CfE Accelerator UCU, in collaboration with the venture syndicate Toloka.vc and Angel One Fund, has successfully launched a series of events aimed at raising the level of education in venture investing in Ukraine. The first event, titled “Ukraine Venture Hub: Where Investors Go Wild,” took place in Lviv on the eve of IT Arena, with support from the UCU Business School (LvBS). The event attracted over 70 representatives from the business community.
During the event, participants had the opportunity to hear pitches from three startups — DrugCards, SelpMe, and Armor — and engage in discussions with venture investors. The jury included Taras Kyrychenko, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Nova Poshta and co-founder of Toloka.vc; Natalia Anon, CEO and founder of Svitla Systems, and a member of the Investment Committee and Supervisory Board of Angel One Fund; and Ivan Petrenko, Executive Director of the CfE Accelerator UCU and Managing Partner of Angel One Fund. The event was moderated by Oleksandr Sharko, Wiseboard advisor, Head of AI at Rozmova, and Principal at Toloka.vc.
This event provided the audience with valuable insights into how investment decisions are made, along with best practices in venture capital investing.
“The venture industry exists to provide funding to entrepreneurs so they can build great companies that help Ukraine and the world become better. At the same time, participants in syndicates and funds can earn money and be part of an impactful mission. The essence of venture capital is that we provide resources for companies to grow,” emphasized Taras Kyrychenko, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Nova Poshta and co-founder of Toloka.vc. He also gave important advice to startups:
- Investors want to invest in something that can grow hundreds of times. Think bigger market and bigger world.
- Think about the problem you are solving.
- Think about sales from day one and learn how to sell well.
- Don’t tell stories, give numbers.
- Be worthy of the investor’s trust in the little things, and then there will be trust in the big things.
- The presentation should be such that it answers all the investor’s questions.
- Think not only about what you need, but also about what the investor needs.
- Attract other CEOs, more experienced experts, those who have already done business and received investments to the Board of the startup.
Ivan Petrenko, Executive Director of the UCU CfE Accelerator and Managing Partner of Angel One Fund, also highlighted the importance of a startup’s growth and scaling plan when making investment decisions: “We carefully assess how well the team understands its market and competitors, whether it has a clear sales system and customer profile. Equally important is the ability to sell the product, provide timely reports, and maintain consistent communication with investors. Don’t be persistent — be consistent.”
About the organizers:
CfE Accelerator of the Ukrainian Catholic University is an accelerator for Ukrainian startups and entrepreneurs whose mission is to develop business culture in Ukraine and increase its competitiveness in the global startup ecosystem, to improve business projects of the Ukrainian industry.
Toloka is a Ukrainian venture syndicate founded by I. Shoifot, O. Kolb and T. Kyrychenko. The syndicate unites about 1,000 investors and is one of the fastest growing in Ukraine in terms of the size of investment checks and the number of annual investments in fast-growing companies. For investors, Toloka provides several advantages at once: the opportunity to invest in startups with a check of $5,000, access to investments in potential world-class unicorns, the success of which has already been proven by business indicators. An additional privilege is qualitative analytical studies of each potential deal before they come to the attention of investors. Toloka is a syndicate with a Ukrainian heart. Its founders and team often collaborate and invest in Ukrainian startups, helping them grow with funds and professional expertise.
Angel One Fund is an angel venture fund founded by the Ukrainian Catholic University Foundation. The Fund’s goal is to invest in Ukrainian startups, help them implement their ideas, and develop the startup culture in Ukraine.
UCU Business School (LvBS) is a school with European values and approaches that has been developing an open and responsible business community in Ukraine for more than 15 years.