More growth capital for young companies, more opportunities for investors

The two Austrian investor networks are pooling their resources to provide benefits to all stakeholders in the start-up financing sector. Joint strengths are being expanded, and complementary activities are utilized for the benefit of all clients.

The search for capital by early-stage companies is challenging and urgently needs even greater involvement from business angels and private capital. This is evident not only in Austria but across the entire European Union. Dormant capital, which provides little benefit to the economy, needs to be mobilized and reintroduced into the economic cycle. In return, investors benefit from growth opportunities, and especially the national economies, as young companies quickly use fresh capital to invest in personnel and physical assets.

Mission:

We are creating a simple, curated, and fully digital access to such investments, supporting portfolio companies with the combined strength of our investor networks, thereby helping the European economy to grow and prosper.

Advantages for capital-seeking companies:

Start-ups conducting a financing round benefit from the jointly broader investor base, and as a group, we also become a more interesting co-investor through larger investment amounts.

Young growth companies need a variety of supports beyond capital, which a business angel network can offer. The sum of active investors often represents an inexhaustible pool to support in areas such as strategy, human capital, technological know-how, financial planning, and business development. Our cooperation broadens the network of investors who can offer concrete assistance to portfolio companies. The geographical focus of the Danube Angels on Austria’s eastern neighboring countries opens up more opportunities for all financed companies in outsourcing and entering new markets.

Benefits for Investors:

The selection process is highly interesting but also very time-consuming. Both Danube Angels and Gateway Ventures receive over 1,000 financing requests annually. By dividing the candidates by countries, conducting a standardized preliminary check, and having a joint investment committee, we ensure that investors find an even broader spectrum of investment opportunities and can diversify their portfolio even more widely – an important element given the high risk of individual investments in the early stages of company development. In joint event formats, investors from both networks can connect and learn from each other. This requires appropriate technological and digital processing, which increasingly demands resources. Through the joint use of the Gateway platform, which is to be further developed by the strategic partner Acredius, investors are provided with a user-friendly option to get informed, learn, invest, and track the progress of their investments.

The strengthened structure of both networks in numbers:

• Financed Companies: 58
• Total Financing Volume: more than 30 million
• Exits: 6
• Failures: 7
• Registered Investors: 4,164
• Of which active investors: 530
• Employees: 17
• Over 8,000 startups screened

Additional Offers from Partners:

Gateway Venture Fund

After over 40 direct investments in startups, Gateway Ventures will start their first Venture Capital Fund in June 2024. This will primarily target investors such as family offices who want to enrich their portfolio with VC investments and also reduce the default risk through the fund’s large number of investments.

The fund will invest exclusively in conjunction with the Gateway network to fully leverage the strong USP: the targeted networking of investors and startups.

Managed Pooling as a Service by Gateway Ventures

A clean cap table is extremely important for the constant growth of a startup.

Gateway Ventures offers investor groups the opportunity to pool behind their trust company using their M-PaaS solution and also to enjoy all the benefits of the investor dashboard. This includes online voting, monthly reporting, or the quarterly calls between the startup and the investors.

The fundamental idea was to offer Gateway Technologies to other investor syndicates and startups that want to outsource portfolio management and pooling.

Business Wings by Danube Angels

Young companies often achieve their first sales successes in the home market, creating a foundation for scaling. We support such companies in entering the market, mainly in Austria, Germany, Czech Republic and Slovakia. After a joint market analysis, a dedicated team works on initiating business deals with relevant companies. This makes market entry faster and more cost-effective. Currently, we are supporting a total of 9 portfolio companies and third parties with these services.

About Gateway Ventures

Gateway Ventures has set itself the goal of making startup investment as transparent and straightforward as possible for investors. From €10,000, investors can invest in European startups that are carefully selected and comprehensively supported by a team of 10. After over 40 startup investments and more than €25 million in investment capital, Gateway Ventures has become a trustworthy partner in European VC investment.

Kontakt: Markus Kainz, markus.kainz@gateway.ventures

About Danube Angels

Invest in growth companies together with the Danube Angels investor network: Starting from an investment of EUR 1,000, you support innovative companies and their growth. Benefit in the long term from the increase in value of your company shares. No required expertise, with the support of the Danube Angels.

Kontakt: Paul G. Putz, MBA, paul.putz@danubeangels.com, +43 664 5210484