The Startup club is thrilled to feature Raushan Kretzschmar Portfolio Director in a Private Equity Impact fund. Raushan shares her insights about her current role, the challenges faced by startups in their initial steps, interesting aspect of her job and more in this article.
The Startup Club: Tell us more about yourself
Raushan Kretzschmar: I am the Portfolio Director in a Private Equity Impact fund. My journey in Barcelona started with my Master in Finance from ESADE Business School. I am an experienced financier in private equity, real asset portfolio management professional with extensive U.K.; Pan European (Germany, Spain, and Portugal) as well as Central Asian deal experience in addition to being CFA and FRM qualified.
The Startup Club: What do you usually want to see in a startup before you decide to look into it further?
Raushan Kretzschmar: I look for Alpha category startups that have both operational experience and fundraising plan clarity, i.e. focus on tight funding control, sector outperformance. In the startup team I am looking for someone who is focussed on fund management and getting to EBITDA in the shortest possible runway. It is critical that the team have skilled people on board.
Basically I look for portfolio fit, valuation of operational synergies, complex covenant management as well as special situations credit origination and equity valuation.
The Startup Club: What are the biggest challenges that startups usually face in their very first steps?
Raushan Kretzschmar: Startups usually struggle implementing their business plan and ideas into financial projections. They seem to be so overtaken by operations that they forget that investors who bring capital in need to be addressed with the same detail. In most cases they have the needed information, so it is the case of structuring and communicating it to the investors. That is the kind of clarity, organisation and respect that I am looking for as an investor.
The Startup Club: What is the most interesting aspect of your job?
Raushan Kretzschmar: I love Capital allocation, management & optimisation of the allocated capital, and looking after the investors’ best interest in the fund.
The Startup Club: Is there a trend that you have observed in the recent years in terms of the direction the startups choose to take?
Raushan Kretzschmar: Right now we are seeing a lot of interest in AI on one hand and data analytics on the other. HealthTech and FoodTech seem to be a large area of interest for entrepreneurs. With global net zero direction there is a big emphasise on green buildings and PropTech.
The Startup Club: What are the top 3 traits that startups should have to be more appealing to investors?
Raushan Kretzschmar: 1. Clear business idea,
2. The skills to get there and
3. Scalability.
The Startup Club: Do you have any piece of advice for startups that are trying to navigate the current environment and present themselves?
Raushan Kretzschmar: Show respect to the capital that comes in by managing the funding runway. Be conservative. Surprise on the upside!
The Startup Club is thankful for your participation in our Investor Advice Series. Thank you once again for sharing your experience and insights with our community. Follow The Startup Club on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn for more updates. Visit our website here to RSVP for our upcoming events.