BAS - Business Angel Seedfund

Business Angel Seedfund (BAS) is a first seed capital investment fund established by business angels in Poland. BAS is not established by financial institution, but enterpreneurs which succeed establishing their own businesses from the beginning. Founders of BAS are Maciej Grabski (co-founder of Wirtualna Polska), Jędrzej Wittchen (Wittchen S.A.), Maciej Duda (PKM DUDA) and Jacek Kawalec (co-founder of Wirtualna Polska). Together with the Board, regular, twice a month, they analyze business plans and decide about future investments.

Business Angel Seedfund was established in 2007 r. We cooperate e.g. with Pomorski Park Naukowo-Technologiczny, Lewiatan Business Angels, Oxford Innovation (OXIN) and Oxford Investment Opportunity Network (OION). We are also supported by Polska Agencja Rozwoju Przedsiębiorczości (Polish Agency for Enterprise Development) as one of the seed capital funds (SPO W.K.P 1.2.3.). Till now we invested e.g. in Screen Network - system of multimedia advertising in sales points (POS TV), Polymem – company producing poliprophylen membrans established by scientists from Chemical and Processing Faculty of Warsaw Technical University and Hub30 – new, consumers’ e-commerce service and Centrum Podrozy SA. 

Get in touch

The first step to establish relations is contact and a short presentation of a project which we would be to finance. It is best to phone us, and e-mail a short description of the project which will help us prepare for the meeting. The next stage is the meeting of the Investment Board which consists of the founders and the Management Board of the Business Angel Seedfund, and making a preliminary decision on continuing the talks. We invest in inventive people, not in ideas themselves. That is why people with a vision are of most interest to us. We look for enterprising innovators who, with our assistance, can on their own build a company based on their own ideas. We very much care about building partner relations and trust in relations with our partners. That is why we are obviously willing to sign agreements for confidentiality of information provided to us with authors of unique solutions.

How we work


We help entrepreneurs at early stages of their business development. We look for new and innovative solutions, chiefly in the fields of ICT and biotechnology. We invest in newly established, or already existing companies, and we increase their value hand in hand with their founders. Thanks to our support, companies at very early stages of development (seeds), when they still cannot hope e.g. for a bank loan, have money for operations and development of their new products. In return for the financial support, the Business Angel Seedfund becomes a shareholder of new companies. After a few years we try to sell our shares, making money on their value growth. Our offer is addressed both to private persons and scientific institutions - authors of breakthrough ideas or technologies which they would like to commercialize, and to companies which need additional financing to develop their new ideas.


Benefits of cooperation with the Business Angel Seedfund:

• Investment in a project presented, ranging in value from PLN 100,000 to 4 million
• Support in building contacts and establishing relations with key partners (customers, suppliers)
• Support in building and implementing strategies
• Assistance in financial management
• Assistance in acquiring properly qualified staff
• preparation of a favorable way to leave an investment
• Providing legal assistance

We look for innovations, new technologies and ideas, thanks to which, with our support, companies may within 2 - 7 years increase their value several times. We are interested in projects concerning primarily:

• Internet, software, hardware, new mobile technologies, services, communication, automation
• Healthcare, environment, bioenergetics, etc.
• Services, advertising, media, entertainment, commerce

Buisnessplan


The business plan is the most important document based on which we make the final decision on taking up an investment. Preferably, the entrepreneur should prepare it yet before contacting us. Reading it will help us assess project attractiveness, and prepare for talks about details. The business plan may be prepared both in the text document format, and e.g. as a Power Point presentation having between ten and twenty slides. Most importantly, it should provide answers to the following questions:

• What is the main target of the company, what does - in one or two sentences - the innovativeness of the idea consist in?
• Who makes the team - who are the founders, what are their achievements so far? What are their skills, and what roles have they been assigned in the team?
• What does the product or the service look like? What need does it respond to, which problem does it solve? What functions and form will it (does it) have? How will it be performed? Who is the author of solutions applied?
• What does the market look like? What is its present size, and what is its forecasted size in years to come? What factors impact its development? What market share will the company gain?
• Who are the competitors? What are their strengths and weaknesses?
• What will the company make money on? At what prices will it sell the product? What will distribution look like? Is it possible to define the profile of potential customers with an estimation of their purchase volumes (in future)?
• What is the forecasted financial balance sheet and the profit and loss account, the cash flow statement, and the proposal to the investor?

The business plan should be exhaustive, but concise and written in straightforward terms. A one-page summary will further facilitate our qualification of it following a thorough analysis. 

 

Will the fund wish to take over our company?

The capital relationship is like marriage. It does mean certain limitation of independence, but success is conditional upon good cooperation by both parties. Without it, everybody loses. The motivation of the team, which is only assisted by the Business Angel Seedfund, is a condition of dynamic growth of the company's value. Also, provisions applied by our fund in investment agreements specifically define the principles of selling shares/stock in the future. It is a sort of 'prenuptial agreement'. They guarantee that should the Business Angel Seedfund leave an investment (frequently by selling to an industry investor), partners may join the deal. The target is a high profit, but generated together.

Are you interested in existing companies, or those which are only being established?

It is certainly easier to take a risk and invest in a company that already exists, has created an efficient team, or has at least the initial version of the product. However, we also admit ideas, and as a matter of fact, one of our projects was based on a mere idea, a business plan. The team behind it, however, was very competent, and had certain market achievements.

Do you guarantee freedom of making decisions to management boards of portfolio companies?

Firstly, we get involved in a project only if we have a common vision of development agreed upon with its authors. If there is no such common vision, the investment does not take off. Secondly, with respect to impact on strategic decisions, i.e. decisions on large purchases, strategic alliances, capital increase, entering the stock market, etc., the fact is that we cooperate and decide together. Obviously, the fund wants to assist on the one hand, but on the other hand, it wants new companies to be as independent as possible. The fund is quite limited in terms of staff so ongoing involvement in operations of each company would be very difficult. That is why we care for teams that are able to act on their own to a high extent and need only be helped when making key decisions.

How many shares do you assume in companies you invest in?

Until now, in five cases it has been below 50% (from 25% to 43%). We have majority shareholdings in two companies, but the teams there have additional options. The division results from measurement of the entrepreneur's contribution and the fund's contribution. In some cases we deal with starting up persons who have little experience in a market, or the capital we need to bring is very high compared to the scope of works already performed. Then, it is justified that the fund takes a majority package. We guarantee that the founders receive regular remuneration and a bonus being from ten plus to several dozen percent of the company. In such cases, it is a very attractive solution. We always care about teams being strongly motivated to build their business. That is why we want entrepreneurs to dispose of a large package, and to have a chance to sell it.

Why is it better to tie oneself to the Business Agent Seedfund rather than an industry/strategic investor?

When an entrepreneur ties themselves with an industry investor, they immediately deny themselves an opportunity to leave the investment when the value of each share is equivalent to several or several dozen times the annual profit falling to them. The purpose of involving a strategic investor in a company is consolidating one's core activity, rather than realizing capital profit (arising from an increase in the acquired company's value). As a rule, a sale only takes place when the project is not a success.