"About the money heart to heart" - a conversation with Igor Ryabenky

In the framework of the “Money on the Souls” column, we will talk with investors, angels, venture funds managers about what their activities look like from the inside, what is interesting in it and what potential entrepreneurs will expect when communicating.

The first to agree with us was Igor Ryabenky , managing partner of the AltairVC venture fund, one of the most famous Russian- speaking investors around the world. He has been investing in IT projects since the nineties; today his foundation has one of the most impressive portfolios of projects after the “planting” stage.
')

- Igor, let's start with the most pressing question: how did you earn your first capital?

In the 90s I was involved in the supply of computer components, we were one of the leaders in the OEM market. We started with the supply of our own computers (made in Taiwan under our trademark), then we switched to office equipment, then household equipment, and so on. So, in general, I earned a starting capital.

- “Venture investments” in Russia is the phrase of the last ten years at most. How did you work in the 90s?

I did all the same things that “venture investors” do, I just did not know that it was called that.

- So we are talking about the fact that this is 3F (Family-Friends-Fools)?

No, no, no, I had it all different.
When I began to grow a group of companies, at a certain point it became clear to me that I did not have time to keep track of everything. Initially, the company was under my command, then I broke it into "divisions."

The market was fast-growing, ideas came a lot from everywhere - then I thought that I needed to take managers for each project and give them options.

Actually, I began to act this way - to give them the opportunity to become a co-owner of the project, thus giving a person the opportunity to mobilize the project further. In the same way as in venture history, a number of projects were bent, but most of them grew well.

It was already my second “salary” - the teams that I took to grow, worked very closely with me, then less tightly, finally, letting go to the freemen. That is, I did the same things without having “friends-family-fools” - we took the money we earned on the main business and invested it either in the project of other guys, or we took third-party guys, giving them our idea - he became time side project.

- Many years have passed since the beginning of your activity, many projects. Can you name a number?

I can, in total, that is, large projects and small together - about 100 names.

- Not bad. Are you a “super angel” (as Mr. Ryabenky is often called in the media) because of their number or the fact that there is some “administrative” staff that helps you manage this entire cohort?

Not certainly in that way. They began to call me a super-angel when I began to invest as a fund, I would myself say that by that time my activity had turned into a “microphone microphone” (editor's note: sowing investments ). But, at the same time, I continue to be an angel.

That is, in my understanding, a “super angel” is a person who is already professionally engaged in investments. While I was making them as an “angel”, I was conducting my main business and at the same time allowing myself third-party investments.

When I became a “super angel”, I began to devote all my time only to this process - work with start-ups. Yes, here you are to some extent right - the staff appeared, they started calling me a “super angel”, but when the “microphone microphone” was formed, this staff became even bigger.

I do not call myself a “super angel”, it is the prerogative of the press. I believe that I am the manager of the seed investment fund. Call me what you want - I do not mind. Last year I received two awards in Russia: one as an angel investor, the second as a fund.

- Igor, has it become easier to work on the Russian market with teams, after all these years? It is clear that we do not have many financial instruments, but, in my opinion, the level of awareness has risen. What do you think about that?

Work has become much easier, the level is very high. We have greatly contributed to this - the introduction of a “not zhlobskaya”, but a civilized investment model. Over the past 5 years, the situation has changed a lot.

In addition, there was a mass of press writing about it. Not the last role here is played by your information resources, in particular Habr. So, literacy has risen significantly.

On the other hand, there are enough administrative and legal barriers.

- Has the situation changed from the point of view of profitability?

Profitability depends on the project and does not depend on the market.

- That is, everything is the same, there are highly profitable "unicorns" and there are those who die before the first user?

And there is luck. 44 projects of one team can fail, and the 45th shoot. Of course, “whoever is lucky, the rooster will blow it,” that is, projects depend on many factors and, unfortunately, even the coolest investor, giving his money to the team, cannot predict anything. There is a game in probability.

- Ambitious advice for those seeking investment?

Do not look for investments for the sake of investments, and projects for the sake of the project. If you really “felt” your own niche and think that this is a project for which you are ready to kill the next 5-7-10 years of life and spend a lot of energy on striving for success - you can take money. If not, refrain. Even if you raise money, you can “deceive” people, and nobody needs it.

On the other hand, if you really strongly believe - then you can take investments and develop success.

- And what can you advise other investors? Say, in Russia.

Either invest professionally - spending time studying the market, studying the nuances and models, including boring legal and financial details. Or invest with someone: funds, sites, clubs.

- Igor, what is the geography of your investment?

The last but one previous fund was aimed at Russia and it represents more than 70% in it. The last fund was aimed at Israel and about half of it is from Israel, 40% from the States, and the rest from Russia

- Igor, what projects are you most proud of? Are there any for whom the “soul hurts” in a good way?

Of the Russian projects over the past 5 years, this is LinguaLeo and Profi.ru . Despite the different things happening, I am proud of these companies.

There are a number of projects that deserve special attention: CheckOut, GetIntent, CarPrice. All the others, of course, are also quite good. In the last fund, more than 30% of projects show their own “hockey sticks” ( editor's note: Hockey Stick Curve ), which causes only positive emotions.

- If I understood everything correctly about you, then without positive emotions you would not be doing this, right?

Absolutely. I often use the phrase “for the last 5 years” because it was before this that I emerged from all my own “old” assets. For a while I was pondering what I would do - there were thoughts about teaching. After a short time, I started investing in a new way, because the head of Profi.ru was my former subordinate, whom I hired as a student, in my company. I helped him, then - invested well, and away we go.

- A true success story. Igor, and probably the last question. Today, “syndicates” are popular among individual investors, thanks in large part to AngelList, which allows you to conduct such transactions fully electronically in the States and the UK. Do you take part in them?

There is such a need, and we, in actual fact, are doing a lot of syndicated deals. Because, firstly, we are not a very large fund, and the deals are sometimes huge. We started with a network of partnerships with other investors who we call in syndicated deals. Last year we made ten times more syndicated transactions than individual ones.

That is, syndicates are becoming the new market standard?

I do not think it seems to me that this is our know-how in particular in Russia. The second moment - we created the “Angelic Club”. I’m somewhat skeptical about AngelList, although there are some very cool guys there. Other platforms are being created, but since I have penetrated well into this topic - I understand that many people will be dissatisfied there, because they get “no” rights, no one even thinks about them. Now there are almost no A-rounds or exits, but when they start, I think that many will see that they are left with nothing. I talked including with AngelList and I haven’t done any deals there yet, although I look periodically at this opportunity. And in our club, we have already done enough, the main paradigm, and, next, people who invest with us get the same rights with us. And only in those projects that we “go into”. We take care of ourselves and them.

- It turns out that in some sense you share your own reputation with them.

It turns out that yes. There is a project, we say that we are ready to put 300 thousand on the table. The project, for example, requires 600, 700 or a million. We call our investors and say: “Do you want to report?” It happens in a different way: a project was found, we say: “300 thousand angel investments”, and in the end they put only 100 thousand. Well, it turned out - did not recognize. We put an extra 200 thousand, a good project.

Just to make it clear - if we are looking for co-investors for the project, this means that we are ready to provide the entire amount on our own.

- If agreed on the deal will be - the deal will be

Absolutely. If I told the guys (and I don’t always say that): “I like it, I’ll give the amount, the total figure will be like that. If co-investors give, it will be so; if other funds give, so. If no one gives - I will invest individually. "