Our job as investors is to ask questions
“Our job as investors is to ask questions”
Article Trends Magazine - 28/12/2023
Duco Sickinghe and Renaat Berckmoes on investing in start-ups and growth companies
The Belgian investment firm Fortino celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. Founder Duco Sickinghe and CEO Renaat Berckmoes, leveraging a decade of experience, reflect on the current state of private equity and venture capital in Belgium and Europe.
Simultaneously marking its tenth anniversary, Fortino launches a new fund, successfully raising €377 million to invest in European software companies. Duco Sickinghe, Fortino's founder and former CEO of Telenet, explains, "We have venture capital funds targeting very young companies and private equity funds investing in more established enterprises." Renaat Berckmoes, Fortino's CEO, adds, "Our focus is primarily on business software, a market closely aligned with the cable business. We deliberately avoided external funding initially until we identified our niche, which has now expanded to four funds, raising over €800 million."
Has Fortino been able to benefit from the booming market in venture capital and private equity?
Renaat Berckmoes: "Absolutely for venture capital. We experienced the golden years between 2017 and 2021 with very high valuations. For private equity, the picture was more nuanced. Dealing with more mature companies, there's intense competition from other investors. While valuations didn't skyrocket like in venture capital, they also didn't collapse in the past eighteen months. Focusing on business software, we rode the wave of the cloud, one of the most significant technological developments in the last decade."
Can an investor excel by targeting both venture capital and private equity?
Duco Sickinghe: "You should view us as investors in software companies, encompassing both small and large enterprises. Essentially, it's the same. Moreover, young and mature companies learn a lot from each other."
Renaat Berckmoes: "Start-ups learn about structure, organization, and goal-setting from larger companies. Older companies gain insights into new technologies, like artificial intelligence. This cross-pollination is fantastic."
"In our business, you need to achieve a 20% annual return over the fund's duration to remain relevant," Duco Sickinghe.
Fortino hosts inspiration days for its companies. What does this entail?
Renaat Berckmoes: "We always invite one or two inspiring speakers to share concrete experiences relevant to our entrepreneurs, providing valuable insights." Duco and Renaat: "Only top companies can attract investors. All others face challenges."
Renaat Berckmoes' Bio
- Born in 1966
- 2001-2011: Treasurer, CFO, Director Investor Relations at Telenet
- 2013-2023: Board positions at Biocartis, FPIM, and Birdhouse
- 2013-2023: Partner at Fortino Capital
- 2023: CEO of Fortino Capital
Duco Sickinghe's Bio
- Born in 1958
- 1996-2000: General Manager at Wolters Kluwer
- 2001-2013: CEO of Telenet
- Board positions at KPN, Guberna, and Van Breda
- 2013-2023: Founder and Managing Partner at Fortino Capital
Link to article
https://trends.knack.be/geld/beleggen-2/renaat-berckmoes-en-duco-sickinghe-fortino-ons-vak-als-investeerder-is-vragen-stellen/
