Calgary.tech recently sat down with Robert Purdy, a seasoned investment professional who has spent the past 30 years focused on finding a balance between family, health, house, and wealth for him and his clients.
Whether you’re a founder who wants to know how your company could be funded, an investor wanting a seat at table, or someone who’s curious about Purdy’s thoughts on Alberta tech financing – the following conversation is for you.
Purdy has launched a new Fund called APERION and he and his team have been actively inviting friends, clients, and new investors to be a part of his private equity world and helping to fund tech-inspired business ventures, with many of those calling Calgary home.
The serial venture capitalist hit it big in the past when he stepped away from a 16-year career in Investment Banking and Brokerage to launch Purdy & Partners in late 2008 as the financial world was in chaos. Purdy told his investors and clients tit would be “the best opportunity in the last 30 years to go hunting for investments and find deeply undervalued private ventures.”
Well, it worked out pretty well. Purdy successfully exited his first PE Fund called ALPHA in under 7 years, providing an impressive 18.93% annualized fund ROI and a whopping 6 to 8 times co-investment return on investment to his participating Limited Partners and other outside investors.
With dozens of subscribers already making direct investments into the APERION Fund and a line-up of new investors wanting to participate, Purdy and his team have their eyes on the first $10 million in the war chest – and looking to quickly round out the initial tranche of the Fund at $25 million with those initial subscribers keen to be first in.
What are you and APERION focused on right now?
RP: At this point we’re meeting interested investors as swiftly as we can, as the Fund is in the process of seeding the first companies we have in the fold. We have a very experienced support team who know the market well so this means APERION has companies knocking on its doors. In fact, the firm reviewed more than 185 companies to develop the current portfolio of ventures.
Notable start-ups with an Albertan flavour in the portfolio include TRION Battery Technologies, Rainmaker.Earth, Mass Logistik, groHERE, Zyng Corp., LOTUSVIE and a couple others using “code names” due to strategic positioning.
Along the lines of our first Fund, we spent a fair amount of time understanding the market dynamics we see today, and the landscapes evolving over the next 3 to 5 years. That helped us dial in our current investment thesis to the following four focus areas: Industrial Technologies & Infrastructure Revolution; Innovative Opportunities in Supply Chain & Logistics; Transformational Ideas and Technologies in Fintech & Digital Banking; and Disruptive Health & Wellness Platforms.
Early-stage investing is where we really shine, but we continually support our portfolio companies –through thick and thin – as they grow. That really defines our commitment and process. It is rare anyone gets it right the first time or all the time. Most funds invest in hundreds of opportunities, hoping that 3 to 4 hit it big. Not us. That’s where we’re different. We seek to scale every company we invest in to deliver significant ROI.
This has been quite the relaunch for you personally.
RP: It really has been. Winding up my past firm due to COVID-19, and handing back the initial funds we raised to start a second Fund we had called BETA was so humbling. I was totally deflated. Everyone was scrambling to the corners to sort out their own lives, not understanding the huge impact of the pandemic. What was I going to do now? It was like dead silence and empty halls. I turned off the lights at the old firm and just went home.
I never thought to totally shelve the second Fund – but month to month became two years – and I was trying to navigate (like everyone) what was next. Over lots of conversations and Zoom calls, many people urged me to take up the mantle like I did during the 2008 crisis – literally telling me, “if you thought that was the greatest opportunity in 30 years, this could be the greatest opportunity in a 100! This is going define the future, and you know how to do this!”
What are the trends you’re seeing right now for start-up or early-stage companies in Alberta?
RP: There is lots of chatter about AI, Machine Learning, edge computing, and automation. We love Industrial Tech. Alberta is such a petri dish of strong innovators and leaders who champion venture investment and support new ideas. Our “can do” attitude is renowned across Canada – we need more private investment and more awareness so investors know they can ACTUALLY access and participate in the class of investments dubbed “alternatives.” And we need outreach to rally money managers and investment brokers to support private equity in their firms – who are typically restricted to Mutual Funds and computer-driven Portfolio Management. Everyone wants to be a part of the next Skip the Dishes, Benevity, Uber, Solium, or Lululemon – funny enough all having some type of link to Calgary.
What is the fastest path for a founder to get in front of APERION?
RP: Call me or email me or a team member, full stop. Send a one pager on what you do, your target market, who your team is, what your skin in the game is to date, and what you hope to do in the next 24 months.
When you get pitched, what are the good and bad signals you look for?
RP: GOOD – humility mixed with passion. Being absolutely all in! A really well-defined and detailed Business Plan – so please spend the time to prepare this.
BAD – we are valued at “this X.” APERION will help you on that, not just take your word for it. BAD –cannot listen. Ego. No eye contact. No follow up. No Data Room – just a pitch deck. Companies with a chance with us have taken the time to deconstruct an extensive business plan and illustrate their vision into a well-organized and stratified Data Room.
Besides the money you can provide to a founder, how does APERION support the business?
RP: All aspects of business plan support, business development, team building, market development and brand awareness, governance and family support for all the founders and employees. Mentorship is also huge. One thing as well we operate on is to “get out of the way” as the company grows and flourishes. Teams and founders also need to fall down and get back up; we cannot coddle them all the time and think money fixes everything. And frankly, the “money guys” need to let go as needed and not demand control in all aspects of the company’s journey. Build accountability and support, not dependence complacency.
How do you access and engage investors to support the Fund? Has that been easier this go around?
RP: We are working with investor relations groups, industry leaders and beacons, using social media, centers of influence, associations – the full meal deal this go round. Word of mouth on my rep and history has been a big plus for sure. Now I’m mentoring and incubating a new team to empower and teach them to raise and operate a fund, help them invite their network of contacts and investors into the circle – it really is a much needed “next step” for me so it is not all on my shoulders to deliver the Investment opportunities, the teams and the investors. I have taken the approach of “here is the playbook I built over 30 years, give it a read, and let me know how I can support your success as part of the APERION Team.” It really does feel so good to evolve to this level of true mentorship.
What’s your outlook for the year ahead?
RP: Bright and looking forward to a great story a year from now with the headline: “APERION is nailing it” and our portfolio companies and investors loudly singing our praises.
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