Why You Shouldn’t Miss LitBAN Business Angel School

Lithuanian Business Angel Network (LitBAN) kicked off autumn by introducing the brand new Business Angel School 2020 program, which was created to not only broaden the competence of angel investors but also to strengthen awareness of relevant startup ecosystem and investment topics.

During September 7–30, ten LitBAN members of business angels had a chance to learn from the industry leaders from all across the CEE markets, ranging from VCs to successful super angels.

Through the 8 evening training sessions, business angels discovered the globe of an efficient startup evaluation framework. They also mastered syndicated investment methods by practicing in online workshop sessions and live meetings with local and international venture capital funds.

With the constant growth of Lithuania venture investments, the renewed education program for business angels became very important.

And as Arvydas Strumskis, Board Member at LitBAN, has mentioned — “education is a significant part of the developing investment environment for business angels.”

The necessity and importance of the Business Angel School program are proved by the support of three startup and innovation ecosystem players — Coinvest Capital and innovation acceleration companies — Baltic Sandbox and 70Ventures.

Deep dive into the World of Business Angels

The renewed training program was designed by a Baltic Sandbox team, a sustainable value acceleration partner for the Eastern European startups seeking the transition to the Western European markets.

“We see a rising interest in this type of educational program from Latvian and Estonian business angels as well. Having in mind, today, it does not matter in which country the creator of a tech solution is located, it is significant to use the same communication and selection methods when evaluating a startup,” — said Sandra Golbreich, the CEO of Baltic Sandbox, and highlighted that a vital and flexible ecosystem encourages the search for new collaboration opportunities.

The Business Angel training program’s material was collected and based on the examples from countries such as Belgium, the UK, Estonia, Norway, and other European countries, which stands out with their deeper experience in technological development.

Business Angel Program based on Practical Cases

The 4-week training program covered a wide range of business-angel-related topics, starting with startup evaluation framework & creation of successful angel investor’s profile, continuing with workshops for startup-investor relation analysis, and finishing with special learning sessions for the framework of the syndicated deals. Additionally, training sessions were based on practical cases and highlighted by multiple fireside chats with European industry leaders and round tables with VCs.

Martynas Kandzeras, Board Member at LitBAN, pointed out the importance of the practical training side for the business angels and stated that “this Business Angel school features all the key topics that are essential for the business angel to successfully operate. I found it valuable since all the workshops are based on practical cases.”

Business angels improved their skills by participating in meetings and discussions with local, foreign venture capital funds and super business angels.

Sandra Golbreich added that “by organizing meetings with Super Business Angels from various countries and Venture Capital Funds, this program opened new opportunities to get acquainted with the practices of other countries.”

Also, business angels participated in real pitching sessions to test and apply the newly acquired knowledge of the startup assessment.

The necessity & importance of Business Angel School

The developing ecosystem requires a more comprehensive investment in the competencies and knowledge of ecosystem business angels.

It only explains the rising necessity and importance of high-quality training programs for specific new and active business angels. For the mentioned reasons, the renewed Business Angel School 2020 fulfills the need of the ecosystem.

“By completing this training program, business angels gain the essential knowledge in evaluating startup presentations at various conferences as well as participating in syndicated investments, “ — commented Sandra Golbreich and marked the importance of such a program.

Also, Justinas Pašys, Managing Director of LitBAN, was happy with the LitBAN Business Angel School 2020 results.

“Our members who have participated in the program are very pleased with the content and format. It was a good introduction to business angel investing theory coupled with practical sessions, and crowned with a formation of an investment syndicate. Every other session was a physical meetup which allowed for plenty of networking opportunities between the participants. The program gave a solid foundation on which our new members will be able to build their business angel path.“ — commented Justinas Pašys.

Written by Kristina Kirkliauskaite, the Communication Manager at Baltic Sandbox