13th BRDE Labs Program’s Bootcamp addresses Governance for Startups

The 13th Bootcamp of the acceleration stage of the BRDE Labs Program was held last Thursday, 12. The online chat was on Corporate Governance for Startups, with the speaker Marcelo Hoffmann, partner of ABSeed Ventures, an associate of Baptista Luz Advogados, and Endeavor Mentor.

Hoffmann started the Bootcamp explaining that, when it comes to governance in startups, there is an adequate notion of value proposition and the pains that businesses solve. He retrieved data from a survey conducted at IBGC, on a basis of 250 startups: when asked about the importance of the theme in the journey, in general, the startups gave a grade of 9, but when asked about the level of knowledge, the grade average assigned was 6. “This clearly signaled a great zone and learning opportunity. From then on, the IBGC took a series of actions towards this ecosystem to create an exchange between an absolutely innovative environment and to bring a little of the past experiences of an institute that has taken care of governance for a long time ”, stressed Marcelo.

The speaker highlighted that connecting with early-stage companies is a challenge. “The feeling is that governance is something for publicly traded companies. And in fact, governance has a broader value proposition than simply being a tool for large companies. From the mapping of this business environment, it became clear that it has a function that is to mitigate the risk of mortality. We all know that companies have a very challenging first cycle, related to their survival. We read on social media all the time about big contributions, but we never find the stories of those who stopped thriving in the middle. In general, I can tell you that they had some corporate governance problem that was neglected ”, he pointed out.

After this initial cycle, according to Hoffmann, it becomes more apparent that being seriously structured, in the right measure, without weighing the company with unnecessary bureaucracy, allows easier access to qualified capital. “The company is financed basically by the partners themselves or by the capital of third parties, right? So we are saying that we have better investors, a higher volume of capital, and a better transition cost in a way that is very related to our status as an organization. This is because investors and financial institutions are risk-averse. The demand for capital and investment is high, and the investor has the possibility to choose, thus s/he will direct to the most organized company ”, says the speaker. He further explains that the key is to understand that it is a journey. “And the choices we make at the beginning of the journey determine the paths we will take,” explains Hoffmann. According to him, “governance is a practical science. It is not an isolated event, it is a journey ”.

At the end of the Bootcamp, a chat was held so that everyone could clarify doubts, discuss issues related to corporate governance. The event was attended by the 12 startups selected for the acceleration stage of the BRDE Labs Program: 2Metric, Besouro Agency, BioIn, DigiFarmz, Elysios, Essent Agro, Faba, Insumo Fácil, Palma Sistemas, Polvo Spot, Optim and Talos, as well as representatives of BRDE and VENTIUR, and the three universities that are part of the Alliance for Innovation (UFRGS, PUCRS, and Unisinos).


November 16, 2020
Tecnosinos