Today we are happy to welcome Ameer Awadiyeh, VP of Investments at AlphaQ Venture Capital, a founder-led VC Fund of Funds. Prior to joining AQVC, Ameer was part of the investment team at Israel-based Vintage Investment Partners, where he developed deep expertise within the global VC fund ecosystem through sourcing, conducting in-depth due diligence, and modeling primary and secondary VC investment opportunities in both established and emerging managers, overseeing the fund of funds pipeline and budget allocation, and establishing a broad network of VCs and VC allocators across the U.S., Europe and Israel.
AlphaQ has made 9 fund investments to date; Whitestar Capital, Scale Venture Partners, Abstract Ventures, Nucleus Capital, Signature Ventures, Pale Blue Dot, Maple Capital, Symbol Ventures. AlphaQ is building the European gateway to a diversified venture capital fund portfolio via one single stock. Learn more here.
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Learnings from Ameer’s Journey into Venture
Embrace Serendipity and Diverse Experiences Ameer Awadiyeh's journey into the world of venture capital is a testament to the power of embracing serendipity and leveraging diverse experiences. He didn't chart a meticulously planned path; instead, his venture capital trajectory evolved organically. Ameer's initial academic background in accounting and economics might not have seemed directly aligned with venture capital, but it was his openness to opportunities that set him on this path. He pursued an MBA at Tel Aviv University, which expanded his horizons further.
💼 VC Career Insights:
Be open to unexpected opportunities: As so many before Ameer on the eu.vc podcast, his journey into VC wasn’t predetermined. Rather, by being open to Transitions can lead to growth: His transition from accounting to consulting within the high-tech division exposed him to startups, VCs, and accelerators. This transition allowed him to cultivate valuable insights and connections that proved pivotal in his venture capital career.
Diverse skills are valuable: Ameer's combination of accounting, economics, and MBA provided him with a diverse skill set. This mix allowed him to approach problems from various angles and adapt to different roles within the VC ecosystem.
Embrace Multifaceted Experiences Ameer's venture journey flourished as he engaged in a variety of roles, expanding his expertise across different strategies and geographies. His six years at Vintage Partners, spanning fund-of-funds, secondaries, and late-stage investments across North America, Europe, and Israel, provided him with a comprehensive understanding of the VC landscape.
💼 VC Career Insights:
Diverse exposure fosters adaptability: Ameer's experience across fund-of-funds, secondaries, and late-stage investments showcased his adaptability and versatility in dealing with different stages of startups' growth cycles.
Geographic breadth widens perspective: His engagement across North America, Europe, and Israel exposed him to the nuances of various startup ecosystems, regulatory environments, and market dynamics.
Recognize Moments for Transition Ameer's transition from Vintage Partners to AlphaQ was driven by both personal considerations and his alignment with AlphaQ's innovative vision. His move to freelance advisory work allowed him to explore venture strategies with different stakeholders, demonstrating his proactive approach to change.
💼 VC Career Insights:
Personal and professional alignment matters: Ameer's decision to transition was motivated by both a desire for a family relocation and resonance with AlphaQ's pioneering vision. This illustrates the significance of being aligned with an organization's values and goals.
Flexibility can lead to impactful collaborations: Through freelance advisory work, Ameer forged connections with family offices and high-net-worth individuals, proving that flexibility can open doors to unique collaborations.
Ameer’s Pivotal Moment
Thrive Amidst Market Challenges Ameer Awadiyeh's journey in venture capital was punctuated by a pivotal moment – the recent market downturn. His insights into navigating this period hold valuable lessons for fellow venture capitalists and investors.
💼 VC Career Insights:
Exposure to market cycles is vital: Ameer's acknowledgement of his limited experience investing during a market downturn highlights the importance of comprehending both bullish and bearish phases.
Diversification in expertise: Thriving during a market downturn requires skills beyond evaluating growth; understanding valuation dynamics and risk mitigation becomes crucial.
Adapt Strategy with Market Shifts Ameer's career faced a paradigm shift as the prolonged bull market gave way to a challenging phase following the pandemic. He emphasizes the transformative impact of this market transition.
💼 VC Career Insights:
Bull markets mask underlying challenges: Extended periods of growth can obscure the complexities of managing investments during a market downturn.
Rethinking evaluation metrics: Ameer's mention of shifting from "significant up rounds" to declining revenue multiples and valuations underscores the need for adaptable evaluation criteria.
Overcome Complacency with Resilience Ameer's career turning point underscores the significance of resilience in facing unforeseen market upheavals.
💼 VC Career Insights:
Downturns unveil vulnerabilities: Market corrections expose vulnerabilities that might remain hidden during growth phases, necessitating a resilient mindset and strategic adjustments.
Long-term perspective prevails: Ameer's experience encourages investors to resist short-term panic and focus on sustainable strategies that withstand market fluctuations.
Continuous Learning Amidst Challenges Ameer's account of the market downturn emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and evolution in venture capital.
💼 VC Career Insights:
Learning from adversity: Ameer's embrace of the market downturn as a learning opportunity highlights the growth potential that challenges bring.
Flexibility is key: Ameer's shift from evaluating high-paced up rounds to navigating declining metrics underscores the importance of adapting strategies to evolving market conditions.
Amidst the unfolding venture downturn, Ameer Awadiyeh's encounter with the market downturn serves as a reminder that challenges can be turned into opportunities for growth, provided one adapts with resilience, learning, and strategic agility.
Navigating Uncharted Waters: A Deep Dive into Portfolio Adaptation in a Shifting VC Landscape
In our chat with Ameer, we delve into the intricate dynamics of portfolio adaptation in a transforming venture capital landscape. Let's unpack the insights and strategies that emerge from this deep dive.
Flexibility in Response to Shifting Exits and Valuations Ameer's candid assessment of the post-pandemic era highlights a fundamental challenge: exits are not as substantial as initially anticipated and most will find it judicial to adjust fund sizes and deployment strategies based on an in-depth analysis of their portfolio dynamics.
💸 Investment Strategy Insights
Exit realism: Ameer's acknowledgment of the shift in exit size expectations emphasizes the necessity to remain grounded in assessing future returns. Something which Ameer candidly acknowledges that the venture industry forgot during the last bull run.
Data-driven deployment: Ameer's call for managers to meticulously model the fund's portfolio underscores the need for evidence-based decision-making to enhance returns. Shoutout to our good friends at Tactyc who allow you to do just this. For much more on this, listen to our episode with Anubhav, Portfolio modeling geek #1 and founder Tactyc 👇
Strategic agility: The need to adjust fund sizes in response to changing valuations showcases the importance of having a dynamic strategy to optimize outcomes and being open to adapting fund sizes to align investment execution with a reset in the market. This goes for GPs fundraising as well as LPs investing - in the wake of a market reset, the allocations of yesterday will rarely be the optimal allocations of this year. Exactly this is why we saw LPs renege on commitments and GPs lowering targets.
Adjusting deployment speed: The essence lies not just in size reduction but in deploying capital judiciously both when it comes to deployment speed and terms.
Keeping the long-term perspective: Dynamic adaptation isn't reactive; it's a strategic maneuver that should align with long-term goals while responding to short-term market fluctuations.
Building Meaningful LP-Manager Relationships Ameer's analysis of the prolonged fundraising period highlights an opportunity for LPs to forge deeper relationships with fund managers. This holds relevance for LPs aiming to establish impactful partnerships in a challenging environment.
💸 Investment Strategy Insights
LP empowerment: Ameer's mention of LPs leveraging the prolonged fundraising period to build substantial relationships underscores the potential for collaborative, value-added partnerships. In the earlier days, founder and sometimes even GP attention to building relationships ahead of driving for hard commitments could be lacking. Leverage the current market dynamic to build strong relationships - both as LPs and GPs. And if you’re new to the venture LP game, use this market to refine your thinking about fund manager strategies, deal selection, and capital allocation.
Family offices and other evergreen structures may be at an advantage Ameer argued in our conversation that AlphaQ's evergreen structure has a strategic advantage in that it enables gradual growth and adaptability to new market circumstances. The effect of this is of course what managers are experiencing around the world; many LPs are in no rush to deploy into venture. Annoying as it may be for a VC, this ability to take smaller steps is a good position to be in as an LP. That said, the these downmarket vintages are likely going to be some of the best in venture, so moving to the side-lines entirely would surely be overdoing it!
Join us for Affinity’s webinar on The Power of Relation-drive Deal Sourcing
Tue, Sep 19, 2023, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM CET
The best investment opportunities are very selective about who they bring to the table, and almost every VC can tell you that “the one that got away” was hidden in their existing network.
Relationship-driven deal sourcing is the foundation for building a portfolio of successful companies. Consistent, high-quality deal sourcing depends on relationships, but building and nurturing a network that can bring in a steady stream of opportunities takes time and energy. You can’t focus on relationship nurture if you have to rely on your colleagues’ memories or static Excel spreadsheets to track the details of your firm’s interactions.
In this webinar, we'll discuss:
Actionable ways that VCs can source more deals from their network
Strategies for managing risk in investments
How to use Affinity to manage day-to-day deal flow and investor relationships in one place
EUVC #209 Ameer Awadiyeh, AlphaQ on LP investing through a market down turn