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Vikas Malhotra
Vision & Strategy @Startup Hub Poland - Stanford GSB Grad
Vikas Malhotra transitioned from the for-profit technology industry to the non-profit sector in 2013 after completing his Masters at Stanford University.
With over 11 years of experience in operations, international expansion, and business development spanning countries like India, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, and Hungary, he brings a wealth of global expertise to the table.
Post-graduation, Vikas embarked on a six-year journey focusing on aiding small businesses in Colombia with technology integration and global business strategies before venturing into shaping the startup ecosystem in Poland.
Driven by a vision to establish Poland as a prominent innovation hub, Vikas is dedicated to attracting top entrepreneurial talent to Warsaw, encouraging long-term investments, and fostering collaboration between international and Polish entrepreneurs.
His initiative, 'Destination Polska,' aims to create an environment where international entrepreneurs collaborate with local businesses, VC firms invest jointly with local counterparts, and the entire startup ecosystem thrives on business principles supported minimally by the government, emphasizing trade of ideas and networks between local and foreign entrepreneurs.
Highlights
🎙At least 8/20 startup founders my team at Maverick Nation talked to said they have revenue but can't raise VC money in CEE (Eastern Europe). 💰 If you have conviction in your product, go straight for VCs in 🇺🇸! While sitting in Europe. No, not impossible! 🧢 .. This is what Yegor Denisov-Blanch, Stanford GSB MBA'24 has to say in our next #MaverickTalks episode. Key takeaways..
✅ physical presence in US not required - just set up Delaware co. and make your current co. its subsidiary
✅ US investors are in fact actively hunting looking for hidden gems outside of US 💎
✅ But, wait, don't reach out cold and send your pitch deck blindly to 100 VCs - get a warm intro through someone 🔆
✅ can't find a common connection to a US VC? Check if they invested in a CEE founder, reach out to that founder and get an intro through him/her✍️
What was your approach to pitching to a US-based VC? Where did it take you? #FundraisingInUS

