Vlad Andriescu
The funds raised will be used to develop the international marketing strategy, expand the executive team, increase the number of business angels on the platform, as well as to test new high-performance business models.
"In our three years of existence, we have managed to double our team and financial performance. We are planning to accelerate this growth. We are not an angel group or an investment fund anymore, we are an angel investment platform where every investor has the freedom to choose the startups they want to invest in while receiving our administrative support and making use of our demanding due diligence process which is meant to significantly reduce investment risks. We are pleased with the accelerated growth of our investment community and are constantly working to develop relevant tools and services”, said Ciprian Man, Co-founder & Angels Keeper, Growceanu.
"The pandemic prompted us to come up with a new business model. It was a turning point for the Growceanu startup and transformed the regional group of investors that we were into a business angel investment platform. Investors who are interested in joining the Growceanu platform need to follow a few simple steps: create an investor account on our website and credit their account with 400 euros, which gives them free access to the platform for one year and the opportunity to invest in any of the 50+ startups that pitch every year. Through this first round, which will be raised exclusively on the Growceanu platform, we are thanking our members for being with us. Together, we want to develop the largest angel investment platform in Europe", says Adrian Gheorghe, Co-founder & Investor Relations at Growceanu.
Within the next 5 years, Growceanu aims to capture 1.5% of the early-stage business angel investment market in Europe. As an intermediate step, the angel platform intends to reach about 10% of this segment in the Romanian market within the next two years, facilitating annual investments of EUR 7M+ on the platform and resulting in a turnover of EUR 500,000. For 2022, the business angel investment platform targets transactions exceeding 1.66M euros.
Growceanu mainly targets investments in PropTech, EdTech, SmartCity, Enterprise, Marketplaces, FinTech, and MedTech, based on technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, SaaS, Data Science, Digital Mapping, IoT and targets companies in Romania and CEE (CEE), as well as companies with excellent dynamics from the rest of Europe, including the United Kingdom.
The angel investment platform is targeting investors with expertise in at least one vertical and a minimum budget of EUR 40,000 for investments in early-stage tech startups. Thus, the platform aims to diversify its range of expertise to invest in new areas and reduce the risk of investment.
Currently, Growceanu brings together a community of over 100 business angels, 70 more than last year. Growceanu has created a well-structured group due diligence process and offers smart money, using the expertise and experience of investors on the platform to reduce investment risks. The board and executive team also provide investors with full support throughout the process. In addition, this year Growceanu launched the first angel investment app in Romania, Growceanu Investors, which is available in the Apple Store and Google Play Store.
