NOVEMBER - JANUARYAUTOTECHOUTLOOK.COM8By Mark Volchek, Founding Partner, Las Olas Venture CapitalThere are countless phrases venture capitalists hear in a pitch that bring palpable excitement to an investment committee. However, one thing that consistently straightens our back in a pitch is when a founder says their company is replacing excel.Las Olas VC (LOVC) is a venture capital fund that invests in seed-stage B2B software companies. We are typically lead investors with a check size between $1.5M to $2.5M into companies based in the Northeast, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest. We believe that contemporary enterprises prioritize innovation. The implementation of technology to modernize outdated business processes has catalyzed a new era of productivity growth along with a shift towards everything being digital, anytime, anywhere. And the people building the next category-defining companies for enterprise exist everywhere, not just the traditional technology hubs. As a result, LOVC aims to be more than just a check. We lead rounds, take board seats, and take it upon ourselves to implement a deeply hands-on and supportive approach with our founders and CEOs. As software investors, we are long time believers in companies that provide tools to operationalize and expand organizational access and usefulness of data. With investments across industries in business intelligence, data visualization, and financial tools, the firm has developed a deep understanding of the usefulness of creating easily accessible data in optimizing key business decisions. Thus, LOVC looks at a diverse array of businesses and founders. Software that replaces excel consistently excites us because there is a clear demonstration of a problem that seamlessly maps to a software solution. Integration of this software is easier and user engagement is higher when a complex spreadsheet is being replaced. This is because excel killer replaces manual processes with automation. The drudgery of data management is often the worst part of a job, so users are more willing to adopt new technology that eliminates this banality.Additionally, we love businesses that replace excel because it simplifies sales. It's easy to communicate the value of your software when it replaces a manual process. An easy to understand value proposition makes a company's vision rosier and clearer; consequently, a repeatable sales motion becomes feasible when a founder clearly communicates how their business replaces costly existing processes with efficient improvements.When investing in the seed stage, it's hard to fully understand how sticky a product is. Often, products are freshly implemented and founders have little retention data. This lack of quality data is one of the largest risks in underwriting early-stage technology companies. Software that replaces manual processes like excel helps assuage these concerns because these solutions become critical company-wide to clients. We love hearing customers lament how cumbersome their processes were prior to the business because it signals to us that churn will be low. What would the client do without it?For instance, many of our portfolio companies are excel killers. Leverage is an AI-driven vendor relationship management platform that streamlines REAL-TIME INFORMATION ACROSS THE LIFECYCLE OF THE PURCHASE ORDERIN MY OPINIONWith investments across industries in business intelligence, data visualization, and financial tools, the firm has developed a deep understanding of the usefulness of creating easily accessible data in optimizing key business decisions
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