Today we have Ben Topor with us. Ben is a Founder & Managing Partner at Titan Capital, an investment firm in Israel backing Israeli, European and American companies by providing growth equity & secondary capital to world-class internet, software, consumer, and financial technology companies, with a bottom-up approach to secondary and growth.
Titan is raising a 50m USD Fund, investing in companies and venture capital partnerships directly and via secondary transactions and is backed by top-tier global investment firms, leading corporations and family offices. And, of note, Tiger Management, which is a well-known investment firm that built an impressive track record in seeding some of the world's best fund managers, backed Titan.
Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction and Invitation to Join O.G. Webinar of The Year
00:02:47 - The Future of European Venture Capital
00:05:50 - The Pivotal Book: Crossing the Chasm
00:08:51 - The Importance of Solving a Pressing Need
00:11:57 - Factors affecting investment strategies
00:14:50 - Timing the Market and Spreading Your Bets
00:17:58 - Different Considerations for Selling Shares
00:20:48 - Strategies for Secondary Investments
00:23:50 - Finding Bargains in the Secondary Market
00:26:56 - Investing in European Startups
00:29:57 - Winning with LP secondaries
00:36:21 - Methodology of Thinking about Data
00:39:21 - The Flexibility of Investing in Growth Companies
00:42:37 - Fundraising Challenges for VCs
00:45:48 - VC Strategies: Long-lasting businesses vs. Threatening categories
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Q: What advice would you give your 10 year younger self?
Relax, time heals everything. You win some and you lose some. Tomorrow is a new day
Invest in yourself. Read books. I really started to read the classics in the army. Reading is great, but there is a real limit to what books can teach you - first hand experience is the most important.
Q: What are your top tips for emerging VCs across Europe who are fundraising?
The biggest challenge for emerging VCs is fundraising.
Sign LPs on a rolling basis.
Use docusign to automatically follow up.
It's a numbers game - one must build an ultra large funnel.
In order to get the deal done, one must do anything in his power.
Q: What’s the most counterintuitive thing you’ve learned in venture?
Don't ask other VCs for recommendations for companies.
The founders are everything.
There is a barrier to entry in early stage startups.
Companies that are not in flavor today can be in flavor tomorrow.
Q: What do you believe that most people around you disagree with?
Big TAMs are a problem, better to focus on smaller ones (these are the ones that are easier to find so you can become a gorilla).
Upcoming events
📺 Virtual events we’re hosting
Data-Driven Portfolio Modeling | Jan 17, 2024, 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
The O.G. Roundtable of the Year | Jan 29, 2023, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
🤝 In-person events we’re attending
Hit us up if you’re going, we’d love to connect!
GoWest | 📆 6 - 8 February | 🌍 Gothenburg, Sweden
Odense Investor Summit | 📆 13 - 15 March | 🌍 Odense, Denmark
SuperVenture | 📆 4 - 6 June | 🌍 Berlin, Germany
Nordic LP Forum & TechBBQ | 📆 September | 🌍 Copenhagen, Denmark
North Star & GITEX Global | 📆 14 - 18 Oct | 🌍 Dubai, UAE
GITEX Europe 2025 | 📆 23 - 25 May 2025 | 🌍 Berlin, Germany
EUVC #248: Ben Topor on Growth & Secondaries Investing & The Beauty of Flexible Mandates