Alexander Galitsky is known as the head of Almaz Capital venture fund.
In the choice of start-ups for investing the businessman mainly relies on his impressions and personal connections. According to him, such an approach to business will bring benefits in the long term. Currently,
Almaz Capital’s managing partner works with deep-tech B2B companies from Eastern Europe that plan to go global and enter the international market. Galitsky considers such start-ups to have the most potential.
Initially, Galitsky’s venture fund worked with projects from post-Soviet countries. However, a lot of Russian companies changed their development strategy and concentrated on the local market only, so Alexander Galitsky is no more interested in them. He has left such projects as the MSU business incubator, IT Development Panel, Venture Market Council, RVC Council, Megafon, Skolkovo, SkolTech, Alfa-Bank, as well as Russian Quantum Center.
More about Alexander Galitsky
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Alexander Galitsky on Silicon Valley
In 1991, Alexander Galitsky visited Silicon Valley for the first time. He was impressed by the working conditions and the high level of scientific research there. Since then, he considered Silicon Valley companies as a benchmark for start-ups that aim to succeed in the global market. Alexander Galitsky comments on the distinguishing features of the Valley:
“It is a unique environment. You are surrounded by true professionals and co-thinkers, who strive to create something new and change the world for the better. Every time I come to the Valley, I get an energy boost and a kind of technological ‘detox’. Silicon Valley is full of knowledge about technological problems and business challenges.
It is also full of people from all over the world who look for solutions to these issues and discuss them openly. Actually, the atmosphere of openness is the basis of this ecosystem. After all, an idea does not cost anything on its own, but its implementation does.”
Alexander Galitsky’s start-up principles
Alexander Galitsky’s way of making investment decisions brought him success in venture investing. Before signing a contract, he analyzes economic indicators and pays much attention to communication with potential business partners. According to Galitsky, successful communication has a great impact on the outcome of the deal.
Almaz Capital fund is generally interested in B2B start-ups with the prospect of entering the global market. The fund rarely works with B2C companies, because they are not flexible enough for international business.
Alexander Galitsky believes that any investment must result in profit. A start-up founder and investors can share a lot of common goals, but the main objective is still to have financial returns.
For this reason, a start-up should overcome a complete analysis even at the due diligence stage. If the investor has any doubts, quitting the project at that point will be a sensible decision. The founder has to keep in mind that money and resources are invested in the start-up in order to get a profit.
“One has to understand that if I enter a company as an investor, that company is put up for sale since that day.”
— Alexander Galitsky
How are start-ups chosen?
Almaz Capital Fund selects start-ups for investing very carefully. Usually, only 1–3 out of 1,000 projects are successful. They are the ones that bring actual profit which directly depends on the thoroughness of the start-up selection. In the world of venture investments, the money earned is huge, and so the risks are.
The search for potential partners is an important and difficult stage. Investors can look for promising start-ups:
- On specialized platforms. These days they basically take place online.
- Through screening applications and watching presentations of the representatives of the companies. Applications are sent to central offices in London, Portola Valley, Berlin, and other cities.
- Via networking and personal acquaintance with the CEO.
- Through a wide network of partners.
“It all depends on the project team itself and the market situation. In any case, we are always proactive.” — Alexander Galitsky
