an early stage is critical to achieving market penetration. Venture services firms may introduce companies to appropriate investors and provide advice on how to deploy capital effectively.
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