Member Spotlight: Vibranium.VC
For this deep dive, we spoke to Zamir Shukho, Founder and General Partner at Vibranium.VC.
Tell us about your firm. What makes it different:
At Vibranium.VC, we know what it takes to reach the top. As a close-knit team, we have formed a venture capital fund in Silicon Valley, the global startup hub that has become our home, where we invest in promising SaaS startups.
When working with startups, we rely on a combination of experience, knowledge, and instinct, similar to how an alpinist relies on a mix of physical skill, mental preparation, and intuition. Through careful evaluation, we choose companies with great potential to win global markets — and help them navigate this difficult but exciting journey.
I have an entrepreneurial background myself and know first-hand what it is like to launch your company, what struggles you might face along the way and ups and downs that will eventually shape your company and make it more resilient. It’s all a part of the journey that will ultimately lead to success if you know market trends to create a high-demand product and how to navigate the venture world when you need finances to support it.
That’s why we chose the name for our fund that will represent strength and will be recognized among all people in the venture world and beyond. “Stronger with Vibranium” became our motto.
What defines your portfolio?
We invest in early-stage SaaS startups with US HQs that fit our investment criteria and have the potential for global scaling. We back companies that apply disruptive technology and/or business models and can show measurable progress, such as proven sales, product market fit, and customer validation.
Trends that are likely to increase market demand for the startup’s products are another positive factor. We tend to invest in Productivity Software; Financial Services; Sales & Marketing and Media & Information Services, but there is always a room for exceptions – we often try to think out of the box.
Tell us about the current VC landscape in your geography/region.
According to statistics, the SaaS industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13.7% from 2023 to 2030. The rising adoption of cloud services, the added overhead of on-premise infrastructures, and the digital imperative of continuous innovation will secure the popularity of SaaS solutions well into the future. And we hope that will be the case.
Although we can observe that it now takes more time to analyze deals and make investments, some venture capitalists are exercising caution and avoiding the rush to close as many deals as possible. The venture capital market is currently undergoing a transformation that demands time for adjustment and the discovery of the most optimal investment approaches.
AI is on everyone’s mind these days, but not every AI is good AI, you know. That’s why investors have to carefully analyze the startups that incorporate AI to determine if this might be the next big thing or if it’s just a simple technology like many others.
What are the benefits of being an NVCA member?
For us, it’s very important as an emerging fund to learn from the best in the market and align our work processes and criteria with the standards of venture capital in the USA, particularly in Silicon Valley. So, being a member allows us to synchronize and share a common experience with top-tier investors, where we aim to become as well. Secondly, we want to share with the community some of our insights from working with thousands of startups in the past, bridging the gap between founders and investors to help the entire market collaborate on deal-making and streamline the process.
We aim to bring the best practices from the VC community to the startup community, preparing founders better for their fundraising efforts. I believe that being a member of NVCA can help us establish new connections and build relationships with larger funds, where we can introduce some of our portfolio companies, enabling them to secure funding from bigger players.
What’s ahead for your firm in 2023?
We always try to think one step further when it comes to investing – it’s a must. With this in mind, we decided to launch the Softlanding Program, which is aimed at helping SaaS startups in their first steps in entering the US market and assisting them in raising funds in the country.
This year, we have a second batch of 50 participants who might become future rising stars in the US. Since this program was initiated by our fund, we may consider the best startups for possible future investments.
