LiU Invest AB is a subsidiary of Linköping University Holding AB, a company controlled by Linköping University (LiU).
Our mission is to ensure that investments made within LiU’s various research areas lead to commercial success, advancing research results for societal benefit in the form of spin-off companies. We also work to foster a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation at LiU.
Today, we have a company portfolio of about thirty companies. The portfolio’s value is 38 MSEK, which can be compared to a total invested capital of 15 MSEK. The business has existed for over 10 years, but value growth has been generated during the last 5 years. We thus have a good return on invested capital. The company portfolio is presented at: https://www.liuinvest.se/#portfolj
We aim to continue generating a good return on invested capital, and the long-term objective is for LiU Invest to function as a revolving evergreen fund. The returns should secure our long-term ability to continue supporting early-stage companies with more than just pure investments, which can include coaching, business development, and advisory services. To achieve this objective, investment decisions are crucial, and competent, well-founded, and sound investment decisions are required to generate the value growth that will be necessary.
A success factor so far has been to get involved very early, sometimes as co-founders, and to be operationally active in the companies. Most of the value growth we have seen in the last five years has occurred in companies where we have been operationally active. This can involve regularly coaching the CEO, attending customer meetings, serving as chairman, or even temporarily stepping in as CEO of the companies.
The Board of LiU Invest functions as both an investment committee and a board. The Board decides on the direction for early company formation, i.e., which research groups to approach and what the priorities should be. When we act as co-founders, it’s about us identifying opportunities rather than someone coming to us with a pitch. The Board also functions as an investment committee for decisions regarding investments in existing companies. In such cases, the Board reviews the company analysis, listens to a pitch from the company, and makes a decision, yes or no to the investment. A special decision-making method is used in these decision meetings, see below.
Investment amounts are relatively small. A normal investment is up to 500 kSEK plus 500 kSEK in two tranches and can be followed up with follow-on investments where we maintain our ownership stake up to an additional 500 kSEK. All new and additional investments over 200 kSEK are reported in the news section of the website, see: https://www.liuinvest.se/nyheter/
News about and from the companies we have invested in can be found on our LinkedIn page, see: https://www.linkedin.com/company/liuinvest/posts/
Competencies we are looking for:
– We would prefer a woman, but it is not an absolute requirement
– Strong analytical ability is a requirement
– Companies often have a high technological content, which means a basic technical understanding is required
– Experience with investment decisions is highly desirable
– Experience in Life Science or Medtech is a plus, but not a requirement
– Own entrepreneurial experience is desirable
– High integrity is a must, and knowing when to assert your opinion and when to step back will be required (see section on decision-making process below)
– We would prefer a person who promotes collaboration and brings new perspectives
Other
The number of meetings varies between 6 and 10 meetings per year. The assignment is remunerated. Physical presence in Linköping during meetings is desirable but not a requirement.
The decision-making method used by the investment committee aims to prevent any single person from becoming too dominant in decisions. All participants receive written material in advance of the decision meeting. The decision meeting begins with a pitch from the company, followed by a Q session where board members have the opportunity to ask clarifying questions. The company then leaves the meeting. Before any discussion is allowed among the board members, all members must independently hold up a decision card with a Yes or No. After everyone has shown their opinion using the decision cards, a discussion follows with the goal of reaching a consensus decision. For this to be possible, the group must function well and listen to those who have the expertise to assess this particular case from different perspectives. The biggest risk of making a wrong decision is missing a gem. An incorrect investment can lead to a loss of 0.5 MSEK, while a missed gem can lead to a foregone value increase of 7 MSEK (with the current portfolio).
A long-term challenge is to achieve early exits. LiU Invest is a small investor that gets involved very early. Even in cases with good value development, it can be difficult to realize the value increase before an IPO or a trade sale. By finding methods for early exits, more early-stage investments could be made, and thus more research would benefit society. However, it has proven difficult to sell so-called old shares without offering significant discounts. Experience from other players in this type of investment environment shows an investment horizon of up to 10-15 years. However, we would like to shorten this.
Application
Send your application to jonas.nilsson@liu.se or call 013-281743 if you have questions.
