On Tuesday 5 March 2019, the Luxembourg Business Angels Network (LBAN) held their AGM and Annual Event at Deloitte Luxembourg; the AGM brought along a few changes, including a new Board which was voted in and which now comprises Larissa Best (President), Philippe Linster (Teasurer), and Fabrice Testa, Stephane Peters, Tom Baumert, Diane Tea, Elias Chbeir, Arnold Spruit and Eric Nolen, all Board Directors.
The total amount invested by LBAN members has grown to over €5.5 million in 2018, over half of which was invested directly in Luxembourgish companies. The average ticket size was between €50k and €100k, with co-investment opportunities becoming more widespread as the community of over 65 members carries on coming together. This has all been helped by the notable increase in the quality of the start-ups that are looking for investment, further encouraging new Angel Investors to join LBAN.
The new Board thanked the leaving Board members, Nicolas Fries (Treasurer) and Hedda Pahlson-Moller (Board Director) for everything they have done to help LBAN over the past few years, and they look forward to carrying on working with them closely in the coming years. Each (new) Board member has already been assigned specific topics that they will take the lead on in the coming months, further contributing to their involvement in the life of the growing organisation. In addition, the Chamber of Commerce has always played an important role in LBAN, by providing unwavering support to the organisation throughout the years.
The AGM was also the opportunity to thank Cécile Sevrain, the leaving Executive Director, for the efforts she has made and the commitment she has shown to the members over the last five years. Having taken the lead on structuring the LBAN and creating strong ties with the ecosystem, Cécile will be handing the role over to Philip Grother, who is now the main point of contact at the LBAN as the new Executive Director.
As the LBAN evolves internally, so do their relationships with the entire European ecosystem. LBAN is working on bringing the cross-border counterparts into closer relationship with its members, so that Luxembourg can be part of the growing dynamism and entrepreneurial enthusiasm that the Greater Region is currently witnessing.
The relationships with the corporate structures are also being addressed, as a new membership format was announced after several companies expressed the desire to contribute to the efforts that LBAN has been making over the past few years, further demonstrating the trust with which the brand is now associated. The same can be said for the sponsorship formats which have been updated and will be communicated soon.
The Annual Event was a great success, with an attendance of over 80 people, who were a good mix of new comers and existing members, some of the former decided to become members on the spot and the latter renewing their membership for another year.
Building on the cross-border topic, the title of the event was “Angel Investing: pushing the frontier”. The guest speakers were Tomi Davies, co-founder of ABAN and LAN (Nigeria), Assaf Topaz, CrossBorder Tech Investor (Israel) and Gosia Kramer, Founder of The Office (Luxembourg). Having built their own success on decisions and relationships that spread much further than the local landscape, they addressed topics as large as finding talent, dealing with regulatory hurdles, mixing previously disconnected ecosystems and, above all, how important it is to surround oneself with the most competent team possible.
As the evening came to a close with a networking cocktail sponsored by Deloitte, the participants and speakers had the opportunity to go deeper into conversations started during the panel discussion, with relationships being formed that will surely lead to future business opportunities, starting this new year for LBAN on a very positive note.
To find out more about the LBAN and how to make the most out of the organisation, those interested can get in touch via LinkedIn, the website or by email.
