70V is a revenue accelerator for B2B startups. At the moment their portfolio consists of 36 companies together with one very successful exit in their pocket. Never-mind the rewarding investment news regarding their portfolio that constantly pop up.

Together with early stage investments, 70V offers an acceleration program to help founders to build and scale their businesses. Useful connections, diverse knowhow and licence to show brilliant ideas – an attractive career path for people that love to see the birth, growth, and success of a company. 

In the light of their recent 1st startup exit, we talked with the 70V’s associate Aivaras Rastenis, who honestly admitted that he didn’t expect the first exit to arrive this soon. 

 

 

Despite that research shows that 90% of all global startups fail, 70V is a safety net for talents. In the worst case scenario, good performers (the growth journey lovers) will have a secure place in another startup as soon as possible. 💪

How do they do it? Without further ado, let’s jump and find out! 👇

 

INTERVIEW

 

We gave a little introduction to 70V, but you, as an insider, could you please open up more. What is 70V all about?

Imagine having a business idea that helps other businesses to reach their goals. And you want to go global, but lack of money and knowledge sets its limitations. What to do? 

No need to be alone in this – fundraise and find partners with experience! This is where accelerator funds, like us, come into the picture.

70V invests in ambitious B2B entrepreneurs globally. We help them to build and scale predictable sales machines with talent from Lithuania. Our predictable revenue playbook has been already used with more than 70 companies.

 

70V partner Jean-Baptiste Daguené has said “I eat SaaS for breakfast, B2B sales for lunch and data for dinner”. Is there still something new to offer to the table? 

Oh yes, there’s still plenty of room on the table!

The B2B tech startup ecosystem is an exciting space to work in. It’s a very fast paced environment with tonnes of possibilities for stellar growth. All the top Lead Research Specialists (LRS) and Sales Development Representatives (SDR) in our portfolio have been promoted within 8-12 months.

 

Higher risk comes with higher reward.  Seeing the birth, growth and success of the company is something extremely special. Do 70V portfolio companies share their achievement stories with each other, or you keep them strictly apart?

This is a very good question!

Working in a startup and B2B sales is challenging. That’s why building a B2B community is a top priority for us. We can’t wait to get back to normal but we are very proud that we moved our community online. 

Every month we connect talents in our portfolio to share their triumphs and their mistakes. Also, 70V rewards accomplishments highly through our portfolio leaderboard where SDRs (Sales Development Representatives) compete for monthly cash prizes.

 

Could you share with us, what is the next big thing?

We search for the next big thing in the Nordics and Baltics. Each month we make two to three investments in various B2B companies. Fintech, adtech/marktech, legaltech, accounting solutions – just to name a few

Our portfolio companies might go after the same customer but with different value propositions.

As we speak, we have already invested in 35+ companies and all of them compete for the best talent!

 

Want to see the full portfolio? Click on the picture and find our out more.

 

70V together with its portfolio companies provide unique career opportunities. However, we cannot avoid the elephant in the room – the startup 90% failure rate. How does 70V provide job stability/security?

In short, 70V is like a safety net for talents. Once you pass our application process and prove that you can deliver, we will hold your back no matter what.

As investors we also think how we can minimise the investment risk and maximise the returns. We focus on identifying the top founders who are 100% committed to their business venture. It takes at least 7 qualification steps and only a small fraction of founders we meet get an investment.

In the worst case scenario, If you are a good performer and enjoy the startup journey, we will definitely secure you a place in another startup as soon as possible. When you join one of our portfolio companies, you join the 70V community as well.

  

 

Mad respect that you’re not trying to claim that the 70V portfolio always falls on the successful 10% side. The startup life can be tough and not suitable for everyone. Who are the people you are looking for to join the team?

We look for people who enjoy working with customers and are born competitors.

If you are a go-getter, speed is your religion and discomfort attracts you, then we’d be a perfect fit. However, if life is happening to you and you’re full of excuses, then it’s a no go.

The top performers earn 7000 EUR+ monthly and all of them share the values written in our B2B Sales Manifesto.

 

How do you usually find the candidates to hire? What % of hired candidates have been sourced and headhunted?

It is really the top talent that we’re looking for. The top 10% of the ideal candidates.

We combine both passive and active sourcing. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone who’s reading this article was already approached by us. 🙂

Sometimes the best talent comes to us through referrals or platforms like MeetFrank. I’m extremely happy that talents who already work in 70V startups keep recommending their friends to join.

 

70V has only one religion – the TARGET. What is the key to motivate team members to make smart decisions and take responsibility for the consequences?

It’s about the mindset. When you have a sense of ownership then all of that comes naturally. We look for people who care about delivery.

The main motivation comes from the dynamic environment, speed of decision-making and clearly seeing the impact of our actions.

In the end of the day, 70V is the best B2B sales school in town. We cultivate a training-intensive environment that inspires to learn, grow and lead by example. Each new talent goes through a 2 weeks onboarding program with clear steps and training. People keep saying that after the 1st month here they feel like 3 or 4 months have passed already.  

 

You have probably sacrificed some of your weekends and holidays to work. Be honest, has the startup hustle killed your social life?

Haha. True that. However, I don’t label that as a sacrifice. I really enjoy what I do here and understand the scale of my impact to our startups and new hires. On the contrary, I have improved my social life by focusing on building meaningful relationships and giving my undivided attention to the people who are the most important to me.

And of course, the industry I am in is plenty of networking opportunities. Almost every day I meet new people and reconnect with people I know.

 

Sounds like your cup of tea? Check out the 70V openings and apply!

 

70V is recruiting for Lead Researchers, Sales Development Representatives and Account Executives. Recently they have opened a new vacancy called Sales Operations Specialist. Read more about career possibilities on 70V’s website or check out the MeetFrank app:

👉 B2B Sales Development Representative in a Startup

 

 

The Key Takeaways: 

 

💡 Besides investments from pre-seed to series A, 70V offers an acceleration program. They strongly believe that the success depends on the success of their startups.

💡 The company has invested in various B2B sectors: fintech, adtech/marktech, legaltech, accounting solutions. Their portfolio companies might go after the same customer but with different value propositions. 

💡 B2B sales is the key element of success. According to 70V, the best solution is to start having meaningful customer conversations even before building a product.

💡 70V is a safety net for talents. When you join 70V portfolio companies, you join the 70V community as well – stellar performers are always secured a job.

💡 Working at a startup is a risk with a huge upside. The top performers at 70V earn €7000+ monthly and have been promoted within 8-12 months.