Mo El Husseiny, Founder & Managing PartnerThrough Ventura Capital’s 21 portfolio companies, Ventura supports the growth of impactful technologies while crystallising undoubtedly impressive returns on investment. Ventura notably boasts a realised IRR on its track record of over 60 per cent.
Ventura Capital’s success has centred on its ability to navigate the investment landscape with precision and vision, enabling it to foresee market dynamics and utilise them to attain extraordinary investment yields. Ventura has over 150 years of institutional investment expertise across multiple industries.
"Our engagement transcends mere gesticulation. It’s a deep commitment and genuine interest to explore the innermost workings of a spectrum of sectors, channelling our collective expertise to foresee and capitalise on industry transformations, and, crucially, identify the commercial success stories early," says Mo El Husseiny, founder and managing partner of Ventura Capital.
Proven Leadership and Track Record
The firm’s partners comprise a nexus of influential executives from various industry sectors, forming a tapestry of extensive experiences, multifaceted perspectives, and adaptive and forward-thinking approaches. At the forefront of Ventura Capital’s leadership team is El Husseiny, who brings an invaluable repository of experience. He has held various management roles at Mubadala and worked in Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs. His contributions to the British technological ecosystem have been recognised with the Freedom of the City of London award, which "came as a complete surprise" to him. Collaborating with him are experienced professionals who share similar dedication and expertise.
CFO James Amos, a financial executive with leadership experience across both investment firms and industry, including at preeminent firms, including Mubadala and EY, adds financial acumen to the team. His more than two decades of experience have fortified the firm’s financial strategies, ensuring stability and growth.
Epitomising the team’s gravitas is Rick Haythornthwaite, Ventura Capital’s Operating Partner and a prominent figure in the global corporate arena. The Global Chairperson of Mastercard Inc. for fifteen years and an advisory partner to Moelis & Co., along with a significant presence in the UK as Chair of the Automobile Association, and embedded within the UK’s technology sector, chairing one of the UK’s largest tech startups Ocado, and Chairperson of Ventura portfolio company Railsr.
General Counsel Daniel Jeon, a formidable attorney with 20 years of experience in M&A, corporate, and securities law at preeminent global firms, complements the team’s legal front. His expertise ensures that Ventura’s transaction structures and documentation reflect best-in-class standards and protect the legal integrity of the the firm’s investments and operations.
Ventura Capital has strategically channelled close to one billion dollars into technology start-ups, including half a billion dollars in "growth-stage" investments. It has invested in 21 pre-IPO entities, including household names such as Spotify, Uber, Xiaomi, Upgrade, Coursera, Delos, and Lyft. The realised internal rate of return (IRR) exceeding 60 per cent achieved over the past decade of investing has translated into substantial financial gains for its investors through 14 successful exits so far. Overall, including its current portfolio, Ventura Capital maintains an industry-leading IRR of 59 per cent over an average hold period of 3.9 years, perfectly aligning with its return objectives.
This steep upward trajectory has spanned over a decade, corroborated by an extensive evaluation conducted by the firm’s auditors over several months, verifying the firm’s performance track record.
According to El Husseiny, the secret to success lies in identifying and securing ‘the hottest’ investment opportunities, focusing on markets on the cusp of transformative growth. The firm guides its clients toward substantial financial progression by fostering the right investor partnerships, offering astute corporate finance advice and driving global business development with operational expertise.
Ventura emphasises investments in growth-stage consumer and enterprise technology companies with compelling risk-adjusted return profiles, offering scalable, cost-effective investment trajectories without significant bottlenecks to hyper-growth. This is driven by new technologies, products and services that provide better value to end users while outperforming legacy alternatives, coupled with commercially attractive business models.
"Nothing drives your portfolio returns more than constantly keeping abreast of successful new startups which are scaling actual revenue and also preparing for IPO, allowing us to capitalise on early traction in the market to generate these supernormal returns for our investors," says El Husseiny.
In periods of heightened inflation, investors gravitate towards Ventura to bolster their portfolios’ benchmark returns. The firm’s growth equity consistently enables investor portfolios to outrun inflation compared to traditional investment portfolios, even with a low percentage allocation to Ventura opportunities, according to El Husseiny. Ventura prioritises crystallising substantial returns for its investors, avoiding the common pitfalls of long-dated funds to enjoy a very high retention rate amongst its investor base, something that the team particularly enjoys.
Our Engagement Transcends Mere Gesticulation. It’s A Deep Commitment Mirrored In Our Dedication And Genuine Interest To Explore The Innermost Workings Of A Spectrum Of Sectors, Channelling Our Collective Expertise To Forecast And Capitalise On Industry Transformations
Ventura’s investment team rigorously scrutinise the unit economics of emerging technologies and their potential profitability, often leading to investments in soon-to-be-renowned companies. The firm possesses a successful track record of fostering companies that quickly rise to prominence, as evidenced by the rapid growth of companies like Upgrade and Zilch. Ventura Capital invested in Upgrade Inc., which later literally became “the fastest-growing company in North and South America”, according to the Financial Times. Zilch set new records in the fintech industry by rapidly securing three million customers, almost halving the previous record set by Revolut.
Ventura employs a co-investment model aligning investors’ interests to pursue preferred opportunities while maintaining a degree of discretion, building a shared success environment. At times, it has made investments exceeding $100 million, with a consistent pattern of single-ticket investments surpassing $50 million. This investor-aligned approach and model has attracted a diverse clientele that ranges from global institutions to individual investors.
The firm showcases its global reach by managing exclusive funds and government sovereign wealth as an outsourced corporate venture capitalist. Through exclusive funds, Ventura administers pivotal technology influxes to various regions, including Japan. A recent testament to its success is leading a significant growth round in the competitive Silicon Valley fintech sector, a venture accentuated by the participation of renowned entrepreneur and venture capitalist Peter Thiel.
Founder-Friendly Approach Catalysing Technological Evolution
Ventura Capital has been developing a vast network of experts and building a sterling reputation for its founder-friendly approach to portfolio companies. A pivotal role has been played in helping numerous pre-IPO technology businesses drive business development while respecting operational authorities, shunning rigid operating methods and onerous terms and obligations. This resulted in a resounding chorus of ‘You get us,’ echoing the founders’ appreciation for the passive yet operationally engaged approach when requested.
A demonstration of Ventura’s innovative approach is its investment in Delos Living LLC, a trailblazer in the wellness real estate sector. Since receiving investment from Ventura in 2018, Delos has become a global forerunner in wellness real estate, growing their square footage by 50 times, now spanning nearly five billion square feet and growing revenue by 20 times since Ventura joined the company. Ventura’s support was instrumental in establishing Delos Japan LLC, propelling it to undertake over 300 nationwide projects to date. Delos has also successfully established its presence across varied geographical landscapes, including the Middle East and the UK, with Ventura also supporting Delos in its home ground, the US.
“We Are In The Business Of Making Returns For Our Investors”
Guiding the Way with a Visionary Network
At the helm of Ventura’s strategic foresight is an eminent advisory board, an amalgamation of true global heavyweights in technology, finance and governance. This cohort lends its expertise to the firm’s pre-investment analysis and portfolio management while shaping pivotal regulatory changes that set the stage for new entrants to thrive in a digitised and evolving global economy.
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2024/25 Is Set To Be The Best Investment Vintage For Our Sector In Many Years
Notable board members include Lord Peter Mandelson, former European Trade Commissioner and British First Secretary of State. His role as Trade Commissioner witnessed him orchestrating many trade agreements and leading European negotiations within the WTO Doha World Trade Round. Sir William Russell, the former Lord Mayor of the City of London, is also on the board. His extensive three-decade career in the financial and business sectors includes significant national and international banking roles. Alongside these experts is Stefan Keitel, former CEO of Harald Quandt (HQ) Holding, one of the largest shareholders in BMW and Chief Investment Officer of Credit Suisse.
Under the senior team’s and advisory board’s vigilant leadership, Ventura Capital continues to predict, understand and react early to forthcoming regulatory requisites, pinpointing potential regulatory focus areas. A testament to this visionary approach is El Husseiny’s recent accession as co-chair of an EU-administered council, where he channels initiatives to sculpt financial regulatory frameworks, representing the private sector.
This significant gathering of political and financial leaders promises interactions with influential leaders spanning various industries, including principal EU officials and heads of eminent national financial associations.
As it looks ahead and navigates the future, the firm discerns 2024 as the most exciting vintage for investing in many years. This optimistic outlook comes at a time when alternative investments grapple with limited capital accessibility, compelling businesses to adopt more economical models in response to escalating interest rates and corresponding diminishing valuations.
Transitioning from a decade-long trajectory of individual deal-by-deal activities that has yielded an impressive 61 per cent gross IRR during prosperous periods, Ventura is unveiling a commingled Ventura Technology Growth Fund. This initiative, open to new investors, also explores avenues in the secondary market, indicating a promising expansion of its investment horizon.
Ventura Capital’s long-term vision remains intrinsically linked to the growth and evolution of its portfolio companies and the sectors they revolutionise. The firm’s steadfast belief in its ability to replicate past successes allows it to anticipate continued leadership in identifying and capitalising on the finest financing opportunities.
El Husseiny concludes, "We sincerely value the support from our institutional and family office investors old and new. It is a pleasure participating in these companies and new industries, driving global advancement forward together. We are now opening up our next fund to new investors across the US, Europe and globally, already with fast-growing, well-valued fin-tech and energy transition co-investments in hand. 2024/25 is set to be the best investment vintage for our sector in many years."
