Investment Criteria
What criteria are most important for the fund in assessing a prospect investee?
To receive startup funding, VMS Ventures will need to observe the following:
- A passionate team willing and able to build a great software product.
- A niche vertical market where Constellation Software operates.
- Opportunity for $10MM in annual revenues within 5-10 years.
- A sponsoring Constellation Software business unit.
- An earned secret- deep industry knowledge.
Teams can make or break a company. If you do not have a passionate team, your chances of receiving startup funding are greatly diminished. Previous management experience is not required, but if your company requires technical or sales experience, somebody on your team needs to be able to fill those gaps.
To receive startup funding, your company will need to operate in a niche vertical market where Constellation Software already operates. Startup funding comes with a lot of risks, and we want to have a thorough understanding of your market. No Constellation businesses will compete against your startup.
Although starting small after receiving startup funding, we want your startup to grow into a large business. Some markets are too small for your company to receive startup funding from VMS Ventures, but the ability to sustainably earn $10MM in annual revenue demonstrates that the market size is big enough for VMS Ventures.
A sponsoring Constellation Business unit is important for VMS Ventures. We want a third party to validate your team and business model. If you are not able to find a sponsor, we can search within our organization for somebody who may be interested.
Finally, an earned secret is the final ingredient. We want to know why your team should receive startup funding for your idea. Why not another team? What do you know about your industry that gives an unfair competitive advantage?
To receive startup funding, make sure you meet the above criteria. You can also download the document 'Building an Effective Pitch Deck'.
If you have any questions or would like to clarify anything, please email Karl at karl.schabas@vmsfund.com. We look forward to hearing from you! (All information stays between you and Karl).