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NIEC Magazine Interviews Frank Beckmann, CEO of GVI Investment Advisory in Berlin

Writer's picture: Roger BlikkbergetRoger Blikkberget

Updated: Nov 3, 2024


Frank Beckmann
Frank Beckmann - Speaker at NIEC 2024

1. Mr. Beckmann, as the founder and CEO of GVI Investment Advisory, can you share the core mission and vision of your company and how it has evolved since its inception?


Our mission is to increase the success rate of startups and to reduce the risk for the investors. Statistics have it that only 10% of the funded startups will survive the first 5 years. This is inefficient and not acceptable. A lot of needed innovation will not penetrate the market; founders have to give up causing harm to their health and private life.


2. GVI Investment Advisory focuses on providing highly-vetted deal flow for VCs, family offices, and other investors. What criteria do you use to evaluate and select these investment opportunities?


This is an excellent question. Above all are the founders; are they passionate, open-minded, life long-learners, continuous improver? An excellent founder team will make an average solution successful, yet a poor founder team will never succeed even with a great solution. Then I look at the business model and strategy to validate the potential and best approach. Only then, I will take this startup into our portfolio.



3. You have extensive experience advising startups and potential unicorns. What are the key factors that you believe contribute to the successful scaling and fundraising of these companies?


The founder team, the unique solution and business model are pre-requisites for a successful journey. We help them scaling with our global network. Just a few months ago we helped a startup to get within 3 months two distribution contracts in Africa with $12m revenues. Having good traction entitle them to successfully fundraise which however is difficult these times as VCs hardly take any risks.


4. As a speaker at NIEC2024, what key insights or messages do you plan to share with the audience regarding the current investment landscape and future trends?


My topic will be: “Mindful Disruption: Balancing Tradition and Innovation in Purpose-Driven Entrepreneurship”. We need disruptive innovation but should base this on traditional values and on mindfulness to create a sustainable impact and success. These ingredients need a good understanding and balance as secret sauce for a successful journey.


5. Your background includes leadership roles as both CFO and CEO in various international companies. How have these experiences influenced your approach to investment advisory and mentoring?


In many VCs you will see managers who never founded a company or worked on C-level in a company. But these people evaluate entrepreneurs and startups -this is not acceptable. My experience on C-level and having founded two companies enable me to understand the perspective of the founders and of potential customers; I can also anticipate what it needs to grow efficiently and to avoid traps in the market. Moreover, I know how to understand market dynamics and to prepare for an economic slowdown, whereas VCs have pushed startups to scale on the top-line and when the market came into a recession these startups went bankrupt as they posted losses and lacked of liquidity; this would never happen if we as experienced advisors are on board.


6. GVI Investment Advisory emphasizes reducing and mitigating risk for investors. Can you elaborate on the strategies and methodologies you employ to achieve this?


On the one hand our selection criteria for startups we take under our wings ensure high potential. Having us as advisors also after fundraising reduces the risk as we always build trusted relations to the founders and so they ask us for advice and listen to us. By this we can ensure much lower risk as when there is no trusted relation between the Investor and the founder team.


7. You are known for being a super-connector with a global network of trusted relations. How do you leverage this network to benefit your clients and partners?

For the startups we are able to utilize domain experts in our network to validate the solution and business model. Additionally, we use our network of trusted relations to help startups scale into new geographies and markets. We might also find relevant co-investors for funding. With our country partners in USA, Israel, India, Dubai and China we often can find out if there are similar solutions in the making and how to ensure uniqueness for the startup.


The Raffles Family Office event in Singapore
The Raffles Family Office event in Singapore

8. Sustainability and ethical investing are becoming increasingly important. How does GVI Investment Advisory incorporate these principles into its investment strategies?


We only work with startups who contribute to ESG and the SDGs. It is important for us to optimize the impact on the society and environment within the business models. And we expect from the founders to share the values of honesty, respect, reliability, and social responsibility. As we coach/mentor the founders at the same time we assess these values and discuss them in case they are not obvious.


9. What are some of the most significant challenges you have faced in your career, and how did you overcome them to achieve success in the investment advisory field?


I worked for 10 years as CFO and CEO in a German company of a Dutch holding; a startup which developed very well. Then the founder and major shareholder decided to sell the company to KKR. And suddenly the company was not working anymore for the customers but for the new investor and the market position diluted, the staff lost passion and impact. As Investment

advisor I try to ensure that startups keep the majority of shares and thus their customer and market focus; it is about to work hard and also to be happy in what we are doing.


10. Looking towards the future, what are your aspirations for GVI Investment Advisory, and are there any upcoming projects or initiatives that you are particularly excited about?


We plan to open an office in Shanghai to be closer to the Chinese market and technology innovations. As well we are looking into opening an office in the UAE to provide our high-quality services there as well; so we have a triangle Europe – China- Middle East to enable startups and investors to operate cross-border with discreet guidance by GVI Investment Advisory.


Thank you for your time Frank, we are looking forward to see you at NIEC 2024



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