We certainly have not forgotten our investees as you are just as important stakeholders as any others.
We have gone to great lengths, and still have a long way to go, to create additional benefits and value for our fund investees.
Below are some of those benefits. We will keep expanding the list as we learn, grow and expand our services and benefits for investees.
Compliment & Collaborate
We strive to establish a collaborative environment with all our stakeholders. As such we will be working hard so that our investee relationship is complimentary and supportive beyond as the vehicle for providing equity capital.
Advisory Panel
We will continue to build and maintain the highest quality advisory panel to advise the fund’s management team. Some of the benefits we assess potential advisory panel candidates for are:
- their relevant SME knowledge and expertise;
- their supportive and positive attitude towards SME business and entrepreneurs;
- the diversity within the membership; and
- the potential quality and usefulness of member networks.
Panel members are not required to have direct dealings with investees, but where they offer to directly assist an investee we encourage them doing so.
Investees are encouraged to pose questions, via the fund manager, to the Advisory Panel.
Exit Pressures
Because of our model benefits we have more flexibility in how to manage exits.
Fund Lifespan
Perhaps the most significant of our expanded exit options is time.
Each of our funds has a 15 year lifespan and we, the fund’s managers, do not have any pressure or bias towards closing a fund or forcing the early exit or closure of an investment. We hope that this can take some of the undue pressure off investees and give them more time to grow their business and still become successful.
Follow-on Investment
We recognise the importance and need for follow-on investment for well performing investees of a fund. This needs to be available in a timely manner, and preferrably in a manner that does not distract a high performing and achieving team away from their core focus.
Indeed, we see follow-on investment as a scale benefit from growing our funds to their full potential, remembering that it is only the well performing investees, or those with excellent potential for growth, that we will operate a specific follow-on investment pool from each of our funds.
Additionally, we believe it is most important that the investee is active in the decision making around their follow-on investment needs, but our recommendations will be:
- The aligned investor/s would have first option to reinvest;
- The fund’s follow-on investment pool would consider the funding;
- The Advisory Panel members would be made aware of the investment opportunity;
- All fund investors would be made aware of the investment opportunity;
- Investors in other Purpose funds would be made aware of investment opportunity; then
- Aligned investor network members, such as those of the APRO.Network, would be made aware of the investment opportunity.
Because our VC-As-A-Service model requires us to be constantly working with a range of SME equity networks and platforms we believe that we will be able to assist more investees to find more of the right follow-on investment when they need it.
Scale Benefits
Our VC-As-A-Service model will enable us to achieve scale benefits for our investees. Those scale benefits will mean a better range of value-adding services to assist in improving an investees opportunity for success.
Coaching & Mentoring
Corporate Coaching and Mentoring is in our DNA and we plan on building resources and services our investees can utilise. The scope of resources and services will expand along with other scale benefits.
Networking & Learning
None of us should ever stop learning or expanding our networks and quality relationships. With scale we will be seeking ways to improve our individual and shared networking and learning opportunities.
Economic Research & Analysis
We recognise the difference early economic research and analysis can provide to our best investees. As we achieve scale we will increase the range and quality of economic data, research and analysis we utilise in our business and for the benefit of our investees.
SME Equity Platform
We will deliver our own unique operating platform to aid investees in meeting their reporting requirements, raising new capital, learning, coaching, company secretarial functions, and tapping into the expanded Purpose network.
Self Managed VC Fund Certified
To ensure that all investments made by the Sustainable Enterprise Fund are compliant we require that all investees must be Self Managed VC Fund Certified by Lellco prior to being accepted for investment.
