Altirah Capital
David Frankel is the co-founder of Altirah Capital, a South African private equity & hedge fund group. He is also a director of Rand Merchant Bank. David was the CEO and co-founder of Internet Solutions, the largest ISP and private data carrier in Africa. He was an executive director of Dimension Data plc from 2000-2004 (post selling IS to Didata). Mr. Frankel was the founder and Chairman of HealthBridge & is currently the Chairman of Cura Risk. He is a General Partner of Ovation Capital Partners, an early stage VC group based in New York. In 1998, David was voted Computer Society of South Africa's "Information Technology Person of the Year". In 2000, he was voted the South African Technology Achiever of the Century, by the Financial Mail. The World Economic Forum later selected him for the GLT program in Davos, Switzerland. David holds an honors degree in Electrical Engineering (Wits) and, post selection for the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Program, earned an MBA with distinction, from the Harvard Business School.
Mr. Frankel is the Founder of ISPA (the South African Internet Service Providers Association) and he currently serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations including Foundation 2000, the Kind David Schools Foundation and Endeavor South Africa. He lives with his wife Tracey & daughters, Danielle & Raquel in JHB, SA.
Related Links: www.endeavor.co.za
Last Updated: Fri, Aug 1, 2008
| Category | Title | Author/Speaker | Organization | Length | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Video | Advice about Term Sheets | David Frankel | Venture Panel | 01:52 | 05/2007 |
| Video | Cautions about Raising Too Much Money | David Frankel | Venture Panel | 01:20 | 05/2007 |
| Video | Venture Funding Challenges in Emerging Economies | David Frankel | Venture Panel | 02:40 | 05/2007 |
| Video | What to Expect and to Avoid in Term Sheets | David Frankel | Venture Panel | 03:39 | 05/2007 |
| Video | Which Investors Add Value | David Frankel | Venture Panel | 01:21 | 05/2007 |
David Frankel, Founding Partner at Altirah Capital, discusses term sheets and how to structure a venture capital deal. Frankel suggests that when raising money an entrepreneur should 1) Favor VCs with simple term sheets, 2) Retain an experienced startup lawyer and 3) Explore any unfamiliar terms.
David Frankel, Founding Partner at Altirah Capital, cautions against raising too much money in an early round for two reasons. First, if things go poorly and the firm receives a lower valuation in the next round (down round) then substantially funding the venture will be difficult. Second, if you raise an appropriate amount of money in an early round and things go well you can always raise more money in a later round at a higher valuation.
David Frankel, Founding Partner at Altirah Capital, suggests that in established venture environments, VC investors and entrepreneurs share common assumptions about what makes a fair investment deal. In emerging economies these rules of thumb have not been established and so raising money can take more time or be more challenging.
David Frankel, Founding Partner at Altirah Capital, offers his advice about what entrepreneurs should expect and what they should avoid in the term sheets offered by VCs when raising money. Frenkel suggests that entrepreneurs should expect VCs to have liquidation preferences, pre-emptive rights, first refusal rights, anti-dilution rights, board member seats, CEO replacement rights and full disclosure. In contrast, Frenkel suggests entrepreneurs should not accept a big valuation from an individual investor who cannot follow on or ?traditional terms? that are not adequately explained and justified.
Jason Green, David Frankel and Michael Cline, the Founding Partners at Emergence Capital, Altirah Capital and Accretive Technology Partners respectively, discuss the qualities of VCs and investors who add value to the business. First, Green suggests that investors should be a sounding board. Second, Frankel argues that investors should bring experience that helps the startup avoid time consuming pitfalls. Third, Cline argues that valuable investors both act as a conscience and help connect the startup to customers. Finally, Green suggests that entrepreneurs should do reference checks on their investors to ensure they make the right partnerships.