Angel investing insights with Mikko Silventola, Bolt's and Hugo's First Investor

Join us for a new inspiring conversation on angel investing and what it takes to find an early stage unicorn company.

Patricia Borlovan

Apr 27, 2024

Transcript

Today, we are joined by Mikko Silventola for a new episode of the SuperAngel podcast. Mikko is an angel investor, and Venture Partner at Superangel. 😉

Mikko invests his own capital, but also via Magnetic Global Fund (Index Ventures Angel Fund), and he likes to provide capital for the underdogs in the ecosystem. He was the first investor in companies like:

Bolt (previously Taxify, first investor & hands-on advisor, raised >$2B from Sequoia)
Hugo (raised >$100M from TMT Investments, DST Global etc. Acquired by Delivery Hero)
PayMongo (raised >$45M from Stripe, Founders Fund, Thiel)

Mikko also has a solid track record in the internationalization of companies in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. He spent the past 10 years in Asia and the Middle East operating in the private equity sector, focusing on advising early-stage companies, angel investing, M&A advisory, and fundraising.

Watch it here or add it to your episodes on Apple or Spotify 🎧

Want to get closer to the European Angel Investing world in Europe? Don’t miss the EBAN Tallinn Congress on 20-22 May 2024!

EBAN Congress is one of the most influential angel investing conferences in Europe, held annually and organised by the European Business Angels Network (EBAN) each year together with another European BAN. In 2024 the EBAN Congress is hosted by Estonian Business Angel Network (EstBAN) and supported by InvestEU portal, and will be a unique gathering as it is held in Tallinn, Estonia - also known as the Unicorn Factory 🦄

Chapters:

02:30 Miko's Angel Investing Journey
03:32 Transition to Venture Business and Global Investments
07:23 Defining the Superpower of an Angel Investor
09:15 Strategic Angel Investing and Portfolio Management
10:20 The Art of Following On in Investments
12:44 Navigating Challenges and Opportunities in Venture Capital
22:05 Investment Philosophy and Identifying Potential Unicorns
26:12 Selecting the Right VCs and Avoiding Pitfalls
33:34 Personal Reflections and Life Lessons
35:13 The Concept of Life Design and Work-Life Balance
40:07 Investing Without Borders: A Global Perspective
40:28 Analyzing the Strengths of the Nordic and Baltic Startup Ecosystem

✍️ Show notes

Key learnings from the episode

Global Investment Approach: Mikko emphasizes the importance of not limiting investment activities geographically. He mentions investing in diverse locations, from the Nordics to Latin America and the Philippines, which allows for a broad exposure to varying market dynamics and opportunities.

"I've invested over into over a hundred companies, a hundred startups, that come from everywhere, like, like, uh, Baltics, Nordics, but also Latin America, like places like Venezuela, El Salvador."

Selective Involvement: Despite having a large portfolio, Mikko focuses his time and resources on the most promising companies. This approach suggests that angel investors should concentrate their efforts where they can add the most value and expect the best returns rather than spreading themselves too thin.

Of course, I can't divide companies from a social point of view, so democratically, my time is dedicated to the best 5 or 10 from my portfolio. And if you ask about my portfolio companies, I think there are tons that I don't remember, and I should not remember because not all are successful.

Early and Continuous Support: He highlights the role of angel investors in providing not just capital but also guidance and networking opportunities to startups from their early stages and potentially throughout their growth phases.

If they are successful, if they're growing, of course, I'm trying to introduce them to the best VCs possible and best business partners possible.

Adaptability and Resilience: Discussing recent challenges, such as market downturns, Mikko stresses the importance of staying active and adaptable. For investors, maintaining visibility and engagement in their markets, regardless of external conditions, is crucial for long-term success.

I try to keep my head up and think that the upcoming years will be better than what we are currently living. Additionally, what I am also thinking is that if I want to continue and stay in this space, and find the best deals, I have to keep doing them.

Strategic Follow-On Investments: Mikko does not reserve funds specifically for follow-on rounds but decides based on the situation and performance of the startup. This flexibility allows him to capitalize on opportunities as they arise rather than being bound by predetermined commitments.

I don't keep any reserves on thinking that, okay, I'll do this super early stage deal now, and then I'll save some money for the, for the follow on round or something like that. Honestly, it's case by case.

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