Lumia Capital | Later-Stage Investing in Internet and Software Companies

About Lumia Capital

Lumia Capital was founded in 2011 to invest in rapidly-scaling Internet and software companies focused on emerging markets exhibiting predictive characteristics for breakout growth. We employ a hands-on value add strategy, working closely with management teams by pairing Silicon Valley insights and contacts with global knowledge sharing to propel companies through later stage challenges and opportunities.

Stage Focus and Investment Sizes
1. US $3-$8M investments in expansion-stage companies, typically ›$1M/month in net sales. Smaller or larger investments on a case-by-case basis

2. Lumia "Accelerator" program makes ‹$100K investments in earlier-stage, post-revenue companies exhibiting breakout growth

Transaction Types: Primary and Secondary (Employees, Previous Investors), common and preferred shares

Geographical Focus: Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, MENA, Turkey, Southeast Asia, and companies in the U.S. with a meaningful presence in and/or impact on these geographies

Investment Criteria

Lumia strives to be "entrepreneur friendly" and maintains flexibility around investment parameters such as investment size, ownership percentage, and governance/control requirements.

When evaluating investments we look for clear execution and defined success in areas such as:

Proven Business Model - Lumia typically invests in later stage companies executing on proven business models.

Rapid Growth and Market Leadership - Lumia looks for demonstrable success across a host of business metrics. At a high level, we are looking for rapidly-scaling businesses that are emerging as leaders in their respective markets (which themselves are usually large and growing quickly)

Strong Partners - Lumia is typically not a company's first investor, and aims to work with an existing group of successful partners. Great partners start with company management, but also include its investors, advisers and board members.

Hands on Value Add

Lumia aims to be a valued partner to companies during their "expansion stage," providing growth capital and working tirelessly alongside management to build successful, sustainable enterprises. We take an active approach to supportive company-building -- from analyzing and positively impacting sales and marketing processes to business and channel development and recruiting, Lumia works to provide advice and make the introductions that will drive growth and create sustainable value. Our approach is underpinned by our unique global network and portfolio, which allow us to share valuable insights, best practices and contacts between Silicon Valley and the emerging markets we focus on.

Business Acceleration
Emerging Markets Intelligence and Knowledge Sharing
Value Added Capital Base

Business Acceleration

Lumia's investment team works in concert with our experienced operational advisors to help substantially accelerate our portfolio companies' growth. One of our focus areas is a company's sales and marketing funnel, where we have a history of making valuable introductions to the companies, people and tools proven to accelerate Internet and software companies. By closely evaluating this funnel, from attracting to closing and retargeting customers, we can recommend and make introductions to valuable partners across each dimension that will improve efficiency and accelerate growth.

Emerging Markets Intelligence
and Knowledge Sharing

Lumia has a diverse and active network of technology executives, investors, service professionals and others across Silicon Valley and our target regions. As part of our commitment to sustained, active, value add, we leverage our resources and knowledge-gained across these regions to provide insights and make introductions that help drive your business.

For US companies, we can leverage our unique relationships to help establish valuable local partnerships in the high-growth markets we operate in - this has proven especially critical for US Internet companies, many of which receive more than half of their traffic from our core markets.

Value Added Capital Base

Lumia's limited investment partners are some of the world's largest and best known public and private asset managers, family offices and accomplished Fortune 500 and Silicon Valley executives. By working with us, portfolio companies can leverage the combined strength and value-add of both Lumia and these investment partners — A number of our investors, for instance, are comfortable investing in public, emerging markets and will be supportive, long term holders of your company's stock in these markets – a critical partner to those companies with emerging-market IPO prospects.

Investment Experience

Lumia's investment team works in concert with our experienced operational advisors to help substantially accelerate our portfolio companies' growth. Lumia's advisors collectively bring 50+ years of experience across all stages of technology company development. Advisers bring a depth of knowledge from global experience spanning the government, financial, technology, entertainment, and other sectors. Additionally, advisers are committed to working closely with Lumia's current and future portfilio companies and spend considerable time with our entrepreneurs throughout the year.

» View Our Team

Our Team

Peter

Steven

Leonard

Boris

Zachary

Martin

Martin Gedalin | Managing Partner

Martin founded Lumia Capital in early 2011 to identify and partner with rapidly-scaling Internet and software companies in emerging markets experiencing breakout Internet growth. At Lumia, Martin serves on the board of MarkaVIP, the Middle East's largest private shopping club. Prior to Lumia, Martin was a later-stage venture capital investor at Focus Ventures, an IT-focused Venture Capital Firm in Palo Alto with $850M under management. At Focus, Martin helped lead the firm's Internet and software efforts and was instrumental in numerous investments such as Cyan, Buzz Media, Sojern, Sepaton and Reputation.com. Prior to Focus, Martin was a Product Manager at Oracle, where he was responsible for managing core components of Fusion CRM, a $1B+ product line. Previously, Martin was a management consultant for both Oracle and Siebel Systems, providing strategic recommendations across people, process and technology domains to top global customers and prospects in a variety of industries. Martin began his career in Corporate Strategy at NCR Corporation after co-founding one of the earliest mobile advertising companies, in 2000.

Martin holds a BBA from Emory University and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

View Martin's Twitter View Martin's LinkedIn

Leonard M. Lodish | Operating Partner

Leonard M. Lodish is the Samuel R. Harrell Professor in the Marketing Department of the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Wharton's Vice Dean for the Program for Social Impact, and Leader of the Wharton Global Consulting Practicum (GCP) that has subsidiary partnerships with leading business schools in Israel, Chile, Peru, China, Taiwan, India, UAE, and Spain. Through the GCP program, groups of Wharton MBA's work with MBA students at the partner institution on real projects to help a foreign client company leverage a relationship with North America or a North American firm leverage a relationship with the partner country. Len was the initial Vice Dean for Wharton's San Francisco campus from 2001-2009, Vice Dean of Social Impact from 2009-2012, and is currently Senior Advisor in San Francisco.

Professor Lodish has published over 60 articles, is active as an editor in leading Marketing and Management Science Journals, and is the co-founder and co-director of the Wharton-INSEAD "Leading the Effective Sales Force" executive program which is delivered each year in Singapore, Fontainebleau, and Philadelphia.

He has been a Corporate Director of public company: J&J Snack Foods, Inc since 1992. He also is or was a director or advisory board member of private companies – Compete, DVtel, Diapers.com (now Quidsi), Milo, Note Hall, Inc. (now a subsidiary of Chegg, Inc.)., Oxicool, Inc., and Powergetics,Inc., as well as an advisor to First Round Capital, Vintage Venture Funds, Mentor Tech Funds, and the Jerusalem Global Venture Funds. Len was the first outside director of Diapers.com which was the fastest growing Internet retailer for 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 and was sold to Amazon.com for over $500 million in 2011. Len was also the first outside director of Milo.com that was sold in 2010 to eBay for over $70 million after only 2 years in business. Professor Lodish has consulted with many major firms world wide, including Procter and Gamble, Anheuser Busch, Syntex Laboratories, Merck and Company, McNeil Consumer Products Company, the Campbells Soup Company, Bentley Systems, Inc., Merrill Lynch, the Coca-Cola Company, and Walsh/PMSI.

As a part time entrepreneur, Professor Lodish co-founded Management Decision Systems, Inc. (MDS) in 1967 with $4000 of initial equity capital. In 1985 MDS's, 300 employees, merged with Information Resources, Inc. to become a premier international decision support and marketing data supplier. He was a corporate director of public companies Information Resources from 1986-2003 and Franklin Electronic Publishers from 1992-2009. He also was co-owner and co-founder of Shadow Broadcast Services in 1991 that was sold to Westwood One, Inc. in 1998.

Len received a Ph.D. (Marketing and Operations Research) from Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management in 1968 and an A.B. (Mathematics) from Kenyon College in 1965.

In 1996 Len and his wife Susan pedaled their tandem bicycle across the U.S., and since then have done long distance bicycle rides each year which have raised over $1,200,000 for the A.L.S. ( Lou Gehrig's Disease) Association. Len is a licensed sailplane pilot and ardent bicycle commuter.

Steven Koltai | Strategic Adviser

Steven Koltai Is an executive with over 30 years of business experience in entertainment industry, a successful repeat entrepreneur, investment banker, management consultant and until September 2011, Senior Advisor for Entrepreneurship to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

At the US Department of State, Steven served as a Franklin Fellow/Senior Advisor, where he conceived and ran the "Global Entrepreneurship Program" which is designed to leverage US entrepreneurial experience (education, foundations, VCs, and especially entrepreneurs) to help other countries jump start their own entrepreneurial sectors. The program has grown to include more than 125 partners, serving over 2,500 entrepreneurs in more than half a dozen countries. Prior to the State Department, Steven was at Warner Bros in Burbank, CA, where he served as SVP of Strategy and Corporate Development, Chairman of the Operating Committee, as well as Founder and General Manager of Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment and Warner Bros. Online. Steven's significant entrepreneurial experience can be highlighted in SES-Astra and Event411. In 1983, Steven co-founded SES-Astra, today the largest private television system in the world today. With a market capitalization of $85 billion, SES-Astra operates 41 satellites, delivering 2,100 cable channels throughout Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. After Steven left Warner Bros. in 1986, he founded his second entrepreneurial venture, Event411, an event management company that he grew from one to 2,500 employees before selling.

Steven Koltai received both his BA in Modern European History and MA in International Economics from Tufts University and a Licence (as a Fulbright Scholar) from the Universite Libre de Bruxelles. Steven was Founding Board Member of the Pacific Council on International Policy, Founding Chairman of the Entertainment Technology Center at the USC School of Film and Television, a long-time member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a participant in Aspen Institute Seminars, and the Salzburg Seminar. He has served on the Board of Advocates of the Tisch College of Active Citizenship, the Board of the Entrepreneurial Leadership Studies Program, and the Board of Overseers of the College of Arts and Sciences at Tufts. Steven was Chairman of the Literacy Network of Greater Los Angeles for five years. Currently, Steven is a Board Member of Babson Global, Senior Advisor to the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV) as well as to CRDF's Global Innovation in Science and Technology (GIST) program.