Oak looks for early-stage tech startups, where it is possible to go deep into the business and increase the likelihood of early traction.
Experience
The driving force behind Oak Ventures, Mika Marjalaakso, has been an active angel investor since 2003. He is co-founder of three tech startups and in the past he invested in eight startups. Furthermore he has raised and helped fellow entrepreneurs raise over €50m from prominent angel investors and institutional investors in Finland, USA and Russia for early-stage startups. Aside from that Oak is a busy advisory source for entrepreneurs.
How do they work?
After Oak signs on as an investment parther, they help with a range of challenges:
- Solving internal challenges between founders or team members
- Making the basic company structure work - for instance related to tax reporting
- Defining the most efficient minimum viable product
- Upgrading investor plan + pitch
- Planning product-launch + choosing a go-to-market strategy
- Communicating lead customers and partners
- Attracting supplemental funding
Oak's nitial commitment is two years. In that period Mika Marjalaakso can fill out roles such as:
- Chairman / Member of the Board
- Interim CEO, COO, CMO, CSO
This makes a difference to them
Companies increase their eligibility for an investment, if they:
- Have a business idea with a considerable growth potential
- You have an early prototype
- You are already in dialogue with the first customers
Startups they funded
Viola Systems, Walkbase, Plango, Codento and Tema Networks.