#TŐKEPORTÁL BLOG
Mini interview with Barnabás Szabó
21/06/2022 – Tokeportal’s own content
In our previous interview Viktor Deri introduced himself and now Barnabas Szabo answers our questions and tells his opinion about startups and the ecosystem.
I’m an economist, stock market, real estate and venture capital investor. In 2013 I listed ALTERA (now AutoWallis) which I exited in 2017. I am currently investing in US startups such as Addepar, a fintech company under the names of Joe Lonsdale (ex-Palantir), Peter Thiel (Founders Fund) and Stanley Druckenmiller (ex-Quantum Fund) and Postmates which was recently acquired by Uber. Postmates by the way was the 4th largest food delivery company in the US until its acquisition.
My most recent US investment was in an edtech company Udacity just a few weeks ago.
Why did you become interested in the stock market and how did you get involved in it?
Even during university I was interested in how to “make money” and not “earn it”. That and the adrenaline rush experienced while trading attracted me to the stock market.
Every day is a battle but not with anybody only with our own personality: greed, fear, risk management.
It is a good game with lots of excitement and of course the feeling of victory at the end.
You have successfully listed your own company ALTERA (now AutoWallis) on the stock market. What do you think are the most important elements for a company to successfully go public?
The first and most important step to a successful IPO is to have CEO(s)/founder(s) with a strong vision of where they want to take the company.
They should believe in their vision passionately because only then will others follow you = invest in your company.
You must have a compelling, sellable story that people want to be part of.
The next important measure is that the company should be ready for the stock market. This includes the team’s financial-legal-capital market knowledge, the company’s ability to bear the associated costs – the annual cost of being listed on the stock market is approximately HUF 20-50 million (~EUR 50-125 thousand) -, the corporate culture (transparency, well-organised internal processes, rules and documentation).
What are the experiences and key messages you have had internationally, or in the US that you would like to definitely pass on to the Hungarian startup ecosystem?
What I would like to share as the most important factor is speed. Compared to American companies Hungarians are incredibly slow and cumbersome. Not only the agencies but also the entrepreneurs. We need to pick up the pace where a small business can hire 2-3 new people a day. I am not talking about interview – hire!
You need to get customers instead of building a product. The product will be built based on the needs of the customers. Forget about prizes and tenders. You need to bring private sources especially from 3F. That builds credibility and shows commitment.
But again: speed, speed, speed!
If you want to know more about Barnabás, visit her mentor profile.
