Founded by Ruslan Timofeev (Ruslan Tymofieiev), Adventures Lab is an investment fund in Ukraine. With a keen focus on early, middle, and late-stage projects, and an average investment size ranging from 100,000 to 500,000 US dollars, it is no surprise that it has invested a total sum of 15 million in startup businesses, 14 of which are new businesses. In this article, Ruslan Timofeev shares his thoughts on investment risks and predictions of startups.
The Journey So Far
Adventures Lab has a stellar record of investing in companies that have gone on to thrive in their respective niches. During its first year, the fund made significant investments in 6 companies with its three most successful acquisitions: Reface, StreamHERO, and EduDo. The investment focus of Adventures Lab was centered around fine-tuning the applications and services for more efficient performance in all respects.
From all indications, the investment in EduDo was poised for a $300,000 round with Adventures Lab as the main investor. This Belarusian project specializes in providing educational videos, which last for about 3 minutes and can be posted by anyone.
A success story worth mentioning is the remarkable foresight Adventures Lab showed in Reface, now its leading portfolio asset. In what can be described as a stroke of genius, Adventures Lab invested in the project in the early stage, long before it transformed into a widely sought-after application. Reface is now one of the most known apps that ranked first on most popular applications on the Play Store and has notable mentions from lots of celebrities, including Elon Musk.
Another project that attracted investing of Adventures Lab is StreamHERO. The project focuses on integrating ads in gamers’ streams, and since cybersports have become extremely popular, investing $550,000, with the fund as the lead investor, was a step in the right direction. The project looks to improve processes, algorithms, and analytic tools.
However, for every startup selected, a rigorous process entails a lot of forecast and analysis. Regardless, not all startups hit the ground and running.
Selection Criteria
Ruslan Timofeev (Ruslan Tymofieiev) offers a glimpse into the selection criteria adopted by Adventures Lab. He says organizations are selected using a customer-centric approach that gauges their services in line with customer gains and not investors. Furthermore, experts also assess the brand strategy, management, target audience, and quality of its employee.
In selection, the organization also has to take into account organizational maturity. Usually, these firms are classified into three categories: the early stage, which includes firms in their infancy. Early-stage firms are not always invested heavily, as they tend not to make profits yet. The growth stage firm always requires around $1,000,000 for investment. Finally, the late-stage firms are the big earners and tend to require investments running into multi-millions.
Ukrainian Startups: Present and Prospects
There is no doubt that Ukrainian startups are witnessing tremendous growth. This owes no little to myriads of investments yearly, both from local and foreign investors. The relocation of 2013 saw a massive exodus of startup companies leaving for neighboring countries, briefly slowing down the economy. After that, everything seems to have returned to normal. There appears to be a new wave of young entrepreneurs willing to delve into a market that has since grown tremendously, even by European standards. Finally, with a thriving IT sector, Ruslan Timofeev opines that the economy is opening up to promising companies. With a people-oriented market that prioritizes human potential, growth is inevitable. Even though it is not going to be rubbing shoulders with big countries like America anytime soon, Ukraine seems to be on a good path.
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