Blog Post
65. Vivi Cahyadi Himmel, AltoVita - Investor herd mentality
#property #digitalnomad #vcinvestment #angelinvestment #seriesa #personalbrand #termsheet
Vivi Cahyadi Himmel is the CEO and Co-Founder of AltoVita, and is on a mission to build the largest, most connected ecosystem in corporate accommodation.
As digital nomads, Vivi and her co-founder had the ambitious goal of building a global empire. With Vivi being from an investment banking background, she had some financial skills, but starting a business was a whole new challenge. It’s why being humble is core to the culture of the business now, and not knowing everything is okay.
The co-founders started with £60K to bootstrap their company which allowed them to launch a website, start marketing and recruit internal developers. Then they secured £300K through family and friends. AltoVita went on to raise £1.6m from angel investors globally. Key to their success were a few highly engaged ‘anchor’ investors who really resonated with the product. Vivi confirms herd mentality is not just a myth.
Most recently was their Series A round. During the process, they walked away from some of the term sheets they were given by investors which was a difficult decision. When starting up a company, Vivi thinks you should truly consider investment market fit - not just product market fit.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
- Why you need a personal brand - not just a company brand
- How to secure ‘anchor’ investors
- When to walk away from the term sheet
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