Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands (SwissCham NL)’s Post

💡 The trick here is not to give away too many shares unnecessarily, nor to scare off investors with valuations that are too high. 👨💻 Stefan Sollberger is the CFO Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands (SCCN) and the CEO of Sollberger KMU Treuhand. He has an extensive number of years of experience and expertise as a Partner, advisor, mentor and investor. 🎧 English Translation: "So how much is your business worth? Here, too, opinions differ. You have now inspired a financier for your startup and he wants to invest. But how much do you want them to pay you for a certain share of your business? Only if you can come to an agreement with your investor will the investment come about. When negotiating an investment, I think this is the hardest part. Conventional calculation methods can only be used with adjustments, because especially in the early phases of your startup, any statement about the company's value is primarily based on a forecast of the future development of your business, which is associated with a high degree of uncertainty. The trick here is not to give away too many shares unnecessarily, nor to scare off investors with valuations that are too high. As always, this is also a matter of communication. First and foremost, it is important to start a conversation. But if I, as a startup entrepreneur, "dictate" my conditions right from the start, preferably by e-mail, the shot could backfire. As a result, the investor no longer responds to the great astonishment of all parties involved. Radio silence. Smoke signals don't really help anymore either.... Result: Diplomacy is the ability to appear confident without stepping on anyone's toes. ..." ⬇ Curious about how an investors mind works ? Comment on any question or topic you would like Stefan to comment on in his future posts . . Brought to you by The Digital Socialitez - Official digital marketing and social media management partner of Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands (SCCN) . . . . #SwissChamberofCommerceInTheNetherlands #SCCN #BusinessExpansion #EuropeanMarket #MarketAccess #StrategicGrowth #BusinessOpportunities #BusinessGrowth #entrepreneurship #Startups #entrepreneurs #Business #europeanbusiness #Investors #Europeannews #euronews #Europeaninvestment #Europeancountries #Europeaninvestments #Europeanfunding #TechUK #TechGermany #TechFrance #TechNetherlands #TechSweden #Investment #Entrepreneur #InvestorMindset #InvestmentAdvice  #InvestorMindset #DeriskStartup #InvestmentRisk #StartupDeRisking  #InvestorThoughts #InvestorMindset #InvestorThoughtoftheDay

💡 Core competencies of the company have to be located internally in your team, such as IT in a tech company, to reduce the risk of failure. 👨💻 Stefan Sollberger is the CFO Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands (SCCN)and the CEO of Sollberger KMU Treuhand. He has an extensive number of years of experience and expertise as a Partner, advisor, mentor and investor. 🎧 English Translation: "Recently, a startup entrepreneur asked me the following: Why do companies fail and how should they be dealt with? My answer was as follows: Technology-based companies often don't work because they don't have IT people in-house. This results in costs that they cannot cover. From my point of view, the core competencies of the company have to be located internally. If this is not the case, it happens that companies fail. All of us have failed in life at some point. Anyone can fall down, but you have to get up again. No one will judge you (it's debatable) if the company fails. I think you should find a middle ground between the Swiss/German and the American way. In Europe, for example in Switzerland or Germany, you are condemned if you fail, and in America you are celebrated for it. HORSEPOWER: 99% fail here " 👁️🗨️ Curious about how an investors mind works ? Let our investment and financial expert and the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands (SCCN)'s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Stefan Sollberger break it down ⬇ Comment on any question or topic you would like Stefan to comment on in his future posts . . Brought to you by The Digital Socialitez - Official digital marketing and social media management partner of Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands (SCCN) . . . . #SwissChamberofCommerceInTheNetherlands #SCCN #BusinessExpansion #EuropeanMarket #MarketAccess #StrategicGrowth #BusinessOpportunities #BusinessGrowth #entrepreneurship #Startups #entrepreneurs #Business #europeanbusiness #Investors #Europeannews #euronews #Europeaninvestment #Europeancountries #Europeaninvestments #Europeanfunding #TechUK #TechGermany #TechFrance #TechNetherlands #TechSweden #Investment #Entrepreneur #InvestorMindset #InvestmentAdvice  #InvestorMindset #DeriskStartup #InvestmentRisk #StartupDeRisking  #InvestorThoughts #InvestorMindset #InvestorThoughtoftheDay

💡 If the investor doesn't understand your solution, they won't see the market for it and their return on investment. 👨💻 Stefan Sollberger is the CFO Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands (SCCN) and the CEO of Sollberger KMU Treuhand. He has an extensive number of years of experience and expertise as a Partner, Advisor, Mentor and Investor. 🎧 English Translation: "Investors are careful not to distribute their money recklessly. With a confused, uh, clear, mental picture in your head ("And in the fall, the Pope and my daughter will open a men's boutique in Wuppertal with the money."). What you, together with your team, intend to do with the financial aid (and what added value exactly this financing is supposed to generate), the investor money is more likely to flow. Easy-to-understand language (preferably not Denglish) that runs through your presentation, even on complex topics, inspires the confidence you need to achieve your goal with your target group. HORSEPOWER: Many startup entrepreneurs don't realize that they are expressing themselves too complicated. Unfortunately, this is also due to the documents that can be found on the Internet. However, a presentation that is easy to understand will stand out from other presentations for this reason alone and thus "score". Speaking of understanding, an entrepreneur recently said to me: "An investor doesn't need to understand his solution, but only see that it works, why these doubts" and made the comparison with the purchase of a light bulb.... If the investor doesn't understand your solution, they won't see the market for it and their return on investment." ⬇ Curious about how an investors mind works ? Comment on any question or topic you would like Stefan Sollberger to write about in his future posts . . Brought to you by The Digital Socialitez - Official digital marketing and social media management partner of Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands (SCCN) . . . . #SwissChamberofCommerceInTheNetherlands #SCCN #BusinessExpansion #EuropeanMarket #MarketAccess #StrategicGrowth #BusinessOpportunities #BusinessGrowth #entrepreneurship #Startups #entrepreneurs #Business #europeanbusiness #Investors #Europeannews #euronews #Europeaninvestment #Europeancountries #Europeaninvestments #Europeanfunding #TechUK #TechGermany #TechFrance #TechNetherlands #TechSweden #Investment #Entrepreneur #InvestorMindset #InvestmentAdvice

💡 One of the biggest concerns of many investors is that they will end up in a market that is too small. 👨💻 Stefan Sollberger is the CFO Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands (SCCN) and the CEO of Sollberger KMU Treuhand. He has an extensive number of years of experience and expertise as a Partner, Advisor, Mentor and Investor. 🎧 English Translation: "One of the biggest concerns of many investors is that they will end up in a market that is too small.   There are two different markets:   1. The market already exists: Your customers are already spending a lot of money on a similar product, it's easy to find a marketplace for it, and you can explain why you're going to take customers away from existing sellers.   2. The market is new: Potential customers don't spend money on something that solves the exact same problem, so it's hard to estimate how big the market will be. However, many startups, especially innovative ones, fall into the second category. Precisely because there is currently no similar product for which customers (can) spend money, you assume that there is a market opportunity.   But how do you convince investors that there is a huge market opportunity when there is no market yet? " ⬇ Curious about how an investors mind works ? Comment on any question or topic you would like Stefan Sollberger to write about in his future posts . . Brought to you by The Digital Socialitez - Official digital marketing and social media management partner of Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands (SCCN) . . . . #SwissChamberofCommerceInTheNetherlands #SCCN #BusinessExpansion #EuropeanMarket #MarketAccess #StrategicGrowth #BusinessOpportunities #BusinessGrowth #entrepreneurship #Startups #entrepreneurs #Business #europeanbusiness #Investors #Europeannews #euronews #Europeaninvestment #Europeancountries #Europeaninvestments #Europeanfunding #TechUK #TechGermany #TechFrance #TechNetherlands #TechSweden #Investment #Entrepreneur #InvestorMindset #InvestmentAdvice  #InvestorMindset #DeriskStartup #InvestmentRisk #StartupDeRisking  #InvestorThoughts #InvestorMindset #InvestorThoughtoftheDay  

Here is my pitch deck: "With my intellectual property (IP), a copyrighted multilingual metadata, I can do what ChatGPT, an icon of AI, can't do in data analytics. Without metadata, NO data can be found/retrieved, even by the most advanced technologies, like AI, supercomputers, etc. https://lnkd.in/g-aJFnXR My IP can also make your information service UNIQUE in the world" Do you or any of your contacts need my expertise and my IP? I am selling, NOT talking. Thanks. P.S. I wrote this statement myself, without using any AI tool.

💡 A malfunctioning video leaves a bad impression with an investor during funding pitches. Ensure that you get to the venue early or the day before for a run through. 👨💻 Stefan Sollberger is the CFO Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands (SCCN)and the CEO of Sollberger KMU Treuhand. He has an extensive number of years of experience and expertise as a Partner, advisor, mentor and investor. 🎧 English Translation: "I have already observed a few times in the context of a presentation that elements such as videos are integrated. (nowadays people like to watch videos or movies). When the moment comes when the video is supposed to be played, it may be that the video did not work because the video was to be accessed via a Wi-Fi connection, for example, and the Wi-Fi did not work. Of course, that's stupid. Here you can hear regular apologies from startup entrepreneurs, such as: "When we tried it, it worked, sabotage." But the impression left behind is not good (now we just sit there in front of the black umbrella..). On the one hand, there is a logical lack of content in the presentation, on the other hand, there is a general lack of professionalism. So you should make sure that everything that is needed really works during a presentation. Remember: there is no second chance to make a good first impression." 👁️🗨️ Curious about how an investors mind works ? Let our investment and financial expert and the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands (SCCN)'s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Stefan Sollberger break it down ⬇ .. . . Brought to you by The Digital Socialitez - Official digital marketing and social media management partner of Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands (SCCN) . . . . #SwissChamberofCommerceInTheNetherlands #SCCN #BusinessExpansion #EuropeanMarket #MarketAccess #StrategicGrowth #BusinessOpportunities #BusinessGrowth #entrepreneurship #Startups #entrepreneurs #Business #europeanbusiness #Investors #Europeannews #euronews #Europeaninvestment #Europeancountries #Europeaninvestments #Europeanfunding #TechUK #TechGermany #TechFrance #TechNetherlands #TechSweden #Investment #Entrepreneur #InvestorMindset #InvestmentAdvice  #InvestorMindset #DeriskStartup #InvestmentRisk #StartupDeRisking  #InvestorThoughts #InvestorMindset #InvestorThoughtoftheDay

💡 A buyer is not an investor. A buyer wants to know what your (insert) will do to solve his problem. While an investor would like to know how (insert) will make him/her/them money. 👨💻 Stefan Sollberger is the CFO Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands (SCCN)and the CEO of Sollberger KMU Treuhand. He has an extensive number of years of experience and expertise as a Partner, advisor, mentor and investor. 🎧 English Translation: "Last Saturday I had a conversation with an entrepreneur who is looking for capital. His statement was as follows (the topic was whether an investor should understand his solution, etc.): One wants to sell modern LED lamps. What interests the buyer? When he turns on the light switch, there is bright, pleasant light, the power consumption is low, and the durability is great. Can and does he even want to understand the physics of technology? Of course, a buyer is not an investor... and an investor needs or wants to understand the technology/product/service... Otherwise, he won't invest. Why? Because it is only through understanding, i.e. understanding, that the potential and the return on investment can be seen. In addition, he gives venture capital, i.e. invests in illiquid assets. (Shares of startups are not usually traded on any public stock exchange). And the inclusion of the investor in the Hall of Fame in return doesn't work that way either... recently seen at another startup company as a business model. " 👁️🗨️ Curious about how an investors mind works ? Let our investment and financial expert and the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands (SCCN)'s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Stefan Sollberger break it down ⬇ .. . . Brought to you by The Digital Socialitez - Official digital marketing and social media management partner of Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands (SCCN) . . . . #SwissChamberofCommerceInTheNetherlands #SCCN #BusinessExpansion #EuropeanMarket #MarketAccess #StrategicGrowth #BusinessOpportunities #BusinessGrowth #entrepreneurship #Startups #entrepreneurs #Business #europeanbusiness #Investors #Europeannews #euronews #Europeaninvestment #Europeancountries #Europeaninvestments #Europeanfunding #TechUK #TechGermany #TechFrance #TechNetherlands #TechSweden #Investment #Entrepreneur #InvestorMindset #InvestmentAdvice  #InvestorMindset #DeriskStartup #InvestmentRisk #StartupDeRisking  #InvestorThoughts #InvestorMindset #InvestorThoughtoftheDay

💡 If you have set context, the story should only revolve around the problem. It creates interest for investors, and shows that there is a market that may need your particular type of solution. 👨💻 Stefan Sollberger is the CFO Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands (SCCN) and the CEO of Sollberger KMU Treuhand. He has an extensive number of years of experience and expertise as a Partner, Advisor, Mentor and Investor. 🎧 English Translation: "Rough edges in a presentation! We worked intensively on the product for 2 years, it took nine months to raise capital, but we started building our business plan a year ago." One word: boring! Where is the arc of suspense here? Do you feel an interest in knowing what will happen next? The corners and the edges are missing. (my hat has three corners). If you have set context, the story should only revolve around the problem. At this point, ask yourself specifically how you should formulate the story so that it becomes clear: that's why the problem is really a problem! Example: We are standing in front of them today (who are these people?), uh, because we have observed the following: In production plants, every sub-step is meticulously planned and as a result, companies lose hundreds of thousands of euros in sales every year. It is precisely this situation that we want to change with our solution. HORSEPOWER: With this statement, which creates the context for your story, you offend: Precisely because we plan meticulously in production, we create a lot of sales. What are they actually talking about? The interest for your next execution is thus created.... " ⬇ Curious about how an investors mind works ? Comment on any question or topic you would like Stefan to write about in his future posts . . Brought to you by The Digital Socialitez - Official digital marketing and social media management partner of Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands (SCCN) . . . . #SwissChamberofCommerceInTheNetherlands #SCCN #BusinessExpansion #EuropeanMarket #MarketAccess #StrategicGrowth #BusinessOpportunities #BusinessGrowth #entrepreneurship #Startups #entrepreneurs #Business #europeanbusiness #Investors #Europeannews #euronews #Europeaninvestment #Europeancountries #Europeaninvestments #Europeanfunding #TechUK #TechGermany #TechFrance #TechNetherlands #TechSweden #Investment #Entrepreneur #InvestorMindset #InvestmentAdvice

💡 Investment is always based on trust. 👨💻 Stefan Sollberger is the CFO Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands (SCCN) and the CEO of Sollberger KMU Treuhand. He has an extensive number of years of experience and expertise as a Partner, Advisor, Mentor and Investor. 🎧 English Translation: "New angels are people who do not perceive themselves as business angels and are therefore not members of business angel networks or other associations. Most of them do not introduce themselves as investors, but are interested in entrepreneurship and making early-stage investments. Unlike members of business angel networks, who have usually invested in five or ten companies, new angels may only be invested in one or two. You can find these new angels through your extended network Linkedin. Linkedin is a good place to start: look here for people you know, either directly or through mutual friends, who you know have money to invest (due to their business career and/or their own business) and who you think are interested in entrepreneurship (because they've started or funded other businesses). New angels can be right under your nose: for example, old schoolmates or a former boss. And the good thing is: You know each other and a corresponding trust already exists. Because an investment is always based on trust. And only you as an entrepreneur can achieve this trust through your personality. " ⬇ Curious about how an investors mind works ? Comment on any question or topic you would like Stefan Sollberger to write about in his future posts . . Brought to you by The Digital Socialitez - Official digital marketing and social media management partner of Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands (SCCN) . . . . #SwissChamberofCommerceInTheNetherlands #SCCN #BusinessExpansion #EuropeanMarket #MarketAccess #StrategicGrowth #BusinessOpportunities #BusinessGrowth #entrepreneurship #Startups #entrepreneurs #Business #europeanbusiness #Investors #Europeannews #euronews #Europeaninvestment #Europeancountries #Europeaninvestments #Europeanfunding #TechUK #TechGermany #TechFrance #TechNetherlands #TechSweden #Investment #Entrepreneur #InvestorMindset #InvestmentAdvice  #InvestorMindset #DeriskStartup #InvestmentRisk #StartupDeRisking  #InvestorThoughts #InvestorMindset #InvestorThoughtoftheDay

💡 An investment is always associated with consequences. Especially among professional investors. 👨💻 Stefan Sollberger is the CFO Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands (SCCN) and the CEO of Sollberger KMU Treuhand. He has an extensive number of years of experience and expertise as a Partner, Advisor, Mentor and Investor. 🎧 English Translation: "A classic mistake startup teams make when looking for funding is to be sure of the money before the process is complete. Experience shows that you have to keep selling until an offer has been made. Remember, you're selling until the last second, and investors also want to be convinced to buy before they decide. HORSEPOWER: Shares of startups are high-risk securities and illiquid assets. No investor invests according to the principle of hope unless he or she is a fool. And an investment is always associated with consequences. Especially among professional investors. Oh yes, also important to mention, an investor does not give you money so that you can use it to pay your private debts. " ⬇ Curious about how an investors mind works ? Comment on any question or topic you would like Stefan Sollberger to write about in his future posts . . Brought to you by The Digital Socialitez - Official digital marketing and social media management partner of Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands (SCCN) . . . . #SwissChamberofCommerceInTheNetherlands #SCCN #BusinessExpansion #EuropeanMarket #MarketAccess #StrategicGrowth #BusinessOpportunities #BusinessGrowth #entrepreneurship #Startups #entrepreneurs #Business #europeanbusiness #Investors #Europeannews #euronews #Europeaninvestment #Europeancountries #Europeaninvestments #Europeanfunding #TechUK #TechGermany #TechFrance #TechNetherlands #TechSweden #Investment #Entrepreneur #InvestorMindset #InvestmentAdvice