While there’s no shortage of negative news these days, here’s a dose of positive news from Manish Madhvani, Co-Founder and Partner at GP Bullhound. With offices in London and San Francisco, the investment bank is focused on technology and digital media. So far this year they’ve closed five transactions and probably will be closing another one in the next few weeks.
A lot of GP-Bullhound’s deals have been in the internet sector: „There is a trend that the internet is still performing“ says Manish „the key message is that there’s capital out there for the companies that are delivering and getting traction. One of the deals we’ve closed recently is with a company called Greetz, a pan-European player in the greetings card market. They are starting to see some good sales uptake - that’s why there was a lot of interest in funding the company. Another company we worked with recently is online fashion company Private Outlet. They kept on growing throughout the time we worked with them. It’s key to prove that the business model is working.“
Manish points out that „the capital will be there for the people who put in the work". He advises: "Go to conferences like this, build a network and talk to people who know the market. Personal contacts are crucial – we are always going to trust the business plan of someone that we’ve worked with before more than a ‚cold e-mail’“. Manish wraps up his interview with Viktoria with another dose of positive news: „There’s a saying that all the great companies are built in a downturn, because you have cheap office space and people on the market that you would never normally get access to.“
Click here for an overview of all interviews from Red Herring 100 Europe.
