photo: BayBG

BayBG: “Have a Wealth of Experience in Assisting Startups”

BayBG is an established player in the Bavarian investment market. According to the firm, they are one of the biggest venture capital investors in Bavaria with an invested volume of approximately 340 million euros. Their portfolio includes Munich startups such as Building Radar, Happybrush, Hotelbird, IDnow, Navvis and Tado. In our interview, Peter Pauli, Managing Director of BayBG, explains which industries his company focuses on and the impact that corona assistance, which was handled by BayBG and Bayern Kapital, has had on the operations of the investment company.

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Munich Startup: What differentiates BayBG from classic private investors?

Peter Pauli: We’re an evergreen fund and can help startups over a very long period of time.

Munich Startup: Together with Bayern Kapital, BayBG took care of handling ‘Pillar 2’ of Bavarian corona assistance. How did this mammoth task affect operative business?

Peter Pauli: Pillar 2 ends on June 30. Together with Bayern Kapital, we reviewed just under 450 applications and financed approximately 180 startups and smaller SMEs with more than 100 million euros. It was only with the extraordinary commitment of our VC team that we were able to shoulder the task. At times, we had to put our own market cultivation for our VC business on the back burner. After June 30, venture capital will once again be the main focus of BayBG.

BayBG Managing Director Pauli: “Able to make investments of up to 10 million euros per company”

Munich Startup: In the last financial year, BayBG reported a record in new investments. How did these high investments come about?

Peter Pauli: The effects of the corona crisis in combination with technological upheaval – the keywords here are sustainability and digitization – have led to an increased need for venture capital or private equity among SMEs. Fortunately – despite the stress caused by Pillar 2 – it was also possible to make investments in the field of VC. What also certainly contributed to this success was our broadened investment focus. We can now make investments of up to 10 million euros per company.

Munich Startup: You have a number of successful Munich startups in your portfolio, including Building Radar, Hotelbird, IDnow, Navvis and Tado. Which area do you think will give rise to future success stories?

Peter Pauli: We’re concentrating on B2B tech, fintech, digitization, medtech, and occasionally also make opportunistic investments, provided that we can assess the business models well. We’re expecting to see further success stories in the first three sectors in particular.

Peter Pauli, Managing Director of BayBG. (Photo: BayBG)

Munich Startup: When do you think is the right time to end participation in a company?

Peter Pauli: There’s a point at which startups can no longer be appropriately developed with venture capital alone. The time has then come for the next step, such as an IPO or getting a strategic investor on board. Of course, the founders and other invested VCs also need to agree with the assessment that the time is right for making an exit.

Munich Startup: What do you offer your portfolio companies in addition to invested capital?

Peter Pauli: We’ve been in the VC business for more than 25 years and have a wealth of experience in assisting startups. In addition to our network, our structure as an evergreen fund and the direct access to the more than 400 SMEs that BayBG is invested in, are real USPs.

Munich Startup: What does a startup need to do to get your attention?

Peter Pauli: In the VC business, we focus on scalable business models from the sectors mentioned above. We are always happy to be contacted by founding teams from this environment and can be reached at all times through all channels.