Genesis Ventures, a private venture debt fund in Singapore, has seen entrepreneur- and banker-turned-investors come together to back it. With a strong philosophy of investing in high growth companies in emerging markets, its main focus is to help Series B and above companies grow.

In our recent webinar, co-founder Martin Tang shed some light on their portfolio companies, funding through COVID-19, and what to expect in 2021.

Key takeaways

Started as a venture debt in 2015, Genesis Ventures trailblazed this model in Southeast Asia (SEA)
Venture debt as an asset class is very unique. Genesis Ventures provides debt capital to fast-growing startup companies. They invest in companies when they still have a lot of cash
Venture debt is a mature asset class in the US, EU, and even India. They see it growing in SEA in the next five years
Cash runway, sustainable business model, support of VCs themselves, and good founders are what they look for at a high level
While they count on the VC support, they still do their in-depth due diligence
Generally, they are sector-agnostic but they have a preference for B2B and enterprise solution companies
They usually invest in Series B and onwards but open to Series A too
Their first cheque is in the range of US$2.5-3 million
They have invested in five startups so far and expect to double portfolio by end of the year
Some of their experienced partners feel that if they don’t invest during a crisis, they are missing out
They are using this time and resource to do better portfolio management, be it via funding, check-in calls, etcetera.

Also Read: Genesis Alternative Ventures on debunking venture debt myths and finding winners in SEA

Sound words for founders

Take the situations seriously but do not get paralysed by it
When talking to investors, it makes sense to tell them what they are doing before and during COVID-19
Give the investor confidence that these are the issues and you have thought through it
Founder integrity is very important
It’s wartime; every founder must prepare for winter

Looking forward to 2021

Genesis Ventures will continue portfolio management and fundraising despite the pandemic
They will be looking for good companies to fund as life gets back to normal

Watch the full video recording here:

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The post Meet the VC: Genesis Ventures’s Martin Tang is positive their portfolio will double by the end of 2020 appeared first on e27.