Every year, InnovationsKapital receives between 300 and 500 business plans; about one percent of them advance to a final investment. Johan Rask explains that they almost always arrange meetings with those who come from the network in the Göteborg region.

Create good management team
That´s a good start. But what else should you think about to be of interest to InnovationsKapital?

 “You have to realize that we work with other peoples´ money. We´re interested in making a good deal and the earlier we step in, the harder it is for us to make money."

According to the textbook, venture capitalists evaluate factors such as the management team, whether the product has a large market, and that it is protected by a patent.

 “One tip is to bring senior persons with relevant experience in the industry onto the board of directors as early as possible. They can help with good initial contacts and lend credibility to the company. We work extremely proactively to achieve a good mix on the board of directors in the companies in which we are involved."

If you haven´t reached that stage yet, then you should at least have ideas about how to create a good management team.

Get to know your market
One common mistake is failing to know the market well enough with respect to whether it has customers willing and able to pay, its subsegments, relevant patient populations, and similar aspects.

Believing that it is enough to have what you think is “the best product" just isn´t realistic. You can´t sell anything if you don´t have customers.

“It´s easy to overestimate what you have and just as easy to underestimate the efforts needed to reach the goal. You need a certain amount of humility if you´re going to embark on this type of journey."

InnovationsKapital often requires patent protection, or that the competitive advantage can be protected in some other way.

Capital, expertise & networks
So what does InnovationsKapital contribute? The answer is capital, expertise, and networking. Usually when InnovationsKapital joins in, it complements the composition of the board of directors and aims for what Johan Rask calls “meaningful ownership" of about 20 percent.

“Some people may be skeptical about diluting ownership, but if you come from a startup company and the money is on the table, my advice is to take it. I´ve never seen a negative effect on the final results. Quite the contrary."

60 enterprises
Johan Rask attended the Chalmers School of Entrepreneurship where he analyzed an intensive care project for A+ Science Invest, among other things. During that period he “caught the bug"; he was fascinated by working with everything from business plans to contacts with clinicians, prototype builders, and financiers — the total package.

He joined InnovationsKapital in 2000 and has been involved in all initiatives in the life sciences since then, first as an analyst and now as an investment manager.

InnovationsKapital was founded in 1994 with the concept that innovative ideas should be able to advance from the seed stage. Today the company works with the Nordic market and also has an office in Stockholm. One team is dedicated to the life science industry and this is where Johan Rask works. InnovationsKapital has invested in about sixty enterprises since its inception.

... saying no to those who seeks investment
There is so much interesting research underway in many different places and many people come to us to whom we just have to say no, which is really a shame, but our mission is not to support interesting research.