Mozes Victor Konig: Tips for VC Mentors

Mozes Victor Konig has been using his success with MVK Ventures SARL to guide others who are interested in the possibility of becoming a Venture Capital mentor.  

“Thankfully I’ve had some success with my own company and I’ve really enjoyed the process of being a Venture Capitalist – something I still enjoy.  However, being a mentor is even better.  And I think that’s because of human nature’s desire to give to others. As Winston Churchill once said, ‘We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.’”

One can gain so much from being a mentor. Seeing your mentee succeed and do well and knowing that you have helped them is huge.  Some of the greatest success stories attribute their prosperity to the mentors they have had.  Examples of this include: Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook who was mentored by the late Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, Warren Buffett – described as “one of the most successful investors of all time” – credited Benjamin Graham and what he learned in his book, ‘The Intelligent Investor,’ with helping him with his entire investment philosophy, etc.

Ultimately, no matter how much one has achieved in their lifetimes, helping others is invaluable. And this is what Mozes Victor Konig has experienced and no doubt the others who have gainfully passed their wisdom on to others.

Mozes Victor Konig on VC Firms in COVID-19

A Venture Capital (VC) is “a form of private equity and a type of financing that investors provide to startup companies and small businesses that are believed to have long-term growth potential.” There are a few ways the success of these firms can be measured, one of the most utilized one being the Investment to Exit ratio.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, as with many other businesses, some VCs struggled. Given that VCs primarily invest in startups (which was one of the worst hit industry), it was not surprising that many were working at a much lower investment pace than in previous years. On the flip side of the coin, there were companies who ordinarily would have found it easier to gain investments but given the uncertainty it was harder to get a VC to take a risk.

In recent years, MVK Ventures SARL has become a leading Venture Capital firm.  The firm invests in startups in a variety of industries with a focus on biotech.  Founder and CEO of the firm Mozes Victor Konig believes that the pandemic definitely played a part in a lowering of confidence on the part of VCs to invest and more so, on start-ups seeking to, well, start up!

“What I found,” Konig recalls “was that people’s confidence took a real hit.  For an innovator who was teetering on the edge of shall I, shan’t I with regards to launching a business, it was definitely more of a case of, no, I shan’t,” he explained.

“Having said that, you got the flip side of the coin where people had lost their regular, secure 9-5 jobs and figured, ‘what can I lose?  It’s either now or never,’ but banks were less willing to come and help,” he added.

And that is where MVK Ventures SARL stepped in, adopting the role of connector between the start-up and the banks, based on Konig’s own business experience of when he first entered the industry.

We are still a long way from an economic recovery but there is definitely a higher degree of confidence among potential innovators, start-ups, VCs and even banks.

Why Mozes Victor Konig Launched MVK Ventures SARL in Luxembourg

When Mozes Victor Konig established MVK Ventures SARL in Luxembourg he had little idea that the region would quickly become a hub for private equity and investment fund activity. One just needs to take a look at The Top 10 Largest Private Equity Firms in the World featuring CVC Partners, an investment fund headquartered in Luxembourg.

Luxembourg is probably one of the most overlooked regions for conducting business in Europe.  Drawing on his own experience as owner of MVK Ventures SARL, Mozes Victor Konig said:

“I was quite surprised when I started looking into the various European options just how easy working in Luxembourg could be.  I think what I found – and still do find – is that the centrality of its location provides facilitated access to an array of nearby markets and this gives it a strategic position that in my view should be the potential envy of the world…or at least the European market.”

Luxembourg’s domestic economy is impressive too.  When you look at the size of its country as compared to its economy, it is undeniably impressive.   Take, for example, its #3 position in VC, R&D, entrepreneurship/high-tech production in the 2020 Global Innovation Survey.

If you are in the process of launching a company or even trying to grow one somewhere in the European region, don’t forget to put Luxembourg on your list of checks.

Mozes Victor Konig on the Value of Satellite Offices

With so many stay-at-home orders, lockdowns, quarantines and other related obstacles to getting out of the house, CEOs and small business owners are having to find alternatives to efficiently get their work done.  Various hubs, spoke offices, work-from-home offices and satellite offices have started to become “the new normal.”  When people have very quickly been forced to create makeshift workspaces they have looked into these alternatives.

“I believe that satellite and hub offices could really become much more popular and mainstream even when the pandemic is over,” said Mozes Victor Konig who has used satellite offices in his own company, MVK Ventures SARL.  “I opened a satellite office in Silicon Valley ‘before the trend’ as it were back in 2018 and I feel myself and my colleagues have really benefitted from it.”

So what is a satellite office exactly?  It is connected to the actual company but is physically separate from the main office.  There is no specification of sizing for a satellite office and they could host 1 or 100 employees but the idea of the concept is decentralization.  The benefit of this is that they are less overwhelming, have less overheads, are more flexible and during this crazy time can house one or two people on a rotating basis, decreasing the possibility of viral spread.

A satellite office definitely provides a real option for those who feel the need to get back to work but cannot quite make it back to the main office yet.

Economy Strong Despite First Quarter Growth

First quarter growth may not be nearing initial projections, but economists remain optimistic for the rest of the year. Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab, said: “The economy still looks strong and we believe the upcoming earnings season will be solid.”

CNBC reports:

 

Economist: Economy much stronger than Q1 GDP might suggest from CNBC.

Pregnancy Rates May Predict Economic Changes, New Report Shows

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) published a report early this week demonstrating a correlation between national conception rates and economic recessions. According to the report, pregnancy rates have dropped prior to economic downturns several times over the last few decades, indicating that they can predict the economic trajectory.

The report calls the findings a “new business cycle fact”, stating that the “the growth rate of conceptions declines prior to economic downturns and the decline occurs several quarters before recessions begin.”

“Our findings suggest that fertility behavior is more forward-looking and sensitive to changes in short-run expectations about the economy than previously thought,” the report explains. “The (2008) recession began in December, as later determined by the NBER, and by this time conceptions had already been in decline for months,” the report said. It adds that all normal economic indicators were positive in 2007. Consumer confidence was high and the stock market was strong, too.

Conception growth rates changes before the collapse of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, as well.

“Bear Stearns did not collapse until the end of the spring of 2008. Several months later, in September of 2008, Lehman Brothers collapsed, an event sometimes considered a catalyst in the great recession,” the economists noted. However, conception rates in the first three quarters of 2008 were already 100,000 lower than those of 2006, and falling.

“Once you examine monthly or quarterly data, the pattern becomes obvious,” said one of the study’s authors Daniel Hungerman. “We show the existence and magnitude of this pattern before the Great Recession, and it’s striking since that recession was famously hard to predict. None of the experts saw it coming,” he said, “And in its first few months, many business leaders were convinced the economy was doing OK — even as the number of conceptions plummeted and had been falling for a while.”

According to the report’s data, conception rates predict upcoming downturns more accurately- and earlier- than GDP growth rates.

US Economy: Ebbs and Flows

Taking the month of January to reflect on economic ebbs and flows in America over 2017 we find a lot of conflicting data that leaves us with a somewhat inconclusive picture on how the economy in the region is faring.  Still, it’s good that there are a lot of positive indicators for financial stability and economic growth in 2018.

When there is talk of a country having a strong economy, Forbes contributor Salvatore Babones assesses this to mean that there is more capital entering the country than leaving it (as there is a large trade deficit).

Who, and what, is responsible for this?  it’s hard to say given that when Trump came into office, he was able to enjoy the “longest uninterrupted stretch of private sector job growth ever recorded.” So it cannot really be attributed to our President.

Having said that, last year American stocks returned a staggering 20 percent.  Given that the new tax law is lowering corporate rates, companies are being encouraged to bring back some of the monies that they had overseas in an effort to not have to encounter inhibitive taxes.  As the money comes back to America there are additional M&As, dividend payments and stock buybacks happening.

In other positive news in Q4 2017 the economy encountered its fastest growth since 2015. This has resulted in greater spending from a  heightened consumer confidence.

Republican Tax Reform and This Year’s Economy

President Trump signed the Republican tax bill on Friday, bringing a wave of changes to the way American citizens and businesses pay their taxes. Mr. Trump called it a “historic moment for the American people.”

The new laws are expected to impact many sectors this year. According to Zacks Investment Research research director Sheraz Mian, the tax reform “will have a big impact on corporate profitability … all of it positive,” thereby supporting the stock market, albeit slowly.

Meanwhile, experts project a slight decline in real estate as a result of the bill, as well as a rise in corporate activity such as expansions and acquisitions. For individuals, on the other hand, the tax return process will likely be simpler moving forward.

Economy on the Rise Despite Hurricanes Harvey and Irma

According to recent reports, the U.S. economy accelerated during the second quarter, surpassing previous predications and reaching its fastest growth rate in over two years. However, the third quarter will likely show a loss of momentum because of the hurricanes which battered the country at the start of the season.

The Commerce Department gave its third estimate earlier this week, revealing that GDP increased at an annual rate of 3.1% between April and June, demonstrating an increase in inventory investment.

Economists throughout the U.S. expect the damage from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma to reduce up to 6/10s of a percentage point in growth in the third quarter.

“The destruction caused by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma and the resulting disruption are expect to be a drag on third-quarter growth,” said Plante Moral Financial Advisors CEO Jim Baird. “Nonetheless, the economy remains on track.”

Hurricane Harvey has impacted retail sales, industrial production and homebuilding and home sales, and other markets will likely see damage as a result of Irma’s strike as well. Rebuilding and development in the aftermath of the storms, however, are likely to boost gross domestic product growth in the fourth quarter as inventory investments from businesses increase.

Daniel Silver of JPMorgan explained: “The data available so far suggest that the firming in real inventory accumulation between second quarter and third quarter could be significant and could add over a full percentage point to growth in the third quarter.”