A business can find money anywhere. Our knowledge, expertise, and experience cannot

Software companies invested in by Fortino Capital don't get a "mother-in-law" as a shareholder. "We never tell an entrepreneur what to do," says Chairman Duco Sickinghe. "Instead, we ask the questions that lead them to discover the answers themselves."

People with a passion often have a natural metaphor. Duco Sickinghe, who loves sailing, explains, "Sailing is easy when there's a wind force of two. But when the wind picks up to force five, lines break and you have much less time to set your course."

This metaphor illustrates both the challenges faced by companies aiming for significant growth and the support Fortino's investment firm can offer. Fortino focuses on businesses that create essential business software. How does Sickinghe differentiate between "need to have" and "nice to have"? "It's the software that the bank deems necessary to keep using and paying for even when your company is struggling and you need to cut expenses."
 

The conductor is the most important

Fortino has raised over 800 million euros from investors and manages around thirty investments. These include domestic companies such as expense management platform Mobilexpense, IT firm Vanroey, and HR-tech company Techwolf. Fortino provides both venture capital and private equity, with the main differences lying in size and maturity. "Venture capital focuses on whether the product fits a particular market. Larger companies have already solved that puzzle and face the challenge of making their product successful in a much larger market."

What are the key criteria for Fortino when investing in a company? "First, the market must be large enough and growing. Next, there are the CEO's quality and technical competencies. Sales and marketing can often be built up, but the knowledge to create good software products must already be within the company." So, three criteria, but the second one essentially determines the other two. "If the CEO or entrepreneur is good, they will have chosen a good market, selected the right talent, and created a good product. You’ll always see that. You can have a great orchestra, but the conductor who brings everything together is the most important."

"We will never tell an entrepreneur what to do or claim that we’ll improve their product. That’s not our ambition." – Duco Sickinghe, Chairman of Fortino Capital

The common thread

What do companies gain from their shareholder? "Knowledge for international expansion, technical expertise, and strategic assistance," says Sickinghe. "We also help with talent management. We have professional recruiters who help find the right people for hard-to-fill roles, whether here or in Croatia." Do companies specifically seek this support from Fortino when looking for funding? "Almost always, because money can be found everywhere. We offer knowledge, expertise, and experience. That’s our job."

Fortino does not interfere with management, emphasizes Sickinghe. "We will never tell an entrepreneur what to do or proclaim that we’ll improve their product. That’s not our goal. We aim to initiate a thought process by asking questions that the entrepreneur wants answers to." Like? "We see that your customers feel this way about your product. Did you know that? What do you think about it? What are you going to do about it?" What are the small signs Sickinghe notices when things aren't going well? "There are CEOs who send a PowerPoint with all the information on sales and marketing topics but lack a clear thread explaining why the company is performing well or poorly."

Base on article in De Tijd