Why Inventures Invested in Myskillcamp: An Investor's Perspective

Last Updated on

April 6, 2022

Alicja King

I arranged a video conference with Lauren Wyman Investment Associate at Inventures Investment Partners (say that three times fast) recently to discuss what made Brussels-based Inventures decide to invest in myskillcamp. After discussing the current state of lockdown and the weather, we began our interview.

"So when did you first discover myskillcamp and what did you think?" Lauren explained, "The first time Inventures and myskillcamp were acquainted was back in 2017, however in March 2020, myskillcamp wanted to raise funds to fuel growth and Inventures were impressed with the amount of growth the company had already, as well as their strong management and strong presence in the market so we decided to go ahead with the due diligence process from there".

The due diligence process is known to be extensive, but as I wasn't a part of myskillcamp when these investments happened, I wanted to know more about it. Lauren talks me through Inventures' approach, "We have a process where we get to know the company, market, and management, while conducting external interviews with clients." Lauren continues, "What stood out was the amazing team, the massive growth, and the fact every client liked the product. It wasn't just internal views, it was external too".

I asked, "So internally, was it mainly management you had contact with? What was covered?" Lauren replied, "We met all of the management team, engineers and the product team. We were impressed immediately by their vision, the multi-lingual and multi-cultural nature, and by the concept of the Skillcard - which has now come to life". It was of course an atypical year for Inventures as their due diligence process usually involves meeting in person, however, the virtual meetings didn't seem to dampen the spirits, the strong spirit or culture of myskillcamp.

When asked what Lauren particularly liked about the business, Lauren replied, "From investigating the market and culture we're in right now, work is changing and everyone is now constantly learning, what I like about myskillcamp is that they're aware of that culture and provide the opportunity to upskill and reskill - they have their ear to the ground. Also I really like the trifecta between LMS, LXP and the marketplace, it's something unique that myskillcamp has".

I know from research that Inventures has over 20 portfolio companies, and I was wondering if myskillcamp is the only training company Inventures invested in. Lauren shed light on my query, "Right now, Inventures is generalist fund where we align all of our investments with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. All of our investments have a demonstratable social impact. Myskillcamp is our first investment in the HRTech training space, and we're excited about it".

This excitement stems mainly from what was found during Inventures competitive analysis on other training providers and myskillcamp. Lauren mentioned, "we discovered most training platforms are clunky and their software isn't strong enough. But myskillcamp has something flexible and adaptable for both small and large clients, and is also dedicated to expanding their languages and local content based on those languages".

Lauren summarised that after doing the 360 analysis on myskillcamp, Inventures decided to invest one million euros into the company. "We're expecting great things, myskillcamp truly has a tool that people can use throughout the years, and we're looking forward to the expansion through Europe and supporting them along the way".

After feeling absolutely flattered by Lauren's answers, we continued talking about training, the work of Inventures and the content myskillcamp produces. It's great to see the hard work my colleagues and management put into the company paying off. Furthermore it was great to talk about this opportunity with Lauren from Inventures.

If you'd like to experience what has been detailed in this blog then check out myskillcamp and try a free personalised demo. We offer over 300,000 courses in 18 languages in all skills and our platform is easy to use, customisable and fit for any business size. Book a demo today.

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